Published: August 23, 2008 09:28 pm            

Moving along

The Great Overlay Debate over, can we just get along?

We agreed.

We disagreed.

We agreed to disagree.

We even disagreed to agree.

And, I think sometimes we even disagreed just to disagree.

But the “Great Downtown Overlay Debate” has come to an end — and a beginning, I guess — with the city council’s vote to enact some new rules governing the look and “feel” of our historic downtown area.

It’s time for the debate to be over — a point that I wholeheartedly agree with Mayor Buster on. While I had (and still have) reservations about some parts of the requirements, on the whole it is theoretically a good thing for our town, or at least a step in that direction.

One of the best things the plan is supposed to bring is the end of the “Downtown Truck Stop and Storage” business of sorts that occupies one of the corners at Commerce and Collin Street. At least I’ve been told that no longer will 18-wheelers and their accompanying trailers be allowed to “camp out” downtown. Admittedly a “pet peeve” of mine, it still had no place in any downtown area, much less an “historic” one.

But parking and plants and color palettes aside, I hope we can now “move on” and work together to make downtown, and all of the city, a better place.

That seems to be the goal of both sides in the debate. Time and action — or the lack of same — will be the judge of that.

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As long as we’re downtown ...

Last week’s column on the “math” of the Third Avenue brick project (also approved by your city council) brought a lot of comment as I was out and about this past week.

As you recall — to the tune of about a half-million dollars — we are moving forward with the replacement of the brick street on Third Avenue between Main and Beaton Streets by adding more money to the project to bring it to a total cost of $478,000 (and change) to “get ‘er done.”

That column also brought an interesting piece of mail to my desk. The letter wasn’t signed so I can’t give credit where credit is due, but it bears repeating because there could be something to it.

“Bob,” the letter begins...

Nice start, I thought.

“On Third Avenue between Beaton and Main, there are 155,296 bricks. At a cost of $478,000 for repairs, that makes it $3.09 per brick.”

“Still,” the letter continues, “most likely the most expensive repair in Texas, or the U.S.A.”

Well, I actually came up with $3.07 per brick, but I think they are on to something here.

What if we were to launch a campaign to “sponsor a brick” the next time we go about replacing a brick street? Didn’t the high school and the Cook Center do the same thing with brick walkways?

Sponsor a brick — get your name engraved on the brick — do your part to rebuild our streets!

Might change the price point, though.

Make it $5 a brick.

Or maybe 15 for $100.

Yes, I know that “15 for $100” makes the bricks cost more than $5 each.

But that’s how we do things here in our little town — at least when it comes to building brick streets.

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Bob Belcher is Managing Editor of the Daily Sun. His column appears on Sundays. He may be reached by e-mail at belcher@corsicanadailysun.com.

        

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