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Editor, Times-Union:
I am writing as a downtown property owner, someone who has attended the meetings, weighed in on plans, and cares deeply about seeing downtown Warsaw succeed. I am strongly opposed to the decision by Main Street Warsaw and the Warsaw Redevelopment Commission to spend $30,000 on a consultant for yet another study.
We don’t need to pay tens of thousands of dollars for outside consultants to tell us ideas many of us have already discussed. We already know what we want: more art, better events, and real improvements that benefit people who live, shop, work, and run businesses downtown.
That $30,000 could be used for concrete necessities we have repeatedly identified:
• additional tie-downs for tents for actual downtown events,
• improved lighting and crosswalks,
• event infrastructure and signage.
And let’s be honest: more than anything else, people want more parking — that remains the number one request from residents, business owners, and visitors alike. People also want lower taxes, which means not wasting money on consultants for ideas the community already has.
If there is community support for cultural improvements, then we already have the local voices, plans, and momentum to act without paying an outside firm. And if there isn’t community support for a festival street, then we certainly shouldn’t spend $30,000 on a consultant for it either. Why are we once again paying a non-local company to tell us what our own residents have already said clearly?
Let’s invest in what people actually want, not in another study. Let’s spend on tangible improvements, parking, and event infrastructure — and stop outsourcing our vision for downtown.
Travis J. McConnell
Warsaw, via email
