Question for Steve Bohannon

Factguy, aside from demolishing hundreds of homes and quite a few commercial plus industrial buildings, please tell us just what has been accomplished in the realm of Community Revitalization in the past six years?

For starters, are residential property values in Ward 2 and parts of Ward 1 now stabilized from their past downward trend? Has property rehabilitation and reinvestment occurred there? What do building permits show to document this?

Regarding so-called "Downtown" revitalization, what is the net result of the City's involvement in redevelopment? Many deals have been struck, public funds expended, etc. What are the results?

Relative to the Manchester Inn and Sonshine Building, I recently learned from a frequent contributor to this blog that: 1) the proposed redeveloper (Mr. Grau), never proposed to be much more than a project manager; 2) project funding was purportedly to come from unidentified local sources; and, 3) no concrete construction plans, specifications and costs were provided. How can senior City staff claim to have gone through an exhaustive RFP/Q process without the most basic of information provided by Mr. Grau? Now, he is the owner of these two structures and has no plans to proceed.

What about all of the other "Downtown" projects? There's been much hullabaloo about proposed redevelopment, benefits to the City, etc., etc. What is the result of the litany of "deals" that the City has made with C-State, etc.?

Say what you want about me, I met many nice Middletonians during my four years there. I continue to feel badly for them and others who endure the lack of fully transparent government and multiple missed opportunities to address crucial problems.

Oh, as Neil Barille forgot to mention, Marty Kohler should have been included in the list of personalities involved in much of what I discovered during my time in Middletown.

Mr. Self, in most communities, you would have done your job, been appreciated, and gotten good reviews. Middletown is a different animal. Don't let it erode your being, it just ain't worth it. Look at the federal Hardest Hit Funds Program, used to help states and homeowners. The state took the bulk of those funds and gave them to the counties to be used for political benefit. That program failed, just like general community revitalization failed. If there is any benefit, they took out a few houses which lowered supply, but supply still exceeds demand by a wide margin in Middletown. Put Middletown in the past, as it just isn't worth worrying about the city. Citizens and businesses deserve what they are getting by letting the activities erode to a point climbing out of a hole is just as hard as climbing Mt  Everest w/o an O2 tank. A doc can't worry about the patient that won't quit smoking, refusing to take medicine, or unwilling to exercise  to knock off 100 pounds to control the blood pressure. Don't worry about a city that doesn't care if it hit the skids years ago. just as a parent can't control the vices an adult child may have including serious addictions. I disagree with you only in my belief, Adkins has tried to turn the section 8 situation around by too many vouchers flooding Middletown by Marty Kohler.