Where to put the new Police Station, Courts, and City Hall
This debate has been brewing for quite a while now I was at the ad hoc committee meeting on Monday night and saw 4 new proposed plans for where the buildings should go, with each having different merits. This was actually my first meeting attended in regards to locations for municipal buildings, so was very enlightening to learn just how divided everyone really is.
I can tell you that one idea did interest me and that was to relocate the police and courts to the commercial district, oh wait they call that downtown. Just a side note, but Bellaire is way to small to have a downtown. If you caught all green lights within minutes you could actually drive the whole span of the city, so to me I find it comical that its called downtown. The area is warehouses and commercial buildings and they want economic growth in that area so why not call it the Commercial area? Oh, if they wanted to call it downtown, it would really be uptown. The property is north and the main focus or center of Bellaire is Bellaire Blvd so then it would be uptown since you would travel north from the center and then Bellaire High School would be the downtown area. Just my two cents.
Ok, back the reason of this post. One of the great things about Bellaire is property values. The commercial district would be too expensive to acquire and suitable land and any seller knowing the city wanted would hold firm on the price. As I write this I wonder if the city could use eminent domain to buy the property and that would at least keep the price near appraised value. It solves the issue of wanting to revitalize that area, not angering the Aspen residents, and allowing more green space. Something to think about.
I would love to hear your views on this matter and was great to talk to Mr. CALDWELL to hear the view of an Aspen resident first hand.