It’s tempting, so very tempting, for newly elected public offcials to let idealism get in the way of the practical business of government.
We get it. People decide to run for off ce for a variety of reasons. Some just want to ensure government operates eff ciently and within limits. Others see opportunities for government to do more. There are also those who believe government needs to be about implementation of their personal convictions.
It takes a village to run a village, and all that.
Sarah Marsh, the freshman alderman in Fayetteville’s Ward 1 who got elected with no opposition last year,gave us a chuckle the other day on, of all things, a measure to sell a couple of city-owned acres to a convenience store chain.
The site is the old Tyson Mexican Original plant at Huntsville Avenue and Happy Hollow Road. The city bought the site years ago after Tyson Foods decided the facility didn’t fi t into its future. The city got more than 11 acres for $1.1 million. Since that purchase, the city built a new fire station on part of the land, and it used another portion for a realignment of the street intersection.
But the unsightly old plant still stands, and it just keeps getting worse. If that part of town is ever to get a facelift, the building has to go.
The expanding Kum & Go convenience store chain sees opportunity at that intersection and oftered the city $900,000 for two of the remaining acres, plus it will pitch in money to help the city tear down the old plant. The city would end up with about eight cleared acres after the sale.
A bit of a bidding war cranked up when Casey’s General Stores, another expansionist convenience store chain, made a better oft er. The City Council decided to take sealed bids. Kum & Go oftered $1.115 million and Casey’s came in at $1.156 million.
After years of dormancy and no interest from potential buyers, the city was now in the catbird seat. The deal will recoup the city’s expenditure and provide cleared municipal land for future use. The deal is a victory for the city and its taxpayers, and the residents of Ward 1 get a new, tax-collecting and -paying business providing jobs and convenience.
This is where Marsh, representative of that ward, chimes in to, believe it or not, oppose the deal. Why? Because no matter how much financial sense it makes, no matter how much new opportunity it creates for the city, it doesn’t fit her template for right living.
“If we’re going to sell this piece of public land, it shouldn’t be to a store whose primary products are junk food, beer, cigarettes and fossil fuels,” Marsh told her fellow aldermen.
Silly us. We thought this was about a smart land transaction. We didn’t realize it was about controlling the diets of Marsh’s constituents, their consumption of alcohol, their decisions about smoking and the need to eliminate evil gasoline as a choice among their transportation options.
If we didn’t know better, we’d think Fran Drescher was on the Fayetteville City Council.
Welcome to “The Nanny” state. Michael “16 ounces” Bloomberg would be proud.
Thankfully, the rest of the City Council exercised restraint and overlooked the sale of candy bars so the city can deposit a milliondollar check.
Sometimes you feel like a nut. Sometimes you don’t.
Opinion, Pages 5 on 02/09/2013