At large: Paul Draper

What do you think?

This is the question the City of Marion soon will ask its voters to consider regarding a bond referendum to fund the city's bucket list, including:

l Central Corridor Master Plan

l West End Corridor Plan

l New police station

On the Central and West End corridor plans, Paul Rehn, mayor of Marion has said, “The plans are a concept and they are subject to change.” City Planning, the City Engineer, the Corridor Planning Advisory Committee and the City Council have been hard at work on this important project.

Now, it is time for more citizen input on the final plans.

The Central and West End plans need to be analyzed. Why are we doing this? Who are we doing this for? How will we pay for it? Will property taxes increase? In 10 years, will we say thank you, or what a dumb idea?

In the past, we have said both. Remember the one-way streets? No parking on Seventh Avenue? Closing (a part of) 11th Street? We lost three businesses in downtown Marion.

I say, let's analyze, go slow, look at dollars and make certain we are moving in a direction that is best for all Marion citizens. If we lose one resident or one business, we never catch up.

I believe we need a new police station in Marion. The current station is 20 years old and it was not built with a good design for a growing city. It is also costly to maintain. We are a thriving town with an excellent police department. Let's support them, but let's make sure we don't make the same mistakes twice.

Let's build a police station with an eye to the future, so we can make adaptations that will make the new station useful to our community long term.

Other issues that need to be addressed include streets, parks, a library addition, recreation, a new fire station, stormwater runoff and plasma arc to zap the landfill.

As a retired small business owner of 40 years, I know how important it is to spend each dollar carefully. The city needs to do the same and create a climate that will encourage new business development, while helping existing business in this very fragile economy.

As your representative on the City Council, I will ask, “What do you think?” And I will give all my time and effort to the job of representing you.

Paul Draper, retired owner/agent of an insurance business, has more than 30 years of extensive experience serving on various community committees, organizations and commissions and has been recognized for several service awards. He is a member of American Legion Post 0298 and first Presbyterian Church. Comments: kim@reemconsulting.com