My Fault, Your Fault, Asphalt

 The Gilman site for the new City-County Shops is not quite in my back yard, but close. My preference would have been the Mansfield Technology Park for the County Shops and the Asphalt Batch Plant, but that is over and done with.

There is though, a new matter that does need immediate public input and participation. The moving of the asphalt batch plant. I do not understand why it is so difficult to put together citizen groups and hold public meetings to look at this next big issue that is coming the community’s way.

 When the question is asked: “What about the batch plant?” - it is all “hush! hush! That is not on the table! That is not part of this discussion".... bla bla government Ga Ga!

The string on the bag that holds the cat was loosened a bit at Wednesday's (2/3) Council of Commissioners meeting - the Centennial Concrete site (that has the animal shelter on an isolated property island within the acreage) was also in the running for shop selection and could have been purchased as a site for shop relocation, but was not a finalist.

 What was quietly stated at the meeting was that Centennial Concrete site is M-2 industrial, and that current designation is zoned heavy industrial and can contain the asphalt batch plant. This site is immediately east of "Gilman". This adjacency could be beneficial in the consolidation of City-county equipment and services or could be a disaster.

What is “community planning?” It is looking at all the issues, collecting public comments, and defining the problem to be solved. So for the best solution to the batch plant location we should get started now. It is obvious that we need to get the batch plant out of the Silver Bow Creek corridor, see what opportunities exist and what historic smelter resources can be interpreted and what historic structures need to be removed or modified to protect the environment.

 If the County Shop relocation and the Batch Plant was a comprehensive professional community planning effort, it would include the many issues of the creek corridor.  The comprehensive plan would include the "Restore Our Creek" visioning, the landscaped look of a clean Montana Pole site, and a vision for and realized opportunities of Silver Bow Creek west of Montana Street (LAO). Comprehensive planning would also consider the design of Centennial Avenue and the potential opportunities of improving grouped BSB facilities that are adjacent to metro sewer.

The Centennial Concrete site brings to mind a famous individual in 1917 that dared to speak his mind and ended up swinging by his neck from a small railroad trestle with a note pinned on his chest, when this acreage was the Centennial Brewery. Remnants of the wood trestle (the west "Y" rail switch back) may still remain buried under railroad ballast. It is likely good that this makeshift gallows is no longer exposed so it can't be utilized if someone dares to voice their opinion for the benefit of the citizenry.

So let us open up the discussion to the public, utilize professional planning and architectural services in the design with less reliance on powder dry engineering design.  Make sure that all environmental and visual issues are addressed along with other buffering amenities that are introduced to lessen impacts to the neighborhoods.

What might come of this is a fully landscaped buffered County Shops, batch plant and a new modern animal shelter with a quality dog park, a shelter where all animals are adopted. Now that is a vision and not a lot of Ga GA!