Kennedy's Update on City Center Not Useful

In 2011, my fellow voters and I decided to spend 29 million dollars on the Alpharetta City Center project.  The details of this project, from the major to the mundane, are being overseen by Alpharetta City Council.

Last week on this blog I requested an update on this project. Councilman Kennedy responded to my request and told me that the updates are all archived on the City Council meeting minutes/videos website page on the city of Alpharetta website.

Since I did not want to watch 7 hours of video, I read the Council meeting minutes dating back 3 months, hoping I could find my update in the written word.

So, for your reading pleasure and stated almost verbatim: 

$$$ - September 10 – City Administrator Bob Regus introduced the City Center Design team who presented an update.

$$$ - September 17 – City Administrator Bob Regus provided an update and a timeline of events.

$$$ - October 1 – City Administrator Bob Regus provided an update.  The Director of EPW talked about the Haynes Bridge closure.

$$$ - October 8th – City Administrator Bob Regus introduced Michael Swartz who presented schematic design updates.

$$$ - November 5 – City Administrator Bob Regus provided an update.

$$$ - November 19 – City Administrator Bob Regus provided an update. 

$$$ - December 3 – The City of Alpharetta will need to spend an additional $1.4 million dollars because of a poor soils situation.  Council will devote part of their retreat to exploring how to balance the project budget.  Architects are beginning to present recommendations.

As you can see from the above, we can be assured that there is an updater making updates on the latest updates on City Center.   Oh, and also evidently Council needs to explore how to balance the project budget – I wasn’t expecting that one.

Would I have learned more details if I had watched all 7 videos? Exhausting!  And anyway, not all the information we need is in the videos.

I can't help but feel I’ve been denied a City Center update by Councilman Kennedy.

Here’s an idea.  How about providing us – the taxpayers and voters – with a meaningful update, i.e. what’s been nailed down, what’s in progress, pictures, summaries, where we are with the financials, and posting this on the woefully neglected city website page called “Downtown Development Plan”?  I say this because a) we cannot attend every City Council meeting; b) information technology really is our friend and as useful to the public as we make it; and c) it’s your fiduciary responsibility to convey to us, certainly upon request, the manner in which this project is being executed.