The February 18, 2014 city council agenda has an item on it that raises an eyebrow for me.
Discussion and action to direct City Manager to create a fun zone in the entertainment district on game days.
OK, maybe I should be optimistic about this but I’m not. I looked for backup material, but other than an image none is posted with the agenda.
I wonder who will get the financial benefit from this and how much it will cost the citizens?
We deserve better
Brutus
elpasospeak 
Fun zone would be one of those booths where JW can sit above a big barrel of water and people pay a quarter to pitch balls at the target where a bulls eye pitch drops JW into the bucket…SPLASH …yeah that would be fun!
LikeLike
I’m guessing this is being pushed by the same city council member who said herself that she had private meetings with Mountainstar during the run-up to the council vote to build the ballpark. The same city council member who then told the city manager privately and secretively that she did not intend to share the details of her meeting with other council members. The same person who claimed to be “shocked” that the ballpark was quickly over budget and threatened to have the lowly city engineer (no longer) fired because he dared to bring the budget problem to the public’s attention. This is simply another taxpayer-funded subsidy to try to guarantee the success of a private, for-profit enterprise.
LikeLike
Was it the Barefoot Countessa?
LikeLike
8.2. Discussion and action to direct City Manager to create a fun zone in the entertainment district on game days.
Representative Cortney Niland, (915) 212-1037
LikeLike
So it was!
LikeLike
It’s also the same city rep who wanted the Chief of Police to unleash his forces on those “hip-hop” revelers who were bringing the criminal element and “dark” influences on area of progress and fun.
LikeLike
Courtney Niland was on TV news last night talking about the need for the “fun zone” on game days. Niland thinks downtown needs a place where people “can enjoy alcoholic beverages”. I thought that’s what bars are for. I guess Niland wants people to be able to drink on the streets before and after the games at the new ballpark, where they can also buy beer. If making downtown one big tailgate part on game days is her vision of what constitutes a vibrant, progressive downtown, we’re in real trouble. Sports and drinking are not going to solve our economic development problems. Plus, does the city really want to be playing an active role in promoting drinking and making drinking a focal point of downtown entertainment? Is that how our public service and law enforcement resources should be allocated; to help facilitate and run herd on a giant downtown tailgate party? Is promotion of drinking really necessary to get people to visit downtown? I’m all for having a nice cold beer on occasion, but continuing to promote drinking as a lifestyle will just lead to more problems, including risk of more DUI-related accidents.
LikeLike