GCrites

Also note that for the first time in a very long time the private sector approves as confirmed by the panel. The private sector had worked hard to block public transit and rail investment in this city for over 70 years. It was them. Without local funding the Feds sit out unless you get the Olympics or something (cough, Salt Lake City cough) and the private sector was effective enough at preventing local money from being used for it.

I've been going to a lot of meetings regarding LinkUS. CDM has been to a few of them as well. We're getting close to vote time on Issue 47, the COTA sales tax levy that would fund LinkUS. Tonight I attended a panel discussion featuring Monica Tellez-Fowler (CEO of COTA), Shannon Hardin (President of City Council) and Councilmember Lourdes Borroso de Padilla (head of Council's Transportation Committee). Things to note about LinkUS and Issue 47: - 0.5% sales tax increase from 0.5% to 1.0% -- in-line with Cleveland's 1.0% and Cincinnati's 0.8%. So our current local funding is significantly less than peer cities and is why we don't have rail and full BRT (Cincinnati's BRT is currently being implemented). Without local support the Feds are much less likely to be involved and we can see that with the other 2Cs' federal funding level as compared to ours. - Federal funding WILL be available if Issue 47 passes. It will be $6.8B local funding and $1.2B(possibly more) federal. If the Feds don't see local funding the matches don't come. - Issue 47 funds not only BRT, but last-mile bike and pedestrian infrastructure plus better service for non-BRT COTA lines. Buses currently stop running at 11:30PM and therefore cannot fully serve our plentiful blue-collar jobs. An upgrade to 24 hour service is part of the plan. - LinkUS also includes provisions for the possibility of light rail once the initial 3 BRT lines (West Broad, The Northwestern from 161 to DT and East Main). Initially favored first is light rail from the Convention Center to CMH to be integrated with the 3C+D and Chicago-Pittsburgh Amtrak lines. Later BRT phases include Southeast to Rickenbacker and an East Broad line. This is a lot of money and Columbus has fantastic existing rail corridors that would require far less capital investment than new ROW. - LinkUS is to integrate with ZoneIN to help get us to the density level for more federal funding. Without ZoneIN everything would be much less effective in getting us the economic development we seek along the BRT corridors. ZoneIN worked with LinkUS extensively to make sure the most can be made of the corridors. - It is important to note that this election is for residents of the current COTA service area rather than being on a city or county level. That increases its chance of passing as opposed to being on the county level where non-service-area could start rattling sabres. Businesses not located in the service area would not collect the increased tax, adding a TIF-like feature. Currently Issue 47 is polling at 55-56% pass. I know there were at least a few UO members that wanted to attend tonight's meeting but couldn't due to scheduling conflicts. If you have any questions I or other UO members will do our best to answer them. Be sure to vote YES on Issue 47 and tell people you know to as well! Important links: https://linkuscolumbus.com/ https://transitcolumbus.org/ If you are curious about what cities receive which kinds of transit funding and how much start poking around here: https://www.transit.dot.gov/ntd/ntd-data?field_data_categories_target_id[2531]=2531&field_product_type_target_id=1016&year=all&combine=

Gosh, when did that open, 2017?

Different poverty rates when you cross state lines?

Seriously, states have legalized basically every form of gambling besides cockfighting.

Oh, I see. Ashville and South Bloomfield aren't even part of the JEDD but are a part of the CEDA. So the JEDD is just Columbus, Harrison and Madison (Pickaway). Groveport can only annex a little more land relevant to Rickenbacker because it is now landlocked in that vicinity.

Remember the Arshot project next to Lower.com got canned because too many retention ponds were required.

Cows in barns next door knocking over oil lanterns

You probably know about the Rickenbacker JEDD which keeps Columbus from annexing any more near Rickenbacker but gets them some revenue to be shared with Groveport, Obetz, Lockbourne, both Madison Townships, Hamilton Township, Harrison Township and Ashville. I swear there was a short period of time when Columbus annexed all of Rickenbacker right before the JEDD was formed but it might have gotten "expunged" and therefore never made the map. And it meant Columbus picked up another county in a bit of Pickaway.

In most of Nashville you can't do anything underground because of the super hard rock just underneath the surface.

That's true in Cincinnati as well. I don't know if it was one event there or just a lack of recordkeeping before a certain date.

Most of them in Reynoldsburg and Gahanna seem to be commercial properties.

Looks like mostly giving land near suburbs to those suburbs.

Maybe de-annexing a toxic site.

Right back to the warehouse for them I guess. But if they're the boss' kids or somebody's buddy from high school there's no getting rid of them.

Yeah Columbus learned the hard way that those subdivisions with lots of 1/3 of an acre or more with houses under $400-500k are money losers as far as property tax collected vs. services provided so they are loath to annex them. Columbus realized that things they did in the past such as annex cheap houses on 5 acre lots covered in beat up cars are real bloodsuckers.

The City of Columbus was better able to expand infrastructure than most of the suburbs, which were all just small towns at the time. So suburban-style expansion happened within the city limits. Linden, Eastmoor and East High Schools all acted like suburban schools until busing happened and White Flight blasted off (later than in other cities) toward our "older" 1970s suburbs such as Gahanna, Reynoldsburg and Worthington.

"I've got mine!"

Home cooking is a lot more important in those other countries as well. Here it's all about just getting the goddamn meal out of the way so pretty soon kids hate home food.

Without Casino Royale around maybe Bond movies will actually look like Bond movies rather than Bourne movies

I didn't like the idea of the Columbus Oktoberfest moving out to the state fairgrounds because it sounded so much hokier than having it in the city but the amenities described in this thread are perhaps why it was done. And why there haven't been massive complaints about it.

Back when Appalachia was Democratic and there were still Republicans inside outerbelts.

No fretting over whether the developer actually has enough money to build unlike a lot of other projects in this town

Columbus news would. All they talk about is weather-related stuff.

I don't doubt the residential will do well but the circa-2008 Meijer commercial area down the street has filled in glacially and is closer to 33. And the businesses it adds at a one-per-every-four years average are stuff like doctor's offices and Chipotle. Though the businesses that have opened are a little more recent. It started off so slowly being from the 2008 time frame. The infrastructure that was put in place assumed 2003-esque growth.