THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 14, 1996 TAG: 9601120170
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Ida Kay's Portsmouth
SOURCE: Ida Kay Jordan
LENGTH: Medium: 86 lines
City Council did the right thing when it refused to approve the use of Scotts Creek dredging money for the new inlet at the foot of High Street.
The city is closer now than ever to getting a developer for a marina and other boating related activities on the north shore of the creek, a project dear to the hearts of residents of the Northside neighborhoods of Park View, West Park View and Shea Terrace.
Most residents were glad to hear that a proposal for the Scotts Creek development was moving along. But they were not too happy to learn that $500,000 of $1.2 million appropriated for dredging Scotts Creek has been spent on infrastructure improvements at PortCentre to prepare for construction of a building for Direct Marketing Enterprises.
The city claims that the cost of dredging was overestimated; hence, the money was available. Let's hope so.
As a resident of Northside, I long have been interested in this project. It started more than a decade ago.
The main impetus came in reaction to the city's efforts to move a barge-cleaning operation from Norfolk to the creek near Shea Terrace. Residents of the area were indignant that the Industrial Development Authority would even think of bringing to our neighborhood a company being asked to leave Norfolk's waterfront.
Before that time, many of us had talked of the proximity of our neighborhoods to Norfolk's new development. I remember walking down to the waterfront in Park View to take pictures that showed how close the two cities we were at the zero mile marker of the Intracoastal Waterway. We dreamed then of water taxis running back and forth between the cities - and they still are a possibility for the next century!
But it was the possibility of having to live with the noise and grime that would accompany a barge-cleaning operation that really mobilized the residents.
From one block to another, the word went out. Groups of residents began meeting. They systematically brainstormed and created a plan to transform the entire area of the city from Effingham Street to Martin Luther King Jr. Freeway. That area, they felt, was crucial to the future of the city, particularly to the future of Downtown.
Most of all, those of us who had chosen to live in Northside had realized the beauty and convenience of the location, and we didn't want to move. It was a place to live outside the hustle-bustle of the region but within easy traveling of many good things, such as the opera and the symphony and other attractions. We have all the charm and pleasure of a small town coupled with all the cultural activities of a major metropolitan region.
At any rate, a committee of citizens created a plan. Those committee members included professionals, many whose expertise was as great as any the city could have purchased. It was an impressive group.
Back in the early days, employees in the economic development department, as well as some Industrial Development Authority board members, really didn't cotton to citizens' ideas. I never felt the proposal got much respect when it was originally put forth during a booming time in the 1980s.
The IDA folks (different from those working there now) simply could not accept the plan as valid even though at least three well-paid consultants approved the proposal. It always seemed like nobody wanted to acknowledge the residents - nobody, that is, except the consultants who one after another gave high marks to the plan.
However, the city never really marketed Scotts Creek or the north shore. Many citizens saw a great deal of apathy there, but they plugged along - got the land rezoned, got a commitment from council to hold that land for the proposed use and got the money earmarked for dredging. In the meantime, the Army Corps of Engineers finally approved dredging at the development site.
Unfortunately, the economic climate changed before the process was complete and, thus, the project has not proceeded as rapidly as we would have hoped.
Now, somebody is making headway on a proposal. And furthermore, the old plan fits well with the new Vision 2005 economic development plan.
Residents once again have been feeling good about the future. Then comes a proposal to spend the money - a real psychological blow.
However, council squelched that and City Manager Ron Massie then explained that his commitment to the Scotts Creek project was not diminished, that he simply wanted to use the money until the dredging began.
It's bad enough that almost half the money already has been spent on DME. The citizens, who have put so much stock into the Scotts Creeks plan for a decade and who most recently have been outstanding contributors to Vision 2005, should not have to deal with any more of it disappearing just as a proposal for a development may be coming to fruition. by CNB