Downtown TIF "boondoggle"

  The tax reinvestment board advising city council on how to sink powerlines and sewerlines as well as waterlines has hit a funding problem. The reinvestment board wants the business owners to finance the sinking underground of the utilities and the cost is prohibitive. The local "rag" (AJ) has done a convoluted mess of an article that does reveal local developer Delbert McDougal is on the TIF board and he serves two masters,McDougal Properties and City of Lubbock. Downtown has more boarded up property and unmaintained property than any other district in Lubbock. The OMNI Building is now getting a tile solution that could open up two streets where property has been rendered useless. Mr.McDougal serves McDougal Properties first and foremost. City Council can ill afford to dedicate any large sums of money to modernize a "white elephant" known as "downtown Lubbock" with both north and south Lubbock needing infrastructure investment. Residential areas must take priority one and the "Downtown Renovation Commission" should be mothballed ASAP!