With the Columbus Redevelopment Authority, the city may be onto something.
On Tuesday, speaking to Rotarians, Robert Smith lauded the CRA’s work — the group most recently secured an option from the Columbus Municipal School District on the vacant S.D. Lee Middle School property for residential or commercial development. Since the CRA first formed in 2014, its members have been busy trying to revitalize the city’s urban redevelopment district. Some of these efforts are ongoing, others never got off the runway.
But one thing appears, on paper at least, to be clear about the city council-appointed CRA board: its members’ eminent qualifications give the city the best chance to win from their efforts.
This five-member board includes expertise in the fields of property development, insurance, real estate and accounting — all of which come in handy when trying to convert a derelict piece of property into something that looks nice and generates tax revenue for the city. The members’ collective network of contacts, we’d wager, doesn’t hurt their chances for success either. And all of this is brought to bear, mind you, on the citizens’ behalf.
Unfortunately, instead of being the standard for what Columbus citizens should expect from their boards, commissions and other appointed leadership, the CRA seems more of an outlier.
Sure, we have plenty of qualified people serving on these different bodies. But, far too often here we see campaign managers become project managers; girlfriends, friends and political cronies become board members; and people with little knowledge or experience in the field for which they hope to represent the public placed in leadership roles anyway.
Also too often, this exercise carries the appearance of impropriety, actual impropriety and citizen mistrust in the functionality of local government.
In fairness, the city council is limited on who it can appoint to boards and commissions by who applies for vacant positions. This brings up two problems that quickly need addressing. First, more qualified Columbus citizens need to step up and apply to serve their community. Then the council needs to be willing to appoint the individuals with the best skill sets, regardless of personal relationships or ward residencies.
Doing so gives the city its best chance for success.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.