Over the next few years, communities everywhere will have an opportunity to shape their future on a scale not seen since Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal, and I’m reminded of the words of George Bernard Shaw: “Some men see things as they are and ask why. Others dream things that never were and ask why not.”
Crystallized to a single word, what Shaw was talking about was “vision,” the ability not just to see things as they are, but what they will become or could become.
As I consider how this rare opportunity might be applied to the city of Columbus, I also think of the lessons we have already learned from the economic boom we have seen over the past 20 years and reflect on the period of time when Columbus’ growth was at its peak in the 20 years after World War II.
Where all these points converge is infrastructure.
It is the key to any meaningful vision, the most important element to growth and determining whether will survive or thrive in a meaningful way.
Let’s start with the money. Columbus is assured $11.2 million in direct funding from the American Rescue Plan (ARPA). It will also have access to some of the $1.8 billion ARPA money provided to the state of Mississippi, as well as a portion of the $550 billion in Build Back Better funding designated for the nation’s infrastructure.
How much Columbus will see from the state’s ARPA funds or the BBB funding, which will also be distributed by the state, remains to be seen. Say what you want about former state representative Jeff Smith (I certainly have), but it would be great to have a legislator in Jackson now who not only knows how the sausage is made, but helps make it. How much of that state-controlled ARPA and BBB money comes our way will rely, in large part, on how effective our legislators prove to be in bringing home the bacon.
Whatever that amount turns out to be, I would suggest spending every last dime of it on East Columbus infrastructure, and more specifically drainage.
For years now, we’ve heard various opinions on what will shape the city’s future: downtown redevelopment, the fate of the Leigh Mall property, parks, etc., etc.
But I’ve come to believe that now — as it was just after World War II — the fate of the city hinges on East Columbus.
From the end of World War II until 1970, the population of Columbus more than doubled, and most of that growth came in East Columbus. Housing developments sprang up overnight and with them shopping centers and businesses. It grew fast, perhaps too fast. There appears to have been no thought whatsoever about drainage. East Columbus development was flat with wide streets, inadequate underground drainage and no thought about how nature disperses rainwater.
Civil Engineers can tell you the technical flaws of the growth. Simply put, too much water has conducted above the surface than below it, especially in an area that is a natural flood-plain.
In 1972, the city finally put together a master plan to address water/sewer. Back then, it estimated it would cost $15 million to correct the drainage issues. City Engineer Kevin Stafford said it would cost $80 million, perhaps more, to adequately address those issues.
Ask LINK CEO Joe Max Higgins what attracts new development and he’ll put infrastructure at the top of the list. Industries are drawn to areas where sewer/water/power and transportation are in place and ready to go.
That certainly doesn’t describe East Columbus, which I believe is nearing a tipping point. The neighborhoods are still viable, but there is no growth. The big shopping centers that heralded the boom of the area are in steady decline. We cannot think of a single sizable new development in East Columbus in a decade or more.
Left unchecked, I’m afraid the decline will continue and accelerate. If that happens, the city’s fate is sealed.
For better or worse, the future of Columbus remains in East Columbus and the fate of East Columbus relies on the long-ignored and desperately-needed infrastructure.
Under normal circumstances, there would be little anyone could do about this grim prospect.
The once-in-a-century opportunity provided by ARPA and BBB funds gives the city a rare opportunity to change the trajectory of the city.
The fate of the city rests more on what happens east of Gardner Boulevard than anything else.
Will our city leaders recognize this?
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected]
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected]
