Aftermath and future...

Well, I learned some things that is for sure from this election season.

My first instinct is to share some real negative feelings on this fine Wednesday morning, but I know that won't accomplish anything productive. I am disappointed by the level of turnout for what was a very important election. However the results are not the end of the world or the end of days for Kingman.

Shocking though that people are asking for possible solutions today, when I've been willing to engage in talks for the very same thing for months. It was just last week when we were being asked to put everything off for a year at minimum.

Let's talk about traffic interchanges on Interstate 40 for a minute. We'll start with Kingman Crossing. Now that the minority of residents of Kingman have decided that the 168 acres on the south side should remain practically worthless for the time being, I wonder what the developers and land owners on the north side are going to do. If you think about it rationally for a minute, I think the election worked out in their favor.

There is no immediate opportunity for a competing interest for commercial property on the south side now. The north side folks could decide to do a design/build improvement project on their own dime to produce a new interchange that would increase the value of their property. The design/build will cost them less overall than it would have if they had to partner with a public funding source like a municipality, county, or state. While we heard $22 million or more for the Kingman Crossing proposed interchange -- I bet the privately funded cost will be in the $10 million dollar range for the same project.

Still, the land owners and developers on the north side will want something in return and it won't be money. It will be some kind of promise made by the city not to sell any of the 168 acres for commercial development for a certain number of years. In other words... a 'freeze out' that was alluded to in the infamous emails. I can't say I blame the north side folks at all and it would be very reasonable to come to terms on some sort of agreement on those lines.

Since the voters told the community that highest and best use and asset management wasn't important to them, I see no reason why anyone should stand in the way if the north side folks started down this path.

Of course the north side folks won't be responsible for the designing and producing the road system that would lead south from the interchange that they will build. They won't be acquiring the right of ways and paving roads that may lead to the sacred street of Seneca. The city and the private landowners will likely have to foot that bill somehow. There will likely be extra onus on the city leaders to provide that to the citizens on that side of I40 when a new hospital appears just north of their location (not to mention new shopping and entertainment choices).

Where will that funding come from??

Now on to the Rattlesnake Wash interchange slated to begin construction sometime next decade, maybe by 2013. I've said all along that this interchange is also a great project with many benefits for the community at large (and beyond the current city limits). And once phase 2 of that project is complete (100% of which is Kingman's obligation) that interchange will help finish off a road system that will offer more access and convenience to the current and future residents of the area.

However, like the Kingman Crossing interchange, this project will greatly benefit a few people the most in terms of high finance and riches. Once again though, the residents of Kingman will likely be asked to publicly fund that project (the 30% share of the interchange and the 100% obligation of the phase 2 part of the project). How will Kingman do that??

And just remember what those few folks that stand to benefit from all the riches had asked us to do before we went to the ballot boxes yesterday. They wanted specificity of how the money on a bond would be spent to avoid the illusion of a 'blank check'. They didn't want the city of Kingman spending any money to help improve the property for the developers on the north side of Kingman Crossing. They wanted all possible negotiations with the land owners at Kingman Crossing to be above the table in public.

Well... what's good for the goose... should be the same for the good old boys.