Where are you going for Christmas? I hope you are forgetting friends and family and going somewhere with an exciting, vibrant streetscape. Who wants to catch up with people that make them happy when they can interact with pedestrian-oriented fenestration? That said, it is curious, at least on the surface, that the Tryon Town Council had any debate about expediting streetscaping for the Missildine building. A mere $80,000 investment would bring tourists in droves. But Councilman Roy Miller didn’t think the project should be given priority over maintenance projects that have been deferred ten years, like fixing broken fire hydrants and drainage issues.
The solution to all projects is for the town to take out a large loan, with the amount of $300,000 mentioned Tuesday, to complete the streetscape project as well as other needed street and sidewalks around town. Council mentioned paying back the debt service on the loan with [absol-tutely free!] state Powell Bill funding every year.
Miller prevailed in persuading his peers to direct staff to inventory infrastructure needs and come back with a realistic estimate, as opposed to just borrowing an arbitrary, large sum.
