OUR VIEW: Location proposed for city hall a good one

• OUR VIEW

OUR VIEW

Talk about it

If plans proceed according to the wishes of Mayor Ken Tracy, a new city hall will be built near the corner of First and Main in downtown Mitchell. We like the idea, as we appreciate the mayor’s vision for what he sees as an urban renewal project.

Tuesday, Tracy told The Daily Republic that the city has options to purchase two adjoining properties on the northeast corner of First Avenue and Rowley Street for a total of $171,500. That location is very near the corner of First and Main, on the southern end of the Main Street business district.

A few things must happen first. Among them, the City Council would have to approve purchasing the land, and two existing structures would have to be demolished before the new city hall could be built.

We like the area, and admit it wasn’t a place we thought about prior to Tracy telling us about the location. It is literally surrounded by parking lots, it’s located directly across from the city’s Public Safety Center, and it’s still within Mitchell’s main business district.

Most of all, we like the idea that something new could be placed at that corner, since it’s along a main route taken by tourists who wish to see the Corn Palace. Tracy envisions the location as a “gateway” for visitors; so do we.

Again, we think this plan has merit and would like to see it advance into more of a true planning stage. Perhaps some disagreements will arise, but that’s only natural. Sometimes, disagreements produce even better ideas.

This is a good place to start.

Tags: city hall, opinion, updates, editorials, local, mitchell