From the Mayor's Desk:
"Buy land. They ain't making any more of it." -- Will Rogers
As we face the 21st century, it is worth remembering Will Rogers' famous observation about the finite nature of land. Of the nearly 2 billion acres of land once in the public domain, more than 1 billion acres have been transferred through the years by sales; homesteading; grants to states, railroads, schools, institutions, and veterans; and other means. Placing the land in private hands seemed to a young country to be the most effective way to hasten its development.
How interesting that now, to slow or stop this development, government purchase may be the answer, or at least one of them.
Over the next 50 years the United States will experience the largest transfer of wealth in its history. Rose Harvey, senior V.P. of the Trust for Public Land, states that "12 trillion dollars will pass from parents to their children and one quarter of this amount will be in real estate. Millions of acres - representing some of the last reserves of undeveloped land - will pass to a less rooted generation." Many of these private lands will be prime targets for development. It is a simple matter of supply and demand--there is a dwindling stock of undeveloped land in or near established communities and cities.
Confronted with the coming flood of available property and direct competition from developers, if we are to preserve open spaces, we face a difficult challenge. First, we must recognize that for many of these properties, especially strategically located properties, outright acquisition will be the only way to preserve it. Second, we must be prepared to buy land more quickly and sometimes for a higher price than we'd expect to pay.
This will require significant new sources of public and private funding for land acquisition. None of this will be easy, but it is possible. Wilmore is literally at the crossroads. We can't make any more land, but we can still choose how to use the land we have left. Purchase by the City of Wilmore may be the best option in some situations to preserve open space.
--Harold L. Rainwater, Mayor
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Wayne Bush |
November 3 |
11 years |
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Len Goss |
November 1 |
8 years |
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Bobby Horn |
November 1 |
8 years |
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Clevie Horton |
November 1 |
8 years |
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Harry Lewis, Jr. |
November 9 |
6 years |