$3 million 'gift' doesn't smell right
Why are Wheeling trustees eager to give an additional $3 million to the Smith project at Prairie Park? It makes no sense and is suspiciously bewildering. My earlier objections were published in 2007, claiming that the wildlife preserve is preferable to additional 70 foot tall condominiums, an entertainment center and yet another shopping mall.
Yet every trustee has campaigned that they prefer economic development with no concern to protecting our public land.
Now it seems that the contractor has violated our protected wetland, home to egrets, blue heron cormorants and other species to his benefit. Federal EPA law and Wheeling code forbids this. The Environmental Protection Agency has recently been given photographs of the property before the wetland was inappropriately filled in and environmentally violated to make room for more commercial buildings.
Why have our trustees permitted these shenanigans? I hope it isn't because of hefty political contributions. I still consider the Smith project ill-advised and the trustees' intent to aid the Smith Company infuriating.
Free enterprise is great for America and I have no problem with developers hoping to get rich but our system does not have an obligation to bail out risk takers when greed overtakes financial indiscretion. Only Trustee Horcher demonstrated the backbone to challenge this ill-advised gift.
We must stop this trend of government bailout and the destruction of our protected wildlife areas.
I try to take an optimistic view but the suspicious support of the Smith project fails the sniff test.
Jack Caldwell
Wheeling