Editorials: Leave downtown be

Downtown master plans come and go with time. Each administration has one. We can’t recall who the mayor was when they put up metal canopies over Lake Avenue sidewalks. They were practical but ugly. We were trying to keep up with Carroll and its downtown pedestrian mall concept.

Somewhere in a file cabinet there is probably a downtown plan from former Administrator Clarence Krepps. His successor, Alan Winders, talked downtown redevelopment. City Manager Patti Moore had conceptual ideas.

Now comes the current iteration, a $10 million piece of paper that contemplates all manner of improvement, including building architecture, and probably special tax assessments for property in whatever is defined as the improvement area. Our office is on the fringe of downtown, and we are not at all interested in a special assessment for any reason. We doubt that other property owners are eager for higher taxes when it is tough enough for a tenant to make rent.

Lake Avenue is healthy, from Railroad Street to C49. A consultant from Des Moines might not like the way a storefront looks, but the proprietor does and that is all that should matter in the land of the free. Paint it orange if you want. The city should stay out of the way.

For robust commerce, the city should stick to its knitting and hold down property taxes.

Start with smooth streets and functioning storm sewers. Downtown flooding is a problem. Fix it. Don’t waste money and time on consultants. Put that money into asphalt on Geneseo Street.

If we were shepherding funds (and not missing out on millions of dollars in misappropriated tax increment financing revenues) we would have cash to fix the storm sewers and streets. Beyond basic police and fire protection, business owners were not asking for much more. They would like to make a living. They would like the city not to recruit yet another pizza or taco chain to undermine them, lured by a firm commissioned by the council. That should be the job of developers, real estate agents and landlords in collaboration with Storm Lake United. The government is not going to help you sell shoes or burritos. It should focus on the resort and the parks to keep people coming into town.

Keep up the library. The Mexican murals are way cool. Help out the Witter Gallery. Support Storm Lake United. Do anything possible to support Buena Vista University. Leave property owners alone so long as they meet code. Put the master plan in the file drawer with the canopy plan from the 1970s. Spend the $10 million, if you have it, on providing basic city services. The quinciñera shop or flower store could do without the burden of the latest ideas from a consultant in Des Moines, and they certainly don’t need a special assessment.

Government should stay in its lane. Let business do business. Otherwise, you end up with an ugly metal canopy.

Mysterious death

The death of Wall Lake truck driver David Schultz is puzzling. His truck was found parked on a road east of Nemaha last November but a massive search could not locate him. His body recently was found near the spot where his truck was abandoned. The State Medical Examiner who conducted an autopsy found no evidence of foul play. State and local authorities have not been able to offer an explanation yet.

That’s all we know. Many people have taken to social media to offer their own theories. That isn’t leading us to any illumination but it can cast aspersion where it is not merited. We have to trust that local law enforcement is trying to determine the facts. If you know something, call the Sac County Sheriff’s Office. There are a lot of questions that do not have answers. For example: How could the body be so close and not be found? The search was exhaustive. We suspect answers will emerge in time.

Until then, we should guard our remarks. It’s fair to wonder how this happened. We might never know. We can be assured that the case will not be forgotten, nor has it been neglected in any way.