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April 28, 2008
On Sunday I had the pleasure of emceeing for Panoply of the Arts. This is the fourth year I have done this, and it's always been fun introducing the many and varied acts that Panoply brings to the Valley. Sunday's concert was especially enjoyable since it featured the Madison Community Band, a group of 45 very talented individuals.
I played in the band in junior high, high school, and college and definitely appreciated the work the band had to put into rehearsals to perform the pieces. My favorites of the concert included the march On the Mall, Ravel's Bolero, and Rimsky-Korsakov's Procession of the Nobles. The beautiful weather and beautiful music made for a great afternoon. Congratulations to the Madison Community Band for a great performance.
April 25, 2008
Last night at the State of the City Address, I was proud to present the culmination of well over a year's worth of work with Wann Springs Development Group. Extensive and intensive work with the developers, Legal, Planning, Engineering, the Water Board, Huntsville Utilities, and the City Council went into making this a reality.
The City of Madison and Wann Springs Development Group (WSDG) are proud to announce a major development project on approximately 450 acres just north of the intersection of County Line Road and I-565.
Plans for this mixed-use project include more than 4 million square feet of shopping, dining, entertainment, residential, hotel, and office development.
Ground breaking for the project is planned for the Summer of 2008.
This is the most important economic development project in Madison to date. Our expectation is that this project will serve many of the needs of Madison and the region as we continue to address the demands of fast growth in North Alabama.
Bob Flowers, Managing Partner of Wann Springs said, “We are excited about the tremendous potential of this project, and of the Madison market. The consistent rate and quality of growth for the Madison area – and the promise of more to come – is impressive, not just for the Southeast, but across the USA. This is a very special market.”
The project is designed to meet the shopping, dining, medical and residential needs of the Madison community. It will also meet the lodging, entertainment and office needs of the region as a whole. Significant features of the large-scale development will include a new east-west roadway from County Line Road to Wall-Triana Highway. Future infrastructure expansion may also create a more direct route from the interior of the city to Huntsville International Airport. A large water feature of approximately 20 acres will be at the center of the project, fed by a natural spring. The project will be pedestrian friendly, and will be bounded on the east by walking and biking paths adjacent to Bradford Creek winding through the new Greenway being developed by the City of Madison.
With full build-out of the master plan, the project will represent more than a 15% increase of the entire metro area office market, and a more than 8% expansion of the metro retail market. New lodging amenities will include a four-star hotel with meeting space, and new limited-service or extended-stay lodging as well. Plans are also being developed for a dynamic regional arts center, including an indoor performing theatre and an outdoor amphitheater. Opportunities for office development include land for owner-occupied office buildings, multi-tenant construction, and mixed-use buildings in the Town Center area with offices above shops and restaurants.
Master-planning, design, and engineering for the project are being conducted by the nationally-ranked firm of PBS&J.
Total capital investment at buildout, by my estimate, will be approximately $1 billion.
In addition to the news about the development, we have just learned that Standard & Poor's has increased our bond rating from AA-, which is very good, to AA+ "with a positive outlook", which is superior. This is like getting a 150 point increase in your credit rating. It will allow the City to borrow money at more favorable rates and reduce our debt service payments thereby saving taxpayer dollars.
April 22, 2008
In addition to all the other activities last weekend, the Madison Garden Club had their annual plant sale on Saturday. The plants were largely supplied by the members and came from their personal gardens. This plant sale too was a big success with the Garden Club raising $2500 for community service projects. The Garden Club maintains the flower beds at the Madison Library, the flower pots downtown, and does other beautification work.
April 21, 2008
Last weekend was a great weekend for spring activities.
The Beautification and Tree Board conducted a sale of the City's new signature plant, the Knockout Rose. The sale was a knockout itself. The sale started at 8:00 AM Saturday morning, and they were sold out by 8:45. The Board sold some 450 plants in 45 minutes. My wife, Melissa, sent me to the sale with explicit instructions to buy at least two of the of the double-bloom varieties. I got to the sale site at Kroger at 8:10, and all the doubles were already gone. I picked out two single-bloom plants, set them aside, and went back to my truck to get my checkbook. In the minute it took to get back to my truck, someone picked up my plants, paid for them, and left. That's how fast the sale was going. I finally located two more plants and guarded them until I could pay for them and load them in the truck. Several homeowners associations bought dozens of plants each to decorate their entry ways. All in all, the sale was a tremendous success, and the Board is thinking about having an encore sale in the fall.
The Madison City Farmers' Market also started their selling season last Saturday at 8:00. They have moved to a new location this year, the old tennis courts next to Discovery Middle School. There were six vendors there to start off the season, and more vendors will be there as the growing season progresses. The Farmers' Market is open on Saturday mornings, April 19 to October 25, from 8:00 AM to 12:00 noon. The vendors there offer varieties of produce and handicrafts that you won't find in the stores.
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