Norfolk Daily News

Saturday – January 26, 2008

What’s the Rush?
NORFOLK — What’s the rush? That’s the question that should be asked of Mayor Gordon Adam’s decision not to extend the deadline for submitting information to a possible shared office space in a new municipal office building.

After seven years in office, why does the mayor feel in his last hours in office he must force through an office without continuing to look at all the options available? The deadline of just over one week to put together specific information about needs was too short and intended only to discourage the shared office idea.

The mayor says, “The clock is ticking. This is on a building that has been on the market for sometime and without a buyer in the foreseeable future. The question should be asked why the mayor would put up $6,500 of taxpayer money without city council approval for a study with the risk of losing money if you do not purchase the building.

We must give a thank you to mayoral candidate Tom Schommer and other business leaders for asking the mayor to 1) consider all options available to the city and not just the former church option and 2) coming up with ideas to help pay for the building through sharing of space with other partners to ease taxpayer costs.

If the mayor is not willing to extend the deadline for proposals, then I believe the Norfolk city council should step in and extend the deadline on behalf of the taxpayers.

RICK BENSON