Jackson Free Press

Recently, the Jackson Redevelopment Authority decided to stop and breathe rather than be bulldozed into making a decision without having all the information they needed for the proposed convention-center hotel. This past week, the organization's board went a step farther. Members voted to take any action necessary to wrest the valuable downtown property the hotel will eventually occupy from the jaws of the developer that owns it, TCI.

JRA is also considering a strict policy to vet any consultant or professional that it may hire in the future to avoid embarrassing, not to mention potentially illicit, conflicts of interest.

We applaud all of those decisions. For too long, Jackson has been held hostage by the sweet deal TCI landed with former Mayor Frank Melton. It seems that without a mayor in its pocket, the developer just couldn't pull it together without asking the city's already overburdened property owners to foot the bill. It's about time the city finds someone who will get the job done.

Like any decision that involves the money that a convention center hotel will require, the first plan may not always be the best. In the case of TCI, this paper has been pointing out concerns with the company for years (see http://www.jfp.ms/hotel).

The city of Jackson should be at least as careful when choosing the company it keeps as any one of us might choose someone to assist with our personal finances. That just makes good common sense.

Whether we're looking out for our families, our businesses, our city, or ourselves, it behooves us to take the time we need to fully understand the problem to begin with. Once that's identified, we need to maintain vigilance in finding a solution—and it's not always the first one—and then carry the solution through to completion. The strategy is the same for losing weight, changing a bad habit or redeveloping downtown; it's only the details that change.

Jackson has too often jumped on the first bandwagon to make its noisy way through the City Council and the mayor's office. The results always seem to be the same: delays, cost explosions, more delays, bigger money, ad nauseam.

As we turn our attention back to downtown in the coming year, let's look for new, possibly better solutions that aren't mired in an antiquated way of economic thinking. It's time to get going. Put some fresh, vital energy into downtown's vacant buildings, for example, by inviting young creatives to make use of the space at cut rates—make the spaces vibrant instead of vacant. And concentrate on local businesses that employ local people and bring local dollars to the city's coffers.

Just pay attention, Jackson. It matters.