Councilman Bill Bishop's Comments in the Daily Record.

[stephendare]

this gives me a bit of hope about the possibility of sensible leadership on the council.

I hope everyone on this board sends an email to councilman Bishop thanking him for his remarks and his activism on this issue.

Good stuff.

One person who isn’t pleased with the way the Courthouse is designed is architect, City Council member and ex-officio DDRB member Bill Bishop. He attended the meeting even though, he said, “I realize I’m not a voting member.”

Bishop pointed out his comments were directed to the City, not the designers. He then said, “I believe we should go up, not out. This design uses too much land that could be sold to other developers.”

Bishop also said he thinks the end product will be “more of the same gray, fake classical stuff that’s already all over Downtown,” and added, “Considering the advances in Courthouse design I don’t think we have to settle for a cartoon version of classic design. This building would have been considered high-tech in 1935.”

[Jerry Moran]

Bishop pointed out his comments were directed to the City, not the designers. He then said, “I believe we should go up, not out. This design uses too much land that could be sold to other developers.”

Mr. Bishop is right.

[City Slicker]

Given the requirements this city has for courthouse space needs, now and in the future, I believe the CM is wrong.  The footprint of the building is sufficient.  We need to preceed post haste.

[thelakelander]

I don't think he's arguing about the size of the courthouse.  He's arguing about the design from an architectural and urban planning standpoint.  We're leaving a lot of money and potential on the table by moving forward with a horizontal suburban building.  We are a community that always claims that we're broke, but we continue to do stupid things when it comes to development practices.  For example, if it went up 16 stories instead of 8, we would then be able to sell a few prime blocks of property to the private sector.  On top of that, when developed, we would then collect property taxes on an annual basis from them.  So to sum it up, what Bishop is talking about is much larger than the courthouse.

[jbm32206]

Exactly, and well said Lakelander....this is a problem and city planning lacks true foresight.

[Driven1]

i would use other words for this Bishop guy.  i will only give you my single firsthand experience with him.  it was a couple of years ago at the "business group unveiling" of Peyton's "Big Ideas".  obviously he wasn't a bona fide Councilman yet then.

got into a chat with him about how ignorant I thought these ideas were (time proved me and many others to be right).  Mr. Bishop seemed to practically fall over himself in telling me how wonderful he thought the ideas were.

take it for what its worth.  i do agree with you though that his current comments are to most of our liking.  like everything else in this land-of-missed-opportunity though, be wary of trusting him.

[Jerry Moran]

Mr. Bishop's catholic view of what constitutes urban development works both ways in Jacksonville.  A vertical courthouse? Absolutely.  Reinstall the Northbank Riverwalk benches? Mr. Bishop, please tend to the concerns of your own council district.  We have to live and work down here.

[thelakelander]

What's Redman's view of downtown?  He's not nearly as active as Suzanne Jenkins used to be.

[tufsu1]

Mr. Bishop's catholic view of what constitutes urban development works both ways in Jacksonville.  A vertical courthouse? Absolutely.  Reinstall the Northbank Riverwalk benches? Mr. Bishop, please tend to the concerns of your own council district.  We have to live and work down here.

the riverwealk benches ARE a good thing...if you're worried about homeless people sleeping on them, there is a simple solution...place an armrest bar in the middle of the bench!

[Jerry Moran]

the riverwealk benches ARE a good thing...if you're worried about homeless people sleeping on them, there is a simple solution...place an armrest bar in the middle of the bench!

What's the Latin phrase?

[tufsu1]

the riverwealk benches ARE a good thing...if you're worried about homeless people sleeping on them, there is a simple solution...place an armrest bar in the middle of the bench!

What's the Latin phrase?

like I said...stick a bar in the middle of the two-person bench....that way, its impossible to lay down.

Lots of cities do it...its like putting little raised bumps on planter ledges to prevent skateboarders.

[RiversideGator]

There is a bar in the middle of that bench yet the guy is still sleeping.  That was Jerry's point.

[avonjax]

There is a bar in the middle of that bench yet the guy is still sleeping.  That was Jerry's point.

I'm probably misunderstanding but does Mr Moran mean the benches should be gone and not returned?

[Driven1]

There is a bar in the middle of that bench yet the guy is still sleeping.  That was Jerry's point.

I'm probably misunderstanding but does Mr Moran mean the benches should be gone and not returned?

yes, that is what he means.

[ProjectMaximus]

I think Tufsu is saying if you put another bar in the middle of that TWO PERSON bench, then it could not be slept on.

Not that I've ever seen that before.