Jefferson City challenged to change status quo

JCsleeper 2 years, 5 months ago

Good luck on that.

JCLifer 2 years, 5 months ago

I thought the convention center and the mud tunnel were gonna fix all the problems. What's wrong now?

I wish I was there to see the looks on the attendees' faces when the guy from Austin told them that they were all a bunch of bigoted old fogies who do not want anyone different from them to live in this town, and that he would LOVE to have them move to Austin! That would have been priceless!

Congrats to whoever hired the guy from Austin. Alas, it will be more consultant money wasted since no one wanted to hear what he had to say. This town will never change as long as the good 'ol boys who run it keep running it. These people are selfish and don't mind running this town into the ground because their own children have all moved away too.

JCLifer 2 years, 5 months ago

I hope the card shop lady was sitting in the front row! She needed to hear about the need to embrace diversity as much as any of the other bigots.

Rison 2 years, 5 months ago

Well, I could be wrong, but I believe diversity is an old, old wooden ship that was used during the Civil War era.

wcywing 2 years, 5 months ago

what exactly is Jon Roberts plan? is it to increase JC's population? if so, what does JC has to offer that someone would want to move here? a guy from Austin actually said all that? wow, i wished i could have seen that. JC does have a reputation for being backwards. don't forget New Jersey PC garbage. i don't blame Diva for going somewhere else. JC has the reputation for being backwards, now whether its true or not is another thing. i still find it hard to believe they spent all this time to try to find a solution. good luck.

JCLifer 2 years, 5 months ago

I think the point of all this is that other towns are moving forward and working to maximize their opportunities without regard to "how are we going to keep out the tattoo people, the gays, the people who go to different churches, the people who have different color skin, etc.".

The so-called "leaders" of Jefferson City work so hard to exclude others that they are happy to cut their noses off to spite their faces.

wcywing 2 years, 5 months ago

My problem with JC is that is has the disadvantages of the small cities/towns (lack business/culture) and the problems of the big city (crime) with none of the advatages. what do i mean by this? JC has destroyed many old/historical buildings, even the salvation army has done this to make room for parking lot. JC has been has seen lots of crime for city of this size. it does not seem to have the small town charm or excitement/entertainment of the big cities. people in JC go to Columbia for entertainment, whether its sports, comedy clubs, etc. people from Columbia don't come to Jeff.

Lawrence KS pop 92,000, Greenville SC pop 61,000 are small cities compared to St. Louis etc but they are big enough for entertainment, culture, sports, etc and feels like you are in small town with the benefits of one. i used these two cities, because they in usually republican states but it is quite easy to find something to do. i live in JC for a long time, but i did some traveling. JC has its perks like low cost of living but i think the local gov should relax some of the rules, especially if they want to attract business.

JCLifer 2 years, 5 months ago

Interesting that JC is a college town (Lincoln University, and the State's only Technical College just 20 minutes down the road), but none of the vitality associated with being a college town occurs here. Lincoln students go to Columbia for entertainment. The local businesses do little to support, let alone acknowlege the two colleges. We don't seem to have any academia (do the professors live elsewhere?) here.

I agree that you can tell that Jefferson City is dying because of the disadvantages of both small and large towns, and few of the advantages. What sickens me is that we have so many untapped resources here, and lots of potentially wonderful opportunities that we continue to pee away while spending time discussing meaningless projects that do nothing to ATTRACT NEW JOBS or make people WANT TO LIVE HERE. All the growth for the past 20 years has been in the county, unless you count the forced annexations the city has done to try to get more residents/revenue.

wcywing 2 years, 5 months ago

the professors i know live in town and some even go to the local coffee shops in town or at barnes and noble. the only time i see Lincoln students off the campus is during LU's homecoming.

now i have seen some urban renewal, especially in the eastside of downtown JC. prison brews, the mission, and o'donoghue's restaraunt. despite the good news of these new busineses, the downtown is really going downhill. most of the buildings are empty or offices. the rent in the area is ludicrus, and the mall is a sad joke. i'm sure there is a way to reverse the trend, but i don't think it will involve a committee or the JC council.

i almost forgot about the forced annexations, if JC is so great, the townships, towns, etc would flock to JC, i just don't see it happening.

two_cents_worth 2 years, 5 months ago

I see Jeff. City as having a depressed attitude and a depressed atmosphere. I'll give two examples (there are more) of what I would look at if I would be contemplating starting a business here.

As I see future growth, I look around & see narrow streets & thoroughfares clogged with traffic. Have you tried to get across town at 5pm? We can't even get a decent major intersection built properly. The infrastructure here is simply not conducive to economic growth. If my business depended at all on transportation, I'm looking elsewhere.

Second is the economy. How is a business supposed to be enthused about moving here when the biggest employer has reduced it's workforce and hasn't given it's employees a raise in several years. While there is certainly a good workforce available as a result, business growth & profitability would be quite questionable and too risky for my taste. Again, I'll pass on J.C.

And the list goes on...

wcywing 2 years, 5 months ago

i agree, however fixing the problem will involve lots of sweat, tears and money. i don't see it being fixed anytime soon.

wcywing 2 years, 5 months ago

oh, you mean the two bank robberies, a lady that got her car stolen from an armed robber, a triple homicide in Holts Summit, and multiple shootings, and there is nothing to complain about? plus it did not happen at public housing.

Columbia has a variety of clubs, bars, pubs, restaurants, even a piano bar. as for treatment of minorities, have you talked to any? i don't care what color, nationality, religion etc they are. what kind of standards are you talking about? i do know some LU students go to spectators, c dubs, and that one on dunklin street. its kind of hard to ignore a population of 3-4 thousands students.

all i'm saying JC does things that does not benefit the city or the population, whether its the local gov or the private sector. the population compared to the surrounding areas and other capitols should speak for itself. the standard in JC is too low, in my opinion.

Jefferson City challenged to change status quo

‘Good enough’ not good enough

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