To the editor:

Recently, the Parks and Recreation Department has been advertising for Lawrence residents to volunteer to plant flowers downtown. Great idea. I volunteered along with two others. Looking forward to it. I like to see things grow, as in downtown Lawrence and the rest of town.

From time to time, we need to remind ourselves of what we’ve got here. As I’ve said before, sometimes you can’t see the quarter because the nickel is too close to your eye.

After a five-year fight to get Wal-Mart out at Sixth and Wakarusa, what’s next for the city? If Lawrence, Kansas, home of the Jayhawks, needs to rely on volunteers for needed services, something is wrong. Aren’t Wal-Mart and all the other entities that eventually locate out there going to pay taxes? What about the $37 million the Fritzels and their investors are spending on The Oread project?

The city needs to quit putting roadblocks in front of farsighted developers who increase the tax base. Come on, city commissioners. Take down the yellow police tape that surrounds our town. Let’s be the best. Let’s go green. Let’s get a tax base in here.

Dennis Barritt,
Lawrence