To the editor:

I was shocked to read of the The Cave bar located in the Oread Hotel building, its blatant promotion of irresponsible alcohol abuse and its possible liquor license violations.  

What disturbs me most, however, is learning that a tax financing district covers this noxious bar use.  This special tax district means that property taxes and sales taxes collected are not going into the public coffers and are actually being rebated back to the development group of the hotel building. Our city, county and school district are losing money because of that special tax district.  

I, for one, would rest easier knowing that those lost tax dollars aren’t being redirected to promote alcohol abuse. One way we could prevent that misuse of tax dollars is to look at creating a list of “disallowed uses” for any taxpayer supported projects, and a bar/tavern use would be at the top of that list. The Eldridge Hotel has a good history of managing more responsible bars, so I am certain that the issues will be seen to. But supporting this type of use with public tax dollars is an issue we should address now.