Editor's Introduction: Richard Ferrara knows something about the structure and infrastructure of Richardson. He is a retired architect and land planner who designed over 90 buildings in Richardson over his career. He was the 2006 Richardson Citizen of the Year. He is a former member of Richardson's City Plan Commision. His land planning experience runs through many communities, old and new, so his perspective on the development and growth of a city should be taken seriously.
Why, you ask yourself, should I vote "YES" in the upcoming Bond Election?
The answer is rather simple, as stated many years ago by someone smarter than me: "If you are not moving forward you will definitely go backwards!" or to put it another way: If we do not establish goals in life we will have nothing to aspire to.
The same holds true for cities like Richardson. In my many years of assisting other cities establish goals for their future and watching those goals stagnate for a lack of funding along with those cities themselves, I am always grateful that our city leadership had the foresight to establish the goals that has made our city the vibrant, well designed, well maintained place that I love.
Often times we take our surroundings for granted - But, God forbid, our sidewalk is cracked or a park needs some attention, we quickly want repairs to be made. Well in order to do that we must have the funds. Cities raise those funds often, not only with taxes, but also by selling bonds. And in order to sell those bonds a city must have a favorable bond rating, based on it's stature both fiscally & physically in the eyes of those who create the ratings.
And equally important is the fiscal & physical well being & appearence of that city in the corporate eyes of those companies whose search teams visit when looking to relocate to a place with more to offer than their present, less foresighted location. Well maintained infrastructure, parks, schools, social & civic facilities all play a part in attracting those companies whose presence we all like to brag about!
And that my friends is why you need to vote "YES" in Richardson's 2010 Bond Election. |