City Considers Buying Royalty TheaterWhile I appreciate Mr. Wagenfohr’s perspective of fiscal considerations in regards to the city purchasing the Royalty Theater, I do not agree with them. I think the City purchasing it is a good idea for a few reasons. The first being, I think it would be circumspect to buy it now before the completion of the two major condominiums going up now in the downtown core. It can only go up in price once there is more consumer activity in this area. Secondly, it’s gotten to a point where too much is controlled by one special interest group, Scientologists. Some diversification or general public interest, if you will, is a good idea for the balance of downtown Clearwater. This is not to pick on Scientologists, it’s just no different than if the NRA, NOW or Southern Baptist league controlled a huge proportion of one city’s downtown area. Too much control by one entity is not a good thing. And lastly, the downtown area is in dire need of a recreation spot. Just drinking coffee at Starbucks and watching cars go by ain’t cutting it. As an alternative approach, how about the City offering a tax break to a private buyer to encourage development? Now there’s an idea. - Jeff Souers, Clearwater
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