OK, first things first —- the N&R admits it misquoted Greensboro City Council member Zack Matheny when he supposedly said “we got some key people that live downtown that want to sleep” during a discussion of the proposed downtown noise ordinance. A lot of people seized upon inaccuracy, including this blog.

But now Matheny is the center of controversy again with his proposal for a $20 million economic development bond, which comes as the City Council is pondering another bond for a performing arts center. I haven’t had a chance to view all of Tuesday night’s meeting, during which Matheny’s proposal supposedly would be addressed, and I’ve seen no reporting in blogs or the local paper of record.

While David Wharton is correct to question $134 million in approved bond projects, they are dedicated transportation projects. Exactly what GDOT’s been doing since the bonds were approved four years ago is another question.

Here’s what Greensboro should focus on instead.

At least GDOT’s project are outlined; ‘economic development’ is a nebulous concept. Matheny says as much:

I would like the bond to be flexible and sustainable. It should have a revolving loan pool whereas the money can be used to aid development or expansion with a revolving loan to be paid back and then Council can use those dollars for future projects thus creating a sustainable allocation of dollars that will only be used for job creation for many Councils in the future.

The bond should also have the flexibility to be used for infrastructure purposes and not simply for real estate purposes only. For instance, when existing companies are considering expansions, at times they may run into ancillary cost that the City could help with; such as, turn lanes, curb and gutters, etc.

Turn lanes, curb and gutters sound like transportation projects, eh? Never mind, this would just be a pot of money for the city to use however it deems fit, which is why it’s a bad idea.