Mike S. - I think that you are correct in saying that the ball is in the Board's court. I hope, though, that before it gets there the school board has a chance to have the meeting that they say they will hold. I also hope that you are correct in saying that the Board realizes that the Plan needs a lot of work. I am not sure that they all feel that way - in fact in December, Kevin Smith "argued that the TOD was a very detailed plan for the downtown and that waiting would only mean the TIF district could lose the ability for other development opportunities, such as the Village Center development, to pay into the district and create incentives for other development and amass a balance of funds for downtown improvements." http://www.rblandmark.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=2060&SectionID=1&SubSectionID=&S=41
In that same article, Smith charges the residents (the oppositional ones) to "come up with a vision for the central business district and find ways to implement it." I think that the workshops and discussions on this forum have worked hard to to this and in fact have been pretty successful at it. I personally have become much more knowledgable on the topic from carefully reading comments presented on both sides - including yours. Aside from the occasional emotional "outbursts", most of the information presented here and at the workshops has been valuable.
I really do hope that after these workshops that the Board is willing to take another look at the Plan, answer specific questions that have been raised, accept that maybe it really does need to be retooled - even to the point of starting smaller or creating a TIF district on Harlem instead - instead of plugging away without addressing issues that have been raised here and at the workshops. I also think that many many construcive ideas have been brought forth - like Aberdeen's preservation ideas - that may not have been considered earlier.
I also would wholeheartedly agree that most of the residents are willing to agree that something needs to be done about the CBD and that we need to take our financial concerns very seriously. I think there will always be something to disagree about, but I also believe that if I feel as if the Village is being honest, open, respectful and has truly tried to look at all sides of the problem and address concerns, then even if I disagree with their final vote, I will at least feel that they are doing their level best. Hopefully they will take these workshops seriously and will really try to analyze and synthesize the new issues that have cropped up.