yeah, I'm sure John James said that in passing but maybe this is a new tactic. If so it is a disturbing one.

I wonder if they have considered the old Northpark Theater? North side of town, I'm sure the neighbors would support it.

And how can the city reconcile allowing a specific use permit for Woofers and Tweeters but not one for a night club in the Town & Country Shopping Center?

Woofers and Tweeters backs up directly on a big residential neighborhood while I am not sure that you can find a location more isolated from neighborhoods than the proposed location.

Click here to see Google Earth images of the two locations.

Okay. Woofers and Tweeters first .

The owner took the effort to visit each resident of the community PERSONALLY by knocking on doors to explain his situation AND promise to resolve any difficulties his business might MIGHT have for the residents.

They believed him , the issue passed and he is as good as his word .

End of problem .

I personally believe the City Council has lost their collective mind by denying a liquor license to the nightclub catering to ADULTS . Not a strip club ..but an establishment serving folks over 25 and not giving admittance to 18year-olds who can dance but not drink.

I was asked to sign that petition but declined as I thought the thinking behind it was flawed.

Here's why .

Garfield will soon(or so) become an access to I-20 because of mandated access to Midland Memorial Hospital . This gives a clear shot to the "Village" , downtown Midland and North Odessa on the Andrews Highway.

The "Village "is situated between old 80 (Wall) and Illinois AND the Andrews Highway . One mile from Big Spring and downtown.

Garfield continues around the hospital and gives access to traffic north ,east and south of the city.

If you study the location you might agree with me that this is the "center" of Midland as far as the accessibility of the streets that run by it.As a rule, I have found it easier to get "from" the "Village" to another location in the city than..say..from the Mall to downtown..or Bob's Better Burger to ..say ..my house..(though I can do that one in my sleep).;-)

When the Garfield expansion happens that will mean even greater traffic on Garfield/Andrews highway . That will create more interest in the "Village" which has ,more or less, let the properties go to seed. COME ON NOW ! Have you seen the fronts of the buildings in the "Village"?

I have yet to figure out why a "top drawer" nightclub would upset the dignities of those businesses whose chipped window paint screams" big sale today ! Save Save Save !"

Now here's why I turned down the petition.

I have a friend who owns some businesses there. I was not asked by him to sign, as he and his bride were going to get something to eat, when I drove up yesterday,.. but I was pummeled by his employees to sign the damned thing .

My thoughts were ,

1. This is going to be an important location in the future.
2. If they open a nightclub here , this place will be crawling with cops.
3. Yeah ! Like the old Stardust..Cops on every road... revenuin' ta beat the band...but how many times did the Rolls Royce dealership get broken into ?
4. Did I mention if you own a business where there is an active nightclub that closes at 2:00 AM and the police actively..well..POLICE..it is a good thing.
5. It will draw intrest to downtown Midland .

I'm prepared for arguments and maybe explanations, but I believe with all my heart AND head ,I'm right in thinking the city council boned themselves..BIG time.

Oh,... I know none of the people starting this nightclub and have no investments in this in any way!..(I'm old and have no money so there .)

This thread will no doubt spawn multiple comments about the abject silliness, duplicity and wrong-headedness of the council's denial of this specific use (booze) permit. Be that criticism warranted or otherwise, I will leave to those so inclined.

What I find most amusing about this item is Mr. Trost's quote that he "strongly recommend[s]" the investors continue their efforts to open this establishment.

{Head-scratching investors: "Thanks for nothing."}

It is a comment illustrative of a pervasive mindset here in Midland - self importance.

But what do I know? I didn't get 300 people to vote for me and, thereby, bless my throw-away comments with gravitas.

Nat , Woofers and Tweeters is not in the Town and Country shopping center . They are at 3303 Midkiff at a shopping center whose name I can't remember..DOH!..but if you're looking for a good barber or all-you-can-eat meal..well maybe I could tell you a few names at Town and Country.

Crap ! Apples and oranges . I wasn't aware someone wanted to put a club in the Town and country! My Bad .I am now going to bed Mr.S.A. with NO spicy rum !......... HaHaHarHar!

I think you are unfair in your assessment of the village. Hancock Fabric has a fine 50's modern facade.

Really shouldn't this have waited until after the election?

oy my, the council must realize that there must be too many places to go for people over 25!! maybe the investers should look for a crowd over 55. the council might approve that

Sure ! If it's downtown .

how about build it next to our new $24 million ($34 if you like) MLK community center?

The key thing here is whether development is planned correctly. Some excellent points have been raised that (to me anyway) seem a lot more substantial than the knee-jerk response we keep seeing from neighbors and adjacent property owners. I mean, really, is there a more commercial location in town? And as we've seen from the Endeavor well permit fiasco, you can't even go out to the middle of nowhere to avoid "neighbors".
And despite what we keep hearing from people voting down these new projects, downtown is not without its share of problems (especially parking) for starting new night-time businesses.
And no amount of TIRZ money is going to change that.

Given that there is not a location in town that better meets the requirements for the likely granting of a specific use permit than the Town and Country shopping center, you have to wonder if

a) Did the council just simply cave in to the opponents,

b) Did the council signal hostility to any non-downtown development of night-time entertainment in Midland, or

c) Both.

Jerry Morales will put his nose in there and fix this problem right quick! He opened the Ritz bar and grill over by the newspaper, and although that was a disaster, he knows the nightlife of Midland, and he'll help those people build the glitzy club Midland desperately needs!

I think it's a bunch of b.s. that the clientele allegedly lives in North Midland. I think West Midland knows how to twist off as well as any district in town. That's why the original location was down there. They were trying to pull from east, south, and west. Not north.

Jerry has a liquor license. It's about time we had somebody on the council with one of those. He'll vote for that MLK thing, too.

That's what I'm concerned about. Voting for that MLK thing. Putting another $40 million of debt on to the taxpayers for a facility that will cost another million to run every year, if we're lucky. What other new boondoggles does the city council have up their sleeves? I wonder. I fear. Meet the new boss Same as the old boss.

Bob-

If you knew the number of people that currently utilize the MLK Center then you would really be concerned.

The number of people served by MLK programming is extremely low.

I know, I know.....it is because the center isn't nice enough. So we need to spend another $30,000,000 on another civic millstone.

That building has essentially failed at everything that it has attempted to become in pursuit of 'serving the community'.

It probably works out to about $500,000 per person. I don't understand the need for this, I thought everyone would have something to do once the multimillion dollar tennis center gets built, and I know not everyone plays tennis, but those other folks will be playing in the fountains downtown or lounging on the great lawn beneath gilded sculptures. Maybe there is a need for more meeting space until the $100 million convention center gets built, as the Midland Center sometimes is just to big for these small community gatherings. It smells funny too. Hopefully the maintenance budget will be a little less than those of the empty more often than not Horseshoe and Sports Complex.

That's what concerns me about Morales. The guy didn't have any problems spending "economic development" money on money holes (I'm looking at you Business Entrada Building A), and I really doubt he'll have problems spending money on city pet projects. For a supposedly conservative city, are city leaders have a serious problem saying "no" to anyone looking for a handout. The only time they say "no" is when someone asks to develop something that won't cost the city anything. Maybe the nightclub people should have asked for a "West-Central Midland City Grant"? How bout $30,000 to start things off right?

This is one of my chief gripes with the politics of the city council . When running for office nobody is required to make public their party affiliation.

If you don't know the actors , and they holler to heaven crying "I am a Conservative and will not raise your taxes "..you believe'em ,vote'em in and then they run for statewide office as a Democrat..don'tcha feel a bit screwed ?

but otto, all of the R's on the council are spending like D's, as are most of the R's in congress. And the D I believe you are referring to often seemed to be the only council member who was ever hesitant to throw money at whoever asked for it. So does it matter?

But I think Smurf is on to something. How about a TIRZ for West-Central Midland?

Real brain power on display. Thanks for that aneswr!

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