The Redding City Council consent calendar for December 1st includes approval to move forward with phase 1 of the infrastructure needed for the Oasis Towne Center at Interstate 5 and Oasis Road. I urge all citizens of Redding to go to the council meeting on December 1st and oppose this project.
This retail project is not needed and will only draw business away from the Dana Drive/Mount Shasta Mall area. When Mount Shasta Mall opened it drew business from downtown and Athens Avenue making those areas virtual ghost towns. We are now trying to revitalize downtown and I think it would be very counterproductive to build such a large shopping complex at Oasis Road. Will we then have the Dana Drive revitalization effort? Let’s stop this before we get there.
The price tag to the City for phase 1 of this project is said to be around $25 million. While we have applied for a grant of federal stimulus funds that funding is uncertain at this time. We certainly should not be moving forward until the grant is final and I oppose moving forward with this project at this time even if we do get stimulus funds.
I believe a better use of stimulus funds would be to increase freeway access to the Dana Drive area. I have long held that north bound freeway ramps at Browning Street and south bound freeway ramps at Palisades Avenue would greatly improve traffic flow and increase access to the Mount Shasta Mall area businesses. Let’s give our current retailers the infrastructure they need to prosper instead of pulling the plug on them and moving northward.
It is my view that in support our current businesses we should oppose the Oasis Towne Center project and I encourage all residents to let council know we do not need this project.
Thank you,
Greg Parish
Redding, CA
Site Selection for New Redding Police Station
On December 1st the Redding City Council will entertain an agenda item selecting the property at 4712 Mountain Lakes Blvd as the preferred alternative for the relocation of the Redding Police Department. I am opposed to relocating the police department this far north and this far from the city center. This move would substantially disadvantage residents in the southern portion of the city.
While I agree we need a new police station, I think we should keep it centrally located in the downtown area. I would suggest we temporarily relocate the department into one of the many vacant buildings in town while we build a new building on the site of the existing police station. The vacant Gottschalks building comes to mind as an option that may be large enough for temporary relocation. I’m sure there are others available.
At the department’s current centrally located downtown site, we could build a state of the art police station that will meet the city’s needs for many decades to come. We could construct a parking structure and indoor shooting range underground and up to six floors above street level to provide the office space required by the department. This has the advantage of being on property already owned by the city and would keep the police station in the center of the city and in close proximity to the courts and jail.
I urge the council to reconsider making the Mountain Lakes property their preferred choice. Rebuilding on the current location is much more desirable in my view.
Thank you,
Greg Parish
Redding, CA
