Dear George,

In response to Oliver Kuttner's ad there are two issues of concern to me.

I believe the city has indeed spent too much money on consulting fees, the prime example is the court facility study. This study was initially conducted without appropriate public input. When the public presentation was made, the preservation community, the neighborhood, the downtown businesses and property owners unanimously were opposed to the plan presented by the consultants. The plan, as presented by the outside consultants, would have had a detrimental effect on the historic nature of court square, and would have imposed a two story parking deck next to a residential neighborhood, not to mention tearing down the historic jail where a former Mayor of Charlottesville was hung.( He killed his wife, which brings me back to my stand on Domestic Violence.)

The whole process, therefore, had to be repeated. In the end, no consensus could be reached by the steering committee. What a waste of valuable city revenue!

Secondly, when Mr. Kuttner refers to the four boarded up buildngs beside the Wachovia Bank, those buildings have been in disrepair since Jefferson National Bank purchased them twenty years ago. The city should have taken the initiative to work with the bank to ensure the rehabilitation of these properties.

When Danielson and Rolph purchased those buildings they came to the BAR for a request for demolition. The BAR, which I chair, denied that request based on the guidelines that the city implemented to protect historic structures downtown.

Mr. Kuttner and I do not always agree on everything, but I value and welcome input from him and every other member of our community.

All my best,

Joan Fenton (electronic mail, February 22, 2002)