Sunday, June 21, 2009
Around Town / Phillips As The Song Says, Who's Zooming Who?
Posted by Betsy Phillips on Sun, Jun 21, 2009 at 9:04 AM
Okay, yes, the May Town Center people have been lying about having an actual archaeological survey of the actual site where they want to put their actual buildings and it's hard to have sympathy for people who are either deliberately misleading the public or who have neglected to read their own stuff, but today I do.
And I'm going to tell you why.
Because I have read Zada Law's inventory and I have studied her maps of known archaeological resources and I have looked repeatedly at Mike Byrd's approximation of where the bridges that the planning commission wants to require the May Town Center folks to build would go and it's almost as if someone said, "Where, on both sides of the river, would be the most archaeological sites we know about, including graves? Let's have them pay to put in those bridges right there."
Not that there are many sites on either side of the river where there's not a chance of encountering something once you start digging, but dang. These bridge sites, according to the information in Law's inventory, are thick with sites on both sides of the river.
And yet, the Planning commission is all "Put your bridges right about there" and the May Town Center people are all "Just tell us what hoops to jump through and we will, no problem."
But you know, 12,000 years of people and the costs that come with removing the dead ones (By the way, I talked to the person in charge of Preservation at the Muscogee Nation and the Muscogee are aware of the project and keeping an eye on developments. If the feds get involved, they will become involved, too, because those are their dead people.) are kind of a problem, an expensive problem. So, how is it that the Planning Commission and the May Town Center people can be so nonchalant about it? Especially in this economy?
I don't even have any speculation as to why. I just find it curious.
And I'm going to tell you why.
Because I have read Zada Law's inventory and I have studied her maps of known archaeological resources and I have looked repeatedly at Mike Byrd's approximation of where the bridges that the planning commission wants to require the May Town Center folks to build would go and it's almost as if someone said, "Where, on both sides of the river, would be the most archaeological sites we know about, including graves? Let's have them pay to put in those bridges right there."
Not that there are many sites on either side of the river where there's not a chance of encountering something once you start digging, but dang. These bridge sites, according to the information in Law's inventory, are thick with sites on both sides of the river.
And yet, the Planning commission is all "Put your bridges right about there" and the May Town Center people are all "Just tell us what hoops to jump through and we will, no problem."
But you know, 12,000 years of people and the costs that come with removing the dead ones (By the way, I talked to the person in charge of Preservation at the Muscogee Nation and the Muscogee are aware of the project and keeping an eye on developments. If the feds get involved, they will become involved, too, because those are their dead people.) are kind of a problem, an expensive problem. So, how is it that the Planning Commission and the May Town Center people can be so nonchalant about it? Especially in this economy?
I don't even have any speculation as to why. I just find it curious.
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