I never seen a TV station go so bananners over a city planner that retired over 10 years ago (and quite frankly worked for the city TOO long to begin with).
Mr. Metli was very instrumental in getting us the river greenway bike trail and park system (the true gem of our city) and cleaning up Falls Park. He also helped get us the Washington Pavilion by tying it in with the convention center vote (unfortunately building the convention center in the wrong place). He also gave us Phillips to the Falls (that had a 100% cost overrun which almost landed Mayor Munson’s ass in jail) and now is only good for a brownfield outdoor amphitheater because of the battery acid seeping thru the ground.
I would agree, Steve was very instrumental in shaping our city, some good, some worthless urban sprawl. But Steve’s biggest accomplishment besides creating our beautiful park system along the river was making SOME developers in this town a lot of money, and giving them little too much control.
Some may say I am being a little harsh, but you only learn from history, when history is recorded correctly. I hope future planners of our city have learned a lot from Mr. Metli (both good and bad).
I will miss our FB debates.