By Staff
Jan. 25, 2002
It is encouraging to note a new spirit of compromise that surfaced at Tuesday night's city council meeting on the subject of the proposed Cooper Communities residential development in Meridian. This is the very type of dialogue and inclusion The Meridian Star has encouraged for months between city officials, people with a special interest in city affairs and, in this case, people who enjoy the serenity of Bonita Lakes for a variety of recreational pursuits.
It stands to reason that common ground, no pun intended, can be found as Mayor John Robert Smith and other city and Lauderdale County officials, Cooper representatives and Bonita user groups work together to iron out details of a multi-million-dollar residential project.
The Cooper project has been greeted with widespread acclaim locally. The Arkansas-based company has an excellent reputation for building upscale residential projects that enhance the quality of life for their residents and an entire area.
While many, many details remain to be finalized, the subject of the new municipal golf course at Bonita Lakes has captured much of the attention. Now that the mayor, Cooper and representatives of user groups will be sitting down at the same table and talking it over, our belief is they will embrace a redesign of the golf course that will help minimize its impact on pristine parklands.
The willingness of all these interests to consider each other's concerns in a calm, caring environment is a major sign that, in a communications sense, our community is growing healthier. We hope our officials will also take the next step and hold discussions in public, with adequate advance notice of meeting details. That way, people in our community can decide for themselves whether to participate or just attend and listen.
It's called communicating and, through it, we can make our community even more special.