Ben’s opinion in the above article is a microcosm of the city as a whole from my perspective. The tax and spend policies of the city are driving industry away and without industry in this town the downtown is doomed for failure simply as a result of economics and population densities. I don’t know of many downtowns that were revitalized when the supporting population was in decline? I can’t think of any and certainly not Detroit which is the most comparable to PG’s downtown from a large city perspective.

Look at industry for example. It’s all packing up and moving out of town. Neatherlands saw mill, Rustads saw mill, Winton Global, NCP to name a few of the big ones that are likely not to return. They can't afford to be tied to the ransom pot of big city politicians in a small town.

Most mills around PG are no longer in the city. Clear Lake, Isle Pierre, Polar... all the mills Canfor will likely keep running are not located in the tax base of the city. PG Sawmill is the only one left in the city and only because it fits nicely with Northwood.

I'd bet you won't see one new ‘bio-energy’ plant in the city, or any other forestry mill in the next decade or more. They will all be like the Pinnacle operation south of Hixon in Strathnaver. I bet Strathnaver pays less taxes then PG or Quesnel... even though all their feed stock comes from PG and beyond… it must make economical sense or why would they be there?

PG city hall does not understand that making things economical for industry, and having a plan where to locate future industry for air shed concerns, and building the infrastructure to match the plan is the only way PG will ever be able to maintain its industry, much less attract new industry. City hall has the cart before the horse and are spending money they presume will materialize on projects that far from enhancing PG's business climate; actually do quiet the opposite saddling the home owners with the eventual tax bill to cover all the new debt being created for political projects.

Revitalizing downtown will never happen as long as PG is hemorrhaging our main industrial base.

If PG had a plan to enhance the neighborhoods to make them more livable, and built infrastructure plans to show potential manufactures that we have air shed industrial parks ready to go in the plans, and focused on growing our opportunities from the periphery, than I have no doubt in time the downtown would be dragged along on the coat tails of success... but this idea that if we create enough bureaucracy and spend enough in the downtown that it will turn PG around from the downtown outwards is a false and misleading conception IMO.

I believe we will see more and more businesses closing downtown. They will move. Then what are you making the downtown beautiful for? The hookers? The homeless? The gangs? Taxing the already suffering businesses is truly stupid. We do not need another manager sucking up more tax dollars that could better serve the businesses downtown. Why not hire someone to create jobs? Get new industry here? What we need right now is to STOP SPENDING until the mills stop closing and people stop losing their jobs and leaving here. Prince George has lost over 7 thousand people in the last few years alone. Stop planning a paved trail when many neighbourhoods have no sidewalks. Stop SPENDING.

How many businesses were there downtown about 11 years ago when the DBIA was first formed. I would like to see that broken out into the original boundaries and the additional new boundaries. Also catgegorized into different sizes.

Then compare that with the number of businesses at the end of the 10 year DBIA involvement.

Let us see how effective they were.

I'm disgusted. Downtown Prince George has been a total waste of taxpayer dollars, and now they want more? What have they done in 11 years?? The list of accomplishments could be written on a sticky note. A car show? A few lights and flowers?

City Hall, rather than wasting time reading this request for a bigger share of a shrinking pot, should be sending them packing. Our downtown is in a dismal state and the people running DPG should be ashamed of themselves. If they were a for-profit business, their investors would've walked ages ago. Downtown businesses, as their "investors", at the very least should be screaming blue murder.

One of the biggest Landlords in the Downtown is the City of Prince George. They have buildings all over the place.
Will they be paying this DBIA fee. If not why not??? Whats good for the Goose is good for the Gander. The City owns buildings on 4th and Victoria, 2nd Ave., (Recently sold to Teresan Gas) The CN Building on 1st Avenue. The old Williams Moving and Storage building on Third Ave. East. The Playhouse Theatre, The old Norgate Auto Body building adjacent to the Keg, and of course the Outrigger Building, and the Old CKPG Building that they recently tore down. Then of course there are all the Parking Buildings, and the parking lots, and who knows what else.

The reverse petition is a poor way to get everyone on board for this idea, however it is the only action available, and hopefully those people involved can kill this idea once and for all.

Is there someplace on the city website where a person can find out what building the city owns in the downtown district?

Sorry.. All the buildings that are owned, not just the ones listed by Palopu.