Mega Growth Is Not Good Growth
Hi, I’m Randy Holladay,
I just retired after 25 years of teaching Earth Science at Louisa high school
I also was the school poet laureate, and used rhymes as a tool
When we discussed growth and change, this my students I would tell
That growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell
Well, cancer took my dad, and uncles and aunts and former students, too
I bet that uncontrolled growth has sadly, touched most everyone of you
So, I see this plan, with so many unknowns, hidden agendas and costs
As a spiraling, cancerous growth where the once rural Louisa will be lost
The heart of the Piedmont, that’s where we’re at
It means foot of the mountains and it’s not very flat
If it seems flat it’s because most of these old roads follow divides
Where, when it rains, the water runs off to opposite sides
Once you get very far from a road, like 605
The Piedmont hills and creeks come alive
**Both Parrish and Roundabout, 33 and 522, Route 15 and the railroad tracks, too
Are up on divides to keep the rain and flood waters off me and off you
And, that’s the biggest problem with this mega- site
There’s little flat land for big buildings, that’s right
Most of this land is covered by the many streams that become Fork Creek
There are no 100 acre flat pads that this mega-site seems to seek
There only one narrow, winding ridge that’s close to flat off Shannon Hill
And another off Parish Rd but without access still...
Sure, someone can make lots of money leveling dirt and putting creeks underground
But is reshaping 100’s of acres of Piedmont with tax dollars fiscally sound
Because with North Anna and Zion Crossroads and good growth at the Lake
Our tax base seems pretty strong, how much more money are you gonna take?
Because if our tax base is suddenly critical, we want to know
Just where has all this tax money gone or where’s it going to go
County teachers just got their first raise in 10 years
Our police are underpaid, fire and rescue mostly volunteers
This past Saturday, Louisa rescue were in the streets begging for dough
T.J. Elementary is selling doughnuts for a playground, did you know??
You want to buy 200+ acres, 3 miles away in Quail, to access the gas line?
It crosses Shannon Hill Road, a mile from this site, why isn’t that just fine?
And, much still hinges on a pipeline from the James and promises made
But, tonight, while that matters, that’s water into which I’ll not wade.
When you study Earth, you deal in long stretches of time
So, just ponder this as I wind down this rhyme
What will Louisa look like in 2025, or in another ten years past that?
Do you want slow growth or fast and what will our population be at?
By 2035 if we’re still under 40 thousand folks we’ll be ok but with 50 or 60 or more
Be lots more traffic, you won’t leave your keys in the car and you will lock your door!
**How about your grandkid’s grandkids kids in 2118, they might vacation on Mars
But, will there be trees in Louisa and at night will you still see the stars?
This mega-site plan is full of future hopes and predictions but I worry
That it’s like a tiny tumor that once it starts to grow will spread in a hurry
And, around a tumor, doctors don’t just build a buffer
Because the cancer still spreads, the patient and neighborhood still suffer
Sure change is going to happen and growth (it’s not critical) it will come
Will it include and work for us all or just for some
Like most, I live in Louisa because it’s quiet and peaceful, I like farms and trees
And, so Misters Barnes and Babyok, Misters Gentry and Barlow, Please!
Please keep Louisa, Louisa and the pace of growth slow
And, on this tax sucking, mega-boondoggle vote NO!!
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