Dear Editor,

From my distant viewing, the rejection of any serious enterprise by the Board of Aldermen of any of the buildings in the downtown area, seems at best to be counter productive, and not in the best interest to the tax payers and general public.

Of course this statement assumes that the Eureka building is currently vacant, and there is no other viable tenant in the wings, and none was offered by the board.

A tenant would surely have to do a lot of clean up and maintenance to the facility, it would buy gas, electrical, pay the water and sewerage bills, and surely add to the tax base of the state, county, and city.

Wasn’t the Eureka once a bar? Surely this was an exclusion to a family atmosphere as only adults were supposed to be allowed.

I agree, that a Cigar Bar is not a family affair, but with the exceptions of the excellent restaurants, the current downtown businesses are not, nor have ever been, the Micro version of Disney World.

So is it better to let the grand old Eureka building, become a derelict tax and infrastructure burden, or breathe some “smokey” life back into it, and collect the taxes, and revenue it brings?

s/Dwight Bridges

Diamondhead