City leaders deserve hearty congratulations for their unanimous vote at Monday’s council meeting to extend a new road onto what had been Cedarbrook Golf Course. This clears the way for developer Gabe Woodman of Merak Development to build a series of duplex apartments there.
With a projected cost of $1.3 million that also includes expanding utilities to the land, this is a major investment by the city. Council members rightly expressed concern over the price tag.
But housing is on the tip of everyone’s tongue in rural America, and as the council debated Mr. Woodman’s proposal, the question quickly evolved from how the city could afford completing the road extension to how it could afford not to. As Mayor Steve French said, “Nobody is knocking on our door to build. If the city walks away, we may not get another opportunity for some time.”
