Richmond City Commission Votes No on Downtown Revitalization Project

The Richmond City Commission has voted no on the bid for the Downtown Revitalization Project. The project was intended to rebuild downtown with more space for businesses and local activities.  However, some on the commission felt that it would be unfair to start such a large and expensive project with a new commission being seated in January.  Mayor Jim Barnes was in favor of the project and voiced his frustration at the commission for voting no on a project that took over a year to begin bidding on.  One downtown business owner John Leeds owner and operator of Leeds Fine Jewelry said that although he is in favor of growth, parking is the main issue and that the project would remove existing parking spaces without adding new ones.