The Red Plan which began as a way to close a high school, morphed to a long range plan then to a way to lure students back to Duluth then to an energy savings and efficiency project and finally to a means of injecting vigor into Duluth’s economy is finally winding down. The economic stimulus part, except for the bond holders which will be collecting our repayment for the next twenty years, is coming to and end. This comes from today’s story on our anemic jobless rate.
“Some of the big construction projects that were helping us keep ahead of the game have run down,” Digby said.
A big chunk of the Duluth school district’s building projects are done, as are Amsoil Arena, the Enbridge pipeline expansion and mining company upgrades, he noted.
A few Red Plan projects remain while some of the biggies finish up. Sure, lots of the people employed lived elsewhere and will be taking Duluth’s money home with them but there’s no question some of the $293 million spent on dubious buildings has added life to the community even as the Red Plan itself has driven ten or more percent of our students out of our sparkling new school facilities.
