It is interesting how the mistakes of the past 35 years keep repeating themselves.

In the early 1980s, Lewiston officials thought they could create a panacea of low-income housing in the downtown area with state and federal funds. Look where that has gotten the city.

After using tax dollars to provide subsidized housing, the taxpayer is covering the cost to demolish homes that have stood for 100 years and been refurbished only 30-35 years ago.

Having worked in the banking and retail world for 35 years, I cannot reconcile to the return on investment pitched for a local housing project to be located in the Bartlett and Pierce streets areas.

The project is expected to generate less than $1,200 per unit per year in real estate revenue. How does that compare to the burden on the city’s limited resources?

Lewiston is canceling back taxes, paying to demolish buildings, acquiring property then more demolition, just to attract more welfare-dependent residents who will put greater strains on general assistance, policing, fire protection and the schools.

There won’t be enough money remaining in the taxpayers’ pockets to enroll their children in local hockey or other sports programs.

Selected numbers presented at a recent council workshop do not reflect the total cost. It will take years and another generation to pay for the project, only to repeat the demolition process all over again.

Albert Einstein once said that the definition of insanity was doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

Michael Marcotte, Lewiston

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