The main problem with Huntsville is special interest control of zoning, failed municipal and tax policy, failed metropolitan public transportation that serves all Huntsville and Decatur, and failed policing. This adversely impacts everything from schools to jobs. New schools are built that become unused because businesses in existing areas fold and don't attract young well paid families with children. As the tax base declines due to poor zoning, municipal policy, public transportation, and policing, people flee and schools go defunct from lack of use. Huntsville has expanded greatly and little credible attention has been given to how to make all of the Huntsville and surrounding areas prosper as a unified metropolitan area. Dead economic zones are created; families flee, neighborhoods change composition, employers relocate, shopping malls go empty, schools go defunct and empty. Large, preferred, developers are rewarded with tax breaks and offers to build schools and infrastructure elsewhere. Surrounding farms are sold off eliminating prosperous green space and at the same time dead areas appear by design by near sighted vision less government management of zoning that apparently cannot grasp the big area wide picture from any perspective except special interest profitability. The same behind the scenes people run the city as have made the decisions for decades. The city could solicit bids from some really high class merchants on what to do with the courthouse; e.g., sell the Court House and the fancy buildings housing the City of Huntsville leadership (move them to one of the empty shopping malls). A Neiman Marcus or equivalent could fit in the existing structure if there is a real concern for loss of architecture; Twickingham's new gene pool would likely love it. How about an Advertising District, Entertainment and Financial District in North Huntsville? How about a Tennessee Valley Products Museum displaying the products of the area's businesses? Tourist would love it all. Yuppies would love it; especially if there was credible 24/7 inter and trans city public transportation and new inter and trans city housing that was safe from crime and not pumped full of criminals in half way housing, etc. The old Court House actually had more historical class, "Why was it torn down?" Why can't the Medical District become the Medical Districts, North, West, and South? Maybe the city should attract an independent newspaper that is less of a partner with the city government and decades long covert crony club that makes the decisions and more a partner with the people; e.g., all the people, including the businesses that are not in the insiders club? Go figure?

Thanks for asking. Ball in your court.