To the editor:
    
The Alexandria City Council and City Attorney Jim Banks need to realize that what they are trying to accomplish with threats to invoke eminent domain on the properties owned by the Old Dominion Boat Club will only alienate an increasingly large number of residents.
    
Most people think the boat club membership is made up of people who dont live in Alexandria. The fact of the matter is 350 of the 700 members are residents of Alexandria who live east of Washington Street. 
    
Mr. Banks alluding to the city needing the parking spaces behind the Mai Tai restaurant along The Strand which comes with part of the Whales Alley easement for flood control purposes is ludicrous. The citys plan to correct nuisance flooding is a joke at best. It was incorporated into the waterfront plan that was rejected by the council. The newly appointed waterfront work group will most likely identify flooding as the No. 1 issue in the plan and endeavor to find the right remediation for this continual problem.  
    
It seems city council decided during one of its executive sessions to pursue the eminent domain route. Residents should know who voted for and who voted against the use of eminent domain. Tell us now or tell us later when you are running for re-election. Maybe we should know more about just what goes on in these closed-door executive sessions.