Rolla puts its tax money to good use

Here in Rolla, the majority of us love national chain stores, and we're doing everything we can to attract them, including spending tax money.
Just a stone's throw from my house, Walgreen's is building a store. To help with the flow of traffic into and out of the parking lot, the city is widening a street to the tune of $1 million.
According to a story in the Rolla Daily News in June:

This first phase of the extension’s construction will involve only the frontage of the Walgreens drug store.
The project will be completed by the City of Rolla’s Public Works Department. Traffic control will be coordinated by the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT).
The right of way for the portion of street adjacent to the Walgreen’s property was donated by Walgreens, and MoDOT contributed the design for this first phase of construction.
(Public Works Director Steve) Hargis estimates a total cost of $200,000-to-$250,000 for the first phase, and it includes costs for labor, concrete pavement and curbs. This is in addition to the Walgreens and MoDOT contributions.
The total cost of constructing the extension from U.S. Route 63 to Walker would be approximately $1 million, Hargis said.
Hargis did not know a timetable for the completion of the rest of the extension.
“We’re in the process of working with HNTB Inc. (consulting engineers) of Kansas City, to develop a master plan, go over some financing options and determine how the project might be timed,” Hargis said.

That's $1 million of mostly public tax money to pay for what amounts to an entrance to a privately owned business. In exchange, Rolla will likely lose one or two of its three locally owned pharmacies. The Walgreen's photo department might even put the home-owned photo developer downtown out of business. That's a small price to pay for the convenience of having a 24-hour pharmacy.
Maybe the owners and employees of the pharmacies and the downtown photo job can find jobs at Walgreen's. We don't want them to be jobless. After all, they need an income so they pay taxes in Rolla--taxes that we need to help us attract more business.