Its amazing how some people, when confronted with facts and figures that reflect repeated and continuous HUGE cost overruns and mismanagement, respond with petty and pathetic personal attacks. They have NO numbers or rational arguments with which to dispute the presented facts so they resort to innuendos and personal attacks. Those desperate, bitter, sad, and pathetic people are to be pitied. If they cant move the discussion forward with real numbers and/or rational rebuttal then maybe they should just get out of the way of the efforts of others to do so.
This is a response to those in our community who resort to character assassination and false rumors in an effort to discredit other residents that disagree with them. Rather than rebutting the presented facts and figures with facts and figures of their own (which, I'm sure they would, IF they had any), they resort to personal attacks to distract ands cover up those basic obvious deficiencies. Their comments have NO basis in fact and make NO rational point to debate or discuss, so its just a waste of time and energy. The community can see thru this tired old attempt to discourage discussion and debate with personal attack comments for what they are- a pitiable and feeble attempt to squelch discussion and debate with baseless rumors, and NOT ONE fact. Pathetic.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
topless biker comments
Guys who observe and notice other GUYS on bikes, topless or not, make me wonder - Do they notice ALL GUYS riding bikes? I mean, do they seperate the ones they think are cute from the ones they dont think are cute? Are they looking for a bike date? Why would they pay so much attention to GUYS riding a bike? Are they saying that some GUYS do NOT meet their cuteness standards? What ARE their cuteness standards? do they cruise around looking for cute GUYS on bikes? walking? what are their preferences in cute GUYS? Are they wearing pink shorts when they meet them? I realize that gays have their wants and needs too but I prefer if they are a LITTLE discrete too. Most guys riding a bike for fresh air, exercise, weight loss,and a suntan can do without gay GUYS noticing them and commenting all the time. Its un-needed, unnecessary, and unwanted so keep your fantasies to yourself.
Friday, June 6, 2008
comments
Food and gas prices are up and still limbing, stock market is down, jobless rate is highest since 1986, home values are down significantly, and with them are tax revenues, a national recession, local hiring freezes, and tax increases contemplated, and City officials decide to take on MILLIONS in new debt to build a new gym. How does THAT makes any financial sense at all ? We just took on 13 million in new debt to get the County to take the water and sewer dept and we want to add MILLIONS more in debt as we slide into the beginning of a recession? That sounds like a recipe for disaster, and possible bankruptcy. Have City officials LOST their minds ? HOW is this financially responsible in ANY way, shape, or form? Are we willing to get in debt over our heads so that the Mayor can have his legacy plaque? Best can have HIS vanity massaged with a theater? Garcia can have his "money is no object" structure that WE will have to pay on for decades? Using this mountain of proposed debt as a means to look at annexation again, with ALL its shortcomings, to satisfy Youngs need for HIS legacy project? Dotsons legacy will be as a singular voice of reason and financial responsibilty in a sea of financial lunacy and personal vanities and agendas.
admission and omission
The City Manager admitted last night that for the 8 yrs he was on the Council, maintenance and repairs of the water and sewer system was avoided like the plague. When it was suggested by a resident that his admission made him a part of the problem, The City Manager confirmed it.
Yes, our streets will be torn up and we will be inconvenienced, but hopefully no worse or longer than if the City did it. Will there be cost overruns? change orders? additional charges? If so, how much? Once the deal is done on Sept 3rd we will be at the County's mercy. The mayor DID have one good idea during the discussion, to have a plumbing company or three on call for late night emergencies. I wonder how much that would cost. We will have to wait to see if its necessary.
I disagree with EVERY other thought the Mayor has though, beginning with his new gym legacy project and continuing thru his failure to fill his Board seats. At least one is STILL not filled more than TWO YEARS after it was vacated. We have NOBODY in this community whom he can find to fill that slot? He is just hopelessly out of touch with today's environmental (and economic) realities. Clueless is the word that comes to mind, and that's bad enough, but he apparently doesn't care either, about the issues facing Springs residents these days. His legacy seems to be his one and only focus now. He has stopped listening to the majority of residents long ago, won't look at all the options (due diligence) to get the best deal for us, and won't let the people have their say at the voting booths either, about major issues that will impact us financially for decades! This is the kind of representation we want? need? and/or voted for? No way.
Rob Youngs is responsible for the other Ecology Board seat NOT being filled TWO YEARS later. he continues to say that he is "looking into" a candidate to fill that position but TWO YEARS later, he and the Mayor have both failed to fill their respective seats. Can it be that they agree one THAT one thing? that the environment is not important ?
Our illustrious Mayor is on record not being willing to even "look into" the possibility of getting a grant that would provide rain barrels for our residents during this 2-year drought and water restrictions. Somehow he believes that global warming, acid rain, ice flows melting, rain forests being cut down, and droughts on a worldwide scale are the responsibility of each person individually to remedy; which is, of course, absurd.
While each person can make their own contribution, to state that an individual could, or should, be responsible for finding a solution with NO help or assistance from the government is ridiculous. The governments should be taking a leadership position and leading the charge, not shirking any responsibilities and shuffling the responsibilities off to the individual taxpayers.
Last month the state of Florida had a Water Conservation month and seminars were held all around the state. The state government of California has taken a leadership position in regards to passing legislature to reduce toxic emissions. The Environmental Protection Agency is federal and actively involved in ALL phases of environmental concerns. Think globally, act locally!! Governments at ALL levels, county, state, regional, national, and international, are actively involved in the preservation of our planet, except us !! Miami Springs' government is blissfully unaware and/or uninvolved with this process, accepting no responsibilty for contributing to the problem in the past, or its current and future solutions.
If that nonsensical thinking were to be applied to international terrorism, it would be the individual's responsibility for the resolution of that problem too. Preposterous, illogical, call it what you want, it makes NO sense.
No, that is why we elect governments and representatives, to help us combat the problems that we can't fix by ourselves. Do our representatives really believe that they were elected just to fulfill their own personal legacies/reward their friends/line their pockets? What about the people who elected them? When and where do THEIR interests enter into the picture?
There is a rain barrel project here in town that could provide plastic 50-gallon rain barrels for our residents at a minimal or no cost using volunteer labor but the Council provides NO support, NONE, and has not even looked into the possible benefits to our residents. How come? Cisterns have been used for centuries yet somehow the Mayor wants to have the concept tested for 6-12 months locally first, before it could be even considered.
Earth to Mayor Bain ! Lake Okeechobee is 25 inches lower than average and we have been having a drought in ALL FIVE Southeastern states for the past TWO YEARS ! Can it possibly be that he is just blissfully unaware? in his own little legacy dream world? Or is it that he JUST DOESNT CARE ? You decide.
Yes, our streets will be torn up and we will be inconvenienced, but hopefully no worse or longer than if the City did it. Will there be cost overruns? change orders? additional charges? If so, how much? Once the deal is done on Sept 3rd we will be at the County's mercy. The mayor DID have one good idea during the discussion, to have a plumbing company or three on call for late night emergencies. I wonder how much that would cost. We will have to wait to see if its necessary.
I disagree with EVERY other thought the Mayor has though, beginning with his new gym legacy project and continuing thru his failure to fill his Board seats. At least one is STILL not filled more than TWO YEARS after it was vacated. We have NOBODY in this community whom he can find to fill that slot? He is just hopelessly out of touch with today's environmental (and economic) realities. Clueless is the word that comes to mind, and that's bad enough, but he apparently doesn't care either, about the issues facing Springs residents these days. His legacy seems to be his one and only focus now. He has stopped listening to the majority of residents long ago, won't look at all the options (due diligence) to get the best deal for us, and won't let the people have their say at the voting booths either, about major issues that will impact us financially for decades! This is the kind of representation we want? need? and/or voted for? No way.
Rob Youngs is responsible for the other Ecology Board seat NOT being filled TWO YEARS later. he continues to say that he is "looking into" a candidate to fill that position but TWO YEARS later, he and the Mayor have both failed to fill their respective seats. Can it be that they agree one THAT one thing? that the environment is not important ?
Our illustrious Mayor is on record not being willing to even "look into" the possibility of getting a grant that would provide rain barrels for our residents during this 2-year drought and water restrictions. Somehow he believes that global warming, acid rain, ice flows melting, rain forests being cut down, and droughts on a worldwide scale are the responsibility of each person individually to remedy; which is, of course, absurd.
While each person can make their own contribution, to state that an individual could, or should, be responsible for finding a solution with NO help or assistance from the government is ridiculous. The governments should be taking a leadership position and leading the charge, not shirking any responsibilities and shuffling the responsibilities off to the individual taxpayers.
Last month the state of Florida had a Water Conservation month and seminars were held all around the state. The state government of California has taken a leadership position in regards to passing legislature to reduce toxic emissions. The Environmental Protection Agency is federal and actively involved in ALL phases of environmental concerns. Think globally, act locally!! Governments at ALL levels, county, state, regional, national, and international, are actively involved in the preservation of our planet, except us !! Miami Springs' government is blissfully unaware and/or uninvolved with this process, accepting no responsibilty for contributing to the problem in the past, or its current and future solutions.
If that nonsensical thinking were to be applied to international terrorism, it would be the individual's responsibility for the resolution of that problem too. Preposterous, illogical, call it what you want, it makes NO sense.
No, that is why we elect governments and representatives, to help us combat the problems that we can't fix by ourselves. Do our representatives really believe that they were elected just to fulfill their own personal legacies/reward their friends/line their pockets? What about the people who elected them? When and where do THEIR interests enter into the picture?
There is a rain barrel project here in town that could provide plastic 50-gallon rain barrels for our residents at a minimal or no cost using volunteer labor but the Council provides NO support, NONE, and has not even looked into the possible benefits to our residents. How come? Cisterns have been used for centuries yet somehow the Mayor wants to have the concept tested for 6-12 months locally first, before it could be even considered.
Earth to Mayor Bain ! Lake Okeechobee is 25 inches lower than average and we have been having a drought in ALL FIVE Southeastern states for the past TWO YEARS ! Can it possibly be that he is just blissfully unaware? in his own little legacy dream world? Or is it that he JUST DOESNT CARE ? You decide.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
water and sewer turnover
The discussion part of this issue is apparently over, as the meeting consisted of the City Attorney going over the particulars of the proposed contract to deed the water and sewer dept to the County. There were a couple of minor questions that need to be clarified but then its a done deal. This was merely dotting the I's and crossing the Tees. If amortized over 20 yrs it will mean a reduction in our league-leading water bills. Its 20 mil, plus the interest at 3.92% for 20 yrs comes to 29 million. It would have looked EVEN better if it was amortized over 30 years so we could see and even bigger monthly drop in our rates but, of course, over 30 years the interest overall would have been WAY higher. My question is-How much more debt can we take on? If you add millions more in debt for a new gym are we in over our head? Is a recession the time to take on all this debt? We can completely refurbish the gym with NO NEW DEBT! Piling on new debt for the next 20 years concerns me. We had no real good option in the case of the water and sewers, but with the gym, we do!!!
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
water and sewer turnover
Well, we took on another 10.5 million plus in debt to bring OUR sewer and water systems up to their minimum levels, so that the County would agree to take it over. The total cost is about 29 million, if you count the interest for 20 years in. At the rate of 3.92% (maybe) we may have a monthly reduction in our water bills. Of course, if they had amortized it for 30 years the monthly bills would be lower but the total costs would be MUCH higher. Eight million was our current balance on the sewers and water systems now. The bottom line is that we are SEVERAL MILLIONS of dollars further in debt once this goes thru. Can we afford several MORE millions of dollars of debt for a new gym? Are we getting ourselves in over our head? How much debt can we afford? The water and sewers are in bad shape from years of neglect and we don't really have another good choice. With the gym we DO have another good choice and its available with NO NEW DEBT!!!
If you take the loan duration out far enough you can reduce the monthly payments WAY down low, but the overall charges for the loan will skyrocket. Are they going to use this bait and switch approach to sell the financing on a new gym? This helps to make clear the current thinking of our Council. The water and sewer department was 22% of our total revenues and will have to be made up somehow. There was $400,000 in administration fees built into that dept. that will NO LONGER have to be paid because there IS NO DEPT to administer, right? So that will be a savings, right there. We will have obligated ourselves for $10.5 million NOW, not counting interest, for the next TWENTY YEARS.
The City manager read from an AOL article that said that significant water and sewer infrastructure will need to be done all over the USA. Councilman Dotson noted that our leaking sewers are costing us MILLIONS of gallons of water and MILLIONS of dollars every year. Since that is TRUE, why don't we have any serious water conservation plan in place? Why are we so environmentally unaware/unconscious/comatose?
In these times of a two-year drought wouldn't it make sense to conserve whatever water we can? Lake Okeechobee is 25 inches below normal for this time of year. We have had a drought for more the past two years and we are on water restrictions. Australia has had a TEN year drought. Governors of Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee are squabbling over water rights.
Do we have to turn into a dust bowl before the City recognizes the situation environmentally? It is VERY clear that the environment is low-to-nonexistent on the priorities of our city officials ie there are TWO Ecology Board seats that have been vacant for over TWO YEARS and the Council has not directed the Board to look into anything for the past FIVE years, at least.
In these days of global warming, water restrictions, regional, national, and worldwide droughts, and inconvenient truths what has our Council done to help the residents and the environment? NOTHING. The two empty seats speak LOUDLY about where their priorities lie, or don't. They are either pleasantly oblivious to the world, national, state, and local situations, just unconscious(in a coma), or they don't care. I can think of no other explanations for their complete and TOTAL lack of action, or apparent concern.
There are ready, willing, and able volunteer residents who are willing to help address these problems but they are ignored or carelessly and cavalierly not staffed in the first place. Xeriscaping, rain barrels, low-flow shower heads, recycling education, and fluorescent lighting (CFLs) are just SOME of the areas where the volunteers could be helpful. Why use drinking water to wash your car or water your garden and plants when rain water will do the job just as well? Leave drinking water for drinking. This Council is just hopelessly out of touch with the realities of Life on Planet Earth !! They SAY they are aware, but action talks, BS walks.
If you take the loan duration out far enough you can reduce the monthly payments WAY down low, but the overall charges for the loan will skyrocket. Are they going to use this bait and switch approach to sell the financing on a new gym? This helps to make clear the current thinking of our Council. The water and sewer department was 22% of our total revenues and will have to be made up somehow. There was $400,000 in administration fees built into that dept. that will NO LONGER have to be paid because there IS NO DEPT to administer, right? So that will be a savings, right there. We will have obligated ourselves for $10.5 million NOW, not counting interest, for the next TWENTY YEARS.
The City manager read from an AOL article that said that significant water and sewer infrastructure will need to be done all over the USA. Councilman Dotson noted that our leaking sewers are costing us MILLIONS of gallons of water and MILLIONS of dollars every year. Since that is TRUE, why don't we have any serious water conservation plan in place? Why are we so environmentally unaware/unconscious/comatose?
In these times of a two-year drought wouldn't it make sense to conserve whatever water we can? Lake Okeechobee is 25 inches below normal for this time of year. We have had a drought for more the past two years and we are on water restrictions. Australia has had a TEN year drought. Governors of Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee are squabbling over water rights.
Do we have to turn into a dust bowl before the City recognizes the situation environmentally? It is VERY clear that the environment is low-to-nonexistent on the priorities of our city officials ie there are TWO Ecology Board seats that have been vacant for over TWO YEARS and the Council has not directed the Board to look into anything for the past FIVE years, at least.
In these days of global warming, water restrictions, regional, national, and worldwide droughts, and inconvenient truths what has our Council done to help the residents and the environment? NOTHING. The two empty seats speak LOUDLY about where their priorities lie, or don't. They are either pleasantly oblivious to the world, national, state, and local situations, just unconscious(in a coma), or they don't care. I can think of no other explanations for their complete and TOTAL lack of action, or apparent concern.
There are ready, willing, and able volunteer residents who are willing to help address these problems but they are ignored or carelessly and cavalierly not staffed in the first place. Xeriscaping, rain barrels, low-flow shower heads, recycling education, and fluorescent lighting (CFLs) are just SOME of the areas where the volunteers could be helpful. Why use drinking water to wash your car or water your garden and plants when rain water will do the job just as well? Leave drinking water for drinking. This Council is just hopelessly out of touch with the realities of Life on Planet Earth !! They SAY they are aware, but action talks, BS walks.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
water and sewer
The water and sewer meeting Wednesday night will be an important one. We pay the Highest rates in ALL of S Fla. now. The County has already made it clear that they will NOT fix our YEARS of neglect of our sewer system by this and previous Councils, by giving us a new one at no charge. They WILL charge us for whatever it costs to fix it, as a special charge. The County has more resources but will not care whatever they charge us because they will just pass their costs on thru to us. They pay the same outrageous fees to Post Buckley as MS does, and have paid, for years. This Council is only partially responsible for the neglect of maintenance over the past twenty years.
There is PLENTY we can blame THIS council for, but most of the water and sewer problems go back years. Lets not kid ourselves, the costs to repair our sewer system will be LARGE, along with the inconvenience. If we turn it over to the County we will lose control over it and the response times will be considerably longer. The guy who is supposed to be responsible for running our sewers at the County is a Springs resident, and I believe that could be a good thing, but what happens if, or when, he retires?
Should we bite the bullet and do it ourselves, but keep control? Or let the County do it and take a chance on less quality service and control? Either way we WILL be charged a LOT of money. If we do it ourselves we will need a bond issue, and if you add that money to the new gym debt we will be IN DEEP, maybe in over our heads. There are NO guarantees that the County will be any more fiscally responsible than the incompetents we have now, and if the desires of the County are in conflict with the desires of the Springs residents, on whose side do you think the County will come down on? We need to think this thru carefully and do OUR DUE DILIGENCE, since it obvious that the Council isn't going to do it. DUE DILIGENCE is a foreign term to them, one that they just cant, or wont, seem to grasp, or do. Incompetence IS, as Incompetence DOES (to paraphrase Forrest Gump).
This is a post I tried to place at MS.com three times and it was rejected. The captchas were clear and I followed the order of the letters precisely. Wonder why.
There is PLENTY we can blame THIS council for, but most of the water and sewer problems go back years. Lets not kid ourselves, the costs to repair our sewer system will be LARGE, along with the inconvenience. If we turn it over to the County we will lose control over it and the response times will be considerably longer. The guy who is supposed to be responsible for running our sewers at the County is a Springs resident, and I believe that could be a good thing, but what happens if, or when, he retires?
Should we bite the bullet and do it ourselves, but keep control? Or let the County do it and take a chance on less quality service and control? Either way we WILL be charged a LOT of money. If we do it ourselves we will need a bond issue, and if you add that money to the new gym debt we will be IN DEEP, maybe in over our heads. There are NO guarantees that the County will be any more fiscally responsible than the incompetents we have now, and if the desires of the County are in conflict with the desires of the Springs residents, on whose side do you think the County will come down on? We need to think this thru carefully and do OUR DUE DILIGENCE, since it obvious that the Council isn't going to do it. DUE DILIGENCE is a foreign term to them, one that they just cant, or wont, seem to grasp, or do. Incompetence IS, as Incompetence DOES (to paraphrase Forrest Gump).
This is a post I tried to place at MS.com three times and it was rejected. The captchas were clear and I followed the order of the letters precisely. Wonder why.
home run record ?
I have made a request for information regarding the bathrooms and related projects over a month ago but have received NO reply so far, despite repeated requests in person. What does it take to get a response from City officials? I realize the numbers are probably embarrassing and SEVERAL times what the actual costs are, but they ARE public information and the public DOES have a right to know them. How many MONTHS does someone usually have to wait to get a Freedom of Information request honored? Do they usually have to ask the State Attorney to help them? I understand how City officials may be behind on simple requests for information because, after all, most of their energy is utilized in shoveling truckloads of our tax money for cost overruns and change orders and it CAN BE taxing! Mostly to us tho, as we are the ones that always wind up footing the bill for their bungling, fumbling, and stumbling. Incompetence and ineptitude can take a toll, but mostly its on US, the taxpayers. I dont blame them for not revealing the costs for the bathrooms, their latest fiasco, as I would probably be ashamed and embarrassed too, if I were them, for the repeated and ongoing change orders that heve ballooned this project up over $400 a square foot. They still have plenty of money to squander if they are shooting for the $600 a square foot at the CC record, tho. Is a new record in our future? Stay tuned, and NEVER underestimate City officials ability to throw our tax dollars away! Altho they already lead the league in TRIPLES, they are NOT satisfied, and are striving to go for the HOME RUN record. That new milestone in minicipal mismanagement (if not worse), change orders, and cost overruns can ONLY be accomplished with a new gym project!!
Monday, June 2, 2008
objections
I have no problem with meeting the ADA requirements, making the bathrooms wheelchair accessible, raising up the bathrooms to meet flood plain or hooking up the bathrooms so they actually may be of some use to our residents one day.
I object STRONGLY to paying outrageous fees that are THREE, FOUR, SIX, or SEVEN times the usual and customary charges !!!!! One expensive change order after another costing us HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS of our tax dollars!!! How can it be that a financially irresponsible cast of characters with a CONSISTENTLY QUESTIONABLE and VERY EXPENSIVE record of past building projects is EVEN CONSIDERED to build a multi-million-dollar gym? The cast of clowns that cant build a BATHROOM for less than TRIPLE the usual costs is somehow going to magically build a structure THIRTY TIMES as big as the bathrooms on time and on budget??? IMPOSSIBLE!! WONT HAPPEN!!! WHY are we NOT voting on this? If they truly believe a new gym is the will of the people, let the people speak, once and for all, settle it. This has been shoved down our throats by Bain, Borgemann, and Garcia. Who has that recall petition?
I haven't heard yet from the Tax Assessors office how much our property values have decreased officially but I read that nationally it was 14% in the first three quarters and another 15-20% is expected by the end of the year. The only good thing about this is that our taxes will go down and the politicians will have less to give away to their friends.
I was hoping that the City officials were just incompetent and naive but I got over that thought quickly. If I can have new building done for $130 a square foot and the City pays THREE times that, which they have done consistently in the past three years, where is the $260 a square foot going? If the normal profit margins for new construction in Dade County is 25% why are we paying 200%, 300%, 600% and more for the City construction? We KNOW it doesn't COST that, where is that money going? I can only conclude that there are many hands stretched out for their share of the profits.
Do I believe the bids are rigged? They start in the stratosphere and go up considerably into the preposterous-phere from there.
One example is the Country Club enclosure. The opening bid was 150k. That figure includes $300 a square foot estimation, a profit margin that ANY contractor would take ALL DAY LONG. The costs went up from there and the hard costs to actually construct the 520 square feet was over $315,000, which figures out to OVER $600 a square foot. TWO WALLS. Two walls were already in place and all that was needed was to tie them together. We have 30 cent tiles in the window sills there. We paid for a Rolls Royce and received a Yugo, a serviceable vehicle but nothing close to what we paid for. If I pay Taj Mahal prices I don't expect to stay at the Motel Six.
The same thing is happening with the bathrooms. We are getting hosed, again.
The other 85k went for tables, chairs, a new bar, and some renovations.
I object STRONGLY to paying outrageous fees that are THREE, FOUR, SIX, or SEVEN times the usual and customary charges !!!!! One expensive change order after another costing us HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS of our tax dollars!!! How can it be that a financially irresponsible cast of characters with a CONSISTENTLY QUESTIONABLE and VERY EXPENSIVE record of past building projects is EVEN CONSIDERED to build a multi-million-dollar gym? The cast of clowns that cant build a BATHROOM for less than TRIPLE the usual costs is somehow going to magically build a structure THIRTY TIMES as big as the bathrooms on time and on budget??? IMPOSSIBLE!! WONT HAPPEN!!! WHY are we NOT voting on this? If they truly believe a new gym is the will of the people, let the people speak, once and for all, settle it. This has been shoved down our throats by Bain, Borgemann, and Garcia. Who has that recall petition?
I haven't heard yet from the Tax Assessors office how much our property values have decreased officially but I read that nationally it was 14% in the first three quarters and another 15-20% is expected by the end of the year. The only good thing about this is that our taxes will go down and the politicians will have less to give away to their friends.
I was hoping that the City officials were just incompetent and naive but I got over that thought quickly. If I can have new building done for $130 a square foot and the City pays THREE times that, which they have done consistently in the past three years, where is the $260 a square foot going? If the normal profit margins for new construction in Dade County is 25% why are we paying 200%, 300%, 600% and more for the City construction? We KNOW it doesn't COST that, where is that money going? I can only conclude that there are many hands stretched out for their share of the profits.
Do I believe the bids are rigged? They start in the stratosphere and go up considerably into the preposterous-phere from there.
One example is the Country Club enclosure. The opening bid was 150k. That figure includes $300 a square foot estimation, a profit margin that ANY contractor would take ALL DAY LONG. The costs went up from there and the hard costs to actually construct the 520 square feet was over $315,000, which figures out to OVER $600 a square foot. TWO WALLS. Two walls were already in place and all that was needed was to tie them together. We have 30 cent tiles in the window sills there. We paid for a Rolls Royce and received a Yugo, a serviceable vehicle but nothing close to what we paid for. If I pay Taj Mahal prices I don't expect to stay at the Motel Six.
The same thing is happening with the bathrooms. We are getting hosed, again.
The other 85k went for tables, chairs, a new bar, and some renovations.
the insanity continues
this week we will know what the tax assessors office says about how much our property values have gone down, and our property taxes with it. This, of course, means that the City's revenues will be going south too, now, and for the forseeable future. THIS is a time to take on MILLIONS of dollars of debt??? job freezes, 4-day city work weeks, raised fees and taxes... and we are going to take out our MILLION-DOLLAR credit card? THIS is financial responsibility? WHAT are they thinking??? Are we just another all-night ATM to them? open any time, unlimited funds.. and if the balance gets too low from continuous cost overruns and change orders, they will just raise our taxes and/or fees. NO PROBLEM- for them. BIG problem for us.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
let the People vote
A debacle followed by a disaster and a fiasco.. one expensive change order after another.. forgotten water, sewer, and electric hookups.. HUGE cost overruns in EVERY project for OVER thre years.. How many of our tax dollars will have to disappear before we say ENOUGH!! Paying AT LEAST TRIPLE the usual and customary costs for every project we do.. its ridiculous. I am willing to bet that neither one of the Council, nor the City Manager, pay TRIPLE for house renovations, repairs, additions, or hookups at their own personal residences. Why do they pay that with OUR tax money? They are hopelessly out of touch with the needs of the residents. I say again, residents live within THEIR means, why not the City? The City Council doesnt even PRETEND to be interested in getting the best deal for the residents anymore. If they did, they would look at ALL the options (due diligence), but that didn't happen as the Council is more interested in fulfilling their own legacies than looking out for the resident's needs. Why not let the people vote? If you are so sure its what a majority want? then the issue will be settled, once and for all. What are they AFRAID of?
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