muggers exposed?

There may be people who dont care if they get mugged or their money disappears but I dont know any of them. The muggers themselves dont care, for sure, and are probably the ones complaining about those who DO care. The muggers complain about being exposed - tough. Get used to it, or stop mugging us.

meaningless numbers?

IF the County retains control of zoning and folds in the car rental, bus, and train terminals into the MIC it wont make much difference what they put on the remaining 10%. It also makes the City Managers numbers on current taxable land value for area 9at the very least, meaningless. Once they are folded into the MIC we will receive NO tax revenues from those properties. Its a lot like annexing the stockade- another area that wont yield any tax revenues- bad business. Are there any OTHER surprises we should know about, but dont, because no semblance of DUE DILIGENCE has even been attempted? Why arent the Council asking these questions? Billy? Garcia? Best? Youngs? The only one who seems to be interested in these questions, and answers, is Dotson. Hes a voice of prudence and reason in a cesspool of vanity and blind ambition.

area 9 concerns, part 2

What ARE the exact boundaries of area 9? I am under the impression that the MIC will bring NO taxable value to the owners, is that correct? If so, and the car rental places, train and bus terminals will be IN the MIC, what will be left? Warehouses? What are the development plans for that area? does anybody know? Residential? Condos? Low-income housing? Office buildings? Parking garages? Are there pollution concerns there? Who will keep zoning control? County planners should let us know BEFORE we vote, not after. The MS Council SHOULD ask, if they were really doing any due diligence. Apparently they think "due diligence" somehow doesnt fall into their job description because they havent done any recently. Billy is ruling by decree, HIS decree, and somehow doesnt need to look at all the possibilities BEFORE deciding. He summarily ruled out refurbishing as an option for the gym and has NOW decreed that pollution, zoning, mitigation fees, and accurate revenue numbers are irrelevent to him, as they could possibly hinder his vanity-filled legacy projects.

area 9 cpncerns

The City Manager is on record as saying that area 9 in the past has cost the County hundreds of thousands of dollars in deficits every year. If we are to believe him, it is a costly area to run and one that has historically run a deficit. If he is in error about that statement he should have NO problem showing us where he got his figures from and from whence the error arose. The documented correct figures would be expected at that point, of course. It would be helpful to know if his figures are MS generated or the County's, and over what period of time was he originally talking about. To give up 6 choice parcels with a stellar 20 million dollar taxable value in return for a breakeven or marginally profitable area makes NO sense. Trading 6 pieces of the Crown jewels for 60 pieces of costume jewelery is BAD business. Is the taxable value of area 9 trending up, or down? We already have a sex motel, do we really want or need any more adult recreation areas? If the County maintains zoning controls we will be at the mercy of their whims.

such a deal

In return for a property that the City Manager is on record saying has been losing hundreds of thousands of dollars per year for years, somehow we are expected to give them 6 parcels of prime property worth 20 million tax dollars. Our negotiator hammered this deal out for us in tough negotiation sessions! Originally VG wanted their Northernmost border to be Westward Drive but, thanks to our fearless negotiator we are only giving away a 6 lucrative pieces of property for one that loses money. Westward Drive was saved! for now....

abject surrender

As predicted, Billy has meekly surrendered to Deno, accepting the terms that Deno dictated to him, and then somehow declared victory without a hint of doing due diligence. Billy has confused capitulation with negotiations. Call off the dogs, Mayor Deno! Billy the Capitulator has had enough! He has decided, in his infinite wisdom, that the City of MS should accept whatever leftovers that VG offers. He refuses to fight for a fair and equitable share for MS. Complete and total surrender is his negotiating strategy. The concerns about pollution, infrastructure, mitigation fees, and zoning are apparently irrelevent to him. To anybody with ANY business sense, however, those are pertinent and possibly problematic areas to be investigated BEFORE deciding about annexation. Billy only sees his legacy growing. If he were to even suggest that due diligence has been done, we would see his nose growing too.

magicians?

By the City Manager's own admission the County has been LOSING hudreds of thousands of dollars each year in area 9. What sort of magic are WE going to do that the County COULDNT do that will change it from an area that LOSES hundreds of thousands of dollars per year to one that will yield US a profit of 498k per year? Are the tax values trending up, or down over the last 5 years? What sort of infrastructure will be necessary? How were those numbers determined? Are those the County's numbers or OURS? If it starts showing a profit, will we THEN have to start paying mitigation fees? What about any possible pollution? Who will control the zoning?
Why havent ALL of these issues been discussed by Council as a part of their DUE DILIGENCE obligation? Has somebody relieved them of their obligation to do due diligence AGAIN? It DOES come with the job, no? They are miserably failing the due diligence process and the people who elected them, AGAIN. One pollution cleanup could easily wipe out any profits we might make. A possible new sewer system could do the same thing. No ongoing entity can survive this lack of vision and responsibility for long and survive. We are throwing the dice and hoping.

healing?

Can it be that Tom Curtis has performed a public service tonight, at the Country Club, with the Festival meeting? I frequently disagree with his Editorials and opinions but his efforts to revive the Festival seems to have revived the community interest and spirit need to enhance and expand the Festival in the future. It has brought people of differing ideas and philosophies together to unite for a common cause- to have the best Festival ever. Returning to our roots on the river and the environment seemed to be a general consensus and seems to be a good starting focal point for the future. The Indians were certainly a part of our history and should be acknowledged at least, and included. Their story and culture should be heard and shared. Perhaps this is a first step in a community healing and revitalization process. Time will tell.

dont snitch

Is there ANYONE who doesnt get upset when their (tax) money disappears? Only the robbers who stole it. They dont get upset, and laugh all the way to the bank. They tell people to forget it, get over it, and dont tell anybody else so the people they are stealing from wont be wary. Then they can go on stealing with little worries about getting caught. The people WILL remember when it counts. These are the issues-forget the personalities involved.

get over being robbed?

There is no shortage of areas that the City Manager has mismanaged. Several of them have been documented here- the Finance Dept online posted numbers, freebies at the pool, free electricity to Santana, expensive dugout covers, etc etc. The bathrooms and Cc addition are the easiest ones to expose and cost us the most money. In addition, the pattern of cost overruns and change orders continues to this day, and will continue until enough pressure is put on the City to change things. The ones who suggest "getting over it" are more than likely the special interest groups in town who are HOPING people will forget because they are the ones benefitting from the missing tax monies.

mismanagement

Letting friends use our facilities for free and hiring unqualified friends is the LEAST of our problems with the City Manager. Allowing HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS of our tax dollars to disappear, over and above the usual costs, is MUCH worse and smacks of gross incompetency or corruption. We know what the actual construction costs for these projects are- why are we being billed for HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS of dollars more? Is this consistent incompetency or constant corruption? or both? In any case, he has to go before he puts us in the poor house. We cant afford any more of his financial disasters. Freebies added to that, in a time of recession, when MS NEEDS the revenues, just makes it that much worse. Gymbo has GOT to go!

lowball numbers again

Seven million is the lowball starter price on a new gym, to get us involved. Remember the 150k CC addition? The one that would up costing us more tha THREE times that original figure? The bathrooms were supposed to cost 200k at the start, a generous figure even then. The numbers for that project are now approaching 500k and it is STILL not functional, two years later. The lowball approach has worked so well in the past they are trying it again. They will continue to use that approach until WE stop them. Those two projects alone have caused over 600k of our tax monies to disappear, over and above the usual and customary costs. Their response to this? Ignore it and it will go away, like it NEVER happened. Could ANY business survive spending like that? Of course not, and neither can we. Can the whole crew! Start with the City Manager.

prudent, or not

IF it takes TWO years, and it HAS, to build two bathrooms at over $400 a square foot, it will take a MINIMUM of five years (and 20 million dollars) to build a new gym, judging from previous disasters. Its hard, if not impossible, to defend MS city officials to anybody because of their horrible mismanagement and fiscal irresponsibilities in the past. VG is crowing about its low millage rates (true), low crime rates (maybe true), and fiscal restraint on their salaries (perhaps), but NOWHERE do I see any claim that VG has done anything CLOSE to due diligence in this annexation matter. If they had done due diligence they would be crowing about it now. Its obvious they havent. All they can see is dollar signs dancing in their heads, with NO consideration given to any possible risks involved, just like MS officials. Without due diligence we would be HOPING that everything is okay on ALL those issues; rolling the dice, gambling. That isnt prudent fiscal policy for anyone, never has been and never WILL be.

due diligence discombobulated

While its not difficult to outperform the Springs Council at almost anything, neither they nor VG has really done anything close to due diligence on this annexation issue. There has been little or no mention of zoning, possible pollution, or mitigation fees so far by either entity. If the County at some point in the future decides to dump all their peep shows,sex motels, and or low income housing into these unincorporated areas because they are out of the way, what redress will the municipalities have if they have NO control over zoning? If the County is sure the pollution concerns are minimal, they should put it in writing that THEY will be responsible for any cleanups necessary, or take out a multimillion-dollar insurance policy against that possibility. Equitable boundaries are still an issue and the development potentials, and lack of same, are concerns that need to be addressed still. What about the 100+ million dollars in infrastructure needed and planned for by the County from 36 st to 58 st? Are there similar plans for South of 36 street? Area 9? What about the MIA developments? For anybody to compare themselves with the MS Council and management is not setting the bar very high as they have a LONG history of VERY expensive projects, fiscal irresponsibility, disorganization, waste, lack of transparency,questionable numbers, and mismanagement throughout the city administration. While they are surely not the only ones with these issues, this ineptitude and incompetency affects us directly and comes out of our pocket, at the end of the day. Larry, Moe,and Curly make a lot of people look smart. There is NO doubt that MS is horribly mismanaged and/or corrupt. However there are NO responses coming from VG regarding ANY of the issues raised above. Could it be that VG hasnt even LOOKED at those issues and has no clue regarding zoning, possible pollution, MIA, mitigation fees, or infrastructure? They need to do their homework and be prepared before they can hope to influence others. The same sad story is also true of the MS Council and City officials, of course. What are the chances on EITHER one actually DOING due diligence? NADA.

due diligence denied?

IF 9 of the County commissioners DONT want to allow annexation it wont happen either, and we will have wasted a lot of time and energy putzing around with VGs ridiculous demands in the meantime. Isnt our lobbyist supposed to check out all the Commissioners for us and let us know? At last count 9 were NOT in favor and that seals that deal, no matter WHAT the municipalities decide or demand, rant or rave. Lets talk directly with Sosa, if need be. VG is a waste of time- a wannabe player who is trying to hold us up with delusions of grandeur. Talk to people who actually have some abilities to make this happen- IF, after all is said and done, due diligence shows it to be a positive and equitable thing for all the residents involved.

sales tax and acne

What IS the status of the sales tax? I heard the County was going to take it back to help pay THEIR bills. If they take it back and we have to raise our ad valorem taxes to pay for it, the people should have to vote on that, right? Could this be the reason that the annexation people are pushing so hard to get it done TOMORROW? Before the people have voted? and certainly before any semblance of DUE DILIGENCE has been done? VG has NO reply when asked about THEIR supposed due diligence- zoning, pollution, FEC, policing, Area 9, etc. NADA. VG is a pimple on an elephants butt. Why are we wasting our time and energy talking to them? We need to go directly to Sosa or the County Commission.

administrative ghosts

Now that the Water and Sewer Department are finally transferred to the County we can expect to see the City Manager and the Public Works Director take a BIG pay cut, right? They no longer have to ADMINISTRATE those departments (if they ever really did), so with less responsibility comes less pay, right? Are they now denying that they ever really administrated anything there? The City Manager is on record claiming 15-20% of his time was tied up with Water and Sewer, so he should take a 15-20% pay cut, right, since there is NOTHING to administrate? Public Works really did that work and should take a serious pay cut too. The City of MS received $440,000 a year to administrate. Now there is NOTHING to administrate and we are out $440k in revenues coming in. Is ANYBODY seriously suggesting that they should receive the same pay for doing NOTHING?

second chance

Palmetto Bay has the right idea. The people SHOULD vote on issues that will have a major impact on their communities for decades. It gives the people a second chance to let their voices be heard, just in case their Councils have stopped listening to them, as in OUR case. We need to be the SECOND municipality to have the people vote BEFORE any major move, like annexation, is done. The petition going around will enable us to have that second chance. We probably should have had this voting option in place BEFOR the new gym project was approved by our illustrious Council, WITHOUT a vote by the people. Is it too late?

blind ambition, part 3

Billy stopped listening to the people a LONG time ago, around the time he began listening to the special interest groups in town. He has been a HUGE disappointment to most of us. He is single-mindedly focused on enhancing his legacy. His legacy will be one of shame and embarrassment if he leads us into bankruptcy as a result of his legacy projects. Once it is done he will move away and leave us the bills to pay for DECADES. Billy has sold the residents out. Blind, reckless ambition, thy name is Billy Bain. What are the chances he will declare all other issues relating to annexation irrelevent, like he did the Pistorino report, and try to push annexation thru without even a suggestion, a rumor, or a pretense of doing DUE DILIGENCE? Remember the deaf ear in April.

comments

Lets see.... a poster complains about others posting... somebody else says the residents are envious of city officials but refuses to say what we might be envious of. What have they accomplished that anybody would be envious of? Keeping their job after multiple screwups and fiascos would be something to be envious I guess. No matter HOW inept/wasteful/corrupt an official is they get to continue with no accountibility or penalties. They never get bored wasting our money at $400, $600 a square foot and more. The numbers speak for themselves. Boredom and envy have nothing to do with the criticism. Disgust and outrage is more like it.

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