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.