annexation meeting

There will be an annexation workshop Teusday, March 3rd to hear a DERM presentation regarding annexation and look at the final numbers from Corradino. Gym has admitted that Corradinos numbers were much lower than the numbers Gym had, but somehow, shows the same 2.3 million in surplus taxes we could collect. if the taxable values of the proposed annexation areas are down considerably, how is THAT possible? What about the zoning problem? Mitigation fees? The FEC property? If the County agrees in writing that THEY will be responsible for ANY needed cleanups, I would be okay with that part of the annexation question. The rest needs to be negotiated with the County to show a definite benefit to MS before it would be palatable to me. I see NO reason to rush into these discussions and make ANY agreements before debating the issues thoroughly. This is a part of doing ones DUE DILIGENCE, another alien term to this Mayor and Council. Dr. Mel P. Johnson

annexation issues

The DERM oficial couldnt make the Council meeting but he DID give some kind of report to the Council members. There was NO debate or discussion of any possible areas of pollution in the Milam tracts. A DERM map as of 2004 indicates at least TWO open contaminated sites; three environmental crime sites and DERM enforecement cases; 3 facilties handling hazardous materials; 53 small quantity generators; 16 underground storage tanks; 4 hazardous waste material remediation sites; 16 grease traps; 4 solid waste disposal sites; one Superfund site; and one landfill at the site of the canada dry bottling plant. When are THESE potential pollution issues going to be debated and discussed? EVER? this map DOES say that all of the potential sites are NOT listed and that there may very well be more that are NOT listed. If the County has cleaned up some of these they need to tell us how many and where? Which ones were partially cleaned up? 20% ? 35%? How much has been done, and how much MORE needs to be done? Hoping businesses that have been bankrupt for 25 years will pay for a cleanup is not a real option. Are we willing to roll the dice, and HOPE no pollution shows up?

DERM

It is only at Mr Dotson's insistence that the DERM representative will be coming to address the pollution issues in the areas under consideration for annexation. Nobody else has said a WORD about this concern. NOBODY. The County has said they have cleaned up some of the areas but has NOT said how much more needs to be done. There were some SIGNIFICANTLY polluted areas out there and we need to know how much pollution remains, as it could entail considerable financial risks to us if we annex polluted properties. This is, hopefully, a part of the process of DUE DILIGENCE if the DERM info is accurate and timely. To say that bankrupt businesses that have not been viable or are extinct for the past 20 years are responsible for the cleanups, is preposterous, of course. They went out of business for a reason. Some current or past businesses wont clean up a mess they didnt make, and really shouldnt be held responsible. Others may simply refuse, or dont have the financial means to do a cleanup. Some cleanups have run into the millions of dollars. THEN what do we do? Aerodex has been defunct for over 20 years, likewise Miami Drum. ALL of these issues need to be addressed, discussed and debated before any intelligent decision can be made. The same process needs to happen with mitigation fees, boundaries, FEC, and zoning, not to mention taking a hard look at the basic numbers that the City Manager suggested.

annual mitigation fees for dump?

Is it true that, besides the 5.5 million mitigation fee upfront for annexing the 58th street dump, there is also an annual 1.5 million fee? Is the FEC property one of the MOST polluted? Does ANYBODY seriously think the COUNTY would even attempt to make the FEC clean up its proprty? FEC has always had considerable political clout all the way up to Washington. They stopped passenger service over thirty years ago when every OTHER railroad was REQUIRED to carry passengers, as a public service. The money is in the freight-hauling for the railroads, so they just stopped the passenger side, and got it approved. THAT is how much political influence they have. The County will do nothing to make them clean up their land, just cover it up. DERM will run some tests, give it a clean bill of health, and WE will be stuck with the cleanup consequences. They have done it before.