It’s amazing what you find rummaging through the old archives. The people running the LEDC should try it some time.
A few days ago, Mandy and Misti stood up and implored council to let them blow ANOTHER $2 million on the “business” park. Her main point was:
“We receive RFIs from the governors office on a weekly basis – and they’re all looking for acreage and, currently, as it stands, there is nowhere to put someone…that’s looking for even 2 to 5 acres…we’re having to pass up on some possible prospects because we don’t have the land and we’re not fully developed“
That is an EXACT quote. The implication: there are just TONS of businesses out there clamoring to throw money at us, and we just don’t have the land and infrastructure (of course, they can’t give us the NAMES of any businesses – that’s a secret, according to Mandy).
Now let’s go back to June of 2014 – almost exactly SEVEN YEARS AGO. That’s when LEDC President Neal Leavell stood before council and said the following…lifted VERBATEM from the LEDC minutes from 6/12/14 (page 15):
Neal Leavell, LEDC President, explained that the City has had good perspective [sic] businesses interested but the City does not have the land available with infrastructure to accommodate them.
Leavell pointed out the following:
The City cannot develop the Business Park without infrastructure
LEDC feels that infrastructure to the Business Park needs to be done
As you can see, Leavell made almost EXACTLY, word for word, the SAME plea to council: we are turning businesses away! We need to spend $1.3 million on infrastructure to make it happen! Then we’ll be on easy street!
After they got the $1.3 million, LEDC President Leavell then publicly voiced his assurances that they were finally ready to bring in the businesses:
“I feel like we’re getting somewhere,” board president Dr. Neal Leavell added. “I think we’ve really accomplished something. It’s taken a lot of patience, but we’re here.” – September 23, 2014
[Leavell STILL sits on the LEDC board, by the way. NONE of these people ever leave – they just shuffle titles around.]
This week we heard the SAME BULLSHIT out of Mandy’s and Misti’s mouth – only now the number is $1.9 million (with LEDC borrowing $1.5 million of it this time).
The worst part? They knew damn good and well that there was NOT a “huge interest” out there on the part of prospective businesses back in 2014. How do I know this? Kathi Masonheimer (the Economic Development Director that Misti forgot about) said it herself!
You see, back then, they were ALSO trying to get a grant to pay for this stuff (JUST LIKE they tried and failed last year with the CARES ACT scam). According to Masonheimer herself (5/21/14 LEDC minutes – page 3):
EDA Grant requires letters from companies saying they will bring in a total of 100 jobs. The jobs and letters can be from different companies but must equal 100 total jobs. Masonheimer is having a hard time getting letters.
A hard time getting letters?? That doesn’t sound like anyone is knocking down the doors to me! Quite the opposite.
So – in May of 2014, Kathi Masonheimer admits publicly she is “having a hard time getting letters” from any companies committing to this whole “business” park charade.
Then, literally ONE MONTH LATER, LEDC President Neal Leavell stands up there in front of council begging for a huge pile of money and tells them that they need this infrastructure ASAP because there are SO many people beating down the door!
Wow. Can you say “false pretenses”?