If you love watching slow-motion train wrecks, 2022 will be a great year, I predict. Look at all the eggs City council has in the air – more than a few will go SPLAT!
- Hostess House
remodelrefresh. Clearly, City council learned nothing from the $1.5 million Old City Hall renovation fiasco and will be launching an encore performance over the next year. When the City took over the Hostess House, they lied and said the HH needed a few “minor repairs”. Now, they are planning on spending over $1.4 million – and another elevator will be involved! We know how well that turned out last time.
2. Skate park and pavilion. This is another project that has already doubled in price before ground was even broken (from $200,000 to $400,000 just for skate park). The pavilion will cost at least $175,000 (I’ll take the over on that, too).
Janet “Crazier” Crozier, the local recycling/gardening loon is also trying to attach $10,000 worth of water tanks to this project, in what is a VERY questionable use of HOT funds (yes, I’ll be making that case later this year with a lawyer, if need be). The Community Gardens spent a grand total of only $35 on water last year (their water bill is subsidized by the taxpayers) – yet still demand the taxpayer fund a $10,000+ idiotic rain catch system.
3. New Assistant City Manager. Ryan Ward was hired to be the new ACM. He can never take the place of Rickie Roy, of course. Rickie was taken from us far too soon. Rest assured I will put Mr. Ward through the wringer this year. I am still waiting to hear how much they are paying this guy – the City could not be bothered to divulge that to The Dispatch last week. I doubt he could be any worse than Gary Cox, however. We’ll see.
4. Business Park Phase One Two. This is the granddaddy of City boondoggles. This phase of the boondoggle will assure the LEDC and City will have wasted at LEAST $6 million on this thing before it is all done. LEDC head moron Misti Talbert just signed off on another $1.5 million in borrowing for this goat pasture (Mike White’s words, not mine).
The entire premise of this Business Park is idiotic and built on faulty logic and assumptions. It will be a failure, as it has been for the last 17 years. I predict many, many additional costs to pop up over this year. They will all be documented here in great detail.