The Lampasas Economic Dunces Club (LEDC) finally released the minutes from the March 24th meeting. It is apparent they are not going to let the Eco-Strong debacle deter them one bit.
Even though they have no prospective tenant AND the labor market is so tight right now that they can’t even fill lifeguard positions, they are considering BORROWING $1,500,000.00 of the $1,900,000.00 needed to complete Phase I Phase II of their ‘business’ park goat pasture disaster – to “create good jobs”.
[Let’s not forget, the LEDC already wasted $7,500 for a grant application for free federal money that apparently fell through when local scumbag Mike Cour was exposed as a charlatan. They have also already paid Pope Eckermann over $70,000 for the “plans” for Phase I Phase II of this money-burning endeavor]
Bancorp South is going to be kind enough to lend these idiots money at 3.2% for the next 21 years [page 12 and 13] so they can build some roads and put MORE pipes in the ground. For those of you who are math challenged, that is $48,000 per year in interest payments over 21 years = over $1 million just in interest payments.
They are willing to do this, because that debt will be serviced “SOLELY by SALES TAX COLLECTED“. This is essentially a completely risk-free loan by Bancorp South – it is backed completely by YOUR tax dollars. Tax dollars that could be spent on lots of other things, but instead will be wasted to the tune of $48,000 per year, every year, until the year 2042.
Oh, and they want to charge a $15,000 “loan origination fee” on top of it all!
And bankers wonder why they are disliked! They keep my deposits at the bank and pay me 0.00% interest….and then lend it to these morons at 3.2% – and the payback is GUARANTEED by a sales tax stream! Talk about free money. PLUS the $15,000 “loan origination fee”. Absolute scumbags, if you ask me. Good thing we bailed them all out back in 2008.
How will the LEDC “invest” this new $2 million pile of money into their goat pasture? Well, for one, they are planning to blow $379,115 JUST ON PIPES! [see page 15 PVC water pipes and wastewater pipes].
Incredible.
But it gets better: way back in 2015 and 2016, they ALREADY WASTED piles of money putting water pipes in! [$678,000 to Qro Mex Construction between 12/22/15 and 7/7/16 to install water and wastewater pipes]
But here we are – five years later and these morons are doing it all over again and they have the NERVE to call it “Phase I”!!
Just a reminder: TJ Monroe was up to her eyeballs in ALL of this shit. She was (and STILL IS) a sitting member of the LEDC AND City council during this entire time period. She is a disaster and you fools just elected her mayor for two more years of this kind of dipshittery. Congrats.