Tag: more free money

LEDC Hands Another $20,000 Tax Dollars Out For “Life Safety Grant”

The last time they gave out a chunk this big, it was to Mercer and his Heritage Funeral Home in 2021. Mercer is really hurting for cash, you see…

According to the Radiogram…

During their monthly meeting on Wednesday, May 15th, the Lampasas Economic Development Corporation awarded a Life Safety Grantto a business referred to by its building’s address, but not its name,in their meeting agenda. The Life Safety Grant will help the business cover the cost of building upgrades, so long as that cost does not go over $20,000.

“We’re very excited we got someone applying for the grant,” LEDC Board President Misti Talbert commented. Following discussion of the renovation project, the LEDC board unanimously voted to reward the grant.

A business referred to by the building’s address but not its name? That’s pretty weird, if you ask me. Why all the secrecy? I mean, Misti is EXCITED to hand out $20,000 in tax dollars…but doesn’t want to mention any names? Just my opinion, but it makes it look like you have something to hide.

Misti is VERY good at handing out tax dollars. She gave Deorald Finney a $72,000 break on electrical hookups for his Stone Valley project. A project where Finney promised houses would be sold for “$150,000 to $180,000” but then jacked the prices to the $250,000 area.

Talbert also handed her old City council buddy Chris Harrison at S2M2 $185,000 for a “detention pond” that appears to not actually detain any water whatsoever.

Oh – and Misti also pilfered $971,000 in Covid relief money from the City to piss away on her Business Pork Project that is 20 years old, has wasted over $7.4 million dollars and STILL sits empty 30 months after she wasted the LAST million on it.

Great job, Misti! Truly, you are a “community champion”! Which is why I gave her an F on her mayoral report card a few years ago.

Looks Like The Word Is Out That City Council Is An Easy Mark – Free Cash For ALL!!

Apologies for the long hiatus (look it up, Monica) but even constantly-ranting Lampasshole like me needs a vacation every now and then.

My suitcase was barely unpacked when I jumped on-line to see what our brilliant City Council members have been up to lately…and I was not disappointed.

Looking through the freshly-posted minutes from Oct 14th, I found a beautiful nugget. One that suggests the WORD IS OUT to smart, rich developers that the dummies in Lampasas government are so desperate for “growth” that they will literally hand out six-figure cash awards to EVERYONE. To wit [page 5]:

“Several meetings ago, Council was briefed regarding the redevelopment of the Santa Fe Depot to a restaurant and possible brewery. Although the tenants have not been identified by the developer [shocker…I doubt there are any yet], he has proceeded with construction plans, specification and bidding. Mister Hardin has also discussed the possible partnership with the City to fund a portion [is that like ‘cost sharing’??] of the right-of-way improvements including sidewalks and flatwork – which may be between $80,000 and $100,000.

Seems like $100,000 is the magic number to go begging to the City of Lampasas for. It is a huge chunk of money for most people, but also an amount The Seven Goldfish have proven repeatedly to hand out like Halloween candy to any schmuck who asks. Pope Eckermann is getting his for ‘business park development’….Deorald Finney is getting his in ‘free’ electrical hookups….S2M2 is getting theirs for a detention pond AND ‘free’ electrical hookups…Halff Associates is getting THEIR $120,000 for putting -up a survey on SurveyMonkey….the list goes on and on.

This Hardin guy must read the papers and figure “screw it – I’ll ask for free stuff too. This town is run by a drunken sailor and six goldfish”. Talk about shooting fish in a barrel, if you’ll pardon the pun.

So now the City is considering “partnerships” with restaurants and breweries? I must have missed that in our City Charter.

I had heard this moronic “craft brewery” rumor around town before – and I laughed my ass off. Anyone who thinks a “craft brewery” will fly in this town is clearly from another planet. This town is full of people who are constantly asking when the new Burger King will open or bleating loudly that we need a Long John Silvers, because that is the pinnacle of great seafood. These are the same people who will run across town mid-meal from Toupsie’s to Putters to save a nickel on a pound of crawfish.
The kind of people who tip $2 on a $35 dollar tab and then steal the salt shaker.

In short, it is a town filled with Lampassholes.

Good luck selling your fancy $8 craft beer. Lampassholes and craft beer go together like oil and water. There is no way in hell a sane businessman will recoup his massive capital investment in a brewery in Lampasas. It just won’t happen.

But get the dummies in the City government to start handing out $100,000 checks? Well, that certainly helps out the old business model, doesn’t it? I wonder how the owners of Schlotsky’s or Mojo Coffee feel about the City handing out massive checks to new businesses while they missed the gravy train themselves. Probably kicking themselves in the butt.

Just a tip for this Mr. Hardin developer guy: in order to ensure you get your free shit, make sure you hire FORMER CITY COUNCIL MEMBER “Greasy” Chris Harrison to go in there and beg to Misti. Then you are a shoo-in for the cash. Scumbag politicians are always for sale cheap and offer an outstanding ROI.