Same people that curried favor with the Admin over TOD, TIF, LTFC, Tax Referendum, etc. Cheerleaders for the VC, people who get appointed to the Commissions (and then miss meetings), etc. Same old stuff. They can't face up to the fact that we have been going down a wrong path, need to change course, diversify the thrust of our initiatives... What would you expect...
Ever since the President has been stacking the Commissions and selecting the Chairpersons we have been mired in this crap. They didn't believe that their consultant's visions for the Village would be defeated in TOD and TIF, nor that their organization would be trounced again on the taxes, after making all the absurd "something for everyone" promises to rollback fees ("Give me hundreds of dollars a year and I'll give you a $20 discount on the Vehicle sticker I just raised") approach, or the "Money for wilderness areas" that they thought would suck in the "Green" vote, or the "Move the money to another account so we can show how urgent this is" spiel that we have had to listen to for months on end. Now we are in the phase where every loyal shill, employee and department has to take their turn and tell why we need more of this wrongheaded approach to managing this community.
Take a look at the Unfunded Capital Improvements list that went up on the website recently. This is the list Trustee Smith referred to as the ten million dollar hole we couldn't fill. One of those items is the "Redaptive rebuild of the Youth Center for $5.8 million for the Rec Department. Who are they kidding? Divide that by the number of program participants and you'll see how their thinking works. Last time this surfaced the Youth Center was a "Boutique Hotel" complete with a small building built in the green space along the river and the "Community Center" was aimed at the land where the Swim Club is located - and surroundings. I see the $3-4 million tunnel is back - the one that leads to "Centennial Plaza" as a site for Village Events and our ever expanding "museum "campus" - and of course the future site of th multi-storied parking garage and the four story condos that would magically appear along the south side of Pine.
These people think that way. They believe hordes of shoppers from elsewhere will flock to our our tiny block of stores and already congested RR crossing if we just build more density. When will this idiocy cease. The saving graceof this community was always a street plan that confused those heading for the Zoo and kept them out so they wouldn't get lost, now they want to lure tham back with the aid of their Tom Toms. For waht - a razor thin slice of the sales tax split on a meal? Bravo - throw out the best features we have - a peaceful, tranquil ambiance - and go with the flow. Don't they ever hear what people have said - loud and clear - that they want?
Posted Wednesday Mar 18, 2009 11:00
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