Money crunch? What money crunch?
If money is so tight in the city, why is there a project underway to complete the Third St. - Front St. split. I noticed tons of gravel there today. Are we going to pave it over so there's no chance of a resumption of that Iacoangeli intersection project. Regardless, shouldn't someone say let's defer this "improvement" until later?
posted by The Observer at 8/18/2007 01:14:00 PM
10 Comments:
Given enough money, a major multilevel interstate highway type interchange could be installed at the Third & Front Street split and named in honor of who ever came up with the pork barrel or boondoggle money to do the project. Now that the two structures are removed to eliminate a blind spot it is hard to make a case for spending more money at the intersection. The split has been complete for years and safety improved by demolition of eyesores.
The simple way is call Pat Lewis at City Hall and ask him what is occurring. A contractor may have decided to just take it upon themselves to store crushed stone on the site. Pat would wish to know about this because that could create a clear vision hazard where the structures stood. I am unaware if John Iacoangeli wants the correction named after him because what was needed has been done. I am unaware if the Dick Walters pool at an defunct school has a section named the Iacoangeli splash pond. If it did, it would be government vs. local merchants of backyard inflatable splash ponds.
The neighbors deserve to have the empty lot and the sidewalks repaired so every time a rainstorm comes there is not a lake. Besides, the project was changed in the CIP budget as repairing/beautifying the site, and it was to be started with this years sidewalk project. The City may not have a ton of money, but at least this project as presented will clean up that corner without spending all of the extra money to unnecessarily change the intersection. Who on Union St. would want to have to go around on Roessler St. to get home every day? I sure wouldn't. Plus, the safety concerns for getting fire trucks and ambulances back in that neighborhood? It was a bad waste of money plan from the start, but since the houses were torn down, and that actually helped visibility, the neighbors deserve this landscaping of the eyesore. Put some nice shrubbery and maybe a bench or two, and maybe even some signage at the point, and at least the eyesore is gone without more unneeded waste.
Cityresident:
I'm not advocating a new intersection. I'm advocating nothing.
If you want to put a nice rock garden in front of your house and suddenly you lose your job, do you go ahead with it. This is part of the mentality of government -- just do it anyway because it's been planned. The money will come from somewhere.
That somewhere is from your pocket. This isn't like a potholed road that's a driving hazard. It's a beautification project. It's like that big screen TV I want. Would it be nice to have, yes. Can I afford it, no, unless I charge it (spend money I don't have).
Unfortunately, the project was started, and it needs to be finished, or at least cleaned up. I know that the area could simply be planted with grass, and that would be fine with me, but I don't live right there. If I did, I would want more than just grass. I would want trees and sidewalks. Nothing fancy. The city should be able to pay for that out of Parks and Rec or something. Toss a bench or two and be done. I am not saying to scrap a street project for this, but every neighborhood has the right to look nice.
I think City Resident has the correct perspective on what is reasonable. If there is a drainage and sidewalk issue, address that problem. Whatever is done to enhance the island must not interfere with clear sight for turns. John IACO has many good ideas but if turned loose to pursue them our only recourse would be to declare the city bankrupt.
I do not think that city employees deserve any more or less than workers in general. Settling union demands put our steel industry nearly out of business. I see no sense in celebrating a failed steel workers strike in Monroe. Can anyone tell me what type of steel product(s) Newton made?
I spent the money for my Hawaii trip or big screen money on attorney fees because a councilperson forced me to enforce my first amendment rights she desperately wished taken away. There is a cabal of jerks loose in the town that would bankrupt us if they could and establish a reign of tyranny.
I think Pat Lewis did a fine job of answering questions on the third front interchange at the council meeting last night. This intersection has been functional since ox carts were in common use. I did drive by the intersection and noted that the paving contractor is using it to store milled asphalt. I wondered about the gravel because economics dictate the use of crushed limestone in place of gravel for aggregate.
A big pile of top soil is on an island in Hollywood for the obvious use of the contractors correcting our sidewalks for handicapped accessibility. It has not occurred to ask anyone why it is there.
It seems reasonable to simply change the charter to put the mayor in charge of law enforcement and disband the police department. We could do what most of the rest of the county does and rely on the sheriff for law enforcement. Perhaps we would need several contracted deputies for patrol work. Compora actually favors sheriff deputies for work such as serving process on innocent citizens she lumps with IKO. She is not going to take it anymore she thinks.
Did you catch Councilwoman Compora using the excuse for sewer replacement to do the Front and Third St. intersection? Think she wanted to hold it up in case John gets back in office? Doesn't she realize that most of the sanitary sewers in Monroe are the same brick type, and they all need replacing, so they should be replaced on an as needed basis? With the City's luck, they would replace that sewer and then one down the street would cave in, and they would go further in debt doing an emergency repair. How can a person talk so much of fiscal responsibility and then try and spend money unwisely?
On a side note, what is up with the police vote?
Observer,
I really don’t know what else this administration can do.
John Iaco in a fit of drunken spending did all sorts of stupid things around town. We now have a splash park on a defunct schools property due to his and his cohort’s stupidity. We spent money researching an unnecessary roundabout to fix a “confusing” intersection that the neighborhood argued was already fixed by a stop sign. He also bought and knocked down a house and spent a bunch of time and money figuring out how to fix the front / third intersection that also wasn’t broken.
I agree that knocking down the house improved the appearance and visibility of the neighborhood and intersection.
We need to fix the broken curbs, plant some grass, trees etc as long as it doesn’t impede the visibility.
This is the kind of capital improvements that the city should be involved in. This spending shouldn’t be considered reckless by this administration.
Can someone please explain to me why Linda Compora doesn’t understand that fire, police, etc all need to be cut back to keep this city fiscally responsible? Hey – I want great police and fire protection also. I just don’t accept that we can’t have that while cutting their budgets significantly. Many of our surrounding townships have populations similar to the cities, and they have police protection provided by a few contracted sheriff deputies. Can’t we rely on the sheriff and state police for some expertise and functions? Don’t we all pay county and state taxes? Why don’t we follow our governor’s direction and start sharing services with our surrounding municipalities?
I think the operational assessment is fundamentally flawed because they only benchmarked similar sized cities to assess where the City of Monroe compared. If they would have had the fortitude to compare to similar sized townships they would have seen a vast discrepancy in the number of employees.
I am tired of how the City of Monroe Jobs program goes on with my tax dollars why the infrastructure crumbles. If we have fewer employees we will have less pension obligation. Also – by the way, why do we still have a pension? It seems to me like most companies / employers in this region are abandoning defined pension programs. Why doesn’t the city follow the trend for the new hires? The UAW has had to accept the new reality of the global economy. The Govt Employees union should accept the same situation.
Observer – the city needs to fix the infrastructure. Why complain about this? Why not focus on the Jobs program that is City Hall?
Just curious – do you have to reject many posts that are coming in, or did the lunatic fringe disappear?
Thanks for the good job in moderating this forum.
Roundybout.
Good comments Roundabout. It is becoming increasingly obvious that Compora appears in the opinion of many including the writer to be seriously out of touch with reality with a hyperactive imagination about skunks, yelling, flowers, photographs, plots against her, and so on. Sure she needs a big police force to investigate the output of what appears to very paranoid if not insane mind.
The fact is that our taxes are far too high for the services delivered. Much of this is a legacy of the IACO administration that spent money like a drunken sailor on shore leave. Sure the fire department settlement got his brother out of the firehouse and he was considered to be a pain to endure. However, the early retirement with benefits is haunting us as an unfunded mandate.
I also that the observer is doing a good job
Mr Smith,
Your obvious obsessive attitude regarding Compora shines through so much that any valid argument you have gets flushed right down the toilet. Get past it, you harassed, her she robbed you of your supposed Hawaii vacation, so who is the winner? Remember this is non bashing fact, not rumor, not myth, not a biased opinion, not vindictive driven bs. JUST THE FACTS
Once again you people keep spewing rhetoric bs where is the proof. You mention the IACO administration spent money like a drunken sailor on shore leave. Where? His administration invested some money so the kids who aren’t as fortune as some would have something to do in the summer. Just because you or others don’t have any use for the people who happen to live it that area shouldn’t taint the validity of that project. They also invested money in a prominent park located on Monroe street what’s the problem their, is it because none of your ancestors are memorialized their? Remember this is non bashing fact, not rumor, not myth, not a biased opinion, not vindictive driven bs. JUST THE FACTS
Then you go on to attack the man’s brother! Have you ever met the guy, or are you spouting off something that some lame brain department head might have told you? Did you validate this statement by talking to the firefighters he represented? Word has it the current Mayor, his previous handpicked city manager, previous finance director and current fire chief probably did find him a pain to endure. But then again isn’t any good labor leader a pain to endure to any management team? So don’t attempt to generalize the guy as a pain in the firehouse just because he was good at what he did. Remember this is non bashing fact, not rumor, not myth, not a biased opinion, not vindictive driven bs. JUST THE FACTS
You also make mention of the fact of the early retirement with benefits. What early retirement proposal did the IACO administration put into place? My bet is you don’t have a clue. Remember this is non bashing fact, not rumor, not myth, not a biased opinion, not vindictive driven bs. JUST THE FACTS
So lets get back to the issue that the IACO administration spent money like a drunken sailor on shore leave. Just because the IACO administration spent money on parks for recreation is that a bad thing? If so what phrase can we coin for the CAPPUCCILLI administration? In addition to the initial invest of millions of dollars the yearly price tag for the Ice Arena is roughly $450,000.00. Not a bad chunk of change, certainly deserving of some cleaver phrase right? Remember this is non bashing fact, not rumor, not myth, not a biased opinion, not vindictive driven bs. JUST THE FACTS
Oh and please spare us the song and dance about how you were defending your first amendment rights. People who often times abuse the privilege get called to the carpet and sometimes get spanked, you did to a certain extent. Truth of the matter is you fought so hard because if Compora got her wish and the PPO was enforced you would lose your Concealed Carry Permit isn’t that the jest of it? Remember this is non bashing fact, not rumor, not myth, not a biased opinion, not vindictive driven bs. JUST THE FACTS
For Roundybout
Since you can read I won’t bother repeating myself, I have answered some of your bs above so enjoy those tid bits. But I do have some questions you might be able to assist me with. (fat chance).
How much money was actually spent researching an unnecessary roundabout to fix a “confusing” intersection?
What do you consider a bunch of time and money?
Do you have any facts and figures to substantiate these claims or are you trying to pass off your one sided opinion as honest to goodness documented proof that we should all accept?
The community can’t wait to hear what could be some truly enlighten information so fire away. Remember this is non bashing fact, not rumor, not myth, not a biased opinion, not vindictive driven bs. JUST THE FACTS
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