Mayor & Council – Event Center “Not Dead in the Water,” Yet
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5 Responses to “Mayor & Council – Event Center “Not Dead in the Water,” Yet”
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If this event center is so important to Monticello’s growth, try jobs and then we will see real growth. These special elections for sales tax doesn’t show the real belief of the voters. Sales tax needs to be voted on in general elections and then you would know how people really feel. The ones that vote in December are the ones that thought the idea up to start with, regular voters around here are interested in Christmas, hunting and shopping. This big interest in the event center, convention center is possibly hiding bad streets, no jobs, water system, sewer system, sewer pond on west side full so that we can’t add any new industry or houses. We need to tend to our services that we are paying for and a lawsuit that have already written checks to and try to recover some money instead of spending money to run an event center. The industrial building out there is a good example of build and they will come, instead of hiring another person or persons to get them to come to an event that is supposed to happen. Yes, we do need to grow, but we have continually lost what little industry that we have had, that is why the east sewer pond is not full because Burlington left. Welcome to the real world and our City Council needs to be attending to our real needs of getting jobs and taking care of infrastructure and the college needs to be take caring of our academic needs and figuring out to get the attendance up to par and an affordable education, good teachers and then pay a decent salary for your professors. Our kids shouldn’t have to be paying the rest of their lives on student loans and most of the time can’t get a job here and have to leave the minute they graduate. I haven’t seen too many students going on from playing basketball to the NBA. I have lived my life here and worked here all my life, so I am not some newcomer that has come to town to tell us what we need. It is nice to play, but that is a reward after you work. I do know, I have a daughter that is a Petroleum Geologist, has a History and English degree from UAM, a son, that is a DR. that has a degree in Biology from UAM, their Father that did his pre-work in Pharmacy at UAM and another son that has a degree in Aerospace Engineer and flys for UPS and they did this by their hard work and I have worked and still work. I am sorry folks, it is time for people to do the job they were elected or hired to do and that wasn’t to spend all their energy and taxes and money that comes from the citizens, whether it is free money from the state, or federal government, it is still money that we do not have or have you not noticed that Washington, DC is broke. The city needs to address our most critical needs and recognize our limited resources. Because when those resources dry up and we are broke, our children will be the one to suffer the consequences.
I will say that it amazes me that the City known for its tax and spend frivolities for non-essential “entertainment” items over basic city needs, is trying to foist its bad ways on the County of Drew. Is this because that the City of Monticello can’t float their own bond issue as the last one is now embroiled and entangled in a lawsuit? If my opinion counts, special elections for sales tax are a sucker’s game – the house “politicians” always win and the public loses. A December special election is a visit from Santa Clause for those special interest groups that cause the special election Only the few that actually want the item that the sales tax pays for show up to vote except a few die-hearts like me. Sales taxes are designed to keep the “struggling” struggling to provide for the whims of a few (sales tax is a regressive tax that takes a larger proportion of lower income families money than those with higher incomes.) The sucker’s game is supported by the numbers:
1. In the November General Election there were 10, 442 registered voters in Drew County and slightly over 50% voted in the General Election.
2. In July 2013 798 voters showed up to approve the County Road tax. – 626 for and 172 against. Less than 8% of the registered voters showed up to vote and 6% approved a tax for all.
In other words, let’s have an election for taxes while the voter is on vacation. In contrast the Library Tax was actually held during the November general election in 2010. Less than ½ of the voters went to the polls (4,272), but the Library tax passed 2,584 for and 1.720 against. This at least represented a fair vote.
Let’s also call the Event Center what it really is: a new sports arena for UAM. The average tax payer will probably not be welcome to use the facility, just pay for it. Did you know that the general public (including alumni) is not welcome to use the UAM library? You can pay 50 dollars a year and get special approval to use the facility. Also inter-library loans have been cancelled between the UAM library and the Monticello Public Library.
If the center is vital- why did no one show up for the public meetings (less than 50 citizens) at Drew Central and at Monticello Jr. High. Less than 100 people showed up at UAM’s meeting.
I challenge the City (the Mayor and Council) to take care of the City’s business before you criticize the Quorum Court because you few didn’t get your own way:
1. Get the water law suit settled before you spend any more money on an entertainment venue.
2. Pave our city streets – they are terrible.
3. Audit the City of Monticello- you are behind. The last Audit of the City was 2012. The State Legislative Office has been writing you letters –YOU ARE LATE.
4. Avoid plagiarism – if you are going to cut and paste from another City’s website – cover your tracks. This is from the City of Monticello’s website under water works: “Monticello Water is committed to preserving the public health and the natural environment. The employees of Rogers Water Utilities are highly trained and service-oriented.”
In closing I would like to point out that Jack Lassiter promised no taxpayer money would be used to build UAM’s “Event Center.” Apparently this was a fraudulent statement. Like I said this is all a sucker’s game. Do your own research and you will see this fad of “event centers” has proved a terrible waste across the country. In the 1990’s this was the faddish “essential” as were spec buildings. They built and they did not come. Does everyone remember how “vital” it was to build a spec building? You know how essential that waste of taxpayer money was.
I would like to see the City own this boondoggle idea. Don’t expect the County to do your dirty work.
I can not believe that our council man is going along with this, he lived around the end in of town, the road are sooo!! bad around here u cant drive on them without bottom out ur car! so the next time we need to vote, maybe we will think about it??? I know I will!!
Beverly asked questions about the millions that Zack Tucker volunteered for a Event Center or what ever it will be called. We can tell the streets have not been taken care of in a long time. Millions of dollars are tossed around in Monticello like Trillions in Washington DC. The City Council and the Mayor act like it is theirs and they have plenty of it and they can spend it like we have no streets that need anything or our water and sewer system. Beverly did ask questions about where the money is coming from, but I am old enough to remember we used to worry about having enough for basics until Walmart came to town. Instead of bad mouthing the county for voting for a tax that was supposed to be ended if we voted for the library and they can remember the original plan for a Convention Center that was not to be funded by a sales tax and they missed the opportunity by the county to hitch a ride on their coat tail and have the tax in Dec. when no one would show up to vote, so it would pass, then the last time we had a special election for something was in July, so if the City Council can’t have a Christmas present, there is always Christmas in July. Maybe you better pick that month, City Council and Mayor and shoot for July. At least the library was voted on in a general election and the public really had a say so. If this is something that is so important and build it and they will come like they did the spec building, that has never been used, then just do it, but be fair to the public and stop spending money like it just belongs to a chosen few and put it on a general election.
Well I will be short cause the posts above said a lot of what I was thinking. The only other thing that needs to be said. Why is the Mayor of Monticello so gungho for this center? Why has he not mentioned millions for street repairs, sewers, or the rest of the basic needs of the citizens of Monticello. He sure was quick with 3 million for the collage. Looks like the interest of the collage out weighs the needs of the towns citizens. Just saying the ovius.