My positive thought is to get excellent, reasonable, sensible, law abiding, down-to-earth, business minded people elected--not anyone who is against everything for which I believe-implying that the City will get sued because of Sunset--not Man of La Mancha--no fantasies from someone singing The Impossible Dream. We all can't agree on everything all of the time.
If you disagree with anyone in this City that is when the name calling begins. It always gets very personal. But the most prevalent tag name they give you is that you are "negative" or when I talk about illegals that I am "racist." I say, it is just another way of looking at it...another perspective to consider in view of the terrible problems we have in this City. All one has to do is look at the record.
Nice poem, Wes. What it tells me is exactly what I think about the $700,000 give away--it MIGHT turn out good but then, it might not...not all decisions are folly, that sometimes there really is a happy ending. Personally, I would rather base my decisions on cold hard facts and not emotions. As a Board, the CRA should be looking at all aspects and take into consideration every possibility before ever handing over one dime to anyone. There should be some sort of sound decision behind it, not that it MIGHT invigorate our downtown.
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---- Original Message -----From: Wes BlackmanTo: Lynn AndersonSent: Thursday, August 27, 2009 9:46 AMSubject: Positive thoughts....
Sometimes things don't go, after all,
From bad to worse. Some years, muscadel
Faces down frost; green thrives; the crops don't fail,
Sometimes a man aims high, and all goes well.
A people sometimes will step back from war;
Elect an honest man; decide they care
Enough, that they can't leave some stranger poor.
Some men become what they are born for.
Sometimes our best efforts do not go
Amiss; sometimes we do as we meant to.
The sun will sometimes melt a field of sorrow
That seemed hard frozen: may it happen for you.
Lynn. You might try to focus on the good more than the what if something bad will happen. We can never move forward as a city unless we take a proactive stand to make things better. Keeping things the same are not an option. For example, Compass is a great thing and I believe the gateways are wonderful as do many of my neighbors. You got to spend money to make money - in a nut shell that's what the CRA is supposed to do.
ReplyDeleteThat's fair but just consider, if this money was coming out of your pocket, would you be so nonchalant about spending $700,000 with no guarantees. What about all the blighted neighborhoods in the CRA district? Do they count?
ReplyDeleteThe City Commission has to approve this Budget. I would have thought that the Commission would have had to approve this Budget BEFORE the CRA did. So, it can't be cut in stone here. Also, the CRA is always shifting and moving money around once a budget is set.
So, this has nothing to do with focusing on the "good" in your view. The good actually might be to make some better decisions and negotiate smarter deals and begin to think of the people who live in the CRA District.
I agree that we must take a pro-active stand to make things better. Let's start in these crime filled blighted neighborhoods before more people are forced to evacuate to College Park as their property values plummet. What about that.
NO ONE, wants to keep things the same. Who in their right mind wants to live in the slums?
It is not all about business. There are living, breathing human beings living here who need a better quality of life.
The CRA is committed to providing the residents and business owners in Lake Worth the necessary resources to eliminate slum and blighted conditions. Our programs and incentives are designed to stimulate positive redevelopment throughout the neighborhoods and commercial corridors of Lake Worth. If you have any questions about the following programs, please contact the Lake Worth CRA office at (561) 493-2550.
ReplyDeleteThat's a hell of a lot of money.
ReplyDeleteIs the $700k coming out of your pocket? Whose pocket exactly is it coming out of? Where did the money come from? Please explain with facts. How do you propose the CRA fix the blighted neighborhoods? Give the money to the out of town slumlords? You are against giving CRA money to proprty owners. Fix the blighted entrance ways to the city? You are against that. Specifically outline what you think would be a better plan. Isn't the building the Cultural Group will be moving into in the CRA district AND a BLIGHTED area. And FYI people are fleeing the College Park area in droves. You'll be happy to hear there's plenty of homes for sale and for rent in that neighborhood you despise so much.
ReplyDeleteThe 700K is coming out of the taxpayer's pocket. It is TIF money.
ReplyDeleteIf this group is so great, why didn't they stay in WPB? Is WPB trying to keep them?
Why don't they pay their own way?
If you think they are so wonderful, why don't you fund the $700K?
Why do groups such as this expect a poor city to give them this amount of money?
Why do you?
Who are you?
What would happen to the money if the CRA did not use it? Do you know? Would it go back to the taxpayers? Back to the city general fund? What else could it be used for? You didn't explain any of that, nor did you provide any alternative ideas to cleaning up the city.
ReplyDeleteI can't fund them because I don't have the $700k.
You'll have to ask them why they don't stay in West Palm. Maybe they need a cheaper place to house their offices. You'll have to ask the city of WPB why they are not trying to keep them.
I think it's a good idea they move to Lake Worth because slowly but surely the west side of town needs to be cleaned up. This is a step in the right direction. You obviously don't have any faith in the city or code departments cleaning up the city so what do you propose the city wait for? And no sorry to disappoint you but it's not Elizabeth.
I don't need to explain it. I'm not running for office nor am I on the CRA Board. I am just a resident of this City who gives a hot damn and has a different viewpoint than you do. The City Manager just eliminated half our Code Dept. Talk to her.
ReplyDeleteAs far as spending money, I gave my suggestion. I do not want everyone thinking they can come here and we give away the farm. I don't expect you, Elizabeth, or any of your friends to agree with anything I say. Your right.
I have just finished reading all this junk and to tell you the truth, you guys got voted out last time for good reasons. Hope you stay out.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth? Swell. Go back and dance at the Cottage instead of here.
ReplyDeleteI just can't get over that CRAPPY "poem"! It sucks!
ReplyDeleteLynn. You need to tell us what you think the CRA should do. You can shut those "positive" people up. Thank you.
ReplyDelete