So, it was all predicated on getting a train stop, the first image says so. And you'd think someone in a meeting of a bunch of architects could hold a camera level and tilt-free, but the second of the images says not everybody. And it says the award was presented in the gambling Mecca of our nation, Las Vegas, so think that one over. Ironies abound. I don't think the first item gives Natalie enough credit, but it was written by the developer's flaks, not Met. Council's.
In an earlier post I gave the link for the online archive of the Feges-Nedegaard opening online propaganda organ, ramsey03.com
This post helps give a look at the online archive of the Feges-Nedegaard second incarnation propapaganda engine, ramseytowncenter.com
Here, is the WayBack Machine's archive by date; here, by content.
History is instructive so that past error is not repeated nor enhanced, but instead is avoided. The opening images, respectively are from the archive, here and here.
Doesn't it make you proud, a superstructure premised on a NorthStar stop; a can-do city manager attitude; John Feges accepting the AIA's award for the insightful project. Hubris all over, the stench of hubris, with those suggesting downside planning scoffed at by at least one Ramsey official as "negative thinkers." Heady days of unbridled optimism. Before Danny started playing games with choo-choo stop locales, two in his district, none in Berg's, one of Danny's astoundingly neighboring Jim Abeler's real estate, in Anoka. History is not necessarily a gentle teacher, but ignore the lesson and the headache just gets worse and worse, the taxes higher and higher - with the NorthStar transit currently planned to be blowing its whistle as it passes through Ramsey.
And, if that changes and Ramsey attains a stop, or if the City decides to maintain express bus service downtown in competition with NorthStar, it will be subsidized either way. Neither dream will have sufficient ridership to pay the costs.
But that's not the purpose of NorthStar. It is not there to break even, or turn a profit. The purpose is to give the illusion of a progressive rail opportunity for those owning land adjacent to the tracks to cash out big time, and for crabgrass along the route to generally prosper - long term, although for now crabgrass is temporarily on the wane. It will spring back, with money being to the metaphorical crabgrass what rain is to the real. But existing taxpayers in Anoka County, in Ramsey, will continue to be burdened, the many being taxed to subsidize profit-making by the few. And now development of the remaining weed fields in Town Center has been socialized, the government is owning and running things, competing with private sector effort in other towns and malls. Your hope should be that they will be restrained in the burdens they place on taxpayers in the process, unlike predecessors in Ramsey government.
Other interesting ramseytowncenter.com archive pages are here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and one of my favorites because I like irony, here. That last item because of how it melds history and irony deserves a screenshot. You have the main archive links. You can do your own buffet.
There's only one holdover on council from planning in the 2002 framework [not on council then but instead at the time being hand-picked for heading the planning-propaganda organ they called "The Ramsey Town Center Task Force" who in wisdom compared successful completion of the project to following a cake baking recipe].
There's a second holdover from the decision to plunge just short of twenty million into palace building, and ramp building for the train that is presently scheduled to stop elsewhere.
They and the new people, even when making bad decisions based on sunk capital, at least deserve some slack since the housecleaning that has been done on council and atop the administrative pyramid has left them stuck with handling as they think best a clear mop-up job. The mess was left for them to deal with on their watch. Most of the real culprits are elsewhere doing other things, while the present seven on council plus Kurt persevere.
You just want them to learn something from history. You want upward sloping learning curves. You want flat learning curves to be a past dimension of Ramsey city decision making. You hope for the best. And cut a little slack.