I give the above photo hint, and this verbal hint, the "THOMAS..." is not referring to former Mayor Tom Gamec.
As one further hint, on July 22, 2004, for the benefit of history, I downloaded John Feges' and Bruce Nedegaard's propaganda website's feature on the astroturf (that's phony grassroots for those not able to otherwise figure it out) operation that was made up of people collectively given the name "Citizens for The Town Center," handed pom-poms, and told to make cheerful reassuring noise.
Actually each such citizen felt somehow compelled, for varying reasons I would guess, to issue and acknowledge a short, pompous and inane sentence or two about how Natalie's dream of a Ramsey Town Center was doubtlessly going to be good for Ramsey the same way the Pied Piper was to be good for Hamelin. I think there was one truly honest statement in the batch, about ivestment intent and timing, but a lot of "rosy future" hot air was blown by others around that candid and apparently true comment, with some of it awfully insipid.
Click the image to enlarge it and read. You cannot fault somebody's telling the truth about hopes of capitalizing on a land investment, can you?
Each of us may vote differently, each voter having his or her own reasons. My sense of things is the people advocating throwing millions into inadvisable infrastructure risk back in boom times should not be rewarded any more than those now throwing millions into buying the mess now, in bad times, and as if they knew something about land promotion and had experience that way making it worth their while to junket to Las Vegas for a shopping center trade association convention when it's a clear buyer's market in that sphere, these days, and they walked around probably looking raw and ready for an adventurer's adventure, redux.
The one voice of reason in the past and now, on record that way, was Terry Hendriksen warning of the need for downside caution and asking about the wisdom of committing prime Ramsey job-site land to dense housing.
It reminds me of the familiar Kipling poem, "If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you, ... If you can dream and not make dreams your master ...". Etc. More on that later. The documents from the past showing - proving - Hendriksen had it right but was accorded no respect will be published. However, it needs its own full post, and will get it.
Before closing, one quick note. In that rosy forecasting above, yes, Ramsey has developed "an identity" based on its Town Center situation, as that laughingstock between Anoka and Elk River. That poster child of bad land use planning as only the Met Council can inspire, between Anoka and Elk River. I could go on but you get the drift.
The newbies in City Hall are so clearly cognizant and embarrassed over all the bad karma of the "Ramsey Town Center" disaster thing, that they sought to "rebrand" the "Ramsey Town Center" in a new dress, coming up with this kind of fanciful design badging and doubtful occupancy prognostication:
That "COR" thing, I believe the learned council paid out about twenty, thirty grand for the "branding." Somebody, tell me I am wrong and it was less. Point to a lower figure in city minutes.
Unfortunately, the key feature, the "O" in the new spiffy logo, reminds me of a melanoma and I cannot get that image out of mind:
To me twenty, perhaps thirty grand down the pipes for signage that makes me think of a rapidly metastasizing cancer when I see the sign, seems ill-spent taxpayer money.
Others might disagree.
For now, I close with the belief that given the second image above, every notable Ramseyite should have a say, by adding:
Ben Dover, The Ramsey Taxpayer