In choosing a planning firm for the rest of us, the council was reported to have voted 5-2 for Bonestroo because enough consulting fees were already going to Landform and because Landform's Town Center activity would have conflicted with it being selected as the planning consultant for the rest of us. This link. The two that wanted more cash flowed to Landform, mayor Ramsey, council member McGlone.
Next, challengers should want an update on the spending of the HRA, particularly the present full aggregate amounts of city cash flowed to Landform. Slightly over a year ago this situation was considered, Sakry reporting "Ramsey HRA considers the money spent on The COR":
Since it purchased 150 acres of the 322-acre defunct Ramsey Town Center (RTC) project from Minnwest Bank Central in 2009, the HRA has spent a total of $13,712,471.47 on the project, which includes the $6.76 million land purchase and special assessments for infrastructure improvement projects.
In 2009, the HRA spent $341,817.17 on rebranding the project and travel to market the newly named The COR project.
According to City Finance Officer Diana Lund, the city also received $240,000 from delinquent property taxes in the project area and $83,184.55 from the RTC letter of credit to offset some of the expense.
In 2010 and 2011, the HRA has spent $194,519.50 on marketing, legal costs, professional services to patent The COR name, travel and membership registrations at four International Council of Shopping Centers trade shows, including the Chicago conference in 2009.
In addition, the HRA spent $469,761.59 for work done by Landform between August 2009 to March 7, 2011, including work Landform did on the city’s proposal for a Veterans Administration Clinic, the 2009 water resources bonding effort and work in The COR prior to the April 21, 2010 contract.
Fifteen Landform people have put in roughly 3,300 hours on The COR project since March 2010, according to Landform President Darren Lazan.
While it’s a lot of money, to put it into perspective, the city just spent about $300,000 for design and construction services for an intersection, said Mayor Bob Ramsey
While that is a major excerpt, Sakry reported more, and readers are urged to read the entire thing, again, here.
CANDIDATES: Such levels of profligate spending need to be documented to present, "year later" levels, because there has been more Vegas junketing [McGlone being the sole council member this time but Lazan of Landform and Cronk of Flaherty-Collins were again sent].
Such an update needs to be done in light of the fact Landform has sold nothing - other than the questionably financed Flaherty-Collins highly-subsidized thing, and Lazan had that in his bag from the get-go, having Cronk of Flaherty-Collins involved from the start of his own involvement in draining cash from City of Ramsey.
Jim Deal brought in Allina, on land Deal owned. Jim Deal brought in the VA clinic, on land Deal owned. As I understand it Deal built the thing and owns it and has a lease arrangement with the VA so that it is in the tax base - thanks to Jim Deal, (Landform was in fact working toward the City competing with Deal's private sector bid, which prevailed despite its socialized competition).
Jim Deal has the second of only two Town Center restaurants as a tenant in his Plaza building diagonally accross from City Hall, having arranged for it with the Wells Catering business.
And - Jim Deal has not charged City of Ramsey one single penny for his getting the job done.
It may not be how some on council would like it. But it is how it is.
NEXT: It was the Governor's bonding bill that brought the train stop.
Not Landform.
Landform put a big sign on Highway 10. They did do that. Paid for out of tax money. For what it's worth.
SO CANDIDATES: You should be insisting that the council take up the question again, and update the totals of cash flowed out of Ramsey money to Landform, since Sakry's reporting. The City's CFO had the numbers to report then, and clearly has to have the update numbers to report now.
WHO COULD EVER BE AGAINST INFORMING COUNCIL CANDIDATES AND VOTERS OF FACTS? Nobody. Not letgitimately so. So push the present council members to update the Landform cash-drain story.
I fully trust Sakry to do as fine a job reporting to citizens about any such update as she did previously in covering Landform cash flows from the City as of March 2011.
CANDIDATES: Even if you may hesitate to push for such an update, remember, if elected your responsibility in office will be to the citizens; and that as candidates, now, you have a responsibility to those same citizens, as voters, to assure they go to the polls this November fully informed.
____________UPDATE___________
At least somebody reads what I write; a criticism from a reader being:
"And - Jim Deal has not charged City of Ramsey one single penny for his getting the job done."
That's Bull Shit Eric, and you know it. Deal has all his SAC and WAC paid and has use of city property without paying a dime.
If you are going to be a front man for Deal this election, perhaps we should wait til the election is over to communicate again. Siding with one corporate tax receiver is no better than siding with the other.
If SAC and WAC concessions were made for Jim Deal I am unaware of it, and would welcome any reader willing to take the time to email detail, ideally links to online Ramsey documents because if such things happen, they should be documented online.
If anyone believes I read all that city stuff as intently as if they had the compelling threads of Marvel comics, that is not so. I find city stuff fairly tedious, which is why I am unskilled in knowing what questions to ask when, and why I fumble along as best I can doing web searches and such, when something catches my interest.
My knowledge of city affairs would profit greatly from folks anonymously or of record calling intriguing things to my attention. I welcome disclosed, public or confidential sources of information of all kinds. The problem is second sourcing or doing data requests with the City, when information is provided that might be incomplete or erroneous, and where I need to attempt to uncover and substantiate detail in being reasonably inquisitive and careful before publishing things.
Others may watch all the broadcast meetings. I do not. I am not a patient person.
NOTE: The same critic believes that Chris Riley, as a Ward 4 council candidate, may be closer to Jim Deal than would be optimal for one who would be doing regular council decision making. The person suggesting that is one whose opinions I value as helpful. I have never met Chris Riley, I don't know what his day job is or what he looks like, and one of my friends says one thing, one says another, and beyond what I am told I have no basis to agree with either opinion.
I can think of a few people I would regard as worse options for the Ward 4 seat, without knowing much at all about Chris Riley beyond two conflicting opinions from two people, each of whom I consider to have generally good judgment. The one thing I have been told so far that seems undisputed is that Chris Riley has served for a reasonable period of time on the Ramsey EDA.
I get an impression there may be undercurrents of disagreement among people concerned with the city's well being and with viewpoints on what might be a best course of conduct for the future.
