Not businesslike / LJWorld.com

To the editor:

Being from New Jersey, I am adjusted to reading of strange occurrences in town hall finances. That said, this paper, on Jan. 4, tells us the town fathers have given preliminary approval to 10 payments of $28,000 each as an “incentive” to the developers of the seven-story building at Ninth and New Hampshire.

As the “$10 million” building is up, and looks ready for occupancy, I do not see where the incentive applies. Will they demolish it if they do not receive the money? By the developers’ admission, they did not even ask for the money until AFTER the beginning of construction!

To claim that this is for “everything from street lights to sidewalks” is insulting to the taxpayers’ intelligence. Do they really expect us to believe that the developers would not put things like new lights and sidewalks in their plans? If the construction was estimated at that $10 million, would you like us to believe that this $280K over 10 years would have changed their minds?

Development is good, but times are tough, and giving away taxpayer money after the fact is certainly not businesslike

justforfun 2 years, 6 months ago

Eh Millard get used to it! That's how we roll in Law, Ks spend spend spend with no regard to the tax payers.

Pastor_Bedtime 2 years, 6 months ago

Cronyism runs this town. The Compton/Fritzel machine continues to deprive others of opportunity through their monopoly on development in town and tax $$ skim. And with lapdogs like Cromwell in City Government be assured that the gravy train will keep on rollin'. It may be more like Jersey here than you think.

Kate Rogge 2 years, 6 months ago

+100

jafs 2 years, 6 months ago

We all got to vote on the library expansion.

Did we get that chance with this project?

And, if there's so much opposition to the library, and the T, why didn't people just vote against those when they had the chance? Both were on the ballot, and both won the majority of those who voted.

What's your point?

Were you prevented from voting on either of those initiatives? I voted on both of them.

Matthew Herbert 2 years, 6 months ago

perhaps falsehopenochange is a convicted felon.

I had never thought of that.

Perhaps you're right.

Yes I was! I live in Dg county just out side the city limit. I own property in town but don't get to vote for or against these type of things. Just have to go with what the city folk vote on. Woulden't it make sense to be able to vote on things that will affect my tax base?

Then you should lobby our elected officials to make that change.

But, it's quite common, as I understand it, for city ballot initiatives to be voted on by city residents, rather than everybody who owns property in the city.

skinny 2 years, 6 months ago

Yup, this is just plain crazy. The City of Lawrence needs a change of Government. Time for a voted in city Commission and fire the city manager and Mayor!

JackMcKee 2 years, 6 months ago

Well they had to do something to make up for the fact that the development didn't get reserved parking spots in the garage.

patkindle 2 years, 6 months ago

well duh, and double duh!!!

The "cronyism" of the 1%'ers that use the Library and the T is greed bar none.

i believe the 1%ers got off thier butts, went to the polls and out voted the others..

what happened to you and the rest of the 99%ers?

it is hard to whine, when you simply get out voted because you were too lazy to go to the polls

just_another_bozo_on_this_bus 2 years, 6 months ago

I'd still like to know who's going to pick up the tab for repairing the streets that were damaged during construction.

Ron Holzwarth 2 years, 6 months ago

The taxpayers.

Ragingbear 2 years, 6 months ago

Take a look at the two private golf courses that are funded almost entirely by the city.

We needed the green space.

Richard Heckler 2 years, 6 months ago

Is it the taxpayers responsibility to guarantee the real estate industry and developers a nice tidy profit on their speculation and/or risky investments? Absolutely not!

Always let the voters decide how reckless or not we wish to be.

I believe all incentives to sell and/or develop property should come from those wanting to profit from their endeavors:

Real estate agencies
Property owners
developers
building contractors and suppliers

Never from the taxpayers! Always let the voters decide how reckless or not we wish to be. Why? Because this type of local big government socialism does not benefit the lions share of the population. We are not necessarily the profiteers.

Voters and taxpayers are the primary stakeholders no matter what. That's right without we taxpayers there could be no tax dollar mooching.

What makes we voting taxpayers the primary stakeholders in any new development or construction project whether it be private or local government? Each one of us spend thousands upon thousands upon thousands of dollars in this community without which Lawrence would be nothing. Yet we are cast aside under the facade that none of this is any of our business.

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