Stehly and Neitzert on Hultgren/Legacy debacle
l3wis Talk about a difference of opinion. One councilor is under some kind of delusional spell and one is so angry they could spit nails. You can figure it out.
First Neitzert puts on his best sombrero and gets to dancing;
But Neitzert would not have voted differently on the project even if he knew then what he knows now.
“The optics though – they are undeniably awful because of the perception and the ties of various individuals to both the project – if even fleetingly – and the entity involved in the terrible tragedy that occurred.” The terrible tragedy Neitzert mentions is, of course, the downtown building collapse. Hultgren was remodeling the old Copper Lounge building before it came down in a pile of rubble, killing a young construction worker.
It’s not just bad OPTICS it’s a bad DEAL. We should have not gone into business with these crooked clowns;
Neitzert says Council can’t really reverse its decision on the mixed- used parking ramp because the bonds have been sold and construction is ongoing.
Not so sure about that. He is basically trying to spin that the ‘train has left the station’. Actual construction HAS not started. The bonds could be put on hold and the a new RFP could be presented. As far as I see it, this is a breach of contract and gives the city the right to request a court order to stop construction. At the very least they could even nicely ask the construction company to HALT operations until they figure out the legality of the situation;
“Its just too bad this issue is hanging over this otherwise impressive project and will at least for the foreseeable future cast a cloud of controversy and doubt over it.”
There was NEVER anything ‘Impressive’ about this project. It was overpriced and underutilized. Even without the basket of snakes involved with the development, it’s NOT that good of a deal for the taxpayers.
Stehly sets it straight;
“This thing is being built on deceit and deception, in my opinion,” Stehly said. “It’s not what our citizens want from us as Council members or from City government.”
“This project has the second penny tied to it,” Stehly said. “This project is immensely expensive for a parking ramp. This project is going to raise fees for any person who is parking in a City-owned parking lot. It’s been problematic from the get-go.”
Like I said above, it wasn’t a good project to begin with, now add the deception and the already poor luster on this turd is beginning to fade even more. The city needs to put at least a temporary hold on it. The bonds will be fine in the bank collecting interest.