Silly List This weeks column in CFP

Recently I did a program on all the silly and ridiculous things the city of Springfield, {administration and council} has done or attempted to do over the past few months. I started the show with a list of 12 items over the course of the next 3-hours that list grew to 22!

The point of this column isn’t to expand on any one of group of items but rather there are so many of them. Given we pay three city Managers/Deputies/Assistants six figure salaries I would expect better….MUCH BETTER..

1. Lack of consultation on moving route 266 to the airport

2. John Q’s shame…the derelict buildings the city allows to continue standing.

3. Heers Tower…We own it, we are paying for it…we ran one developer out of town…one other gave up on us and a third is holding the city for ransom.

4. Downtown Hotel…The property beside the Expo Center is supposed to have a hotel built on it…that is the lot less 90 feet that John Q controls adjacent to Expo Center…and why does BDK have to have office space in this new building…does it have anything to do with all the business Carlson Gardner does with BDK…just asking!

5. Police Fire Pension…$45,000,000.00 under funded…enough said

6. CU Pension…$74,000,000.00 under funded…more than enough said.

7. Phelps Grove Neighborhood…Oh if you didn’t know The City has decided it is closing the street…ah a week ago…sorry about the short notice to the citizens on that one.

8. No Cruising…last thing we want is people going downtown.

9. Knoxville. Why is city paying for a junket to Knoxville for Tom Finnie and other city leaders? Why would we be paying for anyone working a contract basis…Finnie?

10. Gangs…Oh I forgot we don’t have a gang problem in Springfield.

11. The Memo…the internal memo that told city police and fire not to send material to Council Members unless the material was run past City manager’s office first..Wouldn’t want Cindy R, Dan C and Doug B to find out what is really going on.

12. Municipal Court…oh yea Mayor “Bow-Tie” doesn’t think $1,300,000.00 is that much money.

13. City Police…we don’t have any…we are down 50 COPS right now with not much hope of catching up on the numbers anytime soon. Why…see # 5.

14. Crime Lab Design…Oooppps…the design costs are a little more than we budgeted for.

15. Parking Garage…OOOOpppps…the bids were a little more than we budgeted for.

16. Parking Garage…the one beside Expo Center that no one uses but everyone is paying for because…Oooppps we over-estimated how many people would pay to park there.

17. Ice Storm Emergency Plan…..Did we have one? Oh yea call Vince Jericho he is putting together an assistance plan…Call Vince he will help you. I am not making this up that was the Emergency Plan.

18. Red Light Traffic Camera…OOOOpppps we underestimated how many people would run the light so now we are ALL paying for the camera.

19. DARE Program…doesn’t exist anymore.

20. DWI Police Squad…Doesn’t exist anymore

21. Ice Arena…OOOOpppps we overestimates how many people skate in the Ozarks. We ALL are paying for this one too!

22. Broadway Crossing Closed. Great idea, create an eyesore and more traffic snarls for rest of us.

I am sure there are more that could be added but by now you get the point…we have a bunch of incompetents running this city…incompetent who should do the honorable thing and resign.

Container Ordinance

Here is the link to read the Container Ordinance.

http://springfieldmo.gov/egov/agenda/2007-254.pdf

Gentlemen find your Popsicles!

SW Missouri is an interesting place. We have a resident millionaire who puts up buildings using others people’s money and then puts his name on the building and takes all the credit. If he doesn’t get enough credit he puts up a larger than life statue of himself.

Then we have a mayor who puts a “mayortorium” on the building of new apartment buildings which artificially holds down supply which increases demand which raises rents…oh did I mention this mayor owns a whole bunch of multi-resident buildings in the area.

How about a county that announces it is going to build a museum on property it hasn’t bought yet from private landowners?

Then there is the new road to the airport that Modot has decided is going to mysteriously veer for several hundred yards just so the new road can go through one powerful businessman’s land and help him make more millions.

Yep have you ever wondered?

I have. I have wondered about all of these things.

The other thing I have wondered….where are all the MEN in SW Missouri . I mean the ones with big….popsicles! Big enough to stand up to all this garbage. Big enough to allow them to say “stop this stupidity it is time to run this city, county and state for the betterment of all not just a privileged few!”

Look guys it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to point out all the weirdness that is going on around here. It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to know you stand up to a bully. All it takes is popsicles. So gentlemen I suggest you go to a private place, do a self exam and find your popsicles. Once you do pull a little juice out of them and start standing up for yourselves and this community.

I guarantee as more of you start standing up the more politicians and liberal media types will run and hide because search as they might we all know THEY have NO popsicles!