I listened to what the Columbia Heights city manager and city council had to say as they were working on the new 2010 budget. At a work session the city manager said they would be going back to the 2008 budget in 2010. This sounded like there would be some progress in making cuts in this slow economy. I thought, ‘great!’. Maybe there is some hope for this council after all. But when it came down to the final draft the truth was, they did not go back to the 2008 budget and instead, approved a budget that was even higher than what we had for 2009. We need to make sure that this council is held accountable for their votes. The budget was approved on a 4-1 vote with Bruce Nawrocki being the only dissenting vote.
Let me point out a few facts:
1. I didn’t get a raise this year or last year. - Our mayor and city manager both had substantial raises in 2009. (The mayor was given a $5,000 salary increase)
2. Our City Manager is now making $132,641.00 a year, not including benefits. (Population over 18,000) - Compare that to the City Manager of Anoka, MN making $110,802.00. (Population over 17,000). In fact, our city manager salary is closer to that of the City of Eden Prairie at $137,675 (Population over 60,000). It seems strange that we would need to be compared to Eden Prairie when we compare city manager salaries.
3. The City of Columbia Heights lost it’s biggest employer, Medtronic. - Now, the biggest employer in this city are the schools and the city (government) - paid by local taxpayers with a high percentage of those residents ‘under’ employed.
4. With the down economy, our family has had to make some severe cuts in our budget. The companies we work for have also had to make severe cuts. - If the City of Columbia Heights truly was making cuts in the budget, we would be seeing a reduction in taxes, not an increase.
5. Salaries will be voted on this year for the year 2011 for the City Council, Mayor and City Manager. - Maybe it is time they set more realistic goals.
The VA is looking to build a new clinic in the northwestern metro area. Several cities put in a bid for this clinic and at this point the two cities that are still on the list are Ramsey and Elk River. According to a recent article in the Star Tribune it was revealed that the VA has reopened the bidding process until today.
My frustration with the City of Columbia Heights is why did we not put in a bid for this highly desired project? We are an excellent location for something like this and are in need of a larger commercial building project. We have several sites that would be appropriate for this service.
There is the area on Central Avenue in front of the old Kmart site that has been stalling out on several attempts to build. One of the suggestions for that area had been a medical building so this would be perfect. Another site is an area on University Avenue located between 37th and 40th Avenue that is still waiting for development. The third site would be the old Metronic building just south of 694. All three are very logical sites and within easy reach to major roadways.
Columbia Heights is located just south of 694 with easy access to most areas of the Twin Cities and northern suburbs. We are readily accessible by bus and car. We are also within easy reach of the VA hospital in case someone needs to be transferred for more intensive care. The one thing that hasn’t been mentioned is that the older suburbs should have more veterans than when you move further out to Elk River or Ramsey. It just seems logical that cities that have older homes and more senior housing would have a higher concentration of veterans.
Why the City of Columbia Heights would not make a bid for this project baffles me? We are in need of new commercial projects and this is a project that is willing to build, bring in jobs and a spillover of sales to other businesses in the area and the city doesn’t bother to offer a bid. This makes no sense.
Tags: Star Tribune - VA Clinic
This week has been a sad week as we said goodbye to several that were killed in the Fort Hood terrorist attack. This was also the week that we thank our veterans because we would not be here without their sacrifice. Hopefully, you can find a way to say “thank you” to a vet this week.
There has been much said about the high cost of healthcare. People seem to neglect to talk about one portion of healthcare that has remained pretty consistent over the years, lasik surgery. I don’t know of any health plans that cover lasik surgery yet the price of lasik surgery has really not fluctuated much over the years. If you add in the cost of living increase, you might even be able to say that the price has actually lowered.
How could this have happened? This could only have happened because people are willing to pay for this out of their own pocket and they are willing to shop around for the best price. This is the common work of supply and demand. When there were few doctors that did this optional surgery, the price was higher but it decreased over the year as more doctors started offering this and they started competing for patients. The price can fluctuate with many different factors but their are predictions that because of the economy the prices could lower this next year because doctors are looking for patients.
When lasik was originally talked about I had several friends who arranged to have their lasik surgery in Cananda beacuase it was cheaper. Then the price started lowering here in the states and more people looked at getting their surgery done locally.
Not every lasik business made it in those early days. My brother and his wife ended up getting their lasik done here in the Twin Cities and when they went for a follow-up check-up, they arrived for their appointment and found the the business was closed.
Lasik is a business that is not covered by government or private healthplans yet it continues to be a profitable business. This means that doctors have to advertise and sell their services. Many patients opt to pay for this out of their own pocket because the cost of surgery, compared to the cost of buying glasses or contact lenses could be cost effective. The comfort of not having to wear glasses or being in a situation where you lose a contact lens and you are unable to see clearly would also make the choice of lasik a desirable service.
Something to think about: If like lasik surgery, government had stayed out of healthcare, how much less would the cost of our healthcare be today?
We have been hearing a lot about socialism by news commentators and in numerous articles in magazines, newspapers and on the web. I recently read ‘Born to Lie‘ that included a chapter on socialism, its history and described it as a worldview. (Consider this my book report!)
One thing I would like to share from that book is what it called, *Scriptural Flaws of Socialism. It clearly illustrated how socialism was in contradiction with the 10 Commandments. This to me was a whole new outlook on why there is a conflict between socialism and the Bible. It is a very logical reasoning for why socialism and Christianity cannot mix.
Let me illustrate here:
- You shall have no other gods before me. - Socialism violates the 1st Commandment by replacing God with the state. Socialists have a blind faith in socialism even though it historically has failed over and over. Socialists tolerate all religions except one, Christianity.
- Have no idols. - Socialism violates the 2nd Commandment in that it worships man and idolizes his fickle desires. The Humanist Manifesto, the socialist handbook, has changed over the years but it has never deviated from promoting man over God. When your idol is man you are honoring all of his frailities and imperfections, resulting in a lowering of standards.
- Honor God’s name. - Socialism violates the 3rd Commandment by advocating man’s right to blaspheme God or to profess Christ while simultaneously promoting laws and practices that violate God’s law. Socialist have been denying that our country was founded on biblical standards. If they can’t get people to deny that, they will muddy the facts by re-writing our textbooks.
- Honor the Sabbath day. - Socialism violates the 4th Commandment by denigrating God’s command to work 6 days and then rest. It also honors idlers over those that work hard to provide for their family.
- Honor your parents. Socialism undermines the family and undercutting parental authority. It supports laws that enable the state or the ‘village’ to take over what should be the parents responsibility.
- Do not murder. Socialism legalizes murder in the form of abortion, infanticide, and euthanasia. All of which have been part of current and past socialistic societies. Immediately after World War 2, we tried many war criminals for promoting these very thoughts, yet these same ideas are creeping into our own legislation.
- Do not commit adultery. Socialism allows and even promotes sexual promiscuity and indiscriminate sexual indulgence. We’ve seen this as laws change to accommodate and even encourage what would have been degenerate sexual orientation but now has become ‘artistic expression’. Moral relativism has been the contributing factor of our society’s lack of limits on moral character. Socialism promotes social relationships but it is not inhibiting in what that could mean.
- Do not steal. Socialism legalizes theft by calling it redistribution of wealth or theft by taxation.
- Do not perjure yourself. Socialism promotes class warfare by encouraging the bearing of false witness against your neighbor. (e.g. contacting authorities if you receive information that is not inline with what is being promoted by authorities. Where is our freedom of speech?)
- Do not covet. Socialism promotes class envy by portraying the wealthy as exploiters of the poor. **Gallup Poll in 2008 did a comparison of donations made by people claiming to be liberals with those of people claiming to be religious and the religious group gave far more than any other group. Even those that claimed they were secular conservatives (those who attended church once or twice a year) out gave those who claimed to be secular liberals.
I don’t necessarily agree with everything that was presented in the book, Born to Lie, I do have to agree with their basic illustration that if you compare the 10 Commandments, a core belief in Christianity, with socialism’s beliefs you cannot mix socialism with Christianity.
*Born to Lie, by Dr. David L. Goetsch and Dr. Archie P. Jones.
**Conservatives Have Answered Obama’s Call, by Arthur C. Brooks, Wall Street Journal.
Even though I usually stick with local government issues, I am going to break away from that to make a comment on government run healthcare.
Those who currently have healthcare already pay higher premiums to cover the expenses of those who don’t have insurance. This is a known fact. Now, the proposal that just passed out of the Senate Finance Committee is adding insult to injury. They are now talking about taxing cadillac plans, the plans offered by unions and big business, to pay for the government option. Why isn’t there more concern about this? Aren’t unions the ones that typically vote in the Democrats? Why are they offending the groups that vote for them? Today, unions took out ads against this bill. Has the love affair between the whitehouse and unions been lost?
As for big businesses having to be taxed for covering their employees with a generous healthplan, what are these senators thinking? Many of these large companies are able to pay lower wages because they offer great health coverage to their employees. If those employers will now be penalized they will pass that cost onto their employees. This will result in a big reduction in what employees are able to take home. This is less money for spending and results in more closures, less competition, and penalizing the people who already have health insurance.
Right now, healthcare as we know it is not perfect but we need to reevaluate what is being discussed and step back and take more time to find what could be a better solution to this problem.
I wasn’t at the August 24th meeting, but read the article from the paper of the last city council meeting. I think it is very interesting that the city council, unanimously turned down the request for the liquor license for the Star Bar because of past violations of the new owner. The new owner along with several other character witnesses say this is all in the past. Yet the city decides to turn down the request. I may have also voted against it just because of the history of calls to this bar. I don’t know if calls have decreased or increased since the new owner took over.
The one thing that makes me go hm-mm, is the fact that 2 if not 3 people sitting at the council table also have a DUI on their record and yet they have ‘turned their life around’ and now are getting a paycheck from the city. Yet they didn’t seem to be acknowledging that this new owner has turned his life around. Maybe they know something else about him that didn’t come up in the meeting or they are just retaliating because of the past history of the bar.
Monday night, July 27, 2009, the city will be discussing the proposed pedestrian bridge design. Whether you are for replacing the bridge or not, at this point it seems we are committed and it is a little late to back out.
Designs have been sent:
bridge-concepts_revised-040709
If you check out the designs, the city engineer is saying that the switchback design is the most cost effective, that is stated at $85,300. The spiral design is being listed at $147,000. I did initially favor the switchback on the west side and the spiral design on the east side. But with such a difference in cost I am now hesitant to recommend the spiral.
My reasoning for the initial decision are as such: The goal of this bridge is to see that students as well as adults continue to use the bridge as a means to get across highway 65. Right now, the majority of the people that cross at that intersection do use this bridge. There may be 10-15% at that intersection that do not. Half of the ones that I have seen just walk across the intersection are running to catch a bus or not able to use the current bridge because they are in a wheelchair. That does not take into account the students and adults that jaywalk across the highway further south of the current intersection. There are a number of pedestrians that would rather cut across the highway rather than wait for a light at a controlled intersection or even use the pedestrian bridge.
Currently, the pedestrian bridge is used because it really is not that much further to walk than if someone walked across at street level. To add a ramp and force everyone to use the ramp, I feel that this may deter more students from using the bridge. The city might want to rethink the design and add steps at both ends for those that are able to use them. Steps will add to the cost but the goal is to encourage the use of the bridge rather than discourage it’s use and if the ramp is positioned further down Central Ave. I fear more students will just choose to run across.
In comparison to many other pedestrian bridges that I have seen, this is the busiest bridge, especially during the school year. I would rather see students use this than dash across in front of traffic.
Design-wise, I prefer the C! design. with the switchback on one side only and the loop on the other side. Again, the goal throughout this is to get kids to use the bridge. What kid isn’t going to love taking their bike and riding down the circle loop? The only hesitation at this point for recommending this design is the additional cost.
One of the items that the city is looking at is copying Crystal’s Vacant Building Ordinance. In looking at that ordinance it involves an annual registration with the city and a fee of $500 paid to the city, annually, to register a vacant property. Some of my questions are:
1. What will the city be charging for this registration? (Cities all over the nation are charging anywhere from nothing to over $3,000.)
2. What penalties will you have for non-registering?
3. How will you be able to confirm that this is really vacant and not just being maintained from a company that checks in on this property occasionally?
4. What will this money pay for? Lawn mowing? Winterizing? Demolition? Will this include an annual inspection? Does this mean the city will be replacing locks and holding keys for these properties? Does this mean the city will be responsible for repairing any vandalism?
5. This could potentially be giving the city the rights to this property without actually having to own the property.
6. Is this a way to collect taxes on a property without having to call it property tax?
7. How do you expect to collect money from these properties if they are vacant? There seems to be an inability to collect for mowing the grass and many other accounts. What makes this something that the city will be able to collect?
9. What happens if the city decides to demolish a vacant property and it is found out later that the person is in a nursing care facility? Such information could be considered patient confidentiality and not easily attainable by anyone other than an approved family member.
10. If the city collects this fee, would the county or the state come and claim that this money should have been paid to them, first and ask for a portion or possibly all of that fee? Or even take this as a partial payment of property taxes and reduce our tax portion based on the fees that we have collected?
Columbia Heights residents need to attend the informational meetings that the city will be hosting, June 29, at 6:00 p.m. in Murzyn Hall, at 10:00 a.m. in the City Council Chambers and then again on July 20 at 6:00 p.m. at Murzyn Hall. All of this is to convince us that ‘we need’ to have this new point of sale inspection program passed in Columbia Heights. This is the very thing that was defeated last summer when over 150 citizens came forward and told the city this was a ridiculous ordinance. PLEASE attend these meetings; even if you don’t say anything, we need the numbers.
Comments that have been made by council members have been things like, “we need to pass this in spite of what the residents say because ‘the council’ understands this better than the residents do.” “They (citizens) didn’t understand what we were trying to pass. There was a lot of misinformation out there.” The message is still the same-you will not be able to sell your house without a city inspection and then repairs will have 90 days to be done. Repairs will have to be done even if you take your home off the market. Money can be placed in escrow but no house will be able to be sold as-is without an escrow fund in place. No more fixing things up on your own time. Call your neighbors, call your friends, and bring anyone that owns a home or plans on owning a home. We need to remind the city that our homes are our own property. This ordinance is still a ‘blank’ slate so they can change anything that they want so that we look like we are ‘misinformed”. (They already changed the dates on us!) We will need your help to defeat this again!
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