Dear Editor,



To quote Laura Ingram on Fox news this morning concerning the Trillions that we are in debt: “Money? What money? We have none!” When will that message reach our government as a whole from the top to the bottom?

I listened to the City Council and the Mayor lament over raising our water rates.

I listened to them read a letter from an individual on a fixed income state their concerns.

I listened to the street commissioner express concerns over his road budget.

Then I listened to the following. A grant is being sought for the implementation of the Ratio design plan for the downtown. It will address lighting, traffic control / landscaping and move the veterans bricks to an area adjacent to the veterans memorial. These bricks are going to be moved as they have not had proper care. Who will provide proper care of all the additional landscaping etc? The taxpayers? This is just the start this is phase one with a price tag of $657,000.00.

Total price tag including phase two is 2 million dollars. Primarily grant money. Which is OUR tax money and is adding to our national debt. The premise of using this, is that we are paying into it and if we don’t use it another town will. Great concept if you are not looking to the welfare / or should I say financial collapse of our country as we know it. This mentality and this spending has to stop.

However it doesn’t just stop there. On the $657,000.00 phase one, it breaks down like this:

They are seeking a grant (our tax money) for: $500,000.00.

That leaves a matching amount of: $157,700.00. (I know this math doesn’t add up but this is what they quoted at the 3/1/10 City Council meeting.)

The County Commissioners have pledged: $ 40,000.00

DGDC/HOTT city have pledged: Alma Taylor funds / Tax funds? $13,500.00

That leaves a balance for the city of : $ 104,200.00

Then it was discussed that phase 2….which will take in the rest of the square will cost 800 to 900 thousand dollars. The total price of the project was said to be 2 million dollars.

On phase two they will also seek a grant (our tax money) that is if the stimulus money is implemented to provide the grant.

This grant from what is being talked about would be a grant with no matching funds (still our tax money). HOWEVER, engineering has to be in place to even apply for this stimulus grant and the engineering will be at a cost to the City taxpayers of $48,000.00.

I own a business and a building in the downtown. You may be thinking why would she be against this as this will only increase her property value?

Here are my reasons.

If the National Debt is called in it will levy approximately $37,000.00 per person. Not per family….per person on each of us. http://www.washingtonwatch.com/blog/2008/09/21/your-liability-for-the-bailout-2000-your-debt-37000/

I realize what that would do to my business let alone what it will do to our country. I wish the government officials would get it. We have to set an example and start a movement to STOP all unnecessary spending. We need to start saying no at the local level and work our way up to the State level as we have some state elections coming up. There is a division of power between the Federal and the State levels. For our protection. To keep a balance in government.

Our downtown landscaping , crosswalks, lighting etc. is not in bad shape as compared to other downtowns.

Many “revitalization” efforts of this type have been done before and they do not bring the economic benefit. History is the best proof of this. This is the cart before the horse and money has been put into this cart before.

Until a comprehensive structural study is done on the buildings so that investors can invest in their building without the fear of their neighbors building falling in on their investment, the mentality of revitalizing downtown will not succeed. We will create a beautiful park in the middle of the crumbling of our drawing card which is our Historic buildings. Another building was recently condemned at the last City Planning Commission meeting.

To think each individual owner will have a structural study done on their own is not realistic. Many do not want to know. There has to be a carrot in place to propel the structural study.  The DGDC has a grant available now for doing work on the interior of buildings. That is a greatcarrot….make that carrot subject to participation in the Comprehensive structural study. HOTT CITY has a façade improvement grant. Again make that carrot subject to participating in the Comprehensive structural study to be eligible. Why? Incentive for one. But secondly and most importantly because then the money through grant or whatever source will be invested with the knowledge that the building is not going to fall down causing a variety of problems and liabilities.

I believe in Downtown Revitalization but only if it is done in a sequence of success that will be a good investment of tax money rather than a waste of tax money. I must also add that in this economy I think our downtown is just fine and probably one of the nicer downtowns around. With this economy in mind is this project a “want” or a “need”?

Honestly if you are an investor are you going to invest in a building (even if you know the structural integrity of your building is ok)…without knowing the structural integrity of the buildings that are attached to it? Are you as an investor going to pay for a structural study on the whole block to make sure your investment is secure ….Or are you going to go out and buy a plot of land and build where there are not these complications? Complications will run investors away while incentives will bring them in.

In this economy I am strongly objecting to the expenditure of grant money (our tax money ) in this manner. In this economy grant money should be invested not just spent because it is available.

I can’t think of anything better than to end with an appropriate quote from Mike Pence:

PENCE: “Sometimes "no" is just what this town needs to hear. When it comes to more borrowing, the answer is no. When it comes to more spending, the answer is no. When it comes to more bailouts, the answer is --

CROWD: No!”

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,587026,00.html



Jean Johannigman

Greensburg