The article in ThisWeek (Dispatch) 5/30/09 entitled “Newark eyes federal funds for ice arena, treatment plant” demonstrates the irresponsibility with which bureaucrats and special interest groups are willing to gobble tax money.
Two such forces are grabbing for Community Development Block Grant funds, neither of which would, as HUD declares are the purposes of such grants, “develop viable communities by providing decent housing, a suitable living environment and opportunities to expand economic opportunities, principally for low- and moderate-income persons.”
Promoters of the local ice arena have their hands out for $226,355 for upgrades to allow non-hockey events.
Newark’s treatment plant is Jonesing for $293,000 to convert methane gas and reuse it as a natural-gas substitute. This, plus another $293,000 in matching funds from already over-burdened taxpayers.
But what about those low- and moderate-income folks who will never care about either project, but would just like to see Newark’s neighborhoods repaired and sanitized and their utility bills and taxes reduced?
Council members Shirley Stare and Irene Kennedy raised objections during the service committee meeting where preliminary deliberations were made. But, according to ThisWeek, “Newark Mayor Bob Diebold expects his request to skate right through city council Monday, when he'll ask to spend hundreds of thousands in proposed grant money on the ice arena and wastewater-plant upgrades.”
He’s probably right. There are, you see, no forces, save a few bloggers, who give a crap about low- and moderate-income folks or their neighborhoods or their utility bills and taxes.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
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I have to eat my words. I really thought the ice arena would be the beneficiary of hundreds of thousands of our tax dollars via the CDBGR, aka, stimulus funds. Thank goodness HUD came through in the 11th hour and put the kaiybash on this plan. Don't get me wrong, I am a huge hockey fan, my son played for NIHA from age 5/6 to 17. The ice arena is a huge community asset. However, I doubt that 50% of the ice arena patrons live in Newark. And the target demographic (low to moderate income) for funding is not the patronage I have observed at the arena. What bothered me the most, the more digging I did into the Newark Sports and Events Commission, the more linkage I found between govt leaders and community powerbrokers. Dave Rhodes (council at large) and John Wallace (Gib Reese's son in law) are just two of the members on the board of the commission. Who's name is on sign for the ice arena? Now isnt that convenient, an organization that boasts raising all this money, a program, that has all these sponsors, corporate and private....with their hands out for our tax dollars. All too cozy for me to stomach.
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The thing about HUD's (kibosh?) is that the Mayor and all the Mayor's advisors, as well as the service committee members who forwarded the funding request for the Ice Arena apparently didn't ask HUD. According to the Advocate report, HUD called Newark to advise them that such a request would be denied. All of which shows - again - how lacking in management skills are Newark's council and administrators. Where is that city manager? Who's supposed to be on that project?
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