Manteca’s fireworks display is a lot of taxpayers’ money gone up in a trail of smoke and would be spent more beneficial on projects that has been shelved.
The council recently shelved the Main Street Bulb removal project that Mayor DeBrum promised would be addressed in July of 2017. The council submitted a phony excuse for placing an indefinite time frame on this project. We want to get it right this time before we spend a million on this project.
How much prior consideration did the council consider in spending 7.8M to prepare for a hotel that no one has signed an agreement to build? Based on the last failed negotiations with Great Wolf Resorts there is a good chance future negotiations could collapse also. This large project should have been initiated by a signed agreement to construct the hotel.
Spending this kind of money on a project before having a signed agreement, reflects on how this council conserves our taxes in Manteca. Councilman Silverman reflects on the need to conserve taxes while I see no action to conserve by this council.
People’s taxes are used by this council as a slush fund for anything they want to spend it on. Tonight, a lucrative contract will be awarded to a golf Pro to replace the late Allan Thomas. This contract will run up the 800K deficit this course incurred for this year. Profit sharing incentives for this pro will insure the loss on this course will continue.
If maintenance cost over 750K this year what will it cost next year? Add the charity loss of 155K and you will approach a deficit on this course of 1M. This council also added to the deficit by spending 125K on the ancient club house. J
ust short of a 1m Deficit plus a large salary and a contract for an untested pro. Residents have paid for subsiding golf play and debt on the clubhouse for years. We were told by a council that DeBrum served as a council member on that the debt was paid on the clubhouse and at last we would see a profit. Where the hell is the profit DeBrum? Many years of stupidity on the part of councils running this course — resulted in people picking up the tab for a losing business.
The same approach that sacked Wolf Resorts is being used to approach another investor. This council lost the hotel by insisting on a huge investment that required an additional 30M investment for a Conference Center. Financing this huge loan was supposed to be paid by this city sacrificing the city’s share of room tax.
It appears that Wolf didn’t want to risk the initial cash for the hotel and a Conference Center. A business has to conserve cash to cover the slack periods and unforeseen expenditures they might have to cover. The lack of profits and dwindling cash is what’s fueling retail closures in this country. This city should forget a conference center that would have a long-term debt obligation to the taxpayers.
A hotel chain takes all the risk if the marketing is wrong and people don’t show on a continuous basis. A conference center is a greater investment risk, for no one can predict how often a conference center will be required.
We do acknowledge the fact that a hotel will still receive room tax when the Center is empty. This council should give up on the conference centerc and forget about debt on the conference center and collect the room tax for this city.
Debt is not showing signs of conserving taxes Councilman Silverman, make a deal that doesn’t require a 30-year sharing of room taxes. After all, isn’t FEZ about recreation for people instead of going in debt for a meeting place. Demanding less by this council will result in a successful contract for a hotel by reducing demands on hotel execs. How would this council react to spending 30M for a slow trickle return on your money?
I will give the council credit for conserving money, mainly their own, by letting taxpayers pick up the tab for a so-called lobbying trip for the entire council to go to Washington DC.
The question is, what qualified the entire council and their spouses for lobbying with politicians? Pour me another round of drinks Mayor to wash my fillet mignon down.
Fleener Richards.
