MASON CITY – Eric Bookmeyer’s “Mayor’s Bike Ride” was pretty much a huge dud – and there wasn’t much “lean” about it.
The event was pushed on at least two billboards, social media and mentioned at City Council meetings. T-shirts were ordered. Two thousand slots were allocated for anticipated riders.
It didn’t pan out for Mr. Bookmeyer.
Thursday evening, a grand total of 17 riders participated in the Mayor’s Bike Ride. That number included Bookmeyer and three members of his own family. The ride began at the Newman Catholic High School parking lot and proceeded on the trails around the ponds at Lester Milligan Park. There was a $5 fee for adults 18 and over. Youth ages 5-17 got in free.
There was no immediate information available on how much the two billboards used to advertise the event cost the taxpayers. The billboards have been known to cost $500 to $1,000 per month each.
Mayor Bookmeyer has been a big proponent of the “Lean” initiative, but has freely advocated for spending on billboards for this event, tens of thousands of dollars on sculptures for a “non-profit group” whose first stop for funds was City Hall, a remodel of City Hall, four trips to Washington D.C. with lavish meals and hotel accommodations, hundreds of thousands of dollars for the North Iowa Corridor (which is a clear failure at bringing good-paying jobs to Mason City), and more, all paid for by the people of Mason City. Mayor Bookmeyer also was behind a major push to construct a downtown hockey arena, which failed to get off the ground.
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