Op-ed by Peter Children of Mason City –
These people are all carrying white canes; not one mention of the all night pharmacies that populate that area….all of a sudden they became invisible. Would Mr. Latham invest in commercial store fronts alongside Hardy? I doubt it. Who reading these words would invest hard earned money in that real-estate. Is this a “find the tenant then invest further into restoration; or invest first in hopes of attracting a tenant?” Is this Russian roulette?
You will never find serious money go into that blighted area until you close all the pharmacies. And Hardy doesn’t have his own drug taskforce.
If Mr. Latham wants to invest in that war torn strip of D real-estate I am certain Mr. Hardy would sell him any or all of it. I say this to Mr. Latham; where is this North End Partnership? I have had three phone calls this morning from people who live in that area telling me that there is no Alliance; that there is only two people, him and Rhonda True; that the only person mentioned in the Globe article beside that pair was Val Suby who lives 34 blocks south of the promised land… and works for the Globe-Gazette. Are you with me here? Joe Paulson is a partner with Mr. Latham. If you’re going to get in this game you need to know who the players are.
Who really has the last say in this community? You think it’s Russ Hardy? It’s those 6 council persons who have the ultimate say… the very same ones who hid from the public during the last election. And they were once again given the reins of the city by those who are quick to criticize but do not vote. It is at that council table where all the blame lies, not part of it but all of it. Guys like Russ Hardy are not into enforcement; that is not their job. No one brought up drugs because they live there and are afraid of retaliation, it’s the same reason why people won’t sign their real names on this site – no backbone, no spine.
What is taking place here right now mirrors that which was said to me a few years back by a young girl who played sports at NIACC. She said the coach told the squad: “There are a lot of drugs here but we’re not supposed to talk about it.” Well now that was a dandy solution. That is what this council is telling you right now. ”We know there are drugs here but let’s not bring it up, lets blame someone else. Let’s blame Russ Hardy! And we’ll get Tim Latham to pound the drum. That wasn’t hard, was it?
I might be wrong but didn’t something similar to that happen to Jesus? Wasn’t there a crowd who placed the blame on Him? Look where that led.
Peter Children, Mason City
Matt, an example is Taco Bell, (yes, I have a weak moment now and then) go and check out the staff. Most appear to be BeeGees and not there by choice. I don’t see them there very long, so I assume once their sentence is done they revert to their old game plan, which consists mostly of impregnating fat white chicks with low self esteem and sponging off their income. Now a question for inquiring minds. By your associating fast food and rats are you tacitly implying support for the Blue Zone?
I’m not against the Blue Zone. It’s not for me, but maybe it will make some folks drop some weight or live healthier. My main issue with it is, how much taxpayer cash is really going in for this, and what is the payback? No one really knows, although I have a hunch we’ve sunk tens of thousands if not more into it. The drive-up lines are still stocked at meal time in this town, tho. So what affect is it having?
@Matt-The Blue Zone is just a copy of a system started by Cerro Gordo County Health. It was started by Wellmark to reduce their cost and they are laughing out loud over the cities that have jumped onto this farce. If people want to lose weight there are much better ways to do it then spending taxpayer money. It is just a fad that will soon disappear.
Most certainly, the insurance company is laughing all the way to the bank. They seem to be betting that if everyone lives healthier, health costs will go down, less ailments, less claims, less cash off their bottom line. It’s all a business decision. They love it that the taxpayers are footing the bill to make their business more profitable. They ought to be paying lobbyists to bug the legislators to outlaw greasy, sugary fast food. Then everyone would look like supermodels and be lean and fit.
Taco Bell is on my for sure no way list, haha. I like Taco Tico the best, if I’m going that route. We all get in a hurry from time to time (some people it’s 2-3 times a day) and break down and eat fast food. The Blue Zone teaches us to eat healthier… I’m not sure it’s rubbing off on the people of Mason City. Good old fashioned willpower works the best, if we have it. Now, your analogy above is not far off. I’d be more “pc” and say that the crooks look for the vulnerable to prey on, then they quit their craptastic job at Burger World or wherever, and then they plot a way to make some real bread while doing the very least amount of “work”, usually with no regard for the law. The big problem then becomes, as said rat gets his “business enterprise” rolling, he brings in his co-conspiring rats from wherever he came from. Now MC has a nest of rats instead of one rat. Big problem? For sure.
There are a lot of ratty neighborhoods in Mason City. If you chase the rats out they will just find somewhere else to nest.
Straight up clear observation. The rats come in through Beje Clark. Then the rats get jobs cooking and serving fast food to all the non-Blue Zoners. Then the rats move outta Beje, keep their crap jobs, rent the slums, bring in their crooked cohorts from Timubktoo, Iowa, and plot their next caper. At least the cops never get bored.
The rats also follow the Pied Piper to NIACC where we provide the brothas sports scholarships. They cant make the grade, flunk out, stay in town, find a lonely fat white chick, make babies and then engage in street corner pharmacology.
Lots of people downtown last night, even with the bad weather. Good crowd at the 1910 Grille (Park Inn). I like what’s happening and am very encouraged that we seem to be moving in the right direction. Now let’s clean up the north end.
@JMO-I am all for cleaning up the North End. It is a good thing you didn’t stay downtown after it got dark. Fights every weekend down there. I would hate to see you caught in one.
I’ll say it again. The entire north end should be revitalize with a Urban Renewal Project.
Downtown has had more than their share of TIF, sales tax, General Obligation Bonds, ect.
The time has come for Mason City to do a complete rebuild and renewal of the north end. Once you start getting clean up, new buildings, and positive traffic doing business the druggies will go elsewhere. I remember years ago when East Park was closed off and the druggies took it over. Betterment stopped…
Betterment stopped the crime. When we opened the park and paved/improved the park the druggies and crime disappeared.
@watchdog-I guess you have not been in East Park after dark for a long time. Crime is back.
Crime is back for sure in East park, and it is broad daylight. My kids love east and west park. But I have stopped taking them to east because of all the trouble I see every time.
I’ll say this for the record: Parents, be wary of allowing your teen to wander into the parks either alone or even in a group with friends. There seems to be predators out there, looking to jump or assault what they consider to be easy marks. Just punks, I think, but they can cause damage when they roam in packs.
$36 million more coming to downtown… more likely than not.
Best laugh of the day. May 4 was Urban Renewal Remembrance Day. Urban Renewal projects are iffy at best. http://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2015/5/4/urban-renewal-remembrance-day
Some Bookmeyer, Robin lovers are sure different. When did you all become so serious and closed minded when you all used to be quite the opposite? You know who you are. It really is funny to watch you in action. When everyone knows the real story.
Peter give me a call would love to visit with you on this subject 425-0363 I loss your number.
Why is the former Kansas City Steakhouse still standing? They had 45 days to tear it down and I believe that was last December the decision was made. They need to consider the collapsing grain elevator that stands next to it.
The council has the final say as to what does and what does not happen in this city. They are led by Bookmeyer, how hard Is the rest to figure out? Ask yourself this; why doesn’t this city have a drug dog? Maybe the dog would have a nervous breakdown if it came here.
I don’t understand the council. A while back they were very quick to get an old man out of his home because it was an eye sore, and supposedly not safe to live in. But we let the owners of these buildings on North Federal get away with not doing anything to their buildings. If they don’t want to fix them, then tear them down. Pretty simple solution. It just needs to be enforced.
What do you expect, their leader the mayor is a train wreck. If they would LEAD and come up with their own ideas instead of waiting for Eric and Robin to dream up everything, there would be more progress.
Wow… Those comparative issues had not occured to me. Point well taken and should send chills thur Joe Citizen. How draconian of the mob that runs this city!
Why won’t the city enforce its own code, or hold Russ Hardy to a higher standard? At last week’s work session, it was revealed that RH was meeting the deadlines imposed by city staff. Again, I would say, ask more of him if you want more. I think that’s called “leadership”. Since the mayor, for example, has no job and so much time on his hands, why won’t he sit down with Mr. Hardy and hammer out a solution? I’m sure there are some bar napkins around and a couple of empty bar stools to facilitate a meeting.
You would also notice that the corner of 12th and N. Federal once had (for about a year or two) a GREEN corner, just south of Burke’s Bar. Smitty apparently bought it and loaded it up with his “cars for sale”. In my opinion, that corner looks terrible now. Where were the investors to develop that corner? Who was there to make sure that green space stayed nice? If folks are really serious about cleaning up the north end, then these “baby steps” of progress need to be maintained and built upon; not regressed or allowed to fall into the wrong hands.
@Matt-The whole damn North End of Federal is loaded with used car lots and broken down houses and has been getting worse every year. No one seems to care or want to do anything about it. By the way, it is Scotty that owns that car lot, not Smitty. Scotty bought it several years ago.
I was just going to point out the Smitty/Scotty thing. That green corner Matt mentioned was given to Joe Paulsen by the City. Joe put up the flag pole and some landscaping. He later sold it off when he sold the land to Scotty.
that’s right…I was givin that corner for the sum of 500.00 if I landscaped it and left it green.I did that.It was dead land to any one else since I bought the old gas station. I paved the lot cleaned the place up. I put 25 grand in that place and went to sell it that’s when the council person Jeff Marsters accused me of something illegal….for selling the bldg after getting the land for what he thought was nothing.after I sold the bldg. I was sickened to see the landscape torn out.
I liked the rock that was placed there. It was a good start to making that stretch of Federal more attractive. Your building across the street looks great.
You’ve done a nice job with your own property (Business/Living Quarters) as well, Joe.
I was sad to see the green area go too.
Thank you for that clarification. I got the names mixed around. Im sure Scotty is a great guy. I wish his business looked a little nicer, though. Maybe that’s not possible; I don’t know how he runs his business. If it were mine, I’d make it more presentable. Maybe there’s a program available to help him do that.
Matt, just for clarification, joe sold that building to the same guys that own north side liquor and they are the ones that removed the landscaping on the corner. It wasn’t until their business closed and the building was empty once again that Scotty’s purchased the property. They have since done vast improvements on the building and are currently doing the same with the other once vacant building. It all takes time and money but is coming along well.