MASON CITY – Reportedly, Mason City mayor Eric Bookmeyer will go begging to the people of Mason City to approve a deal for a hotel in the downtown area.
As the voters are showing Mr. Bookmeyer over and over, this is a long-shot. Already, the voters put a bullet in his plan for them to raise their own taxes with a new levy. Last December, no one wanted his hand-picked crony on the council, and instead elected Paul Adams, a man who publicly vowed to stand up to the mayor’s bullying ways. After defeat after defeat, Eric smelled hog manure in the air and coyly announced he wouldn’t run for office again this year.
It is as clear as the Rocky Mountain sky that Eric Bookmeyer has zero credibility left in this town – but he wants you to believe him this one time. He has about 5 staunch supporters left: Three council members who owe their political existence to him (Janet “I didn’t smell any hog manure in rural Iowa” Solberg; Travis “run city hall like McDonald’s” Hickey; and Brett “I voted myself a tax cut” Schoneman). He also has Brent Trout still doing his dirty work likely because Eric already tried to get his job once and could call on his three council members to pull the plug on him. Last but definitely least, there is of course his virtual step-daddy John Skipper, who Eric controls like a ventriloquist controls a wooden dummy. Skipper reciprocates by protecting Eric with shoddy opinion pieces disguised as “news”.
The rest of us are merely waiting for Eric Bookmeyer to kick rocks out of the corner office and preferably out of town, hopefully before the end of his term. Maybe the Des Moines Register will help speed that up, who knows; stay tuned for that one.
At any rate, NIT has learned Bookmeyer wants the voters to OK his hotel deal with Philip Chodur’s G8 Development. He has had Skipper and Schoneman in the paper punishing the beautiful Gatehouse proposal, so as to shore up support for Chodur’s proposal. Now that he has financing set in place, NIT is told nothing stands in the way of Chodur building his hotel, anyway – and more power to him if he does. The voters, it seems, will have to pick which one is connected to the hallowed Renaissance project. City hall will make sure the Gateway proposal has to be checked off up to four times on the ballot to get picked; G8 will just need to be selected once on each ballot. Will there be a third option that says “none of the above?” The safe bet is that option would easily win.
The hotel part of the 5-point Renaissance is crucial, as that is the “private investment” end required to unlock state dollars. The rest of the $35 million deal is a lot of fancy TIF formulations, imaginary bonding dollars not yet approved by voters, and that public money from the state. In the end, if Eric’s dream is approved, we all pay, big time; Chodur gets a parking ramp worth $7 million free from the taxpayers. A New York real estate investor who got Southbridge Mall for a measly $1.5 million gets a $12 million arena – for free – plus millions in RENT payments from the taxpayers. Ouch. All this built on a fantasy of newly-invigorated mall – as Travis Hickey would have you believe – teaming with new bars, restaurants, shops, full of people leaving an arena where one hot dog and one beer will cost you $17.
Eric Bookmeyer keeps asking us to shoot ourselves in the foot. First it was a trash burning plant. Then a hog plant. Then a new tax levy. Some say the forces of good intervened and shot each one down. Now a downtown debacle that makes Jean Marinos’ putrid Northbridge deal look like a bargain (Mason City taxpayers still pays hundreds of thousands of dollars a year on Northbridge debt, which accomplished moving Fareway across the street).
As one citizen wrote to NIT this morning, this deal seems to make little sense and will likely harm existing businesses.
“MC officials have this naive market belief that ‘just build it and all will enjoy financial success’. I’ll bet there is NO market analysis worth anything that shows a market NEED not being met for a new 100 room hotel or a conference center that will cash flow while not adversely impacting existing venues in Clear Lake and MC.”
Never mind that Mason City has a wealth of nice hotels who already pay taxes here. What a sad state of affairs when the taxes actually paid by these hotels are funding, through those taxes, a rogue, free-lancing mayor out chasing a competing hotel. Bookmeyer has no mandate from the public to pursue this deal, no directive from the city council. He’s been chasing it for four years and spent countless thousands of taxpayer dollars in his pursuit. Soon, if history is a guide and the council goes through with another (costly) referendum, the voters will deliver another defeat to Eric Bookmeyer.
It seems that the majority of what is being posted here is against either hotel being built. I agree that whoever is going to built should self finance.
Is everyone so anxious because someone is going to get greased. Not out of the question, been done before and will get done again….its just part & parcel of that business.
Agreed Peter. As someone who was also in private business for years, you take the risk and potentially reap the reward. Tax payers owe this new venture only an even playing field, fairness and an opportunity to prove themselves. They roll the dice at their expense.
BREAKER… BREAKER NIT readers!! Philip Chodur now says he will keep his word to build a hotel in downtown Mason City, with or without being part of Mayor Bookmeyer’s River City Renaissance project. He said he will build at an alternative site “to protect his investment in his hotel project, which he estimated was close to $600,000 in November 2016.” Uh-oh, Bookie, get ready to tell it to the judge.
Phillip can buy the property I own next to his lot on 4th street and Massachusetts. I have his business card somewhere around here. Down the street from east park may or may not be a good location for a hotel. He would have to convince the city to rezone that corner section for commercial/residentail.
Bookmeyer now says he wants openness, well that’s 180° turn, where did he hear about opennness, somebody must’ve told him about that because it’s never been part of his modus operandi that’s for sure. As each day passes this becomes more of a three ring circus all the more reason to stop. Are we over booked with conventions that to come into the city? I don’t think so.
I urge all qualified voters to vote, and when you do vote vote none of the above. Show the common sense that we all possess tell Bookmeyer that you’re tired of the games he’s been playing.
He has finally figured out his deal with Chodur doesn’t have a chance, so he is switching sides trying to salvage something. The other deal is not a good deal for the taxpayers either. If they want to build a hotel do it without taxpayer money. It is their business and they should pay for it. Vote no.
after spending hundreds of thousands if not millions on this worthless project, I bet neither will ever be built. Maybe we could put bookie behind bars and show him off to public, the hotels would be full of tourtist who come to look at him
BREAKING NEWS!!! “Mayor Eric Bookmeyer said Friday afternoon he supports moving forward with Gatehouse Capital’s proposal to build a hotel and connect it with The Music Man Square via skywalk.” “Over the last 24 hours, a consensus has formed that was not present yesterday,” the mayor said in a press release. “I value that consensus. It is healthy and allows us to have a firm direction. I will support moving forward Gatehouse’s bold proposal and look forward to negotiating a development agreement that works for both parties. There is no question it will positively change the landscape of Mason City for the future”, said Bookie the slipperiest mayor ever elected in Mason City.
He FINALLY saw the handwriting on the wall. Nobody wants anything involving the Chodur boys and public money.
In my opinion Bookmeyer is selling this entire city a siding job. He wants to wrap this town in aluminum siding…..and the council members are the applicators.
Remember you have to go to the polls in order to vote no. You must cast your vote to defeat both of these hotels along with the ice-skating rink, otherwise you’re going to be paying for it for the rest of your life. If you stay home what you’re doing is casting a yes vote.Get your friends and neighbors, gather the people you work with, put together a crowd go into the polling place and vote no. By voting you control what’s going to take place in the city you lived in for so many years.
A demoratic liberal obamma / clinton ballot – I voted NO but it came up YES. Seems to be -you have a swamp that neeeds to be flushed.
Bookie your story is over THE END
Shoddy opinion pieces disguised as “news”. Sounds familiar.
You are just not used to reading the TRUTH because the only news you get from the GLOB is Fake News.
The editor describes this information as “news and entertainment”
Just what is wrong with that?
Nothing. No judgement just an observation. But certainly not the way Fox describes their mission…….. “Fair and Balanced”.
People are saying Jimmy Hoffa is staying at the the Edmar ? These small town crooks could learn alot from the elected officials in worth county. Official what – cruds/thieves/liars – take your pick – we got em !
He just won’t quit, will he? Bookmeyer said: “If folks choose G8, they simply vote ‘yes’ on the multipurpose lease and ‘no’ on the Gatehouse bonding questions.” “If they are in favor of Gatehouse, they simply vote ‘yes’ on all of Gatehouse items and ‘no’ on G8.” So, what you’re saying Mayor is load-up the August 1 public referendum on using bonds to build an ice arena/multipurpose center with bonding for G8, or Gatehouse. That way the public will be so confused they won’t know what to vote for, or against. Spin at best, deceit at worst! The August ballot should only carry a yes or no for bonding the ice arena.
Is there an “opt out” option, I have the best idea return all of the forced/stolen $ from taxpayers to the taxpayers so they can fix their houses up, start a business, grow their business, spend it on their family, vacation, or save it how ever they see fit it is their $, then everyone would be happy with that decision except the crooks, theft comes in many forms “taxes” are one of those forms.
Is Eric mentally stable? Seriously. Just not sure anymore especially after the whole performance he put on last summer. Dude seems whacked.
He has an alcohol addiction, and a small penis.
Great article, hit all the facts, Haven’t heard much from you, Matt, on this issue. Now Bookie is trying to confuse the issue with yet another vote. The referendum should be NOW, with a simple yes or no vote. Let’s put this farce behind us and vote for a fresh start in the Fall.
I don’t want to see any more money spent on that Mall, period. Haven’t we been buried with tax burdens there already? The company that bought the mall got it for a song waiting for this thing to happen. I say no, bulldoze the place. The City or State has no business subsidizing a private business to build a Hotel in town or in the state. If a market study shows there is a need, a hotel owner would build it on its own. Ask Kinseth Hospitality that built a new Hotel by Pizza Hut how much he got from the City. I would guess nothing, they did it because they needed to so they could compete.
I’m confused. Do you want to spend money on the mall or not? Bulldozing it would cost the taxpayers significantly more and cause more hassles than anything else that has been proposed. Like it or not, the size and location of the mall make it essentially a “monument” that isn’t going anywhere.
This article has hit dead center regarding the cooked up sham being feed the citizen of Mason City. Whatever you do please vote and vote no. Don’t be hoodwinked by these film-flam people who are led by the nose by our Mayor.
Bookmeyer has promised no to run again….but several people said he can’t be trusted to keep his word. I am inclined to believe that. The people living here told him loud & clear what he could do with his .67 cent levy….now tell him once more what he can do with his skating rink and hotel. Vote Gatehouse.
Oh snap. Bookee just got his ass handed to him.
Excellent job Matt. Very well said nd every damn bit of it is true. This proposed scam is nothing but a rip off of the taxpayers. Vote NO when the time comes.
Build whatever you want, with whom you want……..but not one ounce of taxpayer money should be used. Bottom line.
First off all let me say that I don’t think that Brent Trout is a bad person. Like what has been said before, he is a puppet, someone to do Brookmeyer’s dirty work. Trout, like others in city hall, are afraid of losing their job if they don’t do what they are told. For years Brookmeyer has been trying to build a legacy for himself, at this cities expense. Hopefully that will never happen, and in a few months he will be nothing but a bad nightmare. Maybe at his next job, he will be more successful, LOL… With my many years in mason city, I have never heard of, or seen such a terrible mayor.
Marquart, you are such a ***********
*********** Deciphered it’s greatperson, that’s all I could figure out.
Swing by, let’s discuss it in person. I’ll have the camera ready. Up for it?
Why would you need a camera?
To hold people accountable for what they say and do.
…says anonymous…