Today’s paper spoke of jobs lost by not allowing the waste to energy operation to settle here. Fifty jobs lost is what it said. Wrong, it was a proposal to hire 50 but no guarantee. The article was interesting but as is the norm with our local paper there were certain aspects that were never mentioned.
It was just a few years ago that this very city turned down an opportunity to located a new state of the art meat packing facility here. Estimated payroll was twelve hundred people. Wages with benefits would have exceeded $15.00 an hour which would have brought close to a million a week pumped into our local economy. Not a chance in hell.
Why, you ask? Because while the hogs and cattle were acceptable, the workforce was not. Why, you ask? Because they would have been Black and Hispanic and we couldn’t have that.
What does that say about those deciding? It says a lot, it says more than those writing today’s article in the Globe would say.
Peter Children
Target distr
Meat packing Plant
Casino
Visa center
…..did you want me to go on?
This town doesn’t want big business and treats smaller ones terribly.
Empty buildings everywhere,some becoming run down. I know of 3 new businesses that were looking to lease, but got ZERO help from anyone.
This is a joke.
Not a surprise. From what I have seen, the City currently has an un-written policy to help certain businesses here. It is “Buy the Mayor a drink and you might get a forgivable loan and other goodies. You also need to be a country club member or big player on the scene before we will consider helping you.” That is why the Mayor and Council refuse to enact a real policy that applies to everyone. They want it case by case so they can pick and choose winners and losers. They seem to think we live in Russia or some third world country where democracy and fair-play do not exist. Shame on them all.
I vote for Gail. One of the major factors in the failure of this burning concept was the manner in which it was brought in. No public input. Bookmeyer is not user friendly, he is totally inept and unqualified for this position he holds.
Pete,
This is always the way a ruse is presented. The Mayor and his gang had to keep the public ill informed and out of the loop.
Thank God for the Sandy Servantez’s of the world that will put themselves in the fray to get the truth out to the public.
Just think where we would all be too if we didn’t have this web site?
We all owe a huge debt of gratitude to Matt Marquardt for bringing North Iowa this web site.
Thank you Matt!
Thank you Matt M. for allowing a voice to be heard.
ps. I met the owner of Hootenanny Inc. yesterday.wow.What a new breath of fresh air to this stale business enviorment. Surprised he opened office here. He was glowing about trying to help the people/city. I will be the first in line to buy any event tickets he brings to the Fairgrounds/Event Center. Let Clear Lake support the Surf and their businesses, Mason City wants to support their own.
It’s too bad the CES proposal had nothing to do with burning. As stated before, it is a scientific fact that burning or combustion requires 3 things; oxygen, fuel, heat. Remove one, no combustion (burning). Flames and smoke are a byproduct of combustion (depending upon the material).
Basic Grade School science.
I think what you are all not getting on the deal with the LNI is that IT WAS NOT EVER A DECISION MASON CITY OR THE PUBLIC HAD ANY SAY IN. The lanfill voted to keep themselves in business and not let their business go out of business, thus putting several people out of a job. AND this CES company changed not only their stories but their company name may times. I have tried to locate CES via the email, website and phone numbers they dispersed while trying to “do business” in Mason City. They are not to be found. Also many other places turned them down as well. This was not a Mason City decision, a public decision, or a decision that the chamber, the mayor, the council members of Mason had the right to make, it was a decision for the landfill only to make. No one would vote to put themselves out of a job. Listen to Sandy, she was at each meeting and DID do her homework. LNI is likely not against some future project BUT it can’t and likely won’t be a project that puts them and their employees out of business and work. Most people are not against advancement and new technology, but most people, who have any common sense, are against a project where the name of the company and what they do changes like most people change socks. I keep looking for this supposed company now and can’t find them, what is their name now? There would not have been a net gain in jobs once the landfill employees lost their jobs and there would have been less money being put into the local economy as the jobs from the plant would have been much less pay with fewer benefits. The reps from this so called CES company did not want to stay in Mason and run a plant long term, their end game was to trial the procedure, try to perfect it and then sell the concept to military bases. The reps also admitted this project would not put money into the local economy. The Mason City representative, Tornquist, even stated at the LNI meeting that the company would likely fail but what did that matter? Not encouraging words for one of the ONLY two representatives of the LNI board that voted for the project. Its not fearmongers who were opposed to this plant, it was people who attended the meetings, did research and asked questions. Will the LNI in 10 years be what it is today? Likely not, some kind of technology and advancement will be needed and will be done but this can be done by the LNI with actual net jobs created and the benefits staying in the local communities. I wonder why this subject of CES keeps coming up? Why don’t you understand IT WAS NOT a decision that was up for public vote or up to the Mason City mayor and council. And none of you who had the best interest of LNI intact would have voted for it. People here saying “Mason City missed out on jobs” do not know what your talking about. It is time to put this subject to bed, it wasn’t your call to make, ever. Get over it.
Gail, it was fearmongers and half or no truth comments before public bodies that killed this. I am not pleased in how the contract negotiations with LNI went, it was a bit ham handed. But, someone convinced them this plant was “a danger to the community”, and that is how the votes were cast.
I cannot find the notebook at the moment, but this whole fiasco came off just like others across the nation with similar plans and opportunities. And it is still happening in other regions with different projects. Same method; scare, scare, scare!
Yes, it is water under the bridge. And yes, we need to learn from our mistakes. But moreover, learn who is going to deal in good faith, and who is going to use fear and falsehoods sway opinion (which is not dealing in good faith).
Observer you are talking out of your ass.
There was never any fear mongering of any kind. There was a lot of common sense and good judgment on the part of those that saw it was a ruse from the beginning. You have been spewing this BS ever since the garbage deal got started like you know something about it. Well you don’t!
I am pretty sure from following your blogs that you are one of the insiders that were promoting it. If not, then you are just plain stupid. Like everyone has said, this whole CES debacle was nothing more then a shell game for people to make some quick money at the expense of unsuspecting taxpayers.
It’s pretty obvious you are the one with their head buried in the garbage.
First off, I am not an “insider”. Second, when in talking about the particular technology they were going to use, it is inappropriate to label it as “burning trash” or “incineration”. Yet, those words were bandied about as if it was accurate, it was not.
I offered a simple experiment you could do at home, to better understand the technology.
I examined what they did at a Lignite plant in North Dakota, operating since 1984. So gasification is a bit more than an experiment in my eyes. Observe Sasol that supplies FT-Fuels to power buses in South Africa. Another actual gasification plant since the 70’s. I can go on with actual working systems gasifying different feedstocks.
I was not born yesterday. The tactics used in Mason City were no different than those use in Canoy Township, PA; Robbins, IL; and other supposedly controversial projects. Smear, spread fear, get out-of-state activists, and pull political strings (what that really means, is scare the elected officals into thinking their job was hanging by a thread if they approved the project).
Anonymous, my comments on the subject offered facts. What did yours offer?
“I am pretty sure from following your blogs that you are one of the insiders that were promoting it. If not, then you are just plain stupid.”
Can you offer us readers any reason this is not mere supposition? Is there really any fact to your comment? I will not hold my breath waiting for a reply.
Gail, Thank you well said.
You are right Gail. Bill Rowland did not want this to happen because he might have eventually lost his job. The LNI board should have looked at the bigger picture.Use trash to make energy OR bury it endlessly.Kind of a no brainer in my opinion.
Tornquist said IF , not when,CES went out of business the City or County would not be out anything since it was all private money being used.
Actually, no one needs the permission of LNI to build and operate a plant such as CES proposed. It’s common knowledge that places like New York City ship their waste, prepaid, to landfills outside of the state of New York, Ohio being one destination. Currently, train loads of MSW is shipped on a daily basis away from the eastern Megalopolis.
Now it is doubtful that such a municipality would pay shipping charges all the way to Iowa. Yet, it would be free to be used as feedstock in a gasification plant. But no one short of the Iowa DNR and City Council could stop such a proposal, surely no messy 28-E agreement. Let’s not be so smug.
Lot of po-po coming out your butts. Having worked in development, I know CES was a looser from the git-go. There money was going to be made “doing” the deal. The actual technology is experimental and only fools would expect that to be a LONG TERM profitable venture. Fact is there is much better technology on the horizon that will utilize waste much more efficiently and have much greater results.
The Land Fill Of North Iowa was wise to turn it down.
Also, the comments about the old council and John Jaszewski not supporting the Target deal. He was only mimicking the Chamber of Commerce’s stupidly.
The truth of the matter is the local Chamber and elite has kept the good paying jobs out of Mason City so they don’t have to compete for wages. This has been going on for DECADES, and it is not the old councils fault or Sandy Servantez.
Those on here putting that BS out is just hiding the real truth from the citizens of Mason City.
Hey, lets go back and check out our history.
Ford was kept out of Mason City in the 50s.
IBM that landed in Rochester was shown the door.
The Armour Plant that closed an old plant here wanted to rebuild here but was convinced by the “powers behind the scene” to only build the small facility in Mason City we have now. I was on the inside of that big let down.
We can come forward and see Target shown the door. Then there was another meat packer that wanted to build here and the Chamber gave them the cold shoulder.
The list is very long and the same Chamber and Development group are still in charge and with the blessings of our current Mayor and Council.
It does look hopeless and we have to quit blaming the wrong people put the onus where it belongs.
The Chamber Of Crime has always been into ‘selective development. If Jolas would tell the truth he could really blow the lid off of this story.
He used to be into development big time and he would tell prospective new business, “we keep unions out and want the smaller business that are not likely to unionize.
All of this was done in secret. I was there!!
Hey 4th ward,
You can believe what you want to believe. I did something the majority of the people in Mason City have never done, ran for council. Rather I won or not I let people know that I care about Mason City. I can name several persons that have been and that I are on the council that did not win the first time around. Yes, I did get your point earlier. I just chose to put the truth down so people would know the facts. Rather I chose to run is up to me and my family not you or anyone else. See I live in a free country and I have the right to run if I choose to.
I forgot to put my name down on one of the comments. I was the one talking about the E 28 agreement. If the company is going change its answers all the time. It is hard to believe that the company can be safe because they say so. My whole point of this blog back in forth is the company never told the same story twice. You can argue back and forth all you want. I heard different stories all the time. That is why I stood up against them. They couldn’t be trusted.
“Sandy” Many people agree with you. A company or officals can not come into meetings and keep changing their stories on the fly this is dishonest. Stay engaged and run for office again its obvious that someone in the 4th ward is worried their time is limited.
Go Sandy. Show the bucketheads that anyone can do the job if they put their minds to it. Lot of people in this town are acting like they are the only one’s with the ability to learn anything new.
The whole thing with ces was a right decision. It was an unproven technology, lni would be financially liable if they couldnt provide the amount of garbage they needed. Ces it self didnt know what to call them selfs. They had 2 or 3not different names in contract with lni. Everything was being rushed with no time to really look through the contract. The whole thing stunk to high heaven.
To 4th Ward
Sandy was one of a small group that worked tirelessly to save this city from possible serious health risks. She did this because she loves this city and all who live here. I can only hope she will run once more; we need her and more people just like her on that council. Then you wouldn’t see the collusion you do now.
If Thomas Edison lived in Mason city we never would have had the light bulb or electricity. It would have been too new and untested!!!Every new technology is untested. Cutting edge is where the high paying jobs are, NOT manufacturing ,think Mexico and China,and retail. Unfortunately cutting edge carry risks AND rewards.
I am going to agree Reggie. The CES plant was defeated by fear-mongering and false information. I have a long list of those involved in my notes.
I will also say, information was not properly disseminated to allow for a more educated opinion of what the plant was, and how it would work. That should have been in the public realm from the start.
Reggie this is not true. People are willing to take a chance on a new business but not at the risk to our childrens health or the health of the community or enviroment. If CES was such a great company where are they now. Communities should have been lined up and the plant should have already started building. There was too many question’s that were unanswered and this failure falls on the mayor, city administrator, city councilman, chamber and edc for not doing their part in answering the citizens concerns.
I like your point, Reggie. Cutting edge does carry higher risks, and as such, higher rewards. Good point.
There was no 50 jobs being created here it was moving some jobs from the landfill to this plant. that is not creating new jobs thats called job shifting
Thank you for your input!! People that complain have no idea what was in the agreement the landfill was to sign and OK in less than hour. One of the things the company wanted was an agreement with the landfill if the couldn’t produce the amount a garbage they wanted the landfill would be responsible to make that up. Lets see if the have to pay the company money because their wasn’t enough garbage who do think that cost would come back to the…… TAX PAYERS!!
That is NOT true.The LNI only had to give them all the refuse they got and CES had to find other sources to make up the difference. That’s why Ms Hardy hypothesized they would have to burn tires to make up the difference.
Reggie, YOU are wrong. They can’t get garbage from other places. That is why they have the E 28 agreement. No other towns that are not in the agreement can come into the landfill. That is another reason why the landfill rejected the contract. Example – if CES went to Lake Mills to get their tires they couldn’t because Lake Mills is not in the E 28 agreement. Read up on the E 28 agreement and you’ll understand how all this works. If landfill can’t produce the 250 ton a day they can’t go somewhere else and get it. Oh I’m sorry I guess when they found out landfill could only produce 90 to 120 ton they could get by with that. Here again different answer for the same question. CES said, “give us all your tires Mason City and all the other tires we can find” they said that. Mrs. Harding was only repeating what they said.
Peter. Remind me who was on the council then. Maybe the smell would have had something to do with it also. We also lost out on a casino. That hasn’t proved successful has it. The most profitable casino in the state. Congradulations to Worth County on that one. Also lost out on Target Distribution Center. I remeber at a council meeting John J. who is running for superviosor say he wasn’t in favor because we didn’t have the workforce to support it. Now you talk of CES. Of course you Peter, Max, Sandy Servantez and Joanne Hardy didn’t help the cause. So no wonder Mason City can not prosper. You sure can complain and scrutinize though can’t you.
I want to be clear; I was against the waste to engery plant then and I am still against it. It was unproven and could have caused considerable harm here. They were shown the door everywhere they went….not just here. In the other cities there were certainly people like myself who thought the same thing I did.
Furthermore the Globe left out the packing plant becaue it may have smacked of prejudice.
You mention my name I will respond. How much homework did you do about CES? By the way was not the name when they came to town or the name when they left town. If you have questions why that company wasn’t a good fit I’ll be happy to give you the information. I am not against bring jobs into Mason City!!! What I am against is company’s that can’t tell the truth to the citizens of Mason City who will be holding the bag when they our long gone.
Sandy. How can you say that. Easy to say now because I guess we will never know. A Thirty Five Million Dollar project with no taxpayer money up front. Would have been good jobs for the contractors. Not to mention a two million dollar payroll influxed into north iowa. Would have been interesting to see what would have happened. All we can say is Mason City and Cerro Gordo County lost another prospect. The people who complain about jobs alway seem to be the ones who don’t want jobs when they want to come and then we wonder why companies don’t trust us. Funny.
I’m saying this and then I am done. I did a lot of homework on this and the reps. from CES was NOT telling the same story. Very seldom did they have the same answer twice. I went to all the meetings but one. IT was NOT 50 jobs!! They said they could make it automation and have it down to 10 or 12. They said they wouldn’t go automation because they like Mason City and they wouldn’t do that. Yea right. If I were an investor and someone told me they could get by with 10 or 12 instead of 50 I know what my answer would be.
Sandy,
Just don’t run for 4th ward council seat next year and spare us all the “i went to the meetings and did my homework” stuff that everyone can see a mile away.
Bottom line-you were part of a small group that scared away a multi-million dollar investment that would have created 50 jobs in Mason City woith benefits, millions in payroll that would have been spread all across town, 35 million capital capital investment, construction jobs, etc.
You said they had different names and didn’t tell truth, it is called incorporating in a state that is beneficial for certain industries and then having an LLC where you operate…anyone with ANY business sense knew the difference in CES and ERC and why…except you.
Please don’t run again…it won’t work out.
I will be voting for Sandy is she runs!! You go girl! Finally someone real!
I am with a small group that ran the company away please. Thank you. I have always say people have a voice and I used mine. Did you go to the landfill meeting? A 30 million dollar contract and they wanted the landfill to sign on the line with less than an hour to read it they made the decision . A lot of small print needed to be read and understood. CES are the ones that said they had to have an answer that night they couldn’t or wouldn’t give them anymore time. OK instead of using “homework” maybe I’ll use DUE DILIGENCE get in to practice for when I play with the big kids!!! BAHBAH
I also did my homework Sandy. And I revealed the results right here on these pages. No one batted an eye. I even told how to do the experiment at home. Did anyone try for themselves? Or did they believe the horror stories of those like Carole?
I have been through situations like this before so it’s not new. Fearmongering, the sky is falling tactics, use of absurd terminology that does not apply to the conversation at hand.
I am watching a situation right now in the Pacific Nortwest unfold. Same stupid game. And guess what, the jobs in that situation pay twice as much as they do here, and the end result will be, the jobs will go to either Mexico or Canada. Hundreds of them!
This proposed packing facility was to have zero smell. It was all self contained.
Sandy, you missed the point. I’m just saying the truth. You have Zero chance of winning if you run again. The hardest election anyone will ever run is their 2nd after losing. They look bitter and like the person in town who will never stop showing up when the voters CLEARLY rejected you.
What did you get 8%. Jose Barragan was right behind you if that says anything.