Editorial by Matt Marquardt –
The following is an update on the information requests I have made to the North Iowa Corridor, a public-private agency which takes about $205,000 in public money from Cerro Gordo County and the cities of Clear Lake and Mason City.
I have made three requests for information in recent weeks from the Corridor and due to their membership on the Corridor Board, City Hall officials at Clear Lake and Mason City. The public officials I requested information from include Corridor Board members Jay Urdahl, Brent Trout, Eric Bookmeyer, Scott Flory, Travis Hickey, and the rest of the Mason City Council.
I asked for three pieces of information:
1. Detailed budget of the North Iowa Corridor
Response: Basic budget numbers sent from Trout that do not detail exactly where most of the Corridor’s dollars are spent.
2. The cost associated with bringing Iowa State football coach Paul Rhoads to deliver a speech at the Corridor’s annual meeting
Response: Denial by Trout and Flory that they could get the information. Silence from Hickey and all other public officials contacted.
3. A tour of the Corridor’s offices located at the North Iowa Commerce Center, where the Corridor pays $26,000 per year in rent
Response: Silence from all officials contacted, including the entire Mason City Council, Bookmeyer, and Corridor Director Brent Willett.
As I have written previously, the public has a right to know this information due to the large amount of public dollars flowing to the Corridor and little return on investment, in my opinion. This outfit deserves scrutiny just as our Human Rights Agency and Sanitation Departments were publicly stripped bare.
I am also pursuing information due to the fact that the North Iowa Corridor is taking credit for many economic deals where they clearly had little or nothing to do with the outcome (Harley Davidson, Metalcraft, others) and due to the fact that the Corridor has shown no progress in years in bringing new jobs with a livable wage to Mason City – yet they take our public money every year with no questions asked.
Brent Willett is now claiming 135 new jobs coming to Mason City through a call center called WS Live that is filling in the vacant IC Systems building.
The truth of the matter is that most of the jobs pay about $9.50 per hour; this is not a living wage. Yes, we will take the jobs and welcome WS Live, but no one can support a family on this. The other truth that Willett let slip at the May 21st City Council meeting is that Mason City can expect only 29 new jobs in the first year WS Live is here. Then, supposedly, 29 more in the second year, and so on. We learned after the IC Systems debacle that sometimes companies cannot or will not live up to economic deals. The truth is, in 5 years, we will see if Mason City truly gets 135 jobs. Mr. Willett claimed that a “job creation schedule” was included in the Council packet for that meeting. It was not. Nor did Willett mention this “job creation schedule” in his press release on his website. He simply took credit for 135 jobs.
The city kicked in a $72,500 forgivable loan to WS Live. That is free money from the people of Mason City for 29 short-term jobs. The $72,500 does not include what will likely amount to thousands of dollars in legal fees that the city routinely covers for these economic deals. They never divulge this information to the public, however.
As I have stated before, it is time to get real and be truthful with the people of Mason City. If the corridor is going to take public dollars, it owes us that much.
VIDEO:
httpv://youtu.be/bmKYQb7Q6Tc
The most troubling aspect of the EDC to me is the constant screwing around with the numbers game. The EDC claims to bring new jobs to the corridor but the EDC has usually nothing to do with that job creation. Metalcraft is a good example. That deal was put together thru Metalcraft and Steve Doerfler and Clear Lake Bank and Trust. The EDC might have sat in on meetings and got them a tax break on the property, but had noting to do with the actual expansion of the business or its success. Then the EDC takes credit for the jobs created…screwing with numbers.
The bottom line is if Willet cannot produce new jobs from a new company he is failing at his job. He can go to all the conventions and make all the phone calls he wants but if you don’t get results you don’t get to keep the job.
To me it is getting to the point where the EDC needs a “hail mary”, a big win to justify their positions and salarys. I would like to know how many companys has he contacted to move to this area, and how many have actually come here. My guess he is batting close to zero.
He basically is a salesman for the corridor, so if he has made contact with 100 possible “customers” how many has he closed?…in any other job if it is close to zero you don’t get to keep your salary.
Finally Mr Willet just tell us the truth, stop screwing with the numbers and come clean. I have said it before make him work on commission…he will get paid on results only not on fairy tale numbers. Willet is so good at bending the truth he would be perfect working for the federal government.
@common sense man-good post. Makes a lot of sense.
OK then, what school, and when was the party…
The 149.00 for caseys was pizzas for a school party.
It is difficult to watch and listen to Brent Willett with all his “ums” and “ahs”. sometimes he hits over 200 in a few minutes of remarks.
On a somewhat related topic of spending money, readers should check out some of the expenses the city has that is printed every two weeks in the daily rag. I read these and I think, what the H. Like St Ansgar Greenhouse & Floral Shop–Office Equipment $400.00. Doesn’t Mason City have flower shops that sell office equipment. And Casey’s General Store #19–Education and Training, $149.19. I didn’t know that Casey’s was in that kind of business. These are just a couple that I picked out that seemed questionable. The amounts are small, but they all add up over the year.
We lost a lot of integrity when we lost Max, Don and Jeff. No matter what any of the followers of our mayor say we do not have anyone who questions anything any more. We need to get rid of all of them and get people in there who will represent everyone in the city, not just the few who think the own the city.
Could not have been said any better.
Matt, Come on really. If that is the case when did don, Jeff, and Max ever produce a balanced budget? Also I would challenge you to all of their accomplishments for Mason City that made them such great leaders?
Sorry, I really don’t have time to do all that research. I’m more interested in the here and now. And what we got is total crap at City Hall. Also, this editorial is about the scam coming out of the Corridor not about some budget from years ago.
@Anonymous-It is easy to try to discredit something by asking questions. Why don’t you provide the information you are asking for. probably because it doesn’t exist. You know just as well as anyone that they were only three people on the council and did not have a bunch of lackey’s doing everything they wanted. At least they asked questions on hard issues and didn’t accept everything the mayor wanted. Are you Red Reggie posting under a different name and using Anonymous because you have lost all creditability here on N.I.T. with your obviously shaded comments?
Matt, please run for council!!! We NEED to get some people on the ballot that will represent ALL of Mason City and have common sense. Also, we must ALL get out to vote! Even Roger Bang was much better than Bookmeyer, with his elite, vindictive ways.
Come to think of it, there have been a lot of expenditures by the Mayor and City Council that the tax payers have not been aware of.
No wonder Max Weaver was such a thorn in there sides. He was honest and always kept the public informed.
The city of Mason City is really being bamboozled!!!