Editorial by Matt Marquardt –
The charade is over.
In a ploy to fool the voters of Mason City, elected leaders and their media outlets revealed last year that a Hilton Hotel would be built in downtown Mason City.
Shame on all those involved in this deception. Globe Gazette, KIMT, KGLO, elected leaders and the so-called elite who propagated it. You know who you are.
Sometimes, the truth forces its way out, like an overdue pregnancy, and this lie could no longer gestate. The truth – which most intelligent people knew all along – was born yesterday when the Globe’s slow-footed journalist John Skipper had to eat a turd sandwich and admit to the public that the Hilton wasn’t coming.
I never believed this developer and this mayor and council could get this deal done. They said ground would be broken in April; well, that parking lot is untouched. I said the developer was suspect just last week (read the March 16 story here). The guy never came to Mason City to see the council over his multi-million dollar deal. He didn’t even have a website until January of this year for his business.
Turns out, Hilton wanted nothing to do with Phillip Chodur. There’s just not enough business to go around, and we all knew that.
I am happy for the established hotels who don’t deserve to have government meddle in their affairs and sabotage their meager profits.
Let us now put to the side this latest diversion from moving Mason City forward and focus on the latest issue at hand: a $30 million development in the downtown.
There is a hotel attached to this deal, too, which appears to have been slapped together at the last moment, with no public input and little discussion from city council; an application submitted to the state of Iowa on deadline date asking for $6.5 million. I will be covering this more extensively soon. It is laughable to say the least.
This City Hall is back to its old tricks. No input from citizens, no thought behind what it is doing. They are now elected, so they apparently believe they can do anything they please. Remember, Mr. Kuhn, Mr. Lee and Mrs. Marinos, a year from now, we will be approaching another election season. You will have a lot to answer for, and some of us will not lay down and give you an easy ride back into office.
When I ran for council, I had a simple, basic platform to begin turning Mason City around. No charades, no back room deals, include the public in every thing. Sunshine. Oversee or fire the North Iowa Corridor for lack of producing results and decent jobs and sucking hundreds of thousands of tax dollars from the taxpayers. Focus on the basics like infrastructure, public safety, amenities to attract new families. Keep taxes low. Make sound decisions. Be accountable. Pay attention to all citizens of all classes.
Instead, we have a 10% tax hike, soaring water and sanitation rates, no new jobs and aloof elected leaders who met you once since the election, at a bar, and haven’t been back since.
It’s a shame that there is only one place – right here on NIT – where you are guaranteed to get the truth about things here in North Iowa, even if it’s not always pleasant. But I’ll keep delivering it even if some of you don’t want to hear it.
