MASON CITY – It took five minutes to fire him, but 5 years for a hotel developer to collect over $192,000 from the citizens of Mason City.
NIT has learned that Philip Chodur’s G8 Development has been paid at least $192,647.12. This figure was obtained after NIT asked the City’s Finance Department to investigate the payouts. The department obliged and returned this preliminary figure, which is likely to grow once other expenses are tallied and due to the fact Mr. Chodur may not leave town quietly.
The current total of $192,647.12 is direct payouts to G8 for various invoices covering a range of expenses since 2013. NIT also asked for indirect amounts spent by the City to deal with G8 over the last 5 years, such as legal fees, that seem to have mounted (and could continue to grow) since 2013 when Mason City brought G8 to town to develop a hotel in the downtown area as part of the Renaissance Project. Philip Chodur threatened a lawsuit after the City dumped him back in March of 2017. He dropped his suit after the City Council ran off developer David Rachie’s Gatehouse and brought G8 back as the hotel developer of choice.
The indirect expenses associated with G8 Developer “will take a bit of time” to tally, NIT is told by a top City official, and could be released next week.
The City continues to pursue a fix for one of the major problems with the Renaissance Project: They must include a private investment of nearly $10 million in the project in order for the state to unlock decades of tax collection in the downtown development district. These taxes are collected and then dealt back to the City over many years. Some citizens were blatantly mis-lead into believing a lump sum payout of up to $10 million to the City was at stake during the shameful, no-holds-barred “VOTE YES” campaign of 2017. The truth is, the City may never come close to collecting these millions in state taxes needed to get the small paybacks from the state over many years to reach this promised amount.
NIT will report new developments when available.
Hopefully the group which pitched the hotel water park and travel sports facility in Clear Lake can be persuaded to come to the bargaining table as part of the RCR project here in Mason City. I don’t know why the financials weren’t working for this project in Clear Lake, but the infusion of state dollars and TIF financing may make the project feasible here in Mason City.
The hotel/water park and travel sports is really a great idea that is exponentially more creative than what is currently pitched in the RCR project – not to mention travel youth sports is BIG business right now.
Given the condition of indoor shopping malls across the country, i think we have to realize our mall will never again exist again as a hub of retail. Its going to have to be a mix of entertainment, food, and specialty retail to have any chance of being successful going forward. Bulldoze the Younkers building, put up the hotel/water park in its place. Build a indoor sports facility tailored to traveling youth sports inside JC Penney space. Put in a brewery/cinema in the old cinema space. And create small retail/restaurant storefronts with the remainder.
A TALE OF TWO CITIES BY SAYLES
For Clear Lake, it is the best of times. For Mason City, it is the worst of times in a long series of city government blunders. In Clear Lake, it is the age of progress, compromise and accomplishment. In Mason City, it is the age devoid of leadership and clear vision, which has resulted in a loss of identity and community. Government inaction for years made the Oct. 23 special council meeting an unfunny joke. Our long community nightmare is not over. In Clear Lake, it is a time of confidence in its citizens, belief and satisfaction with the steerage of those who have stepped forward to take the reins. Those officials govern with a consonance of unification, pulling in the same direction, to a great today and a greater tomorrow. I
In Mason City, the City Council, mayor and administrator do not lead. They are as unfocused and disorganized as a bag full of cats. Both elected and management employees are the local government equivalent of “The Stepford Wives,” displaying an absence of purpose of plurality while blindly following the unseen puppet masters. Mason City owns a Council that meets every two weeks failing to grasp actions of importance and without displaying conscience. Rarely stepping beyond the shadow of quiescence except to enforce silence through Robert’s Rules of Order. In Clear Lake, council meetings proceed until all business is addressed, with follow-up action clearly debated and documented. It is common for their council meetings to run for more than an hour, in order to hear all the people. Their administrator serves the people. Every two weeks in the Mason City Room, we are witness to an insult to representative government. Limiting citizen input rather than encouraging it eliminates the involvement, over time, of the very people officials take an oath to honorably represent. We see Mayor Schickel sprinting through a 23-minute public council meeting that is effectively reduced by 12 minutes of pomp and circumstance ceremonial duties and the verbatim reading of reports by our very well-paid fictionalist, administrator Burnett. In Clear Lake, the consent agenda does not hide significant issues worthy of public discussion. Clear Lake engages the consent agenda to get through the truly routine and mundane so that issues of substance get due time. In Mason City, the consent agenda is blown through in a heartbeat. Since no one on the dais thinks for himself, this consent agenda is a duck blind of concealment pushing through issues of consequence and spending your dollars in a bi-weekly pork barrel. In Clear Lake, representative government is alive and well. In Mason City, if we lived in an age of parliamentary government, not one single official would survive a no-confidence vote. Pocketed cohorts of those self-serving special interests unethically control the narrative determining what is or is not important to the citizens of Mason City. Mr. Mayor, Council and Mr. Aaron Burnett, the citizens of Mason City have had enough.
A TALE OF TWO CITIES BY SAYLES
For Clear Lake, it is the best of times. For Mason City, it is the worst of times in a long series of city government blunders. In Clear Lake, it is the age of progress, compromise and accomplishment. In Mason City, it is the age devoid of leadership and clear vision, which has resulted in a loss of identity and community. Government inaction for years made the Oct. 23 special council meeting an unfunny joke. Our long community nightmare is not over. In Clear Lake, it is a time of confidence in its citizens, belief and satisfaction with the steerage of those who have stepped forward to take the reins. Those officials govern with a consonance of unification, pulling in the same direction, to a great today and a greater tomorrow. In Mason City, the City Council, mayor and administrator do not lead. They are as unfocused and disorganized as a bag full of cats. Both elected and management employees are the local government equivalent of “The Stepford Wives,” displaying an absence of purpose of plurality while blindly following the unseen puppet masters. Mason City owns a Council that meets every two weeks failing to grasp actions of importance and without displaying conscience. Rarely stepping beyond the shadow of quiescence except to enforce silence through Robert’s Rules of Order. In Clear Lake, council meetings proceed until all business is addressed, with follow-up action clearly debated and documented. It is common for their council meetings to run for more than an hour, in order to hear all the people. Their administrator serves the people. Every two weeks in the Mason City Room, we are witness to an insult to representative government. Limiting citizen input rather than encouraging it eliminates the involvement, over time, of the very people officials take an oath to honorably represent. We see Mayor Schickel sprinting through a 23-minute public council meeting that is effectively reduced by 12 minutes of pomp and circumstance ceremonial duties and the verbatim reading of reports by our very well-paid fictionalist, administrator Burnett. In Clear Lake, the consent agenda does not hide significant issues worthy of public discussion. Clear Lake engages the consent agenda to get through the truly routine and mundane so that issues of substance get due time. In Mason City, the consent agenda is blown through in a heartbeat. Since no one on the dais thinks for himself, this consent agenda is a duck blind of concealment pushing through issues of consequence and spending your dollars in a bi-weekly pork barrel. In Clear Lake, representative government is alive and well. In Mason City, if we lived in an age of parliamentary government, not one single official would survive a no-confidence vote. Pocketed cohorts of those self-serving special interests unethically control the narrative determining what is or is not important to the citizens of Mason City. Mr. Mayor, Council and Mr. Aaron Burnett, the citizens of Mason City have had enough.
Congratulations for listening to no one other than those whose pockets you line. Citizens told you everything you needed to know about the criminal G8 Chodur and the minefield that lay before you, and yet you proceeded with RCR right up to his latest lawsuit, for over five years. For your incompetent management regarding many issues and in my opinion, your willful negligence regarding RCR, you have put this community on the receiving end of yet another premeditated and costly housing regarding Southbridge Mall. The irony is that you think you are The Magnificent 7, 8 with Burnett. You are at the helm of an unending calamity of countless red-herring projects and continuing fiduciary infidelity. The city’s Des Moines lawyers have and will continue a billing juggernaut because of your ignoble endeavors. In Clear Lake, it is the age of creating possibilities for the future. For Mason City, it is the age of impossibilities pursued with time and money, both of which are wasted by the barrel full.
If…… ifs and buts were candy and nuts we’d all have a Merry F’n Christmas!
We spent 190,000 for nothing. Modern day con jobs by business people. Hopefully the council will let this project die. If it’s such a great idea let a private developer put his own money up
If highways were such a great idea, then we should wait for a private developer to put them up.
If a military was such a great idea, then we should wait for a private developer to build one.
If drinking water was such a great idea, then we should wait for a private developer to put one up.
Shut up, you dunce.
This person obviously has very limited thinking skills
Says the person who only has a high school diploma
You make no sense
One of the principal functions of government is to step in when markets do not exist or behave inefficiently for societal needs. If a multi purpose arena is an amenity a community wants (and 75% of voters said they did), the government is going to have to assist the market (just like in every city anywhere that has one).
God this site attracts the dumbest of the dumb in north Iowa
The last person to comment totally missed the point, we are commenting on the person who has limited skills and makes no sense on this loop.
What market doesnt exist currently? Im not sure you are aware, but we already have multi purpose buildings in the area. We have an ice arena. We have everything that is planned for the mall already. There is no market to fill, and allowing a vote on something that is only going to push us further into debt was ridiculous to say the least. There are no long term benefits to doing this. Throwing money at something, and hoping it works out is not good business. Like others have said, places like this in areas this small do not make money, they cost a crap ton to keep open.
It was either this, or the mall sitting empty. People voted on the arena because the other option seemed worse.
Only in mason city, very poorly ran city administration officials
It’s not the city administrators that are the problem in this town. Your city administrators were not the ones who turned away Target Distribution, a Casino, and a 2000 employee hog processing plant. It’s the same small group of vocal curmudgeons who throw childish tantrums at council meetings that are the problem.
Elected leaders with no backbone who allow themselves to vote how these so-called curmudgeons tell them to might be the real problem. Voters turned away the casino, by the way, unless I’m mistaken. We never had a chance with Target, I am told. The hog plant was lost because of reasons that can’t be discussed here.
Interesting Op-Ed about the difference between the City Government in Clear Lake vs. Mason City. Sales wrote it and it is very true.
A TALE OF TWO CITIES BY SAYLES
For Clear Lake, it is the best of times. For Mason City, it is the worst of times in a long series of city government blunders.
In Clear Lake, it is the age of progress, compromise and accomplishment. In Mason City, it is the age devoid of leadership and clear vision, which has resulted in a loss of identity and community. Government inaction for years made the Oct. 23 special council meeting an unfunny joke. Our long community nightmare is not over. In Clear Lake, it is a time of confidence in its citizens, belief and satisfaction with the steerage of those who have stepped forward to take the reins. Those officials govern with a consonance of unification, pulling in the same direction, to a great today and a greater tomorrow. In Mason City, the City Council, mayor and administrator do not lead. They are as unfocused and disorganized as a bag full of cats. Both elected and management employees are the local government equivalent of “The Stepford Wives,” displaying an absence of purpose of plurality while blindly following the unseen puppet masters. Mason City owns a Council that meets every two weeks failing to grasp actions of importance and without displaying conscience. Rarely stepping beyond the shadow of quiescence except to enforce silence through Robert’s Rules of Order. In Clear Lake, council meetings proceed until all business is addressed, with follow-up action clearly debated and documented. It is common for their council meetings to run for more than an hour, in order to hear all the people. Their administrator serves the people. Every two weeks in the Mason City Room, we are witness to an insult to representative government. Limiting citizen input rather than encouraging it eliminates the involvement, over time, of the very people officials take an oath to honorably represent. We see Mayor Schickel sprinting through a 23-minute public council meeting that is effectively reduced by 12 minutes of pomp and circumstance ceremonial duties and the verbatim reading of reports by our very well-paid fictionalist, administrator Burnett. In Clear Lake, the consent agenda does not hide significant issues worthy of public discussion. Clear Lake engages the consent agenda to get through the truly routine and mundane so that issues of substance get due time. In Mason City, the consent agenda is blown through in a heartbeat. Since no one on the dais thinks for himself, this consent agenda is a duck blind of concealment pushing through issues of consequence and spending your dollars in a bi-weekly pork barrel. In Clear Lake, representative government is alive and well. In Mason City, if we lived in an age of parliamentary government, not one single official would survive a no-confidence vote. Pocketed cohorts of those self-serving special interests unethically control the narrative determining what is or is not important to the citizens of Mason City. Mr. Mayor, Council and Mr. Aaron Burnett, the citizens of Mason City have had enough. Congratulations for listening to no one other than those whose pockets you line. Citizens told you everything you needed to know about the criminal G8 Chodur and the minefield that lay before you, and yet you proceeded with RCR right up to his latest lawsuit, for over five years. For your incompetent management regarding many issues and in my opinion, your willful negligence regarding RCR, you have put this community on the receiving end of yet another premeditated and costly housing regarding Southbridge Mall. The irony is that you think you are The Magnificent 7, 8 with Burnett. You are at the helm of an unending calamity of countless red-herring projects and continuing fiduciary infidelity. The city’s Des Moines lawyers have and will continue a billing juggernaut because of your ignoble endeavors. In Clear Lake, it is the age of creating possibilities for the future. For Mason City, it is the age of impossibilities pursued with time and money, both of which are wasted by the barrel full.
Are you really that stupid.
Jealous much? Because you have nothing, have done nothing and are a nothing?
Dumbass Matt Marqwart ass-kisser.
Little Mattie is even a bigger loser and wannabe than the River City Renaissance project.
Wa wa, I don’t like Matt, he won’t play with me, sniffle sniffle.
Is that a quote from Robin?
Quote the Robin “Nevermore”.
So what, so did I, and a lot of other people in this town. Your fetish for Matt is not normal, get some help. Also get a job, or a hobby to help keep your mind off it. You sound like a child, he got some, how come I didn’t, wa wa wa, sniffle sniffle.
Robin, is that you? Don’t forget what happened to nasty natasha.
Now, every city politician connected with paying his modern day Harold Hill needs to be terminated also!
This Lame project is NOT what people voted for at all and should be ended NOW! If you want to proceed with a new developer or changed project, have a NEW VOTE!!!
What is materially different about this project from the time people voted?!?! I remind you, the vote was to issue general obligation bonds to build a multi purpose arena.
The project voted on by the people was being developed by Gateway, not Chodur. That alone is a major difference!
First, the hotel is private investment. You didn’t get to ‘vote’ on how a private investor spends their money.
Second, the hotel proposal Chodur brought to the table had terms which were clearly a betterment to the city. You should have been upset had the city NOT accepted Chodur’s proposal.
What is different you asked? The whole project was based on lie. Period. This has been a “con job” from day one. You goofy ass promoters are trying to put a square peg in a round hole. You may get it rammed in, but it will NEVER be a good fit, just another expensive bridge to nowhere!!
What specifically were you lied to about and by whom?
I heard it said MANY TIMES, this is not going to COST the taxpayers ANYTHING. Well, we are already paying with our property tax dollars and when the GO Bonds are sold the taxpayers will get stuck again. The project will NEVER pay for itself and that is yet another lie being foisted on the public.
You are one selfish SOB. You are in it for yourself and the city be dammed as long as you get your way.
Very few people voted because it was never taken to the people door to door and explained with all the pitfalls in front of the project. The yes crowd only worked on the yes votes. No one went into the wards and had community meetings that gave the taxpayers the heads up into what their lying leaders were getting them into. Oh, and don’t tell me the Globe or NIT had numerous articles about it. The Globe and NIT does NOT reach the people. Mason City doesn’t have a media that informs the public masses. There should have been a FREE mailing to every household in Mason City paid for by the taxpayers. Free for the YES supporters to explain their position, and FREE to the NO side that opposed it to explain the pitfalls and real costs.
If that was done and we voted again this would go down in flames! You wouldn’t want that I know but that’s the the only way forward at this point in time.!!!!!!
The ballot language for this project asked the voter whether the city should issue general obligation bonds for the purpose of constructing a multi purpose arena. No one was lied to about that as it was right on the ballot the voters overwhelmingly approved. It is also true that these GO bonds will not be repaid by the property tax levy. They ar repaid by TIF and sales tax dollars which places no additional tax burden on mason city residents.
The problem is you believe everything you hear, but don’t take the time to actually understand fact. I assure you, there is no more misleading ‘news’ source than the one you’re using right now.
The only liar on this thread is you. City Hall has already confirmed, and it has been in city council packets and documents, that the property tax payers in MC back these bonds. If the project is built and fails, taxpayers are on the hook.
https://northiowatoday.com/2017/10/23/opinion-city-finance-director-confirms-taxpayers-truly-on-the-hook-for-bonds-connected-to-renaissance-project/
First and foremost, all General Obligation Bonds are backed by the full faith and credit of the city, so there was nothing misleading with the ballot language as it asked verbatim ‘shall the city issue general obligation bonds’. Voters overwhelming approved this measure.
Second, you are grossly overstating the risk that these bonds cannot be serviced by TIF and sales tax dollars.
Third. If (and this is a wildly improbable ‘if’ to those who truly understand the funding sources) the GO bands can’t be serviced by TIF and sales tax revenue, it would not be to the tune of 100% of the project cost. It would be a VERY small fraction as TIF dollars and sales tax revenues would still cover some large portion of the cost.
Where can I sign up for free city $.Any person with brain could see this was going to happen.Should of dumped g8 after 1st failed date on city hall parking lot hotel deal.Almost $194,000 wasted, this set of council members are worse then what we had b4.Is there a leader in that group or not?How did Bill S.ever represent our area at the state level.I thought maybe he would step up too plate and be more then P.R.man for mason city.I guess he did get the key for a day for Mason City at a play in Canada of the Music Man.What a accomplishment for Good old Mason City.We are run by Idiots.
Mason City is a joke bulldoze the city down put back to cropland.
Might be the best idea yet. The problem with Mason City is it’s residents. A bunch of uneducated senior citizens who piss and moan about everything.
Or more than likely the citizen’s are sick and tired of being lied to and scammed all these years by people with your attitude. You must be one of Slick Willies group!
You must feel like a really “tough guy” bad mouthing and belittleing senoir citizens! What a genious!
Who cares. Productive people don’t. They recognize it as a sunk cost.
Move on and progress or dwell on this and continue to watch this town wither away.
Can’t move on if the city council is still trying to push through this bs ice arena plan. Name one arena in the united states that is making profits. One that doesnt have professional teams playing out of it. Ill wait.
If the multi purpose arena is an amenity which creates regional draw and/or makes this town a little bit more attractive place for investment, it would be worth every single penny of cost.
If YOU want it…YOU pay for it and leave the taxpayers out of it!!!
I guarantee I pay more in taxes than anyone here. And I’m all for any amenity that would make me his town a regional draw or a more attractive place for investment.
Oh you guarantee it huh? My house I reside in is costing me over 3800 a year in taxes here in town. Add up my rental properties, and unless you are ray or marry blanchard you don’t pay more taxes than I do. Mix in my income tax…. plenty of people in this town invest their time and money, and are tired of the few idiots with more credit than sense trying to push their terribly thought out ideas. I see plenty of fake wealthy community members trying to make it look like they know how to manage money, when really they are up to their eye balls in debt, and don’t actually own a damn thing. If you owe the bank money on something, you don’t own it. If the bank can take it from you for not paying payments, it’s not yours. So take your high and mighty attitude and shove it up your ass. More people need to publically stand up to this obvious waste of tax payer money. Get out and vote please! Stop wasting your hard earned money on those who only use it for their own gain.
Anonymous, October 26, 2018 at 7:48 pm
Well said.
You talk like a man with paper asshole! This so called “multi-purposed” center will NEVER be a regional draw!!! You mister are promoting a PIPE DREAM!
This will be yet another loser project adding to Mason City long list of boondoggles.
My favorite boondoggles:
Turning away the Target Distribution Center
Turning away the Casino
Running IC Systems out of town
Turning away a 2000 employee hog processing plant
Having such a poor reputation for city council conduct that HyVee doesn’t even bother to approach us about their new distribution center
All these boondoggles have a pretty glaring common thread. Hint: Begins with a W and ends with a R and in the middle is eave.
It should be no surprise as to the amount of taxpayer money pissed away considering the people in charge and it’s cronie friends! Total figures aren’t in yet cause lots of people have their hand in the till! Robin,Slick Willie,John Lee,etc……give it up! You ALL owe it to the taxpayers of M.C. after helping to rape this city! You’re all very sad and dishonest reps for the city!!!!!
We got rid of bookmeyer just to have the old mooch of a mayor back. Schickel is a crook in more than one sense. How does he sleep at night? He does absolutely nothing at the radio station kcmr, yet he is one of how many being paid by donations to a non profit radio program? He used the office there for political gain. Making phone calls from the phone, and using the office to store things for his election. If you don’t have a real job, i feel like you shouldn’t be considered for the job. City council is over paid and under qualified. All of them have no business making decisions for others, especially since without handouts, a few of them wouldn’t even have a house, or food.
We have losers running the show.