An Easter Gift!

Why this week I received an early Ester gift!

This gift was a 85 page document about machinery row!

Yes 85 pages emails from and to the city from the properties owners on Water St that make up Machinery Row!

As well emails to and from Blackwell/staff and others on the development (or lack there of) this interesting idea.

As I read them I get the idea of kickbacks to the developer, escrow accounts set up for strange uses, lots of Complaining from the original owners on what was going on and the harsh feelings on the subject of working with Blackwell and the City.

I have read this twice as well as shown this to trusted others to get an understanding of what is going on.

This week I plan to share this with members of the Wisconsin Legislature in the hopes of letting them know of what I think is shady dealings in Racine so they can at least stop any more money from being spent by the State on this project.

As well be sending a letter outlining what I have to both HUD and POTUS for I hope for the Feds to stop any grants being given to this and with luck pulling some back.

This and other documents I have will be used as the bases of Ebooks on what I can only see as the most corrupt city in Wisconsin

Hey its Facebook Live!

Know I love love love social media and you can find me on Twitter as @reporterwayne  better you can follow me as I talk true crime and the history of the Mob at @Milwaukeemob   there is also a Facebook page for the Milwaukee Mob and best of all been doing a lot of Facebook Live shows not only as Racine in Ruins but now a live via the Milwaukee Mob called Corruption Sunday where I explain why I feel that Racine is far more corrupt then Youngtown Ohio or even Chicago yes Chicago!

Not only with what IMHO is corruption USA with the Arena and Machinery Row.

Do not worry in segments called Do all roads in Mount Pleasant lead to Caledonia TID 4? Where examined how the hell Farmers on Hwy V in Mount Pleasant get to pay for Water and Sewer going to  Caledonia TID 4 and who owes that property and what Party do they belong to! Not that Racine or the county be corrupt no not us.

 

HOLD THE PRESS!

Unless your are dead or undead  you know that our Mayor John Dickert

shown here

is resigning as Mayor to talk the job of executive director for  Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative.

details of when he will resign as of 13:00 3/27/17 is not known by this reporter.

I can tell you that reading the form 990 this group Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, is not a rich group and by  my reading of the 990, the last director only received about 110,000 a little less then what Mayor Dickert gets in wages (I will assume The Mayor will be able to get travel, health care  paid that adds to the 110K but say  another 30K or so)

Stories from the street (how much faith you want to put in them is up to you) is that the news getting out was some what unplanned for catching some but not all in surprise.

I can not help but think that without Dickert’s arm twisting that both the Arena and Machinery Row is like dead for with an special election the City will be able to hold a VOTE to see if the public wants an Arena, with public feelings running very much anti arena this would never pass killing any more spending on what I feel is a  Satanic project only serving Mayor Dickert’s ego and lining his pals pockets

Why now vs say when his term ends?

Good question I do not believe at all is the idea that he must act to save the Great Lakes more likely this has much more to do with his getting out as the getting is good:

1. The Journal Times reports that the Tax credits for  Machinery Row are in trouble http://journaltimes.com/news/local/tax-credits-for-machinery-row-project-in-doubt/article_c7da9df4-e333-5c01-a665-ced928188291.html
2. Oh recall the Dickert made Racine a sanctuary city? Guess what Looks like Racine will lose a bunch of money from the feds http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/mar/27/jeff-sessions-says-hell-punish-sanctuaries-cities/ I much rather have police then an Arena. With the Feds going to work and get back past monies how do we repay that since we are all ready in so much debit?

What other Fed money might be in trouble maybe HUD funds? What will Racine do?

Maybe if your Dickert you bail

and If you thought that was interesting I give you this:

The Tick Corry Mason is running for Mayor!

Yes the Carpet Baggier himself Mason is running for Mayor, and you thought things could not get worse well they can!

Mr I love to tax I love to spend your money wants to be Mayor

Very interesting I did not see this turn of events happening.

I believe that Mason have more power in State office vs trying to save Racine from Bankruptcy or in the Tick’s case put us there faster!

Goes to show on any day anything can happen!

 

Will West Racine See The Next TIF?

From the Racine Journal Times 3/25/17 http://journaltimes.com/business/local/west-racine-struggles-with-storefront-vacancies/article_3c784ccf-b068-5542-bf1c-047a317595da.html

 

…“There’s more empty stores than ever,” Bob Barina, owner of Bob’s on Washington, said bluntly. And he should know: Barina has had his shop at 3213 Washington Ave. for 53 years.

When Nelson’s closes, that block alone will be five vacant storefronts there — six if one includes the former Piggly Wiggly which has a Grove Avenue address but faces Washington Avenue” …

True West Racine the last true neighborhood is now well as I call a dead area with little if anything to bring anyone to shop.

There is a CVS, a Diner, a few other shops far more then say downtown but not the place it once was.

Some say that its because the full line grocery closed years ago, some that the parking meters scare visitors off, that the Farmer’s Market that Mayor John Dicker hated that once was a jumping place left, to me all the above combined ended this area.

I need to add here here that the Paper did not cover the efforts of Copy Cat Music to bring visitors to West Racine for years at the owner’s own expense nor what I saw as little buy in to events like the Art Walks to bring attention to West Racine.

Well now they do not need to that anymore I can recall the last Art walk or like event, can you?

The question now is what will the City do?

I think I know from the same story

… “Another big problem, Sopczak said, goes back to the Piggly Wiggly grocery store closing many years ago.

“We’ve all seen the eyesore that’s been in place since the Pig moved out,” he said. And the building’s out-of-state owner has shown no particular urgency about filling it, Sopczak observed.

That means West Racine lacks a large destination business to help support smaller ones, he said. “There’s no dominant business to drive people in on a daily basis.”..”

Cant guess let me tell you

1. the City calls the old Pig store a blight
2. with a roof from  the looks of it leaks the city gets a repair or raze order
3. The Building comes down forcing the CVS to move or the owner sells to the City
4. The City helps form a group perhaps the same group that runs the Uptown plan to do a study.
5. This group comes up with a plan to form a TIF to pay for revitalizing the area and attracting business to include a bar to bring folks to West Racine
6. This will also include an ask for a light rail to bring in the rich from Chicago who we are told bag beg our mayor for a way to shop in Racine

Best the two aldermen from this area are hard core Dickert backers as is  Jim Spangenberg who sits on the Racine Redevelopment Authority and loves Dickert’s idea of an Arena

Of course West Racine just like Downtown just like Uptown and the whole city will continue to fester but do not worry Dickers pals will make good money! \

Maybe Doug Nickleson who also sits on the RDA who loves the arena can be talked into opening yet another bar!

Why do we spend so much on Downtown?

We sure spend the money on Downtown Racine.

Yet why do we?

If you do not drink, what is there to do?

There is no grocery store, no place to shop for your kid’s clothing. No place I can think of that I or anyone I know can go to buy cloths.

There is no book store ( but we do thank God have a great library) I can think of nothing for kids to do (yes the Heritage is a fantastic museum, but its not set up as a play area for kids)

There is a drug store, a nice bugger place, one eclectic store that is of some interest. What else? A few art galleries that come and go and a Hat store I my self can think of anything other then a few more diner type places. Oh yes the Cycle store + motorcycle store.

I can think of bars lots and lots of bars, and more bars! Off hand 7 bars if I drove downtown I get the exact count is that what we are spending so much money on is an area that drunks can go to part on at?

Is that the idea of the Arena is to draw more to our happy party place?

Sure hope not

Party on Racine!

Why is only a little money!

 

So the City got the go ahead to spend another 500 to 600K on a study that will say we so need this arena (if the study came back and said we had no need would the consult ever work again?)

Note the word in bold ANOTHER, looks like from a commentator in the Journal Times today the City has all ready spend over 100,000 on this idea of an Arena so now the city has pissed away almost 3/4 of a million dollars on this.

I wounder how much we spent on the failed Porters project?

You know a redevelopment that would draw the rich to Downtown a mixed use idea that now is only well a field of gravel.

And lets not forget

Machinery Row

You know the project that we lost what 4 million on? That we lent the developer that he is in default on.

But now will be two housing projects!!!

Go us go Racine!

But we do have a long term con!

Recall we where told that if Kenosha did not get a Casino that one be built in IL?

Well things just got real http://www.cdcgamingreports.com/illinois-gambling-proposal-would-add-casinos-in-6-places/

Near the bottom is a list of locations one being in Lake County IL, now I have not seen the study of where the gamblers be coming from but cant help but think of the claim be that WI has tons that want to play in IL.

Question is how to get them to the Casino after all no one they will say will want to drive..

I know! I KNOW!

Bring the Metra to Kenosha! That way we all can go to IL to gamble AND!!!! AND!!! Racine can kick in and bring it to the city so all the millionaires who want to see poor teams play can come to Racine to do so!

Maybe that is what the KRM/Merta study in the CIP is for? only a few million to get the Merta to Racine for Dickert’s Arena and help his pals in IL get what they want bonus, is its a huge win for Regional and States cooperation!

Oh if only HRC had won how much easier this would be!

 

Our Arena

So one of the members on the Racine Redevelopment who ownes three Bars/Liquor Stores within 1.5 MI of the proposed Arena voted for the study now a guy who WILL benefit from this arena being build votes for it to me a pure conflict, oh by the way a good pal of our Mayor and worked on his election and reelection

Now this may not be  sign of corruption, but to me sure looks that way.

With so much money on the line should we make sure that everything is above board?

After all Machinery Row , you know the development we got told was going to be high end Condos, stores, many from IL coming to Racine to live now has the developer in default and the only thing being looked at to be built is two if not three low income housing projects so close to Downtown Racine, oh joy!

 

And the crime begins

Yes kinda late of a post from the Journal Times but perhaps The City Administer   Tom Friedel needed to approve the story first but to the point the pitch to steal your money for a dead Racine has begun

From the Journal Times “…

YORKVILLE — At the end of Tuesday night’s meeting on funding options for the proposed Downtown arena, Mayor John Dickert drew on a piece of wisdom he said he learned from a nun during high school.

“Go out and make the world a better place,” he said. “That’s your job. I took that seriously.”..” http://journaltimes.com/news/local/arena-cost-share-proposed/article_e820a943-184c-52f5-97b6-8cd22a927e85.html

Wow the City needing to remove street lights and cut the Bus service to almost nothing wants to pay 2/3 of the cost  of a 40+ Million Arena. Well not the city so much as you the tax payer so the Downtown Racine bar owners can make more money, after all the Bar Owners have been good to Mayor Dickert (well the white bar owners the Black-Hispanic mostly being driven from the area)

As the County Board goes forward looking at this I do hope they look at the results of other City of Racine projects:

Porter’s:  Unknown amount spent site now empty

Delta Hawk Unknown Amount spent from City of Racine and State   100 + Jobs promised: Company sold to others unknown jobs no job numbers ever given in public

Machinery Row, Millions lent State Tax credits approved Federal/State Grants given:

Legal action between partners, Legal Action on former owner, Loan not repaid, no building going on at site no activity can be seen from street, Racine County web site appears to say that the project IS NOT PAYING TAXES

Strong rumor is that a State grant will be used to buy land given to Machinery Row by the City so the property tax bill is paid …?

And the Racine County Board is thinking of doing ANYTHING with the city of Racine that’s right its not their money its yours and the right folks will benefit and that is not you.

 

And the lies are spun

From the Journal Times  http://journaltimes.com/news/local/dickert-arena-proposal-would-bring-hundreds-of-jobs/article_8e143ead-e62d-5ca0-ba8a-250698a0a399.html  “…

While that’s been taking place, Mayor John Dickert has been working behind the scenes and in tandem with the county to make the project a reality.

“This is a community opportunity,” Dickert said. “This is not a city or county thing or anything else. This is all of us partnering together on an opportunity to create jobs.”

Those jobs are a vital benefit of the arena proposal, which was presented publicly for the first time to the County Board Tuesday. The $40 million events center would add more than 300 jobs as well as 450 construction jobs during the building process, according to Dickert. …”

Well now let just look at his track record on projects our fine Mayor has talked about

Team Porters   Number of Jobs 0  Site is now a field of grass

Delta Hawk Jobs promised 100 Jobs created ??  Business sold to another local company no report ever given that I am aware of, we were that if X jobs where not created the money given by the City of Racine would be “clawed back” no idea if that was ever stared nor occurred

Machinery Row a 60 Million project city loans given Grants received for the project

so far..

The loan not paid back talks to extend loan payments, from a review of city of Racine information on line not happening and from what I can find from the City and county of Racine the properties are behind on taxes! Yes Machinery Row is NOT paying taxes (gee I thought they would have to?). We are also told that work on the Brownfield issues are being done as I type this, however the most number of cars I have seen at this site is 3 so I can only think that no this is not happening.

From what I can see and read from pubic information is nothing is going on at the site and Machinery Row like Porters is well kinda dead

Of course we have the 800K “lost” loan from a building on Main st as you know from the Journal Times the paper work securing this loan kinda of sorta got lost not filed not done in the first place.

Damn Racine is good when it comes to doing/following up on  projects

Questions that should be ask include is the Brewhouse at Reef Point Marina paying rent yet?

How many “Boaters” outside the Zip code of Racine have come to Reef Point Marina? Is it covering its own costs?

How much money has Venue Works lost in running Festival Hall last report is 300K in the red. Gee how much money can they lose on this?

Our Mayor of course is saying what a great place a arena would be for the area you know the Jobs we have the folks coming to downtown Racine etc You know the lies we have been told for years and years but this time it will be different.

Of course it will be sure you know I got this great bridge for sale in New York