Sunday in Racine a sign of the times

Went to a book store on Sunday with the wife to hang out and perhaps get a book or two.

As I was there I saw a young man in his 20’s well dressed in a shirt and tie come in and ask one of the workers if the store was hiring, he was told he had to apply on line, I thought that be the end the guy would leave life goes on… but not yet, this young man started begging for any job they might have at any wage, going on to the dumbfounded staffer that he had not worked in years had not U/C left got some help from Food Stamps but with kids he was facing being homeless maybe living in his car.  The staff member said nothing he could do. He then left a sad thing to see.

Are jobs that hard in Racine to find that we are having to beg to find one?

I know a few years ago I heard a speaker say there were homeless families living in Cars in Racine, at the time I thought sad but without the sad facts in my face easy to look the other way and forgot all about that.

The Homeless I see are as far as I can tell drunks or druggies and have done this to themself’s

Sunday bothered me then and keeps on bothering me.

We are told by our Mayor that if we only spend more $$ the streets of Racine will be made of Gold, our County  Executive tells us if only we spend a few million on Reef Point Marina Gold gold gold!  Strange the City spends good money on the Downtown now the county   has on the Marina, yet the old Gold I see are in the hands of the good old boys.

Porrter’s has bombed, Delta Hawk has not worked out like our Mayor said it would. Now we are told that Rootworks will save us, or the Uptown project will.

I am not thinking  so I am just seeing more homeless and that man begging for a job in a city that has none but wanting to sell our souls hoping that the Boaters are coming.

 

Racine and the Ukraine

We live in Racine WI. where I have seen my taxes go up 100% the value of my home fall and even if I wanted to sell this place who would want to buy this well maintained home in the slum called Racine?

Our Mayor goes on trips to Mexico as Street Lights come down because the City has no Money, City Backed/funded projects die or go in to the black pit from Porter’s to Delta Hawk yet the City gears up for more like Rootworks or the upcoming Uptown project.

Many bitch few do anything more, some may turn energy to trying to fix up what they can, some get the hell out (Racine has lost many 1,0000 over the last few years) more and more are fleeing.

Others rage on what they see going on with this city Goverment at times like the Film by Jim Spodick Pattern or Practice or blogs like Racine Exposed show as some might the petty corruption of this small town on a Great Lake.

Sadly even with some of the Aldermen starting to push back on this administration nothing will be effective until numbers start showing up at City Hall demanding an accounting of the actions of this Mayor and his staff. More sad is if the past is anything to go by that is not happening soon, after all we might miss Prime Time TV!

Then we have the Ukraine a small country who just took to the streets fought back with Stones and Molotov cocktails Police troops with guns and won. Well over 100 died in battles in the cold at night but they won. 

I am not saying we should start tossing   Molotov cocktails far from it, I am saying, if we want change we need to understand that its time to get off our asses. Maybe you may choose to leave Racine simply walk away to some that might be the best option, others may work on a small area of the city to make that area better that’s fine. Others run for office help others to do so or maybe do a blog or Podcast.

IMHO we all need to do something unless we are just happy to be sheepwhat time is that movie on tonight?

 

My heroes

 

The County Roads or Rich White Boaters?

So today my wife and I drove to Janesville, we took mostly County roads to Hwy 43.

I must say that some of the roads were almost unable to be driven on the roads near Raynomd  very very bad. We know this is due to the long hard winter, that is no ones fault now nearing Spring we can all see how much damage they have suffered, again no ones fault that the roads are bad.

However with the coming warm weather will the County fix the roads or will money be pissed away on the Marina?

Will Jim Ladwig take care of the roads in Racine County or will the Mythical Boats who are thought to be the saving grace of Downtown Racine see the money?

I would hope that the piss poor roads would get priority over spending for the Rich white boaters (who many think are not coming) after all we the voters have to drive on the roads to work, to school, to wherever do we not?

Should not we who live here have farms here who have no other choice then to use the roads come first?

How in the name of God can Jim Ladwig do anything else then do the basic job of Goverment and fix the roads?  What excuse could he have not to?

Yes it might upset the Downtown Racine folks if the County put more $$ into the roads and that took $$ from the Harbor. Too bad so sad.

Perhaps I should take some photos so you can see how bad they are.

Mr. A Visits

My good pal Mr. A from Sidney is visiting this area  as he is move from the Land of Kangaroos to this great State, he is taking the time to see what is where can the best place for him to set down roots.

Racine was ruled out fast for he believed after Reading about our great Mayor and the Unions + the whole BS on Washington Ave that he could buy property in downtown Racine (He liked the old Park 6 place and would have paid cash for it, then put another 50K in the place to build his business) He did not think he could trust the city not to fuck him.

He has left Racine to visit other areas of the State and visit his partners on the West Cost, however before he left to give me his thoughts on this city and the fight on Mayor John Dickert and I did not like what he had to say.

1) The Mayor has an organization, that has goals

2) The goals are worked on

3) Workers are held to account awarded or punished.Long term pals of the Mayor get rewarded.

4) One may not step out of line or else.

5) 99% of Racine does not care about the politics of the city until or unless the City effects them.

6) The Anti-Dickert group has few clues.

7) There is little leadership shown nor is there one or two leaders of said group. Just a bunch of folks doing what ever with no effort to coordinate  actions.

8) The local anti-Dickert Bloggers are effective but I need to do a better  job in spelling and grammar.  Mr. A loves Racine Exposed.

9) That my Podcast are better then my writing

10) After reading the City budget and the Mayor’s plans for the City, that the best thing to do if we live here is to get out as fast as we can, Mr. A thinks Detroit be an O.K. Place.

As much as I am unhappy of what Mr. A. said I have a lot to think about.

We are waiting

It’s a bit past mid-month of February and well we are waiting to see the fantastic proposals  for Belle Harbor Marina! After all so much going on in Racine to bring developers right? 

Our County Executive has said this about this great location in the City of Racine from  http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/print-edition/2013/09/20/racine-seeks-development-for-marina.html

Racine seeks development for marina

…“We’re looking (for) something that will obviously bring value and people to downtown Racine,” County Executive Jim Ladwig said.

The request for proposals, expected to be issued Sept. 20, lists residential, hotel and retail development, along with public access to the riverfront, as preferred uses for the site.

“We’d love to see a hotel, something that brings people in,” Ladwig said.

Racine has one downtown hotel, and it isn’t always enough to serve the city’s needs, he said. For example, it didn’t have nearly enough rooms to serve visitors and participants during the Ironman 70.3 Racine Triathlon this summer.

The county already has seen a lot of interest in the site, Ladwig said.

“I could put up a ‘for sale’ sign and sell it real quick,” he said. “What’s more important to me is having site control and being part of the bigger redevelopment.”…

Really?  Comes as news to me! after all the 2 largest Boating type businesses West Maine and Skipper Bid’s have left the City.   A third gave it up in 2013. If there was truly money to be made in the area of servicing “the Boaters who will save Racine” they never would have left right they be making money from all the Boaters coming to Racine, but they are not coming are they? Oh of course Azarian would have sold right?

We are also waiting for the fall out of the Johnson’s layoffs to hit downtown Racine. How many and what will close Downtown first?

and with Spring Coming lets have a contest!

The person predicting but not going over the number of slips rented (and not going over) at Reef point Marina on June 1st 2014 will Win a $25 Gift Certificate to the Chart Room!

Your number must be in by 3/1/14  Prize mailed 6/15/14  Must be 18.

In case of a tie the tie breaker will be Name the who will win the Alderman of the 2nd in Racine.

Good Luck!

Document you need to read then ask …

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A Document you need to read then ask where did the money go? Did it do Racine and good?

This will be talked about at tonight’s COW meeting 2/13/14

RACINE AREA INTERGOVERNMENTAL

REVENUE SHARING AGREEMENT

SUMMARY

 

            The area-wide Sewer Service Agreement was signed on April 25, 2002 by the City of Racine, the Racine Wastewater Commission, the Town of Mt. Pleasant and its Utility District, the Town of Caledonia and its Utility Districts and was later signed by the Village of Sturtevant and the North Park Sanitary District.  Other communities are also expected to sign during the first 120 days after April 25, 2002, which is the “Effective Date” of the Agreement.  Revenue sharing payments required by the Agreement are based on a model developed by the City’s consultant, Ruekert-Mielke, Inc.  Payments are based on factors including the municipal budget, population and equalized property values.  Payments are calculated based on information from the prior calendar year, with notification of the amounts by July 1 of each year.  Payments are due by March 1 of the following year.  The Wastewater Commission is required to bill the parties for such payments by January 15 of the year payment is to be made.  The Wastewater Commission will distribute revenue sharing payments to Net Recipient Parties within 15 days of payment by all contributing Parties, except if there is a late payment, proceeds will be distributed based on the amounts received.  For each area participating, there will be 30 payment years beginning in 2002 with payments due March 15, 2003.  New areas entering the agreement will have 30 years of revenue sharing payments to make beginning at the time the area enters the agreement. 

            The agreement requires the City to use these revenues for capital improvement projects and thereby be able to increase its equalized value.  Such projects are envisioned to include infrastructure improvements as well as redevelopment projects.  Additionally, the Agreement requires certain expenditures to be made for designated projects and a designated area.  The City is required to spend not less than $6,000,000, 2001 net present value at 5% annually, of the total revenue sharing payments from Mt.. Pleasant in the area designated in Exhibit I of the Agreement (see attached) within 10 years after signing the Agreement.  Such expenditures must include the Oakes Road extension, which is to be improved during the same year that Mt. Pleasant participates in reconstruction of Chicory Road, which is a project that the City is pursuing.  Additionally, the City must spend its pro-rata share of upgrading and improving Three Mile Road at the border of Caledonia and Racine, contingent on Caledonia expending funds for its share of the Three Mile Road project. 

                        In addition to revenue sharing payments received from the outlying communities, the City will receive transfers of assets from the Wastewater Utility, subject to the Utility retaining an amount of funds that is reasonable and prudent in light of the needs and circumstances of the Utility.  The transfers will include reimbursement for equity contributions made by the City to the Utility or the Wastewater Commission after the effective date of the Agreement, plus interest; the amount of $660,000 per year to reimburse the City for assets originally transferred to the Utility, with a total transfer of $6,690,407, of which $3,300,000 was paid through the end of 2001; payment for Racine County’s funding shortfall for library services, beginning with a 2002 payment of $467,527; a payment for zoo funding in the amount of $285,000 in 2002 with a 3% increase per year through 2007 and the amount fixed for future years, and a payment for Wustum Museum services in the amount of $115,000 for 2002 with a 3% increase per year through 2007 and payments fixed in that amount thereafter.  These items total $1,527,527 for transfers in 2002.  It is anticipated that sufficient reserve funds exist in the Wastewater Utility accounts to support these payments for at least 20 years.  The agreement also anticipates that Racine County will increase its funding for library services and the amount funded by the Utility reserve funds would vary based on the County’s participation in payment for library services.  The items in this paragraph are not subject to expenditure limitation for capital projects.  It is anticipated that these funds will be used for offsetting current expense in each year’s City budget.

     -Dan Wright, City Attorney

And the Excuses are With corections

So our Mayor Mayor John Dickert  the one that is so busy being Mayor he needs a City Administrator (who is his kin too)

Our Mayor and Senior Adviser for HSR the Web page   http://www.heartlandsolutionsgroup.com/team/john.shtml

Our City Administrator  as acting Mayor after Garry Becker resigned

Well put out the word of why its OK that he is doing both (but wait he may have a third job!)

1) All elected officials do the example use by one souse he was told is Robin Vos, and his Popcorn company.

2) Its not taking him away from City dealings

3) The Income from being Mayor is low note in 2012 he made 72K   is that low?

Really?  There was a meeting in Milwaukee ( not Madison) about the State Surplus and how local units of Goverment  wanted to see the funds used for Roads  repair all or most local governments  got together about what they thought should be done with it. Where was our Mayor the Lobbyist? Well Chicago! No one was in Madison representing Racine    to my source knowledge. Oh what was our Mayor doing???  Hanging out with the Gov of New Jerry

Wow was it critical City Business that brought our Mayor to Chicago   or was in work for HSG have you seen the web page  http://www.heartlandsolutionsgroup.com/team/john.shtml   How do we know? How can we know?

Be interesting to see how this develops.

Oh two words Wisconsin Reporter

Does Our Mayor Lobby for Racine or Others?

Myself, I think that the fist and most critical job of any Mayor of any City,Town or Village, is to lobby for the community s/he serves be it, the  residents who live there, Companies that operate you know those he severs in office right? That depending on the size of that community this could take up a large amount of time.

Hell, using the example of Racine, the job of Mayor could take up 40+ each week if not more. With the issues of Racine from unemployment,falling property values to the Heroin plague that’s effecting the whole State of Wisconsin, I would think that our Mayor John Dickert would be so busy at his job as Mayor that he have little time for anything else.

Our Mayor!

Well I be wrong on both counts!

You see MAYOR JOHN DICKERT WORKS FOR A LOBBYING FIRM! See look here:    http://www.heartlandsolutionsgroup.com/team/john.shtml    That’s him!   Mr. Dickert is a Senior Adviser must be nice

The Comany’s Web page said this about themself’s
“HSG: The “Go To” Group for Real World Results
Whether you are managing a crisis, trying to achieve a specific policy objective, positioning yourself in the public arena, or trying to develop a new market, the only thing that matters is results. We do a multi-faceted and comprehensive analysis of your issue because surprises have no place in the public affairs arena. This process creates the foundation for developing and implementing a strategy that results in success for our clients. HSG’s mission is to help you operate effectively in a culture where an increasingly broad array of external and internal stakeholders has a say in the decision-making process of organizations. We work with corporations, non-profits, governmental entities and trade associations across a broad range of sectors. Our skill and experience leverage your knowledge to deliver world-class results.”

and this about our Mayor the One we pay to run this city “Mr. Dickert is a Senior Advisor to the Heartland Solutions Group and is currently serving in his second term as Mayor of Racine, Wisconsin. He has served on the Government Affairs Team at the law firm of Foley & Lardner and is the former Director of Government Affairs for the Wisconsin Credit Union League.

Mr. Dickert has also held a variety of positions in the offices of U.S. Representative Peter Barca (D-WI) and U.S. Representative Les Aspin (D-WI). Additionally, he has worked for both Republicans and Democrats in the Wisconsin State Assembly, staffing both the Joint Finance Committee on the State budget and the Ways and Means Committee on taxation.

He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, a partnership between 70 mayors and other local officials in the U.S. and Canada dedicated to protecting and restoring the Great Lakes. Mr. Dickert has also been appointed as Vice Chair to the United States Conference of Mayors’ Metro Economies Committee, serves on the Mayors’ Water Council, and is the first President of the newly-created Urban Alliance of the League of Wisconsin Municipalities.”

Must be nice to work as a lobbyist something he has done before.

I thought he was working for us you know the Tax payers who pay his wages, who have seen taxes go up up up and unemployment follow.  Mind you if he needed the cash for Xmas gifs and got a job Bar tending or wrote books on politics I have no issues heck, I am writing or trying to Ebooks, many do. More power to him but this?

We have questions like:

Is he use City Staff or Equipment for this

How many hours a week is he doing this, must the City Administrator or others cover for the Mayor as he does Lobbying?

Since he is Mayor 24/7 and get say in a Car Crash on the way to a Lobbing event are we liable to pay for that?

Can he Lobby at a City event? If he goes to D.C. to a Mayor’s event can he Lobby at that? Might he be Lobbing at those events or saying he is? Are we paying him to Lobby for others?

Are there conflicts of interest in his Lobbing? What groups  or issues is he lobby for? Do we the residents of Racine want him to lobby on the issues or for those groups?

Oh the questions!

WOW!!!

Model Municipal Fertilizer Ordinance

Racine (WI) Mayor John Dickert and Barrington Lake (IL) Mayor Kevin Richardson updated the mayors on their work to translate a fertilizer application best practice policy adopted by the Conference of Mayors into a practical local ordinance in Racine. This effort builds on previous work Richardson has completed in Illinois where he was able to bring all of the parties together and work out a policy approach that is protective of water quality, protects vulnerable habitats, includes applicator training up to best practices levels, and provides for penalties for failure to comply.

Since there are many parties that contribute to non-point nutrient contamination of waterways, but are not held responsible, the process that Richardson and Dickert are developing helps to reconcile competing interests within the community, but also allows for non-jurisdictional non-point source emitters to engage in solution discussions.

The effort in Racine is near completion, and the mayors may be reached by e-mail at: John.Dickert@cityofracine.com or krichardson@lakebarrington.org.

Richardson Is the head of Hartland this is what the web page said “Mr. Richardson is the President of the Heartland Solutions Group and a veteran corporate Government & Public Affairs executive. He has served as the Senior Vice President of Government Affairs for The ServiceMaster Company, Vice President of Government Relations for R.R. Donnelley, and Vice President of Government and Member Relations for the Electronic Industries Association. He is also the former Associate Counsel to the Subcommittee on Administrative Law of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee and the former Assistant PAC Director of the National Republican Congressional Committee.

Mr. Richardson is the elected Mayor of the Village of Lake Barrington, Illinois and is a member of both the Board of Visitors of the Graduate School of Public Policy at Pepperdine University and the Advisory Board of the Institute for Latino Studies at the University of Notre Dame.

His civic and professional involvement includes his service on the Board of Directors of the Chicago-area Metropolitan Planning Council, the Public Affairs Council, and the Public Affairs Committee of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. In addition, he is also the co-chair of the Lake County (Illinois) Water Supply Advisory Committee and is a member of the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ Water Council.”

WOW Was this done to help Service Master?

Are there scams now that will help them get $$ from RootWorks?

 

 

Is Konrad Meyer walking the banks of the Root River? Part one

Long Live Spatial planning!!  LONG LIVE GENTRIFICATION!!

The State knows best! Mayor John Dickert understands your needs! LONG LIVE A WHITE PURE RACINE!!

Think that is over the top? Is it?

Lets set the back ground

We start with the idea that the Nazis may be the first crazy Greens.

Frank Furedi:

“What we today call ‘environmentalism’ is … based on a fear of change. It’s based upon a fear of the outcome of human action. And therefore it’s not surprising that when you look at the more xenophobic right-wing movements in Europe in the 19th century, including German fascism, it quite often had a very strong environmentalist dynamic to it. The most notorious environmentalists in history were the German Nazis. The Nazis ordered soldiers to plant more trees. They were the first Europeans to establish nature reserves and order the protection of hedgerows and other wildlife habitats. And they were horrified at the idea of hydroelectric dams on the Rhine. Adolf Hitler and other leading Nazis were vegetarian and they passed numerous laws on animal rights.”

extracted the above passage from Ron Arnold’s Committee in Defense of Free Enterprise web-page, where the transcript is featured as a “guest editorial.”

And more

The core of Nazi rural socialism was the idea that land-use must be planned. Gottfried Feder was a leading Nazi charged with the duty of formulating such policy. He made a speech in Berlin in 1934 in which he stated that the right to build homes or factories or to use land according to the personal interests of owners was to be abolished. The government instead would dictate how land was to be used and what would be constructed on it. Feder next began to build up elaborate administrative machinery to carry out his plans.

Now look at Racine

We have plans and groups to carry out the plans:

Downtown Racine Corporation for the Downtown area and I understand may have something to do  or will have For the Douglass Corridor and the Uptown Project (yet to be written but IMHO already written)

Root River Council members/former leadership have roles in RootWorks the Plan for the Root River.

We have a city who’s own Mayor tells is has no money and has asked Nonprofits to donate money to help cover city expenses as Mayor Dickert goes to Mexico! Our Mayor will cut costs as in take down Street Lights!

The Uptown plan currently being worked on by the same consultants that gave us Rootworks, well is interesting for as I understand what I was told at the first meeting is big on gentrification see IMHO this is nothing more then a way to drive the groups who make up most of the Uptown area poor Blacks and Hispanics. Again from    Gottfried Feder from his 25 points

4. None but members of the nation may be citizens of the State. None but those of German blood, whatever their creed, may be members of the nation. No Jew, therefore, may be a member of the nation.  Note in the City of Racine case change Jew to Black

That way when the Blacks are gone the right kind of folks can move to Racine and enjoy the fruits of Spatial Planing. Plans created and carried out by the crony capitalist friends of Mayor John Dickert.

Speaking of Crony Capitalism “Government control without direct ownership had the advantage that when the economy did well, the state could take credit. When the economy did poorly, private parties could be blamed. Prior to the debacle of World War II, many of Mussolini’s policies were admired by democrats such as economist John Maynard Keynes and President Franklin Roosevelt.”

Who does that sound like?  Why Mayor John Dickert! All the hype he ran out for the Porter’s Project! The hype on Delta Hawk now we know that Porter’s is dead but we have yet to hear anything about Delta Hawk. Why is that?

When our Mayor talks about why Racine is  falling apart he blames others mostly Gov Walker fault that being he can not raise taxes. I wonder how much my property  taxes would be if he could?

Maybe we list the cronies…

Johnson’s cut 300+ jobs My thoughts

 

Johnson’s Wax who some feel own the City of Racine today said that they were going to cut jobs 100’s of jobs now othere have talked about why. Well I do not care about the why. I do care about what it will do to Downtown Racine.

For even if only 50-75 jobs go in downtown Racine this will be very hard on the Downtown.

The few restaurants left will lose $100’s of dollars a day, stores that need every sale they can get lose $$ needed to pay bills (Will more Downtown stores quit paying property taxes?)  and so  on.

Some Store barely hanging on will close, some doing well will have to cut back. The spiral continues. Many of the last well paying jobs in Racine will start cutting back on spending because they will not know if they are next. Not good not good at all.

How many of the J-Wax jobs loss will have to sell homes adding to a flooded market causing even more of a decline in housing prices?

How many will be forced to walk away from homes?

In a year what will downtown Racine look like?

On the other hand IMHO The Johnson clan in order to feel good will most likely write more checks to feel good projects like Rootworks or the Uptown Project.

In the long run this hurts Racine, but the Johnson Clan having Billions will not feel the pain, many of us just folk will.

Might be a good idea to RUN FROM RACINE NOW!