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!