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Today's Poll!City asked to place sales tax on ballot
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
The Jefferson City Council has been asked to sponsor a 10-year half-cent economic development sales tax to pay for 31 proposed “Transformation” projects.
At a council work session Monday, Randy Allen, president of the Jefferson City Area Chamber of Commerce, gave a presentation on the Chamber’s economic development strategic plan “Transformation.”
Allen said the goal is to have the issue on the ballot Feb. 7, 2012, to allow projects to begin as soon as possible.
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Comments
wow 1 year, 7 months ago
How about letting everyone know what this 1/2 Cents Tax is suppose to pay for before taking money out of peoples pockets. The City Officials have a reputation for wasting money on unwise projects....so get your hands off and let me see what you wanna buy with my money.....
JCLifer 1 year, 7 months ago
These people have no clue-- they are so disconnected from the common family in this area that is scratching to meet ends and pay the bills. Unemployment is high. Many people are underemployed- working low-paying jobs because they cannot find work in their degree and skill levels. Cost of groceries, fuel, utilities, and insurance has increased dramatically.
This is a very poor time to propose a tax increase, especially one that does not bring any high-paying jobs into our area.
The elitists running this town have no concept of how badly this tax increase will hurt the majority of citizens. VOTE NO.
truthbeknown 1 year, 7 months ago
Everyone should look at the list of projects .... it is laughable. Most of the projects are to train skilled workers to leave this town ... a culinary school for Lincoln, there are more unemployed chefs and cooks in this town than construction workers, and the nursing school will train people to work in Columbia, Kansas City, and St. Louis. Not to mention the projects to fill Mr. Freemans pocket book with the Old Town Revitilization company. And the Chestnut extention and Parkway ????? I thought thats why we were doing all that construction on Lafayette and putting in an interchange to get to the prison ???? I'm confused
Gabrielle 1 year, 7 months ago
Who is Mr. Freeman?
truthbeknown 1 year, 7 months ago
Old Town Revitalization Company, the City buys him buildings and he oversees their renovation, all for a hefty salary.
tonto 1 year, 7 months ago
The city (public record!) owns that company, and it's a nonprofit organization. Rejuvenating old buildings for the romantic history buffs among us is a thankless money pit. We taxpayers pay the bills.
truthbeknown 1 year, 7 months ago
The city does not own that company, if they did, the construction work would have to be bid out per state law and would be subject to the sunshine laws which this company is not. Non-Profit it may be, but he still receives a salary, if it was a true non-profit, he would be a volunteer.
JCLifer 1 year, 7 months ago
Melva Fast owns this company.
(Click above to view filed documents that are available.)
Business Name History
Name Name Type Old Town Revitalization Company Legal
Non-Profit Corporation - Domestic - Information
Charter Number: N00919485 Status: Good Standing
Entity Creation Date: 9/15/2008
State of Business.: MO Expiration Date: Perpetual Last Registration Report Filed Date: 7/12/2010 Last Registration Report Filed: 2011
Registered Agent
Agent Name: Fast, Melva
Office Address: 320 E. McCarty Jefferson City MO 65101
tonto 1 year, 7 months ago
I suggest you actually read the documents.
JCLifer 1 year, 7 months ago
I copied and pasted it here so you could read it.
tonto 1 year, 7 months ago
I have read them. A registered agent is not an owner, and the officers and board members do not get salaries.
JCLifer 1 year, 7 months ago
If you read the rest of the docments you would know that there is no board of directors or officers.
Gabrielle 1 year, 7 months ago
What documents? Where can I read them?
tonto 1 year, 7 months ago
Here:
use an h, two tees, the letter after o, an s, a colon, two forward slashes, and three w's in front of:
sos.mo.gov/BusinessEntity/soskb/Filings.asp?2635860#
Then click the blue link to get the three actual documents. Good reading for those so inclined. Thansk for asking.
tonto 1 year, 7 months ago
You have missed quite a bit, after posting the cover sheet from the Secretary of State's office.
That blue thing (gray on your cut and paste job) "Filed Documents" on the cover sheet after the current date is a link to the actual filed documents. There is a "Creation Filing" and an "Annual Report" and a "Biennial Report". Click on each one and you will find out how the nonprofit corporation is set up and who board members and other officers are.
tonto 1 year, 7 months ago
Mr. Freeman is a businessman with property in the Old Town area. He is a good guy and a personal friend. He has lived in Jefferson City his whole life and done a lot for Jefferson City. His property is unlikely to receive any benefit from the project.
truthbeknown 1 year, 7 months ago
I am not saying he is a bad person, I am just saying the way the city deals with it's finances and gives money away like crazy its a bad decision, heck I wish I could get the same deal with the city,
tonto 1 year, 7 months ago
Do you have any examples? Please provide at least one.
JCLifer 1 year, 7 months ago
Buying new vehicles every year is one good example. Building an obsolete fence around the airport that doesn't meet FFA requirements is another example. Paving a park and building a sailboat hanger in a park outside the city limits (in the county) is another example. Ambulance tax is another example. Allowing roads to crumble and all the storm drainage issues is another example. Not holding contractors liable for quality work like repairing utility cuts in roads, shoddy work last year to widen East McCarty, etc, is another example. Not holding Mo-DOT accountable for the Tri-Level, 54 S-curve, Dix Road connector, and 179 interchange designs is another example. Buying all these dilapidated houses and not fixing them or tearing them down and cleaning up the lots is another example. Hiring a police chief who discriminates and results in several secret employee lawsuit settlements is another example, on and on and on...
tonto 1 year, 7 months ago
Relevance? Does any of that have anything to do with Mr. Freeman?
JCLifer 1 year, 7 months ago
This whole article is about the city wasting precious tax dollars. Seems very relevant to me.
JCsleeper 1 year, 7 months ago
Agreed with this post.
gofish 1 year, 7 months ago
This is taxpayer funding to pay for the NEW USE of St.Mary's as an educational center once the new hospital is operational. You have to read between the lines of what is mean by "transformation".
RE: "a culinary school for Lincoln, there are more unemployed chefs and cooks in this town than construction workers, and the nursing school"
JCsleeper 1 year, 7 months ago
Sorry, but after JC Council absconded with the ambulance property tax instead of reducing property taxes by same amount for equal time, there is no faith in the council to do the proper thing with this tax. A lot of effort has been put into the transformation but economic times for most folks here are tough right now. There are projects that are wanted and projects that are needed. Needed projects in a tight economy should have precedence.
Part of this transformation is to hopefully attract and retain young professionals. Loft apartments and pretty streetscapes are not what keeps 'em here. Good employment opportunities are the attraction. Growing up here, many youth have figured out whether or not they fit into the local clique. A lot of potential leaves town forever because of this mindset.
JCLifer 1 year, 7 months ago
Good jobs with market level starting salaries, as well as clear and timely advancement opportunities to grow in their professions and pay at market levels is what young professionals want. If they don't get it here, they quickly move on.
As long as the state government (largest employer) sets the pay at way below-market for jobs with no chance of advancement, this town will forever be a bottom-feeder town.
tonto 1 year, 7 months ago
That's exactly right!
JCLifer 1 year, 7 months ago
Private investors and developers should build this stuff. The city has proven time after time that it cannot effectively or efficiently manage money as a landowner. Remember the old dump house on McCarty that the city bought several years ago for $300,000 and then paid a company to tear it down. All was paid with taxpayer (our) money to buy the eyesore, hold it for a few years, and then tear it down. That was nearly a half million dollars of OUR MONEY wasted.
hudson 1 year, 7 months ago
more taxes, more goverment,more jails,more laws,SEIG HEIL !
Gotigers 1 year, 7 months ago
Don't forget, we are now collecting a lodging tax for a convention center, however Mayor Struempf had in his budget for $600,000 to go to the convention center BUT the council cut that out. So we are now collecting a tax on something and it has no place to be put. It will end up in the General Fund and disappear!!!
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