By Antonio D. French
Filed Wednesday, February 07, 2007 at 1:49 AM
Some aldermen are worried that some pretty big things will be happening a little too fast today at City Hall. Labels: Board_of_Aldermen
Hearings, introductions of bill substitutes, aand last-minute wheeling and dealing are all on the agenda as the full Board of Aldermen, the Board of Estimate and Apportionment, the Housing, Urban Development and Zoning Committee, and the Public Utilities Committee all meet Wednesday morning.
The big items of discussion are the BJC/Park lease agreement, the new Ballpark Village plan, and a Wi-FI access agreement between the City and AT&T.
All three of these plans are long and complicated and more than one alderman has told Pub Def that they don't see how anyone can make an informed, independent decision without time to read all the bills and agreements.
The BJC/Park lease agreement has been presented several times and is basically in the hands of Comptroller Darlene Green. The comptroller told Pub Def last week that her office has been trying to negotiate an agreement between the hospital and park advocates. Green nor her aides are showing any cards yet on how she'll vote today.
The Ballpark Village plan has undergone quite a few changes, we are told. Most of which many aldermen, specifically members of the Black Caucus, are not fully briefed on. Said one northside alderman, "I'm still waiting to see how it helps my community."
There are also concerns about the proposed citywide Wi-Fi agreement. Among them are the concern about the timetable by which different parts of the city will go online, and the specific terms of the agreement, which is not available online and, we are told, permits only non-binding arbitration as the city's only means to clarify some of the finer points of the deal.
More later today...
4 Comments:
I like wi-fi but an agrement that has non-binding arbitration to resolve problems is crap.
Its like talking a mugger out of taking your mony with a knif to your neck.
Alderman don't screw us!
2/07/2007 9:21 AM
Do you think they'll make us breakfast afterwards?
2/07/2007 10:29 AM
They just paid someone $65k to do a feasability study and the next week they are going into a contract with AT&T. Someone has gone Wi-Fi nuts.
A citywide wi-fi is going to interfer with all the existing wi-fi in the area. Speaking of existing, what about all the wireless ISP's in St. Louis? I know of @ least 2 - St. Louis Broadband and O-2 Connect. Has the city spoke with these companies that already have existing wi-fi infrastructure? Is
AT&T going to come in and interfer with their presence?
I guess we will wait and see...
2/07/2007 12:17 PM
I wish someone would require Kordish to fund an independent study of:
1. how much tax help they actually need to make the deal profitable.
2. How much of the projected revenues are coming from other businesses already in the city and state, and how many are new to the city and state? If the state and city are giving more in tax breaks then are being generated as new revenue, that's a bad deal, right?
3. How do the schools especially fair under the old $50 required development as compared to this development, year by year starting with year one.
4. If Ballpark Village is being funded with tax dollars, and other businesses in the city are being hurt, I think the owners of those should be reimbursed by Ballpark Village, dont you? Seems only fair.
I know what you're thinking. This is boy is very dangerous. Thank you. I certainly hope so. But mainly if I win, of course, which is the plan.
2/07/2007 10:46 PM
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