It's OK to Rejoice Again Caldwell

Once again we read and hear about all there is to be happy about with downtown Caldwell and our community.  We can have this for only another $65,000 when Roger Brooks comes back to town with yet more ideation and a plan to cure Caldwell's civic problems.

The latest idea for Caldwell is to make it a "tourist destination" and Mr. Brooks will help create yet another plan for a better future for Caldwell.  THE GUARDIAN has lived in Caldwell since the 1970's and witnessed the downward spiral of downtown in the face of several other plans that come to mind:  First, there was the RUDAT Study done in the early 1990's at a cost of $25,000.  Next we have had the Tom Hudson study for about $10,000, then we had the Dave Leland Report for a mere $140,000, then Oppenheimer Development for a starting price of $50,000 (and more), then the Master Framework Study with the help and inputs of Caldwell concerned citizens.

Now we have Roger Brooks who came to town for $30,000 to start via the sponsorship of the Caldwell Chamber of Commerce.  Mr. Brooks got the good chamber members all fired up and feeling good.  Now there is a fund drive to bring Mr. Brooks back at the cost of an additional $65,000.  All this will be done with private money and contributions from the good people of Caldwell.  The Mayor and City Council are sitting on the sidelines in this effort.

It's OK to Rejoice Again Caldwell!  However, here's the reality; we have lots of studies in the file cabinets collecting dust for the lack of "political will" and funding from our Mayor and City Council.  Yes, we have a redundant TVCC annex funded by Caldwell citizens and yes we have a nice five block addition to the park system via Indian Creek.  What we lack in downtown Caldwell is a reason for our people to spend time an money in our downtown core. 

Mr. Brooks will no doubt make the people paying his fee feel very good but it will take public funds (urban renewal money) and political will to make anything meaningful happen in downtown.  Until then we will have another report full of pretty pictures and proclamations to take up space in a file cabinet. But there will be much rejoicing upon the return of Mr. Brooks to Caldwell.

Note of clarification..  CEURA will sunset on taking out additional bonding December 2014.  All the cash will still flow to the agency but they will send a cash windfall of property taxes to all the taxing districts that gave up their share of property tax money until December 2014.  Caldwell will have something north of $1MM/year flowing to the city coffers not dedicated to paying off revenue bonds.  The question is; what will they do with the money.  Downtown did not see much in the way of "renewal".  Perhaps it may be time to invest those funds in building community with what little cash left in the URA scheme.

How Much Debt Via Nampa URA Is Enough?

The following is a guest opinion by Guardian reader, Kim Blough, Nampa Idaho.  May 7, 2013

Since 1994, Nampa City Hall’s mantra has been “Tax ,Tax ,Tax, Borrow, Borrow, Borrow and SPEND SPEND SPEND”.

The result?  Urban Renewal spending and debt of $192,000,000.

 What did we get for our money you ask?  Here are examples of how effectively our tax dollars were (or are about to be) spent.

Urban Renewal tax dollars paid $1,891,815.23 for a 17 acre parcel of bare land which was at the time tax appraised for $13,500.

That’s right…$100,000 per acre for land which tax appraised for $796.00 per acre.

What “willing seller” would say NO to a “willing buyer’s” offer of 125 times more than the assessed tax value!

Just to sweeten the deal and make sure the Seller wouldn’t say NO to such a “hard driven” bargain, Urban Renewal threw in a no-cost sewer line connection across the entire 17 acres PLUS interest of $180,293.28 on the new $1,199,413.08 promissory note held by the seller.  (See Pioneer Title Escrow #PN58395)

 This was called the “IDACOLD” purchase and it certainly did put a lot of taxpayer’s dollars on ice.

Then current Urban Renewal Commissioner/Councilman Thorne signed all the IDACOLD purchase documents in behalf of the North Nampa Urban Renewal District.

 No surprise that Mr. Thorne is now on record of not caring that 8.6 MILLION dollars of taxpayer money for the Mercy Rehab Project will be melted down to a taxable value of only 2.5 MILLION (with  NO positive tax-flow from the project for at least ten years).

The IDACOLD purchase pales by comparison to the $50,000,000 cost of the Idaho Center (plus six-figure losses every year since it opened in 1996).

 Current appraised price for the Idaho Center?  It doesn’t matter.  No one wants to buy it for any price.

How many more “good” deals can we afford?  NO more, not one.

 Sincerely yours,

Kim Blough

Nampa, Idaho

Syria "red line" What Do We Do?

Everyone has become a "5-minute General" with what to do in Syria. I know this is not the usual concerns put up on this blog but I heard one of the best descriptions of what to do and wanted to share it:

The "red line" has nothing to do with what we do or not what we do. The real decision time comes "when the cost of doing nothing is exceeded by doing something".  With the bad vibe of two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan hanging in the memory as well as the $2Trillion cost of these wars moving forward with due caution is a really tough thing to deal with as President.

Weapons of "mass destruction" was the war cry for Iraq and now we have the "red line" and the call for action by Mr. Obama.  I am old enough to remember the Hungarian uprising that happened in the 1950's and we did nothing but watch the slaughter of a lot of those people who got no help from us at their moment of need. 

Syria is a real bag of worms no matter how you perceive what is going on.
It is predicted to be a failed state in a matter of months.  The people doing most of the fighting are the very people we really do not want to see in power if the rebels win.  What a mess and they have some nasty stuff we may have to deal with one way or another.

How big is Syria?  Syria , officially Syrian Arab Republic, republic (2005 est. pop. 18,449,000), 71,467 sq mi (185,100 sq km), W Asia.  Idaho by comparison is 83,500 square miles with less than 2 million people.

Small Claims Court Now Held At Nampa Annex

As of April 1, 2013 all small claims actions will be held at the Nampa Annex.  You can still get the forms at the Caldwell Courthouse but you will have to file them in Nampa.

Business has been pretty slow for items of interest lately and this is all I have to offer until more comes my way.

Paul

Idaho Senator's Wife Draws Ire of U.S. Judge

Idaho Senator’s Wife Draws Ire of U.S. Judge

In an order issued Monday, U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill suggested Renee McKenzie, wife of lawyer and Idaho Senator Curt McKenzie, may have violated Idaho Code by practicing law without a license.

The judge characterized Renee McKenzie’s dealing with a prison inmate as a “side show” for the court, a “serious security risk for the prison,” and “not a professional relationship.”

While not an attorney, she presented herself to prison guards as, “Renee McKenzie of McKenzie Law Offices” and was granted “unfettered access” with convicted murderer, kidnapper, and rapist Lance Wood. Wood is being housed at the Idaho Department of Corrections facility south of Boise and represents himself with no attorney in a civil case against a DOC worker before Winmill. He is a Utah inmate, serving his time in Idaho which is common when security issues arise.

Judge Winmill denied four motions from Wood for protective orders and a contempt hearing.

However, the interesting reading is how Renee McKenzie talked her way into the prison and had multiple unmonitored visits with Wood as well as 91 hours of phone calls. Prison officials allowed the visits at first, but eventually became suspicious and launched an internal investigation. That’s when Winmill rescinded the attorney-client arrangement on February 14. The McKenzie law firm does not represent inmate Wood according to court records.

Winmill went on to explain in his order,”Even more troubling, the prison learned that Ms. McKenzie attempted to circumvent the monitoring of her calls from Wood by having the calls routed from the telephone line at McKenzie Law Offices – a non-monitored line because it is associated with a law firm – to her cell phone.

The prison also learned that Ms. McKenzie set up a P.O. Box to receive “legal mail” from Wood, but Mr. McKenzie indicated that the P.O. Box was not associated with his firm.

This was the P.O. Box Wood used to send the returned personal letter sent to Ms. McKenzie. This underscores the attempt by Wood and Ms. McKenzie to have unmonitored communication under the guise of legal communication. Under these circumstances, prison officials determined that, at the very least, there was a strong infatuation between Wood and Ms. McKenzie, and that it would be dangerous for them to meet in isolation as they had been mistakenly allowed to do previously.”

In conclusion the court said, “Under these circumstances, the Court finds that IDOC has simply followed reasonable security measures by separating Wood and Ms. McKenzie. Accordingly, Wood has not demonstrated good cause for the Court to issue a protective order.”

Here's a link to Mr. Wood's murder and please be aware it is really graphic in what happened to the victim  http://www.trendsinhate.com/hatedates/NovemberHateDates/November21.html

What You May Not Know About the Canyon County Fair Moving Out of Caldwell

THE GUARDIAN read with interest the recent articles in the local paper on the move of the Canyon County Fair out of the current site the new site on Hwy. 20-26.  THE GUARDIAN had a nice long chat with one of the Fair Board members and here's the situation:

First, the Fair does not own any of the property the current fair uses except Gabiola Field and the metal building (and not the ground the building sits on) at the current site in Caldwell.  The title to all of the ground is held by the City of Caldwell.  The Fair can't build on property they don't own.

There are meeting minutes from many years ago where the grounds were ceded to the Fair but for whatever reason the deeds were not recorded and the City still holds title to the land and has shown no inclination to do anything to keep the Fair in Caldwell.  The City of Caldwell has been disinclined to meet the Fair needs at any level of reasonable accommodation.

Second, there were many concerned citizens back in the day who saw a need for fair expansion and they all put $1,000.00 or more towards the purchase property from 21st to Linden that was not already owned by the City.  They took the initiative to buy this for the City for the sole purpose of Fair expansion.  The City ignored the Fair and built baseball fields on all of the property much to the chagrin of those who thought they had made a contribution to Fair expansion in Caldwell.

Third, the College of Idaho football program is going to take over the use of Simplot Stadium and will not allow the Fair to use the Stadium property due to turf rehabilitation costs and need to keep the field in good condition for their football program.  The costs for the renewal and care are put at around $1MM if you buy into the talk around town.


Fourth,  Caldwell Mayor and City Council have all but ignored the needs of the Fair by not deeding property to the Fair Board and paving the way for needed expansion deemed necessary by the Fair to remain a viable event.  Talks with Mayor Nancolas pretty much were; they had a good meeting but the needs of the Fair Board were ignored. 

The Fair did the only reasonable thing they could do and that was try to figure out what the best site would be moving forward.  The site out on 20/26 was bought from a bank that had repossessed the property from a bankrupt developer at market price based on the appraisal made at the time of purchase.  They did not remove farm ground from ag production; it had already been bought for development and was destined to be used for housing.

Fifth,  the Fair Board approached the Mayor Tom Dale of Nampa and the City Council of Nampa about locating the Fair at the Idaho Center to no avail.  The City of Nampa wanted the Fair Board to buy up property east of the Idaho Center for the carnival portion and outside exhibit areas of the Fair and then let the City of Nampa use it rent free the rest of the year.  Cost of the property next to the Idaho Center was in excess of $300,000 per acre.  The math on the cost of the property would not work for the Fair Board.

In summary,  the City of Caldwell has once again unwittingly worked long and hard to get the Fair to move out of town and have done little to nothing in order to keep this event in Caldwell.

Bujak Mess ...Please Make It Stop!

The County is still battling Bujak issues and they have not won a single court case to date.  The cost of litigation in all of this has cost Canyon County Taxpayers an astounding $480,000! 

THE GUARDIAN has to ask;  just what "THE COUNTY" expects to gain with all the court battles.?

It is time to put a stop to all this insanity and waste of taxpayer dollars.  Mr. Bujak has lost his job, gone bankrupt, has been publicly humiliated and the public whipping post via the courts continues.
It is way past time to put a stop to all this waste of time and taxpayer dollars.  Both sides need to declare victory and stop the bleeding. 

Taxpayers need to let the Commissioners know enough is enough.  Here's the phone number to reach the Commishes if you want to be heard on this issue 454-7300.

Here's a link to the Idaho Press Tribune article in today's paper.

http://www.idahopress.com/members/canyon-county-still-battling-john-bujak-issues/article_f273c5c0-911b-11e2-8686-001a4bcf887a.html

Taxpayers should have say on costly projects

 

The following is a letter to the editor of the local newspaper submitted by Bob Gaddis and is reprinted here with Mr. Gaddis' permission on March 14th, 2013

Taxpayers should have a say on costly projects

"Mayor Tom Dale and City Council members Pam White and Martin Thorne have voted in favor of spending $350,000 of our money on the renovation of the old Mercy Hospital and yes, urban renewal money is property tax money.  The only one at the previous meeting speaking in favor of this expensive project was the private developer, although 12 taxpayers objected.

Councilman Thorne commented several times that he couldn't understand why people are opposed to urban renewal.  Perhaps I can answer his question.

The taxpayers of Nampa will soon be over $100,000,000 in debt without taxpayer approval on any of the projects.  The cost of the public safety building, with interest, is $31,500,000.  The estimated cost of the new library is $55,990,774. To upgrade the sewer treatment plant will cost $17,00,000 (passed by judicial approval).  The total is over $104,000,000.

We have subsidized the Idaho Center more than $1.5 million in 2012 alone and will continue to indefinitely. (note: Mr. Gaddis says the total here should be $1.775,000 when the cost of a new roof is added to the Idaho Center costs to Nampa taxpayers.)

City Attorney Terry White stated that normally they would need voter approval for the sewer project but because of time constraints, they had no choice.  We have known about this since the early 80's but had to pass this immediately. 

Over $100,000 of our tax money was spent on attorney fees to prevent the taxpayers from voting on the public safety building.

The disagreement has never been about whether or not these projects should be built but whether the taxpayers should have to opportunity to say yes or no.

Please contact Mayor Dale and the council members if you agree that we as taxpayers have the right to have more input than just to pay the taxes.  You might also want to ask why our taxes are double those in Meridian and are the highest in the state."

Bob Gaddis
Nampa, Idaho

Boise Valley Chamber Exits Valley for Junket to S.V.

Valley Taxpayers To Fund Chamber Of Commerce Junket
by David R. Frazier (Boise Guardian)

For the 20th year citizens of Treasure Valley will be asked to fund a SUN VALLEY JUNKET for various elected officials and government staffers to learn about making Boise and the surrounding area more appealing to businesses and tourists.

The Chamber of Commerce website post says:
This year’s theme will be: “Building Livable Cities in the Boise Valley.” And what better location to begin the building process than 180 miles away in Sun Valley? Interesting how many folks follow each other to the “leadership” conference.

Sun Valley has benefited financially over the years as local officials leave their home territory to listen to a menu of speakers selected by the Chamber. They never seem to be able to have it in Boise, Nampa, or Meridian.

For years the GUARDIAN has written about the absurdity of leaving town in order to plan methods of promoting our towns. The event is funded by taxpayers, but taxpayers are generally frozen out of attendance by the $450 admission fee, $300 lodging, and transportation to get there. Such luxury is only affordable by executives, public servants, and those who own their own businesses.

The standard excuse for spending Boise area tax dollars in Sun Valley is to “gather leaders in an area where they won’t be tempted to leave or be distracted by other business.” That translates to kidnapping the deciders who hold the purse strings without having to account to the masses.

Another benefit of going so far away is the almost total lack of public scrutiny. Not only are citizens effectively priced out of attendance, the media outlets generally ignore the event as “not newsworthy,” especially as they struggle for financial survival.

 

Editor Note: It will be interesting to note how many Canyon County politicos will be attending this event on the local taxpayer dime.  THE GUARDIAN will be checking to see who will be attending from Canyon County on the taxpayer dime.

3-13-2013
1. Mayor Tom Dale will indeed be attending this event.  So far the Canyon Commishes are not scheduled to attend.
2. Mayor Garrett Nancolas is currently out of town in Washinton DC attending the National League of Cities junket. His scheduled is noting he will be out of the office on the dates of the Sun Valley Junket.  More on this when the Mayor's Secretary returns to work.
3. None of the Canyon County Commissioners will be attending this meeting.
4. Email from Mayor Nancolas stated he is not going on this trip out of town.  3/26/13.

Thoughts on Food Stamp Program by Wayne Hoffman

The following is offered by permission from Mr. Hoffman of the Idaho Freedom Foundation and first appeared in the Idaho Press Tribune March 4, 2013 

The last thing Idaho should be doing is finding new ways to make poverty more convenient.

The Senate Health and Welfare Committee, which previously advanced a bill to allow food stamp benefits to be distributed multiple times per month, changed its mind and killed the measure over cost concerns. That means food stamp benefits will continue to go out on the first of each month, resulting in continued long lines at the grocery store and spoiled food left by shoppers who gave up on making a purchase on food stamp distribution day.

Some lawmakers said the multi-day distribution idea ignores the bigger problems with food stamps. Sen. Patti Anne Lodge, R-Huston, has long been frustrated by the visual of poor Idahoans buying grocery carts full of junk food on their government entitlement.

“We need a committee that is willing to keep emotions out of this and find ways to help people stretch their food dollars,” Lodge said. “The food stamp program is supposed to be supplemental nutrition, and we need to get people to stop buying cookies, energy drinks, soft drinks and such. We need to encourage them to buy potatoes instead of a bag of potato chips. Simply issuing food stamps for 10 days instead of one doesn’t ensure that people are stretching their food budgets in nutritious ways. I cannot support this bill.”

I will add to what Lodge said: If the food stamp program is “improved,” it will eliminate the need to truly fix the program.

Right now, program users — food stamp recipients and grocers alike — have reason to improve the safety net for people in poverty. They’re united in the disdain for how the program works and the impact on Idaho citizens.

When I talk to groups about government entitlements, not a single person has disagreed with me that food stamps reflect badly on compassionate impulses, on our desire to help our neighbors who are struggling.

The committee’s action came as the Idaho Hunger Relief Task Force announced the results of a study finding that 15.4 percent of households in the state had an “inability to afford enough food.”

“It is unacceptable that so many people across Idaho are struggling and cannot afford enough food to provide for their families,” said Kathy Gardner, director of the Idaho Hunger Relief Task Force in a news release. “These numbers show us that we must make our nation’s safety net stronger, not weaker. We can’t afford to leave these vulnerable people behind.”

It will be shocking for some to read this, but she’s right. The food stamp program is clearly broken, and all the money the government keeps throwing at poverty and hunger doesn’t seem to be working.

However, Gardner wants more money for the program. I don’t.

And Lodge is right; we need a different kind of discussion, one that results in improved nutrition and greater accountability, one that connects people to private charity, families, churches and communities — groups that will find ways to help lift people up from poverty, not provide a resource that keeps them there.