|
Council needs vision on land deal |
|
|
|
Monday, 31 December 2007 |
A Golden Opportunity in Forest Lake
The city of Forest Lake has an unprecedented opportunity to address the shortage of parking that has long plagued our downtown. There is a five-acre land parcel available that was occupied by the former Stock lumber yard.
It runs parallel to the county trail and sits nicely behind Broadway and Lake Street. The city can acquire this property, sell off the front portion along Broadway for commercial development, and nicely tuck a large municipal parking lot behind.
It’s an excellent location that would be out of view yet just a half block walk to downtown and Lakeside Park. It can provide the additional parking needed now and into the future and can be expanded with a parking ramp someday if needed. This is a one time opportunity for the city of Forest Lake and should be moved upon quickly.
When it’s gone, it will be forever gone and there is virtually no alternative parking solution available. It will not be inexpensive, however the council can authorize a bond sale to procure the property, sell off the front along Broadway to cover a portion of the cost, and create a parking district to help subsidize the bonds and parking lot maintenance.
In the long term interests of the city, our downtown and the continued success of Lakeside Park, I would urge the council to consider and act quickly on this opportunity. Vision cannot be shortsighted or short changed.
Terry Smith
Forest Lake
Bachmann is Part of the Problem
Will someone please remind Rep. Bachmann what her job is? I just read the transcript of the House weekly radio address delivered on Dec. 20, by Bachmann.
Just what was the point of her holiday season address? To attack the Democrats of course. Well, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you too, Michele.
In her address she says, “You see, their (Democrats) first year in control of Congress hasn’t exactly gone the way that they would have liked, and with record low approval ratings, a clear lack of accomplishments, and only bitter sound bites to offer, Democrats unfortunately don’t have many political accomplishments to count this holiday season.”
Bitter sound bites indeed...
What Michele conveniently neglects to mention is that it is Congress as a whole that has record low approval numbers. The last time I checked, Bachmann was a member of the same Congress she is criticizing. The inconvenient truth is that Democrats in Congress have higher approval numbers than their Republican colleagues.
It is Michele Bachmann and her Republican colleagues in Congress that are earning those record low approval numbers.
She is right about one thing. There is a clear lack of accomplishments in Congress. That’s because Republicans have set a record for the number of threatened filibusters and blocks that have been used to obstruct the passage of good legislation - 62 times in the first half of a two year session.
That’s on track to be twice the number of any previous Congress in history. It’s almost as if we have a group of railway station saboteurs complaining that the trains aren’t running on time.
And to think it was only a couple of years ago that Republicans in Congress were whining that Democrats were abusing the filibuster to block 10 of Bush’s 229 judicial nominees. The real message to Democrats in Congress appears to be, “do as we say, not as we did.”
Your job, Mrs. Bachmann, is to represent the 6th district in Congress. I doubt that means you should be participating in the obstruction of legislation and then sitting back, sniping at your colleagues and gloating over the fact that nothing gets done.
You are not part of the solution Rep. Bachmann, you’re part of the problem.
Daniel Dillon
Scandia
|
