News regarding the proposed Bemidji Events Center becomes increasingly bizarre. My conservative estimate is that the City Council paid approximately double what the old Georgia-Pacific property is actually worth in order to seal the deal quickly and in time for intensive lobbying for bonding money. After all, they couldn't lobby in February unless they owned the land in February. However, they haven't actually figured out how to pay for the property when the bill comes due in two years.
Then, on Feb. 20, we have Councilor Meuers noting she isn't comfortable potentially having a non-city resident on a committee that might discuss property taxes within the city limits. Just discuss. This is the same council, which crowed about the utility and wisdom of using sales taxes to fund events center construction since over 50 percent of the money would come from outside the city limits.
Note to City Council: non-city taxpayers didn't get to vote on this boondoggle so they could pay more in taxes for it. At the same meeting, another councilor proposed having all council members on the speedy response steering committee, which would make all meetings official meetings with public notice requirements, defeating the very purpose of the steering committee. Now action is tabled until March on this issue.
The next day's paper treated us to a design that my son noted looks like a giant bus garage. He's right. Very Bemidjiesque, that bus garage. In that article, Manos Ginis of Leo Daly claimed the center is "considerably larger than anything Bemidji currently has," and compares it to the grain elevator, Tamarack Hall, and train depot combined. Has Manos seen Wal-Mart, or the mall, or even Target? And what a bizarre combination of buildings to use as a size comparison.
On the 26th, we were treated to the council discovering that their planned start date and construction duration won't meet the October 2010 date BSU expects. Oops again!
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Following the events center is like watching "F-Troop" or "Hogan's Heroes" for those of us of a certain age, or perhaps "Arrested Development," "The Office," or "10 Items or Less" for the younger folks.
William Smith
Bemidji
