$25,000,000 in Bond Issues will Appear on University City April Ballot

At the last University City council meeting on Jan. 26th, the City Council, in a divided vote of the usual 5:2,  placed two bond issues on the ballot for the April 7, 2015, election.  This was in spite of the fact that there was no public engagement on the issues presented, at least two — or more — members of Council had not been informed by the City Manager of his interest in considering bond issues prior to January, and that no report was issued by the City’s Financial Analyst and no legal opinion was issued by a Bond Counsel (attorney).   A check with the City Council minutes on recent bond issues proposed by the City Council showed this to be the first time the vote to place the bond issue on the ballot was not unanimous.  There will be one bond issue for $20,000,000 for streets, sidewalks and alleys, and a second  $5,000,000 bond issue for parks improvements. 

     On Jan. 5, 2015, the City Manager and his Staff held a City Council Study Session advertised as “Capital Projects, Streets and Parks.”   You had to completely read through the Pavement Parks presentation (the link sent to us on Dec. 30th) to understand that we might be considering bond issues, but there was no notification that we would be making any decisions about whether to put the bond issues on the City Council agenda for the first session in January as we did by “consensus,” where two of us declined to agree to the consensus (this could really be considered a vote — a vote without the notice to the public required by the Sunshine Law).

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U City School's Prop U: Where has all the money gone?

For U City residents, there will be a proposition on April's ballot which, if passed, will allow the district to borrow 19 million for improvements and repairs. Prop U will provide funds for "facility upgrades and needed repairs." However, why should citizens allow a school district that let it's buildings deteriorate borrow millions of dollars? Further, University City citizens have had to increase their property tax payments to the District 7% every year since 1996. During this time inflation has only increased 2½% annually and enrollment has declined. The district should make an accounting of increased payments before being allowed to put taxpayers on the hook for another 19 million dollars.

University City Election Results

April 3rd, 2012

COUNCIL MEMBER UNIVERSITY CITY WARD 1
(Vote for ) 1
(WITH 7 OF 7 COUNTED)
CAROL WOFSEY . . . . . . . . . 786 - 44.31%
TERRY CROW . . . . . . . . . . 985 - 55.52%
WRITE-IN. . . . . . . . . . . 3 - .17%

COUNCIL MEMBER UNIVERSITY CITY WARD 2
(Vote for ) 1
(WITH 6 OF 6 COUNTED)
JAN ADAMS . . . . . . . . . . 551 - 44.01%
PAULETTE CARR . . . . . . . . . 697 - 55.67%
WRITE-IN. . . . . . . . . . . 4 - .32%

COUNCIL MEMBER UNIVERSITY CITY WARD 3
(Vote for ) 1
(WITH 6 OF 6 COUNTED)
ARTHUR SHARPE, JR. . . . . . . . 447 - 97.17%
WRITE-IN. . . . . . . . . . . 13 - 2.83%

Post Caucus Thoughts

If you go to a caucus with intention of "making a difference" you are too late. This is what those "establishment" people understand and why they are upset. Our elections are sponsored by parties and to make a difference through the political process you have to work though your party. Are you a member of a local political club? Do get involved in your community? Do you go to city or school board meetings? Do you find candidates and support them for these positions. Do you make phone calls for your candidates? Hold coffees for them? Go door to door? Do you run for public office? If your local political party is inactive, what are you doing to change it? Do you go to your local Lincoln Days to meet candidates? Do you go to your state Lincoln Days to meet candidates? These "establishment" people are actually elected to their positions. They work for months to put the caucuses together and put together delegate slates and can only work with people they know. When, you show up at a caucus to make a difference, it is too late.

Univeristy City Candidate Debates

University City will be electing candidates for city council in April. A series of recent debates have been held showcasing candidates for Wards 1 & 2 in University City. Candidates for Ward 1 are Carol Wofsey and incumbent Terry Crow, Candidates for Ward 2 are Jan Adams and Paulette Carr. Major discussion is about the future of University City. Mostly the candidates agree that attracting new business was the order of the day. However, Wofsey thought there should be an emphasis on accounting and systems. Interestingly, candidates Crow, Wofsey and Adams have strong business backgrounds and are very well educated. However, they are all very liberal and by that nature will not be very business friendly. Crow has been on the council for a number of years and has little to show for any real business development in the city. While there are some projects on the books, general leadership an the council has declined. A shining star on the panel was Paulette Carr who had specifics on development and for several years has worked to expose problems with city management.

Cost to operate a Chevy Volt

Eric Bolling (Fox Business Channel's "Follow the Money") test drove the Chevy Volt at the invitation of General Motors.

For four days in a row, the fully charged battery lasted only 25 miles before the Volt switched to the reserve gasoline engine.

Eric calculated the car got 30 mpg including the 25 miles it ran on the battery. So, the range including the 9 gallon gas tank and the 16 kwh battery is approximately 270 miles. It will take you 4 1/2 hours to drive 270 miles at 60 mph. Then add 10 hours to charge the battery and you have a total trip time of 14.5 hours. In a typical road trip your average speed (including charging time) would be 20 mph.

According to General Motors, the Volt battery hold 16 kwh of electricity. It takes a full 10 hours to charge a drained battery.

The cost for the electricity to charge the Volt is never mentioned so I looked up what I pay for electricity.

I pay approximately (it varies with amount used and the seasons) $1.16 per kwh.

16 kwh x $1.16 per kwh = $18.56 to charge the battery.

$18.56 per charge divided by 25 miles = $0.74 per mile to operate the Volt using the battery.

Compare this to a similar size car with a gasoline engine only that gets 32 mpg.

$3.19 per gallon divided by 32 mpg = $0.10 per mile.

The gasoline powered car cost about $15,000 while the Volt costs $46,000.........

So Government wants us to pay 3 times as much, for a car that costs more that 7 times as much to run, and takes 3 times longer to drive across country.....and, as an incentive to buy this lemon, Obama's proposed budget offers a $10,000.00 tax rebate to volt purchasers...... REALLY ?

Stop Shredding America

How Missouri Republican Caucuses will work

With Missouri Republicans returning to the caucus system, there are a lot of questions about how they will work. STLToday has published a FAQ provided my the Missouri GOP:
Q: Who can go to a caucus?
A: Any registered voter in a county who says he or she is a Republican.
Q: Where are caucuses held?
A: One caucus will be held in each of Missouri’s 114 counties and the city of St. Louis at 10 a.m. on March 17.
Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/ae22d26a-7a4d-58c1-86b4-5b2eb4a1fde4.html#ixzz1b40imVlb
Here is more information:

• The County Caucuses will take place on March 17, 2012. At these caucuses, which are open to any Republican who is registered to vote in that county, attendees will select delegates and alternates to the Congressional District conventions and State Convention. No delegates to the national convention are selected at this time. The number of delegates and alternates per county is determined by the Missouri Republican Party.
• The Congressional District Conventions will take place on April 21, 2012. At each of these 8 conventions, delegates chosen at the county level will select 3 delegates and alternates to the National Convention and 1 presidential elector. The delegates and alternates will be required to declare allegiance to a candidate prior to the voting, and they will be bound to that candidate on the first ballot—unless they are released prior to the convention.
• The State Convention will take place on June 2, 2012. At the convention, delegates chosen at the county level will vote on 25 at-large delegates and alternates to the National Convention and 2 at-large presidential electors. The delegates and alternates will be required to declare allegiance to a candidate prior to the voting, and they will be bound to that candidate on the first ballot—unless they are released prior to the convention.
• In total, Missouri will have 52 delegates and 49 alternates to the Republican National Convention—24 selected at the congressional district caucuses, 25 selected at the state convention, and 1 each for the state Party chairman, national committeeman and national committeewoman. (The final 3 have no alternates.)