Author Topic: Eminent domain again, or something like it  (Read 1831 times)

Monkeyleg

  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 14,589
  • Tattaglia is a pimp.
    • http://www.gunshopfinder.com
Eminent domain again, or something like it
« on: October 29, 2005, 11:21:51 PM »
The city is coming down on me and my neighbors like a ton of bricks. Literally. They're going to rip out all of the streets for 350+ homes, destroy 120+ trees that have been here since the 1930's, rip up all of our front yards, put in gutters and curbs that none of the residents want, and keep this going for TWO YEARS.

They're going to rip out all of our streets, and all of our alleys. They're going to tear the streets down to the base which, if you've ever seen that done, means big machines, lots of noise, and lots of dirt and dust. It also means busted computer hard drives and cracks in the walls of the house because of the impact. Thank God I make most of my living working on my computer at home. Now I face the prospect of ever lesser income!

99% of the people in the neighborhood are in Condition White. They don't even know what's coming. And all of this was pre-ordained five years ago.

We had a citizen/committee meeting last Tuesday, where the Board of Public Works basically laid out what they've had planned for us for years. They didn't tell us that the full city council would be voting on the whole package this coming Tuesday. We were lead to believe that a vote wouldn't take place until the end of November.

They didn't even tell us about the worst.

How nice of them. We had hoped to distribute flyers telling residents what the full impact would be.

Too late.

We will not have garbage pickup. Instead, we will be able to take our garbage to dumpsters at a central location.

We will not have mail pick-up or delivery. Instead, we wil be able to go to a central location to pick up our mail.

There will be no parking for vehicles. Since most folks in the area own older homes with one-car garages (that can't even fit a modern car into it), I have no idea where people are going to park.

We will not be able to access our homes from either street or alley.

It is very likely (based upon  what I've seen with similar projects) that emergency vehicles--ambulances, fire trucks, etc---will not be able to access homes if necessary.

The Board of Public Works said that they would "try" to assure mail delivery. They would "try" to assure garbage pickup. I think the chairman used the word "try" at least 500 times during the hearing.

Where does all this come from?

The Public Engineer. This guy has a hard-on for his own legacy. He wants to build streets, curbs and gutters that will outlive him.

Well, eff him. I'll chip in $50 for a portait of him on the wall of the city hall.

All of the above is whining. This is on such a fast-track that the residents can't even get out flyers. As I mentioned, probably 90% or more residents don't realize what's coming. It's going to look like Beirut.

Here's the part I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around: the entire area affected is represented by one councilman. But he's not part of the public works board. So he gets no vote.

Come the vote of the Council, he has just one vote. Everybody else voting is from outside the district. They're going to vote to rape our neighborhoods, and they won't even be accountable at the ballot box, because nobody will know about it.

At one time or another, many members of TFL and THR have talked about SHTF scenarios, or situations in which they would stand up to government.

This is coming awfully close. The city engineer wants to rape our neighborhoods, cut down roughly 33% of the mature trees, install gutters and concrete curbs that will require the virtual  destruction of everyone's front yard, and do whatever else seems to satisfy his perverse interests.


These elected officials are nuts. They're on a power trip that I hope ends soon.

Preacherman

  • Senior Member
  • **
  • Posts: 776
Eminent domain again, or something like it
« Reply #1 on: October 30, 2005, 05:58:01 AM »
O simian limb, I think there's more to this than meets the eye.

-  Why would your city do this in a region/suburb/area/whatever that obviously doesn't generate huge volumes of income for them, in terms of rates, taxes, etc?  Where is the money coming from to do this?  I suspect that once it's done (or even while it's being done) you're going to find your rates skyrocketing upward, because of the "increased value" of your properties with all these "improvements".

-  Is your area targeted for expansion?  I think the only reason to put in these "improvements" is to make the whole area more desirable for outsiders to move into - and I suspect that once they're in, they'll be used as the foundation for further expansion to build new suburbs, malls, etc.  They're the basic infrastructure on which the expansion will depend.

-  If this is being foisted on you from outside, what big-money interests are involved?  There's no logical reason for your city council to spend money on these things unless they expect a return on investment.  So, who's expecting the return?  Who's putting pressure on the council to get this done?  I suspect it's rather more than one engineer's determination to ensure that he's memorialized by his "improvements" - the old rule of "follow the money" is worth remembering in this situation.  Where is the money?  Where has it come from?  Who may invest in the area once it's "improved"?

Hope this helps, and I'm sorry about your situation.
Let's put the fun back in dysfunctional!

Please visit my blog: http://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/

Monkeyleg

  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 14,589
  • Tattaglia is a pimp.
    • http://www.gunshopfinder.com
Eminent domain again, or something like it
« Reply #2 on: October 30, 2005, 11:59:01 AM »
Preacherman, I'm inclined to believe that it has something to do with bribery.

The city engineer says that we have a problem with standing water. We don't. There are only a couple of areas that get large puddles in the road following heavy rains, and those areas could be addressed in other ways.

Man, I'm really steamed about this!

brimic

  • friends
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 14,270
Eminent domain again, or something like it
« Reply #3 on: October 30, 2005, 03:15:11 PM »
Probably the worst loss will be the trees. Those cannot be replaced in a person's lifetime. They did something similar back in my hometown a few years ago- widened the roads, put in curbs, gutter etc, the street that was shaded by 100+ year old trees now looks like a brand new subdivision but with 75-120 year old houses. Its an eyesore and is completely out of place.  Not very encouraging I know. Sad
"now you see that evil will always triumph, because good is dumb" -Dark Helmet

"AK47's belong in the hands of soldiers mexican drug cartels"-
Barack Obama

Standing Wolf

  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 2,978
Eminent domain again, or something like it
« Reply #4 on: October 30, 2005, 04:05:32 PM »
Excess tax dollars looking for a good cause.
No tyrant should ever be allowed to die of natural causes.

Monkeyleg

  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 14,589
  • Tattaglia is a pimp.
    • http://www.gunshopfinder.com
Eminent domain again, or something like it
« Reply #5 on: October 30, 2005, 05:52:23 PM »
brimic, that's one of the biggest concerns of residents here. One street is going to lose almost all of the trees. I probably won't lose my huge maple tree but, if I did, my house would look like a plain old box.

Excess tax dollars? Wisconsin is going through a real budget nightmare, as are all of the communities in the state. The city is going to charge a special assessment to the owners of each affected home, but it will only be 20% of the total cost. The other 80% will be paid by the other taxpayers in Greenfield.

The city engineer keeps saying that "clear water" (whatever that is) is getting into the sanitary sewer system because there's insufficient drainage of rainwater into the street sewers. That's his whole rationale for this project. How would rainwater getting into the sanitary sewer system be a problem?

I talked to my alderman today for the umpteenth time, and reminded him what happened to previous elected officials who agreed to these kind of road projects (they all got booted from office). I also told him that I will make it my mission in the next election cycle to start a movement in Greenfield to vote every last single elected official out of office.

I also asked if the city engineer was an appointed position or an elected position. He said it was elected.

I asked what happened to the previous city engineer.

He was voted out, the alderman said.

After the Coldspring road project disaster? I asked.

He sheepishly said, "yes."

These guys just don't get it.

brimic

  • friends
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 14,270
Eminent domain again, or something like it
« Reply #6 on: October 30, 2005, 06:08:36 PM »
Quote
The city engineer keeps saying that "clear water" (whatever that is) is getting into the sanitary sewer system because there's insufficient drainage of rainwater into the street sewers. That's his whole rationale for this project. How would rainwater getting into the sanitary sewer system be a problem?
Can be summed up in a few words:

MMSD
Engineers
Corruption

You guys are footing the bill for Milwaukee's Dep sewer fiasco.


Quote
The city is going to charge a special assessment to the owners of each affected home, but it will only be 20% of the total cost. The other 80% will be paid by the other taxpayers in Greenfield.
...and they don't even have the common courtesy to give you a reach-around
"now you see that evil will always triumph, because good is dumb" -Dark Helmet

"AK47's belong in the hands of soldiers mexican drug cartels"-
Barack Obama

richyoung

  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 1,242
  • bring a big gun
Eminent domain again, or something like it
« Reply #7 on: October 31, 2005, 04:22:44 AM »
Clear water in the sanitary sewer is a problem because it increases the total volume of sewage - when the total volume exceeds the treatment plants inflow cpacicity, untreated sewage is discharged, which is a big 'no-no" to the EPA.
Those who beat their swords into plowshares will plow for those who don't...

Strings

  • Guest
Eminent domain again, or something like it
« Reply #8 on: October 31, 2005, 06:35:11 AM »
brimic: I immediate;y thought of the Deep Tunnel myself...

 Dick... you REALLY need to get out of Milwaukee, and back to America... Wink