Agenda Bizz 5 March 2014
Hmmm. Maybe,
just maybe, Executive Director of the Fay-Penn Economic Development Council, Michael A. Jordan, Jr. resigned, because
he has a conscience...
Oftentimes, one's personal health
is affected by personal choices...
One can at least envision...
seeing and understanding the immediate hypocrisy of Fay-Penn - a non-profit, by the way - acquiring brownfields and undeveloped
properties with existing problematic soil and land situations at little to dollar-bill costs, receiving millions upon millions
in state grants and no-interest loans to develop blighted properties, then turning around and acknowledging sell-price to
a multi-million dollar Fortune 500 company, for instance, or mega-manufacturing plant executives is going to be the same proposed
sell-price to the county - Mr. Jordan rethought his life's occupation.
How many millions for 58 acres of undeveloped land situated in the so-called Dunbar Township (industrial) Business
Park? $1.5 million and climbing.
Should
the county leaders be so irresponsible to actually purchase the 58 acres (knowing DEP has had to pay visits to surrounding/adjacent
private-businesses located in the industrial park), the county is scheduled to obtain approximately $30 million in borrowed
tax-anticipation loans to fund the construction costs and associated costs for building a new prison complex.
Over a some 30 years of interest on the loans, costs to taxpayers would double,
so nearly 3 generations will be paying off a loan, a loan that cannot ever be defaulted on if there is a downturn in the economy,
or few if any new taxpayers are attracted to Fayette County, those few taxpayers remaining in the county will be faced with
paying off at threat of LOSS OF PROPERTY if they don't pay up.
Meanwhile, Fay-Penn enjoys grants, little to no interest on government loans, ability to pay to acquire any property
it so desires at any cost as taxpayers subsidize Fay-Penn and have since the early 90s.
The proposed 58 acres the county is in the process of purchasing for whatever asking price, does not have even the
basic infrastructure - yet? What has Fay-Penn been doing with the $7.5 million grant from the state?
Truth and transparency? Great equalizers those. Balanced mind, body,
and spirit, and open quasi-government? One can envision. Maybe it has happened, or will.
