'
WRRB/Telegram District City Council Forum 10/18
-
This forum is for all district council candidates; all candidates are here
today. Format: 14 total questions, 4 questions across districts (for all
candida...
6 months ago
7 comments:
Do we know if union only is mandated by either a PLA, or by the TIF, or as part of our $64M loan from the feds (I assume).
Murray and Havana Jim must be BS. Look for more behind the scenes giveaways to St V's in exchange for "labor peace", esp. given how many guys are standing around the union hall with no work. Think of it as "reverse linkage"
If St V's prevails will the RN's march with the hardhats or refuse to work in a non union built facility?
And yes, I had a union book years ago for a few years in the building trades. No paid vacations, no paid Huala-daize, no paid personal/sick days, no work and no pay it if rained, zero job security and/or seniority, and ya usually dont put out on a job unless ya flipped the BA a little something.
Bill,
I’m not sure who your “reliable sources” are but the St. Vincent Cancer Center is too important to be derailed by any CC mandates. There will be some sort of compromise to work things out to everyone’s satisfaction. Without this building, Front Street does not get extended to Washington Square right away.
And according to the morning paper, “the CitySquare development team is working on bringing a hotel and residential development to the project.”
When the Crowne Plaza closed it was mentioned then that a new downtown hotel would be built to make up for the lost rooms. It was actually cheaper to build a new one rather than update/renovate the existing hotel at Lincoln Square. A win-win for the city! MCPHS buys the former hotel increasing their presence downtown and the city center gets another brand new hotel.
The momentum is finally coming to fruition for downtown Worcester!
Dave
As reliable as my source who told me Hanover was coming in to take over from Berkeley.
Have also heard the new hotel rumor. pretty reliable sources, but also told that if Cancer Center does not come the hotel may not either.
Dave, the Cancer Center is a huge win for Worcester . I hope we keep and the hotel follows.
Bill
This topic is about 3/10ths of a mile outside of Worcester, but my sources tell me (99% reliable) and I had kinda guessed as much..but the new hotel slated for 290 & W Main St in Shrews-berrie has "money/ financing issues".
Maybe this is old news to some, but it's new to me.
Glad to hear City Sq is moving forward w/rumors of a Hotel.
More distortion re: RE taxes:
From Todays T&G:
"Councilor-at-Large Frederick C. Rushton said the cancer center project would be cost prohibitive to build in Worcester without a TIF. He underscored that the tax-relief deal will not impact the municipal budget or the city tax rates in any way.
CC Rushton fails to realize that to the extent others RE taxes go down, everyone elses go up. CC Rushton also fails to realize that RE taxes have NOTHING to do with BUILDING COSTS. RE taxes have everything to do with daily, weekly, monthly , & yearly OPERATING COSTS
So if the cancer center would be cost prohibitive to build in Worc w/o a TIF, isnt the logical leap that Commercial RE taxes are too high?
And speaking of TIFs.........lookin' like Mayor JOBeeee and Konnieee might be headed for another tiff before thsi St V's situation breaks ground.
Soooooooooo .... if Medical City did not play a role in turning around downtown Worc, is it not a logical leap that another new medical facility will similarly not make any inroads in turning around DT Worcester?.....esp. if the new facilty is going to be for cancer patients.
Again, i am just making logical inferences here based on past history.
Erecting new buildings to cure what ails DT worester is like buying your heroin shooting, booze guzzling, and Jailbird wayward child a new car in teh hopes that he will turn his life around.
Jahn,
As Bill already pointed out earlier, there would be no hotel development possibility without the St. Vincent Cancer Center. CitySquare is all about critical mass along with the other positive activities in the planning stages for DT.
This is a completely different philosophy than the city employed in the past when they would simply work one project at a time expecting that sole project to be the panacea that would revive DT.
I do agree with your point that the commercial tax rate needs lowering. I sincerely hope the CC continues moving in that direction this November when next year’s tax rate is set. Then the need for TIFs would be greatly reduced.
David, with all due respect Worcester Center in the late 1960's was all about critical mass. A huge shopping structure with two office towers. Apparently successful at its out set, 20 years after opening it was on life support and the feeling was (not sure that i agree) that Worc Center sucked the life out of the old DT.
David, glad to see we agree re comm tax rates. I do not know what is wrong with the Comm property owners in Worcester, but they should march en masse to City Hall re: these comm tax rates that are 2x + more than residential rates.
Post a Comment