LLOYD Visits OC 104

UNIVERSAL RECORDING ARTIST LLOYD MADE A STOP IN GEORGETOWN, DELAWARE TO THE WOCQ (OC104/Salisbury/Ocean City, Md.) STUDIOS ON TUESDAY, MARCH 25TH TO PROMOTE HIS NEW SINGLE & ALBUM.

PICTURED FROM L TO R ARE PD DEE-LITE, POOT, SWEEET ALFIE, LLOYD, JESSICA, CROOKIDD, APD/MD BILL BAKER "THE RUMPSHAKER", & CHUBB LOVE.

Housing Market Crash "Quote of the Week"

"What started in subprime is likely to continue cascading into the markets and keep the economy down until 2010, Bottom line for homeowners: An average drop of 25%."

Princeton Economist & New York Times Columnist Paul Krugman

The Daily Times Can't Get It Right

While The Daily Times had a feature article yesterday in the Business Section titled, House sales rise unexpectedly in February, today the Associated Press put out the following statement. Sales of new homes fell in February for the fourth straight month, pushing activity down to a 13-year low as the steep slump in housing continued.

The Daily Times stated sales rose 2.9% in February, yet today's article stated sales dropped 1.8 percent last month. That would be FEBRUARY, wouldn't it?

Oh well, while you're PAYING for their news and information, you're not getting your moneys worth, IMO.

Don't Let Rebates Fool You

Last month I went out and bought a new 2008 Toyota Pickup Truck. I made every attempt to do so right here in the Salisbury area but no one was willing to budge lower than the Factory Rebate, swearing there's no real profit and they're in huge demand.

My Son told me about a friend of his who worked at a dealership, Car Max in Jessup Maryland who would be willing to give me a great deal on one. This Dealership is set up to make a one time offer with a discount and there's no haggling past that price. Considering this was thousands of dollars less than what our area could offer, I made the trip over the Bridge to see if this was for real or not?

When I arrived, we looked over a fantastic selection and I asked, do you have one in black? They did not but they were happy to look at another Dealer close by to see if they had one. The Salesman said he had located one, why don't we go to lunch and he'd have it there at their Dealership in an hour.

By the time we returned from lunch, there it was. It was exactly what we wanted and the price was more than reasonable. On Monday I went to the Delaware Motor Vehicle to pay the taxes and get the tags and to my surprise, they charged taxes on the rebate.

Considering the taxes were only around 3%, who cares. However, when you're purchasing a vehicle and you get a rebate, know they will charge you taxes on that rebate. That was my experience anyway.

Idiot Eludes Wicomico County Sheriff's Deputy

While Deputy Joel Arnold was doing a routine speed trap on Jersey Road he pulled over this vehicle. He walked up to the car and just as soon as he got to the drivers side window, the Idiot took off like a bat out of hell. Racing down Jersey Road he failed to negotiate a turn near Adkins Road, swerved across the road, hit a power line pole and went airborne while landing on the hood of the vehicle. Deputy Arnold stated he had been in excess of 100 mph during the chase.

A Chopper was brought in but the diver was conscious when they extracted him from the vehicle so they took him to PRMC in an Ambulance. They did find a large bag of weed on the scene.

Why the Wicomico Park Deal Smells of a Sweetheart Deal

IF the Wicomico County Council is truly serious about being good fiscal stewards then they can't possibly vote for buying the Davis property for use as a park. I truly hope that our elected officials do take their responsibility seriously.

There are many excellent reasons for putting a new park on the west side of the Salisbury metro core. Those of us that were able to attend Tuesday night's public hearing heard them. Unfortunately for the park proponents, they were unable to present any valid argument for the county putting the park on THAT PARTICULAR PIECE OF LAND. Instead, the proponents would gloss over the "appraisal problem" and go straight to "it's for the children".

Now I don't mean to ridicule the proponents of the park. I'm the first to admit that I have an innate prejudice against such an argument due to eight years of Bill Clinton in the White House. I'm still waiting for Clinton to claim that he stained Monica Lewinsky's dress because it was "for the children".

Nevertheless, opponents of the park provided too many alternatives to putting a park on the sight advocated by County parks chief Gary Mackes. While I didn't agree with all of the proposed alternatives (such as using a small, unobtrusive section of Pemberton Historical Park) these alternatives should be thoroughly explored. Since the vast majority of the park proponents want ball fields, one alternative seemed particularly interesting - a parcel that the county already owns just a few miles up Nanticoke Road.

To make matters worse, no proponent of the park seems to be able to overcome the "appraisal problem". Why should the taxpayers pay $18,000 per acre for property when there is other land nearby available for far less? This isn't speculation. One lady, a Mrs. Black, stood up and stated that her farm is for sale and she has been unable to sell it at $5,000 per acre.

I understand that the Davis property has been subdivided and that it's value should be higher. So what? If land is available nearby, for a far cheaper price, doesn't it make sense to sacrifice a little convenience (location) to save the taxpayers a sizable chunk of change?

IF Mr. Mackes had presented alternative sites to the public. ... IF Mr. Mackes made a semi-objective case for each piece of property. ... IF Mr. Mackes was willing to publicly defend his choice in comparison to the other alternatives, that might make a difference with the public.

Mackes was quite forthcoming one on one. He makes a good argument for several of the problems I have seen with this proposal. Unfortunately, the milk seems to be spoiled. When you have citizens coming to a public hearing and offering to sell their property because of the high price being offered for the Davis property (and gladly admitting that they can't get anywhere near that amount per acre for their property) the perception is that it's a sweetheart deal. When you add in the fact that the Davises are a prominent and well-connected family, the stench meter goes up a few more notches.

In all fairness, I don't know the Davis family. My only contact with any of them has been my opposition to the Hearne annexation, attending a few events at The Fountains, and listening to one member of the family testify at the education impact fee hearing. Mr. Davis was the only developer who testified in favor of the the education impact fee.

Whether any blame for this fiasco is held by the Davis family is now irrelevant. Any elected official who supports this particular land purchase will be tainted. Unfortunately for our seven council members, they will not have the luxury of straddling the fence as our County Executive has done. To support this purchase smacks of a sweetheart deal, whether it is or not. There is simply too much circumstantial evidence for the public not to conclude otherwise.

cross posted at Delmarva Dealings

Technorati Tags: Maryland, Wicomico, politics, Wicomico politics, Gary Mackes

2ND OPEN GOVT. FORUM STIMULATES CITIZEN INIATIVES

Salisbury City Council members Debbie Campbell and Terry Cohen held their second public input meeting Tuesday night on the topic of increasing transparency in city government. After a brief recap of developments from the previous such forum held in February, participants were introduced to citizen-driven initiatives on budget oversight and governmental accountability taking place in other locales.

Following the presentations, attendees were given an opportunity to toss out questions about a wide variety of topics. Then they broke into workgroups where they defined projects of interest. These included collection of public safety data, a spending affordability analysis for short- and long-term planning, and access to line item financial data of the city, to name a few.

“We were pleased to see a number of new faces during this meeting,” Campbell said, noting that some previous participants also came while others who could not attend noted their desire to stay involved. “These citizens are ready to roll up their sleeves and make a positive contribution,” Campbell added.

Further details from the meeting will be forthcoming on their website, HERE within the next day or two. For more information, contact council members Debbie Campbell, 410-860-0893, debbiescampbell@comcast.net, and Terry Cohen, 410-845-0296, Terry@TerryCohen.com.

West Metro Core Park aka Crooked Oak Park

The two land appraisals used in determining the purchase price for the land for the proposed West Metro Core Park are now public. They are available for review in the County Executive’s Office during regular business hours.

James V. Fineran

Wicomico County Public Information Officer
Government Office Building
125 N. Division Street
Salisbury, MD 21801-4940
410-548-1974
410-548-4803 fax
jfineran@wicomicocounty.org

The Numbers Just Don't Jive

Back on Feb. 21, 2008 I wrote an article about another spill at the WWTP. Ironically, two years ago to that exact date I have put together the very first article about my findings at the Salisbury WWTP. GO HERE to see the original article.

Their numbers are all over the place. A 4 minute spill only released 28,000 gallons of crud into the River. A month or so ago it was a 20 minute spill and only 5,000 gallons of crud. Let me assure you Ladies & Gentlemen, I have a phone message describing the spill and let me assure you, it wasn't pleasant. It explains a fountain of sewage shooting into the air and what started out being almost 200,000 gallons all of a sudden dropped to 5,000 gallons. Whoops, we screwed up the numbers, a valve wasn't working properly.

Like I said yesterday though. There's no way 5,000 gallons or even 20,000 gallons would make it all the way from the Plant area all the way over to the River. Not unless it flows through a pipe directly into the River. Wouldn't it be nice to live in a community whenever the Mayor made a statement everyone would just say, wow, that's a shame. Instead, Salisbury is loaded with BS excuses and once they see the public outcry, the following day they create all new numbers on everything they do.

Then again, who's counting?

Crooked Oak Comments

Last night at the Civic Center many people showed up to voice their opinions about the proposed "park" on Crooked Oak Ln. Although there were about 50 - 60 people, I had hoped that more would attend. The important thing was that people showed up to take part in the democratic process. A great deal of information was shared ranging from property value to soil composition.

Rick Pollitt was not present and thats fine. This was not a question and answer forum and Ricks job was get the matter before the legislative body. It was the Councils responsibility to hear the comments from the public so that they can use the input to represent the will of the people when they vote on this matter.

Now - down to brass tacks. I did not count the number of people for or against "a" park but I believe it was about 50/50. BUT that's not the end of the story. Many of the people who spoke in support of "a" park were not supportive of either a park at that location OR a park which costs more than what is fair.

Those who spoke in favor of a park at that location regardless of the cost seemed to me to be driven by what they perceived to be good for "the children" of Wicomico County. They didn't offer much rebuttle to the claims that the infrastructure couldn't support the park or that the costs to improve the infrastructure would be incredibly high at a time when we are, by some estimates, suffering from a 10 million dollar backlog of road repairs we cannot afford to make. Neither did they rebut, with any substance , the claims that the appraisals were extremely suspect. They seemed to be of the mindset, by and large, that we need a park for the children regardless of the cost or impact.

Those who spoke in opposition to the purchase of the land at that location for a park seemed to have taken the time to either gather facts or engage in thought relating to the impact this park would have. I was part of this group. Let me say that I went to this meeting with an open mind AND the opinion that we don't need another park. When I left, I was of the opinion that we do need another park....but that we should use land we already have.

As I mentioned in my earlier post prior to last nights meeting, I had been in contact with John Cannon and Rick Pollitt in attempts to get some questions answered as well as to get copies of the appraisals for review. I was unable to get them in time for the meeting so I contacted an appraiser and a real estate agent. I was told by this appraiser that a fair market value of this property (with which he was familiar) was approx. $1,250,000.00. The real estate agent conducted a market analysis of the property in question which resulted in a price of approx. $1,185,000.00. I trust the aforementioned sources without question and have ALWAYS found them to be on the money. The two appraisals completed at the direction of the County Exec. are now avail. for review. I got an e-mail from Rick Pollitt yesterday at about 1:00 p.m. I intend to get copies of these appraisals and have my appraiser render his opinion. The fact is I want to know for sure if the cost for this land is as ridiculously high as it seems. I believe that the appraisals are way way too high. When I gave my opinion last night I expressed that this land deal stinks. I explained that I wasn't accusing anyone of wrongdoing but that in light of recent events there is a feeling that the county is crooked and that this deal wreaks of impropriety. If Rick Pollitt and this Council want to rebuild the trust of their citizens in their government, they MUST avoid deals like this at all costs.

In support of the figures I presented last night, many people stood to state that they also belived the cost per acre ($18,000.00) was way too high. One couple currently have a 200 acre farm with 4 wells for sale in Hebron, which is not too far from the property in question. This property has been listed for sale for two years. It is listed at $6000.00 per acre and they have been told that the price per acre is about $1400.00 per acre too high! This may be a viable alternative.

Another gentleman stood to advise that he has a couple of parcels which, I think, total 70 acres right on Rt. 50 in Hebron with access to major roads that would appear to be able to handle the increase in traffic without the disruption of local rural neighborhoods.

I don't know Gary Mackes. I didn't even know what he looked like until last night. Admittedly, I've never had a high opinion of him due to the fact that I believe he has been instrumental in creating a situation where OUR high school students have to go to another county to have their prom (This is a battle which I will most assuredly fight at another time). Despite this fact, if the statements made relating to the ten year search for property for a park on the west side of Wicomico county are true, then Mr. Mackes has failed to do enough to actively seek real estate that would fit the bill in a manner which would make the best use of taxpayers money. Plain and simple.

I have heard from Rick Pollitt that this is not county tax money. That it comes from real estate transfer taxes. This money still belongs to the tax payers. This tax was put in place by our elected officials pursuant to an act of legislation. Legislation could be enacted to re-route this money to the general fund to ease the tax burden on the citizens of this state.

Folks, we are on the brink of $4.00 per gallon gas prices. We have seniors on fixed incomes who must make decisions on what they can cut from their food budget in order to heat their homes. We have families with children who are cutting things from their budget to be able to afford the gas to get back and forth from work. People are being laid off due to a "slump" in our economy which may prove to rival that of the early '80's. In spite of this our state is reaching into the pockets if its citizens to fund a self-imposed 1.4 billion dollar budget deficit, yet they manage to fund projects like "Open Spaces" which permits millions of dollars to be spent by individual counties on land aquisition, then say it's not tax money.

I am asking our local officials to make a stand. Don't spend this money. Send a message to our state legislators that we need to stop this frivolous spending and ease the burden on it's citizens. We cannot justify squandering tax payers money on a local level then demand fiscal restraint at a state and federal level. It has to start right here.

Did Bill McCain Violate Wicomico County Ethics Rules?

It's a rare occasion when I am able to attend a Wicomico County Council meeting. Although I try to watch the meetings on PAC-14, I was unable to watch the March 18, 2008 council meeting. Therefore, it was with great interest that I read a charge made by local blogger Bill Duvall that Wicomico Councilman Bill McCain (D - At-Large) had behaved unethically by performing an appraisal on property that a developer wanted an easement on.

A few days later, Duvall reaffirmed his charge, claiming that he had rechecked the issue. I've deliberately shied away from this issue because I had not been able to view the meeting. Well, I finally got a chance to view the meeting yesterday. Unfortunately, Duvall misstated what occurred.

Here's a synopsis:

- A request for a utility easement was made for the Iott / CrossRoads business park development. McCain immediately stated that he had to recuse himself because he had a business relationship with the developers.

- Councilman Joe Holloway questioned whether or not McCain's actions were ethical.

- No one objected sending the matter to the County Ethics Commission.

Now Holloway was absolutely correct in questioning the matter and questioning McCain's behavior. McCain was not totally clean in the way he handled this. When he told the Council that he would recuse himself, that was it. He should have never entered the discussion over this matter, which he did. In addition, McCain stated that he was recusing himself because of a "business relationship". Now this certainly wasn't a lie, but some people would take McCain's explanation as being less than honest since he had actually done an appraisal on the piece of property in question so that the developers could use it in asking for their easement.

However, Duvall wants to infer something far more nefarious:

The Council was asked to approve the conveyance of the easement in consideration of the payment of a sum to the county determined by an appraisal. Buried deep in the paperwork submitted to the Council was the identity of the appraiser.

Who was it, you ask? Oh no, it can't be Billy Mac, can it? But he never disclosed to the Council or the public that he was double dipping and playing both sides of the deal.

McCain recused himself right from the start. Granted, he should have immediately disclosed that he had performed the appraisal for this particular piece of property; but he certainly didn't deny the fact.

Hopefully we will hear from the Ethics Commission in the near future. I hope that they draw the correct conclusion and that McCain takes their ruling to heart. However, to paraphrase Joe Holloway - I don't think that McCain's appraisal was wrong, I just think that the whole think doesn't look right.

Holloway is correct. While there is no doubt that McCain's job will be the source of countless conflicts during his tenure on council, as long as they are properly disclosed and McCain recuses himself there shouldn't be a problem.

cross posted at Delmarva Dealings

Technorati Tags: Maryland, Wicomico, politics, Wicomico politics, Joe Holloway, Bill McCain, ethics, Bill Duvall, blogging

Cell phones - New Law

According to a proposed new law that would go into effect Oct 1, 2008 you will no longer be able to use a cell phone while driving unless you have a 'hands free' adapter. I went to Circuit City and they wanted $50 for a headset with a microphone for my cell phone. Having a friend in the cell phone business, I talked with him and was able to come up with an alternative, working through Office Depot.

These kits are compatible with any mobile phone and one size fits all. I paid him $0.08 each because he bought in quantity. Then we tried it with Motorola, Sprint, Verizon and Nokia units and they worked perfectly.

A photo is attached so scroll down & take a look and let me know if you want one.

Municipal Hotel/Motel Tax Bill Moving

After the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee voted unfavorably on the Municipal Hotel/Motel Tax bill (SB 131/HB 178), the bill was reconsidered by the Committee and voted out with amendments to restrict the imposition of the tax to only those counties without a hotel tax that dedicates more than 50% of the monies to tourism and those counties that don't already have a hotel tax. As a result of these amendments, only municipalities in Montgomery and Somerset Counties would be
eligible to impose the hotel/motel tax. The House bill has not been voted on in the Ways & Means Committee as yet. Last year, the House passed a similar bill without the restrictions added in the Senate. Assuming the House again passes the bill as introduced, both would go to a conference committee to address the components that differ, including the provisions added in the Senate, some of which are constitutionally questionable.

[source: MML's e-bulletin -- March 24, 2008]