I understand that we need something to spark some kind of excitement to get things going in order to revitalize Downtown Salisbury but let's look at the history for a moment.
I don't want to beat a dead horse but if you'll recall, I personally offered $250,000.00 for this building many years ago. Former Mayor Barrie Tilghman and the City Council then created new legislation in order to block any chance of my being able to purchase the property. Councilman Gary Comegys publicly stated he would not allow Joe Albero to purchase that building.
They did what is called a drive by appraisal and even with that they determined the property was worth, (as I recall) around $300,000.00+.
Years later they did a formal appraisal and learned the property was worth around $700,000.00+. After a Council Work Session they are now entertaining a purchase from "G-Plus" for somewhere around, (ARE YOU READY) $70,000.00. They want to create a visual and performing arts center on the ground floor and apartments on the upper level.
After Palmer Gillis offered $100,000.00 for the property a few years ago I again publicly stated I would pay $110,000.00 but the powers to be wouldn't even discuss my purchasing the property.
Win or lose, when I ran for Mayor I introduced several packages in which we felt could ignite interest in revitalizing Downtown Salisbury. Because Mayor Ireton wants everything to be HIS IDEA, he's not even entertaining some of these ideas to move the City in the right direction. Look, I'm NOT saying every idea I proposed was the best idea. I'm simply saying there's a right way and a wrong way to do things. Giving away taxpayer assets is NOT the answer.
You MUST have at least one business that will draw the public to Downtown Salisbury. IF your going to GIVE away a property like this and since they created legislation demanding the City have a say in what you can or can't put in that building, WHAT THE HELL ARE IRETON AND DAY DOING? Put a Starbucks there! A Chic-Fil-A. Put something in there that would EXCITE a big investor.
I really think the taxpayers are being snowballed and once again, (with all due respect) G-Plus is connected to Palmer Gillis. I say all due respect because the man has taken incredible investment risks and like him or not, not many other people are stepping up who are willing to not only make huge investments in revitalizing properties but investors who have the resources to fill the space and make it work.
My personal beef is as mentioned above. Get a nucleus business in there that will draw people Downtown. IF your going to GIVE something away, GET SOMETHING BACK IN RETURN.
Gillis has made investments when he has had help from the good ole boy network! when they cards are stacked in your favor, who wouldn't jump right in?
ReplyDeleteanonymous 8:21, I could very easily purchase that property and do something with it. HOWEVER, let's look back at what happened to the Knorr Brothers and their purchase of the old Union Station.
ReplyDeleteI offered $35,000.00 ABOVE the asking price for that property after it sat on the market with no offers for one year. The former Mayor got wind of my purchasing it and allegedly made all kinds of proposals for the Knorr Brothers to purchase it and put a Brewery in there.
Once they purchased it and my deal fell through, (keep in mind I was offering cash with no contingencies) the Mayor and Council came back with something like $180,000.00 in impact fees for the Knorr Brothers to open that Brewery. They ultimately bought a property in Delmar, Delaware instead.
If I were to purchase that property, (or anyone else like me) the City would make very sure that it would be just as impossible to get anything done, therefore it's smarter to walk away and not get abused like so many other people have experienced.
You must be in that good ol' boy network, period.
YES, & we are outraged. This is nothing more than a handout,. Favoritism rules in this town. I'm so sick I could throw up!
ReplyDelete75K is a steal I'd have paid a hundred easy!(Were I in the market)
Joe has been right about everything. Fake day and the homosexual pansy do nothing mayor once again wasting tax payers money. We don't need some arts center. That building could be put to better use. The taxpayers own that building and they jusy give it away without asking the people what they would like to see go there. The downtown will evently turn into low income housing. These people had a chance to vote for better things instead they vote for a bunch of liberal democratic idiots.joe had so many great ideas and would have made a great mayor. So all you people that voted those do nothings in bend over and take it like ireton. Thing are only going to get worse.
ReplyDeleteHave said it forever, Salisbury is not nor has it ever been business friendly - we're just going to be another Detroit!
ReplyDeleteLow information voters rule!
ReplyDeleteThe Knorr brothers located in Delmar DE?
ReplyDeleteSurprised their fermentors weren't stolen, given the out of control crime rate and all.
I would build a gay strip club I bet those permits would go through ASAP.
ReplyDeleteIt's a fire station and it needs to stay a fire station.
ReplyDeleteIs that not TEN CENTS on the dollar??? THINK about that for a while.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of the fire department what are your thoughts on the Salisbury Fire Department trying to hire more firefighters? They just went through another testing process. That testing process costs money! Rick Hoppes and John Tull continue to gouge the tax payers.
ReplyDeleteanonymous 9:22, Good question. My thoughts are, there are LESS fires in Salisbury and across the nation.
ReplyDeleteBUT, the SFD might need a lot more Firefighters when they're attending parties in Ocean City for a week at a time.
You have droves of Firefighters traveling across the country inspecting new equipment on a regular basis and you'll NOT read any of that in the Daily Times or see it anywhere else in your local Media outlets.
Does it really take FOUR, (or more) Firefighters to go inspect a piece of equipment? Firefighters say the EXPENSE is included in the purchase of the equipment. DUH Idiots, do you really think TAXPAYERS aren't paying for that additional expense.
To answer your question, my hat is tipped to ALL of the other Fire Departments who cater and encourage VOLUNTEERS.
Salisbury seems to have this desperate desire to out-do Ocean City or ANY other similar sized Fire Departments.
Now don't get me wrong. There are many incredible paid Firefighters out there. I simply disagree that while smoke detectors and sprinklers do in fact help reduce the risks of some fires, I also believe code standards/requirements help reduce the possibilities of fires as well.
We don't live in the 1930's any more. Yes, there are many older structures on the Eastern Shore, ALL of which have been handled over the past 100 years by far LESS Firefighters AND equipment.
I'm sure my comment will bring a TON of debate but hopefully there will be less comments because they're all in Ocean City for their big annual one week drunk fest.
WHAT ABOUT THE WATER FRONT PROPERTY THAT WAS INCLUDED IN THE FIRST DEAL? That was taxpayers money in the grant the city used to purchased them.Is included?
ReplyDeleteJoe you make a great point in you last comment. The need is for Paramedics and not overpaid firemen. The city could save millions annually if they would recruit and retain good volunteers. This has not been done in over 15 years and that is because Rick Hoppes and his mentors have refused to cater to the volunteers. Jim Ireton doesn't care because it isn't his money being spent on these paid firemen. The current volunteers don't care because they are afraid the city will hire a fire chief who hates volunteers more than Rick Hoppes does.
ReplyDeleteIsn't there a gas tank on that property that will need to be removed? Is that why the city is dumping it so cheap?
ReplyDeleteYup the Cork Bar and Bearded Clam will be full of drunk farmin' all week long.
ReplyDeleteRick Hoppes is not qualified to be a chief.
ReplyDeleteFirst and foremost the property should be extensively advertised before it is sold to anyone in order to maximize it's value, which in turn may generate more in property taxes. Whoever buys it should be free to do as they please with it as long as zoning permits.
ReplyDeleteHas this property ever been advertised as being for sale or even lease? Jacob Day's sentiments in the DT's article was there was no other interest in this property but what attempt has been made to generate interest?
Lastly if the city is going to sell property for pennies on the dollar then the plan shouldn't be something that is going to only benefit 1% of residents.
Where is Ms Shields' on this? Any deals such as this where ultimately the city is losing, it should be attempted to benefit the residents proportionally. There are many more purposes the building could be used for that would accomplish this goal.
Joe,your offer was for more than the bldg is worth,no offense.The problem is that the citizens of SBY have voluntarily allowed their hands to be tied by their election choices.You did everything you could to change all of that.For reasons beyond my comprehension the majority decided on what we now have.I just hope that those who agree with you on this site also voted for you as I did.
ReplyDeleteYup, we are getting drunk, why don't you come join us.
ReplyDeleteI have a question. I happen to know of a business that is looking for just this type of building. What they need is a place to keep a few trucks and some equipment they use for the business. They have been looking and want to spend $150,000-$200,000 range. They operate all over the Eastern Shore and currently are headquartered in another county but are looking to spread out so employees don't have to drive so far to get to work and if equipment is suddenly needed it's available closer to jobs.
ReplyDeleteThey have not been able to find anything in this price range.
Would zoning or whatever allow this building to be used for something like this? It's not big trucks they use but pick up sized so noise would not be an issue.
Why aren't any questions being asked about the relationship between G2 and Jake Day? Day is close friends with the Gillis' and the Gilkersons and they all donated to his campaign. And as soon as he is elected they get an outrageously sweet deal on a prime piece of city property. Looks like the next generation of the good-ole-boy crony culture is in full effect.
ReplyDeleteI don't even know how Ms. Sheilds has made it on the council this long. She is the biggest waste of taxpayer money she does not listen to anything. She just votes yes to everthing. Be nice to have Debbie Campbell back again.
ReplyDeleteShanie Sheilds is brain dead and has been for quite sometime.
ReplyDeleteFake Day being bought by special interest groups should have told you something there.
ReplyDeleteIn order to be an effective representative of her "people" as she calls them, Ms Shields needs to be asking questions about this deal. Yes, of course the response is going to be something along the lines of the minority communities are more than welcome to visit, participate....whatever in the arts center which of course we all know.... but will they? No or atleast not anywhere near proportionally to their population within the city.
ReplyDelete11:05-A mistake/oversight that a lot of prospective buyers make is looking for a for sale sign.To my knowledge there is no outward indication that the old fire house is for sale or lease.Even if there is a sign of some sort,the bldg is too embroiled in political gridlock to be an attractive buy.That bldg has cancer so to speak.Your friend does not want it.look elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteHOW DOES THIS NEW CITY COUNCIL GET AWAY WITH GIVING AWAY CITY PROPERTY TO REAL ESTATE COMPANY'S>>>>CALL THE I.G OFFICE.
ReplyDeleteanonymous 10:47 is correct.
ReplyDeleteThe citizens elected certain people to represent them and those representatives should first and foremost be fiscally responsible.
If ANY one of them had chosen to sell their own personal property/home, would they only contact friends and business associates, especially in this economy/market?
The City has not listed the property in multiple listing, allowing the citizens the opportunity to get the best results possible.
Instead, they have proven that a guy like me that comes along and offers $250,000.00 cash isn't good enough.
If there was ever a time when you citizens of Salisbury would ever believe this is all about special interests and doing favors for those people elected officials know or are committed to, now is the time and this is a prime example.
HOLD THE CITY AND YOUR REPRESENTATIVES ACCOUNTABLE.
Bottom line-Has the property been extensively marketed for sale? If not, then Jacob Day cannot say in good faith what he did about no one showing interest besides this developer in the property.
ReplyDeleteNow that being said I will give him the benefit of doubt and even some wiggle room. He was quoted as saying this in the DT's which I do take just about everything published there with a grain of salt. they have on occasion unintentionally misquoted someone and on occasion intentionally omitted what they don't want the public to know so their credibility and journalism is substandard.
Also Day is a newcomer and may not be fully briefed up on ever aspect of city business yet which is understandable but on the other hand if they are taking up this firehouse now he should know everything there is to know about it.
Bottom line I don't think we should hold Jacob Day to this quote just yet.
ANONYMOUS 12:13, BS!
ReplyDeleteJake Day is very familiar with the history of this property and absolutely should be held accountable.
Jake is desperate, (as is Ireton) to get something, (anything) going on Downtown revitalization. However, it is, (this time) at the cost of the taxpayer once again. Everything opposite of what Jake Day campaigned on.
Jake Day stated that he wasn't aware and had never heard that Jim Ireton wanted subsidized housing Downtown, another lie. Giving away EDU's, (300 of them) for Downtown parking lot development IS A SUBSIDY!
How much BS are you people going to take??? Are you really going to accept ten cents on the dollar????? Are you really going to say that the City can only get $70,000.00 for that building and property????
THE PARKING SPACES ALONE ARE WORTH MORE THAN THAT! Think about it!
friends taking care of friends, Isn't there a LAW about this?
ReplyDeleteLOL -Joe. I was being diplomatic. I know it's BS. I figure if they can sling it so can I!
ReplyDeleteThe building should be a 501C3 non profit. It should stay with the city. The firemen or interested people could set this up as "friends of the Salisbury Fire Department" Used for business meetings, receptions etc and the money used for up keep of the building.
ReplyDeleteIs this to difficult to understand?
The feldmans building that gillis purchased is sitting there now and looks much worse that it did to begin with. It is a shambles.
ReplyDeleteJake Day is a fraud and a phoney just like his army record. And all the empty airheads in Salisbury that vote a homosexual mayor in. Day is a sellout. People should have relized he was a sellout by that garbage flyer they sent in the mail. They are basically giving things away free. Lets see how many low income houses will be down there also.
ReplyDeletegillis is a con artist. if his name is involved, i'd never go near it or whatever he's involved in. if he builds something in the firehouse, i would make a point to tell everyone to stay away or boycott it.
ReplyDeletedowntown is lost. they could just put a couple million dollars in the parking lot downtown and burn it and keep the homeless warm this winter. the money would be at a better use that way.
not give it to a palmer gillis who needs nothing and is a joke.
If the city sends out an RFP (Request for proposal) and there is only ONE response (as I was told), what else do you expect them to do? It was published as required so I am told.
ReplyDeleteOnce again Salisbury is behind the curve, still living in the stone age. Gone are the days where city owned property is sold like this with all the strings attached. The wise lawmakers have realized that basically the government and it's bureaucracy doesn't have a clue and it's best left to the private sector to decide the best use of a property.
ReplyDeleteThe old way is something like this. In order to purchase these properties buyers had to demonstrate this and that, go though and plans be approved by 'committees' and all kinds of other baloney. Officials wanted to see things like art centers and other useless things in an ill fated attempt to revitalize. Rarely worked.
The new concept which has proven to be way more effective is to list the property though the MLS system (which does establish fair market value if agent is honest.) This also cuts down on all the time wasted with the bureaucracy and the 'committees' putting in their 2 cents (which we all know is useless since most if not all of these people have never been involved in a business anyway.)
It's a little surprising that with all the 'networking', seminars, workshops that some Sby council members have attended they aren't aware that this is how it's being done now a days.
That building is trash, just like feldmans and Parker place. It takes a group of people like this that have the money to invest in it. Nobody else wanted it. Let them have it and let them turn downtown into something special. That building is only worth 70k because whoever bought it has to spend 500k to get it up to code!!!
ReplyDeleteYeah, what's going on w/Feldman's?
ReplyDeleteI think the problem is Gilkerson is a builder and not really a developer. Noting against them but they aren't innovators in the field as was take Rouse for instance. The minds that were with Rouse were brilliantly creative. They came up w/the food court concept in malls for one. Of course Harbor Place, Columbia (village concept of living and first to implement cul de sac roads.
Remember - Day is a "smart growth" expert. Smart growth must mean selling property to friends at a 90% discount!
ReplyDeleteHow about this idea...Give Doug Marshall 2 months to sell the building at auction. Bidding starts at $75000 offer from G-Plus (Gillis Plus Day?). Let the market decide what it's worth!
anonymous 2:59, that's just a load of crap. That building is worth a LOT more than what it is going to be sold for. As I mentioned earlier, (yet some of you are too stupid to read all the comments) the parking spaces alone are worth more than $70,000.00. Would you like to argue that? A parking space in Salisbury is worth $30.00 a month. Take the side road that goes with the property, the parking spaces there as well as the parking spaces on the north side of the building and you can easily get a mortgage for $70,000.00.
ReplyDelete"Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteIf the city sends out an RFP (Request for proposal) and there is only ONE response (as I was told), what else do you expect them to do? It was published as required so I am told.
June 20, 2013 at 2:42 PM"
If only one proposal was submitted then this shows the process is most likely flawed and needs to be revisited and revamped. Possible and most likely reason is not enough marketing of the property.
anonymous 2:43, that's a cop out. This is EXACTLY why I stated during my campaign you need to get that jackass of a teacher out of the Mayor's Office and put a businessman in that office.
ReplyDeleteJake Day, (unfortunately) is proving he is no better.
You LIST the property with the very best ageant out there, NOT sell it to one of the best agents out there. Brad Gillis has his hands DEEP into the purchase of this property. Henry Hannah could have sold this property for damn good money years ago.
It's all about the Good Ol' Boys. List the property and give the taxpayers a chance to gain back losses like the stupid Fire Boat for starters.
You have non experienced clowns running your City. But hey, you elected them so you get exactly what you deserve.
2:59 I think no one else "wanted it" because few people even knew it was offered up for sale (starting to sound like that was by design maybe?).
ReplyDeleteAs far as "up to code"---- "up to code" for what? If someone wanted it to park a few vehicles in or use as a small distribution center for products they manufacture in western MD what upgrades would it need to be considered "up to code?" The biggest mistake being made is that no one is thinking outside the box and stuck on everything being residential and/or art related.
Also what's being done (and the phrase escapes me now but I'm think it's called a straw horse auction) is to hire out a company such as Marshall to take sealed bids. Deadline comes bids are opened and shortly thereafter (few weeks to a month) a regular auction is held and with the highest sealed bid the starting point. If no one bids then the winning sealed bid is accepted.
ReplyDeleteFirst and foremost the city needs to get out of telling interested purchasers what they can and cannot do with the properties. This should be dictated by the zoning of the property alone and maximizing the purchase price should be the top priority w/city owned ones.
ReplyDeleteLet's face it (and no offense intended) but if any of these so called "experts" within the city and appointed committee members who make these decisions were true "experts" their names would be synonymous with the likes of James Rouse and other great developers.
I have no idea who Henry Hannah is, but if you mean HENRY HANNA... that man has a better eye for real estate than anyone around except for maybe Bill Ahtes... and neither one of them would touch that place with a ten-foot pole.
ReplyDeleteJake Day is only for special interest groups and his buddies.If the low information voters and people had gotten off the butts and got out to vote we could have kept Debbie Campbell in and got that liar gay mayor out off office. Fake day is nothing but a wolf in sheeps clothing and now his true colors are coming out.
ReplyDelete4:20-Maybe HH doesn't want to get involved with the "bureaucracy?" I know of several (not local) who have been involved in successful development to the tune of 100's of millions in acquisitions up and down the Eastern Seaboard, DC suburbs and as far west as Richmond- who feel this way.
ReplyDeleteThe bureaucracy being the city dictating what the property should be used for.
Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteRick Hoppes is not qualified to be a chief.
June 20, 2013 at 10:45 AM
That's funny, but true!
Interesting enough Jim Ireton offered me Poplar Hill Mansion for $100,000 about 3 years ago. He wants to get rid of all city owned property. I say let's get rid of him!
ReplyDelete1:46 But, but he was featured in Metro... he has to be a leader and a saint.
ReplyDeletehaha
If selling City owned property gets it back on tax rolls IMO that is an excellent idea.
ReplyDeleteI'm a contractor/ developer and I'm on the City's Bidder List in good standing.
ReplyDeleteI have heard nothing of this offer at all to date.
This is an under the table deal, and a bad one for Taxpayers.
Watch one of the Gillis' run for city council along with Mike Dunn for mayor they will have the whole city in their pocket.
ReplyDeleteYou know Joe, you and I played this game before a few years ago when this property was up for consideration.
ReplyDeleteYour numbers BTW are wrong. The appraisal the city got from low bid appraiser Ralph Krum was that the property was worth a bit over $ 900,000. Yep... that pile of crap with major structural issues was worth close to a million dollars!
Hmmm...now I wonder if that low bid appraisal was competent? Surely a discount residential appraiser could get his analytical hands around this old institutional building! Or maybe he's not a competent commercial appraiser and the building is worth somewhere between 100-150K.
Objectively the property requires a lot of push ups to rehab it, but that's not really the issue. The issue at the center of this is that the city has no intention of letting such a visible landmark property be used for anything they are not onboard with. They will effectively give the property away if it will be developed in a manner they approve of.
Two other points to consider.
Point one even if the city did more or less give the property away there are massive retrofit costs to make the building habitable and useful on the order of 300-500K just as a start.
Point two is that all the waterfront land that went with the original deal is now gone. The parcels by the river are no longer part of the deal. The current parking attached to the building is only the small adjacent lot and side section.
Bottom line is that NO ONE , including you, other than the Gillis group has stepped up and said they will buy the building *subject to the city's use and development approval*.
That's the price if you want to play and so far they have been the only ones willing to dance to the city's tune. If you're not willing to dance that dance don't cry about it. It's their property and they can make whatever rules for disposition they want.
A little off the subject , but , the way I feel.
ReplyDeleteThey should not be called a "Firehouse" or "Fire Station".
They should be call "Medical Transport Station".
We do not need paid firefighters.
It is possible we don't need any firefighters.
If you look at the stats. it's a waste. We do need medical people.
We have enough volunteers to fulfill all of the needs in Salisbury and surrounding areas.
Most dwellings are self destruct by water and other things associated with controlling the fire.
Don't give me that crap about saving lives , medical people and volunteers can do that too.
Time for change people , get rid of the over rated firemen who have consumed the peoples minds as heroes since 911.
We wouldn't have to worry about issues like this post.
I keep on seeing the phrase "urban planner" being tossed around. A "urban planner" is nothing more than something that was made up so to create more government and quasi government jobs.
ReplyDeleteThe real true urban planners are the people who are willing to risk their own money, work hard and sacrifice to open businesses. These faux "urban planners" are really nothing more than obstructionists whose only goal is to dictate their own agenda.
" The issue at the center of this is that the city has no intention of letting such a visible landmark property be used for anything they are not onboard with. They will effectively give the property away if it will be developed in a manner they approve of."
ReplyDeleteThe city needs to stay out of it and let whomever use it "in a manner" they want to.
Think about it-Everything the city has touched for the past 30 some years has been a fiasco-old mall for instance. The same ones who created previous fiascos endorsed this latest group.
The city may think they know what's best but they are dreaming because reality says otherwise.
anonymous 7:38 & 7:46, Let's talk about "the City" for a moment.
ReplyDeleteYou have a young school teacher with absolute no financial business experience whatsoever. He purchased his home with special grant money and only knows about how great subsidies are to him and his close friends.
You have a Council President who, (is a nice guy) has no private business experience. Neither of them know what they're doing. You have one Council Member who has filed Bankruptcy and another one allegedly living off the taxpayers in subsidized housing.
I tried to convince you people that these people would screw up the City like there's no tomorrow ut clearly not enough people were listening.
Now, to those nay sayers who try to get comments published against me, let's talk about my background.
I owned a very large manufacturing company in which I was able to retire at 40 years old. In the past 15 years I purchased a home in OC for $300,000.00 and sold it for $1,600,000.00 a few years later. I purchased the old Fire Station 7 in Pittsville for $50,000.00 and sold it for $450,000.00. Every other property I own is paid for, 100%. There is no debt.
I think there is no doubt I am qualified to offer my opinion and if Jim Ireton and Jake Day were smart they's listen to my advice.
The problem is, they're too young and too immature to do what PROVEN successful people have done.
No one has ever said THEY HAVE TO LISTEN. A SMART person would take that FREE advice and use it to their advantage. Twist it any way you like to fit your own personality, I don't care.
These people aren't about what is BEST for the community and the best interest of the taxpayers. Their only interest here, (honestly) is to make claim that they somehow revitalized Downtown Salisbury, AT YOUR EXPENSE.
WAKE UP SALISBURY!
Any updates on what's going on with Feldman's?
ReplyDeleteI'm with you Joe. I'd like to know how many people told you that you were crazy when you purchased the old Pittsville FD?
ReplyDeleteI'm asking because I know of a similar story where a small virtually unknown group of investors approx. 30 yrs ago started buying up old dilapidated malls (MD, DE & VA) and everyone thought they were crazy. These old malls were converted into strip shopping centers and others office complexes and are successful still today. The naysayers including gov't officials all had their opinions and uniformly they were not positive. The investors kept on plugging away and ignoring the naysayers and today have assets well into the upper 10's of millions of dollars.
Ironically one of the main principals (from Montgomery county) did look into the old Salisbury mall. I don't remember any of the specifics though obviously they weren't interested for some reason.
anonymous 9:00, At the time I purchased the old Fire Station, many of my developer friends in Ocean City absolutely said I was nuts.
ReplyDeleteTo this day I still believe Pittsville is one of the best locations to invest on the entire Eastern Shore. They have water and sewer and property values are some of the best around.
While those nay sayers laughed at me, today 90% of them are now bankrupt and or barely hanging on. Keep in mind, I paid cash for ALL of the properties I own. The Banks were calling all of the loans, (if you'll recall) on ALL of the big developers and in the end they had nothing.
Let me say this as well. Years ago the Town of Delmar and I were both interested in the old Bank of Delmarva building in the heart of Downtown Delmar. I personally wanted the buy the building just to say, I own a Bank. So the desire to get the building wasn't great. Once I learned the Town was interested I sat down with the Mayor and some Council Members and shared my past experiences. I learned that the Maryland side had quite a substantial amount of money in the Bank so I suggested they pay cash for that property.
I attended the Council Meeting where the topic of purchasing the property was to be brought up and the Mayor at the time wanted to finance it. I stood up and again explained my experience and convinced them that if they paid cash for the property, should the Town get in financial trouble they would have all of that cash equity in the property and it would be putting good money after good money.
They ALL agreed and bought the property for cash. The Delaware side of Delmar had to finance ALL of their commitment, even borrowing money from the Maryland side, rather than a Bank.
Now, let's talk about the Old Mall for a second.
The investors that purchased the old mall in Salisbury were actually decent guys. The problem, THE CITY OF SALISBURY!
Every time these investors tried to move forward with that project, the City would shove them back 100 yards. The City continued to change the CODE on them so many times they finally gave up. That is why during my campaign I kept trying to tell people, Salisbury is the most unfriendly to business City in America.
The previous and current leadership convinced people to INVEST into Salisbury and once they did they treated them like a West Virginia Step Child, the Knorr Brothers is another example. The City could NOT stop them from using the well at their current location and purchasing the old Ice Plant was an extremely smart move on their behalf.
The taxpayers made huge mistakes in the past election, if you want to believe it was on the up and up.
Hold your elected officials accountable and next time vote for people who have business experience.
5:36 AM Time constraints getting to the fire house for volunteers, plus local, state, and federal, regs and training throws a monkey wrench into your vision.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said...
ReplyDeleteA little off the subject , but , the way I feel.
They should not be called a "Firehouse" or "Fire Station".
They should be call "Medical Transport Station".
We do not need paid firefighters.
It is possible we don't need any firefighters.
If you look at the stats. it's a waste. We do need medical people.
We have enough volunteers to fulfill all of the needs in Salisbury and surrounding areas.
Most dwellings are self destruct by water and other things associated with controlling the fire.
Don't give me that crap about saving lives , medical people and volunteers can do that too.
Time for change people , get rid of the over rated firemen who have consumed the peoples minds as heroes since 911.
We wouldn't have to worry about issues like this post.
June 21, 2013 at 5:36 AM
This guy is right on the money.
The building doesn't have major structural issues. Back some ambulances in there and tell the firemen they now have to become paramedics. Clean up the building and you are in business. The use hasn't changed and it can still stay a fire house.
Another person hit the nail on the head as well. It is a LANDMARK! It Is Salisbury's history. Why do we want to give it away and change it's use. You people need to wake up.
I agree with Joe 100% Salisbury is not business friendly at all. The only jobs that are coming to Salisbury are part time paying jobs mainly chain restaurants. Since that homosexual has been mayor what has really done to bring good paying jobs here NOTHING! Jake Day reminds me of used car salesman. He is not fooling anybody with that urban planner title. They are basically giving away valuable property on the taxpayers dime. Salisbury has no leadership.Ms Shields Fake Day and Pansy Liarton all remind of the three stooges. Anyone can see through their con game. You can only put so much lipstick on the pig. I know if we had Joe as the mayor and Debbie Campbell Salisbury would be going in a positive direction. Joe was the only one that had the brass to stand up to Ireton.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said...
ReplyDelete5:36 AM Time constraints getting to the fire house for volunteers, plus local, state, and federal, regs and training throws a monkey wrench into your vision.
June 21, 2013 at 9:29 AM
You are so wrong and obviously a paid fireman. So please tell me what time constraints? So please tell me what federal regulations? More scare tactics from the paid farmin!
I see June 21, 2013 at 4:38 PM's question wasn't answered. Must have been a troll that hates volunteers and want's to make sure his job is secure. It's nice to see the Trolls from the SFD still read your blog.
ReplyDeleteThe problem with Salisbury is that there have never been innovators at the helm. So now instead of coming up with something new and creative for the city the same old tired arts theme is being regurgitated in an attempt to reinvent Salisbury. The city was created due to agriculture and that's what ideas should focus on-making it a model city for sustainable agriculture with community gardens, more farmer's markets.
ReplyDeleteJoe mentioned the Station 7 firehouse and now restaurant. One thing to keep in mind is the fact that the SFD firehouse is a landmark and should be used as a fire department or EMS department. Why give away a city owned building and land mark to turn into a restaurant or rental apartments when there are so many vacant and available businesses downtown already. The Starbucks or Chik Filet's should be put in the vacant store fronts downtown, not in a fire station or a land mark. Fill those vacant store fronts first. Once downtown is thriving you will need that fire or EMS protection. Where are you going to put an ambulance downtown if it ever does take off? You will have to wait for one when the bridges are up? The visual and performing arts center on the ground floor and apartments on the upper level is just a ploy to get the building for pennies on the dollar. Palmer Gillis is smart enough to know that the mayor and the 3rd Friday crowd will fall for that artsy thing. Another thing he will do is completely turn it into apartments when someone forgets about the visual and performing arts center on the ground floor. AGAIN, there are already vacant and available buildings for sale on the downtown plaza. By the way the fire house is not really downtown, the Gillis' are smart enough to con the tax payers out of a free building because of some very unethical wannabe politicians. Someone else mentioned that there wasn't a big need for paid firefighters and they are correct. The need is for paramedics and if you check the call volume you will see that 95% or more of the fire engine responses are on EMS related calls. This is done for job security and they get away with it because no one is questioning it. If an EMS crew needs assistance then send another EMS crew. Oh wait, that can't work because all the staffing is on the fire trucks so they can chase ambulances. It can work and will work if you separate the EMS division from the fire division. There is no need to duplicate services. The reason the volunteers don't "get out" is because they aren't needed when you have all three fire stations staffed. Get a real Mayor who cares about saving money and investigating how departments are supposed to be ran and you will see things will work.
ReplyDeleteI think Ireton and now Day have man crushes on Brad and Palmer. Why else would they be so quick to give away our city property.
ReplyDeleteJune 22, 2013 at 4:43 PM is a comment worthy of a post.
ReplyDelete"Once downtown is thriving you will need that fire or EMS protection. Where are you going to put an ambulance downtown if it ever does take off?"
ReplyDeleteThis is an excellent point. The Mayor and current council majority are saying that now since the "obstructionists" are out of the way they are going to get things rolling downtown. If so then prudent and forward thinking would dictate that if downtown is going to take off as they hope and claim EMS will be needed.
If those bridges are up and all 3 Salisbury ambulances are busy on other calls how is a man or woman suffering a heart attack is going to survive waiting for an ambulance to reach them. It's not going to come from the $14 Million Super Fire Palace. Salisbury is already extremely congested and it the plaza takes off there will be no EMS to protect the lives our tax dollars were wasted on. The perfect place to house EMS units is in the old fire station.
ReplyDeleteThe Fire Palace, Station 16 on the Berry Bog, just got alerted for an engine and an ambulance to respond for a car accident on West Road. Paramedic 16 and Engine 16 responded. Then Rescue 16 responds with 4 personnel??? The call was placed "Under Control" in less than a minute. And guess who is in command of the incident? The guy that was suspended for a year after he was arrested by the Wicomico County Sheriff's Office for impersonating a police officer. What a reward for being a criminal. Now another ambulance is being dispatched for someone who just happened to realize they can get an insurance settlement if they go to the hospital. Over 12 people on that call and only 1 ambulance was really needed. What a waste of tax dollars. How many paid people are needed at Station 16 on a Sunday morning? They certainly don't need to staff to pieces of fire apparatus to respond on fender benders. The tax payers should be outraged. I just heard the wannabe cop just canceled the second ambulance. Yes the tax payers should be outraged.
ReplyDeleteJoe,8am and 9:15 well said but as you see who the majority of citizens in Salisbury voted for they don't care who runs this place.
ReplyDeleteA lot of people here are discussing Feldmans... Feldmans is at hold because of all of you tree huggers out there. They have to wait until a certain fish is done spawning. That time is near, and the city can now rebuild their bulkhead. without the bulkhead rebuilt, the site could not be redeveloped.
ReplyDeletewhere were all of you people on election day? Can i help engage all of you to make a positive change for this city, or is sbynews a discount therapist for all of you? what i mean is, do you really want change, and want others to have opportunities and making a change in salisbury, or do you want to talk about it and complain when, once again, the gillis' are doing something for the city (which of course is going to benefit them in some way, shape, form).
a lot of you folks have great ideas. ideas as good as anyone, including the gillis'. the difference is they do something about it, not just post about it on the blog.
Joe, I am surprised you aren't all over this request by Jim Ireton to hire a second assistant city administrator? The article was in the Daily Times and it has corruption all over it. The salary could be $98,000 and another $13,000 for bennies. It's strange how they orchestrated a memo request signed by Tom Stevenson, Rick Hoppes and Barbara Duncan. Part of the duties would be to oversee "Emergency Management."
ReplyDeleteEmergency Management is already covered by Wicomico County at the tax payers expense. Are they going to create another position? Joe you need to get on this and quick.
Shakeup coming to city staff
Overhaul would be first since 1950s
Jun. 23, 2013 |
Written by
Jeremy Cox
Staff Writer
SALISBURY — Salisbury City Administrator John Pick’s departure June 28 may not be the only big change coming to the upper echelon of the municipal government.
Mayor Jim Ireton’s administration has proposed adding a new staff member directly below the administrator in the city’s organizational chart. It would be a second assistant city administrator, who would earn between about $61,000 and $98,000 a year in salary.
The position is needed due to technological advances, increasing state and federal mandates and the overall growth of the government, according to a memo signed by Neighborhood Services Director Tom Stevenson, Fire Chief Rick Hoppes and Police Chief Barbara Duncan.
The City Council sounded a bit leery of the proposal when Stevenson and Duncan presented it to the board last Monday.
“We need numbers,” said Councilwoman Laura Mitchell, who often sides with Ireton’s policies. By adding an additional position, the city could “end up with more chiefs than Indians,” she added.
The reorganization would represent the city’s first major overhaul of the executive branch since the 1950s. It would reduce the number of immediate subordinates for each position from 7-9 workers to a more manageable 3-5, Stevenson said.
The change would reflect practices in the corporate sector, he added.
The new deputy administrator would oversee the information technology and human resources departments, according to the proposed structure. Tasks would include emergency management, employee grievances and overseeing the city’s communications on the Web, in social media and to the traditional media.
That last part might essentially turn that employee into the city’s public face.
The memo to council tried to soften the financial blow, suggesting that the recently approved 2014 budget already covers the salaries of the three employees. All the council would have to add would be benefits packages for the trio.
Pick told the council he couldn’t guess how much those packages would cost; Mitchell noted that a family plan typically costs the city about $13,000 apiece.
The memo doesn’t say where the money would come from. The city’s reserves fund may be an option.
The proposal comes as two internal candidates vie for Pick’s office. Ireton has publicly singled out current deputy administrator Lore Chambers as a suitable replacement, though her interest is unknown. Stevenson, who is slated to become acting administrator when Pick leaves, has said he would like the job.
jcox6@dmg.gannett.com410-845-4630On Twitter @Jeremy_Cox
http://www.delmarvanow.com/article/20130624/WIC01/306240015/Shakeup-coming-city-staff