Councilwoman Laura Mitchell has been going around telling people they also want to add WiFi to the entire City Park, (which will cost the taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars) so visitors can access the Internet there as well.
You have to wonder Ladies & Gentlemen, is the City the ONLY ones not experiencing the major recession/depression? $500,000.00 additional funds to the Zoo and another $150,000.00 plus for WiFi towers alone in the Park.
In the mean time, someone smashed out the window of one business on the Plaza. Granted, insurance covers these things but come on now. Where's the Police presence? Oh, that's right, there are more paid Firefighters than there are Police Officers. You just have to love the LOGIC of a school teacher leadership in Salisbury.
29 comments:
That was an insult to all the hardworking teachers in Wicomico County. It's not their fault the leadership in the city and at the board sucks! You can throw in the county too. It's better, but not by much.
If the City is providing free wifi to the Plaza and (maybe) the Park, I think they should go ahead and make it City-wide. The city taxpayers are paying for it, so they (we) should all be able to access it.
Free wifi for downtown should cost around 35-45K. Not 150. Unless they're paying off a good ol boy.
Free.. ain't free. Really, is this the best they can do to bring business to downtown? We should take the money the city made from the sale of the old fire station and use it for... opps never mind we gave that away didn't we.
anonymous 8:40, I never said it would cost that much for the Plaza. I said it would cost that for the City Park.
It will cost 35-40k A YEAR for the Plaza though.
Free Wi-Fi is just an easier way for government to track your online activities. We are paying to be spied upon.
I believe this exists in Berlin. Not sure how all encompassing it is but it seems to work for residents there.
anonymous 8:55, Really? Please do tell every one how it's WORKING. That was just about the most liberal statement I've seen in a very long time. Are you Laura Mitchell or Jim Ireton hiding behind anonymous, seriously?
8:28am. - Those who CAN = DO. Those who CAN'T = TEACH.
Hard working <> working 190 days a year, with government salary, vacation package and benefits.
So sick of hearing about "the poor teachers".
"I believe this exists in Berlin. Not sure how all encompassing it is but it seems to work for residents there."
Makes sense in Berlin. I can see using a laptop or meeting with clients on a park bench in Berlin. In Salisbury, the gang thugs will just steal your laptop, anyway.
A total waste and a typical feel good project. After watching the NSA collect meta data thee is no way I will use free wifi. You never know what they are monitoring. There is no free lunch econ 101.
How do they think this is going to help business downtown?? its only going to help the few residents and lawyers ( who can afford internet) This will NOT help the coffee shop or any restaurants because now someone will not need to go inside to purchase a meal or drink to use the wifi instead they will be able to just park their car on street and use it. HMMMM am I wrong? Is it proven to help business ( such as retail & restaurants ) ??
Just another idiotic rant from Joe "sour grapes" Albero. This is progress folks, something Bozo has no clue about.
9:11 AM
Crime is down in Salisbury! Didn't you get that memo?
9:19 - Ireton you need to go away or is it you Mitchell or Shields or Fake Day????
Hi there Chuck Cook (9:19)!
Laura Mitchell loves the free stuff, internet should be an entitlement in her eyes.
I wasn't able to make it yesterday to the meeting, was the wifi passed?
I was going to oppose the cost's of it as I had mentioned in the first article that was posted about it the proposal was way to expensive, wifi can be done for WAY less.
Start small with a few AP's then build it out if demand grows, or at least this would be the way it would be done if a business was running it that had to turn a profit.
I was going to mention at the meeting they need to sell ad space on the portal page to help with costs.
The teachers unions came out full force the last two elections, to get the Rick and his council buds to give them everything at the expense of everyone else. If this isn't control, you are just plain stupid.
Re: cutting it off at 6pm.
Isn't the idea to get people to the plaza? Often I'm not home from work by 6pm. I'm against taxpayers paying for this, but if they're going to do it then they should leave it on until at least 9pm. Otherwise all they are doing is serving the few who work in the area and perhaps some out of work people. If they are serious about expanding the number of people who eat, shop, etc... on the plaza then they will serve those people, many of whom aren't going to be able to use this gift from the taxpayers if it is shut off at 6pm.
anonymous 10:31, so we agree to disagree. That's a healthy thing and I appreciate your comment.
The Downtown Deli has now closed, the second Deli in the same location that couldn't survive.
It's truly unfortunate that these hard working people who have great intentions and actually serve decent food can't garnish the support of ALL of the thousands of people working Downtown.
Mind you, was it because people would rather have a hot dog from a stand that sits outside the GOB for a buck, (with all due respect) I don't know.
I have always said that Ireton and the Council continue to put good money after bad money. Again, it is the TAXPAYERS that are SUBSIDIZING Ireton's plans to revitalize Downtown.
It is NOT because there is a long term plan to rebuild the Riverwalk. Ireton has NO anchor business that will relocate Downtown to bring in the masses. Instead, they keep pulling the arts and crafts that have absolutely 100% proven will not work in Salisbury.
Seriously Folks, think about this WiFi plan for a moment. Do you really believe that will bring thousands of people Downtown, or is this, (again) putting the cart before the horse.
In business I'd say to my Staff, SHOW ME THE BUSINESS AND I'LL CONSIDER INVESTING! The LIBERAL way of doing things is complete BS. More importantly, it's at YOUR expense. And so many of you wonder why America is failing.
WiFi for $35k/YEAR? That's ridiculous. Maybe it costs that much for the first year due to installation, but maintenance should be about 10% of that. Other than recurring Internet service, and perhaps a hardware maintenance contract since equipment is living outside, you shouldn't have to do squat if it was properly configured in the first place.
A few thoughts on the stupid idea...
1. There are only a few places where you can actually sit down and use it.
2. There is a limited time period in which people would really want to sit outside and use free WiFi. Late April - June, and Sept-Mid Oct. Other than that, and it's too cold or too hot to sit outside for an extended period of time. AT MOST it's useful for 50% of the year, which means it's like doubling the costs. I would guess that it's really useful for a third of the year, for about 8 hours per day. So your truely functional period is about 10%, or ~864 hours a year. At $35k/year, that's like paying $40.51 PER HOUR of Internet. Would you pay that out of your own pocket? If not, why should the city?
3. If WiFi was really a good amenity that brings people downtown, I would think the restaurants would offer it for free out of their own pocket. $2k is plenty of money to install a quality access point, cable it, and configure it. If it brought in ~$1.25 in profit per day, it would pay for itself. And the taxpayers wouldn't spend a dime.
6. Smart Phones and shared data plans will continue to erode the value out of a limited range WiFi solution. People are already paying for Internet access on their devices, and the trend will only continue.
6. The argument about using it for businesses is a farce. If you need Internet and you can't afford $100/mo for it, you shouldn't be in business. Obviously you're in an unsustainable business model.
7. This was a pipe dream of Rich Schreible (sp?) a decade ago. And then it was a pipe dream of Doug Church. If neither one of these guys could find the economic value in it, does it really exist?
It's my opinion that the deli closed because Phil was a jerk. I went there a several times and thought the food was OK, but after seeing him act like a rude jerk towards people on multiple occasions I stopped going there at all. There are plenty of local places where customers and employees are treated well. I'd rather spend my money there.
Rent is to high for any business to operate downtown.For some reason a few people seem to think were in a recovery but its only for the very rich.My friend is a doctor and no banks would refinance his house.People need to wake up and start letting the politicans know how they feel.
Phil was not a jerk. Phil brought us a taste of New York, and he did it well. Sorry to see you go, Phil! Loved having you here, and thanks for your over the top efforts!
Now, Ireton, can we talk free parking yet?
The problem with the Plaza is there are not very many, if any, shops worth visiting. Why go, PAY to park, and find little to nothing of interest? It's a truly lovely, quaint area but there's nothing to draw people to it. Sad.
This is nothing if a child receives free lunch at school the parents are able to get high speed internet for 10 dollars a month at home
Phil was the man he could cook like crazy
I praise the Mayor and City Council for having this wonderful addition to the downtown district! When you have an important deal going down, and speed is Oportant, the right signal is for real.
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