I will be signing this letter when I am done because I don't hide behind Anonymous. I am glad that you had the courage to come forward on this website to address the people. I want to thank Joe Albero for taking the effort to provide this service to the citizens of Wicomico County. It is the only true news media in Wicomico County.
I am extremely disappointed in what happened at the County Council meeting on Tuesday. My biggest disappointment was that everyone involved lost track of the Big Picture. I consider the Big Picture to be doing what everyone said they would do when they were running for office. You all said that economic recovery and jobs was your primary concern if you got into office. Well, you're there and what has happened? I haven't seen any of you come up with any plans for addressing this situation. Yet you all sat there and belittled the new county executive because he didn't have an exact, neat little plan for you. You all became side tracked with the Board of Education. You have got to realize that everything is not going to come to you in a pretty neat little package that all you have to do is sit in council chambers and vote.
Marc, I couldn't believe you said and believed that the contracts for Phase Three have been signed and that there was no way of changing what was going to happen. First, if you had listened closely you would have heard Mr. Foret fumble around for words when that specific questions was asked if the contract for tearing down the building was already signed. He said that the drawings were done, well at least 95% of the drawings were done and that an A&E firm had already signed to a contract. (Can anybody out there guess who that firm might be?). He also said a mechanical had been hired for the job also. Then he did state that no contract had actually been signed for the actual demolition of the building. Did any of you, not just you Marc, on the council actually read the bond language and see what could have been done? That's what I mean when I say everything is not going to come to you in a neat little package. You might just have to get up off your council chairs and do something like trying to work outside the box and let the taxpayers know what you CAN do for them and not just tell them this is all the county executives fault and that if this was a year ago then maybe something could have been done. Be real. Where were we a year ago?
I'm not just criticizing you Marc. The county executive's side had some real problems. First of all Bob's staff should have known how much the demolition of the building would be. This should have all been laid out when they borrowed the money for Phase Three. Do you really believe that the taxpayers don't know what a bond actually is (MORTGAGE) and that a bank would lend them millions without knowing where the money was going? Now here's where it really gets interesting. Bob's staff couldn't give an estimate on approximately how much could be saved by bringing all the county funded rentals for office spaces under one roof. And this is extremely odd. How can an audit company give an accurate audit when the county doesn't know where their money is going? Better yet, does the bonding companies know that the county doesn't know how much of the taxpayers money is spent on these rentals and who it is paid to.
So as you can see Marc, there are plenty of challenges to over come. The question is are you up to tackling them? There are those on this council that "goes along to get along" and though Mr. Canon might not like those words all you have to do is look at yourselves on PAC-14. The people voted for change during the last election. Make it happen.
John Palmer, Delmar, Md.
I am extremely disappointed in what happened at the County Council meeting on Tuesday. My biggest disappointment was that everyone involved lost track of the Big Picture. I consider the Big Picture to be doing what everyone said they would do when they were running for office. You all said that economic recovery and jobs was your primary concern if you got into office. Well, you're there and what has happened? I haven't seen any of you come up with any plans for addressing this situation. Yet you all sat there and belittled the new county executive because he didn't have an exact, neat little plan for you. You all became side tracked with the Board of Education. You have got to realize that everything is not going to come to you in a pretty neat little package that all you have to do is sit in council chambers and vote.
As a citizen of Wicomico County you have to realize after numerous years that all the BOE cares about is the BOE. They don't care where the funds come from as long as they get exactly what they want when they want it. They can't see that if we don't have decent businesses and jobs in our county then families with their children will not be coming here.
If you want to do something, go to the BOE and demand the TRUE student population for the last ten years. Why do you think they've come up with all this redistricting plans and suddenly there are two (and probably there are more) schools that could be used for the BOE. And did you notice they specificity said," used to relocate the BOE".
NOTHING was said about RE-PURPOSING the building that was to rehouse the BOE. Nothing was said about bringing all the other county entities under one roof to save the TAXPAYERS millions in rent money over the next twenty years. Bob Culver was thinking about the ENTIRE county and not just the BOE. With the exception of one person, you all have been pulled into that BOE spiderweb and don't realize it.
Marc, I couldn't believe you said and believed that the contracts for Phase Three have been signed and that there was no way of changing what was going to happen. First, if you had listened closely you would have heard Mr. Foret fumble around for words when that specific questions was asked if the contract for tearing down the building was already signed. He said that the drawings were done, well at least 95% of the drawings were done and that an A&E firm had already signed to a contract. (Can anybody out there guess who that firm might be?). He also said a mechanical had been hired for the job also. Then he did state that no contract had actually been signed for the actual demolition of the building. Did any of you, not just you Marc, on the council actually read the bond language and see what could have been done? That's what I mean when I say everything is not going to come to you in a neat little package. You might just have to get up off your council chairs and do something like trying to work outside the box and let the taxpayers know what you CAN do for them and not just tell them this is all the county executives fault and that if this was a year ago then maybe something could have been done. Be real. Where were we a year ago?
I'm not just criticizing you Marc. The county executive's side had some real problems. First of all Bob's staff should have known how much the demolition of the building would be. This should have all been laid out when they borrowed the money for Phase Three. Do you really believe that the taxpayers don't know what a bond actually is (MORTGAGE) and that a bank would lend them millions without knowing where the money was going? Now here's where it really gets interesting. Bob's staff couldn't give an estimate on approximately how much could be saved by bringing all the county funded rentals for office spaces under one roof. And this is extremely odd. How can an audit company give an accurate audit when the county doesn't know where their money is going? Better yet, does the bonding companies know that the county doesn't know how much of the taxpayers money is spent on these rentals and who it is paid to.
I have been before the council many times over the years asking for a list of how much we spend in rent and who it's paid to. What I received was little more than a note saying they rented four spaces for the Liquor Board. Remember the fiasco a while back about how many spaces the county was renting at the Adkins's Building.
Before the county moves on we need answers to these questions. Bob's staff does not appear to be serving his needs. The taxpayers shouldn't have to suffer because of that.
So as you can see Marc, there are plenty of challenges to over come. The question is are you up to tackling them? There are those on this council that "goes along to get along" and though Mr. Canon might not like those words all you have to do is look at yourselves on PAC-14. The people voted for change during the last election. Make it happen.
John Palmer, Delmar, Md.
32 comments:
Excellent statement, well said. And I would agree, we should be ashamed of and angry with our Council.....ESPECIALLY the new members. They know exactly why & how they were elected and just this soon, they've fallen off the wagon and forgotten their mandate.
Very well put!! I agree 100%.
They are not looking at the long term savings in rent, etc for the County. They are only looking out for what they want.
Bob Culver should have cleaned out everyone and started over!!
Same letter to Cannon. WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING??? I DONT THINK IT IS TOO LATE TO DO SOME THINKING ABOUT THE BENNETT PROPERTY. Do the job you were elected to do.
Don't sit there and act like a turd. You are a businessman act like one.
9:19 and 9:20 are the same exact person. Give it a rest.
very well put John! i applaud you!!
Superior letter Mr. Palmer. Now only IF we could get the "good old boys" system out of the Board of Education and those of the newly elected council members off the council we would be able to accomplish something. Yes, that also means getting a former teacher off the Board of Education. Start cleaning house Mr. Culver especially from the third floor of the Government Office Building.
Excellent letter. I think it is a shame that people who support this are not as vocal as the BOE folks. Good for Palmer that he speaks up.
I do have to say though that I think Culver should have been better prepared. However, I also think that the Council should have come up with a compromise. They know that Culver has support on this issue, so they appeased one loud group over the majority of voters who voted for changes in fiscal policy.
Culver could have been given 30 days to present documented facts. What would that have hurt? Even Strausburg who is obviously not a fan of Culver's stated that portions of Bennett had value. To not examine whether at least part of the buildings could be save was foolish.
And lets never forget Hall's comment on the economy not changing in 10 years. He is not smart enough to even be a council member!
I did not like Kilmer's comment on a leap of faith too far. Kilmer asked the voters, as did the other REPUBLICAN council members, to ask voters to take a leap of faith that they would do the job for which they were elected. Maybe our leap of faith in voting for them was wrong. So far, it appears so.
Just to clarify Mr 10:46, I wrote the 9:19 comment but I have absolutely no idea who wrote the next comment. However, since you can see-all-know-all, perhaps you should use your "knowledge" and get out here to fix some of these problems. Actually, I really think you're an idiot so I'll just group you in the bunch of idiots that are ruining our county.
I've been told that many of the major business leaders, attorneys and other downtown players are not happy with how the council behaved on Tuesday. Just hope they will make their feelings known to the council and not just to their friends and family.
Cannon is a fn slumlord and should NOT be on any council CONFLICT OF INTEREST johnny.
this is a great letter. Joe it should stay near the top all day. thanks.
The day Marc Kilmer said he thought Sheree Sample Hughes was a good representative was the day he lost my vote and support. He isn't strong enough to stand up to the status quo.
The council could revisit this plan, they did it before on the construction of BMS when Prettyman changed her vote.
John Hall, he's a drunk and shouldn't serve in any capacity anywhere. His wife is a better representative than he.
There was one council member who voted for Culver's idea and that was Joe Holloway. He does not buy into the BOE bull#%^&. Give a little credit here Mr Palmer your tagging the whole council.Joe Holloway looks out for the taxpayers.
yes, let's NOT tar Joe Holloway with the same brush as the others. Joe stands on his principles. Thanks Joe Holloway!
Joe - agree with previous poster. This needs to stay near top all day. Well stated letter.
Well said John Palmer!! Also, how about the fact that WiHi is one of the oldest schools in the county if not the oldest in the county and not one person has even mentioned that it should be rebuilt and that is mind blowing as it sits in plain sight of the BOE. If Fredericksen and the BOE were truly worried about the students of Wicomico County they would put building a new WiHi ahead of them getting a new state of the art building!
Joe, This letter by John is excellent and definitely states the obvious as far as the council is concerned, but I am afraid the whole thing is a done deal after seeing the lack of fight we have seen in the RINO members this will continue to occur with every issue going forward and with this in mind I fear all may be lost. I symbolically am running Liarton's rainbow flag up the flag pole downtown and fleeing with my family and business interest to Delaware leaving behind 7 employees and Maryland taxes forever!
This has been a learning experience for Culver I hope. In the future, these RINOs need to be put into a position that will shame them if they don't vote for fiscal conservatism.
I found the cockiness of Cannon and some of the others offensive on this matter. They also ANSWER TO VOTERS. It seems to me some of them forget who got them their seat at the table.
I would apply the Serenity Prayer to your first paragraph,because discretion should sort out what cannot possibly be fixed.This site does more than anyone ever expected it to do and addresses virtually every pressing issue.We the readers appreciate the non stop news that Sby News offers,but we also know (or should know)what is within the realm of possibility to correct.
Very well stated Mr. Palmer. I have voiced some of the same comments to the council members. I totally agree, they can re-visit this and Mr. Culver can get the figures he needs to bring to the council.
After all, Matt Holloway re-visited the vote and held another meeting, so why can't they re-visit, and WORK TOGETHER TO SAVE THE CITIZENS MONEY.
You can always count on Joe Holloway to be fiscally conservative. He's an everyday guy that people laughed at when he was running for office because he IS an everyday guy and NOT a politician. He knows how to make a buck and he knows very well how to spend that buck and get the most bang for it.
It just so happens that Wi Hi was renovated several years ago. At that time the BOE decided that the renovation was better than a rebuild.
3:04pm They can only revisit it if there are four votes on the council to do so.
So, who are the Stevie Prettymans that are going to change their votes. We need 4. Cannon will never allow it nor will CREAMER.
The WiHi building was probably in better shape than Bennett Middle. Bennett is too far gone for renovations. If that was going to be done, they should have started many years ago when it started deteriorating. But, no they just let it go and now it has to be replaced.
CANNON THE SLUMLORD.
I emailed this Marc Kilmer to express my opinion. It was similar to this letter. I tried three (3) times and it was rejected ever time. That shows me how much he is for the Tax Payer and wants input.
As for as the contract on demolition, There should be a clause for nullifying the contract as long as the work has not started. That is standard in all MD contracts. If not someone should be fired for not following State protocol .
John, first of all, thank you for putting it out there better than I did.I wrote Marc personally with my thoughts as a contractor about the possibility of change orders, and his response was that of putting the County at risk of lawsuits from breach of contract and hundreds of thousands of promises, which I call BS,n but that's his take.
I feel he has never heard of a change order, but lack of education is no excuse. He signed up for this job, and now needs to do the job.
Kilmer go home!
i fail to see where the existing structures are not viable.
It's time for the tax payers in Wicomico County stand up and band together for what the actual payers want and need. Everyone needs to come together and obtain legal council and sue these tax and spend basturds to make them do what "WE THE PEOPLE" want and need. It seems as though the council is going to do exactly what they want and not what they were elected to do. It baffles me that All of these council members can make promises during their campaign and then never own up to those promises once they get elected!
Kilmer is from somewhere out west, there he would be called a liberal. Here he calls himself a conservitive he is a carpetbagger.
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