Bill
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Comments
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On the article How Much Will Taxes Increase Due to the Library Project?
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On the article Election is Today; 24 Town Meeting Seats, 1 on Board of Assessors May Be Filled by Write-Ins
Bill
6:51 am on Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Replypage 2
Knock the existing building down, start from scratch, construct a reasonable facsimile of the exterior, reduce the size, add technology and save MILLIONS, not to mention the TAX SAVINGS!!! Children's reliance on the library is decreasing every day and that should be the indicator we use for what we require for the future, not the current usage by an aging population. When was the last time you reached for an Encyclopedia Brittanica? Embrace the shift and don't fight the changes. The trend is your friend.
Please don't give in to the pandering liberals and all their lawn signs.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH ALREADY
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On the article Election is Today; 24 Town Meeting Seats, 1 on Board of Assessors May Be Filled by Write-Ins
Bill
6:51 am on Tuesday, April 2, 2013
ReplyVote NO on the Library. There are better solutions that cost less money and we need to analyze and evaluate those without the "distraction" of having the matching funds from the state influence our decision. Reading has proven that we can be self sufficient and pragmatic once the politics are removed from the equation. The project hasn't even begun and the estimates have already risen ( which demonstrates another very poor administrative job by our elected officials-the first one was the multi million dollar mistake made by our tax assessor in the rate setting exercise that caused all of your taxes to increase even more than expected, but we did get an apology which makes it all better, right?)
Do you think for a moment that it will stop at $13M? NO WAY...this will become the next albatross in town. Just like the High School, they will come across issues that were "unanticipated" and "unexpected", but will add substantial additional cost to the final amount. My guess is that it would end up costing $16-18M when it is complete.
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On the article Planet Fitness and Two Other Workout Facilities Get Waiver to Open at 5 am. Weekdays
Bill
7:57 am on Thursday, February 14, 2013
ReplyI think the Town Manager should be required to publish or communicate EXACTLY what steps he has taken to make sure this does not happen again. He is hoping this gets blown over and people forget about it and go away. The residents should hold him and the DPW accountable and should be held responsible to report on what they have done, and what changes they will implement to avoid this in the future.
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On the article How Would You Rate Reading's Plowing During the Blizzard of 2013?
Bill
8:36 am on Wednesday, February 13, 2013
ReplyPAGE 2
All of the schools were POORLY and INSUFFICIENTLY prepared for Tuesday morning! The safety of all our children are compromised because of the lack of attention.
Draw the similarities to a private business or corporation and that individual(s) would be fired. The bigger problem is we have no way to fire public employees for not doing the job they were hired to do. There are some minimally acceptable performance expectations, and I think a snow storm certainly qualifies.
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On the article How Would You Rate Reading's Plowing During the Blizzard of 2013?
Bill
8:35 am on Wednesday, February 13, 2013
ReplyI think the general opinion is based on the fact that with the Travel Ban in place for 24 hours, and the storm falling on a FRI/SAT, that the reasonable expectation would be that the conditions would be far better than the result. It is apparent that all the precautions/warnings/notices/Reading Parking ban did NOTHING to improve snow removal process.
The town manager blames it on the sub contractors, like Menino, which is a lame excuse. He blames RT129 conditions on residents throwing snow back into the road, yet did nothing. This is a violation of town bylaws and the police should have been instructed to hand out hefty tickets to offenders...I bet it wouldn't happen again! RT28 is a state road with the exception of Reading Sq area - so what are we doing to demand that state assets are deployed to resolve these very dangerous traffic conditions that exist and the narrow roadways that were created and left by them. Are we waiting for a major accident to occur as a result. As for the Town subcontractors...we contract them , we pay for them, we manage them. By blaming the subcontractors (faulty equipment, DPW assistance required, or otherwise), you are admitting that you failed in your responsibility to manage all three phases. You have contracts that apparently do not include language or anything punitive built in for non performance, hence, we should not be paying these subs for poor performance, and you failed to adequately manage them during a critical time.
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On the article Reading Town Meeting Sends Public Library Project Proposal to Voters
Bill
11:55 am on Wednesday, January 30, 2013
PAGE 3.
Why not set a new path of fiscal discipline in this state and be a role model that might be used by surrounding towns and municipalities who face the same challenge. 1. Forget the State funds 2. Create a plan to raze and rebuild a smaller, more energy efficient facility that meets the needs of todays culture and tomorrow's demands 3. Put that debt exclusion to a town vote. You will probably have more supporters of a $3-4M project.
Nobody I know ever moved to Reading (or any town) because of the library, and no library I know of has ever had any direct correlation to, or influence on, property values....wait, if my property value goes up, won't my taxes go up as well???
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On the article Reading Town Meeting Sends Public Library Project Proposal to Voters
Bill
11:55 am on Wednesday, January 30, 2013
PAGE 2.
As for the fundraiser idea (which should be considered an embarrassment for Hutchinson to even suggest it), I would say, when you raise the $10M required through the sale of brownies and cakes to subsidize the town's share, then let's talk. All of the people (liberal minority) that seem to support this idea should be the first to step up and donate generously!
Open your eyes sheeple, don't you see what they are doing to you!! This is a huge money grab...Greenfield says "take the State grant now"...WHY?? Can't you just say thanks for the offer, but we can't afford it right now?? Of course you can't, you are one of the pigs at the trough - the trough filled with taxpayer money. You can't stand to sit idly by and watch it do nothing. You MUST find a way to use it on "infrastructure" projects. As I suggested earlier, I am completely supportive of a new facility, but with technological advances and the obsolescence of many of these institutions, it requires a different mentality...but when your town officials have blinders on, and tough to see what's going on around you.
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On the article Reading Town Meeting Sends Public Library Project Proposal to Voters
Bill
11:54 am on Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Sonny...couldn't agree more! I took that position after The Patch article was posted and alerted the masses to what was going on. The little fiefdom on Lowell St likes to cover things up hoping nobody will notice until it's too late (see: MWRA negotiations circa 2007). The train had left the station on that until people got their water bills and finally smartened up, but it was too late. We should have floated a 30 year bond for $25M and managed our own supply and rates like RMLD. PH has a job waiting for him in "retirement" at the MWRA when he is finished as our Town Manager...imagine that.
I also relate to your story about the constant flow of requests from the teachers for basic necessities and school supplies like No. 2 pencils. I would love to know where the $20K fine from the Macaroni Grill shakedown (um, failed health inspection) went. Why not allocate those monies right back to the school for these needed supplies. -
On the article Reading Library Project Cost Estimate Up Some $2.5 Million
Bill
2:25 pm on Saturday, January 26, 2013
I should also add, I would support demolishing the existing structure and replacing it with a more modern, energy efficient and limited space facility. I think a builder in town could do that for about $3M...far less than the artificially inflated quotes that the town has received.
Bill
8:34 am on Friday, April 5, 2013
Nobody in this town has the right to complain since they got what they voted for and deserved. 3,000 people turning out to vote is a complete embarrassment, and the other 80% of the citizens who didn't should be ashamed (but they will be the first ones to gripe when their tax bills come in). $150 per year is a best case scenario as the cost to build will certainly increase over time and will end up closer to $18M to complete. And to suggest that this increase is only for ten years is incredibly ignorant. Do you think the tax will disappear after the library is complete and our taxes will decrease? Ya, right....