Things That Maybe We Should Be Doing

There are some things that we should be planning for, especially during this mayoral election cycle, rather that bickering about who has or has not done enough in the past four years. We should be talking about looking to the future in concrete terms, not just rosy sounding platitudes.

This past weekend, the state of Indiana and Progress Rail Services Corp. announced the intention to reopen a long closed industrial plant in Muncie, Ind. Progress Rail Services Corp. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc., a U.S. heavy equipment maker that has been moving aggressively into the rail business lately.

Why is this important to Lexington and Central Kentucky? Well, for one, it displays a coming revitalization of American industry. Something that our region desperately needs.

Caterpillar has long been known for their bright yellow construction and mining equipment, but recently they have been looking to get more into the railroad business. To that end, Caterpillar purchased Progress Rail Services in 2006 to repair and rebuild locomotives and freight cars for Class Is, passenger railroads and private owners. Although started in 1983, one reason that we may never have heard of them, is that much of their business is in other countries. They have more than 130 facilities and most are overseas. The Muncie plant will be largest project tackled by Alabama-based Progress Rail.

The situation took a sharp turn back in August when, due to an advantageous position of the autos bail-out, Progress Rail bought Electro-Motive Diesel Inc. (EMD) from General Motors Inc. Funding for the $820 million purchase came from the private equity firms Berkshire Partners LLC and Greenbriar Equity Group LLC. I see no direct connection between Berkshire Partners and Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. other than they both see American railroads and their attendant corporations as good business investments.

Although EMD's headquarters, engineering facilities and parts-manufacturing operations are located in LaGrange, Illinois, just west of Chicago, they do all final assembly in London, Ontario CANADA. So much for a “buy American” plan for our American railroads. EMD has also languished a distant second to GE in the American locomotive industry. This new plant will give Progress Rail locally produced locomotives to comply with the “buy American” requirements of publicly-funded passenger rail contracts.

Reports have it that this 740,000 square-foot facility and its 75 acre property will have a test track and allow the company to pursue transit-rail business. The site originally was home to a Westinghouse transformer factory and will require minimal redevelopment as it has rail lines built-in and rail access.

Transit/rail, would that be the streetcar or regional light rail that we see spoken of by the Obama administration and so easily dismissed by the Republican leadership of Congress? Will these 650 new jobs, which should come on line sometime in 2012 or later, be ascribed to the recovery efforts of Democrats or the Republicans? Will these 650 employees and their resultant boost to the local economy be a legacy of the “disastrous auto bail-out”?

When will Lexington seek out these types of developments? When will Central Kentucky realize that we need these types of jobs, not just high-tech or medical jobs? Toyota works well for us but they are not the only transportation manufacturing game in the world. We have one of the foremost rail building companies in the central U.S. and we should be looking toward their view of the future.

According to Association of American Railroads, through 2010’s first 42 weeks, 13 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads originated 15.7 million carloads, up 9.8 percent, and 11.4 million containers and trailers, up 15.1 percent year over year. If the oil prices do rise steeply, as others have predicted, then the long haul trucking industry will be hit hardest first. Rail has been proven to be ten times more efficient than trucks per ton/mile traveled and we should be jumping toward this future, not shying away from it.

Worth $7,000 A Foot, I Think So

I have become a bit more disappointed with Mr. Gray and his campaign tactics. He now is attacking one of Lexington’s best accomplishments in years. It is not because of the massive acclaim about how good it looks or the increased business opportunities that it has allowed, rather it is the final cost. His claim is that it cost approximately $7,000 a linear foot and well over the estimated bid price.

Anybody in the construction business knows that there is always a chance of cost overruns in any project and the older the original construction the more chance of unexpected behind-the-scenes problems. South Limestone was full of unexpected problems and most of them were from lack of repair for many years.

The advertised claim is that a “political supporter” of Newberry’s received the contract while being the high bidder. It is made to appear that cronyism is rampant yet the work was done within the specified time despite numerous extras and a constantly hostile blogosphere/press. I would hate to see the results had someone like JPC, who had many problems with the concrete work on Vine St, done the work. The Vine St work was poured poorly, more than once being poured and taken out the next day due to mistakes, to the point that it was said that the acronym mane stood for “just playing in concrete”. Such problems along S Lime were rare.

Also alluded to, is the belief that several South Lime businesses went broke (or out of business) and more than one did leave the street. The tattoo shop from the corner of Maxwell and Lime is now at S. Broadway and Bolivar(soon to be Oliver Lewis Way) and right next door to a relocated Tolly-Ho, which should begin to anchor a revitalized business section of Broadway. The prospects of increased activity an Lime, as well as Vine and Main are beginning to show themselves.

I terms of awarding the initial contract, I believe that it was the action of the Council and not the mayor alone who okayed the price. It may have been over the protests of Mr. Gray and others but that is how our democratic process works, a majority rules. Should Mr. Gray have built his spirit of cooperativeness during the previous 3 ½ years and included more the other council members, I feel that he could have easily had more influence over the awarding of development related contracts. That is where his expertise lies, is it not?

Speaking of his expertise, development, construction and design, just where is he leading this council, as Vice Mayor, along those lines? He was on the Infill and Redevelopment committee and has not attended many meeting since it became bogged down in some of the minutia of details. He participated with the DDA on the Downtown Master Plan and yet some of the major parts like design guidelines and form based codes are lacking from being created. How is the experience of his “family’s business” being used to help the City of Lexington so far?

It is almost always said that the mayor is the leader of the city, but the charter places the policy decisions squarely in the lap of the Urban County Council. The Mayor is in charge of seeing that the policy is carried out. Just about all ordinances begin with the phrase “the council authorizes and directs to Mayor to…” and while the mayor may propose many initiatives, it is the Council who decides what the policy should be. The leading force of that council should, by right, be the at-large candidate with the most votes in the most recent election and is named the Vice Mayor. That mantle currently rests on Mr. Gray’s shoulders, yet we see none of his policy desires being brought to the fore nor enacted. Can somebody tell me why?

I am not a huge Newberry fan, nor an I encouraged by many of the other current council members, but Gray is as much an “unknown quantity” now as he was eight years ago when he first ran.

I think that I will stay with the devil I know.

Lexington Mall, Is Something Happening?

Last night, WKYT (channel 27) led off the late news with a story that was supposed to detail the latest in the chain of events relating to Lexington Mall. Their implication was that something was afoot.

The TV station had this to say about the abandoned mall.

In a statement given to 27 Newsfirst, a spokesperson for Lexington Mayor Jim Newberry says, "We are aware that there have been serious conversations between private interests and Saul Centers Properties, which owns the site. But we have not been advised as to what plans those private interests might have for the property."

Now, while I was aware of a scheduled mayoral forum for last night, I assumed that this was released in that venue. No other news outlet had anything to say about it and WKYT only had a statement form a spokesperson. Next I realized that the interviews with neighbors was done earlier in the day, so this was somewhat like a press release. Still nobody else said a word. Could this be manufactured news? At the end of the piece, the reporter summed it up with the fact that really nothing has changed and the neighbors are just as baffled and upset as they have been.

This morning they had a repeat of the story and added nothing, but the anchor crew kept emphasizing that the word came from Mayor NEWBERRY"S office. Not the administration, or the mayor's office, but Mayor NEWBERRY"S office. I began to think that this could be a subtle hint of an endorsement for the incumbent and a way to get some more talking points into Mr Gray's stump speeches. Still, no other news was talking about it. So, is this just somebody blowing smoke, ala the campaign of 4 years ago?

Simply checking the Saul Centers website showed that they have just this one property in Kentucky and it is being advertised for sale, although the page has not been updated since last July. Lexington is a far piece from the rest of their holdings and the commercial real estate market has seen better days, but Business Lexington today has an article that Lexington is faring better than the rest of the country.

Lastly, rumor has it that the statement is very true. Read what it says carefully. "Serious conversations" (plural) and "private interests" (again plural) and "Saul Centers Properties" (surprisingly singular). I'm guessing that there is more than one interested party. The rumor also goes that a deal is close, as close as settling on final price and the method of financing. Should this occur during the run-up to the primary it would put a nice feather in Newberry's hat in the ring.

"But we have not been advised as to what plans those private interests might have for the property."

Of course not. Just having an idea who the interested parties will indicate what their plans will consist of. We do know that they are not any tax supported entity like the city or a state agency.

I guess time will tell.

Gray Keeps It Local???

The other day our friends at Lowell's Under the Hood referenced this site and the question I asked about Vice Mayor Gray's campaign web site. I have followed Rob's diatribes on planning and the supposed failures of the downtown projects both, announced and started, along with his unrelenting support for Mr Gray. Now, maybe, Mr Morris would like to take on the real reason as to why he supports Mr Gray so heavily.

As mayor, Jim Newberry has failed to improve Lexington's downtown planning efforts

The latest Comprehensive Plan was adopted in 2007, after the Downtown Master Plan (DMP) was completed, and references the specific principles as outlined in the DMP. The whole document was not included as an element of the Comprehensive Plan for various reasons. The Urban County Council does not adopt the Plan under Kentucky State law but they do set the goals and objectives of the Plan. Several principles of the DMP have been earmarked as items to be studied or initiated at a later date, though none have been as yet.

Is this what they are calling failure?

All downtown projects in the works or announced have complied with the rules and regulations currently in force. Mayor Newberry has brought no requests to study or initiate any of the previously referenced principles (maintaining the status quo) nor has any of the council members, presently or formerly. If this is failure, then the blame should be spread across all parties involved. If this a campaign issue, then it is an issue for all.

As mayor, Jim Newberry has allowed the complete destruction of a whole, historic city block

The Herald Leader was probably the first to fly this flag, yet they were also the banner bearers of all the Urban Renewal projects, the Lexington Center and any Webb project announced. In the "70s and "80s, anything purported to be a downtown development was deemed to be progress. When will those responsible for that be vilified? Has the Herald Leader apologized for their "rah-rah" behavior toward what is now considered the destruction of downtown?

As mayor, Jim Gray will give direction and focus to Lexington and its future

This all sounds good if there were any evidence to support it.

We have all seen Mr. Gray's efforts to influence public opinion about some local controversy, but usually after someone else has done all the legwork and heavy lifting. CentrePointe, the airport and the library are the first to come to mind. Vice Mayor Gray, for all of his insight, has NOT been at the forefront of the investigation on any of these.

From all the accounts that I have heard(these are probably rumors of some sort) concerning the Infill/Redevelopment Committee and others have been slowed in their work by the antics of mr. Gray. I am sure that this will be construed as him going up against the staid "old guard" of complacency and striving for better planning but I don't think it comes across that way to the others involved.

Then, there is the constant touting of the 21C hotel in Louisville. Is that it? He has done more for Louisville, in terms of downtown redevelopment, than he has for Lexington? The only building that he has renovated here is his own and that it. He did do the new Kentucky Eagle Beer building to LEED standards, not Platinum or Gold or even to the more stringent European standard, so setting the bar high is not something to write home about.

I am not that enthused about any of the candidates, but of the top three, Mr Gray still needs to show me something more.

Lets Get An Answer To This

Has anyone heard of a group called Crossroads Campaigns Solutions?

They are a PR firm that seems to specialize in political campaigns. National, local, all kinds of campaigns. You should go to their website and check their client list.

Is this the type of candidate that we want leading our city? I am all about the re-localization of our food sources and other necessities of life. But shipping our election campaigns out of state steps a little too far.

The Questions Not Asked

I have not been able to attend any of the Mayoral forums as of yet but I have kept up with how they went through all the reporting and the Twitter logs available. It seems that I and Steve Austin are in agreement in the notion that - so far all the questions have been about things that are already water under the bridge.

We are going to be selecting a person the lead the city into the future, not worry about how it should have been handled last time. The problems looming on the horizon are much more worrisome than whether there is full disclosure about some private business project in downtown. What I want to know is- How are we going to handle thing like "Peak Oil", climate change, or some of the other situations coming down the road but not yet fully manifest. These are questions that our young, "creative class", social media savvy bloggers and reporters have avoided completely.

How will our future leaders solve the dilemma of the residents of our outer suburbs when the price of fuel is out of reach to the common person? Our edge subdivisions are not being served by mass transit and the idea of regional transit is not on the radar. How do they plan on feeding the masses when transportation costs could be roughly 1/2 the going price in the stores? Where will the tipping point be when the agricultural land is more valuable for food crops than equine crops? That may be real value of the PDR program.

I have seen how some of these "progressives" have brought in officials from other cities ,where there has been some modicum of success, to explain their methods. The situations and conditions are never the same in all cities, even during good economic times, so the results will always be different. It is the "Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle" in action. Those same officials, operating in differing cities, would not have fared as well as a general rule.

Our city leaders of the past few decades(especially from the '70s) have failed to secure the infrastructure and facilities to ensure the basic necessities of life; sufficient potable water, locally generated energy or alternative power sources, locally available food sufficient for all residents... and we have known that the day is coming. As we have seen with RWE and now E.on, the divestiture of the global corporations controlling utilities (and probably soon with food) is coming.

Where will these new leaders take us in this "Great Reset"? That is the line of questioning that should be taking place. Had I sent them in by social media, they would not have been asked and had I been there in person, I would have been considered as "off the wall" as Skip Horine.

Ms Iassac Gets A Turn

Today it was Ms. Issac's turn to face the Sisterhood of the Temple Adeth Israel and explain her desires and plans for pursuing the Mayor position. We did have somewhat better weather, it was raining slightly and well milder than last week, yet a smaller group of attendees. I would say about 15 at the most but the discussion became more lively.

Ms. Issac began by explaining why she felt that she needed to run again. To her and a seemingly growing number of Lexington residents, there is an expanding disconnect of the current administration from the various community factions; business, arts, youth, and even the city employees.

She cited, what she feels are some of the strong points from her administration that are missing from the Lexington of today.

1. The desire to enhance the Department of Public Safety. She points to the latest incident concerning Haiti and the Fire personnel assigned to the FEMA special teams, as only the most recent situation to come up. (I am sure that some will bring up that collective bargaining for Police and Fire as something which led to the current fiscal problem, but all candidates will have to deal with how it is). Ms. Issac does still have a strong backing from public safety folks.
2. The move to redevelop more of the inner city property, including surplus public land. This seems to be left to the developers as a whole and not coordinated by the City in any way. She feels that she should change that.
3. The efforts of the City to develop and enhance public spaces as an element to increase the interactions of diverse groups. This is not limited to downtown and does not concern CentrePointe in any way.
4. Efforts similar to the Indoor Smoking Ban. While the smoking ban has been expanded and pretty much accepted by Lexington(and other cities, including the State of North Carolina), other measures to improve the health and well being of the public are languishing.
5. A dismantling of her Aging in Place initiative by the Newberry administration. This is something that I feel strongly about and that it should include such things as land use changes and more transportation choice as well as government programs on housing(this is something for a later blog).
6. Her efforts for Employee Morale. Her interactions with the current employees have led her to conclude that they feel like the Newberry administration doe not work well with employees and changes are being thrust upon them which disrupt work flow much more than improve efficiency. Concerns over public employees and their treatment is always a questionable stand in an election and does not set well with some voters.
7. The ongoing contact and dialogue between the City and the business community, not just downtown, but out in the subdivisions and including the rural areas. The need for inclusion in decision making processes is key for an open and transparent dialogue.

One point in concluding her prepared remarks was, that she had beaten Mr. Gray -once and Mr. Newberry -twice. What that means in the great scheme of things, I will let you decide.

Audience questions featured the usual suspects, CentrePointe, Lexington Mall and Ky American Water Co.

On CentrePointe, Ms. Issac noted the failures to involve the young patrons of the block and cited a need for a small area plan. I, alone, can remember many times when development removed locations where young people gathered without involving them and all resulting in no major economic disaster. I also believe that the Downtown Master Plan would serve as a small area plan, yet it was not adopted in full, either by the Planning Commission or the Urban County Council.

For Lexington Mall, she noted her statements on eminent domain of the property and the trouble it caused. She still feels that something more can be done to prod the owners although it is a tough situation.

As for the water company, the voters have spoken, and loudly, yet she still thinks that it was the right thing to do.

She summed up her questions with a list of her top three priorities, Public safety, Employee morale and community success with government support.

It will be a while before we hear from Mr. Newberry as he is scheduled to be there on March 21. I will be there to see how that goes too.

And So It Begins

Last week I received an e-mail from the Sisterhood Committee of Temple Adeth Israel concerning the first of a series of talks. The initial one was to spotlight one Jim Gray, Lexington's Vice Mayor and the topic was named Our City, Our Vision, Our Purpose. Here was a perfect opportunity to find out just what Jim Gray has planned for our fair city, so this afternoon I found myself in the assembled group.

I cannot call it a crowd because it was only about 40-50 people, but they wanted to hear about Mr Gray's plans for the future.

He gave a quick recount of how he had been invited prior to his decision to run for Lexington's top spot, although he had been thinking about it. The theme, Our City, Our Vision, Our Purpose, is one that I am extremely interested in and I really wanted to hear in which direction he would like to lead our city.

The three hallmarks of his vision, I think, will be Accountability, Transparency and Uniqueness. He then launched into a retelling of the need to more oversight or control of some of the outside agencies and the cost control measures that he would like to impose on some of our government projects. He spoke of the need for the city to expand their dialogue with the public and asked for the public to temper their expectations as to the time frame of the dialogues. Finally, he stated that he, along with most of the group, had moved here from elsewhere. That the uniqueness of Lexington was what had enticed most of them to stay and the "Lexington was the shining light on the hill". All in all I was not impressed with his vision so far.

When asked about his thoughts or vision for the "pasture in the center of town" he gave a rambling story of how he speaks to his downtown neighbor (Mrs Miller of Barney Miller's, a member of the Temple) quite often about the downtown situation, then into a story about how they came to located downtown. The story goes that they had already made the decision to move to Lexington, bought property and were designing a building, when the owner of the Wolf Wile building called to lower the asking price of the downtown location. Joe Wile was also a member of the Temple congregants, prior to his death. He was clearly playing to his audience but there was no solid answer for what should be or could be done on that block in the near future.

Concerning the Lexington Mall, he did say that he would like to talk to the owner(B.F. Saul Co) and that Lexington is in the process of getting a nationally known consultant on growing our commercial development possibilities. On our infill and redevelopment process and our student housing problems, he did say that we are making progress. There is a movement to establish a community design review board, but if it doesn't function any better than the Court House Area Overlay review board, which he stated that he thought that it had failed, why the bother.

As I read back over this, I am struck that it seems to wander and ramble a bit, but for the hour of the presentation this is pretty much how it went. In the end I know three things.

Our City is Lexington, Our Vision is still clouded by the future, and Our Purpose was not laid out in any shape, form, or matter.

Next week they will hear from Ms Issac, same time same location. I guess that I will have to go back.