When Will Downtown Be Able To Stand on Its Own Two Feet?

Perusing new (to me) blogs and I tripped over some distressful news at Indy Tax Dollars. In his entry "A curious array...", blogger Fred McCarthy notes that Circle Centre Mall just might need financial incentives to retain the mall anchor stores.

Say what?

Taking quotes from an IBJ article by reporter, Cory Schouten ("Circle Centre vies to keep anchor stores"), McCarthy summarizes the situation that the City is looking to bail out yet another downtown endeavor thusly:

These little tidbits made us wonder whether the CIB is now "negotiating" for the city with regard to mall properties. We have the involved public official who doesn't know when the leases come up for renewal. We have no idea about potential costs to the taxpayer because "...Simon has not yet made a request..." We're flying blind because suggested recipients of municipal generosity pay rent "...not spelled out in publicly available documents." And, we don't know whether we might wind up subsidizing a store to compete with itself!

Why is "more money" always the answer rather than "alternative uses?" With tax dollar proposals for bikers' showers, adequate public transportation and subsidy of a retail mall, there must be a place for the word "Priority." Maybe we should have said "A Me First Array...'

Schouten reports that while the mall turned a $8.9 million profit on $23 million revenue last year, an increase in profit over the year before, the sales per square foot have dropped from $374 to $330.

The IBJ penned an editorial on June 26th that can be summarized by "its not just money, its civic pride". They say:

After all that effort and considerable investment on the part of the city and the 20 mostly local companies that have a stake in the mall, it would be naïve to expect the city to stand on the sidelines and let nature—in this case, retail sales—take its course.

I have to ask why "nature" isn't doing well enough here. From Schouten's report it seems that there is a still tidy 38% profit margin.

I agree with McCarthy - the act of setting priorities seem to be lacking in Indianapolis. I would add that there is also a driving need for a complete, holistic, look at downtown - how much it costs, what the real benefits are. Once we know for sure what is what, THEN we can intelligently discuss options for the use, or not, of taxpayer resources in a plan to once and for all get this money pit under control. Because right now, it is only about MORE and BIGGER bailouts.

Decatur Education Association Saw Freeze in New Contract

The new Decatur Education Association contract is now posted on the district website. It covers last school year and the next three. During those 4 years, the salary schedule is frozen at the 2008-2009 school year contract levels.

For those unfamiliar with how teachers are paid, there is a chart, which you will find beginning on page 31 of the contract. With each year of teaching, salary goes up. With the attainment of benchmark educational levels, salary goes up. These are called 'step increases' and are zealously regarded as different from 'raises'. Only when the entire schedule increase, does the DEA consider it a raise. This is very different from all other employees in other careers, who pretty uniformly consider any increase in take home pay to be a raise.

So, the step increases remain for all teachers up to 20 years of service and a Masters plus 60 hours of education toward a Doctorate. Salaries range from $37,343 to $77,673. This, of course, does not include additional money awarded for extracurricular activity - supervision of clubs or coaching, for instance. A teacher moving from their first to second year of teaching would see an increase in pay of $1680, while a 19 year teacher transitioning into their 20th year would see an increase of $1120. Beyond 20 years, there is no change due to years of service. A first year teacher who earns a Masters Degree, gains $1240 a year. A 20 year or older teacher who earns a Masters Degree, gains $10,643. The schedule is in the contract for closer examination, if you are interested; again, beginning on page 31.

The district covers 86% of the cost of health and hospital insurance (page 8) for teachers. The new contract has some changes to that for the coming years. There are three levels of insurance plans offered - I, II, and III; with the Plan I level being the most expensive. Beginning with the 2010-2011 school year, a teacher may opt for a Plan I level, but the district will only pay up to 86% of the cost of a Plan II level. In addition, all teacher insurance enrollees will receive a payback of $30 per month (if they get the single plan), $50 per month (if they get the employee/spouse or employee/child plan), or $70 per month (if they get the family plan).

I did some calculations, using the insurance rates from the 2009-2010 school year. If a teacher enrolls in a Plan I level, it will cost $36.48 more per year for the single plan, $237.60 more for the employee/child plan, $285.12 more for the employee/spouse plan, and $176.40 more for the family plan over the costs for this past school year. However, with the additional paybacks, those enrolled in any of the Plan II or Plan III levels will see their insurances costs go down. For those teachers, a single plan will cost $360 less per year, employee/child or employee/spouse plan will cost $600 less, and a family plan will cost $840 less than this past year.

I did a very ballpark calculation, and it looks like roughly -- if more than 3 times as many teachers are enrolled in Plan I level as in the other two levels, the district saves money -- if fewer than 3 times as many teachers are enrolled in Plan I level as in the other two levels, the district loses money. I don't have the figures to know for sure, which case applies.

Other monetary impact items are those related to district contributions to a variety of retirement funds on behalf of the teacher (pages 6-7 and 10-11). Unless I missed something, these contributions add up to 8% of salary in the old contract and for the 2009-2010 school year under the new contract. That drops to 6.5% of salary for the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 school year. For the 2012-2013 school year, it rises back to the 8% of salary level.

Along with these retirement fund contributions, the vesting period (the length of time it takes for a teacher to actually 'own' the money in the fund) has been shortened for the 401(a) fund (page 10). In the past, after 10 years a teacher was vested to the tune of 33.3%, after 15 years they were vested to 66.7%, and after 20 years they were vested in 100% of the fund balance. The new contract changes the vesting period to 50% after 5 years and 100% after 10 years of employment. The vesting period for the remaining retirement funds is unchanged from the old contract.

There are some other changes to committees and such, but the monetary changes are represented above.

The City Needs To Learn To Share

With the advent of the age of the tax caps, Indianapolis needs to learn to share property tax proceeds and not scarf as much of the pie as they can legally get away with.

As property tax caps are now in full effect and a ballot question in November could make them constitutional in Indiana, legal loopholes are being mined by the City of Indianapolis to allow the City to take a tad more than they are due.

The one power that the City of Indianapolis has that no other taxing unit in Marion County has is the right to grant abatements. Which it seems to do with abandon lately. Just look at the Jeff Swiatek's article in yesterday's Star business section, where he reports an abatement for CSO Architects, Harlan Bakeries, Greatbatch Medical, and Sharp's Academy - all in one fell swoop.

Now we are all lectured to remember that an abatement is a forgiveness of taxes in the future for businesses or expansions of businesses that do not exist today - taxes that we are supposed to believe would never have been generated because these businesses would have taken all their marbles and gone to another County to play, had Indianapolis not stepped up to sweeten the deal with a forgiveness of property taxes. The City forgives not only the money that would be owed to Indianapolis, but also the taxes that would be owed to our schools, the library, our township, etc. I'm actually not trying to build a case against abatements; not at the moment anyway.

One good aspect of the abatement process in Indianapolis, is the routine inclusion of 'clawback' clauses. If the business doesn't invest the full amount of money promised, or create or retain the full number of jobs promised, the City can get the amount of the forgiven taxes back.

The 25th floor, under Mayor Ballard, is very very clever when it comes to finding and mining legal loopholes. I don't want to discourage that sort of thing entirely, since the State wields a heavy hand when telling all cities and towns how to go about their business. Finding a good loophole from time to time could be beneficial.

But, in today's property tax climate, we should all be concerned that the tax revenues are meted out proportionately and therefore fairly.

The Ballard Administration found a loophole in the case of 450 E. Market Street (see "Ludicrous or Clever - You Decide" and "MDC Public Hearing On The TM Miller Enterprises Abatement" and "MDC to Hold Public Hearing on Abatement for 450 E. Market") and were set to abate about $6.7 million in property taxes, get paid that very same amount, and use the money to buy an overpriced garage. In short, the City was planning on taking the tax money that would have gone to the schools and library and township and health & hospitals and keep it for its own. On top of it all, it was going to waste that money on buying a garage that it didn't really need. This deal, even though it passed all MDC and Council votes, has not yet been inked down - and that is a very good thing.

The Ballard Administration found another loophole with the $5 million clawback of abated taxes in the case of Navistar. (See "Abatements - Scary Loopholes Need Closing") And they kept it all -- even though the property tax distribution formula would suggest they 'deserved' only about 20% of it. They kept all the money. Then, they wasted that money by sending it on to the Indianapolis Economic Development, Inc. and the Indianapolis Convention and Visitors Association; two not-for-profits living largely off government largess while paying handsome salaries for its operators.

Now the Ballard Administration has found an even bigger loophole whereby proper apportionment of property taxes is set aside to the benefit of the City over the rest of the taxing units. This one makes the $6.7 million and $5 million deals look like chump change. And this is the loophole on the carve out of the sewer utility from the property tax system.

Indiana Code 36-3-2-10, authorizes Payments In Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) from otherwise property tax free parcels in Indianapolis. Indiana Code 36-3-2-10(d)(4), lists "wastewater treatment facility", which at the time, was owned entirely by the City of Indianapolis.

The City-County Council recently increased the PILOT payments from the sewer utility and authorized the money be used to pay off 30 year bonds for infrastructure repairs. (See "City-County Council Should Vote Down Prop 132") The plan is to sell the sewer utility for another $260 million in cash to Citizens Energy. The sales agreement stipulates that Citizens Energy will not attempt to get the Legislature to change the sewer utility from a tax-free, PILOT paying, enterprise into a property tax paying enterprise. Now, this tax-free status is very different from the gas utility and the water utility - both of which currently pay and which will continue to pay property taxes after this sale goes through.

I have asked a couple of folks in City government this question: Are the PILOT payments from the sewer utility more than, less than, or equal to, the amount the utility would pay if it owed property taxes? I have not been able to get an answer. The law does not allow PILOT payments to be more than the utility would pay in property taxes - so let's just toss that possibility out.

Let's run through the remaining two possibilities.

If the PILOT payments are equal to the amount the utility would pay if it owed property taxes, then the City is actually keeping all of roughly $25 million per year for 30 years, when all it would be due is 20% of that. That means that roughly $20 million per year will not go to schools and the library and health & hospitals and the townships. And, over 30 years that would add up to $600 million.

If the PILOT payments are less than the amount the utility would pay if it owed property taxes, then the City is forgiving 80% of the taxes Citizens would otherwise have to pay and shafting the schools and the library and health & hospitals and the townships.

Why the Council voted to increase the PILOT payment from the sewer utility BEFORE getting a clear okay from the State Legislature that it will not rescind the special tax free status of that utility in the future, is beyond me. If the Legislature were to do that, then Indianapolis taxpayers could be on the hook for repaying those infrastructure bonds - and not just as ratepayers, but also as taxpayers. But, it all depends upon the answer to my question: Are the PILOT payments from the sewer utility more than, less than, or equal to, the amount the utility would pay if it owed property taxes?

In any case, I finally come to the final point of this post. With property tax caps fully implemented, the City should refrain from pulling any of the money owed to the other taxing units to use for their own purposes. And, if the City will not do it of its own accord, the State Legislature should step in and require this simple act of fairness.

Now We Know Why the Decatur School District Wouldn't Turn Over Documents

WTHR reporter, Rich Van Wyk, posted a story today on the perks handed out through early retirements of Administrators from MSD Decatur Township.

In the report Superintendent Don Stinson says that the early retirement perks include paid health care benefits, and a years salary as a parting gifts. The salaries alone add up to $750,000. This is in addition to their pension benefits from the Teachers Pension Fund; payments toward which have been paid entirely by the overly generous, rubber-stamping school board.

I requested the severance packages back on June 9 and have been stonewalled since then. It is obvious that the cookie jar contents that would be exposed by these public documents were too hot to release. They remain hidden in the District files regardless of the public's legal right to them. Maybe now that Stinson thinks he has laid the proper spin control through Van Wyk's report, maybe now they will release the documents so that the public can see for themselves exactly how many years of health insurance payments are involved and exactly how much of a full year's salary each administrator gets to pocket at taxpayer expense. For now we are left with the rumor that it is a full decade, which would easily add up to over $300,000 per administrator.

In addition, talk is that at least a couple of these 'early retirees' will be back under contract - milking the pension system and continuing to milk Decatur Taxpayers.

I must add that there has been a loss of 34 teaching positions, not the reported 11. There were 23 teachers who decided to retire; Stinson's spin not withstanding. This is the equivalent of over one entire elementary school - which was always going to be the case ever since Stinson decided to move the kindergarten out of the moldy ECC and send all the the Lynwood elementary students to beefed-up class sizes in other schools throughout the rest of the district.

I will post as soon as I get the public documents on the retirement packages for each of the administrators.

Two Council Committees Meet Tonight

The Indianapolis-Marion County City-County Council has two committees with meetings tonight, both scheduled for room 260 of the City-County Building.

First, at 5:30 pm, the Rules Committee has two items on its agenda - Prop 183 which would put the authority of the Board of Waterworks into the Board of Public Works (and which is likely a moot point since the BofW already supported the sale of the water company to Citizens Energy) -- and -- Prop 196, which is a Council resolution sponsored by Councillor Evans to limit contracts and attendance at conferences in Arizona until that state suspends or repeals its new immigration law.

Then at 6:00 pm, the newly formed Utility Transfer Oversight Committee will be meeting to discuss Prop 197, which authorizes the sale of the sewer and water utilities to Citizens Energy. The City and Council have posted a bunch of information regarding Prop 197:

Exhibit A (19 pages) -- roughly, creates a new Authority to oversee the sewer utility, which would be controlled by Citizens Energy upon the sale of that utility. Interestingly enough, and importantly enough, this document seeks to bar the future sale of the sewer utility to a for-profit entity. This is what the paragraph under "Purpose" says:

In addition to the purposes set forth above, this Agreement provides for (a) the provision of wastewater collection and treatment services through the formation of the Authority as a separate legal entity organized as a nonprofit corporation, (b) the transfer to the Authority of the System as specified in the Purchase Agreement, (c) the delegation and/or transfer to, and vesting in, the Authority of all powers that are necessary, useful or appropriate, except the taxing power and taxing authority of the City and the District, (i) for the acquisition, ownership and operation of the System and/or (ii) for the Authority to have jurisdiction over disposal of sewage, industrial wastes or other wastes and qualifying as a publicly owned pretreatment works within the meaning of the Clean Water Act, in each case, except the taxing power and taxing authority of the City and the District, and (d) the exercise by the Authority of the powers delegated and/or transferred to it herein on behalf of the City, the District and Citizens for the benefit of the inhabitants of the City and the customers of the System in a manner that (x) protects the City and its inhabitants against further sale or disposition of the System, and forever from private ownership, control or partisan political governance; and (y) is coordinated with other utility properties that may be held, owned and/or operated by the Citizens or its affiliates (including the Authority) and (z) is irrevocable.

Exhibit B (84 pages) entitled "Asset Purchase Agreement" -- roughly, is the sales agreement for the sewer utility. A quick perusal finds that the agreement would
-- prohibit the future sale of the sewer utility to a for-profit entity and as an additional safeguard, a grant of the right of first refusal for repurchase of this utility by the City-County (two thumbs up !!)
-- allow NO MORE THAN a 10.75% annual rate hike through 2013 - which through reference much later in the document appears to be the rate hike request now under review by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission
-- an agreement that Citizens Energy will not seek to have the sewer utility placed under the property tax system and thereby jeopardize the PILOT just passed by the Council that I discussed in "City-County Council Should Vote Down Prop 132" and which I will bring up again in another post
-- all for the assumption of debt and a cash payment of $262,600,000

Exhibit C (78 pages) also titled "Asset Purchase Agreement" -- roughly, is the sales agreement for the water utility
-- prohibit the future sale of "Geist Reservoir, Morse Reservoir, the Canal,the South Well Fields, and any other wells or current water sources to the extent such wells or water sources are critical to providing water to the trust beneficiaries" (excellent provision)
--prohibit the future sale of the sewer utility to a for-profit entity and as an additional safeguard, a grant of the right of first refusal for repurchase of this utility by the City-County (two more thumbs up !!)
-- a rate freeze for at least 2 years (until right AFTER the next Mayoral race - coincidence??)
-- the sale is contingent upon the results of the rate hike now before the IURC being "acceptable" (as I understand it from another meeting, it must be acceptable to Citizens Energy or they will not go through with the purchase) and the sale shall not be consummated prior to 6 months after the new rates take affect
-- all for the assumption of debt alone

Supporting document A (7 pages) -- titled "Articles of Incorporation of CWA Authority, Inc.", which is the authority created to assume the assets of the sewer utility and to be run by Citizens Energy

Supporting document B (119 pages) -- the Consent Decree for the remediation of the CSO problem, dated 9-20-06

Supporting document C (75 pages) -- sales disclosure for the sewer utility

Supporting document D (27 pages) -- amendment to the Consent Decree dated June 3, 2010

Supporting document E (1 page) -- a map of the excluded assets of the Belmont treatment plant

Supporting document F (68 pages) -- sales disclosure for the water utility

Supporting document G (31 pages) -- appears to be the 2010 Capital Improvement Plan for the water utility

Supporting document H (1 page) -- map titled "Current System Configuration" showing the location of various features of the water utility with Council Districts overlaid. The south wellfield seems to have been omitted on the map to these eyes.

Supporting document I (1 page) -- flow chart of Veolia's proposed water utility capital improvements, dated 10-17-2008

WHEW !!!!

The Utility Transfer committee members are: Republicans Ryan Vaughn, Marilyn Pfisterer, Bob Lutz, Barbara Malone, Angel Rivera, and Mikes Speedy, and Democrats Joanne Sanders, Paul Bateman, Maggie Lewis, Brian Mahern, and Angela Mansfield.

This committee is set to meet again on July 19 at 5:30 pm in room 260 of the City-County Building.

Happy Independence Day !

As we celebrate the birth of our nation some 234 years ago, we should remember that it is WE THE PEOPLE who are indeed the government. With that comes a big responsibility to participate. There is an overabundance of participation by those who want only personal gain - the lobbyists and their clients come to mind immediately to mind. What we need constantly in America is the participation of those who want to make this system work for all of the people.

Much thanks to all of you who serve in the military, those who serve on juries, those who work the elections, those who vote, and those who call and write their elected representatives about issues.

Have a safe and fun 4th of July. I hope your picnics and barbecues and get-togethers are fabulous.

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies
:For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments
:For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

Bathhouse At City Market - Really?

I'm so late with everything, that I doubt I'll ever catch up. But, this has been sticking with me and has been the source of a couple of pretty funny conversations lately. So, here goes with the not-so-late-breaking story of the proposed renovation of City Market, complete with showers.

As Francesca Jarosz, Indy Star City Hall beat reporter, posted back on June 17th, a $3.5 million dollar renovation plan has been approved for the City Market. $2.7 million will go to bringing a more colorful atmosphere to the main hall portion of the building. $800,000 will go to renovation of the east wing to turn it into a place where those who want to bicycle to work can store their bikes and - get this - shower before going on to work.

Now, where do I begin?

Does anyone else suspect that if Mayor Ballard liked to pogo to work, this plan would pivot around pogo sticks???

How many of you would ride to City Market, lock your bike up, shower in public facilities, change into your suit or equivalent, then hoof it off to wherever you worked downtown? No matter the weather? No matter the heat or cold?

How will security be secured? Towels? Will there be user fees? Assuming other citizens won't want to use the shower options the rest of the day, how will this use support itself? You figure riders may opt for a morning shower, but won't need that amenity on the way home. So, somehow, the east wing of the City Market is to pay for itself going forward, as an all-day bike lockup, and maybe 3 hour shower facility - at least on weekdays compatible with bicycling. Hmm...

How do these wacky ideas get enough traction to have otherwise intelligent folks voting to use $800,000 of taxpayer money to bring them to life? Where, immediately after the ribbon-cutting ceremony, they will die from their own absurdity.

I think it is the echo chamber wherein lives a select few who only know about spending other people's money (in this case taxpayer money) and who will accept any analysis or glossy paperwork that supports their pretty bad ideas. Unfortunately, we have too few voices that will shout out "ARE YOU CRAZY?" at the right time.