Hope is a journey, not a destination

 

I have a big mouth.

For as long as I can remember I have had a big mouth.

It has gotten me beat up.  Punched in the face. 

Me and my big mouth have earned bullet holes in my windows in my home.  Car windows shattered. 

And, more than a few threatening phone calls throughout my life.

In the 54 years that I have been on this planet my big mouth has said things I regret, as well as things that needed to be said. 

From this big mouth I’ve prayed out loud for mercy, for compassion and for joy.

Angry words, kind words, gentle words and harsh ones have come from my big mouth. 

Sad words, joyful ones and even a few uncertain ones have been known to be heard from my big mouth.

For me my big mouth isn’t just the one on my face.  It’s also the words that flow from my head to my fingers to the keyboard. 

Between my big mouth and my fingers, I’ve managed to earn a living, accomplish a couple of things that have made me proud of my time on this planet and, of course, annoyed more people than I can count.

Not a day goes by, however, that I don’t understand the value of the freedom that allows me to write and say what I want, when I want, where I want and why I want to say or write it.

God gave me the free will to speak my mind.

American Democracy has protected my right to exercise it.

Over the course of the past 48 to 72 hours we’ve once again witnessed a President with either a limited grasp of the rights and freedoms afforded to Americans, or a deliberately willful disregard for those freedoms.

If the former is true then it would be helpful if someone gave him a copy of the Constitution of the United States of America.

If the latter is true then it would be helpful if someone reminded him of his sworn duty to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America.

I have little time for those who desecrate or otherwise dishonor America’s flag.  I am weary of entertainers, celebrities and the rich and powerful on the left and right pontificating on what it really means to be an American.

Yet, my being tired of all of it has no bearing on their right to do any of it.  Or say any of it.

You see, when the Framers of the Constitution wrote it they didn’t add any disclaimers about who could, or couldn’t, exercise their Right to Free Speech.

Ironically, not only did they not specifically exclude people of every color, they also didn’t exclude people of every means.

Nor was there any mention of excluding professional football players or, for that matter, chubby 54-year-old guys with big noses.

I get that the President has inflamed us once again to wage a phony culture war among each other.

I get that nearly every one of us who has an opinion has expressed it.

We chased his shiny ball, and the rabbit carrying it, down the rabbit hole.

I get it.

This issue conflicts all of us.

For my friends who harshly criticize (and, rightly so) college students for shutting down the voices of conservatives they don’t agree with, I stand with your commitment to Free Speech.

For my friends who criticize the Republican leader of the United States Senator (and, rightly so) for attempting to quash the free speech of a Democratic Senator, I stand with your commitment to Free Speech.

To my President, who suggests we should fire or otherwise target NFL players, or anyone else, who doesn’t express their right to speak in a way he supports, I will never stand with your definition of Freedom of Speech.

Free speech is not supposed to be a right accorded only to those we agree with, or those whose exercise of it meets our standards of acceptability.

We don’t get to pick and choose whose free speech is okay and whose isn’t just because it pleases us or outrages us.

Conservatives and Liberals, Democrats and Republicans, and everyone else in America who is a citizen who has anything they want to say, or not say, in their exercise of free speech is guaranteed that right.

Period.  End of story.  No exceptions.

An NFL player choosing not to stand during the National Anthem, or kneeling during it, or staying in the locker room while it plays, is not how I would choose to make my voice heard about the issues I believe are important enough to make that statement.

If I don’t like it, and I don’t, I can choose to change the channel. 

And, I did, and I do.

But, a lot of people didn’t agree with a 54-year-old Saint Paul taxpayer putting a couple dozen bags of garbage in front of City Hall to protest politician’s failure to do their job.

I can assure you that the Mayor of St. Paul did not approve of the way I made that statement. 

But, he did not question my right to do so, nor did he threaten my life, my job or my family. 

My right to make that statement is no more, or less, an exercise in free speech than those NFL players who make their statements on, or off, the field.

The size of their bank account has no bearing on the size of their right to free speech.

Their right to do it, and to say it, is as big as mine.

As big as me and my big mouth.

 

 

 

This weekend an opinion piece was published in the Saint Paul Pioneer Press written by Ward 7 City Councilmember Jane Prince.

In her piece, which can be found here http://www.twincities.com/2017/09/24/jane-prince-a-view-of-the-ford-plan-from-st-pauls-east-side-why-not-a-citywide-economic-development-strategy/ Prince argues for slowing down the City Council’s planned September 27^th vote on the Ford Site Zoning and Public Realm Master Plan.

She thoughtfully articulates that other parts of St. Paul stand to lose from the City’s ill-advised rush to zone the former Ford site, and along with it, the commitment of hundreds of millions of dollars of tax increment financing to support their vision.

A commitment of resources that will come at the expense of Prince’s Ward, and every other City Council Ward that will be deprived of resources so a mass density nightmare can be constructed in Ward Three.

Along with her concerns, and her support for an earlier call by the Pioneer Press Editorial Board that the City Council should delay its vote to permit greater public engagement, Prince also outlined some proposed changes she would like to see on the Ford Site Zoning and Public Realm Master Plan.

Even if Prince’s amendments were adopted it should require the entire Ford Site Zoning and Public Realm Master Plan, along with any amendments, to be resubmitted to the public for review and further scrutiny.

While I may not agree with many of her proposals I will say this:  Prince has stepped forward to show what leadership means in a City Councilmember.

It is a remarkable thing, indeed, that two City Councilmembers who don’t even represent the Ward I live in have done more in two weeks to provide the leadership my own Councilmember can’t or won’t provide.

While my City Councilmember, Chris Tolbert, has simply followed the directions and advice of City Planning Staff, the Mayor and Ford Motor Company, City Councilmember Jane Prince and Dai Thao have listened to the voices of our community.

They have called on the City Council to delay this vote.  They have offered their own thoughts and ideas on how they believe the proposal can be improved.  They have echoed many of the same serious and legitimate concerns raised by those who live near the Saint Paul Ford site.

My City Councilmember?

When given the opportunity to dramatically address the shortcomings of this proposal he submitted an amendment to allow affirm developers can build 10 story buildings in exchange for a paltry addition of greenspace.

There was no effort to reduce the massive amounts of density.  No amendment to deal with traffic.  No commitment in an amendment to add more greenspace – or restore recreational fields for children.

Or any amendment that would demand Ford Motor Company clean 100% of the site they own to the state they found the land in before they polluted it over the 85 years they built cars in their factory.

Where Jane Prince has been a leader Chris Tolbert has been a follower.

This coming Wednesday it is obvious that the odds are stacked against the neighborhood and the tens of thousands of residents who oppose this pop culture urban planning fancy of Councilmember Tolbert and the City Staff who have created it.

Were there four votes to delay this vote we would have known it by the voice of Councilmember Chris Tolbert being the leader who called for it.

Yet, there is no voice from him. 

Only the consent to follow the lead of others.

Except for those he was elected to serve.

Councilmember Jane Prince has a proposal.

A representative of Neighbors for a Livable St. Paul even presented a proposal in this opinion piece in the Pioneer Press http://www.twincities.com/2017/09/17/charles-hathaway-a-framework-for-the-ford-site-that-more-people-could-support/

Whether it is Prince’s proposal, Councilmember Dai Thao’s own proposal or Neighbors for a Livable St. Paul, this much is true:  The vote scheduled for this Wednesday is an affront to the way democracy is supposed to work in St. Paul.

Lost amid the comforting words of Councilmember Tolbert and advocates of this plan that there have been ten years of debate on this property are the simple facts.

City leaders submitted one plan to the people of St. Paul after 10 years of meetings about the Ford site.

That one plan failed to address the concerns of thousands of citizens who rejected the essential elements that comprise the Ford Site Zoning and Public Realm Master Plan.

A plan that has failed to have any substantial public review since it was unveiled in November.

The Ford Site Zoning and Public Realm Master Plan fails every test of best practices of public process and public policy.

This Wednesday the City Council has two choices.

The first, is to follow those who Chris Tolbert has chosen to follow and pass the Ford Site Zoning and Public Realm Master Plan.

The second, is to follow those whose leadership has called upon them to delay this vote and give the people of our community the chance to make a bad plan a better plan for our future.

To lead or to follow.

Who will be the leader.

Who will be the follower.

We shall soon see.

 

 

 

Here are six numbers I would like you to think about.

24.

6.

4.

35.

46.

0.

The first is the amount of a property tax increase that Saint Paul Mayor Chris Coleman proposed on taxpayers in St. Paul.  It is the same amount that the Saint Paul City Council approved this week.

The second is the Saint Paul School District’s proposed tax increase.

The third is the amount that Saint Paul taxpayers would have to shoulder from Ramsey County as it has proposed its own tax increase.

The fourth is the total amount of a tax increase that will be put on the backs of Saint Paul taxpayers.

The fifth is the number of days left until Saint Paul elects its new Mayor.

The final is the total number of candidates for Mayor who have offered any significant public opposition to any of the following numbers:  24.  6. 4. 34.

The only thing that prevents the number 34 from being even higher – 43% — is that the Saint Paul City Council decided not to pursue a 33% tax increase that some of its members had suggested be considered.

Saint Paul is drowning in taxes and out-of-control spending.

And, excuses from its elected officials.

In their sack cloth and ashes our City Council, Ramsey County Board and School Board all act crestfallen as they declare they have no choice but to raise taxes on Saint Paul residents.

It pains them, they say, to do such things but they have, after all, no choice.

If lacking leadership, vision and creativity is a choice then yes, they are right, they have no choice.

The Saint Paul Pioneer Press, through two different stories by Josh Verges, shows that the combined tax increases, coupled with an increase in city utility fees, on a home valued at $173,900 is about $167.00

Now, those promoting these tax increases would rather you look at the individual dollar impact of their actions.

That way it doesn’t sound so bad.

As though telling someone they have to pay $167.00 more next year for property taxes is a good thing.

Saint Paul’s Mayor and City Council even have the audacity to tell us that the 24% tax increase they are endorsing will be “revenue neutral” because the tax increases simply offset the reduction in assessments on residents.

Anytime a politician tells you something is revenue neutral I want you to remember they are the same politicians who believe in Unicorns and that there exists a Money Tree.

Combining two words together in the hopes that they mean something that is true is simply false.

But, let’s get back to the Saint Paul Mayor’s race.

One would think a 34% property tax increase on the backs of the people of Saint Paul would elicit a “WTF!”

Sadly, it’s been more like “Huh?”

I have done my best to search for any significant public opposition from any of the candidates for Mayor.

I can’t find any.

I have looked for a press release, a press conference or a press statement in which any of the leading candidates for Mayor have said, “This will not stand if I am elected Mayor.”

Admittedly, I am old and my eyesight is nowhere near what it once was so maybe I just couldn’t see it on their websites.

Nor have I seen any currently elected official in these three units of government, or those running to fill a seat on any of these three units of government, suggest that raising taxes repeatedly on the people of St. Paul might not be the only way to run a government.

In fact, perhaps instead of raising taxes 24% on Saint Paul residents the City might have first looked – seriously – at whether there were other areas of current or proposed future spending that could have been reduced without risking the life and safety of St. Paul residents.

Perhaps instead of asking City staff to spend time figuring out the impact of a 33% tax increase the City Council might have asked them what they could have reasonably done to reduce spending to avoid a 24% tax increase in St. Paul.

Here’s an idea:  Maybe one of the candidates for Saint Paul Mayor could propose that approach.

I’m old fashioned, I know.  I still believe that elections should have consequences.

In Saint Paul politics and government these days it is an antiquated notion that people’s concerns about the safety of their neighborhoods and respect for their pocketbooks should be a priority.

When elected officials fear little from the backlash of their constituents for the poor decisions they make they simply continue to make them.

When candidates for Mayor don’t think people are paying attention to these things they instead focus on shrinking the electorate, not expanding it, ahead of Election Day.

I suppose with 46 days left there could be someone running for Mayor that makes the numbers 24, 6, 4 and 34 an issue in this campaign.

But that would require a different number.

7.

The number of letters it takes to spell C.O.U.R.A.G.E.

As candidates for Mayor step up to oppose the Saint Paul City Council’s drive to pass a zoning plan for the Saint Paul Ford Plant site, Pat Harris released a statement today that included this paragraph:

 “I am concerned that the current plan is not balanced and is not fully integrated into the surrounding neighborhood. Importantly, I believe that rezoning of the entire Ford site at this time is premature. Zoning is the City’s primary tool for encouraging quality development.  Zoning is the single best card in our hand, and we are playing that card too soon – well before other cards are on the table. “

To read the entire statement that was released today go to this link:  http://www.patharrisformayor.com/our-ace/

Pat’s reasoning is bulletproof as to why the Council’s actions serve only to benefit financially Ford Motor Company and prospective developers.

Rarely in St. Paul’s history have elected officials been so eager to hand over the keys to the City’s zoning power and influence in exchange for…nothing.

Which is really what the City of St. Paul gets for its trouble – and for the trouble that the City Council has created in our community by its insistence on passing a zoning plan that fails to meet any standard of commonsense.

Nothing.

Council President Russ Stark and Ward Three City Councilmember are the instigators of this elusive approach to reason.

Both of them, in their own way, is convinced that they know better than neighbors what is best for their community.

Yes, they acknowledge public opposition.

No, it just doesn’t matter to them.

The process of democracy in St. Paul is broken.  It has been for a long time.

Perhaps there is no better example of it then this issue.

Ward Three City Councilmember Chris Tolbert knows that his constituents, overwhelmingly, oppose this project.

He can see it on the streets.  He has heard it in living rooms.  He has read it in the newspapers.

Yet, he refuses to concede, even slightly, to their concerns.

He refuses to even throw them a bone of democratic decency by delaying the vote on the Ford zoning plan.

A delay that would do nothing more than allow community voices to come to the table and consider whether there are other zoning options that will better serve everyone in St. Paul.

If the people of St. Paul are the driving force behind their government, the City Council will delay this vote with their gratitude.

If Ford Motor Company is the driving force behind this government, the City Council will approve this plan with their gratitude.

Ironically, the person Chris Tolbert replaced on the City Council, Pat Harris, is the very person who put together a framework that was intended to avoid the very place we are in today.

A framework that Chris Tolbert could point to next week when as he stands before his colleagues and says, “We can wait.  The community deserves this opportunity to make this plan a better plan for all of St. Paul.”

The vote next week is a litmus test, this much is true.

It is a litmus test in democracy.

It is a litmus test in courage.

Some have suggested the City Council has already made up their minds and intend to vote to approve this plan no matter what people most affected by it are saying.

But, I still hold out hope that democracy still has a place in our City government.

That there is still enough courage in City Hall to stand up against the mighty and the powerful.

The courage to stand up for the neighbors who stayed behind even when Ford Motor Company closed its factory and moved away.

I still hold out hope that my voice, and the voice of my neighbors, is stronger than Ford Motor Company.

Stronger than the special interest groups that have seized outsized power on the St. Paul City Council and far too many of its members.

Until that vote is taken next week I still believe there must be some room for reason with my own City Councilmember.

Some way for him to shake free from his stubborn insistence of his rightness to find the righteous way forward on this and delay the vote.

Ford Motor Company gave up on Saint Paul, closed its factory and moved away.

It tore down its buildings and left in its place mounds of dirt and toxic poisons.

Decades from now Ford will still be cleaning up the poison in that dirt.

The question is, decades from now will the community still be cleaning up the poison from the Ford Site Zoning and Public Realm Master Plan.

 

This February marks my 6^th year as Executive Director at Spare Key.

Prior to that I had served on the Spare Key Board of Directors.

It was during that time I met Jim Ryder.

Jim Ryder is a mortgage guy.

Through and through.

He’s also a pen and paper guy.

Let me explain what that means.

The vast majority of people who have recently had to buy or sell a home are subjected to all sorts of emails and electronic documents where you get pricing on the cost of your mortgage, the interest rate and all of those other financial details that boggle your mind when you have to try to find a mortgage.

You won’t get that from Ryder.

What you will get is a fax, or perhaps a scan of a piece of paper in an email, where he has written all of that information down with a pen.

On a piece of paper.

That is Ryder.

Which, incidentally, is how he would prefer you refer to him.

Ryder.

Any phone call to or from Jim is answered mostly in the same way: “Ryder!”

With both an exclamation and mostly with a smile you can’t see but you can hear on the phone.

When I was a Board Member Ryder was the guy always looking for a way to get Spare Key out in the community.

He, himself, put our logo on his business cards and began the process of making a donation to Spare Key each time he helped someone get a mortgage.

He didn’t make a big deal out of his donations.  He just sent a check.  In an envelope.  That he addressed with a pen and a piece of paper explaining how the donation came about.

When I became Executive Director Ryder was still on the Board. 

He and his big heart.

He was one of the first people to call me and let me know whatever I needed he was there to do.

Sometimes he liked my ideas.  Sometimes he hated them.

Like the time we moved the Spare Key Groove Gala to a venue in which we discarded the sit-down dinner.

Ryder, being a good sport, showed up. 

But, when three or four of his drinks fell through the hole that was created when three cocktail tables were pulled together it was clear he was no fan of the change in the Gala venue.

When we moved the event to a sit-down dinner format he was back with a smile on his face – and his drinks stayed in place right in front of him where they belonged.

Most of the time we were able to agree to disagree.

Sometimes we couldn’t get to that point.

Despite one of those times Jim never gave up on Spare Key or walked away.

He stayed true to his promise and commitment to support the organization no matter what.

Which is what he has done since the first day he became a Board Member – and every day since that time.

I write about Ryder because Jim is the reason the world turns.

Whether it is the passion he brings to the industry through his leadership with the Minnesota Mortgage Association, or through his professionalism with his mortgage company, Fairway Independent Mortgage Company,  Ryder is the “Bounce” in Spare Key’s motto of helping families “Bounce and not Break.”

I often tell people that Ryder is the “Extra brother I don’t need.”

As someone who has five brothers (and three sisters) I adore them with all my heart.

Which tells you what I think about Ryder.

I adore him with all my heart.

We live in a big world where there is stress, tension and frustration and heart ache all around us.

We have a choice.

We can let all of that suck us in or drag us down.

Or, we can get up in the morning and commit to making a difference in the lives of others – even when our life sometimes seems so bleak.

Ryder gets up and he makes a difference.

I also write about Ryder because some days I have to remind myself that we live in a world where there is more good than not.

I also write this because I owe Ryder 38 more Long Island Teas.

I am looking forward to the next 38 events I see Ryder at for Spare Key, the MMA or some other organization, so I can finally complete my obligation to keep his whistle wet!

I never met Councilmember Dai Thao until he showed up at O’Gara’s several weeks ago at an event that resulted in over 250 people attending to voice their opposition to the current zoning plan for the Saint Paul Ford Plant site.

We spoke briefly, and I thanked him for attending the event.

He went about talking with my fellow guests and neighbors, listening to their concerns about the effort of the City to drown out community voices and pass a zoning plan that is oppose by the vast majority of the community.

In recent weeks Councilmember Dai Thao has become a leading public voice in opposition to a current majority of his City Council colleagues’ efforts to jam through the Ford site zoning plan

He voted against a weak, meaningless and counterproductive amendment by my own City Councilmember, Chris Tolbert, and made it clear he was not comfortable with the rush to judgement by the City on the Ford site zoning plan.

Today, he came out publicly opposing the Ford site zoning plan and outlined his reasons for opposing the plan, and calling for a series of studies prior to any further movement on the Ford site zoning plan.

In a Facebook Live announcement today, Councilmember Dai Thao said, “…I do not support the Ford Site as it currently stands.  We must have a more transparent and accountable process where we not only listen but hear the voices of our community members.”

He went on to articulate what he does support with respect to the Ford site:

• Density must have affordable housing at 30% of the area median income
• There should be Multi-modal transit options for bikes, pedestrians, and public transportation
• We need actual Green space kids can play on and stormwater management infrastructure
• And we need a Community-driven process that is transparent and accountable to the people not the developer

He made it equally clear what he does not support at the Ford site:

• I don’t support Drowning out community voices
• I don’t believe in Claiming success for the number of meetings held where people are not listened to nor heard
• I don’t support a plan that doesn’t include a health impact assessment and a traffic study that does not includes winter driving

He summed up his feelings by making this statement:

“And I don’t support profit-driven process pitting neighbors against neighbors where the community loses out and the developer walks away with massive profit on the backs of taxpayers”

Now, I understand the Councilmember is running for Mayor.

Tom Goldstein, who is also running for Mayor, has made equally strong statements against the current proposal and process.

To Tom’s credit he has been consistent, vocal and the first candidate for Mayor to unequivocally state his opposition.

Both Councilmember Dai Thao and Tom Goldstein are likely to receive significant praise from the growing thousands of neighbors who are opposing this project because of their willingness to take a stand.

They deserve, rightfully, to receive that praise because of the courage of their voices and their commitment to taking a public stand.

In the city’s current insidious electoral process called Ranked Choice Voting I find some mild comfort that I may have a second choice in who I support for Mayor.

My first choice is Pat Harris.  I am committed to that first choice support for Pat.

But the leadership shown by Councilmember Dai Thao and Tom Goldstein on the Ford site zoning plan have clearly given me reason to consider which of these two I may cast my second choice vote for in November.

I may not agree with all they say, and all they stand for, but on the Ford issue alone I applaud their courage and commitment to make it clear that neighbors opposing this project should have their voices of opposition respected.

There is a crack in the Council’s effort to show unified support against the community in their drive to pass the Ford site zoning plan as Councilmember Dai Thao has clearly showed.

There should be more cracks, one would hope, expressed publicly, in the days ahead.

Whether there are others with courage willing to step forward on the Council and say “Stop” or other political figures willing to do the same, remains to be seen.

I applaud Councilmember Dai Thao for lending his voice of opposition to this effort.

It is time for others to publicly join the fight to “Stop the Ford Plan. Rethink the Development.”

 

 

 

In all of the debate over the future of the Ford site in Saint Paul very little attention has been paid to the level of pollution that is on this site.

Remember, Ford wasn’t growing crops on the 140 acres situated in the backyards of thousands of residents and spitting distance from the Mississippi River.

It was building cars and trucks.

In doing so, over the 85 or so years it did, Ford used untold gallons and tons of toxic chemicals to bathe parts, to paint vehicles and to clean up machines.

Those chemicals were kept in barrels.  Or poured into drains.  And leached into the soil.

From 1925 to 2011 Ford Motor Company built vehicles for America.

And polluted the land in which it did so.

Today, in 2017 the Friends of Mississippi River are warning Ford and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency that there is a terrible danger in the ground at the Ford site.

A danger so terrible and toxic that it can injure and kill people and destroy the fragile environment along the banks of the Mississippi River.

In a letter on July 14^th, 2017 to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency the Friends of the Mississippi River write:

“Overall, there is significant understated water quality contamination at the site and a significant risk of future contamination to groundwater and the Mississippi River that is not adequately addressed in the Report.”

The report they are referring to is what is called the “Ford Area C Comprehensives Site History and Investigation Report II”

They go on to write:

“Specifically, the Investigation Report: 1) ignores the risk of intact barrels contained within the pile of industrial waste 2) inappropriately applies surface water standards to groundwater contamination identified at the site 3) poorly evaluates the complexities of ground and surface water interaction and the close connection to water quality contamination at the site 4) uses water quality analytical methods with reporting and method detection limits significantly higher than applicable standards thereby minimizing potential contamination 5) inadequately investigates contamination due to very limited sampling both in terms of frequency of samples and number of parameters analyzed for, in the Mississippi River near Area C conducted for commonly detected compounds emanating from the waste pile.”

But it gets worse.

Much worse.

Because on this land that the City Council wants to zone for up to 10,000 people, Ford Motor Company dumped chemicals containing Thallium.

Rather than let my words describe it, let me let the Friends of the Mississippi River describe it:

“Thallium has been called the “poisoner’s poison” since it is colorless, odorless, and tasteless. It can be absorbed through the skin as well as ingested and inhaled. Thallium’s chemical properties are compiled in the following fact sheet: http://www.health.utah.gov/enviroepi/appletree/Lehi/thallium.pdf. A review of research that has been conducted on thallium in aquatic ecosystems can be found here: http://espace.inrs.ca/830/1/R001272.pdf . For these comments to the Area C Investigative Report, it is important to emphasize that thallium is extremely toxic, and has multiple routes of exposure that can impact human and aquatic health including adsorption through the skin and a bioconcentration factor in fresh water fish and plants of 100,000.”

If you don’t believe me, then go read the report yourself here:

https://fmr.org/sites/default/files/attachments/Ford%20combined%20letter%20and%20comments%20-%20letter%20first.pdf

The Mayor of St. Pau, the City Council and City Planners know of this poison in our backyard.

Yet, they are driven by the need to pass a zoning plan to essentially hold Ford Motor Company harmless and not require them to clean up 100% of the entire Ford site before they hand the title of the property over to someone else.

In no time in my more than 35 years in politics and public service have I ever seen a City government willing to allow a corporate polluter to walk away from its obligations to clean up the land it polluted.

Members of the City Council, and the Mayor of St. Paul, tout their efforts to make St. Paul a “green” city.  They vote for resolutions calling for steps to stop global climate change.

Yet, the turn their backs on more than 85 years of pollution that is in our backyards and can easily destroy the ecosystem of the Mississippi River.

There is more, much more, in the Friends of the Mississippi River letter that talks about the levels of pollution – known and unknown – on the Ford site.

Giving the City Council, the Mayor and City Planners the benefit of the doubt that they haven’t read the report, please feel free to share the link with them – I know I will.

All logical arguments in favor of stopping the Ford zoning vote on September 27^th seems incapable of seeping into their minds.

Perhaps the potential of toxic poisons seeping into our rivers, streams and backyards and poisoning fish, wildlife and people will change their minds.

 

1.)   Why is the City Council not rescheduling its final Public Hearing on the Ford site zoning plan that will take place on Rosh Hashanah?

Apparently City officials must think that the public hearing will be done in time to allow those of the Jewish faith to hurry up, state their opinion on the Ford site plan, and then get home before sunset.

Do they know something the rest of the community doesn’t know?

Otherwise, one must ask:  Would the City Council hold a final public hearing on a matter of grave importance to current and future generations on Christmas Day?  Ramadan?  Or pick one of the holiest days of any religion?

2.)   Why is the City Council forcing a final vote on the Ford site zoning plan on September 27^th?

There is no publicly declared reason or rationale for doing this.  When asked by neighbors our own Councilmember simply says something along the lines of “September 27^th is a good day to do it.”

With no deadlines to rush the vote and growing opposition to the plan why wouldn’t the City simply delay the vote for a few weeks to review other options?  When the City unveiled its plan in November there were no other options for citizens to review.  There was one plan.  It was their way or the highway.

3.)   Why is the City Council allowing Ford to fail to clean the ENTIRE site to the highest standards possible?

Ford Motor company polluted our neighborhood.

Ford Motor company should not be allowed to sell – or leave—our neighborhood until 100% of the property has been cleaned up.  Not 60% or 70% — but 100%

Why should current and future residents have to bear the brunt of pollution in our community because the City Council refused to demand Ford Motor Company clean up 100% of their pollution in our community?

4.)   Why is the City Council and City Officials continuing to tell us that we have spent 10 years talking about this plan?

It is simply not true.

The plan that we have before us was only unveiled in November.

The City Council – the City – the Mayor – have deliberately failed to hold a series of official public meetings to discuss the plan with the community.

Not one.

Not in the entire time the plan was unveiled in November.

5.)   Why isn’t there an actual comprehensive traffic plan in place before the City Council votes?

Why would any elected official allow a massive impact of traffic on the streets, neighborhood and lives of residents not be studied before they pass a zoning plan that will create a massive impact of traffic on the streets, neighborhood and lives of residents?

Go back to Question #2 for no answer to question #5.

6.)  Why isn’t there an actual financial analysis of the cost to the taxpayers of Saint Paul on this plan before the City Council votes?

The cost to taxpayers is going to be staggering.  Any significant infrastructure on the Ford plant site under the current zoning plan will be paid for by taxpayers.

Millions of dollars.  In the long run perhaps approaching a billion dollars with general obligation bonds, tax increment financing and all sorts of other complex and complicated financial tools the city will use to raise money to pay for it.

And, remember that nearly 30% property tax increase proposed by Mayor Chris Coleman we’re going to get hit with?  Remember those days fondly because the next massive increase is going to be the result of the costs of the Ford Plant site the City is looking to pass.

7.)  Why doesn’t the City disclose its conversations and detailed plans with District Energy, Evergreen Energy, Fresh Energy, Xcel Energy and City staff about their plans for creating an energy plant for the Ford plant site?

Refer to question #8.

8.)   Why won’t the City Council tell us the real reason why they are insisting on this vote for September 27^th?

When you fail to be candid with your community it raises many questions about motives and intents.

If there is a reason the City Council must have this vote on September 27^th  that hasn’t been publicly disclosed, then City Council and our Mayor have a legal obligation to do so.

Above all else, the people of this community have the right to know.

 

Today, Spare Key celebrates its 20^th Anniversary of helping families “Bounce and not Break.”

Little could have the Founders of Spare Key know that September 15, 1997 would begin a 20 year journey that would impact the lives of untold thousands of Moms and Dads and their children.

As I write this piece I am only an hour or so back from my time in Aberdeen, South Dakota with the REALTORS Convention of the Dakotas – the combined annual meeting of the North Dakota and South Dakota Association of REALTORS.

Since 2014 Spare Key has been honored to be invited to attend this conference.  In doing so we are given the opportunity to meet with, communicate with and celebrate with hundreds of REALTORS from across the states of North Dakota and South Dakota.

Men and women who care deeply and passionately about their community.

Who, in their own REALTOR Pledge, swear to dedicate their professional life to improving not just their industry, but the lives of those who live in the communities in which they live.

I thought it fitting that as I sit at my desk and write this that I had this opportunity to spend a couple of days with REALTORS in South Dakota.

Because they reminded me – for what has to be so many times I can no longer keep track – of the power of grace and generosity of strangers who have helped Spare Key to this place in our 20^th year of operations.

We have served over 3,200 families with more than $3.2 million in housing grants.

But, it isn’t numbers that we talk about at Spare Key.

It’s about families.  Moms and Dads.  Children.

In 20 years we have seen amazing stories of resilience and courage and recovery.

We’ve also shared tears with families whose child simply could not overcome the illness or injury that brought them to the time where they earned their Angel Wings and found their way to God.

I was honored to Spare Key’s new Executive Director when we celebrated our 15^th Anniversary.

I am humbled to be it as we celebrate our 20^th Anniversary.

Through those five years we have seen growth at Spare Key.  We have served more families.  We have raised more money.  We are in more states.

We have helped more families “Bounce and not Break.”

Yet, our goal is not to grow for the sake of growth or to flaunt numbers and figures and statistics.

I would much rather be able to say that we never have to help a family because there are no sick and injured children in the world.

I can’t so I don’t think about those things I cannot change.

Instead I, along with our dedicated staff at Spare Key, think about the things we can change.

So, too, does our Board of Directors and the thousands of donors and volunteers who every single year come together to make the difference we need to have to give families the “Gift of Time.”

Words cannot ever do justice to 20 years of serving families who in their darkest hours simply were looking for the grace of the light.

The light that could come from anywhere.

For 20 years it came from someone who carried it forward by donating to Spare Key.

In the end that is all any of us should want in the most desperate hours.

Someone who cares about us.  Thinks about us.  Stands with us.

As I sat in South Dakota with hundreds of my neighbors from North Dakota and South Dakota, and saw the quiet passion they have for service, I had a few moments to reflect on the past five years.

Like any person who works for a living I have had my fair share of good days and bad days.

I won’t pretend to suggest that being the Executive Director of a non-profit means that my job is more fulfilling or meaningful than somebody else’s job.

All I can do is speak for myself.

I used to work in a business where I rubbed elbows with Ambassadors from foreign lands–was in meetings with U.S. Presidents, Vice Presidents and some of the most powerful members of Congress–CEOs of multi-national corporations–the Presidents, Prime Ministers and Foreign Ministers of other countries–and celebrities and powerful people with more influence and money than I care to remember.

Minutes after I arrived in Aberdeen on Wednesday I was on a hotel floor ironing the wrinkles out of a tablecloth to use at The REALTORS Convention of the Dakotas for Spare Key.

I’ve been privileged to do many things in many places and I can honestly say nothing has made me feel better about who I am and what I do than this job.

On this day that Spare Key celebrates its 20^th Anniversary I want to say “Thank You” to those of you who have allowed me that privilege by supporting this mission in big ways and small.

News that Amazon considers Minnesota to be a significant candidate for locating a major corporate headquarters has our Governor declaring that he is making it a top priority to do what he can to make that happen.

Unfortunately, Mayor Chris Coleman and the Saint Paul City Council have chosen a different priority.

Instead of using the power of zoning to their advantage when it comes to the Ford site they have handed over that power to Ford Motor Company.

Instead of having options on the table to take advantage of opportunities like Amazon they have backed themselves into a corner in which they have only themselves to blame.

The City claims Ford Motor Company is driving their decision to implement a zoning plan that is a looming disaster for tens of thousands of residents.

In using this as cover for their actions, the Coleman Administration and City Councilmember Chris Tolbert insist they must vote on September 27^th to approve a plan that will eliminate the City’s opportunity to land Amazon.

Donald Trump wrote a book called “The Art of the Deal.”

Mayor Coleman and Councilmember Tolbert must have misunderstood the title in developing their strategy to give away the City’s leverage with Ford.

Their effort is more like something one might read from a book with the title “The Art of the Steal.” – and the folks at Ford Motor Company must be pretty happy that the City has read it from cover to cover.

But the Mayor and the Saint Paul City Council can bring themselves back from the brink of giving away the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that is Amazon.

They have three options. 

Option One:

Stick with their September 27^th vote and pursue the Mayor’s vision of a zoning plan on the site of the former Ford Plant and crater a neighborhood with 10,000 more people – 10 story buildings – increase vehicle traffic by 30,000 additional trips a day.

Option Two:

Put the current vote on hold and single-mindedly pursue a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to bring Amazon’s 2^nd North American headquarter to St. Paul and create lifetime jobs and opportunity for thousands of Minnesotans near and far?

Option Three:

Claim that Saint Paul doesn’t have a realistic chance at Amazon and simply do nothing and hope that nobody notices that they actually did…nothing.

Soon the Mayor and the City Council will have to admit: You don’t get to chase Amazon and its bounty of jobs, tax base and tax revenue AND pass the zoning plan that the Mayor and the City Council have made clear they intend to pass on September 27^th.

You must pick one or the other.

And, given the Mayor’s campaign for Governor, things got interesting today when the Star Tribune reported that one of the Mayor’s opponents for DFL endorsement was already suggesting the Ford site as a great location for Amazon.

“State Rep. Paul Thissen, a DFLer who is running for governor, suggested the former Ford plant property in St. Paul, which sprawls 122 acres, or the 427-acre Arden Hills armory site as possibilities.”

Where was the Mayor’s voice?

I’m not sure.

But it wasn’t standing front and center telling Amazon that he was going to fight like Hell for those jobs for the City of St. Paul.

By insisting on an artificial deadline to pass the Ford site zoning plan on September 27^th the Mayor and the Saint Paul City Council have effectively taken St. Paul out of the running for the opportunity of a lifetime with Amazon.

Oh, I know Saint Paul isn’t a lock for Amazon and its glorious cache of jobs.

But, I also know that right now Saint Paul is definitely not in the running given its willingness to give away its leverage at the St. Paul Ford Plant site.

One has to wonder out loud.

Does Ford think they may get more money for their land from Amazon than they will from, say a Saint Paul Building Trades brokered REIT with a private developer?

If they do, I bet that whatever handshake – or whatever form the agreement took when the Mayor and Councilmember Tolbert agreed to zone the Ford site to Ford Motor Company’s liking – is not going to hold up very long.

Decades ago political pundits and others debated loudly about who failed to stop China from falling to the Communists.

Recriminations were everywhere as folks pointed fingers at one another for not doing enough to stop it from happening.

The question was asked, “Who lost China?”

Years from now, while the Mayor and his allies on the City Council who advocated for the current Ford site zoning plan attempt to deflect blame onto one another for its failings, we will be left with many questions about what could have been.

Instead of a failed mass density footprint that could not withstand the test of time we could have had a global corporate headquarters, along with housing and other mixed uses, on the Saint Paul Ford Plant site.

Years from now the question will be asked, “Who lost Amazon?”

We already know the answer today.