tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723709701684173708.post8716050897364772360..comments2024-03-28T11:21:19.200-04:00Comments on The Gossips of Rivertown: Water, Hudson, and Colarruso: Some HistoryCarole Osterinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16010623982526286408noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723709701684173708.post-25774794818800966212016-12-16T11:37:30.323-05:002016-12-16T11:37:30.323-05:00All that we need to hear from our ex-mayor is an a...All that we need to hear from our ex-mayor is an admission that the land was actually sold, and not leased. <br /><br />Calling it a lease is not being honest, either then or now.unheimlichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00204285837938988668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723709701684173708.post-31289440560308602822016-12-15T08:54:42.964-05:002016-12-15T08:54:42.964-05:00Do we know what the city paid for the land back in...Do we know what the city paid for the land back in 1969? If we know that, we can adjust that number for inflation up through 2002, and then present value the "lease payments" from the 2002 sale at an appropriate discount rate for 2002 (adjusting for the 14.5 acres retained by Hudson), and that will give us some vague idea perhaps as to whether or not the sales price for the land was reasonably fair, assuming land prices in that area stayed reasonably constant in real (as opposed to nominal) dollars, over that period. <br /><br />It is a good question through, as to why the land was not just put up for sale, and exposed to the market at large, if the city needed the money. Perhaps Mr. Scalera can enlighten us as to why that was not done. <br /><br />And at the time of the sale, was any appraisal done? Not that that would be a substitute for finding out what the land was worth (by exposing it to the market), but it would be better than having nothing at all, and just setting a price perhaps unrelated to market value (but presumably not higher, if one assumes that Colarusso were savvy business people, who would not overpay) that would finance Hudson's bond debt associated with its water treatment project. <br /><br />Steve Dunnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04588935402322108968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723709701684173708.post-27927979709480958452016-12-15T04:33:40.220-05:002016-12-15T04:33:40.220-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Steve Dunnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04588935402322108968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723709701684173708.post-2112175464889147412016-12-15T04:16:46.912-05:002016-12-15T04:16:46.912-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Steve Dunnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04588935402322108968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723709701684173708.post-11312886076168950592016-12-14T21:38:47.088-05:002016-12-14T21:38:47.088-05:00Glad Mayor Scalera responded. Time value of money ...Glad Mayor Scalera responded. Time value of money aside and the "Rock" being of no value to anyone else aside....<br /><br />Now how about the conversations between the Mayor and the aldermen regarding the SRO for men Galloway wanted to build at Warren and 5th?Observerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07476845411516796463noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723709701684173708.post-17123101276388838252016-12-14T21:38:24.911-05:002016-12-14T21:38:24.911-05:00Glad Mayor Scalera responded. Time value of money ...Glad Mayor Scalera responded. Time value of money aside and the "Rock" being of no value to anyone else aside....<br /><br />Now how about the conversations between the Mayor and the aldermen regarding the SRO for men Galloway wanted to build at Warren and 5th?Observerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07476845411516796463noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723709701684173708.post-35596866415911399202016-12-14T21:17:50.809-05:002016-12-14T21:17:50.809-05:00Former mayor Richard Scalera emailed this comment ...Former mayor Richard Scalera emailed this comment to me, which I am assuming he intended me to share:<br /><br />Since there are a few that are curious how the conversation went between Aldermen and myself as Mayor please allow me to paraphrase to the best of my recollection;<br />Alderman(fill in the blanks)<br />The City of Hudson will soon be building a new water treatment plant costing around 10 million dollars. Debt service for this build will be annually around 250 thousand. The Scalera Administration secured 2 million in grant money toward this project leaving about 8 million left to pay over many decades. There has been negotiations with Colarruso's that will bring to the city of Hudson 7 million dollars at the rate of 200g for the first 30 years and 100g for the next 10 years for the lease to own lands at the quarry that the city owns and most important the city KEEPS for future possible use its' secondary water supply. So the scenario is simple;<br />We sell the rock which was only valuable to Colarusso (and we reached out elsewhere) and offset our 8 million dollar cost of a new plant by 7 million.<br />As a result the city will have a new plant built and it will only cost taxpayers 1 million instead of the initial cost of 10 million dollars. If you support this the taxpayers of the City of Hudson will be greatly indebted. Thank You<br />Mayor ScaleraCarole Osterinkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16010623982526286408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723709701684173708.post-84095099849383096452016-12-14T17:01:28.145-05:002016-12-14T17:01:28.145-05:00Mayor: You're going to do this.
Council: What...Mayor: You're going to do this.<br /><br />Council: Whatever you say.unheimlichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00204285837938988668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723709701684173708.post-72785706058480862432016-12-14T15:49:09.174-05:002016-12-14T15:49:09.174-05:00I'd love to be able to hear the phone calls ma...I'd love to be able to hear the phone calls made at that time from Mayor Scalera to the aldermen. Observerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07476845411516796463noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723709701684173708.post-2356597882703111112016-12-14T14:48:43.006-05:002016-12-14T14:48:43.006-05:00Crony capitalism is a term describing an economy i...Crony capitalism is a term describing an economy in which success in business depends on close relationships between business people and government officials. It may be exhibited by favoritism in the distribution of legal permits, government grants, special tax breaks, or other forms of state interventionism.<br /><br />what a great legacy for Mayor ScaleraVincenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05548912912359709568noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723709701684173708.post-64745875397970190842016-12-14T14:42:07.871-05:002016-12-14T14:42:07.871-05:00Very well researched. Thank you.
Mr. DePew was co...Very well researched. Thank you.<br /><br />Mr. DePew was correct, that it was a sale of the mine and not a lease. I'd add that it was a sale between cronies, which came with an interest-free mortgage.<br /><br />When you read above that "no further research was undertaken, and no alternatives were explored," you wish you could have that moment back.<br /><br />But we're surrounded by such moments in the present, and still do nothing about them. <br /><br />For example, if the mine operator is permitted to clear trees for mining operations, does that permit logging as a supplementary industry on Becraft? The lease doesn't permit that, so don't we have an argument that the lessee is stealing City-owned resources?<br /><br />If a landlord sees that his tenant is doing extensive work on a leased house, and it appears that the tenant is stripping all of the copper pipes from the house, then whose responsibility is it to find out what's going on?<br /><br />Similarly, the wood is being removed from the mountain, but to where? <br /><br />The City has a responsibility to find out where its resources have been taken, and if the loggers profited in any way from this so-called "mining operation."<br /><br />Only it turns out that the city isn't the landlord as much as it's someone's lazy agent. Now a lazy agent isn't going to do anything the actual landlord doesn't demand, so the true landlord, Hudson taxpayers, have a responsibility to demand to know what's going on.<br /><br />Otherwise this alleged theft will continue.<br />unheimlichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00204285837938988668noreply@blogger.com