Even tho the project may or may not be dead, it seems it is still the main thing people are talking about, so . . . here’s another round up dedicated to the Edgewater.
WHERE WAS THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR ON THE EDGEWATER
Ok, I’m not sure what Tim Cooley’s role should have been, but it probably isn’t to bash the city after the fact. He knew so little about TIF and wanted to play poker with taxpayer dollars, but that didn’t stop him from commenting, now, he’s commenting ignorantly about the approval process. (By the way, good comments at the end of that post.) I laughed as one neighbor responded to the article:
If Tim Cooley doesn’t like the messy democracy we have in Madison because he’d rather have an easy job giving into every Tom, Dick and Harriet developer that wants to deface our city, he’s welcome to leave and I’d be happy to sponsor his going away party.
I was shocked when the Economic Development Committee had no information (how many jobs? multiplier effect?) when they tried to make a decision about the Edgewater. I was shocked again when at the council meeting neither the unions nor Edgewater folks could say how many jobs would be created. My response to Cooley’s comment:
“Our approvals process has to be streamlined,” said Tim Cooley, the city’s economic development director. “It just has to. We don’t have a choice anymore.”
is that maybe if he and his staff had been doing their jobs, the alders could have found differently, but with no info on the jobs, it made it kind of hard. I’m just dying to hear how he thinks the approvals process needs to be streamlines, cuz its not what the Mayor is proposing. The Mayor is talking about ADDING to the landmarks process and having the council weigh in on MORE projects, not less. Quite frankly, I’m sick of this talking point that we have been hearing for years that still has no details, what exactly do they mean by streamlining the process. Details please.
HOW MANY JOBS
No one seems to know, but the forons has some ideas.
IRONIC . . . AND SAD
Looking back, this article seems ironic. Here’s my favorite line:
But Cieslewicz insists this new business-friendly approach doesn’t mean the city is abandoning its commitment to good projects. There needs to be a balance, he says, between promoting economic development and protecting neighborhoods.
BE HONEST ABOUT IT
Both Stuart Levitan and I ended up on the Landmark’s Commission after being kicked off other committees. We openly joked about it being the punishment committee, which is why I find it so interesting that it is receiving so much attention now. As we continue to discuss it’s fate, I think Zweifel is right, lets just be honest. Do we care about our history, or not? I think many do not, so lets just be honest about it.
MAYOR WAS HONEST
This is what the Mayor wants to do:
Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz said he wants city staff next year to review and update the city’s landmarks ordinance to strip the commission of its authority to reject construction projects in historic districts. The commission is designed to protect the integrity of historic buildings and historic districts in the city.
At least that is what this reporter got out of it.
NATIONAL TRUST STORY
Here’s the article on the Edgewater from the Nation Trust for Historic Preservation.
CAP TIMES CALLS IT LIKE THEY SEE IT
And I’m glad they did. Here’s what they have to say:
The truth is that the mayor is less concerned about democracy than about his inability to get his way. Cieslewicz wants to see the Edgewater project go forward and is willing to cut corners in order to make it happen.
Sadly, the opinion piece is titled “Mayor’s role key to renewing Edgewater project”. Given how he has bungled it so far, lets hope not.
WHAT DOES DUNN/HAMMES WANT
First, silence. Then, a statement that sounds like the developer has given up. I could be wrong, but this sounds like a guy who has moved on to stadium projects elsewhere. So, what if Schumacher moves to reconsider and it passes and then the developer is no longer interested? There’s still a long road ahead for this project with the Zoning Board of Appeals variance issue – if the Mayor doesn’t change the law first. And the matter of TIF and the rest of the land use process. Perhaps, they just gave up.
THANK YOUR ALDER
No matter where you stand on the issue and no matter how your alder voted, I think they all deserve a huge thank you! Well, most of them who attended the meeting last week. The sat through a marathon session, got blasted by hundreds of often nasty emails and phone calls (Seriously people, grow up. What makes you feel like you can say those things to elected officials that would make your mother blush?) and really had to dig deep to find out how they were going to vote. Many struggled with the decision but in the end, I think most voted their conscience and they should be thanks for that. You can find your alder email here, or just email allalders@cityofmadison.com.
There’s still more . . . but that’s all I have for this morning.
