After reading the Jim Boyd editorial defending the Target boondoggle, I know the citizens of Minneapolis can't rely on the StarTribune editorial staff to be a watchdog of their tax dollars. (The Strib reporters do a much better job -- i.e. the Mike Meyers Target expose)
I work for a private company and when we look at any major investment or purchase, we set up a "due diligence" committee to do the digging to find all the hidden costs and liabilities. The City of Minneapolis also has staff to conduct "due diligence" on major projects. City Finance Director John Moir and other staff did that work and wrote a scathing memo showing the actual cost of the Target store project to be $115 million (read at: http://www.acityforneighbors.org/vote4.html). Eventually John Moir resigned his position after the City Council continuously ignored his advice on Target, Block E, and the Schubert Theater. When people use the $100 million+ cost for the downtown Target, they are using John Moir's numbers, not MCDA head Rebecca Yanisch's numbers. So whose numbers do you trust? According the Mike Meyers' June 10 StarTribune article, Rebecca Yanisch was discovered taking her numbers directly from Target developer Ryan Corporation. Yanisch took a lucrative job with Ryan after leaving MCDA. Also quoted in the Meyer's piece are Councilmembers Ostrow, Johnson and Herron who have backed away from their support of the Target deal since they have realized the actual costs. That leaves only Cherryhomes, Biernat, Colvin Roy (+ lame ducks Thurber and Campbell), and of course Sayles Belton, as defenders of the Target deal. Andy Driscoll is right -- you can't read the Boyd editorial without thinking about stadiums. You could rewrite the same editorial substituting "Carl Pohlad" for "Target" and "Interest-free loan" for "parking ramp" and it would fit perfectly on the Strib editorial page. We need a City Council and a Mayor (and a newspaper?) who serve the public interest, not private developers, and are true watchdogs of our tax dollars. Sonja Dahl Standish-Ericsson _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
