Forwarded on behalf of Ken Avidor: *********** To the Editor of the Southwest Journal,
Regarding Scott Russell's article "Readying for big 2005 reconstruction, Lake Street Advisory Group Formed" (http://www.swjournal.com/display/inn_news/news03.txt ) The article describes how the Smith Parker law firm received a sweetheart , no-bid contract "not to exceed $300,000 with a top hourly rate of $60 an hour, (Jim Grube) said. The SRF contract is not to exceed $1.1million, with a top hourly rate of $70 an hour. The contracts have multipliers to cover overhead costs, such as employee benefits, rent and utilities, Grube said. Firms multiply the hourly rate by a number between 2.3 and 2.8, depending on an audit of business costs. In addition, firms add 5 to 15 percent for profit." In these tough fiscal times, getting that kind of money out of the taxpayer to pave over neighborhood objections to resurfacing a road just might be described as "highway robbery". Whether or not their contract fits the description of "Crime in the Suites", neighborhoods along Lake Street should be very concerned that Smith Parker's plans for Lake Street may encourage serious crime in the streets . The Access Project will destroy homes and businesses on either side of the freeway along the North side of Lake Street and replace them with "green spaces". It's very unlikely that these small parks will be able to compete with other parks as a destination for picnickers and frisbee-throwers. More likely, these parks will become litter-strewn illicit drug and prostitution bazaars. The very condition that proponents of Access Project cite as favorable to a "Regional Retail Destination"- easy auto access for suburbanites is also a condition that would turn these parks on Lake Street into a convenient illicit drug and prostitution drive-thru for suburbanites. At a time when there is talk of laying off police officers we shouldn't be creating a situation that will require constant surveillance and enforcement. Ken Avidor STRIDE http://www.stride-mn.org __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - forms, calculators, tips, more http://taxes.yahoo.com/ TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Send all posts in plain-text format. 2. Cut as much of the post you're responding to as possible. ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
