[Winona Online Democracy]
Eric, I am delighted to see that city hall still believes they still speak for the rulers of the land.
Now to reply to Eric's remarks On Behalf Of Eric Sorensen Sent: Monday, November 08, 2004 2:06 PM Just a few comments on Paul's letter: 1) You are right Paul-the public overwhelmingly thought Mayor Miller's message was the right one; in fact, Mayor Miller had the highest victory percentage of Winona local/State candidates. It was a landslide in anyone's spin; Answer: A redundant point and as I have already stated I wish he and the council great success in bringing new employers and families to our area. _______________________________________________________________ 2) Past School Boards set the stage for the current one. Paul, is it conceivable that as a School Board member, the granting of such Charters helped to create the decline in student enrollment at #861? Did you support any building maintenance funding when you were on the School Board? Mayor Miller publicly supported the referendum, did you? Answer: Charters compliment competition and should cause the standard for all schools to rise to the occasion. Charter schools don't cause birth rates to fall or families to not move to Winona, lack of job opportunities do! I have always supported a 2% sinking fund dedication off the top to insure building maintenance and replacement. It was the state who removed the requirement of schools to set aside those funds in a year when the districts had more money in their bank accounts than the state did thus the state enabled them to raid their sinking funds. I supported the referendum publicly, in a letter to the Chamber, as a Chamber Member, and by my vote. ___________________________________________________________________ 3) Between 2000 and 2002, 47,000 jobs were lost in the State of Minnesota. From 2002 to January 2004 the Winona labor force increased from 14,701 to 14,897 jobs. Apparently, we are doing OK in our attempt to maintain and create jobs in Winona, despite rumor. Answer: 1/2 of 1 percent per year increase in jobs wow! Name a public corporation that would boost that sales record at the stockholder meeting and call it impressive? OR AS Donald Trump would say "you're fired". ___________________________________________________________________ 4) The City/Port Authority of Winona has helped to create many industrial jobs over the past few years, examples include Digicom, We-No-Nah Canoe, Quality Sheet Metal, River Valley Tool; Gleason Engineering (moving from California); etc. We are currently working on several other possibilities. World and national issues have shaped much of our potential for industrial growth, which continues to occur, but we are not aware that the City was responsible for NAFTA. Tell us if we are wrong Paul; Answer: You fail to count the losses and downsizing from Winona Knitting Mills, Sprint and others resulting in substantial job loss over the last 8 years? Sorry the companies you list don't match the good jobs we, as a community, have lost over the last 8 years. ____________________________________________________________________________ 5) The 35,000 population number is meaningless. What is important is the type and, we believe, the diversity of industrial growth; Answer: 35,000 is a realistic population Winona can achieve and still retain its character. It would also serve as a goal for those who do not which to be accountable over a 5-10 year time frame as it requires performance on the key players or their replacements. Since you knew the number you must also know the job focus was not on tourism and retail. ____________________________________________________________________________ 6) Why should we discriminate against the elderly that want to retire in Winona, from local residents to regional residents? Many of them often bring sizable financial portfolios with them; Answer: I am a senior, so why would I discriminate against myself, but I know that someday I want younger blood to run or buy my companies, raise families and fill the schools and churches that we and those before us build and paid for. It is not I who has had problems at the Senior Center. _________________________________________________________________________ 7) Paul, have you thought about the major expansion at the hospital? We have lended Community Memorial our bond rating, saving them millions of dollars in order to create more facility in order to create more jobs; Answer: Will it lower the costs of medical services, prescription drugs? Will it provide a level of care that will keep the 300 million dollars our area will spend on healthcare in Winona or will we still drive to LaCrosse or Rochester? Will it lower the cost of healthcare for employers? As I see it --- it should enable us to attract younger doctors to our community and allow our current doctors some relief from the long dedicated hours they provide. It can also provide some consolidation of some area's reducing costs and increasing efficiency. I will also create some interesting legal issues as we co-mingle our non-profit hospital with our for-profit clinic and pharmacy operations. I may even enable the big boys Health Partners, Blue Cross or Medica the opportunity to move into a vacant clinic and create some real cut throat competition or to make our new facility "out of their network"!!! __________________________________________________________________________ 8) It would be nice if WOD could concentrate more on some factual gathering on issues, rather than the continued Chat Room opinion approach. Eric Sorensen Answer: It would also be nice if City Hall would provide more not less public input on the future direction of our city or they can continue to follow their past practice of making the decision first; since they have all the answers and we are just the spectators who get to pay the bill. ________________________________________________________ Paul Double
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