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Senior Center Levy |
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VietVet
MUSA Council Joined: May 15 2008 Status: Offline Points: 7008 |
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Posted: May 17 2012 at 6:49am |
The Journal....
Middletown — Middletown Area Senior Citizens wants the city to place a levy on the Nov. 6 ballot on its behalf because its director said the senior center may have to close its doors without additional funding. The nonprofit senior organization made the request to City Council Tuesday, a day after it and three Butler County nonprofit senior agencies withdrew a request to place a countywide tax levy on the November ballot to support five senior centers. enior center requests levy City Council members said they want more information before they ask taxpayers for more money. A levy, however, is apparently the only option to help save the financially struggling nonprofit senior organization, she said SOME QUESTIONS.... WHEN THE NEW CENTER WAS BUILT ON CENTRAL AVE. AND THE FINANCING FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE CENTER WAS APPROVED, HOW DID THEY ARRIVE AT THE CONCLUSION THAT THE CENTER COULD MAKE THE PAYMENTS ON A CONTINUAL BASIS THROUGHOUT THE LOAN TIME PERIOD? WHO ASSURED THE LENDERS THAT THE MONEY WOULD BE THERE EVERY MONTH IF THE CENTER RELIED ON DONATIONS, LEVY APPROVALS AND FLUCTUATING INCOME TO PAY THE BILLS? WE BENEFIT FROM THE MIDDLETOWN SENIORS THROUGH THEIR TRANSPORTATION SERVICE. BECAUSE WE USE THE CENTER'S SERVICES, I WOULD BE INCLINED TO VOTE FOR THIS. I CAN ALSO SEE WHY VOTERS, WHO DO NOT BENEFIT FROM THEIR SERVICES, WOULD VOTE NO. IF I WERE COUNCIL, BEFORE APPROVING THE PLACEMENT OF THIS LEVY ON THE BALLOT, I WOULD WANT TO OPEN THEIR BOOKS, REVIEW THEIR BUDGET, FIND OUT WHERE THE MONEY IS GOING , CHECK THE SALARIES OF THOSE EMPLOYED THERE, REVIEW WHAT SERVICES THEY OFFER, HOW MUCH THEY'RE SPENDING ON THE DINING OPERATION/TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM, AND REVIEW THEIR ATTEMPTS TO RAISE FUNDS FOR THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS. HAVE THEY CUT ENOUGH? HAVE THEY STREAMLINED THE OPERATION ENOUGH? HAVE THEY ATTEMPTED TO MAKE IT EFFICIENT? |
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acclaro
Prominent MUSA Citizen Joined: Jul 01 2009 Status: Offline Points: 1878 |
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Middletown is simply destroying the property value of everyone in Middletown, with their nonsensical and chronic support of tax levies. No one wants to move to Middletown because it is nothing but a tax nightmare---the only proposed solution for "revenue generation." No benefits, no services, just taxes, taxes, and more taxes.
This is an outrageous claim from the Senior Citizens Group. They hired a top architect to build the Center and bought 11 acres. I have spoken to many, many senior citizens, and Middletown has a lot of them, and many were very turned off by the personnel initially running the center. They should have modeled how many members would join and how much business they would do. This is absolutely patently unfair. Did Davey's get a bail out from the city or tax payer to stay in business. Living in Middletown is a constant hassle, always a crisis. Because of the Sr. Citizens poor leadership and inability to properly write a business plan, they come to the voters, to pay for their mistakes. Many architects I spoke with, stated they should have kept the original building, turned it into apartments, perhaps one or two floors, instead of putting $3 Mm in destroying John XXIII and starting over. If council votes for this, when they would not allow a TIF for the post office, and the Sr Citizens leadership own errors in forecasting how they would make a return to pay their lavish building, all that is occurring is less and less residents will be attracted to the city. Throw in the school levies, now this, the idiotic public safety levey, and the continued problems Middletown has, it simply makes owning property in a city offering nothing, a most unpleasant city to reside. Why did the Sr. Citizens Center wait 7 years to sell 5.5 acres that they have done nothing with? They have seen their property values go down, about a 1/3 of what it was when they built, and they cannot refinance. Residents, do yourselves a favor. Spend 200.00 for an appraisal of your house. You'll see in 4 years, you've lost about 40% of value. Yet, you are expected to bail out the Sr. Citizens mistakes. Maybe its time for the city to lend money at 0%, they seem to have a lot to go around. If JL is reading posts anymore, ask them Mr. L. why they had their numbers wrong, why they bought 11 acres and could not even afford to put in a walking or exercise trail. Are they going to do that now? And how many mebers do they have now, 300---and expect 10,000 votes to come their way. The city is always on fire. The AK strike, the roads, the infrastructure, public safety, school system, it just doesn't end. Throw in 2008 market crash, and the city is in such a deep tailspin, while the Beast thrives, those around it, are getting nothing but the shaft. If you are a "lifer", you don't care, you take one from the team. If you came in 25 years ago or less, and just want out, you are trapped. What a swell fate within the walls of Middletown. |
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'An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.' - Winston Churchill
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John Beagle
MUSA Official Joined: Apr 23 2007 Location: Middletown Status: Offline Points: 1855 |
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three Butler County nonprofit senior agencies...
Looks like Middletown is not alone in the problem with funding senior centers. |
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acclaro
Prominent MUSA Citizen Joined: Jul 01 2009 Status: Offline Points: 1878 |
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Perhaps they are also as poorly run as Middletown?
Or, they all want and expect the taxpayer to absorb the costs. I don't think Middletown has even 500 members. Their business plan was a failure, no more complicated than that. |
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'An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.' - Winston Churchill
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Bill
MUSA Citizen Joined: Nov 04 2009 Status: Offline Points: 710 |
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acclaro, from what I hear the person who spear-headed the new location was borderline delusional. Visions of grandeur with no concept how it should be paid for. Where was the finance guy, later the director, Mr. S? Did anyone have any common sense when this whole thing was being planned? I will be voting no. Perhaps the city can find more fed handout money, buy the place, expand, and turn it into a conference center...."The Manchester on Central". Of course, who would go there is another question.
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acclaro
Prominent MUSA Citizen Joined: Jul 01 2009 Status: Offline Points: 1878 |
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Bill, you are absolutely correct. They had visions of an athletic walk path, a work out track with stations, etc. That never occurred of course. Mr. S. had a reputation from many I know, for being offensive and cavalier. At the end of the day, they bit off far more than they could chew. Their membership drives just have not generated the funds they hoped. Now, they can't mow half their property.
What's Coldwell Banker going to sell the land for---high rise condo's to walk across to the Arboretum? About 4 of council members should abstain from voting as the purchase moved Fenwick out, JXXIII over, and payback has no place in this vote. |
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'An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.' - Winston Churchill
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Richard Saunders
MUSA Resident Joined: Jun 30 2010 Status: Offline Points: 232 |
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On the other hand, the city gave a building plus $450,000 in cash to the Pendleton Art Center, a private, for profit enterprise.
The senior center, a non-profit, has more employees and generates more income tax income revenue to the city than Pendleton does. The senior center also offers quilting classes, a form of "art" so what is the difference?
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LMAO
MUSA Citizen Joined: Oct 28 2009 Location: Middletucky Status: Offline Points: 468 |
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I will be voting "NO".Until they go through the books an let te people see what they are spending the monies on.
As in the so called Art Center,someone has lousy taste in colors.
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Bill
MUSA Citizen Joined: Nov 04 2009 Status: Offline Points: 710 |
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From what I understand I believe they run a very tight ship...mainly out of necessity. It wouldn't surprise me if employees are practically buying their own office supplies. As acclaro mentioned, it is a small group of members who use the yellow palace for activities and cheap meals and yet grumble about a $40 annual fee. It is a venue without a corresponding market.
I don't see any way I can vote yes for something that serves so few (on site). Their most needed service is probably Meals on Wheels and they could have been doing that from the old building without building new.
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VietVet
MUSA Council Joined: May 15 2008 Status: Offline Points: 7008 |
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Bill, my wife gets Meals on Wheels delivered to the house by Butler County Council On Aging, not through the Middletown Seniors Center. We do receive the bus with the handicapped lift on it for her to go to her doctors appts through Middletown Seniors. A very nice service and alleviates us having to do the transition from wheelchair to car, fold wheelchair, drive to appt., unfold wheelchair, transition her to wheelchair, into drs office, back to car, transition to car, fold wheelchair, drive home, unfold wheelchair, transition from car to wheelchair into house routine. A killer routine for sure for the caregiver. (sorry for the involved description but didn't know any other way to explain what we do if the bus is not there for us) |
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Voleye
MUSA Immigrant Joined: May 09 2009 Status: Offline Points: 37 |
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I think the Sr Center does a lot of good things. BUT when they started building the complex where they are now a lot of people looked at it and laughed. Its 15 times the building they actually need, they spent a lot of money they didnt have to build it and now cant pay for it. Sounds like the goverement but the goverement prints more money if they run out.
I have no problem with the Sr Center building anything that they want. I dont think its up to city clowncil to keep it off the ballot I think its up to the citizens of the city to decide if this is a service they would like to fund or not. I dont get a bailout if I build a business to fast and cant maintan it, I dont think any of the advertisers of this site will get a tax money bail out if they build something they cant pay for. Taxes has to stop somewhere and I would not support this one.
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