71A Deal Back On.

The Budget/Ways and Means Committee put the 71A Partnership contract back on course Thursday evening with a 4-0 vote to recommend the Council approve the $900,000 cap for infrastructure paid for with fifty percent of new sales tax revenue generated by the development.

Committee Chair Jackie Boyer had requested that the cap be reduced to $450,000 at last Tuesday’s regular Council meeting. Boyer said that she had since talked to Economic Development Director Max McKnight and others and was now convinced the project should move forward.

Committee member Donna Harlan, who also voted for the reduction on Tuesday, said after further study, could find nothing in the agreement she could object to. Those two votes will tip the 5-5 tie registered earlier by the Council.

Mayor Johnson, who was in attendance at the Budget meeting, commented that he was always in favor of the agreement, but wanted a clear consensus of the Council. He had broken the tie vote during the Council meeting by voting for the reduction, but then moved the issue back to the Budget Committee for further discussion.

City Administrator Tom Short and McKnight both told the Committee that they were in favor of the agreement.

Mike Woody, a partner with Danny Ross in the 71A Partnership, told the Committee that the $450,000 level of reimbursement was not acceptable.

The Committee did not reach an agreement on the issue of the so called "hold harmless" funding of the Carthage Public Library and the Carthage Parks and Recreation Board. As reported in the Mornin’ Mail on Friday, a 1985 ordinance stated that the two entities "shall be held harmless from any loss of tax income due to the elimination of personal property taxes."

According to City Administrator Tom Short, in 1989, the Library Board "hold harmless" money leveled off after three years of increase. That same year the City began paying both the Library and the Park Board funds from the State reimbursed Manufacturers &Merchants tax fund. Short says there is no documentation as to why those payments started.

According to minutes of a 1989 Council meeting, City Attorney David Dally advised the Council that there was no statutes that required the City to use any portion of the reimbursement as funding for the Library.

The Committee will address the issue again after more information is gathered.

Just Jake Talkin'
Mornin',

The Budget Hearings continue tonight and the pressure is beginnin’ to build to find ways to cut down on the amounts that have been requested. So far some shavin’ has occurred but nothin’ too drastic. I haven’t seen the numbers yet, but there must be a million or so ta go before we could have anything close to the sought after "balanced budget."

Outside agencies have again been warned that the intent is ta use only the lodgin’ tax to fund tourist type activities. There may be some teeth in the statement this time, but it may take another couple a years ta get a real bite.

The Park Board requests are scheduled tonight after the meetin’ last Thursday ran outa time ‘fore gettin’ to ‘em. At least they’re first on the list for this evenin’.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin.’

by

Carthage Farm & Home Supply, Inc.

The Super Handyman

Just about every time we use PVC pipe, we wind up with leftovers. Here's a way to turn that trash into something useful:

Set all your 4-, 5-, and 6-inch-long scraps vertically, side by side, either in a line or in a group. The don't even have to have the same diameter. Then glue them together with some PVC cement.

That gives you a super bench top storage area for all sorts of small stuff. You can keep screwdrivers, pliers, knives, chisels, paintbrushes and lots of other things in the tubes.

You can even glue a board to the bottom so things don't fall through, if you like.

It's fun to do and can be very handy.

Dear Al & Kelly: I finally figured out what was smelling so bad in my kitchen. It was the food disposer in our sink. It worked fine, and I never realized how dirty it could get. My sister told me to drop some ice cubes down the disposer and crush them up. Then I dropped in a lemon. The disposer ate them all up, and it smells really nice now. My sister says that if I do this once a month, it will never stink again. - M.J.

Q. I dropped some instant glue on my Formica-topped kitchen table. How can I remove the stuff? - J.Z.

A: The makers of at least one brand of such glue have a special remover on the market. You should be able to find it where such adhesives are sold.

ARCHIVES Index