June 2005. Here we have a supermarket cart pushing, water boy, hauling the hoses, watering cans, a fire department plug opener and other items to Howard Street from Morse Avenue. This took him 45 minutes to get to Howard from Morse, pushing the cart like a homeless person in the middle of the street. It takes him the same time to walk back. Lot's of pushing and walking, lot's of wasted time, but no working.
See, Howard Street is the only street that has planters. Morse Avenue is where they store the so called tractor and janitors office. Why was he walking such a long distance? Was this logistical?
Back-track 2003: When I, along with 20 other people participated in the public meeting/planning stage of the Clark/Morse/Glenwood Special Service Area in the spring of 2003. Everything was promised to be worked out! That's what Kimberly Bares, Alderman Moore and the rest of the planners told us. We were assured DevCorp North knew what they were doing. That's why they got the deal. They were the experienced ones. They showed off the fancy equipment. They told us how the tractor was needed for snow removal, landscaping, planting and watering. They had the budget.
I wasn't so sure. I saw too way many kinks in the Special Service plan. I saw too many services that were being duplicated by our city government services. We were already paying to have this work done.
I saw ideas and programs that seems like they belonged on a Funny Farm, not a commercial street full of gangbangers and vacant, boarded up storefronts. Well this Funny Farm" needed a tractor.
When DevCorp North illegally misused the Special Service Area equipment on a political event the City of Chicago sponsors called, "Clean and Green" volunteer Saturday in the spring of 2003 Kevin O'Neil praised this illegal action with an excuse of working out logistics for the Special Service Area. This was 2003. The tractor and sidewalk sweeper must only be brought out on the Political Parade type events, not everyday work. Showing off the equipment, sort of speak.
This tractor cost the taxpayers of Special Service Area #24, $2,605 dollars in 2004. It will cost them $2,605 in 2005. The insurance, that cost money. Who holds the policy? They rent for storage, that cost the taxpayers money. $2400 last year, $2,700 this year. Who gets that money? A SSA commissioner of course. Let's not forget maintaining the unused equipment. That cost another $1000 a year.
How many hours has the missing tractor actually been used in the year and a half? Where's the tractor on this watering project? Where are the logistics? Where is the leadership? Who planned this Special Service Area #19 and 24 Funny Farm Watering Scandal?
2 comments:
That's a rather steep insurance premium for a tractor isn't it? How much of that premium has been bloated for the budget?
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