Friday, March 18, 2016

Hey Milton Kern...how did the Wyndham Hotel work out for you?

I now understand why you are an angry shriveled little man...$1,900,000 in tax rebates  and yet you could not pull it off...Even Roy uses you as a punch line...P.A.T.H.E.T.I.C

I wonder how long it will take your business partners like Zimmerman, Cohen, Kaplan, Lomax, Simons,  House and others to realize that you are nothing more than a liability and  an unimaginative dead weight.

Maybe Zack will welcome you back on the DGI board...you'll fit right in, picking up right where you left off.

Tactical mistake Milton, natural selction is on my side!


Milton Kern, why are you driving by my house real slow?

It' s been a difficult week and i was looking forward to sharing a beer with my guys shooting the shit taking pride in all we accomplished this week.

That was until I received a call from the city's engineering and inspections department at 4:30  today, telling me that there was complaint filed regarding my ongoing renovations in downtown Greensboro...after a little righteous inquiry, i was told that Milton Kern, notified the city of my ongoing work and wanted to make sure that I had the proper permitting...after he was told that I did, in fact, have the proper permits, he decided that he wanted to review the plans my architect submitted.


Obviously, milton objected to an additonal emergency exit the city had me add as it opened onto the sidewalk ...the code requires an additional exit if the diagonal distance from the existing door is more than 75'...well, I had 72' but , safety first, so I spent more money and was only too happy to accomodate the city's penchant for safety.


But now, the city wants me to go to council to ask for a variance or spend more money and change the approved door in order to create yet another downtown recessed urinal...of course it is not enough that we already have to clean up weekly homeless defacation  on the property...or is it Milton's?


 Time will tell how this one gets resolved, but one thing is for sure, i waited for my permits for over 6 months and i am not about to start the process again because of  dried up scrotum Milton Kern.


In the interim while I am flatttered to be able to give Milton a hardon without his daily Cialis, i wish that my suitor did not look like Kermit in Depends...


This "has been" pathetic douchebag is trying so hard to remain relevant that I almost feel sad for him... Really I do!


I am not sure what it feels like to have to dye your hair  and whore yourself to the local papers to  justify one's existence...from a downtown retirement community to a homeless shelter in the old jail, Milton's Idiocy is unparalleled...


So Milton, as much as Ii would like to use your triple chin as Rocky would use a speed bag, I will tell you that I pity you...but my pity has limits ,so this is me, telling you Milton Kern  to go Fuck Yourself. 


And, if I open my emergency door onto the sidewalk, i hope you happen to be walking by!

Thursday, March 17, 2016

Barcade in Greensboro?

I guess if you wish it long enough, it will eventually happen...


So here it is... the long awaited Barcade coming soon to Zimmerville in Downtown Greensboro.



Monday, March 14, 2016

What we have learned today from the mandatory meeting to bid on The BID

-The total budget is now a total of $600,000.

-The city will no longer take out roughly $334,000 from the BID funds, as it used to, for the daily downtown sidewalk cleanup and daily garbage removal. 

-The city will now pay for all these additional services itself from the general funds...including flower baskets and blooming corners.

-80%of the BID monies will now need to go towards programs and not salaries or administration fees....
So, according to the RFP , no more than $120,000 could go towards salaries, fringe benefits and rent. 
(Zack may quit but will most likely try to snake more money out of us serfs).

-MWBE  will now be a criteria in contractors' evaluation 
( about time!).
Considering Zack's lack of support for all things non-white, he will most likely focus on the W.

Oh, i almost forgot, DGI came out in force today  with 4 board members and the entire DGI staff. 

Good thing that Zack brought his staff as he was playing with his phone the entire time, visibly annoyed he had to be there.





Thursday, March 10, 2016

Pop Quiz...Downtown edition

Bobby and his friends are downtown Greensboro property owners  who pay extra taxes annually in the amount of $600,000/year.

Bobby and his friends are aware that out of the $600,000, $334,000 is being paid to the city of Greensboro for daily garbage collection , flower baskets and sidewalk cleaning. Bobby and his friends like what the city is doing for Downtown Greensboro.

 Zackary, the local bully now takes $150,000  off of the remaining monies for himself and gives an additional $60,000 to his friends he calls "staff" .
 Zackary also decided to give another friend of his $40,000 to rent an imaginary fort noone needs.

Now, How much is left for Bobby and his friends who paid the initial $600,000 and what value are they getting out of it?













Friday, March 4, 2016

Riddle me this Batmaughan...really!

There are three MSD in the city of Greensboro... Aycock, College Hill and Downtown Greensboro.

The city has no oversight or say so in who manages Aycock or College Hill. The board is voted in by the property owners of each neighborhood.

Now, according to the recent city issued RFP, the total upcoming budget for Downtown Greensboro will be $600,000 with no city contributions. 

The $600,000 represents the additional extra tax assessed on downtown property owners.

So...if there are no city monies involved and if the entire MSD is funded by downtown property owners, then why is the city even involved in who manages us?

Why not have a good ole fashion vote by all like the other neighborhoods?


Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Hallelujah !!!




"Dear Contractors:

On behalf of the City of Greensboro’s Executive Department, the Centralized Contracting Division is currently seeking proposals from qualified and experienced contractors for Downtown Business Improvement District Program Management Services. Management services include five program areas: Economic Development, Planning and Development, Marketing and Communications, Public Space Management and Event Management.  The services are funded with special Municipal Service District tax funds anticipated at approximately $600,000 annually, subject to tax receipts.  The contract shall be for a three year term with two potential one-year renewals.

Your business enterprise was referred to us as a potential contractor or subcontractor for these services.  We invite you to review the attached event summary the Request for Proposals in the online Greensboro Electronic Procurement System (GEPS) Event. To view the GEPS Event open the link,  Browse GEPS Open Events, and enter 8109 in the Event number field. To participate in the GEPS Event, Contactors must  register in GEPS as a supplier and submit their responses through the Event. A Supplier Registration Guide is attached.

Please note that there will be a Mandatory Informational Meeting Conference on Monday, March 14th at 2:00 pm in the City’s Melvin Municipal Office Building, Finance Purchasing Conference Room UG 12, 300 West Washington Street, Greensboro, NC. Prospective Contractors must attend this meeting for their proposals to be considered responsive.

We appreciate your interest in doing business with the City of Greensboro. Thank you for your consideration."

The list of this email's recipients is also very interesting...

Monday, February 29, 2016

City leaders mock state legislature

In case you missed it, the State legislature passed a new law  last year changing the requirement for the management of Municipal Service Districts also known as MSD or BID (Business Improvement District).

For months now, I have been asking the City of Greensboro for criteria and process for the upcoming RFP (Request for Proposal), as I (and others)  intend to submit a proposal for the management and further evolution of Downtown Greensboro.  For months, the city has ignored my requests!

Considering DGI's recent achievements and its current unimaginative management, it should not be too difficult to dethrone ...unless, of course the game is rigged... Selfie Anyone?

According to the UNC school of Government, the first step was for the city to solicit input from residents and property owners.
The city's version of soliciting input from residents was achieved through:
- A lame/one sided survey, and, 
- 2 "drop-in" meetings; a well known way to manipulate data since no one can question a conversation held without an audience or a survey tabulated without transparency. 
I contend that a town hall style meeting would have been more appropriate, more transparent and certainly more democratic.

The second requirement is for the city to solicit proposals from potential suitors...so far, and only three months before DGI' contract expires at the end of June 2016... nothing has been done! No RFP was sent out and better yet, the city is silent on criteria and process. 

According to the UNC school of government, here is the process that needs to take place;

"The following sets out the basic process a unit should follow in creating and implementing the bid process (thanks to Norma for this framework!):
  1. Identify criteria for selecting a private entity to perform the needed services in the downtown or urban area MSD. The unit’s governing board is free to select whatever criteria it deems appropriate given the particular needs of the MSD. The unit likely should identify the criteria after obtaining input from residents and property owners about the needs of the district.
  2. Publicize that unit is soliciting proposals from private entities to perform the specified services in the downtown or urban area MSD. The announcement or advertisement should specify the criteria that the unit will use to select the winning bid. (Formal bid advertising is not specifically required, but inherent in a bid process is some form of public notice that the unit is seeking proposals.) The unit likely will want to set a deadline for receiving proposals.
  3. Evaluate the proposals received. The proposals must be judged based on the criteria established in Step 1 and publicized in Step 2.
  4. Select the private entity whose proposal “is best suited to achieve the needs of the service district.” This is a very broad standard of award. The unit may take into consideration cost, but it is not required to make its contract award decision on that basis. Instead, the unit must determine which entity satisfies the criteria specified in Step 1 and is best suited to meet the needs of the district.


I certainly do not believe in the current leadership's willingness to make this a fair fight for all as I witnessed first hand the disgusting and deceptive back door manipulations used to anoint unimaginative drunkass Matheny. 

I also am troubled by the simple fact that such irresponsible behavior is contrary to the greater good of Downtown Greensboro as we are being viewed as wannabes with more money than sense, or taste, or perspectives, or points of reference! 


Thanks to Senator Wade, the fight is not over...

Section 15.16B of S.L. 2015-241 also directs the Legislative Research Commission to study the “feasibility of authorizing property owners within a municipal service district to petition for removal” from the district. 

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Another city of Greensboro deception...

As many of you know, the state legislature made it mandatory for municipalities to put the management of  municipal service districts up for  competitive bid.

A common sense approach would be to hold a referendum to see if the downtown property owners. ( which pay the extra tax ) even want to continue with what has been a dismal failure for the past 10 + years... The MSD has been in existence for longer but was actually a positive influence in the beginning.

For the record, our Mayor, Nancy Vaughan has told me that " ...she would never allow the MSD to be abolished, because the city needed the money..." So to appease the state legislature, the city is going through the motions and therefore settting up a" meeting"... A drop in meeting from 4 to 7... A meeting where no one will hear what others are saying, a meeting where the city only the city staff and city attorney will be aware of the "findings"... I call  BULLSHIT...We need a townhall meeting!

But wait there is more, the deviant players also put together an " elaborate survey"... read and laugh, or be sad...very sad!

It is obvious that the city folks have no plans to remove or replace DGI. They have no plans to make Greensboro better because our deceptive leadership likes it the way it is...they like unimaginative Drunkass Zack, because they can control him, and as someone close to him put it..." He can' t fuck things up any more than the other guys..."

In summary, the city will ask for public input but will eventually decide  that a Request For Proposal is not necessary. Sounds familiar?

Good thing that Ms Wade is now working on a process which will make it easier for Downtown property owners to opt out of The MSD. Of course , this is already allowed by law but one would have to sue...

Sunday, January 24, 2016

Guess who?

DGI's new board members were attending their first meeting last Thursday... So predictable!

Monday, January 18, 2016

Dirty, Filthy...Shameful!


After 9 months of fighting one of the largest law firm in the state, the city's legal department and some city staffers, le maitre chien is now trying to rob me of my day in court in front of a jury of my peers...The same dog handler also denied me access to all my elected officials by scaring them into submission... all why I am still paying my taxes and therefore part of the city's legal bill.

After withdrawing one motion to dismiss and after being denied another one, the desperately manipulative  city of Greensboro's attorney and its pack of rabid dogs are now trying to manipulate the system one more time so that I can never have my day in court!

My trial date has been set for February 8th in front of a jury... Now, the city filed a motion for "Summary Judgment" where they are asking a judge to decide, therefore bypassing a jury trial altogether. 

They have asked for the hearing to take place on February 2nd... 6 days before I am scheduled to go to trial.

If they were so sure of themselves, then why not go in front of a jury... the answer is obvious but yet our council allows this shameful process to take place. 

While I would accept a jury's decision regardless of the outcome, I will not accept to be victimized one more time by deceptive maneuvers. 


Thursday, January 7, 2016

Tactics and Technicalities

As many of you know, I sued the city of Greensboro back in May 2015 for basically having received monies for remediation and rehabilitation of the South Elm Street redevelopment area using my property as the flagship property for the project. Not only were no monies ever spent on my project, i was instead subjected to sabotage and harassment by some city staffers....most notably, manipulative liar Andy Scott.
To date, i am the only entity contributing to the tax base of the South Elm Street Redevelopment Area.

After many motions and legal maneuvers, the city' s second motion to dismiss my case was denied by the judge and the city was ordered to provide documents it had unlawfully withheld for months...the documents withheld were basic documents that should have been easily obtained through a Public information request such as: where did you get the money and how did you spend it?...



On Tuesday January 5th 2016 at 4:54 PM, the city s legal staff and its pack of rabid dogs from the Smith Moore Kennel, dumped 2,500 pages of documents onto my attorney's lap.


On Wednesday January 6th at 10:00 AM, I was deposed by the dogs for approximately 6 hours...during the deposition , the alpha dog must have asked me the same question about 40 times...specifically "which contracts and monies did i think the city received using my property "... The answer was the same 40 times...something along the lines, "I only know of a few applications and contracts but since you refused to provide me with information pertaining to all monies obtained, it is impossible for me to answer truthfully or intelligently..."


On Thursday January 7th, while we were attendng another deposition of a city staffer, we were served with a motion to compel stating that my answer were evasive and that the judge must order me to tell them about contracts and agreements I have not had a chance to look through yet...especially since, again, 2500 pages were delivered at 4:54 PM the day before my deposition @10:00 AM.



You must keep in mind, that I work for a living and that I have an attorney who is, for all intents and purposes, a " one man show"... So you are looking at two individuals against the city 's entire legal staff and a kennel of about 50 seasoned attorneys and paralegals. So, while we are spending our money, the city is spending yours ( and mine)...while we are being deposed, the kennel is filing motions that are impossible to comply-with under any reasonable or fair conditions....


To date, the city is also refusing to say how much it is spending on canine legal fees , but i am sure it is a small fortune as they are determined to teach me a lesson.



Tactics and Technicalities ...our city's elected officials must be proud!


SIMPLY IRRESPONSIBLE!

It's been a while...sorry!

A lot has happened and a lot needs to be told but I will save the mundane details for later, but, believe me, the story rivals some of the best telenovelas.

One chapter alone will be devoted to how the Mayor of my city hired my ex girlfriend's current husband to represent her, even though she was already being represented by the city's entire legal staff and one of the most prominent law firm in the region...

Anyway, I will get back to that story later on. Right now, I want to write about ...wait for it...DGI!

DGI which could now stand for "Drunk Guy Inside" and remains a very sad story altogether.

As many of you know, the NC legislature passed a new law which now forces the city's leadership to open Downtown Greensboro's management to other potential suitors.

Amen, Bravo, Thank You Ms Wade... Thank you very much!!!

DGI knew this was coming and what does Zack Matheny do?...  he rushes to sign a lease with one of its board member. 
DGI, still clueless and still self absorbed is now in extreme hurry to move from an office that it has no reasons to move out of.

How indecent and how irresponsible is it for an organization which may not be in existence in 5 months to sign a long term lease now and commit taxpayers to pay for it long term?

This action illustrates clearly how selfish, arrogant and irrelevant DGI remains... DGI's leader may be "talkin" about  Downtown Greensboro until 3 in the morning , but he does not give two fucks about it... and this my friends is exactly why Zack Matheny needs to go and why DGI needs to be replaced! 

Sunday, May 10, 2015

DGI...one final thought

Well maybe not the " final...final " one , but here it is...

Why would all those self proclaimed downtown advocate of DGI ' s board go along with the farce that their organization has become...nothing in it for Downtown Greensboro but over inflated egos paired with outrageous salaries and operating expenses. The board' s silence is no longer acceptable. I call on most good board members to rebel and demand the resignation of their executive committee...

Why would Lincoln Financial go along with this, why would United Guaranty, Bank of America, Procter and Gamble...? Why are you? Why are we?

We could start here and go from there...







Thursday, April 30, 2015

Can somebody please...

please explain to me why DGI is allowed to remain at the helm of our Downtown...why can' t the city cancel the contract WITH CAUSE immediately?

DGI has not fulfilled its contract period...so WTF people?  15 years of abuse is enough!

The N&R agrees, The Rhino Agrees, YES Weekly agrees...


Wednesday, April 29, 2015

ROTFLMAO...SMH@DGI

This is what DGI presented yesterday...worth noting that DGI had NOTHING to do with any of these initiatives...

Freakin' HYPOCRITES!

There are a few things I despise more than DGI as an organization, and that would be some of DGI's "leaders"...

As Dawn Chaney is going into full damage control mode after yesterday embarrassing budget presentation, i started reviewing a few of DGI's deceptive claims. 

DGI claimed credit for everything they had nothing to do with...one of DGI's claim was the preservation of the Cascade Saloon (we'll see how that one turns out)...

If my memory serves me right, I can remember Gary Brame (DGI Chairman of the board) going to council as a speaker AGAINST the preservation of the Cascade Saloon...There is video evidence out there...

In the interim here is some interesting information from a N&R article..."The South End merchants I talked to think the city should stop putting off a decision and tear down the building. They feel the South End has great vigor and life and the old abandoned building detracts from that vitality.Gary Brame, owner of Jules Antiques & Fine Art, thinks the city should create a minipark or garden on the site..."



I am certain that most council members will be contacted today in hope for an audience. I can only hope that our elected officials love Downtown Greensboro as much as i do because Downtown Greensboro could do so much better!!!

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Gary's angels

With friends like that, downtown Greensboro does not needs enemies...

DGI budget presentation!

So I just left the Greensboro city council 's work session during which DGI attempted to present its budget for the upcoming fiscal year...two words, the first one is cluster...

Cyndy Hayworth did her best to present the unpresentable and looked uncomfortable and surprised during most of the meeting... perhaps it was a genuine surprise that council did not appear impressed, or perhaps it was a Botox reaction... either way, all could feel Cyndy's discomfort and DGI 's undeniable lack of relevance. 

Dawn Chaney did her best John Wayne impression when stepping to the podium to save the day, but no saving took place...bless her little heart, she tried!..
She went as far as joking with each and every council member prior to the meeting hoping for an easy A, but council was not amused. 

DGI tried all it could...taking credit for everything... from the Cascade Saloon, to the Union Square campus... even claiming all of the downtown breweries as their own accomplishment. 
Last but not least, DGI decided it was also responsible for 300 additional jobs in our center city.

A trembling Gary Brame thought it was a public hearing and interrupted repeatedly to add nothing of value. The only valuable statement was that "DGI was going to go back to its old ways of doing things".

Gary was visibly upset. I cannot recount all the lies and misinformation DGI attempted to pass by our elected officials, but a brief review of the minutes will address that later.

One notable lie was that all severances take place during the year of termination...not true as Ed Wolverton received additional severance only a few months ago. $12,000 additional to be exact!

Hoffmann seemed to be only one impressed with DGI's performance... nuff said!







Sunday, April 26, 2015

Missed me?

Well, I' m back! 

I am a little disappointed in myself as it now  feels like I just picked up a cigarette after years of having been a non smoker.

I must say that I have enjoyed my time away from the massive amount of bullshit plaguing downtown Greensboro, its leadership and our city overall.

One by one influential bloggers have disappeared, and all,  i am certain, are enjoying  the peace that can only be found in blissful oblivion. 

In the wild as it is in our city, there is a natural order of things, a food chain necessary to the balance. This chain was disrupted when bloggers became virtually extinct. 
As the bloggers disappeared, so did the accountability of our elected officials, city staffers, revengeful non-profit executives and maleficent downtown "taste makers".  

Even though we rarely coordinated efforts, we were efficient and had an impact on the current  local landscape.
Robbie Perkins is no longer Mayor and for Zack Matheny is now the head of DGI . I use these two examples because , while pretending to be independent, we relied on politicians to feed us information on whomever was inconvenient at the time. 
Most of what was published about Mr Perkins was true of course, but it all came from sources closest to him. Details about his financial troubles,  indiscretions and divorce, all came from "friends" ...a long time college friend or colleague would feed info to an elected official, who in turn would pass it on to a blogger who would then write about it or better yet show up at city council and  eloquently behead and unhinge  our sitting mayor.

Zack Matheny would never have been the head of DGI if documents were not mysteriously leaked to yours truly proving that his predecessor had lied on his resume about his education.


To theses predators we are now all preys, all 273,000+ of us. 
We represent nothing more than an inconvenience, we are the pubic hair in their soup!

With four year terms and unlimited funds, drunken non profit executives and politicians have strengthened their alliance with assurances of secrets kept in exchange for job security and continuous contracts.