Dear Councilman Matheny...

Did you ever get an answer from DGI regarding Jason Cannon's resume or is DGI blatantly and defiantly ignoring your request? 

Just curious as I especially liked this two sentences from this TCB article:

" It's something to me that seems could be pretty easily cleared up if it is true or is not true...Matheny added that, since the city funds DGI, he would like an answer..."

Is anyone else on city council curious about this?

Is DGI truly held to a higher standard?

 From TCB's article:

“I sent an email to Jason asking for information and he hasn’t responded,” Matheny said, adding that he has sent the question several times to no avail. “I was not on the hiring committee so the only resume I’ve seen is one that is posted online. It certainly is something that probably needs to be answered and addressed. It’s something to me that seems could be pretty easily cleared up if it is true or is not true.”

Matheny added that, since the city funds DGI, he would like an answer.

I don't think so,  otherwise  Mr. Matheny would have gotten his answer by now... 

Oh Gary!

Gary, Gary, Gary...! What are you saying?

In today's Triad City Beat article, Gary Brame, DGI's new chairman made some comments that are worthy of a little more scrutiny.

1. "The comments about diversity were totally unfounded"

 TCB's earlier article revealed the following:

" Several board members, including ex-officio member Mayor Nancy Vaughan, raised concerns about the lack of racial diversity among those proposed, sending the process back to the drawing board.

“When I looked at the proposed slate, there was very little diversity, and there is very little diversity on the board right now so I felt like we needed to do better outreach,” Vaughan said.

Gary Brame, then acknowledged the lack of diversity as he had to go back to the drawing board.

2. "Two of the six new board members are Black" ... a racist is never a racist because he has a Black friend... 

Worth noting that even with the two additional Black sympathizers, DGI is still 88% white with only 3 Black members. MWBE participation anyone? 

Greensboro 's population is 43% Black, 10 % Latino.

 3. Gary then "offended a friend" after rescinding an offer...really???
Did the board nominate the "friend"or did Gary simply make up his own slate? Is that the same friend he vehemently argued for during the " non confrontational nominating process". 

Did Gary nominate his black friend?

4. "Brame also said that he had been surprised to read about McClinton and Robert's concerns about the board's lack of diversity"

A quick review of a few board meeting minutes will reveal that the issue was mentioned more than a few times times. Of course the minutes are redacted by the very submissive and afraid DGI staff and not recorded as they should be.

5. Now for my dear friend Teresa Yon... Gary Brame says that Sam Simpson should have booted her out, but yet he had no problems reappointing her as her year long vacation must have come to an end...

Lies , lies and more lies... let' face it, no amount of lies, cover up or truth manipulation will help DGI this time around.

Greensboro deserves Better!

Dishonesty over Diversity.

Yesterday, DGI  decided to amend its recent bylaws in order to bypass last year's council imposed term limits of two consecutive 3 year terms for a maximum of 6 years... No vote took place but Dawn Chaney, was the recipient of this extra love (with council approval)  and will remain on the board for a seventh year... Afterall the first six were so memorable. 
Worth noting that there was obsolutely no one else, in the entire city of Greensboro, remotely capable of filling the void that would have been left by her not so sudden departure...not one soul!

But never mind all that...Based upon our Mayor's suggestion,  DGI 's executive committee delayed last month meeting and tried hard  to summon additional, desirable black folks to join and go along... the appearance of diversity had to be maintained at all cost.

With a new board make up of 80% White members, (and with a 100% White nominating committee) you would think it was almost an impossible task as DGI's elite could only come up with 2 new Black directors for a grand total of three. 
In a city with 43% Black constituents, the results leave me a little perplex but not surprised... Frankie Jones must not have been available as he is already serving on every other board and commission throughout the city. 

So while the nominating committee was devouring the "Who's Who" directory looking for trained, acceptable Black members, it unanimously reappointed my favorite Bourgeoise wannabe, Teresa Yon. Teresa remained on the board even though she only attended two meetings all years... her contribution must have been very valuable outside of the board room as it certainly was non existent inside. 
According to the DGI bylaws Ms Yon should have been removed from the board a while back due to her deplorable attendance, but, as noted in the first paragraph, bylaws seem to be flexible when convenient.

With the city now assuming the cleaning of our streets and the maintenance of Roy's park, DGI has very little to accomplish or aspire to, except maybe, for the allocation of $180,000 streetscape plan that has NO CHANCE of ever being implemented, but don't take my word for it...ask any council member !

With now a staff of 6, and salaries approaching $400,000+ (not counting benefits), it is legitimately impossible to justify DGI's existence or reason for being as it is obvious that the leadership does not possess the integrity or economic development expertise needed to move us forward. 

THINK ABOUT IT... how does anyone honestly justify the salaries? 

Dishonest - Greedy - Incurable! What s my name?

I have been in the belly of the beast as a DGI board member, and i can now affirm that the cancer is terminal! ... What I thought was bad, was actually worst than anyone could ever imagine.

The old guard or legacy made all decisions and hid numerous things from the greater board and therefore from the tax payers and constituents it was supposed to represent...only yesterday did I find out about a potential $20,000 additional payout to Ed Wolverton... Who? What? Ed Wolverton...really?

Incompetent and socially awkward, Ed  Wolverton will soon be $20,000 richer thanks to the world champions who negotiated his departure...$20,000 is a large expenditure and should be put to the board...even our own city manager has to ask for permission to spent more than $10,000.

But forget Ed Wolverton for now,  i certainly had up until yesterday... I still resent the fact that my money is going towards his further enrichment, but i despise the fact that our tax dollars are now going to pay the salary of his deceitful and similarly incompetent successor.

That's right...it is rumored that DGI's hand picked golden boy, President and CEO, Jason Cannon had been a little less than honest and forthcoming during his interview process... It has been uncovered and confirmed that he modified the truth about his education on his resume... (hat tip Billy Jones). One would think that as board members we would have been informed of the deception before Billy Jones made us aware of it.

We later found out that not only did he ambiguously represent his education, he also managed to seal only part of his academic records to prevent anyone from finding out about the potential misrepresentation.
His original resume stated :
 2001  NC State University  Master of Public Administration Program
 1999  UNCG Bachelor of Arts- Political science and sociology programs

Worth noting that Mr Cannon completed the Master's program in late 2014.

One would think that his refusal to authorize a background check during the interview process would have alarmed Mark Prince, the person in charge of the search committee. Not sure why Mr Prince of the Guilford Merchant Association did not let anyone know about such obvious red flag...or did he???

"Time to pull back the kimono"

Adieu DGI !

Today was my last  meeting as a member of the DGI board of directors... I must say that I harbor mixed feelings... I am a little sad that Sam Simpson had to resign as he was determined to better the organization but finally realized that "a better downtown " was an impossible dream considering the upcoming DGI chair and current President...

I am disappointed that I did not get the chance to finish the implementation of the Marketing plan that I created, and I fear what DGI's  incapable hands will do with it going forward...and , finally,
I am very much pissed off that my friend Simone McClinton got caught in the mix and was also removed from the board even though she had 4 years left to go... Mark Gibbs of Gibbs Brewery was selected and a little too eager to replace her as the restaurant representative. Gibbs does not own a restaurant but he is a partisan and seems stuck onto Gary's power moob.

Simone's only faults were that she questioned the questionable, sat next to me during every meeting and was of the same mindset that Downtown Greensboro deserved better.

While most people know my feelings for Downtown Greensboro Inc, most people do not know that i went in as a determined  board member who was going to walk the walk and contribute all that I could in an attempt to better the organization I spent so much time criticizing...

As Sam Simpson and Nancy Vaughan had to fight to get me on, I was not going to let them down and wanted to demonstrate that we are simply better together!
I went in wanting to be part of the solution and contributed my time, my resources, my talent and available favors to assist in creating a better Downtown, a Downtown that I am all invested in!

By July, I found myself in the bizarro world of having to defend DGI in the press against comments made by former board members. By September, I had created a sustainable and credible branding platform, a marketing strategy , and, today, was credited for having been the instigator of moving the ice skating rink down to Lewis St...BUT,  I voted against Gary's idiotic idea of spending $180,000 on a street scape plan... a plan that many council members have already agreed could not be funded. I opted  to create something cool, memorable and tangible for our center city instead.

As my last board meeting came to a close,  I accepted that the organization waited me out determined to vote me off regardless of my contributions as they were determined to reject me almost from the beginning.

DGI...If i were in charge

If i were in charge, I would be significantly older, whiter and more entitled. 

If i were in charge,  I would look at the make up of our city and i would apply it to the make up of the board. 
I would eliminate all non profits from the board as they provide little value or perspective due to their own dependence on the public trough.

Second,  i would split the provenance of board members based upon the source of funds...if 50 % of the funds come fom the general funds, then 50% of board members should come fom outside the BID. 

Third,  i would apply the city' s demographic makeup to the composition of the board...
White members should not exceed 43%, Black members should equal  41% and Latinos should  represent at least 8%, Asian 5% etc...

Fourth,  age should matter! A Seventy year old angry antique dealer aspires to a very different Downtown than a 25 year old A&T graduate.  We have 38,000+ college students in our city, maybe we should have more than one on the board.

One final observation... Last year's implementation of term limits was long overdue. Bylaws should not be flexible when convenient...even if it is to keep a "friend of ours" on. 

Suggestion for Mike Barber's plan

Andy Scott was to retire last month but somehow did not...his latest council's appearance further reinforced his obsolescence...

Councilman Barber and council members, may I suggest the first one of your upcoming195... 
ANDREW SCOTT- Assistant City Manager Economic Devt? 

I promise you will not feel a thing, but our city will be better for it...and Mr Manager, "please take this very seriously"!

MWBE...BLAH BLAH...MWBE...BLAH BLAH...MWBE...MWBE?

Council spent much time on MWBE tonight with no plans, no solutions but much debate...
I gave them the solution last month... Am I not credible because i am white?  Can I please be invited to the upcoming work session or do I have to speak from the floor?

SC2 Challenge...is indeed challenged

Since I want to be just like my friend Roch, i had also submitted a SC2 proposal hoping to make my city a slightly better place and pocket a ton of money in the process...

My proposal dealt with our ongoing MWBE participation dilemma. The idea was a simple one...apply a proven business model to what seems to be traumatizing our council members week after week...

Here is a brief overview

"MOSAIK is all about doing the right thing.

As municipalities and other government entities strive to expand the opportunities for Minorities and Women owned businesses, we realized that some of the realities make it almost impossible for many to participate in the process.

The issues are many and range from lack of awareness to the lack of basic business infrastructure and associated bureaucratic requirements.

MOSAIK will offer strategic representation, management and building solutions to Minorities and Women owned construction professionals and to the building industry at large."

Individual development and construction companies have greatly benefited from large public contracts and funding, many competent minorities and women owned entrepreneurs were left out of the process due to lack of awareness, business acumen or proper licensing. A void was identified in the marketplace. The lack of representation made it difficult for business entities to connect with minorities and women owned building professionals. MOSAIK was created to be that conduit. "


Back in 2002 I co-created an agency representing the business interests of Fashion Designers which dealt with very similar issues... the agent takes care of all business needs including licensing, proposal submission, insurance etc and the talent focuses on getting the job done.

My submission has been rejected  for 2 reasons:

The second reason was that I did not include a budget as required  (I do not have a problem with that)... but the first reason is probably why we need to review the reviewer ...

The City of Greensboro wants to inform you that your submission to Phase One of the SC2 Challenge did not pass the administrative review process. Please see the specific reason(s) below:

•   The submission is not specific to the economic development of Greensboro. 
  

 Councilman Barber's may want to look at our economic development department as a start to his painless plan.

I find myself hoping that Roy Carroll does indeed take over the economic development reigns for our city. 

White Washing South Elm...

Interesting read about one of the sought-after financing method by The Bobs...

Bob Isner and Bob Chapman were pursuing TIF financing for part of the South Elm Redevelopment.

In a letter to ever deceitful Assistant City Manager Andy Scott, Bob Chapman (one of the Master Developer) wrote:

"4. The financial structure has changed dramatically with the advent of the Union

Square Campus, which we sought aggressively and about which we are most enthusiastic.

However by providing USC with free land and tax-exempt status, making TIF financing

of required parking decks impractical, if all goes well under the new scenario, we might

earn about $1.6 million over the 12 year term of the MDA, a $5.1 million reduction in our

potential incentive compensation. The attached charts provide details of the original and

revised forecasts."

I repeatedly opposed and expressed concerns about the negative, documented effects on existing neighborhoods associated with TIF financing...and yet...Bob Isner and Bob Chapman pursued what they knew would inevitably destroy one of the oldest neighborhood in our city by displacing its long time residents.

"...Because so many of the families displaced by urban renewal were black, James Baldwin 
dubbed it “Negro removal"..."


All the MWBE programs in the world are not enough to balance what TIF financing destroys. There are plenty of other financial tools available to professional developers... I would prefer they go back to one of their original option of selling green cards.

PS: It is well documented that one parking deck ( or $3,000,000)  was going to be provided by the city as an incentive in addition to some basic infrastructure...no TIF financing was ever necessary for a deck.

If at first you don't succeed... Call Andy Scott?

Greensboro City Council -March 19, 2013 Agenda Item # 29-

Full Adopted Master Development Agreement

1.7 Limitation of Agreement; No Public Funding. Developer acknowledges and agrees

that this Agreement does not obligate or commit any public funds of the Commission or the City. The

Agreement does contemplate one or more separate Agreement(s) will be entered into between the City, Developer, and Commission regarding the infrastructure development as set forth in Paragraph 3.5.1 but the inclusion or indication of the need for such agreement(s) in no manner shall be deemed to be, construed or interpreted as an obligation on the part of the Commission or the City to execute any such agreement merely by virtue of its mention as a condition within this Agreement.

The Bob's entitlement is not surprising considering this shameless and disgusting previous attempt at double dipping.

Wake up folks!!! Union Square will actually better our community, something The Bobs are clearly not interested in.

Don't worry Bobs...daddy Andy will make it all better...Andy Scott wrote me a letter once. 

I'll have what he is having!

March 11, 2014

Memorandum

From: Robert L. Chapman

To: Andy Scott

Re: South Elm Development Group (SEDG) Compensation Model

1. Under the June 12, 2013 Master Development Agreement (MDA) between the

Redevelopment Commission of Greensboro (RCG) and SEDG, SEDG’s only

compensation is whatever SEDG is paid by sub-developers for parcels within the seven

acre South Elm Redevelopment site, less a fixed payment to RCG of $428,694 per acre.

2. In its proposal to RCG, SEDG proposed to invest $1,362,160 in the project. This

includes the fair-market value of services.

3. SEDG originally projected that after its investment of time, effort, expertise and

planning services, it would be able to resell all of the parcels for approximately $11

million within a twelve year period and receive $6.7 million for its services.

4. The financial structure has changed dramatically with the advent of the Union

Square Campus, which we sought aggressively and about which we are most enthusiastic.

However by providing USC with free land and tax-exempt status, making TIF financing

of required parking decks impractical, if all goes well under the new scenario, we might

earn about $1.6 million over the 12 year term of the MDA, a $5.1 million reduction in our

potential incentive compensation. The attached charts provide details of the original and

revised forecasts.

5. We would like for the City and the RCG to restructure developer compensation

from re-sale margin to a percentage developer fee. We believe that a fee of 3% of total

project cost, while significantly below typical development fees, would be appropriate

So, the Master Developer who has yet to create anything already thinks he deserves more money.

If "The Bobs" (Chapman and Isner -Master Developer) had taken possession of the land, as originally agreed upon, the proceeds from the original six acres would have generated about $3,000,000. The city would then have been able to repay the Community Development Section 108 loan made to the city...approximately $3,000,000.  The city would also have received some additional property taxes.

Three years later, the land has yet to be sold but the loan must now be repaid...

According to the preceding email, the Master Developer was going to make $8,000,000 profit from the resell... 

Since the land is still ours, I think the city could use an additional $8,000,000...

Maybe "The Bobs" should have taken possession of the land after all !

The Union Square Campus, (and The Mill's on going evolution) is (are) probably the best thing that could have happened to our community. 

So, if land is to be given and if subsidies are to be granted, then, I contend that Union Square is a better investment. 

Full revised financials here.

Dangerous curves?

Mr. Brown, could you contact the stucco sub-contractor used for the Aquatic Center and ask him to please come back and fix the curves adorning the facade of your jewel.

Nothing smooth or sexy about these curves?

While some may accurately and appropriately think that we have more important issues than jagged curves on our landmarks, I believe their acceptance says something about our city...

We keep pretending to be something we are not... In our desire to belong, we pay for, we accept and we celebrate the mediocrity we are often provided with!

The truth is that we spend very large amounts of funds on projects that should really cost us a fraction of budgeted amounts...worst yet, the finished projects are too often anticlimactic.

The Greenway should never cost $26,000,000 or $52,000,000 for 4 miles of trails unless it was in Qatar and paved with gold..
A Gazebo should never cost $250,000 unless it was commissioned by "Action Dubai"...
The GPAC could be more elegant, tasteful and acoustically advanced for half the current price tag.

Just like our city's favorite developers, Greensboro's Nouveau Riche approach to urbanism lacks elegance, authenticity and creativity.

Greensboro Deserves Better!

Oooh, that Matt Brown sure is something!

Bless his little heart, he got us Sir Paul McCartney!  Ernie will sure be happy...

I am certain Missoula MT is also thrilled to host such an International Talent...They must also have a Matt Brown !

Come on Greensboro... fuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!

Let s raise the bar a little... Did we need such a Big Big Big build up?... Regardless, still a little more newsworthy than this.

We used to have Elvis in the house!






My point is that, considering the large amount of resources and monies funneled to Matt Brown and The Coliseum...Greensboro should have a Paul McCartney at least once a month, and our Greenway should not cost $52,000,000 for 4 miles.


 Greensboro deserves better!

Bizarro?

Milton Kern  former 13 years DGI board member said :

" Are you serious? You want people to go stand out in the parking lot at the Coliseum for the evening instead of shopping with downtown merchants? Who made this ill-conceived decision?"

Eric Robert (me ) , current DGI board member on one yr probation (partially responsible for Milton being voted off the DGI board) said:
” i have a very hard time believing DGI meant for it to be mutually exclusive"

Of course back in 2012 Milton Kern was quoted as saying..." If customers want to go to High Point Rd, they are free to go there"
http://triadwatch.blogspot.com/2012/02/ed-wolverton-and-milton-kern-on-safety.html

Milton Kern is also now actively working on defunding DGI and abolishing the BID (business improvement district) since he was voted off the board.  

The timing is interesting!  

I have often been described as " DGI s most vocal critic", and i can honestly tell you that DGI is genuinely trying..

.A few legacy fuckers still tried to get me voted off the board earlier this year, but i will get to them in December when i am officially done... 

In the interim,  i can assure you that Jason, Sam, Gary and most of the board are doing their best to move us forward in order to fulfill our new mandate and become the economic development  entity for Downtown Greensboro.

 In the event we cannot accomplish our new mission, then, we should grant Milton his last wish and DGI should  disappear... along with all the non value added local non profits and maybe even Milton himself...

Because Greensboro deserves better!

Hoffmann's Tangled web

Eric Ginsburg reported this today...

This is what Hoffmann had to say when caught during her facebook's pity party:

Selling your buildings is not exactly a temporary solution, now is it?
What say you douchebag Allen Johnson?

Another $26,000,000 for the Greenway? UPDATED WITH DOCUMENT

Are you fucking kidding me?

So far Action Greensboro attempted to build a 4 mile Greenway around downtown Greensboro at the cost of  $26,000,000...Yes it is over $6,000,000/mile...

Not finished but adorned with shitty art and bad landscaping,  the Greenway represents the provincial, Hobby Lobby taste level of its champions...Susan Schwartz and Dabney Sander ((among others)

Designed for the affluent urban dweller, the Greenway is now mostly frequented by the less fortunate Urban Ministry patrons.

A $250,000 + Gazebo , a crafty metal shirt with a tie in front of a Jeanswear company, a trash filled open book? On top of greek columns...

$26,000,000 is a lot of cash..we could have built the river we so envy Greenville for that...or paid our former Mayor's debt.

The truth is that there is no reason in the world why this little trail should cost us that much..not with all the other needs our community struggles to meet.

It is easy to piss away money when you don't spend your own... A little creativity would go a long , long , long way and provide us with the desired path for a fraction of the cost.

So while Susan Schwartz, Dabney Sanders and Cecelia Thompson are busy buying us "artwork" from the Stein Mart catalog, we have to keep on paying the bill while throwing up a little.

Yesterday city staff suggested an additional $26,000,000 be added to an upcoming bond for the Greenway....YES... it will need repaving and extensive maintenance. Of course, our community does not have any other need.

Come on man...have some pudeur show some decency...

Greensboro simply deserves better!

What Greensboro really needs...

Ambition, Audacity and Creativity...that is what Greensboro needs!... 

...and this ashtray, this paddle ball, this remote control, these matches, this lamp, this chair and this magazine...

We must be in good hands...right?

So the meeting which was supposed to take place in Ms Hoffmann's third floor apt was destined to impress and attract a company to invest $20,000,000 and create 328 jobs.

Instead of a third floor walk up without furniture or occupancy, our crack creative economic development team decided it would be a better idea to entertain the 10th largest craft brewer in the country ( from California) in the clubhouse of a generic apartment complex. 

"Cindy Dancy, the vice president of business development services for the Greensboro Partnership Economic Development said Friday that the city wants to show its personality to Stone Brewing"... N&R

A couple of attendees recalled the gathering as "sad" and borderline "embarrassing"... Our Governor was actually in town for a birthday party and received very little notice. 

It was also noted that most guests were older white folks wearing Greensboro' unofficial uniform, nostalgically styled with golf polo shirts and pleated khakis.


Until we change our ways, we have no choice but to pay people to like us, because being cool simply isn't in our thing. 

Who are these economic development visionaries? Who are these world champions?  

If we don't get this one, maybe we should rethink the way we do things and actually make the effort to understand our audience and our competition.  


Greensboro simply deserves better!