Very informative and disturbing article today. Kudos to you to assist Ukraine.
? Why is the city going ahead with Bluebird 2 without disclosing any update info on Bluebird 1 ?
I heard it is only 10%+- leased. We need to have full information on the impact of 1 before considering 2. Will people live in this type of housing without parking? Will it get leased out? Will the rents be raised after it is leased out? What will the impact on the Ketchum core be when project is completed? We citizens of Ketchum need answers to these questions before considering a second huge project which will take away our only large parking lot.
As a former school board member, this sounds very familiar. There’s a reason regular people feel like they have no voice—they don’t (unless they are supporting more funding for the bureaucracy), but they are told they do.
There are some ways to authentically provide a voice for regular people: citizens assemblies and participatory budgeting come to mind.
I’ve always liked this observation by Noam Chomsky: “The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum....”
I don't know how to answer. Take a look at the agenda for the Council meeting on Monday, 6/3. There is no analysis in it. The Housing Department is asking for guidance on its budget but provides no analysis on how it would spend the money. This is the norm for this administration—particularly this Housing director—to provide the public with as little information as it is legal to get away with. I find it incredible that the Council lets the staff get away with it. Why don't they say, "You aren't providing us enough information to perform our fiduciary duty," and get the staff to do the work? In the back of my mind, I think the Troika of Bradshaw/Breen/Hamilton has worked out most of the answers in advance, so the Council meetings are more theater than substance.
Very informative and disturbing article today. Kudos to you to assist Ukraine.
? Why is the city going ahead with Bluebird 2 without disclosing any update info on Bluebird 1 ?
I heard it is only 10%+- leased. We need to have full information on the impact of 1 before considering 2. Will people live in this type of housing without parking? Will it get leased out? Will the rents be raised after it is leased out? What will the impact on the Ketchum core be when project is completed? We citizens of Ketchum need answers to these questions before considering a second huge project which will take away our only large parking lot.
As a former school board member, this sounds very familiar. There’s a reason regular people feel like they have no voice—they don’t (unless they are supporting more funding for the bureaucracy), but they are told they do.
There are some ways to authentically provide a voice for regular people: citizens assemblies and participatory budgeting come to mind.
I’ve always liked this observation by Noam Chomsky: “The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum....”
Is there analysis performed at all? Assuming there is, are those available to the public to review?
I don't know how to answer. Take a look at the agenda for the Council meeting on Monday, 6/3. There is no analysis in it. The Housing Department is asking for guidance on its budget but provides no analysis on how it would spend the money. This is the norm for this administration—particularly this Housing director—to provide the public with as little information as it is legal to get away with. I find it incredible that the Council lets the staff get away with it. Why don't they say, "You aren't providing us enough information to perform our fiduciary duty," and get the staff to do the work? In the back of my mind, I think the Troika of Bradshaw/Breen/Hamilton has worked out most of the answers in advance, so the Council meetings are more theater than substance.
Boggis, Bunce, and Bean
Mayors newsletter is Word on the street, not Heard on the street…in case anyone is looking for it