This week I find myself at odds with some of my friends and acquaintances on the issue of whether the public should purchase the FACC and rescue it from it’s current financial crisis. People that know me are aware that I don’t normally align along the usual party lines across all issues, however on this issue I seem to have made some friends and acquaintances angry with me. In response to my opposition to the FACC bailout; I’ve been accused of spreading disinformation, not knowing the facts, being irresponsible and one friend in particular has accused me of “being unfair to our community” in my role as one of the editors of Fairfield Voice.

The irony in all this is I was not going to post my own opinion piece on the issue, but now that I’ve had a taste of the Pro FACC steamroller I feel compelled to raise a voice on this issue that I feel needs to be heard rather than flattened.

Vote NO And Enact Plan B

A city councilman recently accused me of spreading disinformation because I have been vocal about my opinion that we should vote NO and therefore pressure private parties to purchase the FACC. Let me make my logic clear so that this council member (and other FACC bailout supporters) will stop spreading misinformation about my opinion.

The FACC board continues to paint this picture that they are a new management team with new direction and that the FACC is a great asset and investment. I will assume this is true — people I know and respect are involved with the FACC. Assuming that the FACC is being run by skilled professionals, then we can assume they have a plan B. It would be irresponsible not to have a backup plan.

What is plan B? I speculate that it’s a private party or parties covering the debt and assuming the risk. And of course no one knows about plan B because if it was made public, you’d never have a chance of getting the tax payers to foot the bill.

What if I’m wrong — what if the vote fails on May 4th and plan B never materializes? Well then my answer is that we, the public, just saved ourselves from a bad investment.

It’s easy for thousands of people to vote on the allocation of tax revenue they don’t have to immediately pull out of their pockets — and vote yes on spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on an ailing business because all their friends say it’s a good idea. But, that doesn’t mean it’s a great investment. Now if the private money in this town (and there’s a lot of it in this town), invests in the FACC, then that’s telling. That means someone who has made a lot of money, or a group of people who have confidence in the future of the business, thinks the FACC is in the right direction.

So, vote NO. Let’s see what plan B is. Let’s see if anyone else will assume the risk and validate that the FACC is really a worthy investment. If a private party assumes the role of rescuer, then we all win. If there is no plan B, if no one steps up . . . then we know that the FACC is probably not the sustainable business model we’re being sold. And everyone in the community can rethink the proposal, and the FACC will be forced to come with a new plan. I reject this ticking time bomb scenario that if we all don’t vote yes now, then a black hole appears where the FACC currently sits and “Fairfield’s reputation will be damaged.”

Which brings me to:

You’re Either With The FACC Or Ignorant

I’m not sure if it’s calculated or not, but the FACC has made great attempts to control the current debate by staking claim to “the facts”. That’s just about all you hear when you voice an opinion they don’t like. You’re told to go to their website and get the facts. Your opinion doesn’t count until you go get their facts, at which point I guess you will suddenly agree with their position and then you too can own the facts.

It’s patronizing.

The FACC can speculate laundry lists of scenarios if the you vote NO, but if you speculate a scenario they don’t like . . . time to go to their website and get the facts!

The Pro FACC Brigade also wants you to think that once you understand all their facts, you are logically bound to conclude that your tax dollars should fund them. They don’t recognize opinions opposing the plan as anything but uneducated until you’ve either “talked to Rustin” or gone to the website and read “the facts”.

This past week I read dozens of Facebook posts and blog comments that were in support of the FACC ballot measure. However when I posted my opinion against the ballot measure, I was told to stop “encouraging people to vote no” until I talked to members of the FACC board (to get the facts I’m sure).

It works like this:

* Update your Facebook status in support of funding the FACC – you’re simply expressing an educated opinion.
* Update your Facebook status in support of NOT funding the FACC – you’re “spreading disinformation” and “encouraging people to vote no” (those quotes are from real responses I got on Facebook), and of course you need to “get the facts”.

If this wasn’t about giving up hundreds of thousands of dollars of our tax revenue, it would be comical. But this isn’t a joke – it’s a red flag. Let’s ignore for a moment that I have any other concerns over the FACC bailout. When one side tries to assume this type of righteous posture, it only polarizes the community more, and in my opinion is a sign that you should reconsider participation in that posture. In other words, if you’re standing for and promoting the FACC deal, step back for a minute and consider why you’ve come to that opinion. Is it fear? Is it because you’re a donor? Is it because everyone in your political alignment is doing it?

The Most Important Fact: The FACC Does Not Have All The Facts

This is another reason why we need to vote NO and put pressure on FACC to find private investment, corporate sponsorship or other options. Because I can guarantee you – private money would not vote yes on this deal as it exists today. Why? Because neither FACC board members nor City Council members are clear on the terms of the deal. Isn’t that crazy?!

We’re being pressured to vote yes, and hand over hundreds of thousands of dollars of tax revenue, yet the terms of the deal are to be negotiated AFTER THE VOTE. In an email on April 27th, Bob Moore (FACC Board Member) describes the terms of the lease being proposed if the City assumes ownership:

We have not worked out the terms of the lease with the City relative to specific term, lease amount (other than it will be a nominal amount for some period of time). It’s also possible that if the FACC is ever able to generate positive cash flow without donations, the city may want some sort of additional compensation. No specific terms have been negotiated.

Are you kidding me? No offense to Bob Moore whom I respect a great deal, but it is absolutely irresponsible for the City Council and the FACC board to allow this measure to go up for election without these terms ironed out and presented to the public. This type of negligence with tax dollars offends me and it should offend you!

This IS A BAILOUT

When you see someone giving their support for the FACC on Facebook or in front of the City Council, note down their name, and then go here and view the list of the people who have donated/invested in the FACC. So far I’ve found a match every-time with one exception. It’s not surprising they are encouraging you to vote yes in order to secure their investment with your tax dollars.

You can call this ballot measure whatever you like, but at the end of the day, it is a bailout. And I don’t blame donors for wanting to take the easy road and have other tax payers help bailout their investment. But it’s the wrong choice. You absolutely need to vote down this measure and force the City, the FACC, the donors and the community to rethink the deal. I will gladly support the right deal, but this isn’t it.

This week I thought I’d try something new and collect the best locally produced videos that made it onto the Internet this week.

Purple Asteroid Cadillac = Iowa Hip-Hop

PurpleAsteroidCadillac is a local band looking to shed some light on Iowa Hip-Hop. I like it!

Coal Train Short

I’m not totally clear on the context, but apparently some one who’s a fan of trains spotted something rare rumbling through Fairfield this week. It’s also a great short – get ready to cover your ears.

MSAE Senior Class Sings ‘Let It Be’

It certainly beats the Night Ranger song that my high school class sang back in the 80s.

A Move For Jason Lee Goodwin

In honor of Jason Lee Goodwin, family and friends moved a house in Fairfield, Iowa.

One year ago today I published the first article on Fairfield Voice, titled Citizens Call For Regulation of Cell Phone Towers. What I didn’t realize when I posted that article was that at the same time, in places like Seattle, New York and New Jersey, there were other entrepreneurs exploring ways of publishing news targeted at local audiences. And now one year later, the term hyperlocal has become ubiquitous not just in college journalism departments, but also among senior executives at media giants like AOL, Yahoo, New York Times and NBC. Just look at the type of acquisitions those companies have made in the last six months and you will see a focus on hyperlocal news sites.

Fairfield Voice was largely a labor of love for me until I met Mark Cohen and learned that he saw the same future for local news creation and distribution that I saw, and so we decided to become partners. Over the past six months we’ve worked out the kinks on Fairfield Voice and are now ready to take the same technology and marketing platform, and offer it as a turnkey model for other communities in the Midwest.

We’re calling this venture

Utilizing the technology we built for Fairfield Voice, we intend to provide local news entrepreneurs with the ability to quickly and easily set up and run a Powered by Voice site with minimal investment other than their time. Our mission with this model is to build a network of hyperlocal news organizations and in the process, provide new revenue opportunities for entrepreneurs and writers, increased value for business marketers wishing to engage with local audiences, and foster creation of local news and reporting to communities.

I’ll be the first to admit that when it comes to the future of local news creation and publishing, I don’t have all the answers. But I do believe that the local printed news models will inevitably become unprofitable for a variety of reasons, and therefore the business of creating and publishing local news requires a dramatic transformation. The transformation will include reductions and shifts in overhead, crowd sourced content, community driven journalism, seamless integration with social media spaces, distribution to mobile platforms and the agility to constantly adapt the models of distribution to a shifting technology landscape. A big challenge, but also big opportunity for both veteran journalists and citizen journalists, small business entrepreneurs, and anyone interested in participating in news as a dialogue rather than news as a broadcast.

So where do we go from here?

• We are looking for more regular contributors to Fairfield Voice. There are opportunities for qualified writers to get paid for covering news in Fairfield and SE Iowa. While we can’t pay for opinion and blog related content, we can offer an expanding publishing network and thousands of readers a month. Bloggers on Fairfield Voice are now getting re-published on regional networks.
• We are looking for other communities in the Midwest who want their own Powered by Voice site. The ideal candidate will be a business starter, passionate about publishing engaging content for their community, and building a local sustainable business to earn extra income for themselves and a handful of writers.

To learn more or get started contact us at Powered by Voice.

Thanks for all your support over the year. The team at Fairfield Voice is looking forward to a bigger year in 2010 in terms of covering the issues important to you. And as always, keep the feedback coming!

The Fairfield City Council Property Committee met yesterday to discuss a proposal to end the City’s annual trash pick ups. Committee members John Revolinski (Chairperson) and Myron Gookin, discussed a plan that would end the Spring and Fall bulk trash pick ups and save the City tens of thousands of dollars (committee member Susan Silvers was not in attendance).

The new plan being proposed might look like this:

• Once a year, each household would be allowed to haul one pick up truck worth of eligible garbage to the waste management facility for free deposit.
• For a small fee, Waste Management would pick up large items from residents.
• 2010 would be the last year residents would receive the existing Spring and Fall bulk trash pick up service.
• Before transitioning to the new plan, the City would implement a program to educate residents the changes in order to prepare everyone for 2011.

A resident in attendance at the Property Committee meeting asked about residents who did not own the means to haul their own trash (did not own a pickup truck for instance), or were not physically able to load and unload trash. Council member John Revolinski suggested that the new program would attract small businesses that would provide trash hauling as a service to those not able to haul their own trash.

The tone of the meeting was positive, with committee members excited about a plan that will save City funds, as well as encourage residents to reuse-reduce-recycle. A discussion from last Fall on the Fairfield Voice was cited as useful feedback for the committee.

The elimination of the City’s annual trash pick up program, along with the proposed replacement plan are on the right track.  I believe that while the cost savings are a plus, the most benefit comes in the reduction of lazy waste.

Having said that I would like to see a plan that is more in line with what I believe are the goals of the City’s Go-Green Strategic Plan, which includes objectives to “Establish Fairfield as a model Waste to Energy community / Waste to Resource community” (a fancy way of saying they want to minimize waste).  To that end I would suggest the following plan:

• Eliminate the City’s annual bulk trash pick up.
• Hold a summer long initiative to encourage residents to drop off toxic household waste at the Waste Management facility. Including information in the water bill about the types and dangers of household toxic waste.
• Maintain fees for waste drop off. Don’t encourage residents to take truck loads of trash to the dump. The fees are only $5-$8 as it stands.
• Promote the Fairfield Freecycle Facebook Page, local thrift stores, and community initiatives to help residents give away unwanted used items.
• Introduce a “lean and green” trash service. Households can opt into a free trash pick up service, in which they get a trash bin that is 40% the size of the normal can. The bin would be green and branded in a way so that the owner can show it with pride on their curb.  Encourage families to throw out less on a daily and weekly bases and involve students in similar programs at school.

I’m interested to hear your ideas for how Fairfield can get closer to reaching the goals laid out in our Go-Green plan with regards to reduction of waste.  Please post your ideas or entire plans if you have them.

The Iowa House passed House File 2456 on Monday, which limits the use of cell phones while driving. The House voted 55 to 41 in favor of the measure, with Rep. Curt Hanson, D-District Fairfield voting yes. It now goes back to the Iowa Senate.

HF2456 is a stricter version of a measure approved by both the House and Senate that only banned sending and writing text messages and emails but still allowed talking on cell phones while driving.

The measure goes back to the Senate as lawmakers struggle to end this year’s session by the end of the month.

Under the version approved by the House, drivers with restricted youth licenses (typically ages 14 to 17) would be forbidden from using a cell phone while driving for any purpose, and would also be prohibited from using hand-held electronic devices like mp3 players.

“The Iowa people have spoken loudly about that, reading a text message is a very dangerous thing to be doing while you’re driving,” said Fairfield’s Curt Hanson.

The bill is still not without its problems and disagreements when it comes to addressing industries that affect Iowans. Rep. Hanson noted issues with the the trucking industry, which is going to a paperless manifest system, and public-transit buses, both of which will have data terminals mounted on dashboards. He asked, “Is that reading a text message or reading instructions from the boss? Is this a hand-held device or attached to the dash?”

Additionally, he said in rural Iowa, volunteer firefighters have to check paging devices to get the address they are responding too. “Is this also reading a text message? That is why we originally did not have “reading a text message” in the house bill,” he explained.

According to Rep. Hanson, the bill will now go through a reconciliation process with the Senate. He believes the Senate was not aware of concerns with the trucking and public-transit industries, or rural fire departments.

Opponents on all sides have their opinions about the House bill. Some do not think the House bill is stiff enough, where others feel that government does not have a place in something that is believed to be common sense.

“I have discovered that everything that happens here is much more drawn out that I ever dreamed it would be,” Rep. Hanson said, “but this is good because it means that it’s being well thought out, which is what I think our constituents, would want us to do. We need to address the ramifications and consequences of these things that pass through legislation for all of Iowa.”

Both Rep. Hanson and Fairfield Chief of Police, Julie Harvery agree that there will be serious consequences if a bill is not passed. “If the bill does not pass we’re going to have more dead kids and property damage,” Chief Harvery said. “Eventually, I also believe that it’s going to affect federal highway funding if we do not pass a bill.”

Chief Harvey does not see enforcing the bill as a problem but wants it to be implemented similar to how the seat-belt law was employed. “You can see people texting and talking on the phone,” she said. “If they are going to pass it, it needs to be applied like the seat-belt law where there is a grace period for verbal warnings before we begin ticketing drivers.”

Related articles by Zemanta

• WA House approves tougher texting and driving ban (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Georgia could become 20th state to outlaw texting for all drivers (taragana.com)

The End of an Ice Age

Not to point out the obvious, but the big thaw has arrived.  Now get ready for the mud!

If you haven’t seen it yet, head over to the alley directly south of the court house and check out the massive ice dams in the process of calving off the top and sides of the two buildings on either side of the alley. Make sure you say behind the barricades!

Your Best of Fairfield Winners Receive Their Awards

Individuals who won our readers poll received their mugs last week. Each mug has enough capacity to keep these winners caffeinated (or hydrated) for a full day of continued greatness. Their name and award titles are printed on the mug for all to see at those water cooler gatherings. Pictured below is your biggest winner (with over 2,000 votes), Mayor Ed Malloy, receiving his mug from Mark Cohen at Revelations (your Best Restaurant Winner).

We’re still in the process of getting out our window stickers to the venues that won the readers poll. Congratulations to your Best of Fairfield Winners!

Francis Thicke Opens Campaign Office

Dan Walker offered to let Francis Thicke, candidate for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture use his front office space as his campaign headquarters. It’s an excellent site: in the Walker Group office on the square and with a lot of front window space. Francis explains that he’s, “trying to not clutter the front window too much right now because they are going to be starting some plants in that window space.”

Along with the new office space Francis has a new campaign manager. Rob Hubler, a 40-year veteran of managing political campaigns, started with the campaign about two weeks ago. Rob Hubler was the 2008 candidate for U.S. Congress in Iowa’s fifth district. This week the campaign team is growing with the addition of Keith Dinsmore, a veteran campaign media specialist. Keith has connections with press across Iowa and will be organizing Francis Thicke’s state-wide media work.

“In the next few weeks I will be traveling to a number of Democratic Party county conventions to speak to audiences about my campaign platform. I also have upcoming appearances at Grinnell College and Iowa State University. I do have one out-of-state event planned for next month, to speak at a national organic farming policy conference in Washington, D.C.”

“We have a local event planned for Fairfield on Saturday, March 27: Blues musician Bill Lupkin will be performing at Morning Star Studio as a fundraiser for our campaign.”