OK, it wasn't Bonaparte. It was really the Board's retreat, but that doesn't have quite the same ring.
Liz and I spent the past two days as members of the public attending the Oriental Town Board's retreat at River Dunes. The big news was disclosed early on the first day, when we learned the details of Mr. Chris Fulcher's proposal to exchange the end of South Avenue with a nearby site already dredged, with pilings for a pier already installed, and the site bulkheaded. It is a very interesting proposal, which merits careful study.
More importantly, it soon became clear that the town manager, Mr. Bob Maxbauer, has initiated an ambitious program of identifying, prioritizing and planning projects for improving the Town. The purpose of the retreat was principally for the manager to brief the town board and seek policy guidance before proceeding further. It appears likely that the Town will schedule more detailed workshops to flesh out specific plans.
We have a manager! Details to follow.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Town Of Oriental Sale Of Property?
I've been puzzling over the mayor's special message of two weeks ago:
"The Town of Oriental is exploring the possibilities of sale or exchange of property in the vicinity of the west end terminus of South Avenue and Avenue A. No action was taken by the Town Board of Commissioners at the special meeting held on Friday, January 13, 2012. In the event the Town receives an offer, such offer will be a public record available for inspection. Such offer would be taken up at a subsequent public meeting."
As of Friday, the mystery has been removed.
What had been puzzling is that the town owns no property in the vicinity of the west end terminus of South Avenue and Avenue A. The town only owns, on behalf of the public, the public rights of way in that vicinity.
Furthermore, a town can't sell such a public right of way, because some other party owns the underlying property rights. The only option available to the town if it no longer wishes to maintain custody of a dedicated and accepted right of way is to abandon it. If the town abandons a right of way, ownership reverts to the party that owns the underlying "dirt." Determining the party who owns the underlying "dirt" can be complicated in the older part of town.
We now know that Mr. Chris Fulcher wants to trade some of his existing property leading to Oriental Harbor for the terminus of South Avenue and for Avenue A. The proposal might or might not be a good deal for the town.
There are two questions for the board to examine:
1. Will the property to be "donated" to the town equal or exceed the value to the town and to the public of the existing right of way providing public access to the harbor?;
2. Can the proposed exchange be negotiated in a way that avoids at least one and probably two or more legal obstacles?
"The Town of Oriental is exploring the possibilities of sale or exchange of property in the vicinity of the west end terminus of South Avenue and Avenue A. No action was taken by the Town Board of Commissioners at the special meeting held on Friday, January 13, 2012. In the event the Town receives an offer, such offer will be a public record available for inspection. Such offer would be taken up at a subsequent public meeting."
As of Friday, the mystery has been removed.
What had been puzzling is that the town owns no property in the vicinity of the west end terminus of South Avenue and Avenue A. The town only owns, on behalf of the public, the public rights of way in that vicinity.
Furthermore, a town can't sell such a public right of way, because some other party owns the underlying property rights. The only option available to the town if it no longer wishes to maintain custody of a dedicated and accepted right of way is to abandon it. If the town abandons a right of way, ownership reverts to the party that owns the underlying "dirt." Determining the party who owns the underlying "dirt" can be complicated in the older part of town.
We now know that Mr. Chris Fulcher wants to trade some of his existing property leading to Oriental Harbor for the terminus of South Avenue and for Avenue A. The proposal might or might not be a good deal for the town.
There are two questions for the board to examine:
1. Will the property to be "donated" to the town equal or exceed the value to the town and to the public of the existing right of way providing public access to the harbor?;
2. Can the proposed exchange be negotiated in a way that avoids at least one and probably two or more legal obstacles?
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Monday, January 23, 2012
Politics And Leadership
Divide and rule, the politician cries; unite and lead, is watchword of the wise.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
A Grounding At Sea Can Ruin Your Whole Day
I just received a link to a video and narration of the Costa Concordia's track as she ran aground in Italy. I don't think the captain will be able to get out of this one. The track is derived from the ship's AIS transmissions, which include GPS coordinates.
Did he run aground on an uncharted rock? Not exactly.
Worth watching, but not for the faint of heart.
http://gcaptain.com/gcaptains-john-konrad-narrates-the-final-maneuvers-of-the-costa-concordia-video/?37941
Did he run aground on an uncharted rock? Not exactly.
Worth watching, but not for the faint of heart.
http://gcaptain.com/gcaptains-john-konrad-narrates-the-final-maneuvers-of-the-costa-concordia-video/?37941
The iPhone and America's Discontents
Yesterday's New York Times had a very informative article focused on why iPhones are made in China, not in America. And the answer is, it isn't just about price.
The article explains: "It isn’t just that workers are cheaper abroad. Rather, Apple’s executives believe the vast scale of overseas factories as well as the flexibility, diligence and industrial skills of foreign workers have so outpaced their American counterparts that “Made in the U.S.A.” is no longer a viable option for most Apple products."
In short, at least in Apple's case, it is about quality. And continuous improvement.
For the past two decades, Americans have been misled by a chorus of triumphalist pronouncements about the decline and fall of the Soviet Union. "See," we are told,"communism failed. It can't work. Only capitalism can work, everyone knows that."
Is that so? The last time I checked, the People's Republic of China had a communist government.
So how come they are taking over production of our goods from our industries?
I think they have been paying attention not to the thoughts of Mao, but to the thoughts of W. Edwards Deming.
Read the New York Times article.
I'll share more thoughts later.
The article explains: "It isn’t just that workers are cheaper abroad. Rather, Apple’s executives believe the vast scale of overseas factories as well as the flexibility, diligence and industrial skills of foreign workers have so outpaced their American counterparts that “Made in the U.S.A.” is no longer a viable option for most Apple products."
In short, at least in Apple's case, it is about quality. And continuous improvement.
For the past two decades, Americans have been misled by a chorus of triumphalist pronouncements about the decline and fall of the Soviet Union. "See," we are told,"communism failed. It can't work. Only capitalism can work, everyone knows that."
Is that so? The last time I checked, the People's Republic of China had a communist government.
So how come they are taking over production of our goods from our industries?
I think they have been paying attention not to the thoughts of Mao, but to the thoughts of W. Edwards Deming.
Read the New York Times article.
I'll share more thoughts later.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Poor Rich People (And Those Who Do Their Whining)
Ari Fleischer has put out some tweets about how the tax burden on the wealthy has grown. Here are some examples:
@AriFleischer The share of total federal tax paid by bottom 60% dropped from 22.5% in '79 to 14.4% today. Source: CBO
@AriFleischer The share of total federal tax paid by middle income dropped from 21% in '79 to 16.5% in '07.
@AriFleischer The share of total federal taxes paid by top 10% rose from 40.7% in '79 to 55% in '07.
The share of total federal taxes paid by top 1% rose from 15.4% in '79 to 28.1% in '07What Ari Fleischer omits is that in the same period (1979 to 2007), according to the Congressional Budget Office, income growth in the US has been distributed as follows:
- 275 percent for the top 1 percent of households,
- 65 percent for the next 19 percent,
- Just under 40 percent for the next 60 percent, and
- 18 percent for the bottom 20 percent.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Oriental Town Property Question
"Special Message from the Mayor Concerning the Recent Meeting to Discuss Possible Land Acquisition
Statement of Mayor Bill Sage
Town of Oriental
The Town of Oriental is exploring the possibilities of sale or exchange of property in the vicinity of the west end terminus of South Avenue and Avenue A. No action was taken by the Town Board of Commissioners at the special meeting held on Friday, January 13, 2012. In the event the Town receives an offer, such offer will be a public record available for inspection. Such offer would be taken up at a subsequent public meeting."
Town of Oriental
The Town of Oriental is exploring the possibilities of sale or exchange of property in the vicinity of the west end terminus of South Avenue and Avenue A. No action was taken by the Town Board of Commissioners at the special meeting held on Friday, January 13, 2012. In the event the Town receives an offer, such offer will be a public record available for inspection. Such offer would be taken up at a subsequent public meeting."
This becomes curioser and curioser.
More later.
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