City Council Place 4

[semi-native]

I just don't see how we are going to get any careers for the college grads out of film festivals and on-location shoots.

Sorry.

I'm not sure how it will generate enough revenue to insulate us from a downturn in the retail sector, either.

As for the sidewalks and bike paths, I have not heard anyone say how they would get them done faster, just that they would. Nobody has commented on how they would fund these projects or why they are so slow now. In fact, LM did not even seem to know what the CIP is, when the question of turning it from a wish list to a list of completed projects came up.

So, where are the specifics?

Talk about just talking...

[semi-native]

Also, I thought these comments were remarkably fair, yet there has been no response. Simply doing a copy and paste from her blog to this forum does not really constitute "participation."

Originally Posted by semi-native

These are not the kinds of jobs I'm looking for. I don't know about everyone else.

Seton is putting a big medical center in Kyle and Google is moving to Austin. These are companies that might have positions for someone like me.

Even larger "small businesses" (approaching 100 employees) would be ok, if we were planning to attract 50 of them, or more. I don't get the sense that this is what you are talking about. It sounds like you are talking about more mom and pop shops on the square.

College students with various business and technology degrees are not likely to stick around to host film festivals or to have careers at local shops. We have thousands of students graduating and leaving town every year. We need some BIG businesses to keep them around. Grande Communications is about the smallest business we should be chasing.

I'm all for small businesses. I plan to have one in a few more years. It won't employ hundreds or thousands of people and it won't keep the graduates here. Eventually, we all get tired of commuting 45 minutes or more each way, to get a real paycheck (at least $50k).

If Grande moves away, no amount of on-location filming is going to make up for that loss. We need a plan to keep them here and encourage them to expand. The same goes for Dai Nippon and Philips. Both of those companies are here by chance. We need to get better at bringing companies like that to San Marcos on purpose.

[brete]

The rail relocation fund was supposed to be funded by the feds. At least that what they were telling us in 2005 when it was passed, that's why the legislature didn't fund it in 2005 either. I was the transportation staffer for one of the State Senators on the Senate Transportation and Homeland Security Committee that session. UP and the cities it bisects have both been scheming for years on how to get the tracks moved. It appeared for a while that the tracks would go with TTC -35, but that's been killed in the short run. It appears that the high cost of diesel might drive UP to actually pay for the new tracks, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

I didn't say that the economic collapse of 2001-2 was caused by 9-11, just pointed out there was one that reflected in lowered sales tax collections throughout Texas, but not as much at the outlet malls.

But enough about tangental stuff.

[jeepster]

Originally Posted by brete

The rail relocation fund was supposed to be funded by the feds. At least that what they were telling us in 2005 when it was passed, that's why the legislature didn't fund it in 2005 either.

H.B. 1546 was the bill that created the Rail Relocation and Improvement Fund.

H.J.R. 54 put the authorization of grants of state revenue and issuance of public debt to implement H.B.1546 on the ballot as a constitutional amendment (Proposition 1) as required by the State of Texas Constitution.

11/08/05 Proposition 1 is approved by the voters.

The 05 lege could not have legally funded the bill as it had not been approved by the voters yet.

The 07 lege was now aware that Union Pacific was up to it's old tricks of getting public funds to implement their private business plans. This had been successful in other states, but failed in a few.

If the federal government was expected to pay for it (UP had already failed there numerous times), H.B.1546/H.J.R.54/and Proposition 1, would have been unnecessary.

Point is, the commuter rail is a trojan horse for UP to get what it wants for free or profit at taxpayer expense while appearing to give the public what they have been told they need. While it was a great idea to tie it in to commuter rail, UP appears to have very poor lobbyists as most other big businesses get whatever they want from the TX lege.

Sooner or later UP will get what they want and the commuter train will run, needed or not. Bidness is bidness.

[zoom]

the debates will tell more but from what i've seen so far i would rather vote for someone with a plan even if it's out there instead of someone without a plan who has already been in office two years and i haven't seen anything significant come from it.

[brete]

Originally Posted by jeepster

The 05 lege could not have legally funded the bill as it had not been approved by the voters yet.

The legislature does contingency funding all the time especially with proposed constitutional amendments or promised federal funding. The lottery was funded in the 1991 budget on the contingency that the constitutional amendment allowing it pass.

Sen. Staples was grilled extensively on this fund by the Senate Transportation and Homeland Security Committee (I know I had to sit through every minute of every meeting). The funds were always supposed to come from the feds, but big surprise the feds didn't come through.

[philby]

Originally Posted by marilee

Everyone seems to be concerned about growth. What if the other shoe drops and we 86 again? Who will know how to manage economic shrinkage? I was here in 1986 and believe me this area shrank. It got so bad that by '90 opening a new convenience store made tv news as a "shot in the arm " for the local economy. Hopefully it will never get that bad again but few politicians ever learn from the past.

The only questions left are, how many shoes are going to drop and how bad is it going to get? Mass transit, commuter rail and 'branding' are now the obvious waste of money they always were, Chris. Suddenly (for some people) LMC's proposals not only look good, they were proven successes in the bust of 86-94. Forward to the past, again.

[brete]

Originally Posted by philby

The only questions left are, how many shoes are going to drop and how bad is it going to get? Mass transit, commuter rail and 'branding' are now the obvious waste of money they always were, Chris. Suddenly (for some people) LMC's proposals not only look good, they were proven successes in the bust of 86-94. Forward to the past, again.

Which proposals worked in the past? Which one suddenly looks good now?

and if the economy is going bust, how do you pay for them?

[semi-native]

Re-branding the city as a location for film shoots and film festival location is far from what this city needs. I just hired two PART-TIME interns for some software development. I'm paying them $22 per hour and they'll probably stay with the company when they graduate.

Narvaiz allegedly created 6,000 $13 per hour jobs. Most of the jobs associated with film festivals would likely pay even less and on-location film shooting does not sound like it creates ANY jobs.

How does that help us?

[LMC]

Originally Posted by semi-native

Re-branding the city as a location for film shoots and film festival location is far from what this city needs. I just hired two PART-TIME interns for some software development. I'm paying them $22 per hour and they'll probably stay with the company when they graduate.

Narvaiz allegedly created 6,000 $13 per hour jobs. Most of the jobs associated with film festivals would likely pay even less and on-location film shooting does not sound like it creates ANY jobs.

How does that help us?

My opponent has provided (0) jobs as I have never heard him discuss ANY programs from his record implemented to foster job creation at the past three debates we have attended. The time frame for job creation in my plan is immediate. This includes increased “tourism” for pre-existing small business in the form of crews supporting our business thru dollars spent. Actually, film industry jobs are higher paying than other industries; this is a well-documented fact. I have been working steadily in the film industry for 4 years both full time, part time and from time to time. All my choices of how many productions I want to get involved with as both a cast or crew member. And, remember the film industry always does well during national hard economic times. Best of all, there is no “rebranding” and the advertising dollars are 100% FREE when our town is exposed nationally on the silver screen. Where do you think all those software specialists who were out of work from the crash of the High Tech boom in Austin were working rather than drawing unemployment? The Alamo film.