Skip Lawrence suggests in his recent column that the Council should rapidly approve $5,000 toward the costs of moving the “Phoenix Pherris” wheel from Asbury Park to Kimberton for restoration. His reason for the supposed urgency: “there might just be other bidders for purchase.”
Of course, neither Mr. Lawrence nor anyone else suggests that there are really any other competing buyers. Nor does he enlighten us on how long the wheel has lain disused and rusting on the ground in Asbury Park. But, merely the imagined possibility of another buyer makes this an urgent decision, one for which time must be ‘compressed’ and, thus, judgment suspended.
Ms. Cohen told Council that the total project cost was about $152,000: $50,000 for the purchase, the rest for transportation and restoration. She also advised that she had a commitment for $25,000 toward the purchase price and that the seller was allowing the purchasers eighteen months to come up with the $25,000 balance.
One might well ask what competition there is to buy the wheel if the seller is willing to defer half the price for a year and a half interest-free.
One might also ask why Ms. Cohen wants or needs to move the wheel before it's been paid for. Is it her plan to refurbish the wheel first, before it’s fully paid, just to create more intense pressure to provide funding of the purchase price?
Has Ms. Cohen suggested where the wheel will go when it’s done? On whose land? Who will own it, secure it, maintain it? Until there is a more complete and coherent plan, there is no public urgency at all.
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... and who is to insure it? Although it is non-working, steel could cause cuts. Someone could climb it and fall. There certainly needs to be liability coverage for the wheel.
I am all for respecting/honoring Phoenixville's steel-town history, but why should we become a repository for other peoples' junk if the only tie is, "The Phoenix Foundry produced this." I have no problem with someone developing a collection of these items and showcasing them in town, I only ask that we allow the private sector to beaar the burden. All I ask is that we not ask the residents to pay for this.
There is no competition to purchase said wheel.
There is no project plan which has been presented to address what happens with the wheel, when it happens, who does it, and what the end results are.
Of the required $150,000+, only $25,000 is currently committed from PAEDCO, comprising 1/6 of the needed funds.
The $5,000 requested is not allocated in the 2008 budget, and is not readily available for transfer from other line items according to the Finance Director.
If Council votes to spend $5,000 of Borough taxpayers money under these circumstances, as Finance Committee chair I can only characterize this as an egregious effront to fiscal responsibility.
The only other person looking to bid on the wheel was the scrap yard. Why would anyone puchase something that they know does not work? Have a place for it to be stored? Security involved in keeping people from climbing on it? Cost of Liability Insurance? There are too many unanswered questions having to deal with this expenditure. Council should have stead fast rules; at least 30 days notice regarding outlaying of our tax dollars! You need it faster go get a payday loan!
At first I thought this sounded like a nice piece of history to add to the Foundry area, but the longer I think about a 65 ft. tall, bright blue, non-operational ferris wheel in downtown Phoenixville the more I realize that it might be a terrible idea. Regardless of who pays for it I'm afraid it will be a gigantic eyesore. If it was 20 or 30 ft. tall it would be one thing, but at 65 ft. it will be visible from too far away. Seriously folks think about how huge this thing is!! After all the time and money spent to get it to town, restored, and erected we are going to wish we had more funding to get rid of it!
Barry Cassidy is going to pay for it by asking for a donation (charging) of $5.00 to park behind Molly Maguire's in fenced in field.
Why is the borough engaging in philantrophy with tax money? Haven't we given enough to that small several block area? If councilmen want to throw money to this scrap metal let them pay for it out of their own pockets.
Even if this ferris wheel worked it would need a plot of ground to put it on, the property zoned correctly, a huge fence around it, people to maintain it, someone has to pay the taxes, property and liability insurance, pay for and maintain lighting and any other costs. Oh, wait a minute. Even though it doesn't work they're still going to need the above.
Money pit. Is anyone thinking?
I can hardly wait for the vandals to climb this fiasco and string their obscene messages from lofty heights. Then we can surround it with a barbed wire fence, at tax payer expense of course, to protect it, or higher a guard, and watch it turn back to rust. This is just one more Cohen/Cassidy bad joke. If they had to pay for it with their own money they wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole.
I would imagine that 65' would come to the bottom of the new Gay St Bridge. That's pretty big. Perhaps we need something smaller.
I am forming a committee and appealing to Council on the 10th to allocate immediately the sum of $5000 so that I can buy and display a 1952 Mr Potato head. It was the first year issued, is in mint condition, and shipping is included.
Now the EBay auction ends on the 11th at 8:30 am so I need an answer immediately. I already have a commitment from a private party in the sum of $13.59 but I plan to raise a total of $165000. We plan on building a glass building on the steel site to display Mr. Potato Head. Park benches, flowers, the whole 9 yards.
You gotta figure that those Potato Heads on council may just go for this idea.
I love how people wish bad things to happen if we do purchase the wheel. What's that all about? Wishing bad things on your own town, even if we didn't vote for it, sounds very counter productive to our town. I respect any positive arguments about any decisions being made but that other stuff is crap.
Yeah, how about staying positive. I can't stand coming on all these blogs and seeing the same old people just making negative comments for the sake of pushing their own agendas. Either that or they just like seeing their name up on the internet. It's really kinda a bummer because we moved to town because we love it here and all we see are these negative comments. When we walk around downtown we talk to people and they're all positive but this is like the twilight zone. I think the other bloggers are right when they say we need more doers and less talkers. And I know the response will be: "Well what have you done for the town?" But I'm not the one just spewing negative comments all of the time. Constructive criticism is good but this stuff is just ridiculous. Wake up and enjoy our great town!
JS
Why would they wake up and enjoy their town when they can just complain about it. How about action instead of words. I see blogs all over these sights for volunteers to help out and yet "0 responses". But you bring up the Ferris wheel or Barry and the switchboard lights up. You know why? Partisan politics is alive and well. Keep up the great work - you're getting a lot done on this blog.
Pete Schwetty
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