What Would Martha Stewart Do?

Would you send Martha Stewart to do your shopping? Probably not, unless price was no object….

As Martha would go to the most expensive market she could find (Whole Foods or Bristol Farms) and pick only the highest priced name brands off the shelf.

What would normally be a $100 basket, suddenly becomes a $300 basket.

This is how is works when there is plenty of money floating around and nobody is watching the till.

You want to spend $750K to install a security system for the Kismet North RO? $450K for card readers? $300K for networking and cameras?

Do you really think terrorists would even bother coming to Cape Coral? Much less the water plant?

Couldn’t you have your in house people do this for around $250K on equipment? Yes you could.

A $30 Million Bio Solids Building for the Southwest Water Reclamation Plant?

The city bought $17 Million in equipment and have it sitting on palettes under tarps with no building. Simply brilliant, but don’t blame the city.

Blame the at risk contractor MWH for spending the cities money like this. This is what happens when money flows freely, and nobody is watching the till.

The city could manage this project and build the structure for under $10 Million, but they are afraid to. Why?

The city fathers are afraid of taking ownership because of the risk involved with a new process...

and the three year warranties on equipment which MWH will not honor if they don’t build the structure.

This is what insurance is for. The insurance premium would be far less than the $20 million in tax payer dollars saved.

MWH’s behavior sounds more like blackmail and bullying through FUD (Fear, Uncertainty & Doubt).

This is what happens when the people in control can’t grow a pair. They shake at the mention of liability and would rather point fingers and delegate for blame’s sake.

Nobody in this town wants to take ownership and MWH likes it that way.

The city fathers are afraid of a redux of the CDM (Can’t Design Much; Cost’s Double the Money) fiasco in the late nineties.

That was then, this is now. Nobody likes finger pointing, and everybody likes to delegate. Too bad, because when the going gets tough, the tough get going.

Hire the best project managers on the city payroll that money can buy. Manage the job and build the infrastructure by creating durable economic jobs.

Build a durable local economy by hiring local Lee County and Cape Coral citizens as city employees at prevailing labor rates.

The 2008 budget deficit was $17 million; 2009 will be on the order of $26 million (when the anticipated revenues dematerialize);

2010 will be even worse coming in at around $35 million (after bond downgrades and another wave of foreclosures).

The solution: The city fathers cannot outsource all the work and risk, while in effect taxing the citizenry to death.

Go to the $250 Million Lee County surplus for a temporary loan, take ownership and complete the following tasks.

The city should be allowed to move forward with the UEP ONLY IF:

1. MWH is removed and the assessment amounts are downscaled by 66% with in-house labor.

2. The project must be performed in-house with a majority of city mgmt & local labor; creating a durable economic base.

3. NO infrastructure assets are sold/leased to service ANY debt.

4. In the future, reduce deficit ridden fire & police payrolls.

The city father’s need to grow a pair, take ownership, and take back the process and risk from MWH.

Is this asking too much from the city manager (Terry Stewart, not Martha), head of finance and utilities director?

Is it asking too much from the part time pay city council with full time side jobs that have a conflict of interest? (developer, attorney, real estate agent).

From the track record so far, it seems like Martha Stewart has a bigger pair than all the city fathers combined.

Let's see what happens at the vote tonight.