Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Council finds yet another way to waste money

                In another example of government arrogance, Cincinnati City Council continues to fight a private developer’s efforts to bring jobs and economic development to the historic industrial riverfront in Cincinnati. 
                Queensgate Terminals has been working for more than five years to build a rail barge port in the City of Cincinnati.  The project, once completed, would bring dozens of good-paying jobs and reduce transportation costs for producers and consumers in the region.  Council has said no – responding not to the long-term needs of the community, but to neighborhood activists who don’t want to see development next door.  
                The result they seek not only deprives our community of jobs from the project, it also would result in the City’s having to pay millions of dollars to Queensgate Terminals to compensate it for its loss of property rights.  Those are tax dollars that otherwise could be going for basic City services or to balance the City’s budget.

Join County Commissioner Greg Hartmann, Price Hill businessman and community leader Pete Witte and the Western Hamilton County Development Corporation in supporting the Queensgate Terminals project.  Write your Councilmembers and urge them to put this lawsuit behind the City and get this project underway.  

4 comments:

  1. Whoops COAST, you have a goof in this article. You're supporting a rail project. Might want to axe this one.

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  2. CAAST,

    We like rail that makes money. QCT is a profitable business, as are the private freight railroads they deal with.

    Passenger rail is a guaranteed money-loser. Government run passenger rail doubly so.

    How do city leaders expect to pay for all their boondoggles if they keep running all the profitable businesses out of town?

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  3. IIRC, the QCT business plan requires city money. In a recent council committee meeting Berding urged to quit the legal crap, let the city cut it's losses & let QCT not do their development for which they don't have the money.

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  4. Cincinnati Bulk Terminals will be running this operation, only farther east near the Queensgate South Site. Bluegrass Farms is essentially out.

    COAST...one of the main arguments (outside of pollution, etc.) against this project has been an over-inflated ROI. What is your opinion on that?

    ReplyDelete

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