{"id":101,"date":"2008-09-15T01:00:00","date_gmt":"2008-09-15T01:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/terragrafix.com\/blog\/?p=101"},"modified":"2008-09-15T01:00:00","modified_gmt":"2008-09-15T01:00:00","slug":"important-city-council-meeting-tuesday-sept-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.thesecretnewsonline.com\/?p=101","title":{"rendered":"Important City Council Meeting, Tuesday, Sept. 16!"},"content":{"rendered":"

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IT’S OUR CITY<\/span>
<\/span>WE SHOULD HAVE A SAY IN HOW IT GETS DEVELOPED<\/span>
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<\/span>This Tuesday, <\/span>September 16th at 7:15 pm<\/span>, the City Council will be voting to extend the Exclusive Right to Negotiate (ERN) for Madison Marquette, the developer of the future Bay St Site B project. An ERN gives a developer the exclusive right to a site and requires that a City not solicit other developers in the time allotted by the ERN. A typical timeline for an ERN is 6 to 9 months. Madison Marquette has repeatedly extended theirs for the last 3 to 4 years<\/span>.
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<\/span>Madison Marquette has already asked for a significant amount of subsidy – an estimated $47 MILLION of your tax dollars (<\/span>see story below: “What the City Doesn’t Want You to Know”<\/span>). We have a right to know what the returns are on the City’s investment of our money. If we don’t say anything, the City will continue with business as usual– MORE SPENDING of public money, with NO REAL BENEFITS for the community.<\/span>
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RESIDENTS ARE DEMANDING:<\/span>
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<\/span>The RIGHT to be meaningfully engaged in every step of the development process. We have a RIGHT to know the amount of the subsidy Madison Marquette is asking for.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Real benefits for a significant investment of public dollars. We have a RIGHT to determine those benefits.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>A commitment by the City to negotiate a Community Benefits Agreement with stakeholders if the City chooses to extend Madison Marquette’s ERN.<\/span><\/p>\n

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COME OUT AND TELL THE CITY COUNCIL WHAT YOU WANT!<\/span>
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<\/span>If you don’t, who else will?

<\/span><\/span><\/span>For more info, please contact Reem Assil, Community Benefits Organizer at EBASE: (510) 910- 0158<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span>To learn more about Community Benefits Agreements, go to http:\/\/www.communitybenefits.org<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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