Scott Alderfer
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On the article Costco Could Net East Penn $1.5 Million Annually
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On the article Lower Mac BOC Candidates Explain Views on Issues
Scott Alderfer
11:19 pm on Thursday, April 25, 2013
To follow up on Ron's response to Janet regarding the Goldenberg Group, you might be familiar with a project they did about 10 years ago in Plymouth Meeting. They developed the huge commercial complex (Metroplex) that you see on the right side going south on I-476 after passing through the Mid-County toll booth. That's significant because the Metroplex is built on a Superfund site. So this developer has experience dealing with properties that other developers are too scared to work with and making them into commercial success stories. Considering the mine wash problems at Hamilton Crossing, this is the kind of developer with the experience to make a project come to fruition on a distressed property like that. I say this as an environmental consultant familiar with redeveloping sites with environmental issues.
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On the article Lower Mac BOC Candidates Explain Views on Issues
Scott Alderfer
7:24 am on Thursday, April 25, 2013
It really seemed clear that the incumbents view their constituency as only the Republican residents of the township. They were really repulsed by the thought that anyone would exercise their right to change parties. Good point about the Realtor constituency, Mark. I wonder how the incumbents feel about Realtors who are Democrats. Do Democrat Realtors get the same level of representation as Republican Realtors?
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On the article Lower Mac BOC Candidates Explain Views on Issues
Scott Alderfer
7:16 am on Thursday, April 25, 2013
ReplyI just wish more residents would have attended. There were a lot of nuances (and some flat-out misleading statements) that this Patch article could not fit into the story. Like Conrad's statement that he is the CEO of a regional trade organization (without saying that it's the Lehigh Valley Board of Realtors). And Reis placing Beitler directly responsible for the $135K legal bill for defending the Jaindl suit. The incumbents (at least 2 of them) continued to imply that the residents' lawsuit against Jaindl's development had no merit. However, if the original suit had no merit, it would have gotten tossed out of the Court of Common Pleas and never have made it to the Commonwealth Court for the original decision to be overturned. In addition, the question about the Kratzer Farm open space property referenced the Board's plan to subdivide and sell the house, barn, and driveway. But the incumbents all responded that they do not intend to sell Kratzer Farm, only 1.5 acres of it. Duh, that's what the moderator said in the question. None of them addressed why they're moving ahead with approval of that subdivision plan before the Recreation, Parks, and Open Space Master Plan is finalized by the consultant that they hired to prepare that report. What's the hurry?
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On the article Tea Party to Host Pro-Gun Lawmaker Friday
Scott Alderfer
11:16 am on Thursday, April 4, 2013
@ Rich Cranium - good clip. It's a lot easier to listen to someone's argument when they are not waving their arms and foaming at the mouth and talking about prying their cold dead fingers from things. Seriously though, I think any federal legislation that is passed will certainly end up at the Supreme Court. Too bad we can't just fast track the federal legislation directly to SCOTUS and come to a resolution sooner. Whatever that resolution is, we all have to live with it. And if anyone bitches about it afterward, I guess they need to go back and repeat their 9th grade social studies class and re-learn how our county was designed to work.
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On the article Tea Party to Host Pro-Gun Lawmaker Friday
Scott Alderfer
11:08 am on Thursday, April 4, 2013
@ John Fox - you raised a couple of great examples. Regarding the Colorado canabis example, the difference I see is that no one in Colorado is threatening to arrest federal agents who might show up to enforce federal drug laws in their state - like Rep. Metcalfe's bill threatens. With an instrument like firearms, it makes sense for all 50 states to have fairly uniform regulations, because guns are very easy to move across state lines. Personally, I don't see any practical reason for private citizens to have high-capacity magazines, but I think the place to really focus should be more intensive background checks, centralized federally, to weed out people with mental illness or violent tendencies (including domestic violence). Unfortunately, far too many people who are very vocal about gun rights would be the first to say that the government wants to register everyone with guns so they can come and take them all away. I think we all could make more progress on this issue if both sides would dispel with the paranoia of their most extreme respective scenarios and come to the table ready to speak in realistic terms.
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On the article Tea Party to Host Pro-Gun Lawmaker Friday
Scott Alderfer
7:13 am on Thursday, April 4, 2013
Thanks, Saucon Logic. Article 6 of the federal constitution. And we all know from the outcome of our Civil War of 1861-1865 that states cannot pass laws or enact policies that violate our federal constitution. So either Rep. Metcalfe, whose job is to make laws in our state, does not understand how the law works ... or he knows this bill would be unconstitutional but is simply showboating. Either way, he is wasting taxpayer money. We're all paying his $82K annual salary, and he introduces unconstitutional bills? Where is the outrage for that from the Tea Party?
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On the article Tea Party to Host Pro-Gun Lawmaker Friday
Scott Alderfer
9:32 am on Wednesday, April 3, 2013
ReplyPolitics aside, I cannot understand how a state can pass and enforce a law that supersedes a federal law. This is a serious question, not a rhetorical question. Isn't that a violation of some federal law that would result in the arrest of anyone trying to enforce the new state law?
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On the article Urine-Controlled Video Games Installed at Coca-Cola Park
Scott Alderfer
8:54 am on Wednesday, March 27, 2013
ReplyMaybe it's just me, but who can pee for 55 seconds continuously? This is a big step up from the men's rooms at St. Louis airport, where they have a sticker of an insect in the center of the urinal to subliminally direct users attention to where they should aim. So is someone going to invent a bathroom gaming system for ladies?
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On the article Op-Ed: Was a 'No' Vote Big Government Intrusion?
Scott Alderfer
8:18 pm on Thursday, March 21, 2013
@ for real - I agree with all but one thing you just said. Putting labels on candidates like Republican, Democrat, Tea Party, or whatever, often obfuscates the true motives of those candidates. I'm not familiar with Nate Brown yet, but Percy Dougherty represents everyone who values common sense and fairness, regardless of their party affiliation. I happen to be a Democrat, but I will say without reservation that Percy gets my vote because he is a true pubic servant. The residents of Lower Macungie got screwed out of fair representation 4 years ago, because too many of them cast the straight-party ballot and elected 3 realtors to our board of commissioners. You've seen the results - a sweetheart deal for Jaindl to rezone 700 acres of preserved farmland for warehouses and strip malls. If voters would have looked at the agendas of Schware, Aquilla and Ott instead of just looking at their party affiliation, this debacle with LCA might have been avoided. Save the partisan politics for the national stage. On the local level we all have to take the time to figure out which candidate will do a better job of protecting our backyards, and in this case, our drinking water, regardless of party.
Scott Alderfer
7:26 am on Sunday, May 19, 2013
@ Emmaus90 - Costco Wholesale, the nation's fifth-largest retailer, pays its workers 42 percent more on average than its closest rival, Sam's Club. (from a NYT article). The argument is that they are a quality employer, not that they are a quality (as in Promenade Shops type of) store. And Costco is NOT owned or in any way affiliated Walmart.
@ Faith - this TIF would not cost taxpayers anything, and that's a common misconception. If the deal falls through and the Diocese continues to own the property, the county and school district continue to see no tax revenue from the property. If the TIF and the project happen, the county and school district begin to receive a modest tax revenue from the project for several years before the TIF expires and the property owner pays the full taxes. That increases the tax base without costing taxpayers anything additional.
I agree with Ron that developers must pay their own way, but in this case I also realize that few developers will be willing to pay unknown costs to remediate the unstable soils. So if this TIF doesn't happen, the prospects for getting this land back on the tax rolls in the next 20 years are slim to none in my estimation.