Another snow job observation....

So I went down to the North End Coffee Bar,at Main& Auburn, during one of last week's measurable precipitation events and saw the owner in the MUNICIPAL PARKING LOT, shoveling a path from some parking stalls to his shop entrance.

Got me thinking how, word is from the Chuckster's reports, LarryBoy takes his morning caffiene fix at the hipster "Octane" on the newly christened 'Main Streetscape'....

So I take my cup of joe and motor to the bustling center of town....

it was so strangely ABSURD!!!!!!!

There, patrolling those 2-$3million blocks, was a "City of Rockford" smaller truck, with what appeared to be a BRAND-SPANKING NEW SALT SPREADER AND PLOW!

And it wasn't dropping good old rock salt,no no no...it spread that blue top-dollar sidewalk salt,the GOOD STUFF....the J.R.Kortman and Octane customers were treated to a pristine 2 blocks,front door parking(BUT NEITHER WERE OPEN)

And to add to the Fellini-esque landscape, Main St.,both north and south of this vacant clearing-in-the-snowfall, were snow-covered wastelands...now THAT'S SOME EXCREMENT EVERYWHERE!!!

Couple things been on my mind....
THIS has been an ongoing saga....
MY opinion,the city workers on main streets do a good job, but the neighborhood plowing has really sucked since Rockford Blacktop stopped bidding and Rabine"... which has held the contract for the past couple of years..." took over.
So it's a shame "...Palka submitted the lowest bid in October but didn’t get the contract. She testified in court that she first was told she won, then heard a flurry of reasons why she didn’t: She failed to fill out the application properly, or she didn’t provide enough information, or her firm just couldn’t handle the job.
Palka has worked major contracts for the state but has never held a municipal snow removal contract. She says she can do the work and plans to put in a second bid....."

This city is so full of that shady bid process, always seems the city finds these "technicalities", remember the paver sidewalk deal?
for THIS...
"...A three-vehicle convoy led by Mayor Larry Morrissey honked horns and waved Friday morning as it drove down Main Street.
What used to be the downtown pedestrian mall, a two-block stretch from Elm to Mulberry streets, was open to drivers for the first time since 1975.....Portions of the road will be periodically closed as work is still to be completed as more lighting, landscaping and benches will be added by spring. In fact, the section from State to Elm was closed Friday after the mayor’s convoy passed...."


WHY BOTHER?
SHOWMANSHIP for LarryBoy and Dancin'Doug....
and check out the video...thought we had a NOISE ORDINANCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
oh,and at the end of the vid,you know how youtube shows other clips below? Most are cities celebrating their new PEDESTRIAN PLAZA/MALL's in THEIR revitalized downtown....
Excellence Anywhere?????

Remember this post of mine,aug past????....

"...That's right CUSTOM manhole covers!!!!Now we'll hear about ' it's a separate fund',or 'they were ordered BEFORE we knew times would be tight' blah,blah,yada,yada....but BULLCRAP!!This administration has a penchant for spending top dollar on useless,"imaging" and "branding" and "trademarking" and really has no concern for "... us being able to sustain the best services at the best price.” "
So I'm watching those sub-contracted doofus plowdrivers for Rabine, and there appears that trademark of "Municipal EXCELLENCE",CITY OF ROCKFORD,with the sqigglyblue/brown stripes, on these big,white,magnetic signs, stuck on the pickup trucks....and what really made me laugh was knowing how LarryBoy is so...I don't know,"fastidious" about appearances,and this trademark Rockford logo is crooked on the rusted heap, something Uncle Remus maybe traded to Jethro Bodine for a pot of Granny's possum stew and a jug a 'lightning'...
and here that rolling-tetanus-delivery-system cruises back and forth,back and forth, around the crown jewel of Rockford hip urban living,Garrison Lofts....
now THAT'S some 'EXCELLENCE'....pass them vittles Ellie Mae....

Now, we all are THRILLED by this,huh.....
"ROCKFORD — Rockford MetroCentre officials on Friday accepted terms of a $2 million loan and a $500,000 line of credit from PNC Bank, the culmination of months of work to dig the downtown venue out of a financial hole.MetroCentre Authority board members approved the terms during a special board meeting at the arena. Earlier this week, Rockford City Council agreed to cosign the loan because the MetroCentre could not secure ample credit alone....."

I'm SSOOOOOO happy THEY agreed to let the city assume more debt on their behalf....
"...Treasurer Brian Peterson said the credit line gives the MetroCentre some breathing room and will allow officials to concentrate on scheduling the best shows and concerts instead of struggling to meet day-to-day financial obligations...."

Now I can't help but wonder...if the new IceHog-graphic Chevy HHR sitting in front of Dancin'Doug Mark's home is part of that "struggle"....