Greet Machine: Endorsed by Linda Koblick

May 10, 2005

Endorsed by Linda Koblick

I got an email from Linda Koblick this morning. If you'll recall, Linda Koblick is the Hennepin County Comissioner most opposed to building a new Twins stadium in Minneapolis. Well, she would say she is opposed with the way this proposal is being "railroaded" through, and that she'd like more public input, but I'll say more about that in a bit. Here is what she said in her email to me:

Thank you for providing a very easily-accessible forum for information on the stadium/Twins, and easy directions on legislator and stadium bill information/contacts. My goal? Providing opportunities for input, from public hearings to emails like the many received from your site. Thank you! (and be nice to my staff - they came thru) I must admit, I like your site - it provided me with the stadium bill! Now that's service...

Did you catch that? Linda Koblick likes the Greet Machine! Even stadium opponents can't deny the juggernaut of wisdom that is this web site! Special thanks to Ms. Koblick for taking the time to answer my email. She certainly didn't have to do that. Now if I could only change her mind...

If we take her comments at face value, that she is only trying to give the public more opportunity to weigh in on this issue, and learn more about the proposal, then I would say her cause is noble. However, the public has been dealing with this issue for 10 years now. I dare say most of the public has already chosen a side regardless of what the particulars of this specific proposal are. In fact, the people cheering for Koblick at the meeting where this proposal was approved weren't cheering because Koblick was fighting for more time for the public to weigh in, they were cheering because they want to see this proposal defeated.

The proposal is simple. $125 million from the Twins, and the rest from Hennepin County in the form of a .15 general sales tax on everything but clothing, medical supplies, and food. That tax will generate $28 million a year. The stadium will not be owned by the Twins, but a Ballpark Commission, and the operating costs (upwards of $10 million a year) will be paid by the Twins.

The Twins will receive all game day revenue and the revenue from the stadium naming rights. The people of Hennepin County will receive a beautiful new stadium, a revitalized Warehouse District, hundreds of construction jobs, a family friendly and affordable entertainment option, beautiful evenings watching a Minnesota tradtion, out-state and out of state tourists visiting by the millions and all spending money in the county, and the pride of knowing that we finally solved this problem so we can all move on with our lives.

I'm ready. How about you?

I know that today is a big day in terms of the stadium bill. I'll be discussing that more later.

Posted by snackeru at May 10, 2005 8:54 AM | Stadiums

Comments

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Posted by: Cheesehead Craig at May 10, 2005 11:33 AM

Linda Koblick. Saying her name aggervates me. She apparently hates when people break tradition by proposing things without a written statement, yet she proposed her "layover" out of the blue halfway through the Board meetings on the stadium, then spent an hour using the same phrase only for it to be forcefully shot down. She doesn't care about people being informed, she cares about exploiting the schedule of the State Legislature so they can't push the bill through by the end of the session.

Posted by: TwinsJunkie at May 10, 2005 5:52 PM

Hey, I've always said your site is a great resource. The only downside is being dogpiled like a Pokemon in a daycare center if you don't agree with the prevailing wisdom.

Keep up the good work!

Posted by: David Wintheiser at May 10, 2005 10:12 PM