I'm back and trying to get up to speed on many developments over the last 10 days. Evidently, there's been a lot of events here in town.
Ok, Let's GO!
Upper Providence BB shootings
I was flat out shocked to hear two incidents where people were seriously injured and taken to the hospital due to BB shots. From what's been gathered, it appears to be kids in a gray car who have been brazen enough to shoot people at very close range. One person shot in the neck, another in the eye. I expect to have an update on this early next week.
Unfortunately, the fall-out from this has people some what afraid to even venture out for fear of being attacked. This is not only local news, but KYW/Philly reported on the story as well.
Trash cans and recycling bins at Media Little League field
As I stated a few weeks ago, I would personally look into this matter, and did; though haven't heard back to see if it's been rectified. If there are still issues, let me know.
NOT So Super Wawa?
From people I've heard from close to this matter, it seems that Media Borough council is not too keen on this idea. I don't know at what point this will become a show stopper for Wawa, but I sense frustration starting to increase. I think more will be known about the direction on this at next month's borough council meeting.
Bastille Celebration and Car Show:
I wasn't here for either, but heard great things about both. A few restaurants told me the car show really provided a bump in business, which is great to hear. They attributed it to the draw of the show and the fact that booths weren't setup on State Street that tends to obstruct their businesses.
The $20,000 cold call Media fell for...and taxpayers will pay for!
If Mayor Bob McMahon and Media Borough Council are not paying attention enough to fall for a $20,000 cold call pitching 5 minutes of video, then this town really has to think hard about its current leadership.
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| Was Media starstruck for $20,000? |
The urgency alone as emphasized by the shows producers should have sent red flags off everywhere. For a company to manipulate this town into parting with $20,000 on their own terms and time frames is unacceptable. Especially having been investigated by the Florida Attorney General and fined for the very same misleading conduct.
Any 14 year old with a cell phone could have found out the story behind this company in 15 minutes, but no one on council took the time to do so. Turns out the "pitch" by this group is well known and often used on unsuspecting towns and businesses. I wasn't on the conference calls the borough had with this outfit, but based on numerous complaints from victims, the company's well known sales script probably went very similar to the following:
So now that Media Borough Council ratified the deal with this company for $20,000, we have essentially bought goods and services from a company that has a well documented history of taking advantage of unsuspecting towns. What's worse is that this infomercial was bought with out going out to bid or even entertaining companies in town that could possibly do a better job for less. Is that leadership you can trust?
Even with the Mayor and Borough Council having knowledge late last week of what this company was all about, they could have at least delayed the decision to solicit bids from local companies to get a baseline of the costs involved with such a project. The Mayor and council failed to do even that and rushed to lock in a deal with "Today in America," which makes the whole situation even worse! One has to ask, "what was the rush to do this?"
Even the New York Times found it important enought to report on the deceptive practices of this company, with one of the customer(victims) giving the following quote:
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| Quote from New York Times |
I do not believe placing a Super Wawa on the former site of the Media Inn is a good idea. In addition, the plans as presented by Media Real Estate would, if I am correct, require Media Borough to relinquish claims to a paper street right of way. The current plan would also require variances to zoning of the property.
ReplyDeleteI would love to see Media Real Estate and an architect (Bob Linn or otherwise) come up with a vision for that site which is pedestrian-focused and fits in with the fabric of the Borough as "Everybody's Hometown." With vision you won't end up with a Dollar Store. There could be a combination of living and working space, with a variety of ground floor offices and shops that engage the street and don't offer up precious real estate to the automobile. How about a multi level garage whose bottom two floors and possibly two of its four sides are filled with offices, stores, and/or apartments? This would alleviate some of the parking woes people seem to complain about so much. It would tie that corner into the rest of the Borough. Once the Hampton Inn is built, such a revitalized corner would draw guests from the Hampton. Come on MRE, think creatively!
They already did, it's called the dirt field next to Sunoco. Guess the market for those types of things in Media has maxed out.
DeleteThe super Wawa development is a great idea. Didn't anybody see the renderings at the current Wawa? It looks fantastic. In my opinion, the only improvement would be to put the building right up to the State street sidewalk. I don't see any problem in conceding that street (if you want to call it that). It wouldnt' serve much of a purpose especially now that the motel is gone. It's basically a glorified dead end driveway.
ReplyDeletephillyboy you are so right a super gas station is a great idea.
DeleteWant to see Wawa but there are house in the 400block of E STATE STREE THAT MAY lose access to their rear alley...
DeleteGood article on the infomerical companies in NYT, Tedman. Can't believe Dem and Rep council members voted "Yes" to hire them. I'd like to know their rationale. Especially, both Rep members.
ReplyDeleteI don't see the owners of the proposed Hampton Inn in a hurry to start any project on that site. I know that they own the Days Inn in Springfield, but would it be profitable to compete with itself with a hotel that is only 4-6 miles down the road? Probably not. The might sell the other property and go with the Hampton Inn, but I don't see that property adding any sort of value to that corner in Media. In fact all I see is it added more traffic to an already congested 4 block radius.
ReplyDelete