Media in Two Minutes

Media in Two Minutes

The BIG story this week are the latest developments on the West End Flats/Walk that I shared on Monday.  I've since received further information, but we'll get to that later in this post.

Towne House Auction - Fantastic Day

Over 1,350 items auction off yesterday and today.

The event I really want to write about is the Towne House Auction that was this weekend.  When I stopped down at 10am Saturday, I wasn't really sure what to expect.  In my mind I thought it would be standing room only, which at one point was. That led me to start thinking that the bidding would be fierce and expensive.  However, it didn't turn out that way.

Now, "expensive" is a relative word, so some found good deals, while others may have not.  I'm guessing the average winning bid was around $80-$100 for most of the stuff auctioned off.  There were much higher bids for things like indian cigar figures, which went for $2,400 and $1,100 (smaller one).  The moose heads, which I was interested in and had planned to bid on, went much lower than the $1,000 I thought they'd get.  The two auctioned went for $450 and $500.  I say "planned to bid on" as the group I was with lost track of time and by the time we realized, they were sold.  Oh, well.

All was not lost though.  I was able to win the bid on a few things one of which is the Towne House oil painting that I was really fond of.  I'm glad I got it and very happy with the price.  Interesting enough, since winning the bid, I've already had two offers.  I did bid on the indian cigar chief, but to no avail.

I can't begin to tell you how great a job Briggs Auction did with this event.  It was well organized, managed and fast moving.  They auctioned off what they call a "lot" every 60 seconds, which was appreciated due to so many things they had.  They also did a great job of utilizing their website with pictures and descriptions of the offerings.  At no time did I not know what was going on, except for the moose, during the whole event.  In fact, they also utilized Periscope which allowed us to run down and place bids, while drinking beer at Sligo.

What made this a real pleasure was Auctioneer, Rob Borgstrom who did a fantastic job and in my opinion has a second career in comedy.  Thanks, Rob!  It was a fantastic day for Media under the sad circumstance of not having the Towne House Restaurant any longer.  A special Thanks to the D'Ignazio family too!  The auction resumes today at 12pm.

West End Flats/Walk

Proposed for West End of Media

Over the last few days people are humming with the recent renderings of the West End Flats/Walk project.  Truthfully, people are telling me and acting as thought they're hearing this for the first time - they probably are. That's not good, as no one likes a surprise of this magnitude, especially with the impact this will make.  Who's fault is that?  I'd say it's your elected officials, but I've been saying a lot about them for a long time.  And what's their response?  Good question, but they'll probably go on to say that it's our fault for not coming to the meetings.  My response?  "Not good enough!" And there are a lot of you who feel the same way.  One person event went on to say, "I'm not spending hours each month to go to borough meetings to find our how many library books were checked out, only to find a two minute mention of a develpment like this!"  That person is right.  If I can share a two minute post on what's happening with this community, then they sure in heck can too.  That's if they want too.

Ok, so, I've not had a lot of time this week and I'm still doing research, but I'll share what I know.

1. Application waivers? I was told this week that the applicants who are building the development have or will receive waivers (I suppose from the borough) that allow them to increase the size of this project if they so choose.  I got that on good word and believe that's accurate, but why would these waivers be given is something bigger isn't planned?  I'll followup this week on that.
2. Missing Minutes: I haven't yet gotten the traffic study, nor minutes from the planning commission meeting, because the borough has not kept the planning website up to date.  Many meeting minutes are missing from the monthly meetings.  In fact, there are only 3 months in 2015 that had Planning meeting minutes posted (March, April, May).  I'm sure it's an oversight, but it's sloppy.
3. Eminent Domain? What makes this interesting is that I heard from a person close to the matter that in order to fullfil the traffic requirements, an eminent domain request may need to be submitted to widen the roadways for this project.   Apparently, there will be some kind of hearing or announcement posted that gives the community 30 days to comment on this project. Again, I heard this through a good source, but I've not seen anything posted, so I don't know if that count down has started yet or has been completed.  I'll get this clarified this week.
4. A run on property:  Oh wait, there's more.  The car repair place Marty's Ex-Exon, is for sale.  I'm not sure how close it is to being sold, or if it has been sold, but there are designs to put some kind of coffee shop there.  

Cigar Lounge on State Street

Don't be surprised if you see a cigar shop pop up on State Street this month.  I understand they are also looking to get a liquor license, so not sure if that'll change the timeline.  Neat concept!