Comments for All in a TIF at http://www.theind.com , comment 1 to 25 out of 20 comments http://www.theind.com Sun, 26 May 2013 02:25:37 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://www.theind.com/news/9-indnews/7820-all-in-a-tif#comment-15558 Positive attitude You have gotten most of that wrong, you are obviously listening to JOEY's spin, perhaps you are Joey. Fiber will be obsolete in 3 years much less 5. And we will still owe 100 Million Dollars (100MM) plus the negative carry. Don't mean to be negative, but typical government deal, BAD. Al - Al Fri, 11 Mar 2011 19:57:07 +0100 http://www.theind.com/news/9-indnews/7820-all-in-a-tif#comment-15518 Why is it the powers that be always bend over backwards for the out of town carpet baggers? Oh, and the reason Durel wants a convention center on Kaliste Saloom is this: he will be able walk from his house and save the city money on fuel for his gov't issued vehicle! - the original northsidian Thu, 10 Mar 2011 14:56:25 +0100 http://www.theind.com/news/9-indnews/7820-all-in-a-tif#comment-15431 So, as I understand this, if the TIF hotel and Convention Center succeed, the taxpayers who pay the addtional taxes are no longer on the hook. Then Dr. Stewart gets to profit from something financed by taxpayers. What if the project fails miserably? Will the taxpayers be required to issue more bonds based on more taxes? Will the project just sit there and deteriorate? I do not like the idea of government financing a private business. The investors, not the taxpayers, will reap the rewards if the project is successful. That almost sounds unconsitutional. - Retiredcajuncop Thu, 03 Mar 2011 20:06:30 +0100 http://www.theind.com/news/9-indnews/7820-all-in-a-tif#comment-15257 Positive Attitude -- As soon as LUS can save me some money, I will switch. I look at it every 2-3 months, and I don't yet see a substantial savings over my current bill with Cox and ATT. Did your mom get a $50 per month savings, or a one time $50 credit on her bill? As for 5 years to turn a profit, I'm sorry but that's just unacceptable. In five years, LUS Fiber will need to spend some money updating network gear to keep the network supported by manufacturers. That's an important difference between a network and a library/park/power plant. Networks need continual reinvestment to stay viable and supported by the vendor. Much like home computers that have a realistic useful lifetime of 3-5 years. Also LUS Fiber is significantly behind schedule signing up customers to reach their projected penetration rate. Huvall said that was because the marketing campaign got a late start. I can see that, I think that's alright as long as it's true. That was some months ago, and I'm sure there'll be another update from LUS Fiber pretty soon. We'll see if the market penetration is improving then. Hopefully the loan from LUS budgeted for this year won't be necessary. It was always claimed, I believe, that LUS would never need to loan money to LUS Fiber. And I'm not suggesting that LCG needs to turn a profit. But it should, on the other hand, not sink 100's of millions of dollars into buildings all over town for questionable benefit/use to the public, either. LCG should be able to quickly and clearly state the expected use and future benefit of its investments, and that statement should hold up 2-3 years later. Problem is, many of LCG's "investments" over the last 5-10 years do not make much sense now that we look back on them. Also, LCG is beginning to make less and less sense when it describes the use and benefit of its "investments". A good example of that is the long sales pitch Durel gave for the Parc Lafayette TIF--sizzle on the steak, he said. But not one word about what the borrowed money would actually be used to buy. - ragin_cajun Mon, 28 Feb 2011 12:58:42 +0100 http://www.theind.com/news/9-indnews/7820-all-in-a-tif#comment-15219 Positive Attitude is on the juice again.I got a thousand to a donut the fiber is a pyramid scheme - Northsidian Shotgun Sat, 26 Feb 2011 00:08:00 +0100 http://www.theind.com/news/9-indnews/7820-all-in-a-tif#comment-15194 LUS has been an asset! Easy to prove just in my household. I switched to LUS and saved a considerable amount of money. Not long afterwards, I got an offer from my former company reducing rates. This has happened all over town. My mom was about to switch and she was offered over a $ 50 savings not to switch. LUS gives the citizens( every citizen) the same rate..You don't have to sign long contracts for 2+ years. They offer speeds (upload speeds) no one else can touch. Our FTH program has brought national attention to Lafayette, evidenced by all the awards we have received from national associations & publications. Jobs have been created and 2 of my friends, who work from home, have decided to move here.These are just a few of the benefits. How long should FTH be able to lose money?I'd say 5-10 years. Many companies expect to lose money for 5+years before they turn a profit. I think I heard Mr Huval confirm that it would take about 5 years . I suggest that you give him a call. He is always willing to answer questions and has even participated in some of the blogs. As to LCG being a bad investor...Are you suggesting that city/parish governments are supposed to turn a profit? Parks, libraries, etc, will never make money but they are a good investment for the citizens. - Positive attitude Fri, 25 Feb 2011 07:48:29 +0100 http://www.theind.com/news/9-indnews/7820-all-in-a-tif#comment-15192 Baton Rouge Advocate has two interesting stories: one is about a developer who started his hotel a few yrs ago & how he's not personally liable now that his opportunity has turned to dust. He's rich & his hotel is being taken from him. It was financed with "GO Money". Very similar sounding. Second: there is ANOTHER develope in BR who wants the same tax incentive as the other hotel was given.... I believe Mr. Patin is smart enough to weather this. In fact Bravo for him taking us this issue and not being just a "yes" man. I hope he's paying attention & noticing a lot of area citizens aren't interested in financing a RR hotel. I DON'T SEE ONE STATEMENT ABOUT WHY A LUXURY HOTEL IS NEEDED IN LAFAYETTE. THERE ARE HUNDREDS - HUNDREDS OF NEW HOTEL ROOMS WITHING WALKING DISTANCE OF THIS LOCATION AND NONE ARE NEAR THE CAJUNDOME. I THOUGHT THE MENTION OF NOT ENOUGH HOTELS NEAR THE DOME WAS REALLY UNTHOUGHFULLY STUPID. So, there are some big names, really ticked off to be getting so much back talk, and I'm even more interested in who really is going to bank on this project. I suggest Mr. Stewart go to Plan B, smaller, financed by himself & his investors. - BoFred Fri, 25 Feb 2011 05:20:37 +0100 http://www.theind.com/news/9-indnews/7820-all-in-a-tif#comment-15188 I like the points from A1 and positive attitude. I am pro-business like positive attitude, but smart development depends on a lot of factors. A1 brought up several good points; I think he may be confused if he thinks it costs 700 million dollars to run anything in lafayette parish. Unfortunately, the majority of the things he listed are secondarily connected. I don't think they would drive hotel business like fiber internet connections. If the government subsidizes another convention center, what will be the plan for the cajundome? Fight for business; not a good idea esp. if it's a public entity. No need for names. If you don't like the TIF, then tell your legislators to vote against the particular bill and let the developer go on with his boutique hotel then. How do you know if Lafayette hotel biz. is suffering? Do you have access to STR reports or are you a hotel owner? I suggest the hotel owners get together and form a legal/political fund to take action if they are threatened. - Caps a Lot Thu, 24 Feb 2011 23:04:11 +0100 http://www.theind.com/news/9-indnews/7820-all-in-a-tif#comment-15182 so this issue boils down to this. Is it the role of government to pass legislation to support one businessman, not the entire industry, over another. Or is it the role of government to insure the rules and laws apply equally to everyone? What will happen to to value of the existing hotels. Will you agree to that pragmatism in the future with the next administration. that the logic behind all corporate welfare. To give up ones principles to the pragmatic arguments will lead to no principles at all. - Comments from the others Thu, 24 Feb 2011 21:24:51 +0100 http://www.theind.com/news/9-indnews/7820-all-in-a-tif#comment-15169 Positive Attitude -- "But, that doesn't mean that Fiber is not a great asset. We are all benefiting from the competition." Prove that. Offer some data to support that, please? Last time someone said that on these boards, I got quotes from Cox and ATT for residential Internet in Lafayette, and compared that price to quotes for Internet in St. Martin Parish. No difference. I used St. Martin Parish because I know the phone numbers out there and you need an address and phone number to get a quote. Fiber IS losing money, and LUS did raise electrical rates. Both of those facts are 1000% true. The only dispute is whether or not you believe LUS' stated reason for raising electrical rates. They said to pay for upgrades to the electrical grid (?), I think. Many people think that's not true. Also, if you look at the 2011-2012 budget, you'll see very clearly in there a loan from LUS to LUSFiber of 5.5 Million dollars. It's in there, they MUST think it's going to happen this year. What do you think about that? You think it's OK for LUS Fiber to lose millions of dollars every year because "it's a great asset"? It's OK if you think that...I just want to hear you say it...er..see you write it...:) "LUS maybe "losing" money, but the original projections always expected that" You're right, LUSFiber is losing money, and that was expected as you state. So since you're so familiar with the projections, can you state for the rest of us at what point in time the projections expected LUSFiber to start turning a profit? Is that point in time behind us now, or is it still in the future? Now for the larger point the writer made, and listed points to support--that LCG is a very bad investor and the record shows it--can you address that? Because the point seems very valid to me. I'd forgotten just how many stupid building projects LCG has been involved with over the years. - ragin_cajun Thu, 24 Feb 2011 14:33:48 +0100 http://www.theind.com/news/9-indnews/7820-all-in-a-tif#comment-15139 Al, You are right, it is great to have a positive attitude because I don't have to distort the truth as you have. Yes, LUS maybe "losing" money, but the original projections always expected that(just like most start up companies.).But, that doesn't mean that Fiber is not a great asset. We are all benefiting from the competition. You say they have raised rates on other utilities to subsidize fiber. That is an absolutely untrue, maybe you didn't know that, so now you can correct that bit of wrong information. The LITE center I cannot speak to accurately, so will leave it alone but based on your "facts" about LUS, I would doubt that you can speak to it accurately either. The cajundome and convention center (tied together, which you didn't seem to know), might "lose" money, but what does that do for all the private sector hotels, restaurants, and other businesses that benefit from it's existence? Might be a little deeper answer than you are willing to delve into. I suspect that the city, parish, school board and state do just fine with the taxes that come back as a result. As to the overbuild of hotel rooms, I would point out that it was private sector investors that made those decisions, not government. And I would bet that they hope the cajundome keeps on doing what it does. And by the way, the projections for the new development are coming from private sector investors and accountants, so that should make you feel better, right? In the end, if it doesn't work, it will be because they got it wrong at no risk to the government or taxpayers. There, now you probably feel better with the truth and will keep an open mind about this new development. - Positive attitude Wed, 23 Feb 2011 19:49:43 +0100 http://www.theind.com/news/9-indnews/7820-all-in-a-tif#comment-15133 We already have a new convention center that the taxpayers are already on the hook for. WHy does this administration think it's a good venture to build another one. The one we have isn't utilized like it should be. Why are they pushing this on Dr. Stewart? Who really benefits? - Tourist Wed, 23 Feb 2011 16:58:54 +0100 http://www.theind.com/news/9-indnews/7820-all-in-a-tif#comment-15131 written by Banking 101 "If it is an extremely high risk venture, he will not get financing." --------------------------- High risk does not equal no financing. Everything has risk. In a slow economy, overbuilt with commercial buildings, financing may be still be available. Just look at the apartment complex next to the Acadiana Mall. It failed but was pickup about two years latter (on the cheap no doubt). Perhaps the project will work quite well, for the second owner. - Economics 420 Wed, 23 Feb 2011 16:02:55 +0100 http://www.theind.com/news/9-indnews/7820-all-in-a-tif#comment-15128 resign their position? Come on Garbage, where else can you get two qualified servants of the people for the price of one. Lou, Mrs. Patin is better qualified to represent us than some of the ones currently sitting on the council, and you never read about Mr. Patin being dishonest or pulling any shady deals. Give me a man who speaks his mind any day instead of someone who just tells me what I want to hear. You go Mr. and Mrs. Patin. - Bovine Waste aka Bullshipper Wed, 23 Feb 2011 14:53:33 +0100 http://www.theind.com/news/9-indnews/7820-all-in-a-tif#comment-15126 Resign their position? Come on, Garbage, how can we have better representation? We're getting two for one. Lou, Mrs. Patin is much better qualified than a few others we have on the council, and you haven't read about Mr. Patin being dishonest or pulling any shady deals. Give me a man who speaks his mind any day over one who is just going to tell me what I want to hear. - Bovine Waste aka Bullshipper Wed, 23 Feb 2011 14:43:03 +0100 http://www.theind.com/news/9-indnews/7820-all-in-a-tif#comment-15125 Dear Positive Attitude It always nice to have a positive attitude, but being naive is something else. In the investment world no matter how positive you might want to be, being positive won’t get your money back. I don’t mean to be negative but the numbers never turn out like the Politicians project and by the time it is all over and all the fees are made ,the tax payer is left, one way or the other ,holding, the bag, 1.LUS Fiber , cut their projections in half, now losing 5mm a year, they and just raised your utility rates to cover the losses. They lied about the projections and they lied about LUS being on the hook for Fibers losses and they lied about the rate hikes. 2.The lite building cost 26MM dollars and has vacancies is losing millions, we have over 1mm sq feet vacant office space in the private sector and the city is going to invest in more? 3.The convention center is losing money every year and we need another one? 4.The Cajun dome costs us 700M a year and we3 need more ball rooms? 5.You just built an new building to lease to AOC in an area that is 20% vacant, only government can be that stupid. 6.The number of hotel rooms in Lafayette have doubled in the last 3 years and occupancy rates are plummeting and you want to invest in more rooms? Please not with my money. At the risk of sounding negative, At what point do we say “Just stop the insanity”. Do you really want the government making investments for you? When has that ever worked out? Politicians will sell the sizzle but never honestly show you the bill. Thank God for the Tea Party, someone has to have the courage to stand up for free enterprise. Keep up that positive attitude; I have a really fine bridge you may be interested in at a bargain. Al - Al Wed, 23 Feb 2011 14:30:34 +0100 http://www.theind.com/news/9-indnews/7820-all-in-a-tif#comment-15124 Garbage--- you just don't get it! Two for the price of one let alone two hard working tax payers--- you need to clorox the can and think again! - Parish Pal Wed, 23 Feb 2011 14:18:31 +0100 http://www.theind.com/news/9-indnews/7820-all-in-a-tif#comment-15122 Dear Positive Attitude It's always nice to have a positive attitude, but being naive is something else. In the investment world no matter how positive you might want to be, being positive won’t get your money back. I don’t mean to be negative but the numbers never turn out like the Politicians project and by the time it is all over and all the fees are made the tax payer is always left, one way or the other, holding, the bag, 1.LUS Fiber is losing 5mm a year, they just cut their projections in half and just raised your utility rates to cover the losses. They lied about the projections and they lied about LUS being on the hook for Fibers losses and they lied about the rate hikes. 2.The lite building cost 26MM dollars and has vacancies and is losing millions, we have over 1mm sq feet of vacant office space in the private sector and the city is going to invest in more? 3.The convention center is losing money every year and we need another one? 4.The Cajun dome costs us 700M a year, we need new ball rooms. 5.You just built an new building to lease to AOC in an area that is 20% vacancy, only the Government can be that stupid. 6. The number of hotel rooms in Lafayette have doubled in the last 3 years, and occupancy rates are plummeting and you want to invest in a new Hotel? Please not with my money and yes it will cost the city, they are speaking in half truths. At the risk of sounding negative, At what point do we say “Just stop the insanity”. Do you really want the government making investments for you? When has that ever worked out? Politicians will sell the sizzle but never honestly show you the bill. Thank God for the Tea Party, someone has to have the courage to stand up for free enterprise. Keep that positive attitude, I have really fine bridge you might be interested in at a bargin. AL - Al Wed, 23 Feb 2011 13:34:04 +0100 http://www.theind.com/news/9-indnews/7820-all-in-a-tif#comment-15111 If it is an extremely high risk venture, he will not get financing. The TIF will only cover 20 million of the 320+ million project. - Banking 101 Wed, 23 Feb 2011 12:15:36 +0100 http://www.theind.com/news/9-indnews/7820-all-in-a-tif#comment-15110 “If the Jeremiahs (a reference to real estate developer Jeremiah Supple) show up and turn my meeting to shit, I’m going to get the cops to put them out,” Patin says. Keith Patin owes an apology to Mr. Supple. And Mr & Mrs. Patin needs to resign their position. We don't need a Gadhafi-Patin. That's just not the type of respect you show for taxpayers - that if they don't agree with you, you're gonna have them put out. Someone is gonna show these elected ones some true respect really soon and humble them. - Garbage Wed, 23 Feb 2011 12:10:50 +0100