South metro letters

The real story

Burnsville Mayor Elizabeth Kautz seems to be taking credit for bringing the Mediterranean Cruise Cafe to Burnsville. We sincerely welcome the restaurant, but we need to look at this in the context of the events that really happened.

Mediterranean Cruise came to the city of Burnsville well over a year ago with a proposal to buy some property in the Heart of the City for a cafe, because its property in Eagan was in an area being redeveloped by their city. The three-member majority on the council, Gustafson, Kautz and Workman, with their grandiose plan for a hotel, performing arts center, parking deck and more, rejected the bid, since the restaurant didn't fit in with their "vision" in Heart of the City. As we all know, the four private developers backed out, and the three council members decided to go forward with the publicly funded arts center, predicting that white tablecloth cafes would pay big money to move to Heart of the City.

Fast forward to this year when Mediterranean Cruise again proposed its café for the Heart of the City area. But now the three member group not only grasped at the offer, but made several deviations from city building codes to allow the restaurant in, including a huge concession for a lack of adequate parking as required in the code. Meanwhile, 7,500 square feet of prime restaurant space remains vacant in Grande Marketplace, plus Benchwarmer Bob's restaurant (with its ample parking) sits empty around the corner on Burnsville Parkway.

The real kicker is that Mediterranean Cruise was given the land (previously described as prime and valuable) free of charge in a tradeoff. City officials said it would have cost the city about the cost of the land to build an auxiliary facility for Nicollet Commons, but no contractor bids were solicited to confirm that. The restaurant owner agreed to build a pump station and two toilets to compensate for the land.

ELWOOD NARUM

BURNSVILLE

It is time to recognize the behavior of free-spending Burnsville council members Gustafson and Workman and Mayor Kautz for what it really is -- wasteful and self-serving extravaganzas at taxpayer expense.

This spending pattern has come home to roost and we are now faced with trying to catch up to their splurging on unneeded and unwanted venues, as well as their ongoing efforts to outspend our neighbors, as though they were competitors.

A startling fact is that our property taxes need to be increased by 7.6 percent just to maintain the existing level of city services. That number far exceeds any reliable measure of increases in our system, such as GDP, CPI, etc.

Now the proposal is to institute service fees and charges to pick up the slack for needed funds. That is one of the most disingenuous slight of hand tricks heard of in an attempt to camouflage what they really are: taxes.

One of the reasons for the current fiscal bind is that not too long ago, the three big spenders arranged to take $3.5 million from the city reserve fund to front money for the Performing Arts Center. Not only would that wasted money have solved the current shortfall, but also it would have kept a nice sum in reserve. Now we have more debt and no reserves.

Mayor Kautz spearheaded the efforts listed above. Look it over and look inward to see if you really want the kind of leadership that spends beyond our needs, which are your hard-earned tax dollars. Jerry Willenburg effectively and efficiently manages a large commercial business as a profitable venture. He will bring that same fiscal responsibility and leadership to Burnsville when we elect him mayor.

DAVE ERICKSON

Burnsville

Two letter writers described the Wall Street takeover as socialism. The dictionary describes socialism as a system of distribution of capital to the community as a whole. The bonuses being given to the CEOs does not benefit the taxpayers, but instead leaves them with the burden of the debt. Upon closer look, the takeover looks more like fascism -- a form of government led by a dictator (Secretary Henry Paulson) who regiments all commerce.

ELIZABETH T. CANTRELL

BURNSVILLE

I admit to it, I'm pretty grumpy these days. I have a 17-year old whose college savings fund has been plundered; I myself am a 54-year-old whose retirement account has all but vanished. My home is worth less today than it was a year ago, and my job is less secure. Nonetheless, I'm likely to have to pay higher taxes for the rest of my life to bail out a bunch of banks and investment houses because the Republican party succeeded in its platform of deregulating Wall Street, a move their candidate recently said was "probably helpful to the growth of the economy."

It's clear that the painful lessons most of us have learned these last few weeks have been lost on the Republicans and their nominee. The repeal of the Glass-Steagall act, which brought about the deregulation of Wall Street that Sen. McCain finds so helpful, was touted by its author, former McCain campaign co-chairman Phil Gramm, as "the wave of the future" when it was signed into law in 1999.

Less than 10 years after these words were spoken, the government is learning that to promote economic growth, we need a government that indeed overrides, or at least oversees, some of the functioning of these allegedly free markets. We have learned, to our shame and sorrow, that human greed is boundless, and that no system on earth, be it capitalist or Marxist, can survive if it ignores greed's ruthless nature and indefatigable energy. Simply demonizing today's "fat cats" is not enough; the system needs to be changed if we are to prevent a new generation of plump kittens from taking their place.

REBECCA JUDGE

NORTHFIELD

It appears the massive bailout by the federal government will give one thing to those who have been fiscally responsible the last few years: The bill. Thanks a lot.

PATRICK FOLEY

NORTHFIELD

Regarding the issue of ATVs destroying public lands, a recent letter stated it wasn't fair to punish all riders for the acts of a few.

I disagree. From grade school to basic training, I have been involved in many instances where all were punished if no one claimed responsibility for a misdeed. Since no one wants to be punished for something they didn't do, this created an atmosphere of self-policing.

Until ATV riders start stepping up and standing up to those who desecrate the land that belongs to all of us, including reporting violators, they will have to be treated accordingly.

JOHN G. MORGAN

BURNSVILLE

Speaking as a middle-class suburban father of three who has voted for Republicans, Democrats and third party candidates, I find Norm Coleman's television ads to be especially nauseating. In one ad, a cute elementary school aged girl does his bidding for him. In another Norm Coleman-approved ad, the senator offers excerpts of the DFL candidate, Al Franken, using strong language at political rallies and in his audiobooks. If Senator Coleman is suggesting that this language is inappropriate then why in the heck is he purposefully, consciously and strategically paying millions of dollars to treat me and my family to a series of shocking excerpts of somebody using "obscene" language?

I would much rather elect the passionate candidate with fresh ideas, who occasionally uses strong language when he's outraged or in literary works, than the career politician who has contributed to some of the worst policies in recent history. Norm Coleman was one of the biggest cheerleaders in the run-up to the Iraq war while mocking dissenting arguments. And while some of the top economists in the country are wary about the $700 billion government bailout for private financial corporations, which the treasury secretary asked for with absolutely no provisions, Sen. Coleman chooses to take a rather delusional view. At a campaign stop in Mankato on Sept. 22 he suggested the bailout might be a good investment for taxpayers who themselves are struggling in this economy. Now that's obscene!

ERIC JAYNE

APPLE VALLEY