A Heartwarming Story

(C) 2016 Luke T. Bush

PLATTSBURGH CITY, NY -- 8/25/16


Apparently the defunct PlattInfo kiosks are getting some use.

A reader witnessed a touching incident that he shared with me.

There was a family strolling about downtown, visiting the city.  One member was a little girl who noticed a PlattInfo kiosk.  She stopped, staring at the unit with great excitement.

What caught her attention?  The dead screen that was intended to show points of interest in downtown Plattsburgh City?  Maybe she thought it was a special TV that would show her favorite cartoons.

No, that's not what caught her eye.

She said: "Look at that big spider web!"

Proprietary Lock Out

(C) 2016 Luke T. Bush  

PLATTSBURGH CITY, NY -- 8/24/16

What to do with those dead PlattInfo kiosks?  Their screens  -- designed to display points of interest in downtown --  remain blank.  A recent paint job conceals the rust.

The kiosks have spent more time being dead than alive.  After thousands of taxpayer dollars were spent there should be a way for Plattsburgh City to kickstart them back to life.

So just bring in someone to fix or update the computer system.  No, forget that.  Proprietary blocks that option.

Local software engineer Jesse Feiler was hired by the city to write the source code.  In the deal he struck with the city all his work is proprietary.  

The city boondoggle boys didn't realize that proprietary meant only one person, the code's creator, can touch it.  If the city wants to update the system it has to work with Feiler -- obviously for additional payment.

The city should've paid for open source code and bought the license for its use.  That way it could modify the system as needed.

I've emailed Jesse Feiler to get his part of the story.  Two emails, no response.

In the meantime the boondoggle boys are just itching to get their hands on that $10 million grant awarded by New York State.

Maybe they could update the kiosks with some of that money.  Just  rip off the tops and gut the interiors to convert them into planters with flowers to spruce up downtown.

At least flowers can be replanted.  They aren't proprietary.

Conducive For Comments?

How many comments were recorded?

(C) 2016 Luke T. Bush

PLATTSBURGH CITY, NY -- 8/23/16

Downtown Rising is a busy event, people milling about, talking, while a band plays tunes with amplified sound.   And while it's a good event for socializing and buying from various vendors it's not the place I would hold a public forum. People have their minds attuned to fresh carrots, ice cream, hot dogs, and other items being offered.

But last Friday the city had its set-up under the big tent, images spreading across an array of free standing panels.  This presentation detailed proposals for using the $10 million grant recently awarded to the city.  The set-up was supposed to elicit comments from the public regarding the Downtown Revitalization Initiative.  While I didn't hang around and witness all the activity it seemed most of the time volunteers were explaining concepts to passersby. I didn't see any note taking or voice recording of citizen input.  I didn't see a table to write down comments.

Then again, if I wanted feedback from the public I would concentrate on accepting such observations via postal and email addresses.  Even an old-fashioned telephone answering machine would be better. It's easier to comment in the quiet of your home where you can think.

But there will be another public outreach for taxpayers to comment on how to spend the $10 million grant.  Another set-up will be available to passersby at the Battle of Plattsburgh.  BOP is  the annual celebration of the American victory over the British during a key naval battle on Lake Champlain during the War of 1812.  It includes reenactments of the fighting on land and water.

So please feel free to comment while rifles and cannons are being fired.  Bang, BOOM, bang!

Nose Job

Decades ago a vandal knocked the nose right off this poor guy.  A concrete surgeon was brought in to fix the missing feature.  The replacement nose has withstood years of heat and cold, rain and wind, facing whatever Lake Champlain could dish out.  It never cracked or fell off.  Plattsburgh City should find out what magic mixture was used and apply it to rebuilding the Plattsburgh Public Library front steps.  The latest installation is cracking and crumbling like the previous one.  The new entrance hasn't even celebrated a one-year anniversary but is already suffering from old age.

Dust Devil

Back To Patching Over A Problem

(C) 2016 Luke T. Bush

PLATTSBURGH CITY, NY - 8/3/16

For years the concrete front steps of the Plattsburgh Public Library kept falling apart.  Patch jobs only covered up the problem.  But recently a full renovation to the entrance promised no more cracks, no more chunks falling off.

So much for that promise.  Cracks are already appearing, especially a long one from top to bottom.

The solution?  Back to patching.  Part of the crack is covered but has it really gone away?

Definition of Plattsburgh Smart: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.


Previous article: Not All It's Cracked Up To Be

Bean Counters = Crap Quality

LLBean: Quality Guaranteed Since 1912.  Forget it.  In the last few years LLBean clothing is sub-Made-In-China quality.  I’m not that hard on my clothes so there’s no excuse for my LLB purchases falling apart.  After a wearing them for a few times they just start deteriorating.

People tell me: “Well, send it back.  They guarantee their product.”  Sure, send one POS back and get another one that breaks down in six months or less.

I’m not alone. Google “LLBean Quality” and you’ll find complaints just like mine.  Apparently the Bean counters think they can maximize profits by charging top dollar for third rate quality and consumers won’t care.

Boycott LLBean and any other clothing manufacturer trying to foist their fragile fiber crap on us.  That will force them to make good clothing.

With other pants I could easily re-attach a button that fell off with needle-and-thread.  But how do you attach a button to a riphole?

Cargo pocket shorts, worn a few times.  Holes just growing on their own.

Another pair of LLBean cargo shorts, another hole growing by itself in a pocket.

LLBean chamois shirt disintegrating.  Never worn tucked in so no real stress was put on it.  Maybe gravity was the culprit.

Green Dome And The Parking Lot To Nowhere

Mayoral candidate Colin Read meets the press.

(C) 2016 Luke T. Bush

PLATTSBURGH CITY, NY -- August 1, 2016

Something was missing from the news conference.

That Smell [TM]. The olfactory attack from the sewage treatment plant.  It still could happen.

At least The Parking Lot to Nowhere didn't threaten us with a fecal bouquet.

Kicking off the news conference Colin Read, first time Democratic candidate for mayor, warned the crowd that the event would end when the Amtrak train rolled in.  With the clock counting down he shared a list of ideas that he would pursue if elected mayor.  Part of his POV was from being a downtown businessman, proprietor of the Champlain Wine Company.

Holding his conference at the lower level of the train station Colin faced the media, standing behind a white folding table.  A cluster of microphones picked up his voice.

Across the railroad tracks the hulking sewage treatment plant was easily visible and smellable.  I've always wondered who was the genius who decided to build it at the mouth of the Saranac River, prime lakefront property.

The gray plant sat beyond what Colin called The Parking Lot to Nowhere, an empty expanse of asphalt and white lines still waiting for the planned hotel/conference center to be built.

The lot was another white elephant example: city spending money on a project that never functioned as planned.   And maybe that was for the better.  Who wants to stay at a hotel with a beautiful view of Lake Champlain accompanied by an ugly miasma?

Colin observed: "People want a change."

One change he proposed would be a green dome over the sewage treatment plant to contain odor.

 He talked about the fiscal challenge faced by the city since its reserve fund -- $6 million -- was down to zero. (The reason why the city once again had a negative financial rating.) That money, he said, was reserved for emergencies such as the failing water system in the south part of the city.  (Old system = water flooding streets.)

But more money was on its way: a $10 million revitalization grant.  So how to plan and spend it?

On the topic of his qualifications Colin mentioned that he wrote a book on municipal finance and taught finance at Plattsburgh State University College.  Indeed with his black-framed  eyeglasses he looked professorial.  While he was sans tie he was snappily dressed in a medium blue blazer and light tan pants.  (I include those details because articles like this are supposed to detail the subject's appearance for sartorial-minded readers.)

Colin mentioned the city should do its homework before spending the grant money.

He gave an example of such homework: his number crunching with one proposal to tear down the farmers market building in the Durkee Street parking lot and replace it with a mixed use building.  A new parking garage would be needed to replace the 320 spots now in use.   Demolition costs alone would eat up a good share of the $10 million grant.

The cost of a new parking garage worked out to about $20,000 per spot, he said.  A private developer would expect ROI.

Colin: "The awkward thing is if we're going to use taxpayer resources taxpayers would like that fund replenished at some point.  If we use private resources we're going to have to charge for it.  Now the $20,000 per parking spot -- if you do the calculations a private developer is going to need about $300 of revenue every month [per spot] assuming that parking garage was full every day.  No private developer would be able to extract those resources."

He concluded it was quite inevitable taxpayer money would be used to build a new parking garage.

 Colin Read listens to a question from a reporter.

There was Q&A after Colin wrapped up his list of ideas.  A reporter mentioned that Plattsburgh wasn't the only New York State municipality with a downgraded financial rating.  Colin wasn't caught off guard.  He said that there were nine other cities with the same status but Plattsburgh shouldn't be one of them.

Colin offered more of his perspective during Q&A including --

The voice suffocating horn.  The Amtrak train from NYC was rolling in.

End of news conference.