City Council didn't tell the whole story

Having been to another Collinsville City Council meeting to be more informed on city matters, I can't believe that the Council agreed to spend $1.5 million to buy the Martha Manning property without even mentioning the price. I had to read the morning paper to find out.

The city seeks bids for all major purchases but agrees to pay full price for the property. One can verify this by pulling up the MLS listings on the computer. I am sure all homebuyers and investors pay full price for their investments. NOT! The political financial trough has no bottom.

I hope demolition and abatement comes in on target. We can only point to past deals in their real restate purchases. We are going to have $500,000 in the Apex building, and then a developer can finish the building. There is a much cheaper way to save the bad brick facade the mayor wants so badly. Another case in point is the St. Louis Road property at a $5000,000 price tag to demo and abate. If a property owner will not renovate on Main Street, your best bet is to sell to the city.

Passed also was pay for non-union workers. There was no mention of any dollar amount or percentage. So much for being informed.

Phil Astrauskas

Collinsville