A Confounding Mystery
The Leader Herald has been told by those who know about an expensive city hall mystery.
It involves the City Purchasing agent and the fact he did not, for a reason real, imagined or unknown, lock in the price for electricity the city uses before the new year began.
This mystery – an oversight, a blind spot, a misunderstanding – about how the world works, or in this case, how the city gets charged for its electricity use, has led to a huge jump in the city’s electricity bill across the board for the month of January.
The excessive electric bills have surpassed last year’s bill for the same month by approximately $140,000.
This overage includes all the city’s buildings and the school department’s buildings as well.
The question is this: how could this happen?
How do we stop this from happening again?
We also wonder what February’s bills are going to be like.
It is likely the huge January overage is going to be followed by a huge February overage because the city didn’t cap what it would pay for a kilowatt of electricity, which is what the city has done for many years prior to 2018.
We urge the mayor to ask the City Purchasing agent about this mystery and how it might be solved before too many more months of excessive charges come to pass.
At a time when the mayor is calling for austerity, it is somewhat depressing to think that the city will have to pay about $140,000 more in January alone as compared to last year for electricity it cannot apparently afford to pay for because the Purchasing Agent failed to act.
We ask that this mystery be solved and as soon as possible.
Did the Purchasing Agent forget to cap the price? Was he asleep at the wheel? Did he feel larger electric bills would be better than smaller ones?
One never knows what could have caused such a mystery in Everett. But we know this, waste in government is not a crime but it should be.
Wasting $140,000 of the taxpayer’s money on an oversight cannot be tolerated.
Coach DiBiaso’s Replacement?
Now This is a Sports Mystery
Coach John DiBiaso’s replacement has been chosen.
But no one in a position of responsibility who claims to know will tell us who exactly it is except to say – “It is a choice made without looking outside the city.”
School Department officials said Tuesday they will be making the official announcement about DiBiaso’s successor on Friday when he will be officially introduced to the media and to local residents.
We know this…whomever has been chosen has some very big shoes to fill.
Whomever has been chosen will be under huge pressure to produce as DiBiaso produced.
There is a wonderful music anecdote that tells how the rock group The Who refused to go on the stage at Woodstock after Jimmy Hendrix was to perform.
“No way,” the Who complained.
“No one follows Jimmy Hendrix.”
The implication was that following Hendrix would make a postscript out of any group that did.
Such is the case following DiBiaso.
No one can reasonably follow DiBiaso.
Never the less, we are excited to find out who is named on Friday.
In anticipation, we wish him good luck and best wishes in the understanding he will need it.
The Apartment Triangle
The former Harley Davidson property is being turned into 250 units. The former Chelsea Clock site is being turned into 625 units.
A Boston Street property will at some point be allowed to develop another 525 units.
All three developments are the proof of just how hot Everett has become for developers and for those who will live inside the units they build.
This rapid growth has never been seen in Everett, ever.
Such developments give Everett the look and feel of a new city developing all around us.
The next step in all this new development is to grow the commercial aspects that will surround the developments and give them a reason to exist – that is, stores, coffee shops, restaurants and all the things that will make this once lost end of Everett a city within itself.
The city needs to get busy with this.
Folks won’t ultimately remain in these apartments without a reason to exist built all around them.