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The Masked Blogger has been silent for some time, but there are some issues arising that demand attention from TMB. And from the people of Hastings.
The Proposed City Sales Tax
City residents will have the chance to vote on a half-cent city sales tax increase in November. We built the new Aquacourt this way. And that turned out pretty well, methinks.
From The Masked Blogger’s perspective, a sales tax with a designated purpose is much preferable to simply generating more money for the general fund. If we’re going to pay more for something—and ask non-city residents to pay for it as well with their sales tax dollars they spend in Hastings—then we should all have some say in how those revenues are spent. And it should be on something that benefits a lot of people. So here’s what some think those monies should go toward:
- Street Resurfacing
Right now, Hastings streets are an annuity program for alignment shops and chiropractors. You feel like a slalom skier as you try to avoid one pothole, only to bottom out in another. Ouch! Infrastructure is costly and not particularly glamorous, but it’s one of the first things people complain about. Designated sales tax could help fix it—and everyone who comes to Hastings, spends money (and uses the streets) would help pay for it. - Renovation of the City Library
A city library is a great resource for city residents and the entire trade area. Technology is changing and the library needs to keep up. And that ain’t cheap. Sure, the Internet has changed the way we all get information. But that just means that libraries must change to remain relevant. And a relevant, technologically current city library makes Hastings a preferred destination. And in TMB’s opinion, a professional librarian makes a pretty darn good search engine. - Duncan Field
Hastings is a sports town, no doubt. And Duncan Field is one of the city’s landmarks. Plenty of history. Plenty of future opportunity. We have the softball complex. Duncan is a unique facility for top-notch baseball that we should not allow to fall into disrepair.
Weigh in on this. Do you think we should pass an increased city sales tax?
The Closure of a Portion of 9th Street
Hastings College wants to close two blocks of 9th Street to improve safety on campus. On one hand, some are concerned about inconvenience for drivers and emergency access for area residents. On the other, some are concerned about potential injury or accident in a very heavy foot traffic area. Tough call. In truth, there aren’t many college campuses that have primary traffic routes running through them. However, Hastings is hampered by a lack of through streets. What’s your take on this one?
Sound off, Hastings. Make a comment on this blog post. We’re listening.
Tags: City Library, Duncan Field, hastings college, Sales tax, street resurfacing
About the author: The Masked Blogger
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As a regular user and resident of 9th street, I think closing it would be an overzealous move on the part of Hastings College. Let’s face it, 7th street is abysmal. Try getting on it at 8, noon or 5… it is impossible. I rely on 9th street to make it to work on time.
Now, if they were to revise this plan and say, add more stop lights and controlled intersections to 7th street, I would definitely be okay with it. For residents who rely on 9th street though, to close it without these changes would force them to have to wait 5 and sometimes 10 minutes at the uncontrolled 7th street intersections.
What would be the benefits? Are there really accidents that happen along that 2 block path? This particular Hastings resident will remain in protest.
The closing of 9th street for the college I have no problem with. It seems to make sense. I of course do not live in that area so I would defer to the wishes of the people who do. There opinions should carry the most weight in my opinion.
Higher taxes are not the answer. If you want to drive business away from Hastings, a higher sales tax will do it. Most people in this economy have to tighten their belts, so should government. If more money is needed for roads, then something else must be cut to pay for it.
I don’t think this is the right time to raise sales tax.
Closing 9th St would give the campus more of a cohesive feeling, allowing the students to have a walkway without traffic. I am for the closing
I would support the closing of 9th Street if the students were grade schoolers, but not for college kids. That particular closure would cut off area residents in a way I wouldn’t like.
As for the sales tax, I like it better than higher property taxes. The spenders pay more and the squeakers pay less. Seems to be a good arrangement. I also like all of the proposed projects.
Definitely against the closure of 9th street. I would like to see some concrete data concerning how many students have been injured because of the traffic going “right through campus”. If we do this we just as well close 9th street, Denver, and Hastings avenues around Longfellow as well. Oh, you said the Hospital ER is right there? Don’t worry, its only 5 blocks around, no big deal when you’re having a heart attack, right?
I agree if it was around grade school yes, college no, they can watch for cars. This would disrupt many neighborhoods in the area.
I’m not from Hastings, but I hope I can still post here. I wanted to talk a little about the Closing 9th Street to give Hastings College campus more of a cohesive feeling, while allowing the students to have a walkway without traffic.
I’m thinking of sending my child to Hastings to attend college there. I want her to be in a community that cares about the local college and the students that attend it. It seems to me from this blog, that Hastings may not value either. I mean the majority of respondents seem to be against the college and more worried about the couple of extra minutes it may cause them when driving somewhere.
What about the students safety? This blog seems to care about safety. I mean it has two other opinion posts that directly relate. One talks about Nebraska drivers not yielding to pedestrians and the danger this imposes. The other tells us the story of a person who is almost run down in a parking lot because of a distracted driver on a cell phone.
Others posters state that if the students were in ‘grade school, maybe.’ Age doesn’t matter when you are hit by a car driven by a distracted driver. The grade schooler and the college student would both be hurt or worse. The issue isn’t the students not paying attention, but the drivers (some of whom are in a hurry to save a couple of minutes).
I guess, I’d hope a community would be willing to drive a couple extra minutes to increase the safety of students ‘of any age.’ I’d hope any parent who would be willing to send their child and their money to Hastings Nebraska, would also expect a community that cares for the kids (and their safety). Is Hastings a community that is more worried about saving a few minutes driving time then protecting the young adults entrusted to them? I wonder…