The Council and Young Administration should grow up and be big boys and girls and take over project management for the entire Mud Island Gateway area for remediation and improved mobility. It’s vital to the City's image and low hanging fruit. What's stopping them from taking over? And then there is Mud Island Park across the harbor. This blog will conclude with a video contract audit of Mud Island Pak, to include a gross overspend find of $730K for concrete pavers. Lets get started. 

On July 23, 2024, the Historic Council held a MRPP Mud Island hearing. Remarks were made by Councilors complementing the beauty of Mud Island Park, with meaningful questioning to come later in the hearing (Council). Mud Island Park is beautiful and has tremendous potential but remains neglected and unmaintained. Most stunning was the absence of any discussion of the Mud Island Gateway. This Mud Island Garage Gateway serves Mud Island, City, County and Federal Government.

How does everyone miss this Gateway sitting right beside City Hall to include MRPP, Council, Strickland, and Young Administrations? Funding for the Gateway is Not the issue, and its neglect is inexcusable after MRPP gets $3M per year for maintenance, $4M in Accelerate Memphis funds and collects parking revenue from the Mud Island Garage!

The Gateway’s escalators, which need replacing with stairs, don’t work, glass is broken to the monorail engine room, while the entire Gateway area remains unmaintained and neglected. And where is Downtown Memphis Commission public advocacy on this Gateway matter?

Councilors should walk across the street and look at the Gateway, just as they should look out the window and see incomplete City Hall construction after 4 yrs. Is any of this even on the Historic Council’s radar?

During the MRPP 7/23/24 Council hearing, Councilor Sutton initiated productive questioning on $4M in capital expenditures at Mud Island Park. Supposedly these funds have already been spent based on MRPP’s CEO Carol Coletta’s testimony on May 22, 2024.

It was learned from MRPP’s Art Davis that the Strickland Administration directed the use of the $4M and that City administrative Deputy Dan Springer, at the time, redirected the original use of the $4M. Springer has since left the City and is now working for MFA. MFA and AllWorld are two local companies that strangely tell City leaders what we need as a community.

Given Springer’s recent departure, it would be interesting to learn, when Springer gave his redirection advice and from what projects were funds redirected, to then prioritize Mud Island Park watershed repair and unneeded uprooting of concrete slabs for parking lot expansion and paving. And what is watershed repair?

Meanwhile, there is still no restroom access on Mud Island, the Riverwalk is unkept and unfilled with water, trip hazards that were said to be repaired are not, the banks of Mud Island are a jungle blocking river views and sludge can be found on jungle obstructed walkways going nowhere. It will be interesting to know where $4M was finally spent and how funds were redirected.

Councilor Logan later challenged the Administration to be “hands on” and to hear exclusively from the Administration on all things Riverfront. After all, there is supposed to be a Riverfront Steering Committee (RSC) operating in City Hall. That is the RSC that has never publicly operated while excluding key players like Friends for our Riverfront.

For whatever reason, the Young Administration seems reluctant to lead Riverfront development matters. And then there is $20M in state boat dock money sitting somewhere, while the monorail sits dormant.

Councilor Walker initiated sound questioning around getting the monorail operating. Councilor Warren quickly said the monorail has been judged operationally too expensive due to outdated technology. Warren’s reasoning seems lacking. After all, the belt-driven washing machine invented almost 100yrs ago, is more reliable than the electronic washing machines of today and then there are historic trolleys in various cities across the country. There is no known report that documents the costs to get the monorail operational again.

But no need to be limited to the monorail for mobility. We are only talking about a mobility solution for 400 yards across the harbor. Other mobility opportunities exist like airport walking trams and even flexible golf cart trains, when crowds develop, to accommodate 400 yards of mobility. It does not need to be elaborate; just functional.

Proposed alternative Mud Island mobility solutions would seem to be an excellent internal research project for the Young Administration RSC without the assistance of MFA or AllWorld. Again, we are only talking 400 yds. In fact, the Council and Young Administration should grow up and be big boys and girls and take over project management for the entire Gateway area for remediation and improved mobility. It’s vital to the image of the city; but not a big deal.

But Memphis is immature, living in the past and socially immersed in over amplified social justice, Greek and Krewe life. This is unlike other cities whose leaders have grown up and are trying to competitively propel their individual American cities. 

The above video is a Mud Island Park audit against the $4M Accelerate Memphis funding granted to MRPP for Mud Island Park Renovation. Please take note of the approximate 2,700 sq feet of concrete pavers that cost taxpayers $730K. I retail costed out the pavers at about $25K for 2,700 sq feet. So painted and installed, this pavers project should have cost no more than $100K compared to the $730K contract price. A picture of the pavers is below this section (City of Memphis) 

Just know Chairman JB Smiley's Historic Council won't schedule taxpayer centric testimony in Council committee. It’s like a religion, with the Historic Council only scheduling testimony from entities that rip the taxpayer, in a majority black community in need, while most of the time pandering to black people.

Questioning that unfortunately did not occur, in the most recent hearing, related to MRPP current financials and the status of uncollected private pledges. Taxpayers are getting dinged for interest assuming that private pledges remain uncollected, while MRPP maintains Riverfront parks. And then a readout on the financial outcomes of Memphis in May replacements of Riverbeat and SmokeSlam remain outstanding.

So like with budget season, nobody knows due to a lack of financial transparency. Current MRPP financials could NOW help answer a whole bunch of questions.

Then there is recent story reported involving the MRPP non-payment to a local black minority contractor (Daily Memphian). The non-payment occurred on the MRPP Cossitt Library project that set out to honor black people. Problem is in addition to not paying a black contractor, MRPP scammed taxpayers in a majority black community in need on a $7M project, while disenfranchising the public from library use for 5 yrs and not completing the job.

The entire $200M Riverfront rip was and is marketed locally with black pandering. Want to see some black pandering marketing for the Riverfront? Check out the 2021 Times article in “ Check the Facts” below. The article mentions the Cossitt, while touting a year end 2021 Cossitt opening (New York Times). The Cossitt did not open until approximately 18 months later and had to be taken over from MRPP by the City. 

Keep in mind, with the black pandering marketing backdrop, three projects can now be referenced as public fund diversion projects for TLP as MRPP private pledges remain outstanding. Those projects are the Cossitt ($7M), Cobblestones ($10M) and Mud Island Park ($4M).

Below, in Check the Facts, there are a whole list of Riverfront scam references involving the Cossitt, Cobblestones, Mud Island and Brooks (JustMy). Read Up!

But the question remains, will the Historic Council and Young Administration deal with MRPP?

Note: The $4M Accelerate Memphis contract for $730K for concrete pavers mentions the 3rd floor of the Rivercenter. There has been no paver work on the 3rd floor of the Rivercenter. The only Rivercenter paver work can be found on the 5th floor, which is shown below. And also note a correction in the above video. I said 3rd floor of the Rivercenter. I was actually on the 5th floor. But again no new paver work is evident on the 3rd floor of the Rivercenter only the 5th floor. 
 

City of Memphis – Mud Island Park $4M MRPP Contract – Exhibit A (pdf pg. 50)

Daily Memphian - MRPP

JustMy- Botch: Riverfront Steering Committee (Part 1)

JustMy- Botch: Riverfront Steering Committee (Part II)

JustMy- Riverfront: Taxpayers Did Not Sign Up for this!

Memphis City Council Committee Meetings: July 23, 2024 (youtube.com)

New York Times – Memphis Riverfront