THE TRAP IS BAITED. February 22, 2019
Will the prey (taxpayers) take the bait in this expanding maze?—they always do.
The Marshal’s Museum murky maze has expanded. First a brief history beginning approximately at the onset of this pretzelizing endeavor.
It was announced, initially, the project would be a private enterprise undertaking and absolutely NO taxpayer dollars involved. The no taxpayer position shortly proved to be untrue—a lie. An FOIA submitted early on contained a few names of private citizens but the names were redacted before they touched my hands. What were they hiding that early on?
With a little help from a couple of citizens I was able to document that Griffin & Sicard and the consummate insiders had obtained from government agencies–DC, Little Rock, Sebastian County, Fort Smith, etc. at least $36 million plus 3 assets that listed no stated values, undoubtedly in the millions—coin minting, real estate, tax credits, etc. all was based on a lie—no taxpayer dollars used– which then translates to grand theft by the MM, Inc.
Apparently when the U.S. Marshal’s Museum, Inc. determined they needed $16-17 million more to complete the physical facility they then made their wishes known to the Fort Smith city government. Remember newly elected city Mayor George McGill had assumed the captaincy of the F.S. government probably due to the fact McGill’s campaign was outrageously financed (circa $65,000) and directed by Griffin, Sicard, & enablers. Their order on this occasion was to instruct the City Board to put a 1% sales tax for a special vote to take place March 12, 2019. One brave dissenter, Director George Catsavis did not cave.
Think about this…the hypocrisy—they sold the project with the premise it “won’t cost the taxpayers a one red cent”, shortly they received millions from the then Senator Jake Files & his state legislation for $25 million, as well as the city and county tax monies already kicked in… and then they end up whining for citizens to pass a “9 month 1% sales tax” which in all probability will never end, if passed.
Front page 2/22/19 Times Record, 5 individuals of the CBID were pictured, of the 5 at least 3 are multi-millionaires, absent Sicard who owns numerous banks. These are principals in the MM, Inc. and they have the temerity to demand that middleclass Fort Smithians and others subsidize their expensive ostentatious creation.
Their next step is the formation of a 5 member “Public Facilities Board” who will then purchase the new Museum building with the funding from the sales tax and with that comes no responsibility in maintaining by the Public Facilities Board nor the city of Fort Smith. Say again? Next Griffin & Sicard put out the lie that Mayor George McGill will be the only one who will appoint the 5 member PFB. Really? Mayor McGill was hired as the Registered Agent for the MM, Inc. It is said this is a necessary business arrangement since Agent’s primary function is to make businesses aware of legal changes. But what other functions might they serve?
Mayor McGill owns his own museum which appears on the Secretary of State website and creates a nexus between the 3 producing a symbiotic relationship creating a host of Conflicts.
Mayor McGill comes in handy in another way, he is a 6 year alumni of the Arkansas General Assembly that ended last year. An educated guess; he will be spending inordinate amounts of time reacquainting himself with his old legislative buds for carrying out the wishes of Griffin, Sicard, himself, et al. I would also surmise the Mayor would convey Griffin & Sicard’s political orders to Rep. Boyd & for sure Sen. Matt Pitsch—the riverboat captain, while reporting on current legislative and inside activities.
Do you believe that Griffin & Sicard would solely allow McGill to pick the 5 members of the PFB? More conflicts. With that in mind, Director/Principal Robyn Dawson (double-dipper) sent me an email last Monday scolding me and stating how much she agreed with the Mayor’s position about public discussions vs. FOIA’s. I noted the time (10:00 AM) she was discussing city business on public school time—back to the no transparency issue. Conflicts? She also boasts of owning 2 businesses (what are their classifications?)…therefore, does she & her husband conduct personal business on citizen’s taxpayer time? Of course, you can guess the answer to that, which makes the Marshal’s Museum mystical maze & the F.S. government a microcosm of the DC swamp.
Here the transparency trail goes cold since their media statements read like a Chinese fire drill. Logically they explain nothing coherently.
Former Times Record editor, Jack Moseley, in the T.R. lauded the construction of the U.S. MM, Inc. in Fort Smith but not the methods used in construction and fundraising activities.
The issue here is not to be for or against the project, it is the lie…”not one cent of tax money to be used in its construction”, accompanied by lack of transparency (since taxpayer money in the main has and is being spent…millions), deception, obfuscation, conflicts of interest, and surreptitious methods.
Jack, you have been missed as editor of the T.R., but you have never seen fit to look beneath the veneer.
Recall the engineering/land/building site Lee Creek dam fiasco, which was declared by you, the city government and the downtown cabal that Lee Creek would provide water for 50 years while I was calling for elevation of the Lake Fort Smith dam which all of you said was an engineering impossibility. Look at it now.
Another example of not looking beneath the veneer was your denial of Kerr-McGee dumping radioactive pitch blend in the Arkansas River from their Gore, OK plant. It was later proven long after my assertions that the pitch blend was indeed flowing down the River and into Lee Creek, also through faulting. It has only recently been cleaned up, despite your denials of its existence.
With your endorsement of the Marshal’s Museum tax proposal, you’re again refusing to look beneath the veneer—Follow the citizens’ money—Qui Bono?
Joe McCutchen
Arkansas Freedom dot com