Town of Cable Meeting-A special message from Chris and Amy Parker to Cable voters
From Gary C - I'm not one to tell you how to vote but this one is a no brainer. Please support the yes vote for the Town of Cable to acquire the Cable School property for demolition purposes
“We are asking the towns people of Cable to vote yes at the Cable Community Center in the short window of 6:30-7pm, Thursday Feb 23rd 2023.”
Chris & Amy Parker
Our Story
In July we heard a Dollar Store wanted to come to Cable.. What if it were a Kwik Trip?
We were worried.
What ifs started to play in our heads.
Changes can have interesting effects on our small community when scenarios are played out one by one.
How would that change affect our local markets in food, gas, groceries and coffees? It may change their existence drastically.
Changing Cable in ways outside of our control.
We love Cable and want to see it continue to be the uniquely crafted town that it stands out to be.
We want the future use of this space to thrive alongside existing local businesses, not local businesses trying to survive alongside it.
That’s why we believe the school should come down and why, we ourselves personally, have invested our time into this obstacle. An obstacle we weren’t excited about overcoming, but were willing to take the personal sacrifice in hopes of doing right by our community, protecting a space from decay and having a say at how our Cable is shaped for our children.
We thought about this obstacle.
We thought about the investment of time and money.
July 4th Chris said to me “I wonder how much that silly school is and if it’s really as bad as everyone says it is?” I encouraged him to call the number on the sign. We then engaged with the county and zoning to see if our “sustainability center” would work in this space. It did. We then spoke with the town about utilities and the town presented us with the concept that there were grant funds applied for.
The town board meeting was held for Chris to present talks of our concept at the town meeting.
The next town board meeting it was brought to attention again, but was then tabled due to grant funding not yet being approved and financial commitment not yet verified.
To get the town to remove this grant opportunity from being tabled, someone had to step forward with a financial commitment.
No community member was willing to accept this challenge presented at the board meeting; to pay almost triple the property value and be left with a gravel bowl lot; with a sidewalk and blacktop in tact, along with a monthly payment. Worth mention is it’s not creating revenue as such.
That's a challenge and a risk.
After a lot of consideration, we accepted the fore-said challenge with an underdog mindset. Willing to take on the task. Did our research, got Excited about it even.
The town would not proceed with accepting the grant until they had an “investment backer”. We offered to be that person and gave proof of that commitment and feel invested in this project.
We gave the town our proof of financial commitment.
The grant was approved. The next steps could be taken.
We were told the town lawyer had pen in hand with approval of this vote.
The town called an informational meeting to keep the project moving.
The town board spoke of not being a broker,.
The town board spoke of not wanting to carry debt.
The town board expressed that it wasn't advisable to accept the grant without a partner to offset the debt. The town had a problem that could end many ways costing the townspeople, by taking risks.
We, Chris and Amy Parker, helped find the solution; by passion & fate, not by greed.
We accepted the challenge to help move this project forward, to ease the towns worry of debt.
The opportunity that lies beyond this challenging task, is not an easy road.
It will take hard work, strength and courage. The what ifs will always be there.
A challenging task can seem like a burden and a blessing.
A burden because blind assumptions can lead to hasty conclusions.
For example – What if the town Does nothing?
The county will condemn the building, before or once injury has occurred, and then demolish the site. Giving the owner the bill at the cost of the county. Affecting not only our Community, but our whole County. Imagine yourself receiving a bill for $400,000? It’s unbearable for any sole proprietor.
A grant is one of the ways the government funds ideas and projects to provide Public Services and stimulate the economy.
This project is a Public Service.
The government entity providing the grant agrees and is willing to pay for a portion of it.
It’s a blessing because it shows we all care what happens there. With local elections coming up in April, we also want to remind ourselves of the power each of us has with our vote now and always. We are united in community. Supporting one another is a small step in reinforcing the community strengths and combined resources accomplishes goals. Goals that were expressed by the town chair at campaign time.
We are asking the towns people of Cable to vote Yes for Cable to sponsor the grant to take down the school.
We are also asking the Town Board to take into consideration our steps taken into this project to help its course of action to continue and help make this happen, we want to be considered in working with the town for removal. Our interest has not faded; even when the project was more expensive and more difficult., we have stood true to our word and will continue to stand true to our values throughout this endeavor.
If you would like to reach out and express support through email to the town board members here is their open line of communication.
Malcolm Haag: Malcolm.Haag@townofcable.com
David Popelka: David.Popelka@townofcable.com
Tony Merrill: Tony.Merrill@townofcable.com
Dean Hambrecht: Dean.Hambrecht@townofcable.com
We appreciate the effort the town board has put forward with this project.
Thank you for your time.
Amy Parker