Kinnon - Making Decisions Based on Spite?

Malden Advocate - S. Broadway Council Discussion

If we ever had any doubt as to what traits make up Neil Kinnon's character, we don't any longer.

It would appear as though SPITE is the dominant trait of Neil Kinnon and is at the heart of what he bases his decisions and actions upon. With all the mud that is currently being thrown at MVRCS due to him, some might be having difficulty in keeping it all straight (Maplewood Firehouse, Roosevelt Park, the Dog Park, etc.). Just to recap, as the City of Malden was approaching the end of their lease of the Maplewood Firestation, MVRCS reached out to them and attempted to (in our opinion) extort field time from them due to what MVRCS believed was their need of the Maplewood Station. Of course when the City fought back and closed the fire station due to the deplorable conditions in the structural issues of the building, Kinnon and Nestor attempted to stir the pot by claiming that the building itself was fine, the issues were the result of the firefighters lack of housekeeping skills (although roof issues, HVAC systems, rodents and mold are not usually as a result of housekeeping issues). It was pretty apparent that their reaction was based on Kinnon's anger at not being able to strong arm the City into giving him what he wanted (field space). Kinnon, to demonstrate just how truly vindictive and spiteful he is, rebutted by proposing a tax hike to finance the new fire station that Malden has been discussing and/or building since 2003 when they originally sold MVRCS the firehouse. Let us also not forget his on-going battle with the firefighters (did he allow the building to crumble around them out of spite? We think so) and that while his 'followers' spout off about what a great deal the city got in renting the firehouse, that it was at the expense of the students of MVRCS. We won't even broach the subject of conflict of issues on this matter as we'd never get to further demonstrate our point.

Last week the City Councilors met with Mayor Howard to discuss the South Broadway Park renovations. The meeting was covered most thoroughly in the Malden Advocate and can be found Here (Malden Advocate). The city has the majority of the expense of renovations covered by grants but these grants are only available to the city for a limited time and the deadline is quickly approaching. While it sounds as though the majority of the Councilors were on-board with proposal Mayor Howard presented, Kinnon appeared to try and stall the Councilors from moving forward. It would appear as though his actions are based more on spite at not being able to command field time for MVRCS (anyone else hearing 'conflict of interests' ringing in their heads). He specifically took issue with the fact that the Mayor had overestimated the cost of renovations in a prior presentation (as long as the project stays on budget, what is the issue?) and claims that he had made requests for changes to the original plans and hadn't heard anything (although he wouldn't specify what changes he had requested). He then requested that the park discussion be delayed and addressed at an upcoming Public Properties Committee meeting even though that Committee (nor the Finance Committee which he is part of) controls the design of the park. Even more interesting is that one of the roadblocks that he put up was at the idea of using funds from the recently implemented Meal Tax as he felt it wasn't right to 'ax' a project that those funds were earmarked for. Interestingly enough, in yet another article at the Malden Patch is quoted as using funds from the Meal Tax for various projects that INCLUDE the South Broadway Park (and yet Kinnon is now finding fault with it and Howard is claiming that that scenario was not addressed...hmmmm). The Malden Patch Article can be found Here (Malden Patch Meal Tax Money Discussion.

We're thinking that Kinnon will try every trick in the book to stall the South Broadway Park project until the funding is no longer available in an attempt to make the City of Malden agree to field space for MVRCS. While this may allow MVRCS to gain the field time Kinnon requires, it does nothing to better the name of MVRCS or mend the adversarial relationship Kinnon has caused between the residents of Malden and the MVRCS community.

Yes Mr Kinnon, you are definitely a very spiteful individual.

Malden Advocate Quotes

Kinnon did not like that Howard’s cost estimates differed from an original presentation he gave in November, going from $6.4 million to $5.5 million. He also had some changes he’d like to see written into the park plans.

  Kinnon also bristled at the idea that the city could use money from the meals tax, passed earlier this year, to fund the park improvements. The tax revenue, Kinnon said, is already targeted toward specific projects.

“I could not go along with axing any of those projects to fund South Broadway,” Kinnon said.

  But Mayor Howard replied that the meals tax was never mentioned.

  “I believe we can accomplish what we do under new bonding – with new revenue sources,” said the mayor.

  Kinnon requested that the discussion be continued back in Public Properties Committee which Condon is chairman, requesting further dialogue.

  Condon reminded Kinnon that Public Properties doesn’t control the design of the park and again asked the committee to focus on the bonding issue.

  “I’ve asked for redesigns for the past few months. I want to know what I’m getting down there,” said Kinnon. “I don’t think it’s an unreasonable request.”

  The matter will be discussed at a joint meeting of Public Properties and Finance committees next Tuesday.

Malden Patch Meal Tax Money Quotes

 South Broadway Park
The biggest project funded by the meals tax is the South Broadway Park improvements. The reconstruction of the site will include new drainage, road and traffic construction, and folding in additional land from the adjacent Broadway plaza.
The current project cost is set for $5.5 million, but the amount actually needed from the meals tax money could be far less.
“It might be that the actual cost won’t cost anything on the municipal budget at all,” said Howard.
The drainage improvements will be paid for by a water and sewer overlay account, while the city can tap into Chapter 90 funding from the state for roadway and traffic-calming improvements in the area. The project is also eligible for federal Community Development Block Grant funding. If additional funding is needed, it will come from the meals tax binding.
Once completed, the park aesthetically will look like the neighboring Maplewood Park. The diamond will shift away from neighborhood homes, and the path between Maplewood Street and the shopping plaza will be better defined and have better traffic controls.