Rants
Marshall County Visitors Guide
I received a copy of the Marshall County Visitors Guide in the Culver Citizen last week. Then I received a copy in the Pilot News. Really!?! Yes, this is a rant…
Lets start with a little history… Easterday Construction Co., Inc. has been a member of the Culver Chamber of Commerce since well before I came to join the company. I served on the board for several years, during which time we were asked to budget for a page in the Marshall County Visitors Guide. I had the distinction of being the sole no vote on that item every year. I saw no value in it for the majority of our membership. The cost of this ad at more than 25% of the annual Chamber budget seemed ill-advised considering some of the other programs that we were successfully pursuing. Needless to say I was overruled. The arguments for supporting the guide were mainly two: 1) Culver was prominently displayed in the guide and 2) It was designed to reach an audience outside Marshall County to attract tourism. My rebuttals were that Culver was prominently displayed anyway since our town is the primary tourist destination for the County and that with the advent of the Internet, how often was a paper guide book of value?
Tax Freedom Day 2015
Today is National Tax Freedom Day for 2015. Fortunately for those of us in Indiana, ours was back around the 18th of April, so this week’s paycheck is ours!
When I was reading this, I ran across this article talking about how poorly Americans did on understanding the U.S. Tax code. I think I got 80%, but I’m going to agree with the article in saying some of the questions were a bit tricky. I knew what they were talking about at least, though maybe not the specifics.
If you choose to read the article, check out some of the comments as well. There was an interesting argument thread between the Taxed Too Much crowd and the Taxes Pay For Benefits group. I tend to lean toward the former, but the latter made a few good points.
Happy Tax Freedom Day!
Image Source: Tax Foundation
Can Culver Think Outside the Box?
I was pretty disappointed in the Culver Town Council at their last meeting where they addressed the wind turbine ordinance presented to them by the Plan Commission. It will probably cost Culver any opportunity to expand their Extended Territorial Zoning Boundary, but as so often happens, the voice of the few has outweighed the apathy of the many. So be it. But that’s not what this post is about. This post is about Water Towers!
During the above discussion, Ginny Munroe, Town Council President, expressed a comparison between wind turbines and the town water towers. She complained that she considers the town water towers necessary evils that are blights on the Culver skyline. But what is Culver doing about it? Apparently nothing, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t have some thoughts. Ha! I’m not an engineer, so I’m not saying any of these would work, but here are some ideas Culver could explore:
