Topic: What's your take on the Paul Sparks resignation?
started by: rosebudinal
Posted by rosebudinal on Oct. 14 2003,11:21 pm
[size=8][/size][quote][b]Just curious as to what the forum readers are thinking after this latest development....
Posted by minnow on Oct. 15 2003,12:45 am
Well, if this ultimately means Paul is one step closer to the door, I'm all for it.
Posted by Dustin Petersen on Oct. 15 2003,7:12 am
I'd feel a lot better about it if I knew we were getting into a better situation, but with Sparks in charge of the Port Authority, I don't think it will be. But at least it's a start.
Posted by GEOKARJO on Oct. 15 2003,11:43 am
I have to agree w/ Dustin he is still at the reins of job development but however only give him 15 presentaions to sell Albert Lea to industry then cut him lose.
Posted by Hanna on Oct. 15 2003,4:25 pm
I can almost guarantee, his resignation had absolutley nothing to do with the Think Tank.I knew of this option by talking with city councilmen long before the Think Tankers themselves even knew they were a "committee".
Posted by Gabby on Oct. 15 2003,4:49 pm
All this resignation thing is just "eye candy". The think tank is going to be happier. Mayor Eaton can quit running around all worried about the "bad publicy" a petition would have on the community. Possibly quit getting and receiving daily emails from Tony Trow. Paul Sparks keeps the"money", and still gets to keep his hold on the city from developing. Fjelstad saves face on his campaign promise; let's see what was that again? Remove Sparks as city manager, or the new one, take the power away from Sparks and give it back to the council. I tend to agree with Dustin, exept for one thing. Give Pam Bishop 15 more presentations, and send her down the river, the Shellrock that is. The way I see it, the city has partially done their job, now it's time for Greater Jobs to do their part. You can't use a bandaid when this thing needs a tourniquet!
Posted by Bubba on Oct. 15 2003,8:08 pm
Mayor Eaton is spineless. Pam Bishop is clueless. The Think-Tankers believe they are entitled to a free lunch at the public trough, and further believe they are about to be called to dinner. Paul Sparks may be in more danger than if he had stayed put. Power player Henry Savelkoul believes he has really pull off the big one and is about to reveal his agenda by way of the Chamber. The City is much worse for the ware and we will have to see when things may turn for the better. May God save us from ourselves!
Posted by Dustin Petersen on Oct. 16 2003,8:12 am
Gabby, I was not the one who suggested giving Sparks 15 more presentations. That was Geokarjo. Personally, I think we should crack down on Sparks AND Bishop. They should both be held more accountable.
Posted by rosebudinal on Oct. 17 2003,7:37 pm
Just a few questions to throw out to my distinquished collegues.What is the reason for a push to fill the city manager position?
How many other cities in Minnesota currently have one?
What are the qualifications for this position?
I know how good you guys are at finding statistics on these types of questions and hope that you can help me out with these. Thanks.
Posted by The Advocate on Oct. 18 2003,2:24 pm
The worst thing that could have happened did. Mr. Sparks, if anything, should have been fired. That did not happen. No the city council gave him the most powerful position in Albert Lea; if they were going to compromise then they should have kept him in the City Managers position keeping the budget balanced. His organizational and book keeping skills have never been questioned. In fact, that part of the Albert Lea City Managers job discription was being fulfilled by him. The Port Authority position tied into the City Managers job is where he failed miserably. He wants real power and not the pencil pushing so he wanted the Port Authority at all costs! Eaton figured she could smooth it over and try to confuse some of the dumbblue collar constituents in town and well that formula has worked time and time again here. Sparks is owed by a lot of people. He has been the bag boy for the boys downtown for years and now in the sunset of his life he's calling in his "debts". Henry Savekoul has been behind every shady deal, every backroom dealing and screwing Albert Leans every chance he gets. And if you want a specific example, just ask some of the Farmstead workers how they lost their health insurance , and their jobs, all the time King Henry was representing Keith Barnes while lining his own pocket!
Posted by MADDOG on Oct. 18 2003,4:11 pm
Advocate, agreed. This is what I posted this morning on the Herald forum:| Quote |
| And don't forget, Sparks is resigning his position as city manager the end of the month and keeping his job as head of Port Authority for the same money. The council is still going to give him a job evaluation for a position he will no longer hold. Gabrielsen had his evaluation this year and gave him a passing grade even after he unplugged a commissioner microphone while he was speaking to shut him up, spent $3000 on an outside attorney to investigate policies and procedures of the board meetings (without the county either authorizing or knowing about it), screamed in the same commisioner's face, picked up his tape recorder and slammed it on the table, breaking it. With Pam Bishop, our lovely head of Greater Jobs, Inc., after she interviewed 63 potential companies looking to locate and didn't get a single one to come to this county, what did the Greater Jobs board do......gave her a $5000 bonus for a job well done! |
This what our local governing bodies seem to be able to do under the guise of sheep's clothing. Sparks was good as City Manager and has been and will be piss poor in the Port Authority. Between him and Bishop, this town is only going to continue to chase potential companies away. Sparks is a major comtributor of helping to turn this town even farther into a retirement community, and he has already said, when he retires, he's not staying here.
Posted by Really? on Oct. 22 2003,8:48 am
When did he say that? But really, do you blame him. I am surprised that you and your goofball looser friends on this piss and moan forum aren't at his house helping him pack his bags.As for the chick with no clue, Albert Lea is a form of government where there is a City Manager to run the day to day operations of the city. There are a number of cities like this in MN. In some of your larger cities, the mayor runs the day to day operations and they have an administrator that advises the mayor and keeps them out of trouble. The Mayor form of running a city would never work here. Why? Because there is no one in this town that has the background, education, or knowledge to do such a job. At least none that would want to give up their job and run.
As for finding a replacement City Manager, I think it will take quite a bit of time. There are about 4 cities in MN that are looking for either a City Manager or Administrator right now. Check out the League of Minnesota Cities web site for specific number. Anyone who would be any good is going to take one look at how the patients are running this asylum and want nothing to do with this piss hole you call Albert Lea. All someone would have to do is do an internet search on Albert Lea to try and find out some information on the community that they are looking at moving to and guess what will pop up? This lovely advertisement for the City and the positive feeling that it’s citizens spread.
You all make me sick.
Posted by Liberal on Oct. 22 2003,10:08 am
| Quote |
This lovely advertisement for the City and the positive feeling that it’s citizens spread. |
And that post of yours just added a real positive feeling.
People like you are funny, you bad mouth us and say we are negative. Then in your post you say
| Quote |
The Mayor form of running a city would never work here. Why? Because there is no one in this town that has the background, education, or knowledge to do such a job. |
So you think there is nobody in this town smart enough to be the mayor, but, we're the negative ones?
Posted by Really? on Oct. 22 2003,11:15 am
I like that one. You are in here bad mouthing the city leaders, wanting people fired, constantly screaming that your rights are being infringed on, and me pointing out that there most likely is not anyone in this tiny town that is capable of running a 12 million dollar a year company, that would know all the ins and outs of local government, I am the one that is negative. You my naive friend are without a doubt living in your own little world. I suppose you and geo and hoosier and maddog and the rest of your screwball friends think you could walk in and do a better job than any of the current people. By the way, when are you guys going to sue the City for their recent actions? I am sure they steps on your rights somehow. You like to sue our local governments over stupid things and then also complain about the government wasting tax payer money. I would love to know how much your suit with the county is costing us tax payers. Thanks for that. At least when you win more of the wack jobs in the area will be able to rant and rave and insult our government workers. Way to go. Hope your proud.
Posted by Gabby on Oct. 22 2003,12:15 pm
Really?, are you a politician, 'cause you seem to talk out of both sides of your mouth. First you get all over some of the posters here for being negative and then you bad-mouth the entire towspeople for no one being bright enough to run the city. It seems to me that Mr. Sparks ran the city fine. I don't recall complaints about day to day operations and if you ask department heads, they got along with him fine. You must not approve of Mayor Eaton yourself.[/quote] there is no one in this town that has the background, education, or knowledge to do such a job.[quote]
You better step back and review if you're positive about this town or negative, then come back.
Posted by Really? on Oct. 22 2003,12:42 pm
Was Sparks from town here when he was hired? I simply tried to correct a previous poster who did not know why we had a city manager. Some people in town want to have the mayor be the city manager. I just tried to point out that there would be very few, if any, people in town that would be able to perform such a job. As for Mayor Eaton, I think she does a good job in her roll as Mayor. The Mayor in our setup is basically a cheerleader for the community. I personally do not know anyone else in this town that can paint such a rosy picture of Albert Lea and its potential future as Eaton. I also never said that Sparks did a bad job as City Manager. I think he has done a very good job over the years as the City Manager, like you and others have said, the books of the City are good and he seems to have a good working relationship with the city employees.Please tell me that you too, along with the others on this board are going to apply for the city manager position. Heck, I think I’ll dust off the old resume and apply too.
Posted by rosebudinal on Oct. 22 2003,9:56 pm
The point being made here is not so much the negativity as it is our right to speak out and not the namecalling that you spew (really). I am not a disgruntled retiree (which by the way is as welcome in this format as you are). I am a professional in the community. WE All pay taxes. And to want to know where our tax $$$$ is going and how it is being invested in the future of our city is what this is all about. When I invest $ into stocks I get statements telling me where its going and what is worth my while. As a taxpayer, I do not like the idea of letting it blindly go down the toilet. This is my hometown, I have raised a family here and it is an investment that we all should be concerned with and informed about. If you choose to call that negative. I feel sorry for you. I care about the future of Albert Lea. Now, have I called anyone names??? No, I leave those types of communicating to people like you. That is beneath me, because as hard as it is getting to be... I try to remain optimistic. 
Posted by shaker on Oct. 23 2003,12:18 am
ReallyYou call Albert Lea a piss hole and then turn around and call us a bunch of goofball losers for wanting to be involved and to offer our opinion. You go on in your next post (rant) that We like to sue local Gov.over stupid things, STUPID THINGS?
O ya, like freedom of speach---what slough did you crawl out of.You say you should dust off the old resume and apply for the city manager job?? You should, you sure sound like a real winner. 
Posted by Mamma on Oct. 23 2003,12:29 am
I don't think anyone on here said Paul Sparks was a horrible person....it's his ability to do what he was hired to do that was in question and still is. If all of us "screwballs" are making you sick, why do you continue to read this crap at all. Maybe you could just offer a positive criticism so we wouldn't all have to continue to live in the pi$$ hole you call Albert Lea. Did you forget to take your meds?
Posted by !0! on Oct. 23 2003,9:35 am
really sure sounds like a certain city employee to me. should we start guessing who?
Posted by The Advocate on Oct. 25 2003,7:26 pm
Really? If you were referring to me concerning ignorance about the type of city government Albert Lea has I am well aware that we have a strong city manager, weak mayor form of government. We are unique in that our city manager also had as part of his duties the running of our port authority. I think we all agree that this does lend itself to conflict and just recently was made the reason why Mr. Sparks performed so poorly at his Port Authority duties. Not one person has ever uttered a word concerning how the man balances the city budget, how he supervises his staff, how he runs the city of Albert Lea. All of the complaints were concerning the Port Authority part of his job. He was not then, nor is he now the person most suitable for this position. Most of us are keenly aware of this. It was a sleazy maneuver and time will tell if it works. Mr. Henry Savekoul wrote a lenghty editorial in the Albert Lea Tribune walking a tightrope, sounding like "everyman" and probably pulling it off. But if one looks at his words and studies them you see discrepencies. Mr. Sparks has been head of the Port Authority since its' inception and the "kitty" totals what? 8 million? How has this money worked to the benefit of the citizens of Albert Lea and Freeborn County over the years he has precided? Economic growth could have catapulted that money and the skies the limit. We have not seen the reality of economic growth so how has that helped us? Mr. Savekoul did an excellent job in humanizing a very cold figure, in Sparks, and I for one agreed wholeheartly with his reference to age, need for retirement, job prospects. I think we all did. However, the publicity could have been turned around to keep Mr. Sparks in his current position until he retires and looking for alternatives to the Port Authority position. But, that was a done deal and was to be sold to the public at all costs because Mr. Sparks is calling in his marks. He wanted the Port Authority position. And finally, I wondered why our enlightened leaders have not investigated the happenings to our North? Owatonna is in transformation as we speak. They are looking at the most progressive model for economic development available. They, too had a 3 body system, like we do now, but will be looking at a corporate structure to run their economic development. This would be an outside, independent entity to run and manage operations. That would be good for the citizens, as people with vested interests would not be the ones running the show (like we have now and will continue to have); it would be for all the citizens of the community. So in conclusion, let me just say that to leave things as they are, to be complacent, to say to hell with it, now that is negative.
Posted by rosebudinal on Oct. 25 2003,9:37 pm
Ok, I've been reading over the posts. According to "really" I guess I would be "the chick with no clue". When, actually, what I do is post questions to stimulate conversation. The great thing about it is, most of the people that visit here are willing to answer these questions in a courteous fashion. It speaks volumes about the character. And your response was like a dull, shallow pebble tossed carelessly in a toilet. And it also spoke volumes about who you are.
Posted by hoosier on Oct. 26 2003,8:47 am
Really just sounds like a big @sshole to me. She shows how stupid she is about government every time she opens her mouth. She sounds a lot like some of the idiots who have been kissing the @ss of our local politicians for years and just dont like seeing others come in and ruin their good @ss kissin gig. I think I know who she is, I think Really is Tony Trows wife. I will tell you what makes me sick, and its people like this idiot Really that think getting more people involved and interested in government is a bad thing. O, she would think its good, but only if you agree with everything her and her politician friends do. If you disagree with her, then you are bad and wrong.
She could be Dylan Beldans wife also, I dont know, it just seems to me she is the wife of a piece of $hit, guttless man, as she sounds that same way.
Posted by yes really on Oct. 26 2003,10:11 am
ok really, time to put up or shut up.here are some internet searches related to albert lea, where exactly do you see this forum popping up to drive people away from albert lea?
< http://www.google.com/search?....ert+lea >
< http://search.lycos.com/default....ert+lea >
< http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=albert+lea&ei=UTF-8&fr=fp-top >
< http://search.msn.com/results....ert+lea >
perhaps you should get your head out of your local pollititions ass and start seeing what everyone else can see. the only difference between a brown noser and a craphead is depth perception.
Posted by Guru on Oct. 26 2003,5:33 pm
is it true Sparks will be paid the same salary as he currently receives? He is losing half of his resposibility, but gets the same money. Is that true?
Posted by minnow on Oct. 26 2003,9:07 pm
Yes. They were willing to give him full pay if he would just leave and give up some of his power over this city and promise not to sue.Paul can sit around all day and do nothing now...just like Pam Bishop. Just think...in the just the next 3 years we'll pay Paul and Pam over a half million dollars cash money.
$540,000 to be exact.
Can anyone quantify even one thing we'll get for our money? I didn't think so....
Posted by rosebudinal on Nov. 08 2003,2:13 pm
Whats all this coming to? Now with this Brad Arends agenda, along with the Think Tank and their own agenda, one must question if Sparks ever will lose any of the power that Albert Lea has given him. And of others want to lure Pam Bishop away from us so badly, why not dangle her out there for them? Say, Iowa for instance.........guess I am just upset with too many chiefs and not enough indians in the crowd.