Wealthy Welfare Oxbow, ND (Part 4)

The USACE indicated in Appendix C – OHB Ring Levee that a 100 percent buy-out of Oxbow, Hickson and Bakke would have cost $74 million. The FMDA and Oxbow could have made that deal and allowed all residents to remain in their homes until “if or when” the overall project construction advanced to a point where residents would need to move.

Property owners could have relocated or rebuilt at their leisure, the black cloud of the project would have been lifted and residents would never have to endure the uncertain conditions of existing within a man-made reservoir. But the main point is the choice would have been the individual property owner and not the FDMA and Oxbow’s Country Club elite.

So what did the taxpayer get for their $78.5+ million spent thus far?

One of the most exclusive and expensive golf courses in North Dakota where the public is not allowed and a city government that mandates an Oxbow Country Club membership for the 90 new property addresses in the newest portion of the community.

The question that still remains is HOW?

How did 40 habitable homes become an average buyout of 364.42 percent – courtesy of taxpayers?

How did 8 replacement golf couse holes become an entire new 18 holes – courtesy of taxpayers?

How did a golf course $600,000 in debt receive a 967.51 percent buyout – courtesy of taxpayers?

How did a city that built robust flood protection in 2010-2011, qualify for a ring-dike-levee for conditions that don’t exist – courtesy of taxpayers?

How…, better yet, WHY?

It all comes down to an agenda…

Don’t forget, Oxbow Mayor Jim Nyhof never missed an opportunity to bitch and bemoan about the alleged state of limbo at Oxbow.

Isn’t it interesting that Oxbow Mayor Jim Nyhof, in January 2011, made this claim to the USACE: (download letter) “the City has substantially completed flood protection to near the 500-year flood stage without substantial government participation.” Then in October 2011 get’s advice from Don Larson, chief of staff with John Hoeven’s office and then somehow Oxbow is in “limbo”.

Creating a backstory of plight was apparently key to following the October 2011 advice from Don Larson, chief of staff with John Hoeven’s office in Washington. That being: “He does not feel it is in our best interest to enter mitigation as a group with Hickson, Bakke, MnDak or any other group.”

Even more curious is this “coincidence”…

Compare Addresses:

Hmmm…, so without question, the FM Homebuilders Association was behind the Coalition for Cass County Flood Protection measure in 2010 [read more…]. Hoeven sits as Committee Chairman US Senate Committee on Appropriations for Homeland Security. The USACE and FEMA fall under the umbrella of Homeland Security and Hoeven’s Fargo office is “conveniently” within a building (according to Cass county real estate records) owned by the HBAFM – backers of the original Cass county sales tax and staunch supporters of proposed project and sales tax extension until 2084.

Ponder this: Despite MILLIONS in internal flood control measures constructed since 2009 – the ongoing Fargo/Cass/USACE narrative is that Fargo is flood prone and if the dam and diversion are not built FEMA will remap and mandate high dollar premiums in the thousands for over 20,000 property owners?

How convenient…

After-all, an agenda is nothing more than a “to-do” list for people in power.

Listen to this clip from a September 2016 Planning and Zoning discussion between Steve Brakke (Pleasant Township supervisor), Jeff Kruger and Chris Champ (Oxbow Planning and Zoning committee members).

 

CONTROL…, it’s all about “control”.

Let that sink in a bit…

So Oxbow, ND – a community that began around 1973 that had an existing 11 page document to address planning and zoning to govern the city – all of the sudden needed a 106 page set of rules to govern their growth accompanied by an 18 page HOA containing mandates.

Download: Land Development Code
Download: Oxbow HOA

Isn’t that interesting…

The OHB project prematurely required 40 home buyouts to mitigate future conditions of Fargo’s Class 1 High Hazard Dam – which had its permit denied by the MN DNR in Oct 2016. How did these 40 homes qualify for “housing of last resort” when the proposed project creating the “conditions” had not received required permits, federal funding or turned a shovel of dirt for the dam and diversion?

Each of those structures was habitable but planning and zoning rules restricted the habitable structure from being relocated to very replacement lots created for the 40 home buyout for conditions that cannot occur without a permit from the MN DNR.

Every existing home could have been moved for around $4 million, but taxpayers got bilked for over $55.4 million.

What a windfall for contractors…, especially those serving on Oxbow’s planning and zoning committee.

Speaking of windfall, remember the Oxbow Country Club that was $600,000 in debt before this whole mess began…?

SOLVED! Page 16, Section 5 of the HOA requires that EVERY lot owner is required to be a member of the Oxbow County Club.

Think about that…, in America – where fascism, communism and socialism are supposed to be taboo, a local government can mandate where you are a golf member and how much you will pay.

Hmmm…, wasn’t “aristocracy” a fundamental reason our ancestors flipped the proverbial bird to England and declared independence?

The fiscal bleeding is not done at Oxbow, ND. Fargo Measure 1 and Cass Measure 1 want to tax your great grandchildren to fund Wealthy Welfare at Oxbow, ND with a Feb 2016 est topping $126 million.

If you have issues with Wealthy Welfare, where the rich live on the backs of taxpayers…
Vote NO Fargo Measure 1
Vote NO Cass Measure 1

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