Manning and land deal
I want to congratulate Kirsten Adair and the Pharos-Tribune for reporting that was so riveting I read it multiple times to fully appreciate its gravity.
I don’t know Republican State Representative Ethan Manning, but I am ashamed to admit I voted for him. I don’t know Bill Cuppy or any of the members of the redevelopment commission, but if the city council allows their proposal for the Chase/Davis roads area to proceed, I will be ashamed of them.
The machinations between Manning, Cuppy and the RDC leave me breathless. I admit my ignorance of the law governing their action concerning the sale, purchase and sale of this property, but I bow to no one in being able to spot, at the very least an appearance of grossly unethical behavior, and all in the name of providing support for the high-end housing shortage “plaguing” the area (those in this category don’t require government help to develop their home sites and to refer to it as a “plague” is insulting).
To realize a profit on a land sale of $178,200 (26%) in slightly more than 13 months is rare for anyone, even a so-called professional “real estate agent.” For that same profit to be realized — including tactics to avoid higher taxes — by a “private citizen” masking as a “state representative” conspiring with a body supposedly acting in the public interest is…
