Did MUSA's spiderjohn get City loan?

According to Marty Kohler the subject of a great deal of criticism from MUSA and in particular spiderjohn, spiderjohn received an interest free loan from the City for his business.

If you know anything about spiderjohn's government handout post it here please.

M29 - that is about as low as someone can go.  Trying to slander someone to keep them quiet.  I don't think Spiderjohn has anything to hide.  Everybody has the right to state their opinion, whether it is for or against the subject - but you come on here and repeatedly mock and take low blows against everyone.  Grow up! If you like how things are, great, support it in a dignified manner.  If you don't state your case and debate it. 

Mercy 29. YOU are the one who is always asking us for some positive feedback, offer solutions and to stop whining and being so negative. Now you have reversed course and are the perpetrator of the negativity on this one. A deliberate attempt on your part to discredit a decent person who has offered a service to this community for many years. Why him, why now? You bud, have now stepped in your own pile of horsecrap. If your intent was to get a reaction, you have succeeded and not in a good way. Congratulations. The "Fool For The City" has struck again.

M29, I'd be happy to entertain your arguments on the city's direction if you provided facts, research or at least the theories that underlie the actions of Judy, Les, MK, et al.  I'd be interested in their thoughts.  The problem is we don't get any of the above.  We get either (a) lies, (b) flimsy reasons full of feel good fluff or (c) nothing.

I do not have a thing against spiderjohn.
But if you are goin to complain about loans or grants for business development and you received a business loan from the City, isn't that a legitimate issue)

Middletown29:

Presta
The main street folks are not complaining about loans to others while they receive them.

M29, Spiderjohn already gave a perfect response to your post. Nobody on this site has a problem with the government investing in the local economy. That's not the reason for the complaints. What people do have a problem with is a non-established business taking a risk on tax dollars that they never repay. Low or no interest loans from the city to back a business' growth is not the same thing as spending a half million on an art center that was not needed nor has it improved the downtown. If the PAC hadn't been able to grab some of the former business of the Manchester Hotel for banquet spaces, it would be an even more obvious flop.

The problem with the downtown love crowd is you all have blind ambition going on and are wanting others to fund it. It's never going to happen. The demographics do not support it. The location does not support it. It's on the far side of the city, surrounded by low income neighborhoods. Aside from a few historic buildings, what else does the area offer? It's a joke.

The sad thing is that it is very hard for most downtown's to survive, with the suburban sprawl mentality. I find it ironic that people would rather drive to The Greene, with its fake downtown environment to shop, than go to Downtown Dayton, Cincinnati, and even Middletown.

And lets face it Downtown Middletown is to far away, and hard to get to from I-75. And no one wants to bother trying to get there to shop when they can find all their convinces right by I-75. The only reason I go to Downtown Middletown is to get the Cheap Gas at UDF :)

Then you throw in the crime, drug and prostitution problem of most Downtown environments, and it leads to a a death of downtown. Would you want to raise a family in that type environment? Most people would say NO.

What the City should be doing with the money and loans is re-invest on the Eastern, and Northern sides of Middletown. By simply repaving the roads, and attracting Middle to high income home builders to develop the remaining land that Middletown has.

Then the city should focus on Eminent domain, Tear down and redevelop the high crime section 8 parts of the city.

Then the city needs to enforce it's city Ordinances on home owners and bushiness. The need to fine the crap out of people who allow the following; grass 1 foot tall, crack and chipped side walks, cars parked in the street that has not moved in over 6 months, grass that has over grown the sidewalk so much you are left with a small path to walk through. If you begin to fine these people, you will get extra revenue, and your city will begin to look better to outside people.

After all that is met, then you can focus on Downtown.

When you take care of the people who live in your city, you will find that that word of mouth from your citizens, and visitors will spread, and begin to attract people back to your city.

Word of mouth is a powerful thing. It was what got people to take notice of Springboro in the 80's. People began to move to Springboro from Centerville, Miamisburg, Kettering and yes even Middletown, because the residents were telling their friends and family about how special this village was. And the next thing we knew there was a flood of new development all over Springboro in the 90's and 2000's. The
same thing can happen again in Middletown if the residents, business, and city want it to.

ktf1179, as I recall I believe you said you were from Springboro.  With all due respect, people don't move into areas because they're so "special".  They move in because there's plenty of land to develop new homes, the schools have a good reputation, and the area is conveniently located.  Springboro was not any more magical than Mason, West Chester, or Lebanon.  They were all well positioned for suburban development.  Middletown fails on all three criteria mentioned above.  You could argue the east end is position well for a couple working in Cincy and Dayton but that's about it.  The reality is that Middletown is what it is -- a decaying urban one-company town.  Can things be done to fight off the erosion? Does the town has a few positive attributes?  Is there any hope of a better tax base here?  Yes, yes, and yes.  But to think the town will realistically be a destination (in the next decade or more)  or have a "brighter future" is not something I would bet on.