Jackson Jambalaya

Real and pertinent news please.

Real and pertinent commenters please.

If this is not real AND pertinent news to you, then you do not keep up.All such info on the metro area is PERTINENT.

Just one thought—when this boondoggle was proposed in the FIRST PLACE—WHERE or WHY didn’t SUMONE among our best and brightest not stand up and say/ ask—-have u lost ur 🤬🤯minds?

Because, 6:02, those of us in the proletariat know better than to question anybody in or tangentially related to the elite medical profession.

You can tell when things are out of focus when an organization based on cheer-leading is part of this deal. Another example of the world revolving around kids instead them being a part of it like everyone else.

The previous owners couldn't put a tourniquet on their loses so they got a sweetheart deal selling to the State's Teaching Hospital. Then UMMC hemorrhaged cash too!

The only people with limitless cash who make losing investments are foreigners chasing a Visa and governments setting up spy ringsml.

Planet Fitness might look to expand of they can get the facilities cheaper than buying a dead strip mall.

Hope he tears it all down and puts in a natatorium.

Disaster from the get go! Way to go UMMC!

Lucien was pushed

The ultimate question is did UMMC make or lose money for the taxpayers on the real estate deals? Another SHad White opportunity.

Wasted money.

Looks to me like UMMC came out on top in this deal - purchased for $6 million, sold for $1.5 million, but received a $6 million contribution to purchase.
.so - the state came out $1.5 million ahead.

Know you don't like tge fact that your favorite workout place went to hell, KF. but that's a personal bitch. Tell us again why this was bad for UMMC or Mississippi.

Pertinence please. Failed business needs to get some cash?

8:00am. The facilities were a tax credit to the previous owners for 8m. Now add up all the money they spent maintaining and improvements and what you have is a loss.

Office space at the Brandon location? What a joke. That location is horrible, and there are very few businesses in Brandon.

8:00am. The facilities were a tax credit to the previous owners for 8m. Now add up all the money they spent maintaining and improvements and what you have is a loss.

Guess you don't know what an operating profit or loss is. Maybe you didn't read the income statements I posted over the years that showed staggering losses after the half a mill was included

I’m sure that Johnny Black’s deal with his good buddy is on the up-and-up and passes the smell test.

Ethics!

904 - yes, they were a tax credit to them, but that doesn't affect this transaction. My point was whether UMMC lost money on this deal, which they didn't.

And yes KF, I can read a P&L and I can also understand it. Let's throw those into the cash and not the accounting NOL and still it looks to me like UMMC didn't lose dollars.

Did daddy get a tax credit for his 'donation'? Yes, but that didn't have anything to do with UMMC's cash.

Hospitals need to stick to "hospitalizing" and sports clubs need to be privately run businesses. All their BS about wanting to promote healthier living was just that...total BS! If the Black's couldn't make a go of the businesses as private owners how the hell did UMC think that they could magically turn them around? Something has always been fishy about this deal. Back in the good ole days hospitals and doctors cared about healing the sick, not the almighty dollar.

Old school bodybuilding and fitness in the Jackson area is dead. Too many fad gyms, popularity contest Cross Fit sh- -, “group friendly” exercise environments, now. Long live the glory days and memories of THE Courthouse and the legendary men and women who once trained there.

Who is Joseph Simpson?

BTW, as a former Courthouse/UMMC Wellness-whatever member, we'll probably, gladly join the new incarnation. I Drove by, two days back, and was encouraged by the presence of a black Gelandewagen in the parking lot. Good to see that actually meant something. We live in Madison, but the drive to the Courthouse was well worth it, to have a gym where there were areas WITHOUT MUSIC. PLEASE KEEP IT THAT WAY.

There are plenty of fancy gyms here in Madison County. But all of them BLAST obnoxious (generally old and lame garbage that was lame, even when it was new) hook-laden music (aka 'Earworms' aka 'Ear Poison'). So, we haven't joined one of those.

Anyway, this is great news. And I'm glad Mr. Simpson was able to get the place for so much less than the price those idiots were originally asking.

8:59, it most likely won’t be public office space. Thrash and Williams own a commercial construction company. Their current office is right down the road. They will probably use it for that.

@1:26, Joseph Simpson is the developer who reopened the Iron Horse and built the Westin. He has four daughters and at least some of them are part of the Jam cheer group that KF referenced.

How much PPP money did they receive for these crapholes?

Simpson married into a prominent Rankin county family, thus he has the financial resources and more importantly the political connections in Rankin County to get projects like the Iron Horse and the Westin completed (the blues museum upstairs in the Iron Horse is how the state managed to justify taxpayer funding for the restoration of the building)....the artist of all of those clay figures happens to have a last name of Luckett. Go figure.

I believe UMMC bought the Courthouses for $9 million five years ago in order to bail out John Black. I'm sure that was based on a appraisals also.

Now they sell the two prime properties for $1.5. Pretty sure they gave the Byram one away.

Funny how appraisals work. Especially when you have the connections.

I sympathize, KF, with how hard it is, with Republicans in control of everything with State affiliation, to find something that doesn't reflect badly on the GOP.

In this case, the Blacks are not the RINOS even and the numbers just don't work for this to be anything other than hands washing each other's hands. Both come out ok in this one.

You can only make the argument that even with a good enough outcome, the money could have profitably spent. But, that's the problem when everything is about business and profit and taxpayers are often investors without benefits when it's profitable.

First of all, your numbers are way off. UMC paid off a $9.2 million note when it bought the Courthouses. It immediately closed down Byram. UMC wasted money renovating the downtown location. Wasted because it was a lease so when it terminated the lease, it got none of its money back as it could have through a sale if it had owned the property. UMC lost hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not over a million a year and that is after the half a million dollar annual "donation". Add those losses up year after year after year so no, UMC did not walk away making money. At best, the donations and two sales means UMC got all of $6 million and that is BEFORE renovations and annual losses are thrown into the mix.

Next time get your facts and numbers straight.

Curious as to how much JAM and Makos will have to contribute. Makos has been paying $15,000 a month to use the pool since it closed, which is crazy. Millsaps swim team also uses the Makos pool, so they may be contributing as well.

@3:39, another example of misinformation and ignorance. You are just plain wrong. In the future please don’t post about that which you do not know. As to how much Jam and Makos pays in the future.......it is none of your damn business. Stay curious my friend.

@11:30pm How many 4-star hotels have you built? I would probably say that is the nicest hotel in the State. Calling it a craphole is just stupid.

may not be a craphole, but it's built in a craphole place so it'll get there soon.

JJ, thanks for the Shad White Article on Columbus MS CFO

This UMC sounds similar to a Bankrupt Country Club in Columbus MS...One of the Owners had a plan, as a Trustee of a Community College. Sell it to them. The College sank millions more into it, under guise of creating Culinary Arts/Restaurant Mgmt & Golf Course/Turf Mgmt 2 year degrees. Your own Semi-private Club subsidized by the Govt. New Chef's & Mgmt & Instructors hired. Now the College's $10 mil General fund is GONE & some College Execs.

The Country Club lost $ 8 mil since bought in 2012. Not much demand for degrees in Cooking & Grass cutting from a College Golf Course in Mississippi.

Local coverage of College Board meetings are appealing/colorful as the Board at Peleachie...Just a LOT MORE Money...in 2019, 2 members came to fisticuffs.

Some Board members requested the State Auditor to investigate, but the Auditor didn't have an interest.

Here's 3 excerpts/recent article in which JOE MAX HIGGINS, Economic Development Guru (Interviewed on 60 minutes) described his desire to sell the Country Club.

REMEMBER...most of this money is outright Grants, or Financial Aid provided by the Taxpayers.
---------
"I'm going to continue to bring this up," HIGGINS said. "The question is, how much can you run off at the mouth before the Chairman shuts you up."

He added that in 3 months, if he doesn't see an improvement, he plans to go to Lowndes County supervisors with his complaints.

"I told them (Monday) night, 'Gentlemen & ladies, understand this,'" Higgins said. "I'm going to call for executive session on this issue every g****** time we have a board meeting until it gets heard. If we never get the votes, I said, I'm building a case. I said I'm going to the Board of Supervisors at my Six-month anniversary (three months from now) & I'm going to give the people that asked me to serve as their representative a report on the CLUSTER that is EMCC."

--------
Lion Hills' general fund has lost more than $1 million since Fiscal Year 2013, operating at a loss every year since its purchase. The center has received a total of $590,000 in general fund revenue since then, while incurring nearly $1.7 million in expenses, (New CFO) Holmes said. The general fund includes finances related to instruction, such as tuition & curriculum.

Additionally, the center's auxiliary operations have received nearly $7.9 million in revenue while incurring just more than $11 million in expenses, resulting in a net loss of more than $3 million. Funds in the auxiliary operations include finances related to the running of the country club, including Restaurant & Golf Course.

----------
However, Higgins did not appear convinced, pointing out the COVID-19 pandemic could result in a lower enrollment over the next few years.

"The fact of the matter is, we're losing between $300k to 500k on that thing on a GOOD year," he told The Dispatch Tuesday. " ... I think I could GIVE you the DEED today for FREE and WALK away & it would POSITIVELY affect our cash flow."

Much of the $8 million loss referenced in the analysis comes from acquisition of the country club, which cost $3.2 million, Holmes said. That includes the land purchase at about $1.2 million, the building at nearly $376,000 & additional costs for equipment & renovation over the last several years.

The classroom building cost another $624,000, including the building's actual purchase for $287,000 & additional renovation & equipment costs in the years since.

The college's own finances have been rocky the past few years, with EMCC's general operating fund balance falling more than $10 mil between Fiscal Year 2010 & 2019, according to prior reports by The Dispatch. The board is scheduled to approve a budget for Fiscal Year 2021 in June.

https://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=81068

If you've never heard of Joe Max Higgins, take a look.  He's a colorful guy...& you never have to wonder what he's thinking.  He recruited almost all of the Industry there, American Eurocopter, The Steel Mill, support Industries for it, PACCAR/Cummins Diesel Engine Plant for Peterbuilt & Kenworth Trucks, Yokohama Tire, International Paper (Former Weyerhaeuser)...ironically he recently said his biggest handicap is lack of interest from the Mississippi Development Authority MDA.
 
Higgins attributed the lack of attention from consultants & businesses to a lack of engagement from state leadership, including the Mississippi Development Authority.
"We've got to correct this," Higgins said. "We've built an animal that needs to be fed. We've acquired thousands of acres in all three counties (in the Golden Triangle), we've installed infrastructure, we've done everything the book says you're supposed to do to succeed, but we don't have the pipeline of deals coming in that we can go after."
 
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/60-minutes-how-far-joe-max-higgins-will-go-for-jobs/

The College continously keeps Job Postings for the Country Club & Certified Police Officers...& these may be State Civil Service as they are listed as Administrative & you apply through the Government Website, just as Professors do.

Lion Hills Cabana Staff
Lion Hills Dishwasher
Lion Hills Lifeguard
Lion Hills Outside Services-Cart Barn
Lion Hills Pool Manager
Lion Hills Wait Staff

Check it out...read the Descriptions, there may be something appealing in addition to these

https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/eastmisscc

Any updates on this, Kingfish? Quite a few former members are making-do with sucky alternative gyms, while waiting to hear about what's going to happen to this one.

They are trying to get Makos parents to cough up $500,000!