Sunday, March 10, 2019

Former Mayor Mike Seibert, the last of the Wallace Bajjali supporters, eyes return to Joplin City Council

When it comes to experience, one of the 11 applicants who will present their cases for the open seat on the Joplin City Council Monday night has far more than his fellow applicants.

Michael Seibert not only has served on the council, but was also the city's mayor.

But before you pencil in Seibert for a return to Joplin city government it might be a good idea to remember some of the highlights of Seibert's tenure.

Seibert was fully aware of former Joplin master developer Wallace Bajjali's checkered history of bankruptcies, lawsuits and an SEC investigation when he backed the firm's bid to handle the redevelopment of the portions of the city that were devastated by the May 22, 2011 tornado.








Seibert, serving on a committee that compared proposals for the master developer, was one of three people who awarded Wallace Bajjali a much higher score than other applicants.

One of those people was Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce employee Gary Box, who was almost immediately hired by Wallace Bajjali after it received the contract.

Seibert told state auditors "he could not recall" why he had given Wallace Bajjali an inflated score.

The former mayor remained steadfastly in Wallace Bajjali's corner even after two years had passed and the firm had not accomplished anything.

In July 2014, less than a month after the Turner Report revealed using federal court documents, that David Wallace of Wallace-Bajjali had failed to repay hundreds of thousands of dollars to investors and was using fees from the city of Joplin to keep his company afloat, Seibert staunchly defended the firm in an interview with an Amarillo television station, in which he said that anyone who criticized Wallace Bajjali did not know how development projects worked.
“The vast majority of people don’t understand that the bulk of the effort and time is put into a project prior to the project coming out of the ground. People unfortunately judge the speed of a project based on when it breaks ground, and that means development gets cast in a negative light.”
Only a few months later, when Wallace Bajjali had skipped town, Seibert changed his tune.








In another interview with an Amarillo station, Seibert let it be known that he had been wary of Wallace Bajjali.
We weren't pleased with the level of projects that they'd been able to bring forward. We had projects that we were really proud of that they were involved in and don't like what they did.
After another year passed, Seibert was talking about the success the city had received because of the master developer. From an April 2016 interview with the now-defunct Joplin Regional Business Journal:
There was nothing nefarious about who was picked or how the process happened. The fact is we were able to receive a lot of money from the master developer's efforts on our behalf. The reality is we secured about $50 million and it will be shown in progress over the next few years.
(More to come)

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Returning Seibert to the Council would be slap in the face to the average citizen. He is, and was, an enabler to many of the misdeeds of the Council during his previous tenure.

Anonymous said...

He's a SLIME BALL!!!

Concerned citizen said...

Nice guy who represents the Elites who still swoon for Huff and Rohr...get new blood Joplin

Anonymous said...

Mike was an Idiot when he was at Parkwood in High School and in College that will not change - -

Anonymous said...

Siebert has is offering to serve his community and given countless hours to the city of Joplin again. I have worked with Mike in the professional world and he is exceptional.

It sounds like the previous posts were expecting as a council person he would should have known in advance master developer had other intentions. He is more of a man than you idiots that sit back and critique others working for our community as you struggled to pass the the 8th grade. The irony is thing is this man goes out and tries to make a difference in our community and we have people calling him names that have probably never served as a volunteer nor had a respectable profession.

Anonymous said...

9:45: I actually have worked (very hard) in a very respectable profession. My education includes graduate studies and I continue to learn every day. I have also volunteered in several capacities and continue to do so.
Siebert's actions with the chamber of commerce gave it and Joplin a black eye. If I am mistaken and he is and has been truly acting in what he considers to be the best interests of the community, then I ask him to stop. He is clueless.
Otherwise, he's a slime ball.