What would you do with an extra $10,000 cash in your pocket?  Is that even a question you have to ask?   During the month of May, KOOL 101.7 has your chance to win a "Shipload of Cash"!  You get two chances at $1,000 on the radio each weekday.  In addition, we have the opportunity for you to walk away with a $10,000 prize at the end of the month.

But back to the question:  What would you do with an extra $10,000?  I thought that I would make it easy for our Superior listeners by offering five tongue-in-cheek ideas.  (In all seriousness, if you're having that difficult of a time thinking of ways to use the extra money, I have a bridge - or two - to sell you).

Here is my (tongue-in-cheek) list of the Top Five Ways to Spend $10,000 in Superior!

  • Ian Jeffery
    Ian Jeffery
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    1

    Property Taxes

    Most people are aware that property taxes in the City of Superior are pretty high; The average property tax bill for homeowners clocks in between $4,000 and $5,000.  Taking that number into account, you would be able to pay off about two years worth of your tax bill with your $10,000 winnings.

  • Dianne Maire
    Dianne Maire
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    2

    Garbage Fees

    Part of that high property tax bill includes the fees that are built in to pay for garbage service.  However, city officials tacked on an additional monthly garbage fee at the beginning of 2016.

    The new additional garbage fee is $7.75 a month - if you're a typical residential homeowner with only one trash receptable.  Using that fee as a baseline, your $10,000 winnings would pay for about 1,290  months  - or 107 and a half years.  However - with the rising cost of inflation factored in, you know these fees are only going up and your money would run out before then.

     

  • Tony Hart
    Tony Hart
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    3

    An Ice Sculpture

    The winter of 2014-2015 saw the debut of the Ice Sculpture - built with water pumped from  the harbor - on Barkers Island.  According to records, the City of Superior paid $30,000 for the ice sculpture the first year and then paid an additional $45,000 in 2015-2016.  A third year is planned this upcoming winter, with a cost of $60,000.

    Doing the math, the city will have paid $145,000 for three years worth of ice sculptures.  If you wanted to use your $10,000 winnings to buy an ice sculpture, you could only afford approximately 6.8% of one.

     

  • Jennifer Dodge
    Jennifer Dodge
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    4

    A Railroad Crossing

    Superior is home to many railroad crossings;  I think that everyone who has spent any length of time in the city has their own story of being "trained" (i.e. having to wait at a crossing while a train crosses through).

    But what if you wanted to buy your own crossing?  They're not cheap!  According to sources, you can expect to fork over about $250,000 for one automatic crossing.

    Calculating the costs of buying one of these crossings for yourself  at $250,000 - you would be able to afford 4% of one.  However, that price tag is not reflective of the land needed or the track itself.

  • Getty Images
    Getty Images
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    5

    A Target or Kmart Store

    2016 saw two of Superior's big-box stores pull out of the community. Many people were sad when Target closed its doors in January, after 20 years on Tower Avenue.  About a month later, Kmart made the announcement that after 30-plus years, they too were leaving Superior.

    Many have called for replacement stores for the now-vacant buildings.

    Could you turn your $10,000 winnings into a new Target or Kmart for Superior?  Well, your extra cash might be useful as a down payment for one of the empty buildings, but it wouldn't even get you close to the full purchase price.  While my research didn't turn up the asking price for either of these specific buildings, I did determine that similar buildings and lots in Superior are available in the $1.3 to $2.3 million range.  Again - that $10,000 wouldn't exactly buy the building outright but it might pay for closing costs!

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