We hope that today’s “IS IT TRUEâ€Â will provoke honest and open dialogue concerning issues that we, as responsible citizens of this community, need to address in a rational and responsible way.
TODAYS “IS IT TRUE” WAS RETRIEVED FROM THE ARCHIVES OF THE CCO ON HOW FORMER MAYORÂ WEINZAPFEL’S DECISIONS MAY HAVE STIFLED Â MAYOR-ELECT LLOYD WINNECKE WHEN HE FIRST TOOK OFFICE.
The CCO is currently reviewing the usefulness of our “IS IT TRUE” column to determine that it is providing an invaluable public service to not only our readers but the community.
Some of the following “IS IT TRUE” comments attempted to lay out the case how several decisions that former Mayor Weinzapfel made may have created problems for Mayor Winnecke when he took office? Â
Attached Below Are A Couple Of “IS IT TRUE” Comments We Posted Around The Time Mayor-Elect Lloyd Winnecke Took Office During His First Term
IT IS TRUE that it has been well documented that the Weinzapfel Administration saddled the incoming Winnecke Administration with a trilogy of unfinished business when he left office? ...after all the deals with the McCurdy hotel, it is still a mess? …the Front Door Pride program did succeed in beautifying some blighted lots did so by distributing taxpayer dollars to what amounts to lottery winners due to depressed real estate values?  …just before Weinzapfel left office, he signed off on a $50 million contract for some space-age “Smart Water Meters” project that was left for Mayor Winnecke’s to handle?  …Weinzapfel also left Winnecke vacant land called “Roberts Park” for him to dispose of without any direction?  …just like the Ford Center, the “Smart Water Meters” were advanced without a vote of the people?
IS IT TRUE Weinzapfel left Mayor Elect Winnecke to unravel the McCurdy debacle?…that manacled to the left arm of Mayor-Elect Winnecke is the ball and chain labeled “FORD CENTER” bonds payments? …that until last night Mayor Elect Winnecke at least had the use of his right arm to handle programs of his own creation?
IS IT TRUE that last night at the regular meeting of the Evansville City Council, the Director of the Department of Metropolitan Development, Mr. Tom Barnett took the stage, accompanied by Luke Yeager of the Evansville Commerce Bank to affix yet another ball and chain to the right arm of Mayor Elect Winnecke?…that this time it is by introducing another Front Door Pride project that will consume resources of both the public and private sectors?…that by his own words Mr. Barnett has taught us that there are 8,000 residences in the City of Evansville that are in such a state of disrepair that they will require over $100,000 each to get them into livable condition?…that it is also reported that the total number of abandoned homes in the City of Evansville now exceeds 10,000 and according to Mr. Barnett’s testimony before the City Council, abandoned houses is a growth industry in Evansville?…that there have been SIX CENSUSES taken since the last time that the City of Evansville did not have a declining population?…that the population of the City of Evansville has been steadily shrinking since the late 1950’s?…that in such a place, why on earth would anyone think that building 25 more houses makes sense?
IS IT TRUE that there are already 17 Front Door Pride houses that have been built at a cost of approximately $200,000 each?…that nine of those homes are still on the market with many of them having been offered for sale at $135,000 or less for longer than a year?…that an Idea Home (and a very nice one at that) was built at a cost of between $400,000 and $600,000 depending on how one values “free†stuff and was sold to a member of the Evansville Redevelopment Commission for well under $200,000 in the same area?…that there are 40 rental units that are slated to be similar to the Front Door Pride homes that are scheduled to be built?…that given that there is not a vibrant market for homes, that what is really needed is a mass demolition project coupled with the eradication of criminal activity, and a dramatic upgrade of the neighborhood schools, we really wonder what the dickens spending nearly $5 million to build 25 more houses will do for the area?
IS IT TRUE that at least this time, the basics of clustering seems to have sunk into a few of the thick skulls that randomly dropped the first 17 houses in and around crack houses and parks full of crime?…that it is a shame that clustering was not done from the start and that the 40 pending rent houses were not slated to be owner occupied?…that even with 7 banks participating to the tune of $3.5 million to make loans on the 25 proposed homes, the risk will be borne by the taxpayers of Evansville?…that the key words “mortgages ready for the secondary market†are the clear signal that the bankers consortium will be cutting their risk and selling the first mortgages that they will be writing into the secondary markets, taking their fees, and whistling all the way back to the bank?…that it will be the second mortgages that will be held by the City of Evansville, which will be at risk if the market does not materialize or hold value?…that given the history of the Front Door Pride program, we must ask the question, “all out there who want to buy a house for $200,000 just like the houses that are not selling for $135,000 please announce yourselves�
IS IT TRUE that Lloyd Winnecke was elected to further his own ideas and to breathe accountability and transparency into the government of the City of Evansville?…that it would have been much more beneficial for soon-to-be Mayor Winnecke to have been able to make his own decisions with respect to his being able to implement his own ideas the day he took office?
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Todays“Readers Poll†question is: Which three At-Large Democratic primary candidates do you support for the Evansville City Council?
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FOOTNOTE:  Any comments posted in this column do not represent the views or opinions of the City-County Observer or our advertisers.
The population of the city of Evansville has continued to decline because the City Admimistrations have been enamored with Vandi-Gov when in reality they should just annex everything to the county lines.
The question of the day was missing an obvious choice…”none”.
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