IS IT TRUE? December 19, 2011 Park Two

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Political Contributions for no Substance

IS IT TRUE? December 19, 2011

IS IT TRUE that Evansville Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel was manufacturing news again yesterday in announcing a new park to commemorate the Bicentennial of Evansville?…that the location of the park that had some pretty pictures of it is the full block that contains the old Greyhound Bus station?…that this lot where the new park is proposed contains just under four acres?…that Mayor Weinzapfel did not mention any details like the COST to build the park, who will MAINTAIN the park, whether that block is ZONED for a park, and especially WHERE DID THE AUTHORITY TO EMBARK UPON A PARK COME FROM?

IS IT TRUE that there is currently a park project that is being undertaken with mostly private money at the corner of 4th and Main?…that this park has been around for many years but has deteriorated in the last 4 or 5 years to be a hangout for homeless people and an open air market for drug dealers?…that pictures have been taken from downtown Evansville office buildings of drug exchanging hands in broad daylight?…that these pictures were made available to both law enforcement and the Mayor three years ago yet the practice of dealing drugs from that park continues?…that if the City of Evansville cannot or will not do what it takes to maintain the one acre park at 4th and Main and to keep drug dealers at bay then we seriously question the wisdom of building another park that is only two blocks away?…that as much as the CCO likes and approve of urban green space the City of Evansville has not shown that it is capable of taking care of such things?…that the CCO still is waiting for an updated master plan as one has not been undertaken or approved since the Russ Lloyd Jr. Administration?

IS IT TRUE that the Evansville Icemen are having their first slump of the season?…that yesterday’s game which turned out to be an entertaining overtime only drew about 2,500 people to the Ford Center?…that the Icemen came out on the losing end of this game but that they are still cruising along in 2nd place of the Turner Division?…that as the year wears on we will learn just how many hockey fans there really are in Evansville and will start to get a better grip on the accuracy of expecting 3,500 tickets to be sold per game?…that the UE Purple Aces put up a decent game against Tennessee Tech on Saturday before losing by 2 points?…that 2 point games at home are games that are supposed to be won by the home team?…that only 3,500 showed up for that Aces game and that if the winning does not kick it up a notch when the MVC conference schedule starts it may be a long season on the court and at the box office for this year’s edition of Purple Aces?

IS IT TRUE that the CCO reader’s polls for the last week concluded with a 5 to 1 majority expressing the belief that it is unethical of the Weinzapfel Administration to jam through large spending measures in its last days?…that the readers are pretty enthusiastic about the appointments that have been announced by the Winnecke Administration?…that by a 15 to 1 margin the readers do not have faith that the Hunden report lead to an action that they have faith will bring a profitable hotel to downtown Evansville?…that by a 10 to 1 margin our readers believe that Mayor Weinzapfel should return every dollar that he got in political contributions as a result of the failed McCurdy project to the coffers of the City of Evansville to partially cover the losses incurred by the people of Evansville for his blundering?

9 COMMENTS

  1. From the city council agenda for tonight……

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    RESOLUTION C-2011-40 (DOCKET) SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1 FRIEND
    A Resolution of the City of Evansville, Indiana, Affirming the City of Evansville, Indiana, Redevelopment Commission’s Determination to move forward with the Downtown Hotel Development through the negotiation and completion by the City of Evansville, Indiana, Redevelopment Commission of definitive agreement addressing the matters set forth in a proposed Memorandum of Understanding, and related matters

    ———————————-

    Any bets on how the vote will go?

    I’m saying that the puppets hold true to their puppet master and it sails through 7 ayes – 2 nays, this is the last council meeting for the year…so it’s do or die.

    Opinions?

    JMHO

    • Via Facebook communication, Mr. Friend has assured me that no spending requests will be considered at this meeting, so I am assuming that none of the agenda items regarding the hotel deal will include dollar amounts.

      • No numbers needed AdamSays. If this passes tonight it looks to me like it will let the Mayor and the ERC move forward with a last minute binding agreement without having to come back to the City Council. Methinks that Councilman Friend is either misinformed or trying to pull the wool over our eyes as Jon Boy told him to.

        • I gotta’ agree, what’s the point of bringing it to a vote? I keep thinking about the comment Pressanykey made about the discussion outside the last ERC meeting between Kish, Weinzapfel, and Friend….where they all parted company shaking hands and smiling.

          JMHO

  2. Why did Johnnie announce the bi-centennial park? It would appear to me that any announcement should have been left to the Winnecke administration because the bi-centennial year does not begin until March 27, 2012.

  3. This is especially interesting to me. I had approached JW 2 years ago about a new small park in town and I was told that the Parks Department budget did not allow for anymore parks to be added to their workload. So much for that BS!

    JA

  4. If John Friend, CPA and budget “mastermind”, doesn’t oppose this hotel resolution tonight his political reputation will be ruined for the next four years and he will be labeled a damnable political liar.

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