IS IT TRUE JUNE 12, 2015

1. The North Main Street project is a complete and total waste of money.

   • True, Joe. A complete waste of money that doesn’t exist and will never exist as a result of a “TIF” zone.

   • The only North Main Project that makes any sense is to tear down the Civic Center and reconnect Main Street to North Main Street.

     • +1

2. Front page article in Evansville newspaper this morning about the John Friend/Russell Lloyd Jr. dust up over the negative cash balances. Mr. Lloyd “took exception” to the interim distributions of property taxes being received by the City as “loans”. Mr. Lloyd said that the City simply chose to receive its money monthly, rather than getting the entire amount of money in June/December.

   Let me be a peacemaker: if these interim distributions being received by the City are interest-free, then Mr. Lloyd is right, they are not loans. If the City is paying interest to the party advancing money which is to be paid back when the 6-month State payouts are received, then, yup, they are loans, and Friend is right.

   • I personally don’t trust Lloyd.

     • Of course you don’t. He was the first honest mayoy Evansville’s had in one hundred years. The only mayor not to leave office much wealthier than when he came in to office.

   • fog:

     So which is it?

   • If you have to pay the money back it’s a loan, interest or no interest.

3. IS IT TRUE one of our posters yesterday corrected our IIT concerning the downtown TIF balance as of April , 2015? …that poster Sunneysideup said “according to the published financial statements produced with Mayor Winnecke’s name clearly on the front of the April 30, 2015 document, the Downtown Development fund a/k/a TIF was $927,000 compared to $5,500,000 one year earlier clearly a decline of $4,700,000 and nothing to show for it except Engineering and Architectural fees for design and redesign of the ever shrinking Downtown Convention Motel”? …we need to check the Mayor’s donor list?

   And remember that a lot of times these jobs are not bid out and given to friends who own professional service companies that are not required to bid on some of these environmental service project type jobs. Like who did the Environmental Assessment/audit on the land where the Hotel and Medical Center is suppose to be built. In the state of Indiana one has to do an phase 1 Environmental Audit on property that is going to be demolished. So someone had to check for Asbestos Building Materials and Lead Paint in the buildings and structures that had to be demolished or remodeled in order to make way for the new Hotel and New Medical Center. When these type of jobs are not let out for Bid the Companies can really rake in a lot of money and charge basically what ever they think that they can get buy with. I wonder how much money EMC has given to the Mayor’s Campaign Chest. Not only the company gives money but each principle of the company can also give a donation to the Mayor’s campaign chest. That type of money adds up really fast and unless you know who’s involved you won’t be able to add up all the money being given from certain companies and their employees. Hundreds of dollars are being used to “BRIBE” the people in power to hire these firms for these no bid contracts. And evidently this is perfectly legal. Legal but SNEGAL. This is where the money from the tax payers is going and it’s been like this for years.

   People in Business know that they have to do favors for the people in power or even those that might get elected so these companies give money to both party’s canidates for mayor. That way they cover all their bases. So if you give a hundred dollars to Gail and then another hundred to Lloyd you may get a contact worth thousands of dollars down the road. People that I know that own companies that do business with the city are giving bribe money in the form of campaign contributions in order to get the work down the road. And most but not all of these companies have to bid on major projects. Unless they are a professional service company like EMC. This is basically why EVSC hired EMC to do all their Asbestos Survey Work for the AHERA law back in the late 1980 and early 1990’s. Thousands of dollars were spent testing all the schools for asbestos containing building materials (ACBM) and to map the locations of these ACBM. And no bids were taken by EVSC in order to hire EMC. This is the back door and where a lot of your tax money is given to friends of the people in power. This is how business is done in a capitalistic society.

   But how did millions of dollars get spent on this hotel and they haven’t even really broken ground to build this thing yet. Designs have been changed which means more engineering work may be needed before they can actually build the hotel. No one in their right mind in the business community would do these type of things. This is a big waste of tax payers money IMHO. Yet the tax payers sit idly by and do nothing of any consequences. We are the reason why this city is in so much financial trouble. We are not holding the responsible parties to the fire when they do these type of things. Believe it or not .. NOT EVERYONE BENEFITS FROM THE BUILDING OF THIS HOTEL IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA”. In fact I’d say that only a few connected people really make money off this tax payers subsidized hotel.

4. http://swinchamber.com/news/standard-poors-reaffirms-rating-hotel-bonds/

   A law was made a distant moon ago here:
   July and August cannot be too hot.
   And there’s a legal limit to the snow here
   In Camelot.
   The winter is forbidden till December
   And exits March the second on the dot.
   By order, summer lingers through September
   In Camelot.
   Camelot! Camelot!
   I know it sounds a bit bizarre,
   But in Camelot, Camelot
   That’s how conditions are.
   The rain may never fall till after sundown.
   By eight, the morning fog must disappear.
   In short, there’s simply not
   A more congenial spot
   For happily-ever-aftering than here
   In Camelot.

   • A dancer showed a distant moon ago here:
     Politicians can only barely here be bought
     There is no legal limit to the lies here
     In Scamalot

     The rain may never fall until I say so
     The crappy smell must leave when I squeal stop
     The money falls like snow on Old Downtown here
     In Scamalot

     Haney figure eights over us in the blue
     I gave him $200,000 maybe more ‘fore he’s through
     Said was my buddy but now should be caged
     Courted by me, the Kunkels and GAGE

     Infrastructure creaks, breaks and crumbles
     I can ignore the citizen’s grumbles
     If it gets much worse it’ll wake up the hicks
     Nothing, I’m sure, Merlin can’t fix

     Sewage to the river let it flow, all will be paid by the casino
     And now I say, by royal decree: with an assist from you but not me
     Johnson Controls, I don’t dare
     Little royals everywhere
     Heavy finger on the meter button our fate
     Money the EPA to sate

     The books will look balanced I demand it
     At least until the auditors clear town
     I don’t like the nosey surveyors
     They forget who wears the crown

     In short I’ve not done well, you could say I’ve been a blot
     Or simply an accidental mayor in … Scamalot.

     • “Scamalot” Classic.

       • Indeed.

5. Downtown street conditions are a disgrace! Scrap the plans for the North Main project and re-allocate those funds to repair the streets on South Main.

6. But Evansville is plodding through the poorly planned, horribly executed, Johnson Control’s contract that will consume nearly $50Million so there are shiney new space age water meters attached to our 100 year old dilapidated water pipes. Evansville needs a a priority Czar with the power to override the silliness that seems to rule.

   • “It’s a no brainer” “It will pay for itself” “We’ll be greeted as liberators”

     Jonathan Weaver… Ok he didn’t say the third quote but he sure as heck said the first two about
     the Johnson Controls deal. Of course he’ll be easily re-elected by Evansville voters.

   • The Johnson Controls contract makes Earth Care and the McCurdy parking lot purchase look like great deals by the City.

   • One would assume someone connected to the S/W utility might have figured in (SIR) incidents considering the age and condition of the supply infrastructure there in the older sections of Evansville.
     That being a problem due to pipe conditions and the types of materials involved.

     That system was shown another weakness by the high pressure break on the Eastside reported by the mainstream, all the system is at risk to thermal expansion and contraction. I’m wondering how the supply lines replaced at the meter boxes during the extreme cold of the winter will hold up as the searing heat of the summer kicks in. One would also expect after that extreme pressure loss the connected infrastructure will experience more down the line failures as it’s pressure returns and expands the system again.
     That condition even increases if a curb or street surface cut was required to replace the shutoff valve line to the meter box during the Johnson controls supply meter upgrade servicing. Additionally, that’s just another patch on the already pockmarked substandard street conditions around that town, as well.

     (“Substituatur, pro climate mutation”*)

   • http://blog.timesunion.com/capitol/files/2012/02/cool-hand-luke.jpg

     What we have here is an totally disengaged electorate!

7. Yet another day has gone by without the CCO posting anything regarding Gail’s campaign manager being let go.

8. I have a question for my republican pals. What are anti abortion groups like right to life, etc what’s their official position in plan B pills? Do they blackball politicians that don’t oppose plan B?

   • No they don’t blackball them They just squeeze them until they are purple.

     • Said he/she in a high, whiny Caitlyn Jenner voice….

   • And what exceptions do anti-life groups have to abortion?

     • None, it’s between the women and her doctor, not up to you and your lady parts inspectors. Like it should be.

       • So the mother and the doctor has a right, but the unborn child and her father has no right?

         • That’s correct.

     • I was actually looking at you on this question. Nobody has answered it seriously and I can’t find it on their Web sites.

       • First, they are pro-life ;ot anti-abortion. I don’t speak for any group, but RTL provides voter information guides. I, nor they would favor a candidate who supports any method of killing the unborn.

         • Oh come on, you know the game. You call me pro abortion I call myself pro choice. That’s how this works. Second question: what’s their stance on preventative birth control? I’m making sure my opinions on republican hypocrisy are rock solid.

   • Whatever punishes women the most, and whips up the base the most.

     God, guns, gays and bortion, “Murica!

     Infrastructure? Nah
     Income inequality Nah
     Minimum/Living wage? Nah
     Health care? Nah
     Education? Nah

     Gimme that old time religion, gimme that old time religion
     Rock of ages cleft for me
     Standing on the promises
     At the cross, at the cross

     Jesbus will save us!

     • Your bigotry is a product of your fear and intolerance.

       • And his ignorance.

9. To be fair some work did get done on Franklin st. Well, at least the corner where Lamasco sits.

10. What a waste of taxpayer money in funding Historic Street Lights on SE First St for a few of the Mayor’s favorites. At election time just look at the Winnecke signs in the yards. What a sight to witness during the recent primary election. This administration should be ashamed for taking $150,000.00 from the City Engineer Budget for these lights when streets and sidewalks in the area are in disrepair. Presently Old Evanville Historic Association and possible DMD involvement will be installing three more blocks of Historic Lighting on Chandler between SE Riverside Dr. and SE Third ST. After completion the fourth and final OEHA officer will have Historic Lighting at their property. Questions follow.
    1. Why is a non profit homeowners assoc. being allowed to pick where city lights are being placed in the HIstoric Preservation Area?
    2. What happened to the City’s announcement Phase 2 would be on SE Riverside Dr.?
    3. At June 9 City Council meeting Fred Cook referenced the pretty lights on SE First ST. during his request to make his neighborhood safe. Will MR Cook’s request be as important to this administration as pretty lights on SE First St.?
    John

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