IS IT TRUE DECEMBER 30 and 31, 2015

18

IS IT TRUE  the Evansville Brownfields Corp. has been engaged in holding blighted properties for years? …Brownfield have owned currently blighted properties as long as ten years without developing them?  …the City of Evansville thru its Department of Metro Development bought a house at 309 Madison in 2006? … this house was transferred to the Evansville Brownfields Corp. in 2013?   …this house is now listed with a group of 110 very interesting properties the city purchased with Community Development Block Grant Funds (CDBG)?

IS IT TRUE the sales disclosure shows that a lot located at 405 Jefferson was purchased by  Brownfields (DMD) for $40,000 in 2009?   …they bought the almost identical neighboring vacant lot, 407 Jefferson, for $3,000 in 2011? …the City of Evansville (DMD) also bought the neighboring lots at 413 and 415 Jefferson for $400 in 2011? …that these vacant and undeveloped lots are on the list of properties the City DMD and Brownfields DMD purchased with CDBG funds and were supposed to be dispose of in the past two years but they still own them?

IS IT TRUE it was reported in the Evansville Courier and Press 2 years ago that City of Evansville and DMD could no longer land bank with CDBG funds and had to dispose of the 110 blighted properties?   …that this was supposed to be done in two years? … the two year deadline is up and the majority of these properties have not been disposed or developed?  …we wonder what HUD is going to penalize the City of Evansville and DMD for non-compliance?

IS IT TRUE  when all said and done we predict that HUD will want some of their CDBG money back that was mismanaged by DMD to purchase blighted properties?  … the Mayor now proposes a gift of $1.7 million from Riverboat Fund  to promote new land banking projects but we project most of this money will be used to pay for the sins of past mismanagement of DMD and Brownsfields?

IS IT TRUE we strongly suggest that the City of Evansville needs total transparency, financial controls and oversight on how the $1.7 million given to Brownsfield Corp. will be spent to fight blight in Evansville proper?   …in order to achieve this task maybe the $1.7 million gift to Brownfield should simply be budgeted within the Building Commission or DMD accounts?

IS IT TRUE the once defeated idea of the city gifting the Brownfields $1.7 million in Riverboat funding is back on the table?….that in addition the city plans to collaborate with the county, without an opportunity for public comment, and give the Brownfields control of valuable tax sale properties?…..that tax sale reform measures are being ignored to justify diverting valuable resources to the Brownfields special interest?…..that these resources may or may not be used efficiently and effectively to fight blight.

IS IT TRUE the Brownfields Corp. is operated by the Department of Metropolitan Development but not required to follow government procedures?  …that a few individuals decides what properties are bought and what price is paid?  ..that these individuals also decides who is allowed to develop properties and what the properties cost?

IS IT TRUE todays “Readers Poll” questions; Do you feel that City Council should gift $1.7 million dollars to Brrownfield Corp. without strings attached?

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

18 COMMENTS

  1. Is there a public list or even better a map of all the properties the Brownfield Corp. owns? The 110 properties as I read this article is just one group. To me that sounds like a lot of properties. Are they all in the downtown/southside area? Lots of questions about this group.

  2. I think Winneke and company will do exactly what they want for at least the next 4 years so you might as well sit back and enjoy it if you live in Evansville. These chickens will eventually come home to roost

  3. It appears to have been quite a lot of this type of financial mismanagement happening during the Weinzapfel administration. I wonder why the C&P hasn’t been confronting the former mayor about this negligence during his administration? Remember the parking lot?

  4. Good point Disaffected. Did Weinzapfel also work for F.C. Tucker? There seems to be a connection to F.C. Tucker with several issues. Is the President of the Brownfields, Kevin Axom, a member of that organization? How about the mayors wife, Carol Mcclintock? What about the new City Council President, Missy Mosby? Council vice president Johnathan Weaver? Maybe we don’t need to worry about the Chinese or Russians taking over? Looks like F.C. Tucker has taken over. Are all our public leaders in the real-estate business?

    • I can see how you would be confused. Jon Weaver is the FC Tucker employee. So is Missy Mosby, ex-County Commissioner Marsha Able, Winky’s wife and Mark Owen. Owen is the ex chairman of the Demos, who was the leader of the hatchet-job on Rick Davis. That is a great bunch of people. Jon Weinzapfel is above that. He is the ex-mayor who is now a major big wheel at Ivy Tech. He likes getting public money.

    • Press,

      That is the article that spurred my interest in filing the public access request back in the summer. I asked the city for the directive from HUD and a Copy of the plan. Director Coures answered that he discovered the issue, and all the agreements, notifications, and remediation plan were verbal. ?????? I got nothing. I am still pursuing the answers through the state HUD office but suspect it will take an act of congress to get to the bottom of this.

      • George:

        Perhaps reporter Mark Wilson could revisit his notes for the article and supply his verification for the opening paragraph.

  7. The property at 405 Jefferson Ave. in Evansville, that Carolyn Rusk of Evansville Brownfields Corp. paid $40,000. to Penelope Pennington of Milestone Investments to obtain, is certainly an interesting study. Even more so when one considers that Carolyn Rusk is also employed with the Evansville Department of Metropolitan Development as its Brownfields Coordinator. Here is the transfer data for the property at 405 Jefferson Ave:

    Transfer Data
    Transfer Date: 5/20/2009
    MILESTONE INVESTMENTS LLC EVANSVILLE BROWNFIELDS CORP
    Sales Disclosure: C2009R00012856
    Bk/Pg: 09 / 12856

    Transfer Date: 2/29/2008
    EVANS SCOTT RAYMOND MILESTONE INVESTMENTS LLC
    Sales Disclosure: C2008R00005601
    Bk/Pg: 08 / 5601

    Transfer Date: 10/30/2006
    EVANS RON EVANS SCOTT RAYMOND
    Sales Disclosure: C2006R00036880
    Bk/Pg: 06 / 36880

    Transfer Date: 4/24/2003
    IRONWOOD ACCEPTANCE CO LLC EVANS RON
    Sales Disclosure: C2003R00017841
    Bk/Pg: 03 / 17841

    Transfer Date: 12/16/2002
    ENTER DATE
    Sales Disclosure:
    Bk/Pg: 15 / 7245

    Transfer Date: 12/26/2001
    CARROLL FRED & RHONDA IRONWOOD ACCEPTANCE CO LLC
    Sales Disclosure:
    Bk/Pg: 14 / 8582

    Transfer Date: 4/15/1998
    WENDELL JEROME T & GINA S H/W CARROLL FRED & RHONDA
    Sales Disclosure:
    Bk/Pg: 11 / 6832

    Transfer Date: 9/28/1992

    Sales Disclosure:
    Bk/Pg: 7 / 5469

    Transfer Date: 3/21/1980

    Sales Disclosure: CAFDT
    Bk/Pg: /

    * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

    As I have stated Penelope Pennington is listed as owner of Milestone Investments and her bio states that she has a contractors license. Penelope Pennington’s husband Darrell Pennington is listed as Managing Director of the Milestone. Mr. Pennington is also Vice President of Operations at Mortgage Masters of Indiana, which is headquarted in Evansville. Mr. Pennington worked for American General Finance, where Evansville DMD Executive Director Kelley Course worked before landing his current position, and according to Mr. Pennington’s bio, he was instrumental in creating and running MorEquity, Inc., which is or was a subsidiary of American General Finance.

    Ironwood Acceptance Co. LLC currently is headquarted in Scottsdale Arizona. They are said to be holders of tax liens and are party to collection sharing arrangements. I can find no evidence on the Indiana Secretary od State website of Ironwood Acceptance Co. LLC ever being registered to transact business in Indiana. For some reason that transaction in the above data was listed as exempt with no dis positive explanation.

  8. Press,
    I was told maybe there was gold there. I visited the lot again today. No gold just grass. I am finding several of these. I am glad I bought some lots at the tax sale. Maybe I can sell the one I paid $5.00 for $40,000. It would be a good deal because the house is already torn down. Also this may not be as raw of a deal as it appears. It might be worse because the property at 203 appears to have been combined and that would have meant another structure we had to raze.

    • Correction: 403 was added. Only a couple of feet of 403 was added to 405.. That may have made the lot ten percent bigger and possibly $39,995 more valuable than the 25 ft lot I paid $5.00 for. A 27.5 ft lot would be worth more.

Comments are closed.