IS IT TRUE FEBRUARY 3, 2016

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IS IT TRUE last week Vectren Corp hosted the Evansville Brownsfield Corp. meeting at their Corporate Headquarters in which there was no recognition of the presence of citizens attending the meeting by the board? …it was equally insulting that no agendas were available to those individuals attending this meeting? … that NO opportunities were giving to ask questions or make comments were afforded to those present? …we are disappointed that former Vanderburgh County Sheriff, Congressman and current President of Vectren Energy Delivery- South, Brad Ellsworth sit by quietly and allow interested citizens attending this meeting to be snubbed by a Board he serves on?  …if he doesn’t watch himself Evansville Brownfields Corp will become an embarrassment not only to him but also to Vectren alike?

IS IT TRUE if you feel that Evansville Brownfield Corp. meetings should be opened to the public please contact the following individuals in charge of ruining this fully funded taxpayer funded program? …attached are their e-mail addresses so you can tell them how you feel? …they are: Carolyn [mailto:crusk@evansville.in.gov] Brad Ellsworth <bellsworth@vectren.com>; Connie Robinson <connie@hmrdistribution.com>; Coures, Kelley <kcoures@evansville.in.gov>; Joshua Armstrong (JArmstrong@swinchamber.com) <JArmstrong@swinchamber.com>; Kevin Axsom (kevinaxsom@fcte.com) <kevinaxsom@fcte.com>; luke.yaeger@evansvillecommercebank.com; Nick Cirignano (NCirignano@zsws.com) <NCirignano@zsws.com>; sschuler@vpsarch.com?

IS IT TRUE we hope that someone attending the next Evansville Brownfieds Corp public meeting will ask board members to explain their property purchasing strategies?  …we would like to know why did they paid $40,000 for an extremely dilapidated house on Jefferson and how much did they pay someone to tear down the house?

IS IT TRUE if Evansville Brownfields Corp is a land bank we wonder who cleared the snow off the sidewalks in front of the properties they own during the last two snows?

IS IT TRUE  we hope that the Special Agents of the Investigations Division of the Office of the Special Inspector General For The Troubled Asset Relief Program aren’t conducting an Investigation of misconduct, influence peddling or conflict of interest concerning any locally elected or appointed officials?

IS IT TRUE if City officials were up on the investigation presently being conducted by Special Agents of the Investigations Division of the Office of the Special Inspector General For The Troubled Asset Relief Program pertaining to the spending of TARP FUNDS why did they call a former City Councilman to get their names and Washington, D C  phone numbers?

IS IT TRUE we are expecting the results of the State Board Of Accounts annual audit of the City of Evansville to be made public any day now? …we can’t wait to see if past City Council President and Finance Chairmen John Friend CPA was correct that the City had around a $6 plus million dollar deficit at the end of the year?

Todays “Readers Poll” question is “Do You Believe DMD Director Kelley Coures Assertions That The Feds Are Not Doing An Investigation But An Audit of TARP Funds”?

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39 COMMENTS

      • FYI:
        ……the home taken down at that address, 20 Jefferson Avenue, and the green two-story home next to it – they are all built around 1890-1905, some earlier, some a little later. The green two story at 22 Jefferson is a 1904 construction.

        That means all of those homes and their beams, joists, flooring and the framing are all nicely-aged, old-dimension lumber (larger, thicker), and are all likely tight-ring old growth (100-500 year old) wood – white oak, heart pine joists, etc. Valuable stuff. And…..all thrown in the dumpster/landfill.

    • There are several on Jefferson that Brownfields paid “big” money for the right to tear down the structure so they could own a 25 foot wide lot valued at $300. This saved the owner the cost of tearing it down and gave the owner (bank/investor) a large reward for holding the blighted property until it got so bad no one could stand to look at it. Some empty lots cost more than others. The empty lot at 26 Jefferson was a bargain. Brownfields paid the investor $78,000 and spent an estimated $22,000 to clean the mess up. The investor got a cool $100,000 to the betterment and we got a 50 foot wide empty lot. This lot is actually big enough to put a habitat home on.

      • I for got to mention that based on DMD estimates we now pay $1,000 a year to mow it. The brownfields has hundreds of these and wants to expand the program.

        • It is OK to do this in Evansville because others are doing it. (it is OK to misappropriate funds if others are doing it) Also there are people at the “state” that approves of it. Surprisingly there is a Senate Bill moving swiftly through the legislature to create Municipal land banks. A few honest people who actually care about others are trying to make a positive difference in a currently distasteful area of public policy.

  2. A lot of the homeowners on the southside would take $40,000 for their property right now. I am talking very livable homes.

    • I think I see a way they could get the $40,000. If they take out a loan on the property for $40,000 and then walk away from the property it will deteriorated to the point the Brownfields can buy it from the bank for $60,000 and its a good deal for everyone. Right?

  3. I notice you say “disappointed” about Mr. Ellsworth’s non-action, but not “surprised”. He has pretty much always been a tool for those running things and likely will not change his spots.

    • When I walked in on the meeting in progress Mr. Ellsworth was questioning why the public could not attend. It sounded like he supported openness. The conversation was stopped by the attorney until I could be ejected from the room.

      • George –
        I think you are an honest man who knows what he is talking about in this matter. Was it you or Cheryl Musgrave that we should thank for getting these activities investigated?

    • I’m surprised and very disappointed that Mr. Ellsworth and Councilwoman Robinson would be rubber stamps for the disrespectful treatment of the public at the Brownfields Corp. meeting at the Vectren building.

      • Connie wasn’t there. I have it on good authority that she didn’t want to be part of a closed door meeting.

  4. Does anybody believe Brownfields will ever have an open public meeting? I don’t.

  6. Editor:
    1. Is it legal for the EBC to conduct a meeting in this manner?

    2. Does the EBC have any legal obligation to disclose anything?

    These are the questions, and perhaps a few more legal and technical ones.
    But can we be clear about something?
    The question IS NOT – “Don’t you think it’s wrong these thieves are hiding this stuff?”
    That question, and several more bantered about here are the stuff of dumb-headed TALK RADIO,
    not legal disclosure and fiduciary requirements.

    • Why would they act like they have something to hide if they do not? These are your tax dollars, and in my case my neighborhood. I am glad some light is finally being shown on these cockroaches.

      • The answer to your questions is yes it is probably legal and no they probably do not have to disclose anything. That does not make it right.

      • LET’S BE CLEAR….my point is not to say they are behaving legally, and therefore excused.
        My point is “it certainly smells” that contracts for demolition et. al. are being let, contracts for the legal costs for clearing liens and remediation issues are being let, and properties are being warehoused off the market for strategic sale, and the rules for their future disposition are being structured in a way to benefit favored interested parties.
        My point is……is this being done legally? Bantering this about like belly-full, diners finishing coffee is foolish. What is the answer to the legality of this…..including the conduct of the ECB meetings?

        • It is a new age If some one steals a loaf of bread you call 911 rather than blowing a whistle. If someone is acting on behalf of the public and gives a collaborator a $100,000 for a $300 dollar lot you become a “whistle blower”. It is not easy being a whistle blower against a collaboration of government employees and government officials. I suggest you become a “whistle blower” and call your elected officials. And let them know you will be voting against them in the next election if you don’t see some action.

          • You’ve done a lot of hard work on this issue. If you are the one who made the call that started the investigation, a group of us are going to nominate you for a CCO Mole award.

        • Don, I asked two attorneys if it was legal. They looked at each other and then back at me. The first one spoke and said he would argue that it “was” for $200/hr and could win. I hesitated for a minute like I disagreed and the other one jumped in and said he would argue that it “was not” for $200/hr.

          • GEORGE….I’m sure your parable is 100% true. It’s good one.
            It shouldn’t have to be that a private citizen would have to pay an attorney to bring this to light. In the checks and balances world, the Evansville Democrat party would do it.
            But…..
            The Democratic Party is so disjointed these days, it would normally call this out. But they sold their soul and eat at the same trough after the Rick Davis fiasco.
            If that were not the case……..THIS would be called out, exposed and stopped.
            They know the rules. They know this is wrong. But they won’t stop it. Cause they have joined in…..
            (Elkaybee….you have Connie Robinson and her endorsement of Winnecke to thank for setting the example all other Democrats have followed. AND the resulting dysfunction.)

    • Don:

      What is legal, and what takes place in local government are not always the same thing. Is it “legal” for the local election commission to allow someone to file for office, get elected, and hold that office for a full term, when they are required to, but in fact do not, live in the district they serve? Is it legal for a person to hold dual lucrative offices? No.

      There is a fair amount of calculation that goes on by some people who feel that unless someone challenges your behavior in a court of law, you can pretty much do as you please.

      As for Evansville Brownfields Corporation, there is no denying that it was set up by mayor weinzapfel and tom barnett of the DMD, and that it has not performed its original stated purpose for forming their company, which was originally stated as: to acquire brownfields properties……..etc. I am not aware of any major “brownfields” properties that they have acquired and rehabilitated. They are directed by the DMD and are funded with taxpayer dollars. There is no “arms length” relationship between the two, and there never has been.

      Now they appear to be involved in a situation that is the target of a federal investigation, concerning the clearing of land for the new automobile dealership at Walnut and Hwy 41.

      • ……excellent points. Well stated. I don’t need to tell you, you already know, to stop corruption you need to be able to discover illegality, and if need, prove it in court. If the CCO wants to bring some suspected corruption to light, it needs to address it and measure the corruption, legally.

        RE: the clearing of homes leveraging the EBC incuding federal funds intended for other uses to clear high-value space for the automobile dealership….this smacks of illegality. Are they investigating, or have they investigated? ABSOLUTELY. Coures is admitting, unbelievably, that he was aware the federal funds were not intended for such a use, but acknowledges he knew he could exploit the rules and do it.

      • Perfectly stated, Press! I can name plenty of Brownfield sites that should be looked at, but they are not close enough to Haynie’s Corner, Downtown, or North Main to draw the attention of the movers and shakers of the Brownfield’s board. Now defunct “neighborhood businesses” such as dry cleaners, gas stations, auto body and repair shops, and shoe repair shops abound throughout town, to say nothing of houses that had oil heat. Those sites are the kind of places Brownfield was conceived to deal with.

  7. I see Josh Armstrong is on the Brownfield board. He is in the Courier today going on about putting an Astroturf Park downtown as part of a Town Square. That is even dumber than bike paths on North Main. I didn’t think they wanted families to move downtown. They’re after students and empty nesters, but this is a kiddie thing with a splash park like Owensboro has. Did he just steal their idea?

    Does anybody know Armstrong’s claim to fame? Does he have some kind of a big degree? The last I knew he had a part time gig with DMD when they tried to give a restaurant away. The winner backed out because he couldn’t afford the prize. Armstrong sounds like a loser, but does he have anything going for him besides his buddy Coures?

    • I know Josh had a restaurant by Loew’s on the eastside and it went broke like most restaurants. It was The Firefly, and the location was awful for a place like it. I think he’d already gone broke once before in another restaurant before that. After the parttime job when he flopped at giving away a restaurant, the Chamber of Commerce gave him a full time job with some kind of “coordinator” title, and now he thinks this turf park is a good thing. If he has any qualifications for it, I have never heard about it. I think he’s just a friendly butt in the seat of the boards hes been stuck on. He scratches Kelly’s back and Kelly scratches his. That’s what friends are for, right?

    • Won’t the astroturf make it harder to clean up the vomit and urine from the homeless? I guess the splash park would make an ideal place to bathe.

      • You have a good point there. The downtown residents have the use of a private park to “walk” their dogs. It is covered with fake grass. Last I heard it was not working out so well. I think the city is looking for a couple of million in funding to take out a few more structures and put in a state of the art self cleaning doggie pottie. Probably use a Community development block grant through the Brownfields. If they did that would it be limited to income qualifying dogs?

      • I hope they have brains enough to buy the kind of astro turf that isn’t carcinogenic. It seems a lot of young soccer goalies are dying of cancer and they have all been exposed to a kind of artificial turf that is made of old tires.

  8. Carol and Lloyd must be trying to get ready for a visit from his grandson. They need a place for him to play and the condo doesn’t have a yard.

  9. My friend who is active in the Tea Party group told me that they are going to protest in front of the Vectren office because of the company giving a publicly funded organization a place to have meeting that the public was shut out of.

  10. Mr. Becker, your earlier post to GEORGE is 100% true! The fiasco of opposing Rick Davis by the entrenched Democrat power brokers and elected officials, destroyed the entire local Democratic party.

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