IS IT TRUE April 30, 2012

15

The Mole #??

IS IT TRUE April 30, 2012

IS IT TRUE that one week and one day from now the primaries for the State of Indiana will be held and all who wish to have a say in who will be running for election in November need to plan on casting a vote?…that this is a fairly quiet primary season with only a few campaigns spending big money to entice voters to choose them?…that there are some contested primaries that essentially no money has been spent and that the candidates are not widely known?…that for the next 7 days the CCO will publish any exclusive position paper written by any candidate in any contested primary election?…that this needs to have been written by the candidate for the CCO?…that for best attention please limit these papers to under 800 words?…that those candidates who wish may submit a position paper by email to jjw0729@aol.com? …that papers that address issues and meet the word limits will be published without edit, opinion, or bias?

IS IT TRUE that another member of the Roberts Stadium task force has supplied us with a statement regarding her position on the report issued last week?…that the latest person to supply a statement is former candidate for Evansville City Council Sylvia Trabits-Niemeier and that her statement is as follows:

“As a member of the Stadium Task Force I would like to give my reply to a few items. I agree with Stephanie on our last meeting there were no specific costs on the six major ideas. The items on page 13 with the main floor being raised I don’t see this as a major problem. This would just be putting the floor back to it’s original position. Thus no need for the expensive water pumps. I think where the public wants something for everyone they are talking about not having the Stadium for one sport or one main event. I really think a combination of ideas would work. Evansville needs money coming in the mid-size arena or the expo center can make money plus with all the acres of parking you can use some of the land to make a nice park thus the whole community wins. One thing I asked to be in the report that was not was to identify Robert’s Stadium as an excellent emergency disaster center. As a former Federal Government meteorologist I can’t stress enough the damages done by severe weather and I feel Evansville needs more preparedness. I know a disaster center does not bring in money but it sure could save lives in our community which I feel is important.”

IS IT TRUE that our occasional contributor Sarcasticus has put down his sword and picked up a pen to provide the CCO with the following predictions for the City of Evansville in a way that only Sarcasticus can do?…that Sarcasticus is predicting that a downtown convention hotel will materialize in the clouds and will fall down onto the corner of Walnut and MLK Blvd. in Wizard of OZ style and that no public money will be requested by the clouds?…that Sarcasticus is predicting that private investment dollars will miraculously become plentiful in SW Indiana and that a number of start up businesses will be funded with no public money requested or political input tolerated?…that for his last prediction Sarcasticus postulates that 5 members of the Evansville City Council will be accepted into Mensa along with a couple of other surprise inductees who will be recognized as possessing such brilliance that Mensa will waive the test requirement for these members of class of 2012?

IS IT TRUE that there will not be a City Council Meeting on Monday, April 30, 2012 or Monday, May 7, 2012?…that the next meeting of the Common Council of the City of Evansville will be Monday, May 14, 2012 at 5:30 p.m. in Room 301? …that this will be an opportunity for the Council to make good decisions and for the public to voice their opinion about decisions of both the past and the future?

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

15 COMMENTS

    • First of all, VOTE! Second of all, encourage ALL of your friends to VOTE..and not just vote, but to actually take the time to educate yourself about the candidates. Follow the money and support: Those with the largest campaign contributions (actual large dollar amounts; IMO, the best candidates are those with a large grassroots network of support, not a smaller network of corporate and wealthy donors) and it isn’t a bad idea to be leery of the candidates with broad party support (for instance, if I were Republican, I would be voting for Kristi Risk). Again, this is JMHO.

  2. Ms. Trabits-Niemeier says, “the items on page 13 with the main floor being raised I don’t see this as a major problem. This would just be putting the floor back to it’s original position. Thus no need for the expensive water pumps.”

    This assumption seems to be a common assumption voiced by many people regarding the subterrannean water that floods Roberts Stadium playing foor. Those same persons also assume that raising the floor a few rows of seats will automatically negate the need for expensive pumps in the future.

    Is this a correct assumption?

    It’s my understanding that the water flooding Roberts Stadium playing floor comes from an artesian aquifer? Is that true? If so, keep in mind that artesian aquifers generally are under pressure unlike seasonal gravity flow ground water sources commonly underlying flood plains.

    With artesian aquifers, where the water is confined under positive pressure, the water level will to rise to an elevation where hydrostatic equilibrium is reached. The water level can even reach natural ground surface when the hydrostatic pressure is high enough.

    Under normal circumstances, an artesian aquifer is confined between impermeable rocks or clay, unless Nature or man fractures the confining strata, and hydrostatic pressure forces the artesian water to “spring” through the facture, seeking its naturally balanced elevation.

    When the artesian aquifer is ruptured in a geographic location say at 380 feet + or – above sea level (Evansville), yet the same artesian aquifer continually is recharged from a source at a much higher elevation, say 580 feet + or – above sea level (Lake Michigan), the positive hydrostatic pressure in the aquifer can force the water through the fracture and up to natural ground elevation of the lower zone (Roberts Stadium parking lot).

    It’s my understanding that there is an artesian aquifer underlying parts of Evansville, Vanderburgh County, and nearby areas of Southwestern Indiana; and that this aquifer results from ancient geologic activity somehow connected with the glaciation of the Midwest. I’ve heard it said this aquifer may be recharged from the area underlying and just south of the Great Lakes. Supposedly, Sterling Brewery used water tapped from this artesian source; and I’ve personally drawn water from an artesian well in Scott Township said to be tapped from this same artesian aquifer.

    All I’m saying is that for members of the stadium committee to assume that by simply raising the Roberts Stadium playing floor you eliminate the need for the pumps may be a false assumption. On the other side of the coin, making such assumptions, along with assuming you’ll avoid facility flooding without the pumps, may be assuming a gross under estimate of the construction costs for the renovation idea you prefer and are pushing.

    So, here we have one group of committee members who is strongly criticizing what they say are another group of members’ inaccurate construction estimates. Is it really any different for those who are pushing a raised floor renovation to lead us to believe their preferred plan will not require expensive pumps, or for them leap past due diligence, over-simplify their solution, and under estimate the price tag for their proposal?

    Task forces comprised of well intended, civic minded individuals are fine. But we need more information from qualified geologists before we assume that simply raising the playing floor will prevent subterrannean flooding at Roberts Stadium.

    • Very excellent point. It seems within the realm of possibility that the puncture in the aquifer that happened when Roberts was remodelled may render that site incapable of supporting a building without pumps forever. Were there any consequences associated with the faulty design of the remodel?

      • While I am not as ready to label the design as “faulty” (how can anyone know for sure that a fissure existed at that exact spot in an artesian aquifer?), yes, the consequence was the installation of pumps.

      • I would be more concerned moving forward, now that we know an aquifer has been intercepted by the floor lowering, that we ensure any future renovations are done respecting the true nature of the aquifer encountered.

    • Good point, but the water table in that area has always measured at the same general levels for a half a century. The water table height depends on the height of the Ohio River. Ask any of the Engineers working on the current Storm Sewer projects about the dewatering pumps that must be installed and run around the clock performed before storm drain work can commence in the Southend of town. Robert’s Stadium and most homes on the southside of Evansville can not dig very deeply without taping the underground rivers that flow beneath us.

      If you believe that we have “ruptured” the cavity…it was not the first time and it won’t be the last. Today, any major building project requires core samples that map in fact tap these underground water sources.

      Cc

      • I’m aware of seasonally fluctuating ground water in the Pigeon Creek Watershed, as well as how the Ohio River directly affects the water table particularly in the floodplain on the south side of Lincoln Avenue. I’ve dealt with that constantly for the past 31 years as part of my job.

        What I know very little about is artesian aquifers, thus my questions as well as my suggestion that the City seek guidance from a qualified geologist before engaging in any sort of redevelopment of the Roberts Stadium site.

        Do we really know where the floor lowering excavation intercepted the artesian aquifer, if indeed it did? Do we really know the elevation to which the water will rise, unless it is capped off, if indeed it is sourced via a rupture of an artesian aquifer?

        If this isn’t simply the ground water of which you speak, such as that which underlies the entire East Side of Evansville, and which fluctuates to known elevations seasonally and in concert with the Ohio River … if it is indeed a ruptured artesian aquifer … then we’re dealing with some unknowns, aren’t we? You think we ought to just fill the hole, cross our fingers, and hope for the best?

        • Farther to the east of Roberts, at Burkhardt Road and the Lloyd, if you will remember when the shopping complex on the northeast corner of that intersection was nothing but a plowed field, there was a utility pole lead that paralleled the Lloyd on its north side that ran east towards Warrick county. On the hottest day in the middle of summer you could dig down 5 feet there and hit water.

          But I do not understand all the guesstimates going on about the water table under Evansville. Surely some agency has accurate maps of Evansville’s hydrological formations. We have had satellites in orbit for years that were designed to map underground resources. Surely Purdue University has maps and data on the subject.

  3. soon2b

    I think your are an excellent writer and make a great deal of sense when you feel the passion about a subject. I over heard some CCO staff members talking during lunch about you. They said they feel you, Pressanykey and Beerguy are the three (3 )most outstanding posters on the CCO site. How about that!

  4. All of this speculation is getting us absolutely nowhere. Does artisian water seep up to the floor of Roberts Stadium or not? If it does seep up to the floor let’s hire a plumber to contain the water in a pipe and run it out of the building, and find a use for the water. Quit putzing around and solve the problem, but don’t tear down a useful facility just because there’s an artisian aquifer under the floor.

    • My impression from viewing the pumps in operation is rather than a slow seep from a shallow water table, thousands of gallons per day pour into Roberts Stadium from an artesian fissure.

      Plumbers already have installed pipes to carry the water from constantly running pumps thence into the city storm sewer system, which is a complete waste of valuable, pure water.

      I’m not advocating “putzing around,” but instead to either cap the leak permanently or find an economical use for the spring water that might offset the cost of maintaining the pumps.

      You, on the other hand, continue to exhibit misunderstanding and negativity regardless of the subject.

  5. You can do an impression of the pumps in operation? Sounds like you might just be the Rich Little of Evansville!! 😀

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