IS IT TRUE? March 3, 2011

IS IT TRUE that just yesterday the City County Observer called for the City of Evansville to be forthcoming with the details of the highly celebrated $2.5 Million “grant” for the construction of 120 affordable housing units to be built in Evansville?…that we did all sorts of searches online looking for such details and found nothing?…that yesterday afternoon the details magically appeared in our email in the form of an official press release from the Mayor of Evansville detailing the three separate programs?…that this press release did not come to us from the Mayor’s office as it should have on Monday when it was issued?…that other news sources must not have deemed the details to be of importance?…that the details are the subject of today’s IS IT TRUE?

IS IT TRUE that the City County Observer questioned the quality of what could be built for the reported figure of roughly $21,000 per home and even projected that the 40 single family homes slated to be built in Goosetown would cost between $8 Million and $10 Million?…that the actual cost of the 40 Goosetown homes is disclosed in the official City of Evansville press release to be $9,252,765?…that this project has a tax credit allocation of $1,021,031 associated with them making the cost to be borne by a private developer to be $8,231,734, or $205,793 per house?…that these houses are slated to be RENT TO OWN for a period of 15 years at a rates between $350 and $700 per month?…that using a present value of $130,000 ($75,000 under cost), a 4% interest rate, and a monthly lease rate of $500 results in an obligation in 15 years of nearly $360,000 for each of these houses?…that the project financing is stated to be coming from CONVENTIONAL BANK FINANCING?…that we wonder what conventional bank will see a good opportunity in lending a private developer $8.2 Million to build 40 houses in Goosetown?…we are quite curious to see just what kind of government guarantees will be needed to get this project off of the ground?

IS IT TRUE that the 48 apartment units that will be called Cedar Trace III will have a total cost of $5,760,000 with a tax credit available of $638,586?…that the net cost per apartment works out to $106,696 each?…that apartments that cost that much to build rent for close to $1,000 per month in the real world?…that this project is also expected to be financed by a CONVENTIONAL BANK?…that we will believe it when we see it unless of course there is a GOVERNMENT GUARANTEE to back up the deal?

IS IT TRUE that the Renovation of the formerly advertised as “to dilapidated to renovate” safe house when justification was needed to build a new jail will cost $7,677,308 to net only 32 apartments?…that there is a whopping $832,140 tax credit available for the developer that is willing to take this project on?…that the price works out to an eye popping $213,912 per apartment which is more than a 4 bedroom Front Door Pride house costs?…that the financing is of course all provided by GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS and that the developer of record is the EVANSVILLE HOUSING AUTHORITY?…that it would in all likelihood be less expensive to just tear the old building down as it should have been years ago and build from scratch?…that this project certainly has the look and feel of the $90 hammers and the $500 toilet seats that have become symbolic of government waste?…that there are plenty of apartment complexes currently on the market in Evansville that are comparable to what is being planned that can be purchased for under $1,000,000?…that in a world where it is okay to overspend by $6.68 Million (668%) it is no small wonder that we cannot afford to mow the parks and eradicate crime?

IS IT TRUE that at the end of the day, the celebrated $2.5 Million win of free money will result in the expenditure of $22,690,073 or $189,083 each for houses and apartments that will be located in the parts of Evansville with high crime, underperforming schools, and severe infrastructure problems?…that we really wonder how this is an example of good and responsible government?…that we thank the good people who provided us with the real information and hope that as many of our friends and neighbors learn about the real cost as possible?…that the remainder of the unsold Front Door Pride houses should be converted to rentals so as to conform to the new direction that “FREE MONEY” will drive these neighborhoods?