Evansville City Councilman John Friend released his requirements to properly be able to VET the proposal by HCW of Branson, MO to be provided $37.5 Million in cash and site improvements by the City of Evansville. The list looks quite similar to the list asked for from the previous three developers that failed to get financing for various reasons even after public assistance was offered to them by the City. The list is as follows:
1. Due Diligence work papers,
2. Comprehensive Business Plan, the following is the minimum what would expected:
a. Executive Summary
b. Marketing, proof of the necessity of Retail Space both for the hotel and out-structure
c. Five years of Cash Flow by line item…Garage, Out-structure, & walkways presented separately
d. Income Statements [Five Years] by line item
e. Balance Sheets [Five Years] by line item
1. Capital Improvement Budget by category for ten years
f. Management Structure
1. Salaries and Wage Info, number of employees by category and historical info on experience levels
g. Letters of Financing Comment subject to…Terms and Conditions and expected Final Financing parkage.
h. Capital Structure, Equity vs. Debt, and the Debt Service Requirements
i. Equity, Free Capital vs. leveraged Capital
J. Historical Financial Information [reviewed F/S] on all related entities for 2012, 2011 & 2010 including tax returns includes brother/sister entities and the returns of the
k. Corporate Structure, LLC vs. Corp… % of ownership, Certificates of Good Standing in the State of Indiana, articles of incorp. for all related entities
l. Proof of Performance Bonding
m. Personal Finance Statements on all equity holders holding 5% or more.
n. Construction Cost Budget by line item, includes out-structure, walkways, Garage
o. Projected Appraisal of Structure upon completion, MAI certified.
p. Franchise agreement disclosing covenant provisions, i.e. minimum in operations and employee levels
q. Bank References
3. Detail improvement plans on Centre
4. Maintenance requirements for out-structure, walkways, and garage over the next five years.
Hope ol’ Friend keeps his word and holds this vote in committee until 45 days after he gets this information. If they will not provide this don’t even bother to hold a vote.
Based on what they have provided thus far to the City Council, HCW couldn’t get a Sears Credit Card. Despite that our Mayor, the ERC, and the CVB are ready to hand these guys $37.5 Million without so much as checking their pulse. Stupid is as stupid does.
More grandstanding. He’ll vote for it regardless.
Finally, someone wants to research something before voting on it. Weaver and Mosby went to the city council meeting that was supposed to be for them to find out about the hotel with stickers on already supporting. At least pretend you are going to do your job and look into it. My sources say the vote is currently at 5-4 for the hotel with two members on the fence.
5-4 which way? Which 2 of the nine is are on the fence? Perhaps the tactics of the Hotel Rich Boys Club will get this tipped in the right direction. I say right now Weaver, Mosby, & McGinn are locked in on yes. Lindsey, Friend, and Robinson are strongly leaning NO leaving Adams, O’Daniel, and Riley riding the fence. I agree that it is 5 – 4 now but am not sure who the deciding vote will come from.
You are wrong on the final vote. It will be 7 -2 in favor of the Hotel, with Friend and Lindsey voting NO. This vote propels Friend into the Mayor’s seat, as he can both say ‘I told you so’ and introduce a new chapter in vetting projects. Friend also hopes people have forgotten his Johnson Controls vote. Lindsay votes no, trying to regain his MoJo from his same earlier vote.
John Friend had better learn to control his bluster factor if indeed he intends to run for mayor.
How about the names of the other “partners” involved in the development of the commercial space going into this project?
I would think that would be an absolute must!
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Mr. Friend,
Did you specify a date deadline by which you would need this information so that the entire council could have time to study it? Honestly with council members having lives and in many cases jobs, a reasonable length of time seems a minimum of 30-45 days, not by Sept 9, 2013.
Martha Crosley
1. I demand that John Friend and the rest of the council DEMAND this to be done on the FORD CENTER PROJECT. Oh snap. Too late.
2. I demand that John Friend and the rest of the council DEMAND this to be done on the FATE OF ROBERTS STADIUM. Oh snap. Too late.
3. I demand that John Friend and the rest of the council DEMAND this to be done on EARTH CARE ENERGY. Oh snap. Too late.
4. I demand that John Friend and the rest of the council DEMAND this to be done on the JOHNSON CONTROLS deal. Oh snap. Too late.
5. I demand that John Friend and the rest of the council DEMAND this to be done on the ROBERTS PARK PROJECT. Oh snap. Too late.
6. I demand that John Friend and the rest of the council DEMAND this to be done on the PROPOSED SOFTBALL COMPLEX. Oh snap. Too late.
John Friend – why are you JUST NOW paying attention to what’s going on? We’ve had you on the City Council for how long now ? Six years ? And you’ve rubber stamped everything – EVERYTHING – both mayors proposed.
And now, obviously, you want to run for mayor. And that’s the only reason you give a darn right now.
SELL OUT. I hate people like you. You make me SICK.
Truthsquad —well said. Did Friend get religion! The sad part is he does not recognise how silly this makes him look.
Wonder what the Chairmen of the Republican party Wayne Parke thinks about Mr. Friends requests?
Taken down off message.
There already is a tremendous amount of information available for review/study on this convention motel project. Friend’s list appears to be very excessive and appears to be a grandstanding move and appears to be an attempt to delay/defeat the project. This project has been going on for almost 3 years.
It is time for the city council to put it to a vote. I hope it is approved.
Perhaps much of the information that Friend has on his list already exists. If so it should be provided to him pronto so he can get on board or raise some legitimate questions. The project has actually been going on for a little over 5 years but I get your point. What amazes me is that after 5 years the Chairman of the Finance Committee of the City Council has not been given the grant application. Why is that?
I do not do this often, but I’m going to come to the defense of Wayne Parke and John Friend…
Chairman Parke is a very nice and personable man. He is a good sport with (I believe) a sincere desire to see Evansville prosper. Problem is, he is past his time. It is time for the young and energetic to take over the Republican Party and move it back toward its roots. There is no room for old school Republicans who only compromise principles in the name of expedience.
John Friend seems to want to take a stand and do the right thing. Having only spoken to him once on the phone and once in person, I get the impression he is caught between worlds. He needs people around him who are good influences, who can serve as an example of how to behave, how to say “no” and really mean it, how to stand up to political pressure, and how to communicate to his constituents why he has made the votes he has made without shame. I sincerely hope Councilman Friend becomes the leader he has it in him to be. I hope that when he has come to the end of his term he will be able he say to himself, “I did my civic duty and I’m proud.” Leave it all on the field, Mr. Friend. Have no regrets. Do what is right.
The Republican Party is continually seeking level headed conservative young people who are not arrogant and has some common horse sense to be active in the Republican Party. Do you know any?
I am not young but I am energetic. I spend over 50 hours a week on Republican issues trying to make Evansville/Vanderburgh County the best it can be. The Chairman position is unpaid. It is one way for me to give back to the community that I love. I give back with both time and money.
I was elected Chairman by a 10 to 1 margin by the precinct committee members.
“Gold is the money of kings, silver is the money of gentlemen, barter is the money of peasants and debt is the money of slaves.”
(Traditional)
* * * * * * * * *
Is that level headed enough for you or your party?
not arrogant and has some common horse sense eh? So neither Weinzapfel or Winnecke would be acceptable.
Be careful Brad. Word is Mr. Parke likes to dig through trash cans to try to find dirt on his opponents.
Maybe I should put a bear trap in each bag of trash from now on. 🙂
Truthsquad–
Why don’t you be a man like Brad and use your name when you post comments?
He holds everyone accountable except his own supporters.
I hope I’m wrong – but again, I think this is all for show. Mr. Friend talks, but will go along with it. The council will roll over and vote yes and we’ll pay for this hotel.
Wunnecke says DERP and the clowns (Mosby and Weaver) say how much do you want!!! We do not care about any studies or reports it is not our job!!!!!!!!!!!
I believe a good vetting is necessary, but Friend is asking for way more than is necessary to understand the financial implications of the proposal. A long list does not necessarily mean a complete or necessary item on that list.
I agree with those who believe Friend is grandstanding in an attempt to leap into the mayor’s position.
What John Friend asked for is a standard package for a private investor to vet an investment. I see no reason that the application for a $37.5 Million grant from the city should be less intrusive than what a private investor asks for.
As grants go I have been part of two successful grant campaigns this year. One was $500,000 and the other was $1 Million. Each took about a 6 month vetting period and hundreds of pages of supporting documentation. One was with a private foundation and the other with local government. The vetting was much more complicated and intrusive than this project has been and it was for much less money. We have applied for a federal grant of $1.5 Million as well. The application alone is 300+ pages and we get new questions every week that we have to answer. We find out in January if that one is approved. If we have had to jump through this many hoops (most of which were reasonable) for $3 Million why is it that Evansville is willing to hand out $37.5 Million and some land for a promise whispered in the Mayor’s ear.
Friend is right to vet the business plan and the people who wrote it. I hope the administration has the sense to join his effort. Having a competent vetting plan will pay off now and forever into the future for the City of Evansville. Isn’t failing to VET what got this hotel in a 5 year tailspin in the first place?
No,Joe, this fiasco results from two failures in the Weinzapfel administration.
1. A rush to get the project moving without adequate understanding of the magnitude of the undertaking, and
2. Inadequate planning.
I think there were three failures with Browning, Woodruff, and Kunkel in that order but who’s counting. I agree with your assessment about failing to plan but failing to vet early on is what drug this out to what is now 5 years. I remember writing after one of the failures about the ERC not even doing the basics of qualification like a credit check and an address verification. I see little change now. Failing to plan is planning to fail. Failing to VET is assurance of failure. This HCW deal started right after Mayor Winnecke took office. Here we sit, 18 months later and the financial vetting package is not in the hands of the City Council yet they are expected to vote in 2 weeks. It seems as though there are forces that do not want this vetted. That in my opinion is a big problem. Who knows, maybe the business plan and the financing will be just fine. In that case it comes down to whether or not to make a grant to a “qualified” applicant as opposed to a “mystery” applicant. But yes, this hotel deal(s) has been an unmitigated disaster from day one. That was in 2008.
Great! Now who volunteers to translate these demands to our bafoon mayor and Bigger Bafoon Council Members?
Post taking down because it was insulting.
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