In a series of emails regarding the release of the data requested by City Councilman John Friend by the Office of Mayor, the City County Observer has learned that the Mayor’s office and the Evansville Department of Metropolitan Development are satisfied with the due diligence that has been done already and are eager to move ahead with approval of the $37.5 Million grant to HCW?
Councilman Friend however has called for a more comprehensive vetting procedure and has formally asked the Mayor’s office for a “grant application” package more typical of firms that conduct real world due diligence. The Office of the Mayor with the awareness that a super majority (6 or 7) of the Evansville City Council agree with Councilman Friend that real due diligence needs to be completed prior to a vote is not only cooperating with Councilman Friend’s request but is encouraging HCW to cooperate as well.
Council members Jonathan Weaver and Missy Mosby have gone on record all along that they will support the deal as it is and as it has been vetted to date echoing the sentiments of the Office of the Mayor. Councilman Weaver rather than favoring the additional vetting fired off a couple of contentious emails questioning the decision to hire Crowe Horwath to assist in the vetting process accusing Councilman Friend and City Council President Connie Robinson doing a behind closed doors deal to make that choice.
Councilman Weaver has a point that this decision was not made in a public forum and the details of the costs are not known. This being the case and the fact that a super-majority of the City Council support vetting doing this publicly can only lead to a further delay in taking a vote. The first opportunity to have an open discussion on hiring a 3rd party to conduct the vetting is next Monday’s City Council meeting pushing an actual up or down vote on the hotel further into the future.
I personally believe that Weaver may be right here. The expenditure of tax monies to complete such an important task shouldn’t be left to the whims of a couple of Council members. The excuse of timeliness can not be used as an excuse to void/forget common business sense.
I agree with you. The proper course of action is to develop and RFP for the vetting and send it out for bid. In 60 days (November 3) when the bids come back they should be read publicly and a vote of the council should be scheduled at the next meeting. After and only after approval should the vetting period of 30 days begin. In this proper scenario that Weaver is surely calling for we will see a hotel bond approval in January at the soonest. I wonder of Weaver would really support this or if he is grandstanding for a vote without vetting as he and Missy are the only members of the council to openly support betting without vetting.
Weaver is off of his medication again. Where is the Democrat Chairman to reel in the two pretend Democrats (Mosby,Weaver)? McNeely’s hands are going to fall asleep if he doesn’t stop sitting on them. I forgot he wants this hotel at whatever costs to the public we need those jobs for 18 months and his grand children can finish paying off the bonds. Sell out the future for a buck today what a great philosophy, live for today tomorrow will take care of itself. So sad,just keep voting idiots in like Winnecke, Weaver and Mosby and then act suprised in their ignorance.
EVERYBODY KNOWS WEAVER IS AN IDIOT.
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