IS IT TRUE April 12, 2013
IS IT TRUE the City of Evansville received good news yesterday from two major bond rating agencies that will enable the City to refinance some existing Water and Sewer Department debt?…this will go a long way toward helping the City save approximately $400,000 per year on the debt service of these bonds over the next 10 years?…the City County Observer encourages the City to take this money saving step that is small in the big picture as it only saves 0.16% of the annual budget but it is savings none the less?…we also encourage the City to consider maintaining these high bond ratings when taking on additional debt as there is still that $500 Million combined sewer overflow problem that cannot be kicked down the road indefinitely?
IS IT TRUE that Casino Aztar has executed a purchase contract to own the building that used to be Fast Eddy’s?…the company that owned the building, 507 Properties LLC was a different company than the company that actually owned and operated the restaurant River Rock Café Incorporated that recently filed bankruptcy claiming to have only $3,481 in assets against liabilities of $180,697?…this makes two failed businesses that Aztar now owns the buildings of?…Aztar has a real estate portfolio that includes both Fast Eddy’s and Stoney’s real estate?…as Aztar rebrands itself into the flagship name of Tropicana it will be interesting to see just what gets done down at their complex?
IS IT TRUE the Vanderburgh County Council is going to have to tighten its belt a little bit or bust it’s budget too?…a $1.5 Million shortfall was recently found in the $51 Million budget which is just on the order of 3% that will need to be cut or found in some slush fund?…to put this into perspective this is like the average American family that earns about $51,000 per year having to deal with a $1,500 pay cut?…between the 2% Social Security tax increase and the increases in gas prices every American family has had to deal with such a cut this year already?…there did not seem to be much concern on the part of government for those families who faced this tax increase?…the collective taxing units across the county are whining that the property tax caps are going to cause them to lose $22.5 Million this year?…if that is truly the case we have to wonder how they would have spent the extra $21 Million had there been no tax caps?…it has not been that long since the tax caps went into effect and it is already forcing government to spend more responsibly?…without the caps we are certain that the spending machine of local government would have burned through that $22.5 Million and still cried poor?
IS IT TRUE the sure fire way to our government to collect more money is to create an atmosphere that allows private business to make more money and hire more people?…subsidizing one business with its competitors money is not a moral way to do such a thing?…the City of Evansville is hell bent to take tax money from existing businesses to subsidize retail, restaurants, and one single hotel in downtown Evansville?…this is not only an insult to every other business in Evansville it is a redistributionist mentality that is more fitting with a communist banana republic?…putting in sidewalks and sewers to promote commerce is indeed the governments job?…picking winners and losers in the marketplace the way the “pre-development†agreement the City just signed does, undermines private enterprise?…we are going down a slippery slope that discourages other new investments and incenses existing business owners?
IS IT TRUE the CCO would like to congratulate its webmaster Daniel Wallace for being named the “Outstanding Graduate†for the IVY Tech Business School for 2013?
April 11, 2013
6:08 p.m.
safety123 writes:
in response to pressanykey:
Can ,anyone tell me, under this proposed agreement, when the project is completed:
1. How much debt the city of Evansville will have in this project?
2. How much ownership the city of Evansville will have in the property?
3. What percent of the income from the property will go to the city of Evansvilles?
4. How much debt the private contractor will assume as a result of the project?
5. How much ownership the private contractor will have in the property?
6. What percent of the income from the property will go to private hands?
7. Who are the private investors who are pumping in $15.Million to build 70+ apartments at the project site?
1. $37.5 Million
2. parking garage and storage building
3. taxes collected
4. between 0 and $32.5 Million
5. hotel and apartments
6. 100%
7. HCW as stated in the exhibit A
April 12, 2013
8:07 a.m.
pressanykey writes:
safety123
Two questions on number 3:
1. What tax breaks, phase-ins, and abatement is the city offering for this project?
2. Will the city be signing a contract guaranteeing a specified occupancy rate, and if so what is the maximum annual debt the city COULD be saddled with?
April 12, 2013
8:18 a.m.
pressanykey writes:
safety123
Is there going to be separate ownership for the branded hotel part of the project and the apartments you say HCW will own?
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How many times have you heard that Evansville is the gateway to the South, or that Evansville is a Southern city?
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FORBES.COM
Joel Kotkin
January 31, 2013
[snip]
Northerners can content themselves with the largely total isolation of Southerners from the corridors of executive power.
Yet even as the old Confederacy’s political banner fades, its long-term economic prospects shine bright. This derives from factors largely outside the control of Washington: demographic trends, economic growth patterns, state business climates, flows of foreign investment and, finally and most surprisingly, a shift of educated workers and immigrants to an archipelago of fast-growing urban centers.
Perhaps the most persuasive evidence is the strong and persistent inflow of Americans to the South. The South still attracts the most domestic migrants of any U.S. region. Last year, it boasted six of the top eight states in terms of net domestic migration — Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina and Georgia. Texas and Florida alone gained 250,000 net migrants. The top four losers were deep blue New York, Illinois, New Jersey and California.
[snip]
* * * * * * * * *
We should be gaining population here in Evansville, however, we are not because our current local government is, and has been, too reminiscent of the liberal welfare governments the migrating people left!
If you want to grow this city you had better get back to the conservative values these people are seeking.
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Worse than that press, Evansville City government is mired up in cronyism, is in the union’s pocket, and still believes that arenas and parties mean more to economic growth than talent and hard work. The path that Evansville is on is the path followed by Detroit, Cleveland, Stockton, and a hoard of other cities mired in the same games of the past. To expect the result will be different is insanity.
It is not going to change until a new breed of politician takes over. That means cleansing the Civic Center of the entire cast of fools in elected and appointed positions. It is worth losing a few good ones like Al Lindsey to get rid of the bad eggs. Evansville under it’s current leadership is not salvagable.
The only things southern about Evansville are the smiles and the accent. We will all smile like southern belles and say fiddle-dee-dee when the place crashes. They don’t smile like that in Detroit but the crash will be the same.
Yoda , it’s councilmen like Mr. Lindsay and Doc Adams that are gonna help by calling out the B.S. happening in our local government ,,, it’s our job to get involved with local government meetings and all that concerns ,,, room 301 in civic center needs to be packed with taxpayers demanding honesty and the truth
I tend to agree with you. While there is attraction to a clean sweep I will amend my comment to leave a place at the table for Doc Adams and Al. They are the unwaivering voices of reason in a sea of idiocy. Dan McGinn was a sane person until Winnecke was elected. Lately he is letting his party affilation overrule his good mind. I have hope for Conor O’Daniel but the rest are just pawns for Mayor Winnecke. Riley was great last year through Earthcare travesty but here lately she seems to be in Winnecke’s pocket too. That is disappointing.
I agree 100%
I hope that Mr. Daniel Wallace furthers his education at the University of Evansville. The university gladly welcomes many bright scholars such as Mr. Wallace every August.
While rewriting the debt for the Water and Sewer Dept. may save some money, it will also free up additional borrowing capacity, since the rewritten debt will be smaller than the original. Have no doubt they already have plans ready for presentation and signing that will plunge them even deeper in debt, instead of saving that borrowing power to address the CSO issue. Even a small project would be a good beginning towards resolving a HUGE and disgusting problem.
If Henderson, KY can attack the CSO issue, why can’t the thick heads in the granite blockade on MLK Jr. Blvd. get moving, instead of killing time trying to fight the EPA? The EPA will win because they have more money and better lawyers.
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