IS IT TRUE APRIL 4, 2016

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IS IT TRUE the Vanderburgh County Sheriff says his office has run out of room at its Evansville Command Post and hopes to build a new one? …Sheriff Dave Wedding says the Sheriff Office is moving forward with plans to build the new Operations Center. in front of the existing jail? …Sheriff Wedding feels that building a new Command Post that it will provide more room for deputies and investigators while saving the county money because the Sheriff’s Office rent paid for its current space located on Highway 41 around $124,000 a year? …Sheriff Wedding estimates the new Command Post will cost around $1.5 million dollars to build? …we highly recommended that the Vanderburgh County Council give Sheriff Wedding request serious consideration?

IS IT TRUE IceMen owner Ron Geary was seen making an obscene gesture toward a heckler who was making “obscene and nasty comments” at him at the end of Saturday night final IceMen game?  …Mr. Geary showed his human side by publicly admitting that he’s from a working-class neighborhood and family and occasionally he can get a little redneck?”  …we are less concerned about the finger pointing gesture of Mr. Geary but rather more concerned about his comment that the IceMen were forced out by the (Winnecke) administration and by the VenuWorks management?  …we hope one day Mr. Geary will come forward and present documented  facts that backs up this statement?

IS IT TRUE that City officials are looking at redrawing the Arts District boundaries to boost TIF revenues? ..  the Haynie’s Corner Arts District Tax Increment Financing (TIF) fund netted in $0 dollars in 2015? …in 2016 and 2017  it has been predicted by Mr. Coures  that the income from the TIF program shall  be $0 dollars? … years ago the CCO predicted that starting a TIF program in the Arts District was a mistake?

IS IT TRUE we find it laughable that Kelley Coures, Director of the Department of Metropolitan Development announced that he will propose to City Council later this year a plan to shrink the size of the Haynie’s Corner Arts District in order to grow its TIF District revenues. We wonder how you can decrease this District but make more money?

IS IT TRUE we hope that the expansion of new businesses, such as the Dapper Pig, Sauced, Bokeh Lounge, Haynie’s Corner Pub, new rentals apartments at the Maybelle, Montrose and Owen Block apartments will generated additional money in the Haynie’s Corner Arts District TIF funds as Mr. Coures predicted ?

IS IT TRUE that our most resent “Readers Poll”  ask the question: Have you given anyone an obscene gesture (finger) when someone insulted, harassed or cussed you in public?  …313 people voted in this poll and 293 people said they did?

IS IT TRUE  one of our  “Readers Poll” questions was: “If the election was held today for the Republican primary for District 77 State Representative would you vote for” ?   …that 305 people voted in this poll?  …that Johnny Kincaid received 163 votes , Billy Garrett received 91 votes and Henrietta Jenkins had 51 votes?

IS IT TRUE that next “Readers Poll” question was: Do you think that State Representative Gail Riecken should opening support a candidate in the Democratic primary? …that 424 people voted in this poll? …260 votes no, 134 voted yes and 30 people voted no idea?

IS IT TRUE the final “Readers Poll”  question was: If the election was held today for the Republican primary for the 8th Congressional seat who would you vote for? …that 419 people voted in this poll? …that Dr .Richard Moss received 180 votes, Dr Larry Bucshon received 141 votes and 98 voted none of the above?

FOOTNOTE: Todays “Readers Poll” question is:  Do you feel its time for the city to stop spending our hard earned tax dollars in Haynie’s Corner Arts District?

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27 COMMENTS

  1. Hey CCO Editors

    Here is something to ponder.

    You are REQUIRED to have a picture ID to vote, and today is last day to update your voter registration.

    However, the idiots in Indianapolis who made all the requirements for using the BMV drivers license for the main photo ID has decided it is BRILLIANT to have EVERY damn local license branch to be closed today.

    Yes, in Evansville and Vanderburgh County, if you have recently moved and need to update your “legal” address today, you are SOL

    Thoughts?

  2. What advantage comes from having Venuworks control whatever hockey team is playing in the Ford Center? The answer is another opportunity to play a shell game with the financial results that is not available when there is an outside entity doing its own accounting. With Mr. Geary or anyone else in an ownership position there is always the potential for a “we lost $600,000 last year” disclosure. That disappears when the line between private ownership and public ownership gets blurred and the consequences of losing money are obfuscated by a take over option agreement.

    • I think this was the only way they were really going to get a hockey team.

      Venuworks has done such a poor job of managing the Ford Center, how could they mess this up?

      • Now you will be dealing with that poor management for another 5 years. Venueworks got a new contract out of this deal too. No bidding. They will now set all the rates and fees for their own hockey team. It really is their team. 10% ownership is a figurehead payment.

        • 10% ownership in a private entity may look good on a balance sheet but it means absolutely nothing to cash flow. Stock ownership is the last bastion of true democracy in America. If you own 50% plus one share you can make all of the calls.

      • You people should know, Lloyd Winnecke is thrilled that you are talking about low-level minor league hockey instead of budget deficits, record interest and bond payments, continuing debt growth and off the books land banks that reward political constituencies. Thrilled. Keep it up Winnecke supporters.

  3. Whenever I drive through the Historic District I always see several of those big homes undergoing restoration and/or updating. That’s especially true on SE Riverside and First Streets. With all of the upgrading of real estate values in that area, it doesn’t figure that the TIF isn’t getting any money out of it.

    • The people that live in the new houses on the north and east side pay more property taxes than the people that live in the downtown. It doesn’t seem fair that people with the huge homes pay less taxes than the ones in the Jagoe homes.

        • Yes, DeltaBravo. It is.
          But logic and law doesn’t apply to a huge number of posters in here.
          “He got a big home. I ain’t got one. He oughta give it up! Me wantum it, it ain’t far.”

          • …they’re just a buncha bony-ass dogs hanging around a meat wagon.
            Pork Chop is a-bitchin’
            (c’mon, that’s funny..)

        • I want to know how much the assessed value per square foot is in the Historic District is versus what the assessed value per square foot in the new subdivisions. A lot of the new neighborhoods don’t even have sidewalks. A Historic home with all new high end plumbing and wiring and high quality finishes should be assessed at more per square foot than a new house with builder grade finishes. The square footage is often more than double in the older house, so there is something wrong with the assessments if those things are not considered.

          • “A Historic home with all new high end plumbing and wiring and high quality finishes should be assessed at more per square foot than a new house with builder grade finishes. ”

            I suspect that the type of completely refurbished historic home you’re referencing would indeed assess/sell at a much higher cost than a cookie cutter Jagoe. It is also a very rare animal in the historic district, to be honest. There are homes in that area that have been totally remodeled, but most have not. They are either in disrepair or have been partially rehabbed. A partially rehabbed historic home may still need tens of thousands of dollars of work, and will accordingly sell/assess for much less.

            Also, ‘high end plumbing and wiring’? Plumbing and wiring are either up to code or not. Are you talking about fixtures? Because the cost difference in reproduced or historically preserved plumbing and lighting fixtures can indeed be astronomical compared to the crap that new houses get.

            TLDR: big house does not necessarily = large assessed valu; , small house does not necessarily = low assessed value.

          • BuddyHolly…..there is so much wildly wrong with your comments re: how home values are arrived at, it is pitiful. As Mr. T. says “I pity the fool. Pity him!”
            Assessed value is based on market values/sales prices.

    • Buddy

      Residential zoning (homes) pay ZERO into the TIF mechanism. So if you have a street (like First Street) with all the homes being at $500,000, $1,000,000, and more, the TIF gets nothing from them. The same thing goes for the numerous subdivisions we have locally, where you may have over 250 homes that start at $250,000 per home. TIF districts get nothing extra from them.

      TIF only collects extra assessed taxes from commercial and manufacturing zoned properties

      Hope that helps

  4. Of all the money that has been spent in that district do they expect us to believe that the values of the properties in the Art District TIF has not increased. If this is factual, why in the hell would Kelley Coures be handing out thousands to various proprietors in that district only to see zero in return. Or do we supposed to be of suspect concerning the proper assessments that should have been levied on those friends of Winnecke. Maybe this Art District thing has been an utter failure? Whatever it has one hell of an odor!!!

  5. Maybe its time for our Tax Assessor to get off his ass and properly assess those properties from 300 to 800 Southeast First there all of Winnecke’s rich republicans friends live.

  6. It that happens maybe this would be a major shot in the arm to increase the money’s in the Art TIF District.

  7. TIF only collects revenue from commercial property. Duh. Read the article in the paper it tells you

    • If all of the money spent on business development in the Haynie’s Corner area in the past nearly four decades hasn’t accomplished more than it sounds like it has, I wonder why they’re saying that the North Main project is going to have such quick results.

      • I guess they figure the value of the Lucky Lady and adjacent bookstore will sky rocket. They’ll have to install a bike rack.

  8. How much rent is Emergency Management Agency (EMA) paying to the Sheriff Dept for their office space at the Jail? Can that money be used instead of tax dollars?

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