IS IT TRUE August 13, 2013
IS IT TRUE that the meeting of the Evansville City Council on Monday with respect to the Mayor of Evansville and the Evansville Redevelopment Commission’s desire to give away $37.5 Million of your tax dollars to HCW of Branson, Missouri ran into a well prepared cast of opposition and what some may call a VETTING COMMISSION?…that Monday August 12, 2013 will mark the day that the real VETTING and DISCOVERY period for the hotel project began?…it was blatantly obvious that Mayor Winnecke was ill informed from the minute he slipped and made the errant claim that the downtown Evansville TIF would generate $700 Million per year in additional taxes?…upon being corrected by Councilman Dan Adams for this 9,900% mistake the Mayor stuttered “oh yeah it is just $7 Millionâ€?…this is just the kind of thing that demands a reasonable period for financial assumptions to be rigorously questioned over a period of time so that no more haphazard rookie errors like this one sneak into the pro-forma unchallenged?…when the CEO of any company or city makes 9,900% errors in a public forum it becomes clear just how UNVETTED this or any project is?…that the Winnecke Administration’s sacrificial lamb ERC Chairman Ed Hafer was no more prepared to answer even simple questions than Mayor Winnecke was?…last night neither of these long term Evansville good old boys even deserved to share the stage with what was to come?
IS IT TRUE in what was perhaps the most honest discussion that has been held regarding this project HCW representative Rick Huffman stood like George Washington before the cherry tree and could not bring himself to tell a lie?…when Mr. Huffman was asked pointedly by City Council President Connie Robinson “how many people will you hire at the new hotel†he honestly answered that he was not in a position to answer that question?…it must be remembered that Mayor Winnecke and others have claimed publicly that the new hotel will create 250 full time direct jobs?…this claim is financially impossible even at the minimum wage as a minimum wage job with benefits cost and employer roughly $100 per person per day or just about the rate that the 253 rooms in this hotel will rent for?…to have enough people on the payroll to consume the entire revenue stream of the hotel at 100% occupancy is simply some baseless fantasy concocted by either the Mayor or one of his propaganda ministers?…when pointedly asked how much the jobs in the hotel would pay Mr. Huffman did throw out a 6 figure number for the general manager and $30,000 for a desk clerk, but could not tell a lie about the rest of the jobs?…if one cannot tell a lie the best thing to do is to remain mute?…Mr. Huffman did just that?…in perhaps the most honest confession of the night by Mr. Huffman he said “We still haven’t gotten into finance in any depthâ€?…the truth has set this man free and the CCO appreciates this man’s willingness to stay silent rather than corroborate the nonsensical claims that the Winnecke Administration and it’s alter ego organization have spewed forth?
IS IT TRUE that Attorney Joe Langerak who happens to also be the son-in-law of Indiana Representative Gail Riecken was hired by a consortium of 14 local innkeepers to rebut the assertions of the Winnecke Administration regarding using taxes collected by their private businesses to finance a competitor?…Mr. Langerak literally dismantled every argument put forth by the administration for doing so?…Mr. Langerak took the Winnecke Administration to school last night and the immediate feedback is that he made a lasting positive impression on the City Council as well?…we encourage Mr. Langerak and of course CCO commenter Brad Linzy who also tore Mayor Winnecke’s youtube video to shreds to go to all six of these townhall meetings and make their cases as they did last night?
IS IT TRUE the tax revenue increases shown by project proponents last night that project $800,000 in new taxes per year just from the hotel fall well short of the $2.6 Million in bond service that Mayor Winnecke spoke about?…even if the downtown TIF achieves everything it has been projected to (and you know how those projections are) and brings in $7 Million it will not cover the bond payments of both the Ford Center and this new hotel?…$2.6 Million + $5.7 Million = $8.3 Million?…arithmetic as we learned in the 1st grade tells us that $8.3 Million is more than $7.0 Million?…that is nearly as indefensible as confidently stating that the TIF will bring in $700 Million per year?…City Councilman John Friend, CPA will pilot the Monkey Boat from Mesker Zoo down Main Street with a boat load of monkeys before a TIF in Evansville will bring in $700 Million per year?
IS IT TRUE the VETTING has finally started, the administration was not prepared, and the ERC rubber stamped this proposal without seeing numbers because as Mr. Huffman said “We still haven’t gotten into finance in any depthâ€?…if the administration does not make a better case for this than it made last night the people of Evansville may just demand that their City Council vote not to fund this?…at any rate voting on this on September 9th would be an utter insult to both the people of this city and show contempt for truth in advertising?…if this is the best that the City of Evansville can muster then they need to stop mustering?…the crowing statement of the night also came from Rick “George Washington†Huffman when he admitted to speaking in the recent past against a public subsidy for a hotel that would compete with one owned by HCW?
I actually formed a bit of respect for Mr. Huffman from HCW. I think this is a man who wants to tell the truth. Mrs. Robinson’s line of questioning indicated that, as did his admission later that just a week or two ago, he was in the position of Mr. Langerak arguing the opposing point to a completely different City Council somewhere in Kansas.
This man has a visibly difficult time telling a lie, and I commend him for it! While I disagree with his side of the debate, I think he at least tried to conduct himself honorably.
Lets continue to make the rich richer, while forcing the bill on the local taxpayers….many of which are not old enough to pay taxes or even born yet, to pay off in what the ciy council said would ONLY take 25 years.
…and to the esteemed Council Members, yes I’m a real person. Not a ghost.
Wasteful. Just wasteful.
“…if one cannot tell a lie the best thing to do is to remain mute?”
This may come off as a little absurd, but one COULD choose to tell the truth. In my experiences the truth always seems to be the “best” course of action when millions of dollars and years of debt are at stake. Also, if i remember correctly, Mr. Huffman initially threw out numbers comparable to the mayor’s projections. It wasn’t until council member Brinkerhoff-Riley continued to prod and stress the same questions that Mr. Huffman ultimately chose to remain silent.
Honesty and transparency force accountability upon those that stretch and exaggerate the projections of this hotel to gain a following. To me, staying silent is not as good as being honest and forthcoming with the truth. I expect and hope for better.
If i were the developer i would rather have the people of Evansville backing me because i put in the time and effort to best benefit the people as well as my business interests rather than remaining silent to appease a mayor that may or may not be in office in 3 years. The people of Evansville could do more for the convention hotel, and the developers pocketbook in the long run, than could a potential one term mayor.
You are indeed correct that telling the truth is better than telling lies. Mr. Huffman may have been telling the truth last night as he may really not know the answers to the number of people that will be hired. He did state that “they weren’t that deep into the finances”. The magic answer for permanent full time equivalent jobs at this hotel will be 50 or 60 just using standard industry metrics. That could be a dozen or so full time and the rest part time. The assertion that a hotel with 253 rooms could support 250 employees is absurd. Even at minimum wage 250 workers would cost more in wages than a 100% sold out hotel would bring in. Mr. Huffman may have held back on the truth. To have stated differently (to be honest) would have exposed the mayor as a bald faced liar in front of the City Council. The truth will come out before this comes to a vote but we do agree with you. We also think it is possible that Huffman really didn’t know the number.
“The magic answer for permanent full time equivalent jobs at this hotel will be 50 or 60 just using standard industry metrics.”
I agree with you on the subject of the job creation that this hotel is projected to bring. I also believe that it is a feasible assumption that many of those full-time jobs will be held, as Mr. Linzy stated, by employees that will leave other hotels in the area for positions in the new hotel. Those currently in the hospitality business here that stand to be affected by this, really are getting an all around horrible deal.
“He did state that “they weren’t that deep into the financesâ€.”
Then it does not make sense to me that the Evansville City-Council is on the precipice of voting to give away 30+ million dollars. Let them dig a little deeper into the financial aspects of the project and THEN present the information to city-council for a vote.
The Elitist’s “wife-ie”, and Political Flunky, C&P just a few days ago heartily pushed, in an Ed Op, to just go ahead and “Do it”, urging for the City Council to move and go ahead and give away the money, when they knew/know NOTHING substantial, lacked Facts, and were/are ignorant, as this Meeting, and Mr. Huffman of HWC revealed. There are many incomplete answers to Honest questions by the Citizens, and the Council.
Come to the CCO if you seek meaningful information in Evansville.
You guys got your Republican and he’s a fool. Happy?
JD, You are speaking to the Democrat Central Committee/Turncoats aren’t you?
The Democrat Voters choose Davis in their primary, but he apparently wasn’t one of the “Good Ole Boys” and the “Gang” turned on the Peoples Choice/Candidate,– like a Snake attacking it’s victim/dinner.
Thus, We get that Elitist Creep Winnecke.
Which should provoke a distrust of both central committees there is only one party, and they’re “partying” on our dime. Remember this next election, the strait ticket lemmings from both D, R, & T will only get more leaches and cronies feeding at the trough.
The good, tax paying, people of E’ville need to remember the turncoats that put Winnecke in this office.People in this town tend to forget in a four year election cycle. Let us not make that mistake again. Then, democrat vice-chair Connie Robinson and her cronies turned on Rick Davis, and she needs to go, along with current Chairman Jack “the snake in the grass” Mcneely.
Have any cable reality show producers been contacted about Evansville?
A (D) son-in-law arguing free market principles?
A (R) Mayor pushing public trough economics?
A private capital spokesman admitting the truth at the risk of a 35 mill gift?
The city does not need to be in the hotel business! Sewers and streets before hotels,dogparks and ballfields!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Joe, Have you ever tried to view an IIT? from an iPhone? The ones over a certain length require you to go to a page 2 to see the rest. When you click on the “Next Page” link it takes you to a page with links for Email, Facebook, Twitter, etc… You also can’t view the comments on these articles.
^^^ +1
The best solution is to leave the desktop version of CCO open in Safari and use that when on the iPhone. If you see the crappy mobile version, scroll to the very bottom and switch to desktop mode. It’s not a permanent fix, but it should keep you reading.
If there is a way in WordPress to disable the mobile version until its fixed, the Editor should do that.
Thanks Brad. I’ll use this work-around until a permanent solution is found.
Joe Langerak and Brad Linzy were so impressive last evening, very cool, calm and collected. A great presentation by both men.
Editor–
Your statement from above “…it was blatantly obvious that Mayor Winnecke was ill informed from the minute he slipped and made the errant claim that the downtown Evansville TIF would generate $700 Million per year in additional taxes?…upon being corrected by Councilman Dan Adams for this 9,900% mistake the Mayor stuttered “oh yeah it is just $7 Millionâ€?…”
It is blatantly obvious that your above comment is grossly unfair to the Mayor. This type of comment by the CCO hurts your credibility with informed readers. It was blatantly obvious the Mayor accidently misspoke.
If he knew the numbers he would never have had such a slip. That was an indicator of a half-baked plan. Why can’t you support taking the time to analyze the numbers? Even the attorney for HCW said “they are not that deep into finances”. Isn’t rushing to a contract by Weinzapfel what put Winnecke in this terrible position in the first place? Please, use your power to inject some sanity into this process. VETTING is GOOD. Even Elvis knew that “fools rush in”.
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