IS IT TRUE August 23, 2013
IS IT TRUE it was pointed out yesterday by Brad Linzy that the Hunden Study among many other things did state that a downtown hotel with 120 – 150 rooms would be capable of sustaining a profitable operation without public assistance?…for some reason this little tidbit of information seems to have been conveniently forgotten by all of the powers that be?…the reason there were no other hoteliers who have come forward during this 5 years and counting process is that the RFP that the City of Evansville issued specifically stated that there had to be about 250 rooms in the hotel?…the Hunden Study did legitimately state that 240 – 270 would be the optimal size of hotel to have in place to put the Reverend Mayor, Deacon Warren and their Travelling Salvation Show on the road to hope, pray, beg, and pitch Evansville as a place to have a convention?…this whole process has been focused on conventions which are a shrinking business with an oversupply of suitors instead of a healthy profitable hotel that would still serve conventions as needed?…one has to wonder just who came up with such a plan and why?
IS IT TRUE a couple of members of the Mole Nation were asking about the status of the project to refurbish the old Riverhouse into a 2-Star economy brand hotel?…the CCO did a little checking around and what we learned was quite disturbing?…it seems as though it is fairly common knowledge in the civic center that the developer did inquire about applying for a tax abatement and was tersely told “NO, don’t bother, we will not even consider itâ€?…it is also alleged that a “CODE WAR†is being waged against this property as if the deadbeat previous owner who has been charged with crimes was still letting it rot down?…it is curious given the intent of the developer to invest in a 90 room hotel in downtown Evansville with his own money that the City of Evansville is doing everything possible to blunt those efforts at the same time they are willing to GIVE AWAY $37.5 Million for a hotel a mere 5 blocks away?…the Riverhouse property sits right next door to the McCurdy Hotel that still has a $960,000 incentive available to the developer who does the job and a $603,000 parking lot paid for with taxpayer dollars?…that golden parking lot is right up against the Riverhouse structure?…the next property north is of course the Old National Bank palace that was granted the maximum tax abatement allowed by law only to turn around and do a sale and leaseback deal that turned that tax abatement into immediately available cash?…this inconsistent and capricious policy has no place in any American city?
IS IT TRUE if the Riverhouse has 90 rooms that would mean that a 150 room hotel attached to the bridge to nowhere would bring the total rooms available for conventions up to the 240 that the Hunden Study called optimum?…if there were enough planning and oversight in the government of Evansville to have made a master plan (which they don’t have) that designated the McCurdy as a hotel to be refurbished into a vintage hotel like the Seelbach and Brown in Louisville the room total available for conventions would rise to about 350?…if Tropicana would allocate just 100 of their rooms during the week for to be convention eligible then the Reverend Mayor Winnecke’s youtube dreams of having 3 hotels and 450 rooms in downtown Evansville would be true and most of it would be done with private money?…we really wonder why no-one has thought outside of the BOX in 5 long years and made this suggestion?
IS IT TRUE that anytime the City of Evansville gives cash incentives to a project there is a provision called a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) mandated contractually into the contract?…that forces the developer to pay “prevailing wages†or even forces them to hire union workers?…the unions and the contractors then return the favor of overpayment by making lavish campaign contributions to the very politicians that put them into a monopoly position to supply labor to the project?…in such a situation (and Ford Center was a prime example) the unions win, the union contractors win, the POLITICIANS that get greased win big time, and the taxpayers get hosed?…when a project is funded entirely by private dollars this little money laundering scheme is not made mandatory and is usually not played?…there may just be a reason that politicians like to give away money for construction projects?…that reason is that they are on the back end of every deal with their hands out for a good greasing?
You hit the nail on the head CCO with todays IIT. I just love when you say the “Reverend Mayor” This name really fits him perfectly. I give you a loud amen on todays IIT.
freedom matters –By your statement , you appear to be more interested in individual character bashing than debating the points
That seems to be all this newspaper can do anymore I am rather disappointed in you. Get off your soapbox and go back to your roots. Continually beating your drum to the same song and name-calling repudiates almost anything you have to say. I rarely read the CCO anymore, there does not seem to be any reason to, it always just the same old, same old. You are beginning to making the CP look good!
By the way, your comment is addressed to a comment made about an anonymous comment.
Said the guy with the distinction to have lost an election to Missy Mosby. Now he is licking the same boots that she is. Come on Lon, you’re not a dope, so quit acting like one.
I couldn’t have said it better myself. My advice to Lon and wayne – change parties. You’re not Republicans any more than I’m a crew member on the Starship Enterprise.
Actually Wayne and Lon are freshly back from Iraq where they were members of the elite commando squad called the Republican Guard. They guard the King no matter what his dumb ass does. These two kooks are less republican than Ted Kennedy, Barney Frank, and President Obama. If there were ever any people that needed to be tossed out of a political party, these two RINOs and their chicken dancing mayor would be tossed out.
Save your money rather than try for office again(and again)and maybe the ERBC will let you clean their stalls of their abundant horse manure for a price.
So you disagree with a PLA? Why, this allows for even non union labor to be payed a wage suitable for living. Would you rather a project of this size be built by people making minimum wage with very little training. Say what you will but at very least when union labor is involved the job is done in a quality fashion. Yes you can nitpick design or functionality but you can’t complain about the quality of the work.
We pointed out how public dollars are being skimmed by using a PLA. We think that both union and non-union contractors who are qualified and deliver a quality job should be allowed to bid competitively on all public works projects. We are not against unions, we are against the waste of taxpayer dollars by politicians who for the most part are using the unions to launder money into their campaign coffers. What any particular contractor pays their workers is between them. Skilled people that are willing to work hard can command higher wages without a government mandate and the costly burden of certified payrolls. You would be surprised how many highly skilled yet non-union contractors pay above the federal “prevailing wage” scales.
Prevailing wage is a misnomer. A true prevailing wage would be the wage for which people are willing to do the work. If a contract is let for bids that includes a prevailing wage clause, then the bidders are being told what to bid for their labor.
You will never know what a true prevailing wage for an area is until these contracts are let without these clauses in them.
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Every member of the common council is fully aware of the Project Labor Agreement and “prevailing wage” agreements.
It is the major tool that keeps the common council firmly in the pocket of labor in this city.
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Does the Evansville Water Dept. Financial Officer, Jenny Collins, report directly to the Evansville Water Dept. Superintendent Mike Duckworth?
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That is doubtful Press, but I don’t know for sure. My guess is that the Finance person and Operations person (Superintendent) would both be direct reports to Mounts. Also, I belive Jenny, Jenny is CFO over both Water & Sewer–not just Water.
With the addition of these two new positions, Superintendent and Financial Officer, I think now would be a good time for Mounts to issue a paper showing the new structure of the department and outline their responsibilities.
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Pressanykey–Once again you got the facts wrong. It is not two new positions. Duckworth replaced a person who resigned.
The Editor is right to point out that all calls for proposals for that hotel have been for a 240-270 room hotel, not the sustainable 120-150 roomer.
Anyone already in the Evansville market also knew they couldn’t justify the build if 70% of business would come from the existing market. That’s not to say we couldn’t have found an Indiana-based developer at least to come in with a 120-150 room proposal and gift them the land, worth an estimated $6 million, and have a market sustainable hotel in the spot we needed.
This convention center hotel could have partnered with the Riverhouse Hotel and the other downtown hotels to accommodate patrons. Instead, the city seems intend on killing the Riverhouse private development in favor of the union and politician-friendly project we’re about to be slapped with now.
I want to think the best of our local politicians. I truly want to believe there are good people there who can rise above the basest human urges to serve the self over the greater good while doing their civic duty, but any “yes” votes to this hotel in the face of overwhelming data suggesting we shouldn’t do it can only be viewed as self-serving through the simple laundering mechanism described in this IIT.
Even single celled organisms with no brain have self serving DNA. Witness our 2nd Ward member of the city council and her sidekick.
Southeaster–You are like several others, you appear to be more interested in individual character bashing than debating the points. Why?
Pot Meet Kettle
CCO: your 2nd paragraph, re: the old Riverhouse: who are you claiming said ” No, don’t bother” re: applying for tax abatement ? CCO, you should contact the gentleman who is developing the Riverhouse and urge/beg him to apply for abatement. That gentleman needs to MAKE THEM SAY NO to his request for tax abatement, then we will really have something to talk about.
Notre Dame to begin accepting illegal immigrants
By Stephen Dinan
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The Washington Times
Friday, August 23, 2013
The University of Notre Dame will begin admitting illegal immigrants to the school and will provide them with financial aid, saying the move will “strengthen” the student body.
The university had never had an official ban on illegal immigrants, but Inside Higher Ed reported the school treated them as international students and required them to have student visas — which effectively served as a bar.
“We will strengthen our incoming class and give deserving young people the chance for a Notre Dame education,” Don Bishop, associate vice president for undergraduate enrollment, said in a statement announcing the policy Thursday.
The university also said it “is committed to meeting the full demonstrated financial need for all admitted students.” Illegal immigrants are not eligible for federal student aid, but the university’s announcement signals that Notre Dame would make up the difference between the cost and what the student and his or her family can afford.
Notre Dame is a Catholic school, run by the Congregation of Holy Cross. It is located in Indiana.
A school spokesman didn’t return a call seeking comment.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has backed integrating illegal immigrants into American society, including supporting legalization for the estimated 11 million immigrants believed to be in this country illegally.
President Obama last year took steps to try to shield many young illegal immigrants from deportation and give them tentative legal status when he announced his Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy, or DACA.
Under that policy, hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. as children and who have earned their high school diploma are granted a proactive stay of deportation, allowing them to live and work in the U.S.
As of the end of July, 430,236 people had been granted status under DACA.
© Copyright 2013 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.
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Can anyone say: LAW SUIT!
no
Pressanykey—You are off point with the subject CCO posted for comments/reading.
If you are correct on what you stated, I do not agree with what Notre Dame is doing.
Here Wayne:
http://youtu.be/z9ObkdEah3g
This is “off point” too. Want to take a stand on this? You are the leader of your local Party, are you not? Out of your comfort zone?
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The content of their character?
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Looks like Pressanykey just Smoked Wayne the know it all!
Its about time someone puts him in his elites place.
Although I will admit that the current proposed design is LIGHT YEARS better than the second coming of Deaconess Hospital- aka Hyatt Place, I am at a complete loss as to why the subsidy has gone from $3.5 mil from Aztar fund & $4.5 mil in loans from the TIF for a 220 room hotel (http://www.insideindianabusiness.com/newsitem.asp?ID=45558) to now $37.5 million for this 253 room project if the apartments are indeed “free” as part of the deal.
It looks like the city was offered a buy one get one free coupon with the first item being marked up over 4 times its original price and the city is dumb enough to fall for it.
The really sad thing about this is that this whole area is in a tail spin. Instead of leaving the old convention center in place for either offices, shows, or even a gov’t services annex, they just had to demolish it and build a new one. And since they built a new convention center, we just had to build the arena next to it to help keep the centre afloat instead of building in the tropicana entertainment district. And since they built the arena next to the centre, they had to knock down the Exec. And now since the Exec has been torn down, now they say we need a new hotel.
And don’t think it’ll end there. Instead of building a new ballpark on the mulzer lot to maximize design and hotel occupancy at tropicana, they will just have to build the ballpark on one of D-Patricks lot to maximize the value of this hotel. And when they build the ballpark there, they will have to use tif funds to build another parking garage. The carousel needs to stop.
It is amazing how much the renderings for the hotel look like the Executive Inn. It is almost identical to the south tower. Just think if it was not for that earthquake in Haiti that shook Kish out of his coma we could have used the same structure to do this for less than half the cost.
Two questions:
1. What will attract people to Evansville for their convention?
2. Over and above handing over $37.5 million free of charge, up front, what will the annual debt service on that bonds be, and what will the annual subsidy likely be to cover the room guarantee portion of the contract?
Oops, almost forgot a 3rd important question: Will Faegre Baker Daniels have a part in any of this project?
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