IS IT TRUE? December 18, 2011

23

The Mole #??

IS IT TRUE? December 18, 2011

IS IT TRUE that during the last couple of weeks several members of the Mole Nation along with non affiliated civic leaders have told the City County Observer that the $18 Million Wesselman – Roberts Ball Fields project is being prepared to raise its head again in 2012?…that with all of the money that lame duck Mayor Weinzapfel has been committing in his last hours that the City of Evansville will essentially have no money for projects so the Ball Fields may be the only thing even possible to keep some kind of public works project going?…that the Ball Fields as you recall were to be paid for by bonding the cash stream from the innkeepers tax costing the City of Evansville exactly ZERO?…that the City County Observer never ever opposed Ball Fields per se?…that what we did oppose was paying $2 Million per Ball Field since our investigations of similar sports parks revealed that nearly every other sports park was having Ball Fields built for between $250,000 and $650,000 per Ball Field?

IS IT TRUE that if the Convention and Visitors Bureau, previous Ball Field supporters, and the architects keep their costs based somewhere in the realm of reality like say $5 Million for the entire project that the CCO projects that there will be substantial support from the community?…that for the realistic projection of 40,000 visitors per year that an investment of $5 Million could very well be justified leaving the remaining $13 Million for other worthy projects like resurrecting parks?…that the opportunities are only limited by the imagination of the recommendations?…that local visionary Mr. Jordan Baer is absolutely full of ideas and even had a very unique Ball Fields idea that would make Evansville’s Ball Fields if they ever materialize a very attractive and memorable place for kids to have tournaments?

IS IT TRUE that Indiana Democrat Chairman Dan Parker has withdrawn his resignation creating even more backstabbing and discontent within the state party?…that it looks like old Dan is going to be around for this election cycle and into 2013?…that between the leadership of Pat Bauer and Dan Parker the Indiana Democrats have gone from a force to be reckoned with to a band of renegades that run for the border to further legislative agendas?…that the political landscape of the State of Indiana has been permanently altered by these old school dinosaurs who apply party rules with geographic preferences?

IS IT TRUE that the 200th birthday of Evansville kicks off today with a party at the Ford Center hosted of course the paparazzi seeking Mayor Weinzapfel?…that this does look to be shaping up as a 200 day opportunity to celebrate, appreciate, and learn about our history?…that we were surprised to learn that that Hugh McGary, the pioneer/entrepreneur who put that first building that was also a business in what is now downtown Evansville was only here briefly before hitting the road never to be heard from again?…that we bet that less than 1% of the school children who attend McGary Middle School know the story of High McGary?…that this 200 day birthday party is a good opportunity to instill some pride in the people of Evansville and that it should permeate our schools to seed that pride in the next generation?…that people with pride do not litter, keep their properties looking good, and groom themselves before leaving the house?…that 200 days from now if the pride opportunity is properly put out there that there should be a visible difference in the appearance of Evansville, Indiana?

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23 COMMENTS

  1. I’ll bet John Gregg is absolutely ecstastic about Dan Parker’s decision which should just about seal the election for Pence.

  2. Talk about back room deals and Snegal tactics. Indiana democrats long nightmare was almost over. This was nothing but a desperate and successful move by Fox commentator Evan Bath to keep his death grip on the party. Who knows maybe this was all planned to smoke out any Dems with a disagreeing viewpoint from the powers that be as a way to seek out and destroy any view they don’t support.

    • Evan “Super Bluedog” Bayh is pushing Tim Jeffers for IDP chairman to replace Parker.

  3. Evan Bayh though after the bath he forced us to take last year that misspelling is very appropriate

    • BTW, Daniel Boone, who did not hold a high opinion of Hugh McGary, lost a son at the battle of blue licks.

      __

  6. why do we need a public works project? I’d have to think that the mandated sewer upgrades would be enough of a public works project for quite a while.

    • Easy for someone to say when you got a guaranteed annual income working for a utility monopoly that overcharges for public street lighting and levee pump station power and who’s guaranteed a minimum profit and regular rate increases courtesy of a publicly paid board.

      • Damn I guess I should apologize for getting tired of working dead end jobs and going back to school and learning a trade and getting a job that Jarvis would kill to have. Working Union has been good to me and my family and I pay the same electric rates as everyone else. BTW my job is not guarnteed, there have been several layoffs in the 30 years I have been there,

        • Well you’ve made it 30 years which is more than many people who’ve been laid off by companies that moved from Evansville to find cheaper utility rates, etc.

          I wasn’t asking you to apologize for working your way into a union job. I was jumping on you for poo-pooing another public works project that will pay prevailing wages. Hell, why am I explaining myself to you? You know exactly what I was saying.

          • and what I was saying is can we afford another public works job of questionable benefit when we have the sewer fiasco on the horizon, and yes I know the VCB funds cant be used for the sewers

  7. I can tell you with 100% accuracy that the ball fields project will come back and is being worked on (as it should) but it will not be at Wesselman Woods (as it shouldn’t be).

    There are many different sites being looked at. Goebel has flood problems and land acquisition problems (as well as lack of accomodation issues) and Hamilton has flood problems as well. I’m glad those two have problems as they are terrible locations.

    Kleymeyer Park has been looked at and I’m confident once people get around the made up notions cooked up by people like Mark Owen it will get a serious look once more.

    What better place to play baseball than next to the third oldest active ballpark and on the corner of streets with baseball themes Diamond & First?

    • Kleymeyer Park has serious access issues for a high traffic sports facility as anyone who drives southbound on 1st Avenue knows full well. Kleymeyer Park has its own flooding issues as well, although not at an elevation so low as Goebel or Hamilton’s currently unused floodway.

      Roberts is the ideal location for a ballpark for the following reasons:

      1. It now is a brownfield.
      2. Development into a ballpark will green up a brownfield.
      3. Development of an unused brownfield represents infill development.
      4. Roberts Stadium is not and never has been a part of Wesselman Woods preserve.
      5. The land surfaces at Roberts do not surface drain to Wesselman Woods and the storm water runoff from a ballpark on that property will not negatively impact Wesselman Woods.
      6. The access and traffic flow into and out of Roberts Stadium property is much superior to Kleymeyer Park.
      7. There are no flooding or regulatory floodway issues or environmental regulatory issues at Roberts Stadium property, and there are all those issues at Kleymeyer and Goebel.

      • There is no doubt that a stoplight would have to be placed at the entrance off First along with a turn bay but I’m not sure why that would be any different than the Roberts Stadium lot. If you leave Roberts Stadium on the Boeke side you experience this same problem. In fact, they prohibit you from turning left leaving Wesselman during certain hours (although I do it anyway). The main difference is, is that Kleymeyer doesn’t infringe upon any neighborhood roads which is why it would be met with little opposition.

        Kleymeyer is surrounded by two roads with 4 lanes + room for turn bays and merge lanes. But there needs to be a pedestrian bridge constructed anyways over Pigeon to encourage visitors to park in Garvin as well (especially if we play the championship games at Bosse). This pushes development down Main Street. In 2002 the city undertook a master plan that called for this very thing.

        As for the 7 points…

        1. I guess technically you could call it a brownfield site although I find this to be a stretch at the current time. The city has not undertook the much needed step of forming a committee to try and reuse the venue. There are ample amount of tenants to place inside it that won’t compete with any other venues and will keep Roberts solvent. If the city turns a blind eye towards this, it will be their own fault and yes the lot would turn into a full blown brownfield.

        2. The last thing we need is to “green up” something when our current parks have turned into wastelands. If we are going to green up something, it needs to be the downtown parks in the 2001 master plan that would successfully connect all sides of downtown Evansville as well as promote healthy transportation alternatives.

        3. Meet mid-sized Roberts Stadium with its raised floor and room to upgrade the Hartke Pool complex. Putting a new growth park or ball field complex next to old growth Wesselman Woods will not work in harmony with each other.

        4. Exactly, which is why we shouldn’t “expand Wesselman Woods” which would add new trees to 300 + year old trees. Not to mention, the neighbors have said loud and clear they don’t want to be disturbed by ball fields and they don’t want Wesselman Woods disturbed by it.

        5. Why I don’t doubt that, it means nothing when you are proposing to put premier ball fields on a site that is landlocked and doesn’t come with any retail amenities. Kleymeyer Park is vastly superior to the Roberts lot. It comes with the potential of playing the championship games at Bosse Field which is already famous for women’s baseball (a good tie in to girls softball), it comes with Walther’s Golf N Fun, and it is just one road from our soon to be taxpayer funded hotel.

        6. I talked about that above but another problem is even if you leave down division, you can’t go south on Stockwell and if you leave the entrance as is, you are gauranteeing at least one stoplight on the Lloyd which is clearly not the vision of the city.

        7. Kleymeyer doesn’t flood where the ball fields would be. It does flood where the football field is which is why we should send EYFL to the old North field anyways.

        Also, Kleymeyer comes with methane gas that can be converted to electricity and make the ball fields self-sufficient. With Wesselman, you better be prepared to pay the Vectren bill for years to come.

        7.

        • Go to vanderburghgis.com and measure the distance from the intersection of Diamond and 1st, then tell me the feasibility of installing a stoplight for Kleymeyer entrance. On top of that, there are several commercial entrances curb cuts in the 1/4 mile directly across the street from Kleymeyer between the auto parts stores and the Pigeon Creek Bridge. So, there would have to be a new median extention and a new service road on the west side of 1st Avenue (read beaucoup dollars for right-of-way purchases, design fees, state permits, and construction costs).

          Roberts Stadium has adequate traffic infrastructure as is, and as has been proven over many decades, and without improvements to handle the lower traffic counts anticipated by ball fields.

          I wager you that 99% of the property owners in the neighborhoods around Roberts Stadium bought their property AFTER Roberts was constructed and should be used to the traffic loads, which again will be lower for ball fields than for Roberts Stadium events.

          You seem to think the state will allow ingress and egress to Diamond from Kleymeyer. Won’t happen! Why do you think the Hills department store property across Diamond from Kleymeyer has sat vacant all these years after 4 failed anchor stores?

          Regardless of what you think is needed or what pipe dreams you’ve read in non-binding master plans, there will not be a pedestrian bridge over Pigeon Creek between Kleymeyer and Garvin. What have you been smoking? The city has struggled to complete what little greenway trail we have now. Where do you think they’re going to get funds for a million dollar foot bridge across a major floodway requiring ungodly environmental regulatory compliance?

          Here’s a suggestion. Get your new mayoral crush to appoint you to the Area Plan Commission where you may learn the political and economic realities of all your daydreams.

          • No matter how many sns you post under on this topic you’re still an idiot but at least it makes you feel better.

            Daydream? You’re sitting here going on and on about the ball fields at Wesselman yet there’s a small problem for you, the incoming mayor has already said they’re not happening. Other city officials (who I’m not going to name) have already said they’re going at another site as well. So you can measure your pipes all you want out there, but you’re still talking to open air.

            Next, the city cannot afford a pedestrian bridge? That’s funny…

            http://www.14news.com/story/15051833/new-pedistrian-bridge-in-the-works-over-lloyd-expressway

            You’re claiming that the city is struggling to complete the current greenway so your proposal is to build more at Wesselman? Nice. And btw, the bridge wouldn’t flood, it would go to the top point of the greenway in Garvin to the top point in Kleymeyer. Kind of funny how they built the Greenway right next to Pigeon isn’t it?

            And you sit here and talk about what neighborhood was built when but it still doesn’t change the fact that entering Boeke is hell. I guess that sign that says no left turns during peak hours is a mirage right? Not to mention the other side, division, prevents you from going north of stockwell unless of course you deal with two stoplights on the “expressway.” Let me guess, you were one of the people who planned that?

            In regards to the Diamond and 1st intersections, Diamond would be an on ramp not an exit ramp that would back up. If the football field is moved the intersection wouldn’t even be near all of the junk you’re talking about. And a stoplight wouldn’t necessarily be a requirement just a perk, just like the light on the other side of Diamond.

            Economic realities? I would think a plan that has better designed ball fields in an area where an MLB star played would be just a little bit more successful than your generic, crap fields in the middle of a district that has only known basketball. You really don’t know anything about sports marketing do you?

            As for the political realities, it looks like you and your boys will all be out of office by 2013 doesn’t it?

        • Rail,

          I just want to let you know that I took your “Kleymeyer Park Sniff Challenge” you put on your blog last spring. Honestly, there’s not one scent of oder from this landfill that they like to complain about. You said you first heard that rumor from Owen- that doesn’t surprise me one bit. He should have taken a shower before he went out there.

          My advice is simple. Don’t let people like Jeffers and Owen get you down. They are just toeing the party line which they’ve been doing for the 30 years I have been involved in politics. They will go away once they learn to respect you.

          Interestingly I’m old but I’ve never met Winnecke but if I were him I would give serious consideration to your idea. Many people don’t realize this but Don Mattingly’s youth field is the one right on the other side in Garvin Park. I never really thought about it until you mentioned Mattingly on your blog. That whole area makes perfect sense for baseball.

          I salute your work and keep it up!

  8. If there is even a little “pile” of Money somewhere, Evansville’s dubious “Brain Trust” will find a way to spend it,– you can be sure!

    • I agree if it was the City of Evansville instead of the State of Indiana that recently found the missing $300 million, it would be announced that they found it one day and announced that they were spending it the next.

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