IS IT TRUE January 19, 2015

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IS IT TRUE that today is the day that we remember and celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for his tireless courage in bringing the civil rights of all Americans to the public eye to push the ball forward so that “one day we may all be judged by the content of our character and not by the color of our skin”?…from great perseverance and a pure vision has come much progress toward this goal pushed forward by the man who made it okay for all of us to “Have a Dream”?

IS IT TRUE this writer will have the honor and privilege today to accept the 2015 “Legacy of Service” award on behalf of the Coachella Valley Economic Partnership (CVEP) from the Black Chamber of Commerce of Palm Springs, California?

IS IT TRUE that pondering on the conundrum of just what to do with the Owen Block Building that is in desperate need of either some very expensive repairs has several people in Evansville stirred up on both sides of the end game for this beautiful historic structure?…the City of Evansville, and particularly DMD Director Kelley Coures is faced with a choice on how to spend $100,000, but not with the choice not to spend this money at all?…this writer wants to emphasize that the City of Evansville WILL BE SPENDING $100,000 on this building whether it is demolished or refurbished by a private contractor after being rescued by the Indiana Historical Landmarks group?…in the vein of the movie “Sophie’s Choice”, we shall christen the forthcoming decision as “Kelley’s Choice”?…some spending has already been done to install the fence that is in place to protect the public from risks to life and limb that are already associated with the Owen Block Building just existing in it’s decaying state?

IS IT TRUE that the easiest thing to do would be for Kelley to make the choice to let the demolition crew take the old girl down as soon as possible at a cost that is estimated at $85,000 and hand the lot over to the maintenance department to care for in perpetuity?…the cost of this will be about $100,000 with the perpetual obligation to maintain this lot at a cost of about $3,000 per year?…the lot will then be off of the tax rolls forever, further eroding the tax base of downtown Evansville?

IS IT TRUE the more difficult decision for Kelley is to take the path offered by a group of concerned citizens who are actively raising about $350,000 to secure the building and stabilize it with the help of the Indiana Historical Landmarks group?…this path, if successful will require the City of Evansville upon completion to spend $100,000 of earmarked dollars on the stabilized building and to sell it to a private developer for a token amount?…that private developer that is rumored to be Architectural Renovators, that has an excellent track record with such projects would then finish the job and return the Owen Block Building to that tax roles and add 16 rental units to the downtown Evansville mix of properties?…the profits (if there are any) on the operation of the building will be taxed and the property taxes on the building estimated at $20,000 per year assuming an assessment of $1 Million, will start to flow into the coffers of local government?

IS IT TRUE that “Kelley’s Choice” simply comes down to a question of HOW ONE IS GOING TO SPEND $100,000?…in case one the $100,000 is assured to be consumed and followed by a perpetual obligation to spend $3,000 per year to maintain the lot forever?…in scenario two the $100,000 of earmarked federal money will buy the City of Evansville an opportunity to leverage private support into a renovated historical building that will be adding to the rental mix and paying $20,000 per year in property taxes?…”Kelley’s Choice” seems to be a simple choice to this writer, who acknowledges a history of exposing public waste and delusion when it come to downtown Evansville projects?…this writer based on the passion, commitment, and the anticipated success of the Owen Block Preservation Group, believes the best decision for “Kelley’s Choice” is to take door number two and choose the path of preservation with essentially ZERO local tax dollars invested?

IS IT TRUE that quite frankly the model being pioneered by this approach is one that can be replicated across the City of Evansville from the Owen Block to the McCurdy, to the Mesker Amphitheatre, to maybe even a downtown hotel?…local citizen involvement has been missing in the past and this dedicated group who started a Facebook site to rescue this building is both the originator and the catalyst to creating hope for the Owen Block Building to be returned to it’s former glory?…government in this case is just playing a bit part as a facilitator with a nominal investment?…this is the way redevelopment is supposed to work and this guy thinks it is marvelous for Evansville to be learning this lesson?

IS IT TRUE this writer also realizes that this opinion may break with the past opinions on other projects that have been in IS IT TRUE and even with some of our most loyal readers?…that aside, this type of approach has worked in other places and will work in Evansville IF AND ONLY IF IT REMAINS GRASS ROOTS DRIVEN BY THE CITIZENS OF EVANSVILLE?…I say congratulations and carry on?

Please take time and vote in todays “Readers Poll”.

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82 COMMENTS

  1. $7/hr times 2 hour/week times 52 weeks/yr equals. Where did you come up with $3000 for upkeep on an empty lot. I come up with about $728 max for cutting the grass two hours each time and the entire year. But we all know that grass does not grow in the winter months. So if you figure it at half the time say 25 weeks at 2 hours per week and at 14 dollars per hour it still is much less than $3000. How does $700 sound?

    I’m sick and tired of the city so called leaders spending tax money on buying up private properties and or wasting tax money on private properties.

    These houses are over falling down and should be razed. If the downtown area is so popular that we have to throw tax money at it for years then eventually some private developer will see the light and buy this property from the city for a good amount of money and build a new structure on this lot. These old buildings are going to rot eventually. Wood does not last thousands of years and it’s not going to last another 100 years either.

    Stop beating these dead houses and just bury them. The people of Evansville don’t go to work and work their tails off only to pay some other slob to fix up his house.

    • Neuhoff Development buys Owen Block in March 2010.
      Neuhoff stops property tax payments for May 2012.
      C&P yesterday said Owen Block owners are free from tax bill.
      Indiana Landmark are facing a $12,000 bill to pay past due property taxes.
      A Chicago-based LLC is due a payoff since they bought the right to collect that tax lien.
      (I thought that only happen in Kentucky!)
      Is a “Sheriff sale” not used when taxes become delinquent as in this case?
      Wonder who’s tentacles are behind that Chicago-LLC?

      Seems something smells besides the sewers on this!

      • They only use sheriff’s sales to destroy the lives of people who have fallen on hard times, Arm. Instead of raising money to help keep those people from being homeless, we raise it so the rich can get richer.

        • I seriously doubt the rich even care about something as mundane as these old buildings. The only ones doing well in Evansville on the tax payers dime is unions. We do need to take better care of those who have fallen on hard times. Money would be well spent on helping our older citizens age inplace because the alternative is a lot more expensive and dehumanizing. The water meter fiasco is a prime example of how the most fragile of our community can be pushed over the edge. I seriously doubt the union bosses even considered this when they arm twisted the CC into voting for it.

          • When has the CC voted on money for the Owens Block for this latest venture?

            Who are these “union bosses” you refer to?

            Seems the developers and LLC’s deadweight are collecting on this one, and not the labor force!

    • Moveon has very good points. $100,000 for this lot would be cheep compared to other city purchases like the dpat lot. Didn’t they pay several times that for the buildings between Raben and the lloyd and then paid the $100,000 to demo them?

      Armstrongres – I was thinking the very same thing when I read the article yesterday. Looks like the CCO, C&P, and elected officials are ignoring the legal facts to promote private interest at the expense of the taxpayers. AS ALWAYS.

    • City landscaping crew members make way more than $7 an hour and that is who will get the mowing assignments. The cost to employ with the benefit and retirement packages at the city adds about $10 per hour to the base pay and the base pay in this case will be around $15 per hour. Of course they need a supervisor and a scheduler. You got the hours correct. Where you came up short is on the cost of an hour of mowing on the public payroll. I stand by my $3,000 estimate.

      • WOW — 2 hours x 25 cuttings divided into $3,000 = $60.00 an hour. $3,000 sounds like a lot of money but, When you do the math and think about pricing the equipment and overheads into the labor hours its about right – even for the private sector. Better go with gravel. Could use local river grave as a promoter for the local pit or get Bedford limestone. Either one could be touted as an Evansville attraction to promote tourism. Probably a grant for that.

        • Be careful what you say. You may have just given on of the “on board with the Winnecke agenda” City Council candidates a talking point.

      • Editor: Whew that needs a rebid. Plus our group actually has a more productive revenue creation type ideation for the lot once the safety liability is taken down and removed. This idea isn’t mine its one of our EU consortium persons take on the demise. Dang good idea and would work to create revenue in that section. Guess they’ve had to consider such stuff over there since eons of use and several monster military conflicts have degraded the archaic buildings somewhat. 😉

        • What the editor did not include in his post is that the yard crew for the city are all Teamsters. The charge a high rate and work slow as molasses. They also have a contract that entitles them to be paid when some well meaning volunteer does their job for them. That is why Evansville is broke and cant get a hotel. The politicians are all owned by unions.

          • @ pov: “Don’t expect LBK to agree, if it wasn’t for unions she’d have an ebt card.”

            Really? I wasn’t aware of that. Having a union job and the benefits that went along with it was a great deal of help to me when I became a single mother of five children. I have a better than average education (3 Bachelor’s degrees and an Associates in Nursing), but if I had worked a non-union job in my field of expertise, I wouldn’t have been able to make a schedule that allowed me to put my children ahead of my job. I wasn’t owned by my job, so I could be there for my kids’ school activities or whenever they needed me. The good wages made my Social Security benefits fairly generous and the extra pension, in addition to my private 401k, is a great addition to my income. I was able to retire at 60 because of the union benefits, which gave me more time to do things that I enjoy while I was younger than many retirees. I get to take more trips, mentor some young mothers, participate in politics, and spend some time on forums like this.
            I hate to sound like a conservative, but I made sure I had marketable skills. I’d have been okay financially without the union jobs, but my family life would have suffered if I hadn’t had that advantage. I am curious about why you always jump right to an “ebt card” as a cause for what you perceive as another poster’s mood. I suspect the condition of YOUR ebt balance my have something to do with some of your attitude. There really isn’t any shame in needing help, pov. I’m sorry for you, being so bitter because you apparently aren’t able to enjoy the fruits of union membership in your twilight years.

          • I wouldn’t get too worked up over pov’s comments. He/she is the most ignorant, hateful bigot on this site and that’s really saying something.

            • The site is pretty good when it comes to making people think things through from a different perspective. I don’t get too worked up over anyone’s comments on this site or any other. I have been reading the CCO for about 5 years now and I gotta say, they do head off some pretty hair brained schemes that the local politicians try to pull. Others they can’t head off, but it does seem to have brought a higher level of accountability to local politics.

          • @ Ghost: I really don’t care what sort of stupidity pov comes up with. I just think I caught a glimpse of who he really is, and wanted to share it with people. Who thinks about living in someone’s basement, smoking “jenkem”, or having an ebt card, unless it is what is going on in your own life? Pov is a closet “taker.”

        • $15 is the lowest paid. There are union members making over $18 hourly that prefer to cut grass. Add in the retirement and isurance. Seems ridiculous doesn’t it? Contracting the mowing would be less expensive. Union agreements will not allow that. Only certain departments contract grass mowing. Those accounts were negotiated years ago without losing any union workers. It would be impossible to keep all employees now and contract the service.

      • The mowing would be done by a contractor. Why is it clear that a build ready site would sit forever? One of the biggest issues with blight is the cost of taking it down and grading the site for development. We have examples recently of where once the site was prepared for development, it was purchased. It seems odd to me that the assumption has been made that the market cannot work in this case. Perhaps if all of the blighted structures were removed, it would create a large enough parcel for development of market rate single or multiple family homes.
        This project is less than exciting. It’s yet another example of valuing stuff over people. The very reason this building is in the shape it’s in is once again ignored. Poverty must be addressed in this community. This is another top-down approach that is more concerned with appearances than substance.
        Nearly 3 years this building has sat since the property taxes went unpaid. It’s always an emergency around here, because nothing is ever done proactively. This building isn’t worth saving, as history is not more important than the future.
        I’d rather see money moved around at DMD and Neighborhood Stabilization Program Funds used to shore up SWIRCA. That agency has more pots of money and discretionary funds than any other department. It’s shameful the way the money is spent.

        • There doesn’t seem to be any special historical value to that house, but it is a nice example of multi-unit upscale housing of that period.

      • You are absolutely correct. But anyone who has a business and employees knows the $7 per hour is just the beginning. Employees union or nonunion come with a whole host of costs. I do not know what it cost to get your lawn mowed in california but the lawn guys in my evansville downtown hood would laugh at $7hour. Going rate is $20.

        • I have desert landscaping so I have nothing to mow but others tell me that the going rate in the neighborhood is about $100 per month for two mowings. That would be about $35 per hour inclusive of everything.

    • I agree, tear it down. Sustaining this property can only be done with tax dollars. We’re already keeping the great Fraud Center afloat with tax dollars that should be spent on sidewalks, streets and sewers. What could this building be used for besides a homeless shelter? The old Safe House is a good example of what millions of dollars for a homeless shelter looks like in a couple of years. Tear the McCurdy down, it’s way past it’s best by date.

  2. I don’t get why Evansville’s Politicos continue to pursue the past,– as THE avenue to it’s Future.

    Oh, silly me, looks like the Rational here is, this property is right up against the Old Downtown’s Historical “Suburb of Snootville”. If the Elitiests want to pay for it that’s fine, although I would have rather they would have paid for the New “Period” streetlights in their “hood”, instead of the Taxpayers all across the city paying the bill. Why didn’t they volunteer their money for that ?

  3. As for the $20,000.00 a year tax it will generate if turned into rental units, with the past history the developer would probably get a huge tax break for 20 to 25 years. I say cut your losses now and tear it down.

    • I haven’t noticed much comment on my idea of razing it and building a c-store gasoline outlet.

      • More toxic runoff from spillages into the same collapsing combined sewer system. It really wasn’t worth a comment however you asked . Got anymore bright ideas? We’ll be happy to evaluate the social economic environmental profile per its actual applied sustainable valuation.
        Gee though, it might take some pressure of the other local downtown stop’n’rob, shoot the neighbors marathon knife and gun club for the new Ford car lot fellas. Maybe they won’t need bullet resistant show room glass after all……….

        🙂 https://twitter.com/cherrysberries/status/508805907443384320

        • LKB-My idea would help the less fortunate in that area. I realize from your above post about all your income it’s hard for you to do but you should think about them also.

    • Let it go back to nature. The foxes need habitat. Isn’t it animal cruelty to have the foxes in town without a little of their natural habitat?

      • Yea it could be made into a Past Indiana Natural Prairie with Prairie grass and prairie dogs and foxes. Maybe the IDNR would give the city a grant for this project. Or maybe just maybe the Mayor can tear it down, level the ground and plant some turf grass on the lost, Put a fence around it and make a dog park out of it. They can pay the city kids in the neighborhood to pick up the dog dodo and use it for manure and fertilizer for the Mayor’s roof top garden plants.

        If the house is the one I saw a week or two ago it should only take an hour at tops to move a lot of that size. So I gave two hours instead just to be fair. Than I doubled the wage of $7 to $14. At first I gave 52 weeks a year for the work to be done and then I cut that in half. We don’t mow grass around these parts in November, December, January, February and March. And in the hot summer months the grass turns brown and won’t grow so we don’t have to mow as often in June, July and August.

        I’ve mowed grass for people at $7/hr. I’ve also mowed grass for $10/hr. The city should contract the work out instead of paying their employees for this type of work. There are many young people out there that would be glad to mow the grass for $7/hr using their own equipment. And lets face it unless they plant grass seed and do it right the grass will be more weeds that grass. The soil in the city is not that good. It’s more like a mixture of sand and old coal cinders. And the law does not require them to keep the grass cut to 3″ or 2.5″ ever week does it? The city probably would not cut it but once a month if that often. Beside the city has no business buying homes like this and maintain them. That was my point. They should be using that 100,000 to help fix the sewers and the sidewalks… Right?

    • That buildings core is junked. It isn’t fit for living space, or rental working space such as offices either.
      Structural stabilization and environmental balancing are two extremely different scorecards.
      Both costly and underwater from the start. Even the outside being, oh butt ugly! blue needs a rather costly strip down and refinishing with updated environmentally safe coatings and sealants.

      How far back will the general public be held back from that mess adrift while that’s going on. That fence you have now couldn’t stop a determined pigeon from scoring on a passerby needless to say a half a brick chimney.
      Good grief someone needs to supervise something there, that’s completely unsafe, and now that that idiot has gone public and called it a “safety barrier”, when a brick does bean someone, guess who’s liable? Man, you can’t make this stuff up.
      Sounds like the nearby restored properties are going need enough plastic sheeting to cover the Owen block and a couple city blocks nearby as well.
      Btw: Another thing you can’t really let the runoff squirt into those old crumbled combined sewers either, tisk, tisk, that’s ANOTHER , minor nasty you might want to consider while looking into a box size for any project renovation on that ill begotten junk heap.

      Save your renovation funding for bringing the presently occupied public properties up to par with 21st century living standards, environmental profiles and affordable utilities balancing.

      Then let private set forward investments on properties that are presently occupied and either rented as office space or living space. Once the work is done treat the grants like rebates /per qualified inspection standards. The inspection teams should be a bid type RFB offered to anyone’s qualified inspection team. Those bids should all be vetted by the entire governance span of the local commissions and councils.
      Maybe that way one might actually start building some “standing valuation” logistically for the expected revenues of the sectioned balances in your Old downtown. You’d best spend the cash on what you can use now or at the end of the day that’ll end up just like the McCurdy, Mesker Amphitheater, or the Owen block. Even the low valued and empty storefronts all over that entire town.

      Pssst—> http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2796751/

      http://www.ei-resource.org/illness-information/related-conditions/sick-building-syndrome/

    • Some cities are now planting clover. It only has to be cut once or twice a season and is not nearly as expensive as the new hybrid grasses that do not grow.

      • Our consortium knows exactly what repurposing that lot space should have applied per its usable location. You really don’t need anymore fouled up green space in your town, you’ve got that covered well enough with most of the city parks and road strip utility easements. As always the only plan they have is a cronies fueling deal of some sort. Who ever gets elected there in the coming election sure needs to hire some active balancing types. “With a good sense of humor as a primary qualifier.”
        And those should either show scored positive results or drop them like a hot rock as well.

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdYPxFMhEkE

  5. With fencing around the Owen Block, fencing to go up around Miller Electroplating and the moonlighting of John Friend’s former employee, perhaps Evansville can become the ‘Fencing Capital of the US’ ? Just think of those college fencing teams coming to Evanvsville, foiled again !

  6. There are good arguments on both sides of this issue, and I think if handing it over to Architectural Renovators didn’t reek so of the cronyism that seems to be the hallmark of the Winnecke administration, it would look better to a lot of people. It just seems the same palms are being crossed over and over.
    I expect that the renovation project will go forward. Winnie is looking for donors and this will get him some. Besides, it helps to gentrify the historic area, which is the goal of many Winnie friends and neighbors. The optics of this will not be good among the Mesker Amphitheatre fans, but that is not a problem in Winnie World.

    • “Besides, it helps to gentrify the historic area,” Those people haven’t a clue how to accomplish that within a sustainable revenue balance. The whole crop of those money pits just bleed money.

      If that’s ones private funding and you want to live by those standards its a choice.
      The rest of the revenue base has no accessed valuation in the mess so they shouldn’t be required to maintain that for those that do. Ask’em for a grant the next time your home needs an upgrade, repair or you feel like remodeling so you can flip it for a profit.

      Sporting that investment to the general publics input is not acceptable considering the archaic logistical value and failed utility infrastructures offered too the rest of your city/county availabilities.

      • I’m no fan of gentrification, V. I think one of the best things about downtown living is the opportunity to know people of all classes and outlooks.

        • Traveling gets one the same thing, on a more balanced scale, when you get home the trips over. “Not so much” in your rotten old downtown.

  7. Here’s an idea. Have the City put the same $100,000 in to Mesker Amphitheater so it can be repaired and reopened.
    “EVANSVILLE – Where some may see the Mesker Amphitheatre as a shuttered relic of Evansville’s past, Amos Morris, director of Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden, sees opportunity for revenue and smiles.

    The venue, which borders the Mesker Park Zoo, was shut down this year due to potential code violations. Evansville-Vanderburgh Building Authority Manager Dave Rector said renovations could cost about $100,000.

    “But as you see in this year’s budget, that money wasn’t set aside,” Rector said. “It (the amphitheatre) definitely could be brought back.””

    http://www.courierpress.com/news/local-news/mesker-hed-herppppp

  8. Perhaps some day there will be a merging of the BCCPS and the PSCC , and that “one day we may all be judged by the content of our character and not by the color of our skin” will arrive.

  9. I’m sure the public would be much more in favor of the renovation of Mesker Amphitheatre ,and inclined to get involved than a old money pit only a few people will use or see. Get corporate sponsors to donate time or materials, in return for mention on a sign at the enterance and mention on the back of programs for events there. I’d also recomend opening up the facility to all promoters with a standard % of proceeds of events paid in excess of rent to encourage use. Even the Friday nite movies at a couple bucks a head plus concessions would beat nothing. When the city gets involved there is never anything left. First fridays car shows was canceled due to “losses”. The cars were free, they brought more people downtown that almost all the events at the ford. If there is no money flow there is no chance to skim.

    • I still want to see Mesker come back, and local non-profits sell food and drinks at the functions. It could raise revenue both for the city and for our non-profits, while offering some great entertainment options that are not suitable for any of the venues that are located in the Dead Zone.

  10. At least with this outlay we’ll likely get something to look at for our money. Either a nice baroque-ish building or another nice empty lot. It is sad to see it deteriorate like so many other formerly grand old buildings in Evansville.

    If the administration does take the steps necessary to save the Owen building it should not distract from what their other hand is doing. It may well be in your pocket. Heaven forfend, they could already be getting out-negotiated by another cheapō developer. Surely not, the hotel is coming … the hotel is coming … can’t sleep, the clowns will eat me … the hotel is coming …

    Architectural Renovators is doing a nice job on the Bus Station. If this model could be used on other buildings or public facilities needing a lifeline it would be a positive thing. From what I understand AR can pretty well pick their spots though. While the ball is rolling on this the time could be ripe to toss the amphitheatre into the mix and at least a stabilizing chip or two to the McCurdy. Bundle it, works for Time Warner.

    I hope Local Personality makes a wise choice, if indeed it is his to make. He’ll be around long after the current administration has been consigned to the dust bin of Evansville history.

    • Coures is gone 1/1/2016. There is better local talent. The problem with Architectural Renovators is a similar one to that of Kunkel. The City gets one golden child and loads them up with property. It’s inevitable that they do not have the capital to keep it all afloat and make timely progress. The City gave Architectural Renovators the Fire Alarm House in 2013. It sits today with nothing even started and needed to be cited for weeds and trash this summer.

      • I’m certain Mayor Riecken won’t retain KC or any of the anti-Sunshine band, and you’re right about all of the gift-horses given to Architectural Renovators. You probably should look a gift-horse in the mouth if it isn’t moving and appears not to be breathing.
        Like my good Presbyterian Grandpa always said, “All things in moderation.”

  11. Key point for usable environmental human occupation by working ,or paying customers. Generally amphitheaters are outside ambient situations, no real need for HVAC and the lighting is also at least 50% cheaper, everyday, year round any year. Sustainable lighting so too speak, and reliable ventilation as well.

    If that was my 100 grand to spend I really don’t think the answer per the return revenue balance takes very long to absorb. Or put to use for captivating some paying audiences.

    ab·sorb
    əbˈzôrb,əbˈsôrb/Submit
    verb
    r/. 1. take in or soak up (energy, or a liquid or other substance) by chemical or physical action, typically gradually.
    “buildings can be designed to absorb and retain heat”
    synonyms: soak up, suck up, draw up/in, take up/in, blot up, mop up, sop up
    “a sponge like material that absorbs water”
    antonyms: exude
    take in and assimilate (information, ideas, or experience).
    “she absorbed the great music in silence and awe”
    synonyms: assimilate, digest, take in
    “she absorbed the information in silence”
    take control of (a smaller or less powerful entity), making it a part of oneself by assimilation.
    “the family firm was absorbed into a larger group”
    synonyms: incorporate, assimilate, integrate, take, appropriate, subsume, include, co-opt, swallow up
    “the company was absorbed into the new concern”
    use or take up (time or resources). <—————————-BINGO!
    synonyms: use (up), consume, take (up), occupy
    "these roles absorb most of his time and energy"
    take up and reduce the effect or intensity of (sound or an impact).
    "deep-pile carpets absorbed all sound of the outside world"
    r/. 2. engross the attention of (someone).
    "the work there absorbed him and continued to make him happy"
    synonyms: engross in, captivate by, occupy with, preoccupy with, engage in, rivet by, grip by, hold by, interest in, intrigue by/with, immerse in, involve in, enthrall by, spellbind by, fascinate by/with
    "she was totally absorbed by the show on stage"

    • V, very true. Simplicity is the beauty of outdoor venues. Mesker is a community asset that should be repaired and restored for use by us lowly City taxpayers. There is nothing like an outdoor concert on a perfect evening with an adult beverage in hand.

      • That old amphitheater has a more modern usage and time applied spanning availability your town is overlooking. I could make you a comfortable 750,000+ First year of operations after the $100,000 investment. Once the branding was established double that next year.
        New jobs good steady ones, and a load of fun doing them as well. You’ve got to see the horizon a bit before one heads into it, makes for a better landing destination every time.
        Those people that continue slopping around in the old downtown need taller periscopes just to see above the festered up mess.

  12. Almost seems Butterfly McGinn would get behind fixing Mesker up since it’s across the street from the zoo he is credited by some for turning around. I don’t think he’s going to do much though, starting to remind me of Jed Clampett.

    • Amazonia is his claim to fame. It’s a project that costs more to maintain on a yearly basis than it ever generated in increased revenue from ticket sales. Exhibits get buzz for about 3 years. After that, the number of visitors tend to go back down until the next new exhibit opens. Amazonia is a perfect example of why the zoo budget increases every year. Once that exhibit has lost its luster with the public, the fixed costs for maintaining it only go up as the project ages. Amazonia was a huge mistake from a fiscal standpoint. I like Dan, but the zoo would have been better off without his influence. For 2015, the zoo was held to its actual expenditures for 2014. The City needs to continue to hold the line on the zoo. They have proven able to generate private funds for new exhibits, and those private donors need to make up any shortfalls in operating expenses as the 2014 numbers are maintained. Once again, we can build it, but not budget maintaining it.

  13. Has EPD caught the guys who shot up the Newsome Center yesterday? Whats the chief saying about his training place having shots fired in it?

  14. The Mesler trust fund should lay the claim for that lost $100,000 that was found for Owen.

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