IS IT TRUE July 13, 2012
IS IT TRUE in a separate article today guest author Jordan Baer pays his respects to Evansville Mayor Hank Roberts at the Oak Hill Cemetery?…while doing so he was appalled at the level of havoc that negligence and time have wreaked upon this public cemetery?…as others have begun to notice the cemeteries of Evansville look more like the front yard of the Munster’s or the Spook House at Disneyland than a working cemetery that took people’s money through a perpetual care contract?…Locust Cemetery is in the same state of neglect as Oak Hill is?…human beings tend to mentally paint out things that are unchanging and part of their everyday life?…that means after driving by a pile of filth every day for a couple of years most people will lose the awareness of the pile of filth?…we humans do the same thing with beautiful things too?…it seems that which is familiar is not impressive for long unless of course it changes?…more people from Evansville need to start seeing the city vistas as they are to outsiders?…we can and should start with cemeteries and parks which are in absolutely pitiful condition?…our cemeteries and parks are the combed hair and brushed teeth of any city?…one would bet that Evansville would show up for a job interview with bed hair and yellow teeth and then be at a loss for why there was no job offer?…the City of Evansville may do that but that not many people would?…we all need to start treating our public spaces as our own because in truth they are?
IS IT TRUE the last crumbs and morsels of Roberts Stadium are being counted and tagged for the August 4th auction at 10 am at the old arena?…for those who wish to have some artifact from Roberts this will be the last chance to get on in a legitimate manner?…that if Roberts Stadium could talk it could tell us about the zenith of the City of Evansville’s relevance in this world and all about the slow but slippery slide into mediocrity that has occurred during the 57 years since it was opened?…Roberts has hosted the absolute cream of the crop in entertainment and been the home stadium of 5 NCAA basketball champion teams of the University of Evansville?…that in 57 years if the Ford Center can be seen as having racked up the accomplishments of Roberts Stadium then maybe, just maybe it will have been worth the $127 Million plus interest?…it will be a sad day when the wrecking ball hits the building soon after the auction?…the CCO is still disappointed that no investor group came forth to make a deal to do something prosperous with Roberts as has happened in some other cities with older stadiums?…we still think that the last auction of the day should be for the stadium itself and the 37 acres surrounding it as a city that can’t take care of what it has does not have any business building a new park that will probably fall into chaos and disrepair as the others have?
IS IT TRUE Evansville City Councilman John Friend, CPA is now calling for an audit of the Ford Center construction project?…as the Ford Center is finished and hosting events it is truly time to take this responsible step?…that another mid-sized American city has voted to seek bankruptcy protection?…this time it is San Bernardino, CA that has found itself incapable of paying its bills?…the case of San Bernardino is a bit of a departure from how Stockton and Vallejo came to bankruptcy?…that San Bernardino’s debt load is only 4% of its budget?…that the troubles in San Bernardino are traced to rapid growth and runaway housing prices in the mid 2000’s?…while other cities may have squandered their solvency on arenas, new city halls, opera houses, etc. what San Bernardino has is a large number of homes in foreclosure due to the housing bust that are not paying their taxes?…that San Bernardino grew from 91,912 people in 1960 to the 99th largest city in America (Evansville was 100th in 1970) of 209,924 in 2010?…that today houses are still at roughly 50% of their peak, unemployment is well over 12% and the city coffers that expanded to serve the growth are empty?…that cities have the responsibility to remain solvent but it is becoming apparent that the habits of the cities that mimic the federal government are catching up to them and rendering them insolvent?…we are lucky that Mayors do not have a printing press to make money or we would have seen this long before?
For the States that currently feel they are in an enviable financial situation, like Indiana, I would warn them to be more pro active about the debt being run up by the municipalities within the State.
The State itself might enjoy a great deal of sovereign protection under the law, but it has little significance if the majority of municipalities within that State file for bankruptcy.
State statute says that the State will jump in to support a city that can not meet its debt service, but just as we have seen with this current “credit crisis” that started in 2006-7 there is a limit to the support available and beyond that the wheels come off.
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In light of what is currently going on in California, with 3 of its cities filing for bankruptcy so far in 2012, it might be a good thing if Indiana used some of its current surplus of funds to create an emergency fund dedicated to providing financial assistance to municipalities in just such an emergency.
Being proactive, rather than reactive could make all the difference in a case where, say, Evansville could no longer meet her debt service or payroll.
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I will agree with you on this. However, until Mitch is gone, no one is going to be able to touch his precious “rainy day” fund.
More information coming out of San Bernardino mess:
http://www.sbsun.com/sbcountywatchassessor
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“…we still think that the last auction of the day should be for the stadium itself and the 37 acres surrounding it as a city that can’t take care of what it has does not have any business building a new park that will probably fall into chaos and disrepair as the others have?”
Yes, yes, and more yes! Why the hell not? Can anyone please give me a logical reason why this building and the land upon which it sits shouldn’t just be auctioned off? Isn’t that what cash strapped citys are supposed to do with surplus?
They won’t auction off the land because they want their cake and to eat it too. They can’t take care of what they own and are afraid SMG wouldn’t book smaller events that would not be in conflict with the arena, would appeal to a market of people who couldn’t afford to go to the arena, but could contribute millions of dollars to our economy and make Roberts still show a profit, AFTER paying VECTREN for the water pumps.
What they will end up with is an empty plot of asphalt with grass and weeds over 9″ high growing in the cracks, sitting on the busiest highway running across Evansville.
Too bad we don’t have a LOCAL promoter who could go against the local politicians, lease the stadium, take over the repair and utility bills and show SMG, Venuworks and the naysayers how profitable it could be, WITHOUT cutting into the ticket sales of the arena. EVERYONE doesn’t have the same taste and pocketbook. Why not provide entertainment for EVERYONE?
Why should we even be concerned about cutting into ticket sales at the Ford Center? Last I checked, this was America and we still at least pay lip service to a free market economy based on competition.
If the Ford Center can’t hang with a 57 year old facility it was billed to replace, then perhaps that would only prove the point those of us arguing against its construction made in the first place.
Saving face…it’s what politicians do best. Well, next to wasting other people’s money.
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