IS IT TRUE July 18, 2013
IS IT TRUE next Tuesday is the day that we all get to see renderings of just how someone can budget over $10 Million for a dog park and skateboard park?…the renderings paid for by a donation from a friendly non-profit in the name of wellness are to be unveiled at 5:30 next Tuesday?…it is easy to understand how one could get carried away in trying to emulate skateboard parks in warm climates and drop several million bucks on a skateboard facility but dropping 7 figures on a dog park is hard to imagine even if the Pentagon is the buyer?…a dog park basically consists of fencing, shade, a drinking fountain, and some benches?…fencing for a 3 acre dog park like the beautiful dog park adjacent to the San Diego Zoo can be installed for less than $25,000?…long lasting recycled plastic park benches are available locally from Green Tree Plastics (www.greentreplastics.com) for several hundred bucks each, and shade can be provided by TREES that come pretty cheap even in large sizes?…it is hard to imagine that even the most opulent dog park in America could even approach a Million dollars to build?…Evansville has had a skateboard park before behind the Swonder Ice Rink and it seldom has anyone using it?…there are two reasons for that?…the first reason is that the culture of Evansville is just not one that breeds many skateboarders and the second is that the half pipes rotted out from neglect?…we are sure the dozen or so parents of skateboarders in Evansville will scream and moan about it but Evansville is not a skateboard town and never will be?…spending millions of dollars on a skateboard park to appease a handful of spoiled kids is an irresponsible use of taxpayer funds?…the grassy field that once was Roberts Stadium actually looks pretty good from the Lloyd Expressway?…maybe a well maintained field is the right use for this acreage right now?
IS IT TRUE the group of 40 houses built with federal tax dollars in an area that is dominated by dilapidated and obsolete houses have been completed at a cost of about $200,000 each?…these houses have been rented to low income people and are now occupied?…these houses while quite nice by virtue of being randomly located in some of the worst parts of Evansville are at risk to be treated like the rest of the neighborhood which will soon devalue them to the neighborhood average of under $40,000?…such programs have been launched in Camden, Gary, Detroit, Chicago, and other places with very few success stories and massive squandering of taxpayer dollars?…the few success stories come from places that put all of the new housing together isolating them from the squalor they replaced?…a success story in such ventures constitutes finding renter who pay the rent and do not destroy the properties?…we know of no stories where after several years the homes are worth what it cost to build them?…while pretty, these programs like Front Door Pride before them are simply redistribution schemes designed by the government to attempt social engineering?…the odds of long term success using private metrics are pretty long?…the real test of value will be if the houses still look like this in 10 years?
IS IT TRUE given the details that have been emerging about the firing of Sherman Greer, in a normal situation that has checks, balances, and accountability for all this dismissal may well have been the right thing to do?…the problem with Sherman’s dismissal is still the fact that much higher sums of money have been squandered by others with no consequences at all?…we guess that random acts of sanity are preferable to all insanity all the time?…we shall look on the bright side and cross our fingers that the Winnecke Administration has turned a corner and will go forward with appropriate policies in place that treat all instances with equal accountability?
How about a follow-up on the 200k Winnecke and his band of merry idiots pissed away? Are they still making those little piddly interest only payments. Wasn’t it supposed to balloon at some point? That was a flat out shakedown and people ought to be embarrassed to fall for such a thing.
A couple of months ago Earthcare was indeed current on their “piddly” interest payments. The day of reckoning comes next spring when the balance becomes due. Let accountability be demanded of the team that shoved that one through.
Can’t agree with you more concerning the Front Door housing project.
The new 40 homes built in the high risk crime area shall prove to be another failure by local, state and federal officials. Can’t wait to see what this housing stock shall look like in another couple of years. My guess is we shall have a real mess on our hands.
Government shouldn’t do for people that they should do for themselves!
The cronies are laughing all the way to bank on this one just like many projects before and after!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Weinzapfel=Winnecke+= DERP Squared. Hey Wayne justify this before sewers and streets?
rk812…..I have a question for you….Are you registered to vote and what properties do you own in Vanderburgh County?
Yes I am a registered voter in Evansville and have voted in every election in the past thirty plus years. What I own is no concern of yours!
A good man, Sherman Greer, has been fired for what Winnecke claims was his improper expenditure of $30,000 for a motor vehicle.
Was it Winnecke who authorized the destruction of a valuable community asset, Roberts Stadium? Absolutely! Who wasted more city money? Greer got value for value. Winnecke got a vacant lot with more expenditures to come by destroying Roberts.
Who has been more prudent with our tax money?
I agree that Winnecke has been far more flippant with our money than Greer, but I have to question the logic in excusing someone for making “less” of a wasteful and unauthorized purchase. There has to be a standard to which everyone adheres. Winnecke should be the one to enforce the standard. Problem is, he doesn’t have the moral or ethical authority to enforce standards he himself doesn’t adhere to. So, in a way, I agree with you, but I reject the logic of excusing Greer’s unauthorized purchase.
Sherman could not have gotten this purchase through the entire city purchasing maze by himself! Who else aided and abetted him? Has Winnecke asked for their resignations?
Winnecke owes we taxpayers an explanation and not his usual line of government speak, I.e. BS..
We’re in perfect agreement there. Like I said, I think there need to be standards and Winnecke should enforce those standards unfailingly across all departments under his purview.
Pogo, I agree with everything you say, except it should be ” us taxpayers”, not “we taxpayers”
Please explain your reasoning as to why you called children that skateboard “spoiled”?
Expecting public funds of several million dollars to be spent for their personal recreation is our reasoning behind the comment.
not good.
p___ poor comment.
Then I guess we should do away with the greenway, swimming pools, parks and the riverfront since those things are used for personal recreation. It’s a lousy way to describe children that you do not know.
Hmmm you were all up in arms about the pool vandalism. Seems you’d cheer on the wrecking of such a socialist symbol as a public swimming pool.
“McCurdy before dog parks!”
If Greer purchased this vehicle without anyone approving the purchase – then perhaps more than just books not being reconciled is not the only PROBLEM we have… Where are the checks and balances for any type of purchase? Do we not have those either? Sure doesn’t sound like we do if the mayor is saying this was an unauthorized purchase.. What’s up with that?
I’m not a math major by any means.
But isn’t $10 million EIGHT figures (not seven as you put in the first part of this post).
10,000,000
1-0,-0-0-0,-0-0-0
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8
How can we trust the State Board to give the City a good audit when their supervisor is a dumbass? He’s appointed Airhead to lead it and she’ll have Sheldon Cooper and Heifer joining her? There’s another State Board person that falls asleep at her desk all of the time. Everyone criticizes the current and prior Mayor, but the supervision at the State Board is just as bad!
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