IS IT TRUE? July 6, 2011
IS IT TRUE that today is finally the day of reckoning for the decision to be made by the Evansville Redevelopment Commission on whether to continue to flounder with a perpetual extension scheme with the downtown Convention Hotel or not?…that we wonder if the Executive Inn Dilemma will now morph into another McCurdy with the perpetual extension mechanism (PEM) fully engaged so that not a minute passes where some City of Evansville official may have to admit that they do not have a contract in place?…that we shall know in a few hours if the ERC will move forward with sanity with a new and achievable RFP or if they will cling to the sputtering past of asserting confidence in the success of an agreement that was never VETTED?
IS IT TRUE that there are some mutterings of VETTING requirements emerging from members of the Evansville City Council and in particular from Councilman John Friend?…that Mole #5 has reported that a member of the ERC was overheard asking a member of the City Council “just what is VETTING anywayâ€â€¦that if the members of the ERC can’t answer that question by now that they are not even engaged enough in the process to do some rudimentary searches on Google?…that a VETTING PROCESS is adopted prior to the acceptance of bids?…that there are several levels of VETTING that are done by all sorts of businesses and that the bankers on the ERC should be fully familiar with these protocols?
IS IT TRUE that most everyone was VETTED at a minimum level when we applied for that first credit card after high school?…that such a VETTING PROCESS to issue a credit limit of a couple of hundred dollars for the most part wants to establish that you have a pulse, an address, and a job?…that beyond that if you have not already defaulted then you shall be approved?…that the next round of VETTING that most of us were subjected to was in purchasing a car?…that they were looking for a pulse, an address, a job, and maybe a short credit history?…that we were also VETTED to get a mortgage and that the banks are looking for a pulse, a job, an address, a credit history, AND a purchaser of the mortgage so they can flip it for a 4% transaction fee?…that every one of these VETTING PROCESSES is more than has been required of developers by the City of Evansville?…that Sears is more diligent about VETTING people for credit cards with a $200 limit than the ERC and the City of Evansville have been about committing millions of dollars of taxpayer’s money?
IS IT TRUE that the first questions on the VETTING sheet before even doing a cursory credit check should be?
1. Have you ever built a hotel? Explain the details!
2. Have you ever run or even worked in a hotel? Explain the details!
3. Why do you want to do this project? Explain the details!
4. Can you post a performance bond?
IS IT TRUE that if these simple questions are not answered satisfactorily that there is no need to take the next step?…that the application should not even be read if these questions are not adequately addressed?…that the right answer to question #4 is YES?
All the member of the ERC would have had to do is read the CCO for all the info on vetting they would have needed, it would have saved the embarrassment of having to ask…
CCO: 1) I have some suggestions on the vetting process I would like to discuss with the member of the Vetting Committee wearing the short shorts. Could you please forward contact information ?; and 2) Could you tell me the name of the dog which serves on the Vetting Committee (I need this information in a flash, please) ?
Is it true, “that Sears is more diligent about VETTING people for credit cards with a $200 limit than the ERC and the City of Evansville have been about committing millions of dollars of taxpayer’s money?”
[Applause!]
But let me suggest another twist:
Since bureaucrats at the ERC are not elected, yet hold such power over this population’s resources… Also since we’ve just heard statements from members that if true… might imply, dangerous, incompetence? The public should be demanding to hear exactly what is the administration/Council’s vetting process for placing individuals on ERC, too!
Even, Mr. Friend, seems potentially to have recently found this contractor vetting religion as perhaps a sort of cover, for past sins.
Is it true, problems with “contractor vetting”, should translate to a voter… to a questionable evaluation processes, or to use laymans terms simply – questionable judgement?
Is there really any reason to believe individuals could have suspect judgement when it comes to evaluating a contractor, and sound judgement in all other areas of leadership?
Is it true the past “vetting” process for ERC membership might be…
1.) Has your past actions sufficiently deserved patronage?
2.) Double check #1.
I do not believe, the lack of a formal contractor vetting process should really be the, be-all end-all. The real question is, do these leaders understand evaluating costs and benefits? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cost-benefit_analysis) To get where they are, they clearly do. But – here is the rub – why should we be expected to believe they only dropped the ball, here?
If the administration/council has shown themselves to be lacking/incompetent to vet a contractor, how can they possibly have vetted properly, all the bureaucrats and/or employees they appoint?
Or yet another twist:
How many other contracts that have been approved need to be reviewed for soundness?
After seeing one major contract problem… might Mr. Friend be asked to put on an Auditors hat… to get an idea of how many other (non-vetted) contracts may have put taxpayer money at substantial risk?
The ERC had a six-person committee (appointed by ?) that recommended VenuWorks after clandestine interviews at the Vectren HQ. That must have been far more important to the ERC than the hotel project. The ERC is still wondering why an insurance agent with zero hotel and zero construction experience couldn’t finance and build a hotel. The ERC makes Boss Hogg look like Warren Buffet by comparison.
Joe Biden, your last sentence was priceless. Analogy of the Year candidate !
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