IS IT TRUE May 22, 2013

1. I will do my bit for the party by suggesting that you can get it done for less than $25K.

   http://www.sdgtrailersales.com/category.php?id=4

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   • Thanks for the information on concession trailers. We are trying to decide what we need and how much money we are able to raise for this project. The cooking equipment inside the trailer is a costly item.

     Also thanks for being a Republican.

     Wayne Parke
     Chairman Republican Party

2. I believe Warren saying that having the downtown hotel will increase conventions coming to the city which will bring in people that will stay not only in the new downtown hotel, but in all the other hotels as well. Even so, I doubt it would increase the room nights anywhere near 40%.

3. So far there is nothing to be impressed with Warren on. He did indeed try to sneak the ball fields project back onto the Roberts site by emailing the task force after the public meetings. And he is still going to pick a lousy location that has all signs pointing to it being in the boondocks (Goebel in all likelihood). He was brought here for one reason and one reason only and that’s to shove this lousy ball fields project through the city & county gov’ts. If there wasn’t $4 mil for a simple downscaling of Roberts to fill multiple tenants needs year round to attract visitors, then I think it should be safe to say there isn’t any money for these fields as well.

   • Maybe that’s why there wasn’t 4 million dollars because they would rather waste money on ball fields

     • You are spot on. I kept trying to tell that to the “let’s sell it at all costs” crowd but they kept clinging to their locked-in theory and world view even though the Innkeepers has been and still is being collected and must be used on tourist facilities.

       And for Mike Roeder of the CVB to go in front of the Parks Board and tell them that this dog park is somehow someway going to be a good thing for the city in attracting tourists just shows how completely out of touch the CVB with the actual idea of promoting tourism. Both the CVB and the spun off sports corp are a complete joke.

4. One can sell a room 3.4 times everyday. They do it on Fares avenue.

   • The .4 is all I need . . .

5. There is a lot more at stake here than just filling hotel rooms. The Centre and Ford Center need to be utilized more at or near their capacities to help pay off the capital cost of these facilities, pay for the required maintenance upkeep of the facilities, attract new business and to maintain the ones we got downtown etc.

   In this situation, I support building the downtown hotel as suggested by Mayor Winnecke.

   Wayne Parke
   Chairman Republican Party

   • BUT…. By putting subsidized high-end apartments and shops in the government funded project we are discouraging private business ventures. Those two additions to this project are mearly fluff to pad the final bill and allow more kick-back, maybe the contractor will buy your food booth for a favor to the “party”.

     • The City Administration would have loved to have had a good local hotel owner do this project and not have to put our tax money into the project. For whatever reason no local hotel owners stepped forward–likely because of the risk. Normally I would be opposed to this type of financial assistance/gift. But in this case, I believe it is required.

       The high-end apartments will be a source of steady income to help offset cost and risk. Taxpayer money is not being used for apartments. I believe this investment will help other businesses.

       Wayne Parke

       • Wayne,

         The public was told over and over again during the arena hearings that the Ford Center would make money and spur private investment. Of course, every single study that has ever been done on publicly financed stadiums shows just the opposite, but that’s beside the point.

         Now we’re told that additional public finding is “required” to build the hotel because actual businesspeople see too much risk in the project.

         How on earth does any of this square with traditional Republican small government principles? It completely undercuts any credibility the party has in criticizing largesse at the state or federal level.

         If only there was a party that stood for small government and actually meant it.

         • One of the hard things for a person to learn/accept is to recognize what the real facts are (not what you want them to be) regarding ones current situation. If one does not like where things really are at, then the question is: Can something’s be changed to improve the likelihood of success. In this case, the answer is—yes it can be– albeit not a easy decision.

           Fact: The previous Democrat Mayor, and the City Council committed the City to to build Ford Center. The building is up and the money has been spent. Now it must be paid for by someone no matter what was previously promised or whether you were for or against the Ford Center project. The need to have a new downtown hotel next to Ford Center is not a new idea and was in fact previously recognized as a requirement to make Ford Center and the Centre financially successful. A surprise to me was the lack of interested shown by investors/owners to build the downtown hotel. The size of the financial assistance is larger than one would hope for, but it is what it is. To help protect the investment in the Ford Center and Centre facilities, the hotel needs to be built.

           We currently seem to have a good hotel investor/owner to work with on the hotel project.

           Wayne Parke
           Chairman Republican Party

           • A good investor would not be shaking the city down for $37.5 Million bucks. What we have is a mercenary that is willing to offer the city of Evansville a “heads I win, tails you lose” proposition. What is astounding is that a Republican mayor is stupid enough to fall for it. Come to think of it, this koozi peddler fell for the Earthcare scam too. Why don’t you kick Winnecke out of the party. He has less in common with republican philosophy than Nancy Pelosi does.

         • The problem is that there is zero trust between elected officials and the voting public. Why? Because the public has been lied to over and over and over again.

           All of the lies told by the previous administration (and their water boys) about the Ford Center have chipped away at public trust to the point where people are unwilling to give this administration the benefit of the doubt. It doesn’t help that the rhetoric/rationale we’re hearing sounds virtually identical to what the last group said.

           At a certain point, people simply say “enough.”. No more throwing good money after bad.

         • Wayne, with all due respect, your most recent lengthy reply above shows the true extent to which you have your head up your a–.

           Your argument can be broken down thusly… Since the other side set us on this course of spending, we must combat that with more spending to make their ill-advised adventures pan out. This is tantamount to giving the heroin addict more dope because he’s going through withdrawal symptoms. I flatly and thoroughly reject your assessment. It is this kind of ideological compromise that has brought this City to the point we’re at now, not to mention the country.

           I submit to you that this is a time to return to core principles and redouble our resolve, NOT to capitulate and make excuses for why your Party should follow you and this inept Mayor down a road to ruin, whether first paved by the Democrats or not.

           Furthermore, why should it surprise you that investors might shy away from investing in a new hotel beside an unproven facility in a rust belt City in Southern Indiana during the worst credit crunch in 75 years? No one in a position of leadership should have been caught off guard by that fact.

           Sir, again with all due respect, I like you as a person, but I think it’s time for you to step down. You do not have the stomach for this.

       • Wayne, You’re a sellout. You have no business running the Party if you can say “in this case, I believe it is required”…

         This is not the position a “conservative” should ever be back into. Either you have principles or you don’t. My guess is, Chancellor and Winnecke have rubbed off on you to damn much.

         Don’t get me wrong, I think you’re a nice guy, but this sticks in my crawl. You’re part of the problem.

         • Somebody take a picture of this because it only happens once every 100 years— I agree with Linzy.

       • PS: Someone in the RP please step forward and replace Mr. Parke before he does himself and the local Party any more damage. Where is the choice? What alternative viewpoint is the local RP supposedly espousing? Right now, with the statements I just read above from the mouth of the Chairman, and the actions of this so-called “Republican” Mayor, I don’t see a hill of beans difference between the GOP and the jokers on the other side of the idiot spectrum.

         Mr. Parke has clearly allowed himself to drift too far down the road of compromise to ever be salvaged. Someone step up and take over.

         • The Whig party died out largely because it equivocated on the fundamental moral issue of the day: slavery. The abolitionist Republican Party was born in the aftermath.

           The republican party isnat a similar crossroads with regard to the great moral issue of our time: fiscal accountability.

           If it clings the middle path, it will go the way of it’s predecessor.

       • You can’t possibly be serious. You stood in front of the Parks Board and told them that we had to move forward with the Mayor’s plan to demolish Roberts because no private firms had come forward (which is incorrect, three tenants were interested in renting the facility, 2 arena operators were interested in managing it, and one group wanted to schedule trade shows as well). The end result was a waste of money that is still being wasted on a dog park that does absolutely nothing for this city.

         But now you are saying this hotel must be green lighted because of the indirect benefits it will have not direct revenue from a private developer? This hotel is barely going to be bigger than an interstate motel. If it was that desperately needed, perhaps plowing into the side of the Exec for this arena was a bad idea after all.

         Honestly, are these your opinions or are these you having to be pc in support of the mayor? These downtown TIF funds could be used in a thousand different and better ways than this.

   • The Centre has been a Money pit since it opened, and there was a hotel, and a Skywalk to the Centre Centre at that time. We are now down $7 million in operating expense. Why at this point do you expect a different result? Take your Elitist agenda agenda to a place where the Sun shines 24/7 , you know the place, it’s in your mind, and always paid for with other people’s money.

   • Mr. Park, What is your stance on the Johnson Controls project and Robert’s Park? Surely you do not support these wasteful projects.

     • Not to presume to answer for his present attitude, but the last I spoke to him in person he thought the Johnson Controls thing was, I think the exact wording was, “idiotic”, but he supports Roberts Park. Maybe he can clarify if those are still his positions or if the Johnson Controls deal looks better now to him too… Maybe Johnson Controls is now just as “necessary” as the taxpayer subsidized hotel he supports.

       • Well if Wayne said the Johnson Controls deal was idiotic then he was correct. Evansville is $815 Million in sewers and $500 Million in replacing aging water pipes away from being in any position to spend $53 Million on shiny new water meters. The Johnson Controls deal makes less financial sense than putting $10,000 spinner rims on a 30 year old car that barely starts with 500,000 miles on it.

         • The Johnson Control project is much more than just water meter upgrades. I do believe the large water meters need to replaced because of improper usage(low)readings.

           This project also includes a lot of work on the sewer utility side of the business including installing equipment to burn methane to generate electricity. The sewer utility expenditatures are over 50% of the capital project cost.

           The Mayor Winnecke team is negotiating to improve the bad deal that Mayor Weinzapel agreed to right before he left office. Also Monday night, the the City Council passed a resolution to appeal the water rate increase that the Public Utility okayed for this project. So the the Mayors office and the City Council are trying to improve the situation we find ourselves in created by Mayor Weinzapel.

           Wayne Parke
           Chairman Republic Party

     • We are in this Johnson Control pickle, because the previous Democrat Mayor signed/agreed to a contract that was in fact “idiotic”. This was done 45 days before he left office and done without City Council approval. Mayor Winnecke was left holding the bag, because the previous Mayor may have contractually bound the Mayor’s office.

       There has been some recent improvements/cost reductions in the Johnson Control plans. Assuming I understand the current basic facts/plans correctly, I still do not support the Johnson Control Project.

       Having said that, many large water meters need to be replaced ASAP and there are some other things that need to be done as well. There are several other things that should not be done.

       Wayne Parke
       Chairman Republican Party

       • Wayne, I don’t support the JCI project either.

         But you act like your R-friends at City have been the victims of the former Mayor’s egregious acts.

         In fact, the current Administration:

         1. Filed an Appeal with IN Court of Appeals when the IURC denied the original petition (could have let it die right then);
         2. Ask for reconsideration by IURC of that denial (also denied);
         3. Submitted a new Cause with IURC (which was approved); and
         4. Vowed to bring their own financing (likely financed by Johnson Controls themselves) if the City Council denies the request for Bond Issue–basically, usurp the fiscal authority of the City Council.

         Tell us Wayne–are the R’s sitting in the Civic Center really ‘victims’ or just co-conspirators ??

     • As I said above he has supported Roberts’ Park. But, he has also been consistently against the Johnson Controls deal so he’s batting .500. I will say he should be commended for coming on and expressing his view when you, I , and everyone else know this place is a hornets nest for a pro-hotel viewpoint. If he retracted his position on Roberts I wouldn’t have a problem with his statements, but so far he has backed a mayor who has allowed a completely inaccurate task force report to basically erase 2 years of hard work with a better plan. I just can’t support that.

       • The Roberts Stadium property use is another example of former Democrat Mayor Weinzapel leaving Mayor Winnecke holding the bag with Roberts Stadium future use question unresolved. When Mayor Winnecke came into office, the Ford Center (wrong or right), was already committed to be built. Mayor Weinzapel did not address the Roberts Stadium issue when the Ford Center project was put together as he should have. This is another case that you have to deal with the facts as they are and not what you want them to be.

         The tax/utility ratepayers of Vanderburgh county can only afford to pay so much. The City and County Council have a limited amount of funds to work with and they have many problems to address.

         Doing nothing with the Roberts Stadium property was not an acceptable option because we do not want an eyesore on the busiest road in town. While I have many fond memories regarding Roberts Stadium building, it does not have real historical significance when compared to other structures in the city that need to be preserved. With Ford Center built and the need to utilize it, there was not any longterm alternate(s) uses of Roberts Stadium that would not be a huge cash drain on taxpayers money. Tearing down the building and building a park in my judgment was the best option available even though I am not sure we need another park because of the lack of full utilization of the parks we currently have and Wesselman Park being right next to it. Making the property a park stills allows the property to be utilize for some other uses including selling it, if the city finances get in a real big bind.

         Wayne Parke
         Chairman Republican Party.

         • Sir, I really do appreciate you coming on here with your views. I hope Adrian Brooks and Ben Miller will follow suit with their requests from the CCO to do the same.

           Lloyd Winnecke inherited a golden opportunity not a mess. As I said above, there was an indoor soccer team, a minor league basketball team, and an indoor football team among many others interested in that facility that will never ever be able to afford the Ford Center. Not to mention this past GLVC Tournament was an absolute disgrace due to the economy of scale being completely out of whack while the Icemen, who could have marketed to GLVC tourists were forced to be sent on the road.

           BOTH SMG and VENUWORKS themselves agreed that a downsized Roberts would not hurt the Ford Center. BOTH have a long deep history of managing multiple arenas in one city. BOTH said they would be interested in bidding on the facility as long as “Aces basketball games and premier concerts were the only restriction.”

           Scott Schoenike of Venuworks did a great job managing the Delta Plex in Grand Rapids MI (city under 200,000) after the Van Adel Center opened up. Sandie Aaron oversees many multiple facilities including the ones in Tulsa and she even brought Roberts out of the red in 1994. There are many cities under 200,000 population with different sized arenas. Grand Rapids was one, Grand Forks, ND is another that I can think of off the top of my head. And soon, Sioux Falls, SD will be joining them…

           http://www.kdlt.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13731&Itemid=57

           http://rememberrobertsstadium.blogspot.com/2011/12/sioux-falls-south-dakota-well-go-with-2.html

         • I’m not sure if my first post posted but here is the second part…

           My main problem with the handling of the task force was the blatant amount of avoidance by Lloyd Winnecke. It was pretty obvious he just put me on the task force as a way of trying to make it look like this task force was giving a good faith effort when in reality it was not. Lloyd Winnecke spent 0 seconds, 0 hrs, and o days sitting down with my subcommittee and going over our proposals, much less talking to venuworks/smg, talking with the tenants, talking with the restaurants nearby who are in a tailspin, and talking with USI.

           Yet, his buddy Coker comes up with a skatepark idea that was DOA due to the fact that these facilities are dropping like flies around here and he runs off to Columbus, OH and Louisville, KY. Be honest, due think the task force was handled properly.

           And no, it was NOT Roberts vs other historical buildings. It was Roberts vs the ball fields for Innkeepers Tax money. Roberts would have been a multi-dimensional, year round facility that would have also allowed indoor greenway walking on non event days as well as a disaster relief area. Wouldn’t you agree that’s a better use of Innkeepers money especially when neither don mattingly nor the MLB grants dept have been asked to help with building ball fields next to the third oldest active ballpark?

           Not to mention, the old courthouse is run by the Bar Assoc, the old Jail has a law firm in it, the Coliseum is run by the Veterans, the old Central Gym is run by the YMCA, and the old Greyhound Bus Station is in the process of being run by Indiana Landmarks. How exactly is the gov’t overstocked on historical facilities? I can’t believe Carol McClintock would call up Roberts Stadium supporters and tell them that.

         • One last post about a few comments that have been bothering me.

           I am deeply offended by Dan McGinn suggesting that Roberts Stadium looks like a communist building. That design was constructed by Ralph Legeman who is basically the only local architect to have ever accomplished anything. He owns the patent for the Indiana Field House design and his largest h.s gym (New Castle) is the largest in the world, houses the Indiana Basketball H.O.F, and replicates Roberts. McGinn clearly doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

           Another comment he made was in regards to the cemeteries. IIRC, didn’t he say something along the lines of “I don’t recall hearing any complaints from the dead”? Please tell me these are not the actual beliefs of a Republican City Council Member! And please tell me that if this member of your party feels this way, your party DOES NOT AGREE with him. Our cemeteries are in a terrible condition. We need to fix them not make offensive comments like that.

         • “Doing nothing with the Roberts Stadium property was not an acceptable option because we do not want an eyesore on the busiest road in town.”

           Believing in the free market and selling it wouldn’t have been “doing nothing”, Wayne. Again, where are your principles? You aren’t a conservative if you don’t believe in the ability of the free market to find the best use for a property. You are espousing a viewpoint that champions government intervention and economic planning by bureaucracy. That’s not “conservative”. It’s certainly not in the Republican Platform anywhere I can find.

           Why spend millions to create a park only to sell later “if City finances get in a real bind”? Why not just spare taxpayers the expense of tearing down the facility? It is possible a free market solution could have kept the Stadium erect! All tearing it down did was limit the options and ensure an investor wouldn’t have a building or ready-made pavement on the lot. You either know jack about economics or you’re just trying to be an apologist for a Republican Mayor, who is just another RINO like yourself. I believe it is a mixture of both.

           I appreciate you having the balls to come on here and offer up your misguided opinions too, but they have only confirmed to me you need to step down.

       • “Another comment he (McGinn) made was in regards to the cemeteries. IIRC, didn’t he say something along the lines of “I don’t recall hearing any complaints from the dead”? (Rails&RobertsStadium)

         *******************

         Your timing for this comment could not be better selected, considering this is Memorial Day weekend, but I would like better verification that Dan McGinn made such a remark, especially within the context you suggest.

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         • The context of the comment was that it was made during a city council meeting with regards to approving additional funding for the two city cemeteries due to a proposed bill brought forward by John Friend and co-sponsored by Al Lindsey.

           Somebody originally reported that it was Connie Robinson but it was later said to be Dan McGinn by multiple people on this site…

           (https://city-countyobserver.com/2012/07/31/councilwoman-connie-robinson-appalled-by-condition-of-oak-hill-cemetery/)

           For that reason, I am asking for clarification if McGinn did indeed make the comment, does he stand by it, and does Mr. Parke and Vanderburgh Co. Republican Party stand by these comments if they were indeed made.

         • I’m also asking for Mr. Parke’s view on how the task force was handled given the above the statements that I made as well.

6. If the developer wants to build the appartments with their own money, let them with the following condition: Any related expenses such as extra parking garage spaces for the appartment tenants must also be funded in full by the developer.

   • Any apartments built with taxpayer “help” is simply section 8 housing for the chosen few who could afford it without help. Will these be money makers? The same goes for the shops, let the private invester put up the cash, run the show, make the profit.

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