IS IT TRUE November 18, 2013

1. “a report on just who is currently in charge at EMA and what their qualifications are is in order and it should come directly from Mayor Winnecke?”

   ———

   I believe Cliff Weaver is on loan from EFD as the acting EMA director, I also believe that there is still an on-going investigation of the EMA and that no new hire(s) will be forthcoming until the investigation is finished.

   JMHO

   • There is a job posted in the Civic Center for Director of EMA right now. As for Weaver, what are his qualifications other than being one of Winnecke’s court jesters? They can’t hire anyone because they can’t get any qualified applicants for what they want to pay.

     • Cliff Weaver has decades of public safety experience. He has over 50 active certifications in emergency management. He is a member of a FEMA Search and rescure team that was one of the first teams to respond to Long Island after Superstorm Sandy.
       You call him a jester? What have you done to help your fellow man? Besides sit on your computer and wave the CCO complainer flag?

       • +1

         Most people that have worked as first responders as long as Weaver & Chandler have the credentials to serve well in these positions. In the event of a tragedy in our community, I feel confident in their ability to make the right choices to bring relief efficiently and effectively.

2. Someone please help me out here,I don’t know the law or proper regulations for my question. Why doesn’t the city take an aggressive stance to condemn, take possession and SELL/auction these properties outright? Is this not someones job within the city ranks? If it isn’t, why not delegate that duty or create a position that will work exclusively on this issue.

   There are many individuals/companies who flip properties, there are folks who are not afraid to take on home renovation, the longer these places sit the more expensive the reno becomes. Seems like a win-win for the city and developers to get this in process and progress.

   • The city is on a case by case basis demolishing these homes, there are considerations to be made in each and everyone of them, the city has a limited budget but one by one as they become a hazard they are condemned and go through the legal process.

     I had first hand knowledge of the process last year as a home in our neighborhood was taken down, it’s not a speedy process, there are legal proceedings that must be met, and as I said the city has a limited amount of funds allocated for this task, 10k homes is a heck of a lot to have to deal with and in a lot of cases the homes may be salvageable which would be preferable to wholesale destruction and vacant lots.

     The big thing to consider is how the property became abandoned, if it was foreclosed upon then the legal red tape becomes very long and detailed, sometimes it’s difficult to determine just who the owner is (mortgage co or buyer), throw in a bankruptcy to a foreclosure and the red tape is almost never ending, as long as the property taxes are being paid the city has little incentive to do much but write code violations and keep levying fines until it becomes unsafe and gets condemned.

     JMHO

   • The city has been aggressive since Tom Bennett made his statement. It has been using code enforcement violations and deliquent property tax collection to get the homes vacated.

     Evansville Brownfields is acting as the holding company for these properties after they have made their way through the courts. There is an annual budget item for the demolition of these properties.

     The complete process takes time to execute. Flipping these properties is not an option, as few people want to put their money into a property that is in an area that is considered less than desirable, and therefor unlikely to sell even after renovation.

     The politicians are concentrating on residential properties, but the amount of commercial eyesores are just as devastating an image to visitors and residents as well. Commercial sprawl is leaving behind vacant buildings everywhere. We seem to lack the same leadership effort on the commercial side that we have on the residential side. That needs to be fixed.

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   • Best Practices from other cities:

     Chula Vista drafted and passed an Abandoned Property Registration/Maintenance Ordinance which requires
     lenders to act on the ―Abandonment and Waste‖ clause within their mortgage contract.

     Simply stated, this clause gives lenders the authority to enter onto vacant abandoned property in which
     they hold a beneficial interest and secure and maintain the property against vandalism and deterioration.

     Although most lenders agree this clause provides them the right to maintain the property, they state it does not provide an obligation to do so.

     This ordinance makes acting on the clause a requirement. It also requires that the lenders
     register the property with the City (and pay a $70.00 fee), hire a local property management/maintenance
     company to maintain it, and post their name and contact number on it.

     There are significant
     fines for non-compliance. There are similar ordinances in other jurisdictions that make reference
     to the ―owner‖ of the property, but such a reference does not allow the jurisdiction to hold the lender responsible until after the foreclosure is complete.

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     • Our city council might want to investigate a similar ordinance.

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3. There are a large number of methods that can be used to solve this problem. Many of them have been suggested, but like usual, the good ideas by community members get ignored (in this case by the County Commission) because the ideas are just not important to them since it is not in their backyard. So neighborhoods where these run-down houses and their absentee landlords have to suffer from the neglect outlined in the article.

   One of the things that is upsetting is that we see a clear picture of bureaucracy that shows numerous departments are attempting to chip away at a huge problem, we see how there has been successful work done in 2006, so why is that not being pursued further?

   It should be pointed out that the City and County has invested MILLIONS in the Tyler Technology system, and Tyler Technologies has modules that would greatly enhance code enforcement, speeding up the process of citations and violations. The Tyler Technology system is being underutilized, and increasing the use of available technology would lead to enhanced enforcement, leading to increased revenue and speeding up the process of removing these eyesores in our community.

   I want to note that the implementation of the Tyler Technology system that was done by Evansville is not a fair representation of how powerful their system is. The implementation of the accounting module was badly handled without following acceptable industry guidelines and practices, and we have suffered from that for quite some time with the balancing of our City finances. But if you review what Tyler Technologies has done in other communities (and in cities far larger than Evansville and Vanderburgh County), you will see that those communities saw a lot of benefits from the use of modern technology from a community and neighborhood aspect of beautification. Using the modern tools of technology also plays into the financial aspect of holding absentee landlords and owners of neglected and “abandoned” properties accountable for their actions and neglect. If Vanderburgh County wants to improve our neighborhoods, then a little collaboration will go a long way.

   The root of this problem would seem to be squarely laid upon the shoulders of the Vanderburgh County Commission members. You can bet that if the abandoned and dilapidated homes were in their neighborhoods they would be all over this. However, since this issue and the homes outlined on the provided map show that the majority of the homes are in the “poorer” areas of Vanderburgh County, they could care less.

   Just like so many things, our elected officials give “lip service” to the blight that is involved with the types of homes mentioned in this article, yet do nothing to help improve our community. I have seen countless articles on various community oriented websites that outline not only how to solve this problem, but also how to do so in a cost-effective fashion, something that would be self-supporting in enforcement.

   I guess since working on the blight in our community is not a good enough for the Queen of the County Commission and her cohorts. You would think that a realtor would care about neighborhoods in Vanderburgh County, but we all know that the “little people” who live next to the types of homes mentioned in this article are not ones who make large contributions to her party. Now that I think about it, the “absentee landlords” this article discusses are probably the ones who DO make campaign donations to the Queen and her party, so we know that neither the Queen or King Wayne would never do anything to upset the “status quo” by actually holding people accountable for the nuisance and infestation these run-down properties afflict on their neighbors and the community as a whole.

4. It is common knowledge that EFD District Chief Cliff Weaver is interim director and EPD Captain Andy Chandler is interim deputy director. I’m sure that both men were on high alert yesterday.

5. To compare Evansville to Detroit, Cleveland, Gary, Youngstown, or Camden is asinine. I went to grad school in Detroit; they have empty slums the SIZE of Evansville. It’s really not even comparable. No city could possibly survive if it loses 50% of its population; there’s way more going on there than politics. If you’re not from Detroit, you can easily blame it on Democrats (which is silly). That city fell apart because it was one of the first cities to have interstates reaching its suburbs and lets be honest, racism put many of those whites in the suburbs as well. If you’re looking for a good read on what happened in Detroit check out “The Arc of Justice” by Kevin Boyle.

   To reverse the housing trend, I wish the city would be more progressive with the Arts District Homes. If you go just north of downtown in Indy, you can see what an entire neighborhood of those homes looks like finished. It’s awesome to see middle class families living in town again and their kids playing outside. I think Evansville was on the right track, we just need to do more; a couple houses here and there doesn’t change the neighborhood. The demand to live in the historic district is there; the developers are just hesitant.

   • I agree with you 100%. Detroit was decimated by urban sprawl and “white flight”. With the unemployment statistics in the black community, it is impossible to sustain a city that size. 50% of the population moved out of the taxing district that supported the infrastructure. That’s unfathomable to those that have never seen anything like it. I also agree with your assessment of the Arts District. One of the problems that I see with the Arts District is that it is not clearly defined for the average person. It would be nice to have the street signs in that area changed so that you know you’re in the Arts District every time you come to an intersection. That simple act will generate buzz and draw more interest.

     • It would help immediately if there was signage at locations where art is actively created. Unless there are provisions in the overlay zoning ordinance preventing signage, don’t blame it on the City when the artists don’t actively promote their locations.

       • Agreed. The movement needs to start at the grassroots level and there are groups that have been working on this. SculptEVV and the Alhambra events have helped increase the exposure. It will take a collaborative approach as well. Check out the YouTube video from TEDxOU where Jason Roberts, creator of How To Build A Better Block, talks about the need of the people to sometimes move forward with making the changes that they want if the municipality isn’t moving on its own.

   • Your correct that blaming Detroit’s situation on democrats is silly, just look at Seattle or San Francisco. Blaming whites for fleeing a crime ridden city is equally as silly. Instead of “The Arc of Justice” that had those at the NYT enthralled people would do well to check out “Escape from Detroit” by Paul Kersey for the real reason Detroit fell.

     • hmmm….is it true paul kersey was saying it is not liberal rule per se but the color of the liberal leaders and the people that inhabit the city???????

6. Its common knowledge that both Weaver and Chandler are political appointees to run the EMA. Both are nice guys but don’t have the expertise that Mr. Greer had. I agree with the CCO on this one. Thank God Evansville didn’t take a direct hit yesterday.

7. The neighborhood in which abandoned homes are located is often a deciding factor to an investor. I know contractors that refuse to go to certain areas of town because unless they lock everything in a secure vehicle it will be stolen. Many work from open pick up trucks so that’s a real issue.
   Give some homes away! Some upstart with drive & an investor or two would love to get a free home to renovate & sell. It would be a kickstart to their investing & help neighborhoods out while also adding to the tax base.
   A few of the houses in super bad shape can be used for firefighter training & burnt to the ground when finished.

8. CCO you are right on about the comparison of evansville to detroit…….detroit under liberal rule for 50yrs ran the middle class out with high taxes and crime……it is a fact when he liberals start redistributing the wealth and the government gets to big the results are the government cannot do anything well except spend more money they do not have…….it is sad 47% of detroit residence can not read…..liberalism at its best…….

   • Corporate greed killed Detroit.

     • lolllll yesum whiles the coutry goes down we liberals still blames the bussiness owners thats the tickets

       • Hire mexican slaves so they don’t have to pay hard working Americans. I think I’m correct.

     • Amazing that Toyota, Subaru, Nissan, Mercedes all have plants that seem to do well and they have don’t have UAW workers..what a coincidence they are in business.. next time I’m at TMMI I will look for all those Mexicans..I’m sure Detroit putting out a sub par product for years with job bank labor practices that helped add $6000 per auto for Union legacy cost had nothing to do with Chrysler or GM’s demise.

       As far as white flight, when a city burns to the ground and your being taxed to death you move. That explains a lot more of why Detroit is failing than the Interstate system that help spur Detroit post WWII growth.

       • Several years back I had heard that their $30,000+ SUV cost about $13-14,000 for total production cost. Nice profit towards the ones who had no direct connection to its production.

         • Yep, but those poor widdle billionaires are the REAL victims here.

           • It looks like there are only 442 billionaires in the whole country. I wonder how many people like you those 442 billionaires employ? I guarantee that number is in the tens of millions. I wonder how many taxes are paid by these billionaires and their employees? Not enough to fuel the entitlement driven dictatorship that the USA has devolved into under Obama. By the way if you just took everything that Bill Gates has it would run the government for 3 days.

             http://www.forbes.com/sites/erincarlyle/2013/03/06/full-list-u-s-billionaires-of-2013/

         • Doctor: This whole campaign to lower and lower wages and benefits in this country is alarming. It is born out of two mindsets. The first is people who have never experienced any disadvantage, therefore having no empathy toward the modern American slave (worker.) The second is people who have fallen victim to the new wave of brainwashing that teaches it is normal to have to work more and more for less and less, and the threat of using slave labor in 3rd world countries is somehow acceptable. The modern trend of cheering for lower and lower wages and living standards should be totally alarming. Do people not realize that in all civilized countries except this one people can have a life outside of work? Even if everyone got out and got educated, we’d still need people to do menial jobs. The corporate greed that has shipped away manufacturing is the real culprit in all this mess. I won’t be convinced otherwise. It seems like the advertising of Koch Bros and company has been very effective, and that is sad. The big threat is that if the min. wage is raised so would prices. Well then I’d have to ask, if we suddenly lowered the min. wage or eliminated it, would prices fall? I seriously doubt it. Also, prices have continued to rise and rise yet the min. wage has remained the same. I’d contend that if we raised the min. wage wouldn’t those who have the highest propensity to spend (the working poor) go out and spend thus stimulating the economy? We are certain Reagan’s voodoo trickle down economics doesn’t work. We’ve seen it fail multiple times. Why not raise the min. wage and give people more money to spend and trickle up? That’s proven to work.

9. Interesting IIT this morning. Some things here,emergency management preparation has many applications. Your area is probably was well defined as any in that respect. The most important objective of a emergency impending disaster is a given capability to keep the population of the area effectively warned and prepared for the things on the approaching horizon.

   That was covered in your area by the external commercial media during this outbreak. The intensity and speed at which the system spread was epic,by any event historical,and the # 2 overall North american atmospheric storm front passage recorded so far this year. Who is looking out for you,the National Weather Service,NOAA and the other media based storm prediction centers.
   Who makes that more possible for the NWS in an always evolving forward orbital planetary and solar system science program? NASA. Check out the MODIS instruments on board The Terra and Aqua eos/am,eos/pm.

   Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer(MODIS) Technology moving forward for early oceans and atmospheric storm prediction systems globally.

   Good article: International business times (science),covers some of this.

   (AU.I.B.Times.com) Article By Janice Somosot 11/11/13

   We only have this one planet its atmosphere,and its closed environment. Its all contained by planetary and solar geophysical/astrophysical influences.
   The Earths climate is an incremental balance,every element contained thereof is more or less in the planet biosphere,being transformed into all of its closed systems time immortal.
   The same moisture and pressures that swamped Leyte,and Tacloban could have just as easily or possibly just moved into the Midwest yesterday. We are all living inside the same hollow Glass ball when it comes to real planetary climate change.

   “oops? I have just developed a new theory of eternity.”(“Einstein”)

10. I know Sherman Greer, Sherman is a friend of mine. I can tell you that Chandler and Weaver are no Sherman Greer!

11. The government should not be in the business of mandating “lifestyle changes” by encroaching on private property rights. I could not disagree more with the Editor on the smoking ban issue. It is an intrusion which has been unfairly implemented by allowing Aztar/Tropicana an exemption. The danger with allowing, or even championing, this kind of intrusion, despite any merits of its effects, is that government, once given a power, will use that lever of power to reward friends and punish enemies. This is not a power government should ever be trusted to wield. I quit smoking years before the ban went into effect. That decision wasn’t made because of a mandate. It was made for economic and health reasons. The country has been quitting smoking at a steady rate even in areas where no bans exist. The only regulation I would support in this area is the requirement that in order to operate a business within city limits, the owner would be required to post a sign at all entrances indicating whether or not smoking was allowed inside their building.

    While I sided with the Mayor on the Greer firing, the fact that position has not been replaced in a timely manner, and, worse still, that severe weather has come and gone in the time period of the office’s vacancy, is an inexcusable blunder. Evansville is the third largest city in the state, who is in charge?

    I share the Editor’s question here: “…we wonder when Evansville will cease doing “monkey see monkey do” projects that have failed in many other places and start concentrating on the things that end death spirals by creating good 21st century jobs that are based in intellectual property and critical skills?”

    • (Do use) this quote: “creating good 21st century jobs that are based on intellectual property and critical skills”

      (Don’t use) this tactic: (snegal),ie: Sneaky. But legal?.
      another definition (bcbu),ie: Barely constitutional? But used. Always challenge either,for use as an community laxative for innovative commerce applied infrastructure growth.
      Fix? Maybe,some better things on the horizon. No innovative enterprise will intentionally knee cap themselves by locating in any focused economy with a statistically proven closed network business infrastructure,especially those business/political environments being historically smitten by the obvious heaving financial throws of cronyism.
      Doesn’t fit any conceivable business plan driven by unique free market innovation driver.

      That Canadian Guy Mark Steyn kinda said it there. “If you like your constitution, you can keep it” accept for these amendment’s”.

      Sometimes that’s applied per selected location, it seems? Looking from the outside.

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