IS IT TRUE November 26, 2012

16

The Mole #??

IS IT TRUE selected people were called to the office of the Mayor of Evansville for a briefing on the pending choice of what is happening with respect to making a choice of three proposals received by the Evansville Redevelopment Commission’s RFP to construct and operate a Convention hotel where the old Executive Inn parking garage once stood?…it was disclosed to this preferred media source that yet another committee similar in makeup to the committee cobbled together to decide the fate of Roberts Stadium?…what is mystifying is how Mayor Winnecke who campaigned on the premise of transparency, openness, and collaboration has chosen not to put the three in hand proposals online so that members of the community who will most certainly be asked to finance a significant portion of the Weinzapfel legacy problem child can see what is being proposed before the decision is made?…that not only does it appear that this decision will be made by a hand-picked committee of friendly faces but that members of the Evansville City Council will be cajoled into line in “one-on-one” meetings with Mayor Winnecke?

IS IT TRUE the Mayor must have been inspired by the recent movie about the amount of back door wheeling and dealing that President Lincoln went through to pass the 13th amendment to the US Constitution?…this is not a world changing philosophical decision?…this is really just a hotel in a location that real free market investors in hospitality have deemed unworthy of unsubsidized investment?…this is neither rocket science nor high finance but it has been a nagging failure of the City of Evansville for over 4 years with no hotel in sight until the beginning of 2015, a full 6 ½ years after a smiling Mayor Weinzapfel triumphantly announced that Browning investments would build a 4-Star hotel without public subsidy complete with a restaurant called JW’s if the City of Evansville moved forward with a downtown arena?…since that time this project has been a series of failures resembling the Hadi clowns that have been entertaining people at the Shrine Circus this week at the Ford Center?

IS IT TRUE the Ford Center and the Centre are both losing money faster than most people can count?…the numbers released to the public for operational losses do not even include the amount of money spent to pay the debt on the facilities?…both of those facilities were sold to the public as being the saving grace that would reignite downtown Evansville with a business boom to bring us all back to the 1950’s when Evansville was at its zenith in national significance?…both of those projects and the Victory Theatre have failed to turn a profit and have failed to start a downtown renaissance?…a downtown hotel will not start a renaissance either because in the big scheme of the Evansville hospitality market the number of rooms are a drop in the bucket for what we already have?…good local operators like Casino Aztar, Dunn Hospitality, and a few others have realized this and have not even submitted bids to be considered for Mayor Weinzapfel’s folly on Walnut and MLK?…they both have invested heavily in the Evansville market without picking the taxpayer’s pockets for subsidies and have done so with financial success?…if these companies know how to invest in Evansville’s hotel base without corporate welfare then a fair question for the hotel committee and the Evansville City Council that will be asked to fund this venture should be WHY MUST WE OFFER CORPORATE WELFARE TO OUTSIDERS TO BUILD A HOTEL THAT IS TOO SMALL TO MATTER TO A 10,000 SEAT ARENA OR A 1,000+ PERSON CONVENTION CENTER?

IS IT TRUE the Mole Nation has been offering up some of what we can expect from the Office of the Mayor when the veil of secrecy is removed?…we can expect a higher price for the project than even Weinzapfel ever envisioned that may top $50 Million?…we can expect the City Council to be asked to take over $20 Million taxpayer dollars and spend them to make this project happen?…these numbers are consistent with the writings of the City County Observer over the last several years and we must assume that the learning curve for the government of Evansville must be about 5 years?…at the end of the secret meetings Mayor Winnecke, the ERC, and the Council will be faced with a decision of whether to front end load this project with $20 Million+ of taxpayer dollars or look out the window at the empty lot now known as Weinzapfel’s folly for the indefinite future?…the last time Mayor Winnecke formed a group and took Council members aside for a cajoling session the Earthcare Energy debacle happened?…the words “laughing stock” have followed that little coup de tat ever since?

IS IT TRUE that the CCO calls upon the Winnecke Administration to post the three proposals on the City of Evansville website so the people of this town and the businesses that will be competing with a project that defies the very foundation of free markets can see what is being proposed with THEIR MONEY?

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16 COMMENTS

  1. I’m sick of people blaming the former Controller for the mess. It was clearly the software and the State Board’s fault. The software wasn’t able to be dumbed down to the level that the staff could understand it in a timely manner. Also, the State Board has some major issues. One of their auditors has audited the City for 20 years in a row. That’s a conflict of interest. Another was employed by the Contoller’s Office and is related to someone high up in a City office. Another conflict. I’m sure these two said something to someone because they are both CPA’s. The State Board’s problem is with their Supervisor. He just has an associates with no CPA. He stutters and has poor communication skills. Because of poor supervision, I believe that the audit was blown out of proportion and the media needs to back off of the Controller’s Office and Umbaugh. Thank you.

    • Didn’t he ramble, “Mr. Collins, I mean.

      If Evansville had had a competent and capable Controller during Mayor Whinezapfel’s term, the company furnishing the hardware and software wouldn’t have had to dumb down the system so the then Controller could have understood it.

      I still don’t understand why Mz. Collin is still on the city payroll. She was not capable as city controller, yet she is on the city payroll at almost the same pay she was receiving in her former position. Is someone doing her a favor, as some have suggested, to enable her to receive a government pension after one more year? If so, why?

      Why does the CPA on the Water & Sewer Department governing body not demand her removal? Why did he permit her hiring for that position in the first place? I believe her position was a new position was created solely to have a place for her.

      There are many who are responsible for this fiasco. Whinezapfel and Winnecke are only two of many.

    • ” Also, the State Board has some major issues. One of their auditors has audited the City for 20 years in a row.” (Ms.Collins)

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

      This is a problem. Indiana State Troopers are moved frequently, or at least the area they patrol is changed frequently for the same basic reason auditors should be changed. You can get a little too cozy with the people you ride herd on if left there too long, and that does not benefit the public good.

      ___

      • If anyone knows this auditor then you understand why the Supervisor keeps her on the assignment for 20 years in a row. She talks 24/7 and she loves working in the Civic Center so she doesn’t have to drive. With the fact that her boss is weak and is in over his head, expect her to be on the City audit for 20 more years in a row

    • I will continue to harp on the illegal transfer of $$$ from account to account. Software troubles didn’t do that. I will continue to harp on the total lack of responsible record keeping both of the cities books, without back-up system. If after the first month of failure, would’nt a prudent public servant go back and start a back-up plan until it started working? I will also continue to harp on the lack of record keeping for the last 6 years of the cities contract with the company running the stadium, mesker,victory, & the center. There is NO excuse for the mis-handling of public trust, the last 2 administrations need to fess up to failure to perform.

    • Software Problems: Who selected and approved the purchasing of this accounting software package? There would have been on the shelve accounting software packages that already had the bugs worked out of them readily available. Is the County using the same package? Is there problems there as well? If not,why not?

      • Well Weinzapfel must be using Collins to hide some of his bullcrap and Winnecke is helping him keep it hidden like a perfect little biatch. Hiding stupidness is the only bipartisan thing that Evansville can do right. Barack Hussien Winnecke ain’t a bit better than Jonathan “Benedict Arnold” Weinzapfel. Neither one of them is worth a crap for anything.

  2. If one of the requirements to bid on this downtown hotel proposal is that the bidder must be current on their local property taxes, then I do not see how Kunkel can be included in the group. Can someone explain this?

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    • The are not one of the companies bidding. Kunkel’s ship has sailed with respect to building the hotel. I believe they were the 3rd of J.W.’s failed attempt to get the hotel built.

      The three companies are: Gatehouse Capital Corp. of Dallas; HCW of Branson, Mo.; and Swerdling & Associates of Denver.

  3. “…members of the Evansville City Council will be cajoled into line in “one-on-one” meetings with Mayor Winnecke?”

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    So, Mayor McClintock is making sure he doesn’t speak to a quorum of city council members and violate the Indiana Open Door Laws? He may not want to give each of them the same story about the hotel deal, either. It is doubtful they will compare notes, as they would prefer to “Trust, but NOT verify!” Think about EarthCare and Johnston.

    Council members, use your brains and investigate. That is what you were elected to do. And, don’t vote “YES” to anything you don’t agree with just because someone wants to show a “united” front! We elected you to represent US, to let US know when you have concerns about a proposal, to educate US and vote based on facts, not what makes other council members or the politicians pushing an issue happy.

  4. Well it looks like in a battle of incompetence vs. corruption that the ladies with the permanents in their hair and the clothing made of unnatural fibers that comprise the workforce of the Civic Center aren’t smart enough to be crooks..

    • It became criminal more than 50 years ago and has kept on being that way. The real trouble is that the people of Evansville sit back like fools and tolerate it. Keep voting for crooks and you will keep getting stolen from. It is a pretty simple concept.

  6. I wonder what Page 13 on the hotel report will say this time. It’s now proven that you can lie, claim someone else said it, and then have the courts claim they have no jurisdiction to stop you. What a great display of government.

  7. Maybe we can hire some of the people from Owensboro to here and help us build this hotel. They seem to be doing a very good job in Owensboro. We have a bunch of dogs in city hall that don’t even know how to bark. How can you expect them to balance books or build a hotel??

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