IS IT TRUE? September 22, 2011

13

The Mole #??

IS IT TRUE? September 22, 2011

IS IT TRUE that the City County Observer will be checking everyday from now until Halloween to see if the real estate taxes have been paid on the McCurdy Hotel? …that on the morning of September 22, parcel #82-06-30-020-005.002-029 also known as the McCurdy Hotel and located at 100 SE Riverside in Evansville, IN indicates that there is still a delinquent tax amount of $12,274.76?…that if we can report that the taxes are paid on this property that the CCO will become more enthused about the proposition of this project moving forward?…that it has now been 2 full days since Mr. Steve Scott was advised that the taxes on the McCurdy Hotel have not been paid?

IS IT TRUE that we were all treated to the announcement yesterday that the City of Evansville will be installing a charging station for electric cars in the downtown parking garages?…that to the joy and benefit of a very few people the City will be absorbing the cost of the electricity that the lucky people who are first in line use to charge their batteries?…that this is the same thing as buying someone a tank of gas per day?…that depending on the speed of the charging station then maybe the City of Evansville will be filling a couple of tanks per day?…that as progressive and green as this may sound it is really nothing more than one more redistribution of wealth from the slow to the fast?…that we support placing the charging stations in the parking garages but that we think it is much preferred if the patrons of the parking garage pay for using the charging station?…that the City of Evansville could actually create a revenue stream by installing multiple charging stations in the city parking garages?…that we wonder just why government entities continue to think the best way to do business is to give things to people at the expense of other people?

IS IT TRUE that the question of whether or not the Evansville Redevelopment Commission has learned any lessons about VETTING from the downtown Convention Hotel experience?…that one would think that City Centre Properties LLC that got a round of applause for saying he had financing in place to proceed with construction would be VETTED just like the hotel proposals are being VETTED?…that it really seems like that lesson was not learned?…that not being able or willing to pay $12,274 in real estate taxes does not seem to be a good indicator that this business is even a player in a $12 Million project?…that this financing package is straight out of the playbook of the mortgage meltdown that caused the banks to stop lending in the first place?…that one would think that the Browning/Woodruff experience would have reinforced the lesson that VETTING is necessary in public projects?…that this will be quite embarrassing to the City of Evansville and the ERC if this deal has any hitch at all?…that the ERC should be on the safe side and check these guys out now that we are four years down the NO MONEY DOWN highway?

IS IT TRUE that Mr. John Kish stood before the Evansville City Council and said that Klenck Construction may get stiffed for the work that they did to demolish the old Executive Inn parking tower on City of Evansville property because public property is not subject to mechanics liens?…that Indiana Law I.C. 5-16-5-1 et seq. does not necessarily support Mr. Kish’s assertion?…that publicly owned property or buildings are lienable only to the extent of the unpaid contract price?…that is not as protective of construction companies as it is with private property but it does seem to state that a mechanics lien may be possible on local government land?

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

13 COMMENTS

  1. Not sure which is more embarrassing to the City of Evansville. The hapless ERC that couldn’t run a lemonade stand in a record heat wave, or the ever slippery Kish announcing a local business may get stiffed for the “emergency” work they did for the City. Shameful.

  2. The charging stations in the downtown parking garages has me mystified. It is a novel idea, to be sure, and if I drove a Prius I would think it was a great idea as well. Is the long-term plan to have a fee for this service ? Maybe people will “pay to park” but actually go in the garage only to charge up–for $ 5 of parking they get a $ 15 free charge ? Not enough info to look at long term, this one leaves a question mark. If this is a “service” to people who work/attend events downtown, need to charge them (no pun intended).

  3. “IS IT TRUE that we were all treated to the announcement yesterday that the City of Evansville will be installing a charging station for electric cars in the downtown parking garages?”

    ———–

    So…..I’m assuming there is a need for this? what are the logistics or even the chance that someone who owns a electric vehicle will work/live downtown or even park in the parking garage? While it’s being paid for once again with free federal grant money (the meth of communities) chances are it will never be used and be stolen by scrappers (copper thieves) before the first car is ever plugged into it.

    Or are we missing something here? is there a big donator to the administration who lives/works downtown and is asking for a charging station? either way to give away free electricity (well the taxpayers pay for it) to benefit one or two people is par for the course in our little burg isn’t it?

    And then we won’t consider the lost parking spaces (that house the charging stations) that will be designated EV only, there is so much parking for events that a couple spaces won’t matter anyway.

    JMHO

    • Blanger:

      When the request for approval from the ERC was presented it was stated that this would be a money losing venture, that the current potential user base was practically non existent. Since the money for the equipment was coming from a “green grant”, the ERC decided to approve the request.

      I feel safe in my belief that when the grant money has expired local citizens will pick up the continuing costs. Lets hope they keep that cost confined to the parking rate for the municipally owned parking garages.

      __

  5. This is a bit off thread, but the next item the city is spending our money on downtown because of the arena, is the back 40 parking lot! First we have changed the downtown traffic flow, which required a rebuild of many of the intersections; adding pretty new stop light poles and handicap ramps (needed) but we also added bricks to the sidewalks. Now we’re adding a few charging stations. And just in; a complete realigning of the parking in the back 40 adding islands & rotating the isles 90 degrees! Somehow that lot has been fine for what 40 plus years, but now it is wrong. I’m sure the islands will have grass & trees or other landscaping which will add annual upkeep; it will be pretty for at least a few years though. I’ll probably go to 2-3 more events now! I might even park way in the back, so I can enjoy the long walk. I wonder which of our taxes are paying for all of these extras!

    • Really…..I guess since the streets got changed the traffic flow doesn’t fit the parking pattern….and no one saw this coming! 🙂

      • Is this an Evansville version of “unintended consequences” or just another case of Ready, Fire, Aim?

        • Hard to say…..but I’d imagine that someone has figured out that they can use the trollies to move folks to and from the arena/back 40 lot, and a reconfiguration of the lot was required to add a loading and unloading zones…

          But then I’m just guessing.

          JMHO

  6. When are they going to install hydrogen/nuclear/fusion charging stations?The new technology was shown to me in an email from some guy named Ponzi.
    Evansville could get in on the ground floor with this.I’m investing in it as soon as I get the money from my Uncle in Kenya that left me a bundle.

  7. Well, look on the bright side. It won’t take DMD Director Tom Barnett long to sweep Mr. Scott’s tax debt on the McCurdy building under the rug. Just watch….

Comments are closed.