LETTER TO THE EDITOR OF THE CITY-COUNTY OBSERVER

LETTER TO THE EDITOR OF THE CITY-COUNTY OBSERVER

BY LAURA BLACKBURN

Friday, January 29, 2016 was a busy day for me, and it would have been easy to skip the “public” board meeting of Evansville Brownfields. I showed up, though, because I was becoming more and more suspicious of the not-for-profit group’s stewardship of public money. To be very honest, it sort of seemed to me that the City-County Observer’s public questioning of Brownfields’ dealings was going nowhere, especially after it was reported that the group would meet in a closed executive session before opening their meeting to the public. In the end, I decided to go and think of it as a learning experience.

It was, indeed, a learning experience. It began when I approached the security desk of the very impressive offices. I asked directions to the Ellerbrook Room, and was asked my name. I gave it, and a list was checked, which I was obviously not on. The uniformed officer behind the desk was cordial, and added my name to the list and directed me to the room. She noted that there were a lot of people present not included on the list. That was the most warmth I felt during my time at Vectren. I was one of six citizens present to see firsthand what would be done. The executive session was attended by City Councilmen Mosby, Weaver, and Hargis in addition to DMD Director Coures, his employee who serves as Brownfields coordinator, Carolyn Rusk, and the board members. The presence of the City Councilors was not explained, but it seemed strange to me that the board could meet with them present, but not other non-members of the board.

To make a short story shorter, the public session was conducted at a frenetic pace. Those conducting the meeting talked faster than some auctioneers I have heard, and votes were unanimous. There was little to no discussion on any of the business presented. There was a lot of “basic housekeeping” done, but there were some topics that I think deserve to be mentioned here. It was decided that Brownfields hold the bonds for the parking garage for the Health Education building and hotel, with the assurance that the lease payments from the City will be equal to the bond payment. The change in by-laws to accommodate land banking were tabled until a meeting “on or around the 1st of March.

The public who showed up at the meeting were only informally acknowledged by Brad Ellsworth when he opened the doors to us. There was no recognition of our presence by the rest of the board and no agendas were available. Absolutely NO opportunity to ask questions or make comments was afforded to those present.

I left the sham “opened public meeting” with a bad taste in my mouth for the City Councilmen involved, too. My expectations for Ms. Mosby and Mr. Weaver are never very high, so I am not surprised at them. I had held high hopes for Mrs. Hargis, though. She seemed to be really devoted to transparency and good public policy when she was running for office. Less than a month into her term, she has twice been a disappointment to me. Her behavior at the first Council meeting toward Rev. Adrian Brooks and his supporters was rude, and now she participated in this travesty. She bears watching, as it appears she may be easily led down the path of least resistance instead of standing for good public policy.

EDITOR FOOTNOTE: THIS LETTER WAS POSTED WITHOUT OPINION, BIAS OR EDITING.

Todays “Readers Poll” question is “Do You Believe DMD Director Kelley Coures Assertions That The Feds Are Not Doing An Investigation But An Audit of TARP Funds”?

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