We hope that today’s “IS IT TRUE” will provoke honest and open dialogue concerning issues that we, as responsible citizens of this community, need to address in a rational and responsible way?

IS IT TRUE in December 0f 2014 the City of Evansville DMD paid Warren Investments $535,000 for an empty CVS block building located on North Main Street?  …according to the audio of the December 18, 2018 meeting of the Evansville Redevelopment Commission the DMD originally bought this building for a “public parking lot?”  …that several years later Divita Dialysis leased this vacant building from the Evansville DMD for 10 years with the lease payment starting around $1,600 per month?   …the Director of the Evansville DMD stated that Divita Dialysis invested $1.5 million to renovate this building? …during the December 18, 2018 meeting the DMD Director also said “that two (2) appraisals have been done of the 800 North main street building and that were based on the income approach?  …he never mentioned what the two (2) appraised values of this newly renovated building were?  …we also find it interesting that the official minutes of this meeting is not available on the  Evansville Redevelopment Commission web page?

Video Link to December 18, 2018, Redevelopment Commission Meeting and Agendas are Posted Below.  We found it interesting that the audio went off and then back on during a couple of times during the meeting.

http://evansville.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=2649

IS IT TRUE Joe Wallace just posted a comment that we felt worth repeating in this section?  …Mr. Wallace said; “What is the cash flow value of $1,600 per month”?. “First, annualize it and it becomes $19,200”. “You multiply by roughly 10 in Evansville to yield a value of $192,000.”  “The investor is offering roughly what the cash flow value of the property is”. “The fact that someone or the City of Evansville paid way more than that is irrelevant.”

IS IT TRUE the last time the Evansville Redevelopment Commission’s officially approved meeting minutes were last posted online was on March 6, 2018?

IS IT TRUE we urge you go to the official site of the Evansville Redevelopment Commission and randomly replay the videos of several of their board meetings and you will quickly discover that the sound going on and off during the official board meetings was a common occurrence?

IS IT TRUE it been reported that Indiana Firebirds-Evansville hockey team season tickets at the Ford Center went on sale last week? …we urge the ticket buyers beware since the Ford Center hasn’t posted the official home game schedule of the Firebirds on their site yet?   …we urge anyone who buys advance season tickets for Evansville Firebird hockey games on National Gridiron League ticket site please make sure there is an iron clad refund statement posted on this site just in case the 2019 season is canceled?

IS IT TRUE when a CEO of a for-profit business hire someone to find and develop a new product line and this person spends two years on this project the CEO expects this venture to be successful? …when the CEO realizes that this venture isn’t going to happen he will immediately terminate the employment of his subordinate?  …but when this type of thing happens in local Government all we hear are “crickets”?

IS IT TRUE if your the CEO of a multi-million dollar for-profit corporation and you hire the services of a marketing and consulting firm to make one of your facilities profitable, you expect measurable results?  …if this doesn’t happen in a reasonable time the CEO will immediately terminate their contract for non-performance?  …when this type of thing happens in local Government all we hear are “crickets”?

IS IT TRUE if you are a Board member of a not-for-profit organization you are considered to be a “Steward Of The Public Trust” and you have the “Fiduciary Responsibility” to ensure that all financial transactions will meet the litmus test of an audit conducted by Federal and State governmental agencies? …we wonder if the financial decisions made by the officials of the City of Evansville, Evansville DMD, and Evansville Redevelopment Commission concerning the $535,000 purchase of the vacant CVS building would meet the litmus test of an audit conducted by Federal and State governmental agencies?

Todays“Readers Poll” question is: Do you feel that it made any business sense for the Evansville DMD to originally spend $535,000 to purchase the vacant CVS building on North Main Street for a public parking lot?

Please go to our link of our media partner Channel 44 News located in the upper right-hand corner of the City-County Observer so you can get the up-to-date news, weather, and sports. We are pleased to provide obituaries from several area funeral homes at no costs.  Over the next several weeks we shall be adding additional obituaries from other local funeral homes.  Please scroll down the paper and you shall see a listing of them.

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FOOTNOTE:  Any comments posted in this column do not represent the views or opinions of the City-County Observer or our advertisers.

AGENDA

Agenda Attachment:

Memo Attachment:

A.	ORDINANCE F-2019-06 An Ordinance of the Common Council of the City of Evansville Authorizing Additional Appropriations within the Department of Metropolitan Development Sponsor(s): Weaver Discussion Led By: Finance Chair Weaver Discussion Date: 4/8/2019

F-2019-06 Attachment:

B.	ORDINANCE R-2019-05 An Ordinance to Rezone Certain Real Estate in the City of Evansville, State of Indiana, More Commonly Known as 316 N Tekoppel Avenue Petitioner: Debra Highman Owner: Debra Highman Requested Change: C1 to R1 Ward: 6 Brinkmeyer Representative: Debra Highman

R-2019-05 Attachment:

A.

ORDINANCE G-2019-03 Amended An Ordinance Repealing Chapter 15.16 (Registration of Rental Dwellings) and Amending Chapter 8.40 (Registration of Residential Rental Business) of the Evansville Municipal Code Sponsor(s): McGinn Discussion Led By: ASD Chair Mosby Discussion Date:  3/18/2019 Notify: Marco DeLucio, ZSWS

G-2019-03 Amended Attachment:

B.

ORDINANCE F-2019-04 Amended An Ordinance of the Common Council of the City of Evansville Authorizing Transfers of Appropriations, Additional Appropriations and Repeal and Re-Appropriation of Funds for Various City Funds Sponsor(s): Weaver Discussion Led By: Finance Chair Weaver Discussion Date: 3/18/2019

F-2019-04 Amended Attachment:

C.

ORDINANCE F-2019-05 A Special Ordinance Authorizing the City of Evansville to Issue up to $25,000,000 Aggregate Principal Amount of its City of Evansville, Indiana Multifamily Tax-Exempt Mortgage-Backed Bonds (M-TEMS) Series 2019 (FN) (the “Bonds”) in One or More Series and Approving and Authorizing Other Actions in Respect Thereto Sponsor(s): Weaver Discussion Led By: Finance Chair Weaver Discussion Date: 3/18/2019

F-2019-05 Attachment:

A.	RESOLUTION C-2019-04 A Resolution Acknowledging Contributions to the Commission on Homelessness Sponsor(s): Weaver, Adams, Mosby, Robinson Discussion Led By: President Brinkmeyer Discussion Date: 3/18/2019

C-2019-04 Attachment:

A.	THE NEXT MEETING of the Common Council will be Monday, April 8, 2019 at 5:30 p.m.

B.	EVANSVILLE FIRE DEPARTMENT 2019 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:  Chief Connelly

C.	ADDITIONAL MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS

A.	YOUTH GRANT Subcommittee meetings have been scheduled for the following dates:

Dave Stafford for www.theindianalawyer.com

A man who murdered two people in a victim’s home after telling police he wanted to help “clean up the drug problem” in a southern Indiana county got no relief from his convictions or 121-year prison sentence on appeal Friday.

The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed the jury’s conviction and the sentence imposed in Joe Paul Hambel v. State of Indiana, 18A-CR-686. Hambel was convicted of illegally entering the Salem home of Valerie Dicus and fatally shooting her and her boyfriend, Joe Hobson, in the early-morning hours of on Aug. 20, 2016. The night before, he had spoken with law enforcement officers about wanting to help clean up the drug problem in Washington County.

A jury convicted Hambel as charged. On appeal, he claimed the Washington Circuit Court abused its discretion in sentencing him and in rejecting his motion for a mistrial. The latter argument arose after a juror shared with other jurors his wife’s views of Hambel. The juror’s wife and Hambel had been schoolmates and friends, the juror said.

Ultimately, Juror 2 was removed based on the extrajudicial communications, but Washington Circuit Judge Larry Medlock denied the mistrial motion. Medlock found that anything jurors might have heard from Juror 2 was harmless, and may even have helped Hambel’s case, since the juror’s wife said the crimes Hambel was accused of wasn’t reflective of the person she knew.

The COA affirmed the trial court Friday, finding no abuses of discretion. The panel also rejected Hambel’s appellate claim that jurors began deliberating before the close of evidence, which the trial court found had not happened.

Judge Edward Najam wrote for the panel that also rejected Hambel’s plea for a lighter sentence on the bases that he had no prior criminal history, was the father of two children, and had been diagnosed with anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.

“Hambel characterizes his character as ‘excellent. … However, as the State points out, the nature of the offenses supports the 121-year sentence in that Hambel: planned the murders; shot Dicus in the head from close range; shot Hobson six times; and threatened to kill (a friend) if he told anyone about the murders,” Najam wrote.

“As for his character, Hambel may have been motivated to commit these murders by his concern about the drug problem in Washington County and his interest in helping law enforcement,” Najam continued. “But when he became a vigilante and took the law into his own hands, he displayed a blatant disrespect for the law, which reflects poorly on his character. We cannot say that Hambel’s sentence is inappropriate in light of the nature of the offenses and his character.”