IS IT TRUE September 23, 2013-COUNCIL MINUTES CLEARS UP HOTEL BONDING MISTAKE
IS IT TRUE that the following three pages of the September 23, 2013 minutes of the City Council reveals that select members of City Council (John Friend, Â Dr. Dan Adams, Conor O’Daniel, Stephanie Brinkerhoff-Riley, Al Lindsey and Connie Robinson) were all correct in their recent assumptions that the County was responsible for $3 1/2 million dollars of the $20 million bonds for the new Downtown Hotel?
IS IT TRUE we encourage you to read the attached minutes of the City Council meeting dated September 23, 2013 and see if you draw the same conclusions?
IS IT TRUE it looks like City Council should have approved $16 1/2 million dollars for the Hotel bond instead of $20 million dollars?
IS IT TRUE we are amazed that the Mayor, his Legal Counsel, ERC and the City Controller kept insisting that the City share to help finance the Hotel was $20 million instead of $16 1/2 million dollars? …if our assumptions are correct, all we can say is “shame on you Mayor Winnecke and staff” for making a $3 1/2 Â million mistake on behalf of the taxpayers of this great city?
IS IT TRUE we would like to congratulate City Council members John Friend, Dr. Dan Adams, Conor O’Daniels, Â Al Lindsey and Stephanie Brinkerhoff-Riley for reexamining the exact terms for the bonding of the Hotel project? Â …we are disappointed that the remaining members of City Council ( Mosby, Weaver and Dan McGinn) just rubber stamped everything the Mayor requested without question?
IS IT TRUE it was spot on when ERC Commissioner Musgrave, Councilman Brinkerhoff-Riley and Dr. Dan Adams earlier this week requested that the ERC Â board to table any action on the Hotel for a week? Â …instead the majority of the ERC board followed 2nd Ward City Councilwoman Missy Mosby’s suggestion to approve the project without delay? Â …it looks like Ms. Mosby suggestion to the ERC Board may have cost the taxpayers an extra $3 1/2 million for this project? Â …we hope Ms. Mosby primary competitor will make this a campaign issue starting tomorrow?
IS IY TRUE we also would like to know what Mayor Winnnecke has spent on legal, engineering, costs of acquiring land, bond costs, project drawings, consulting fees and other related expenses on this the Hotel project since day one? Â …we are told that the taxpayers of this city would be stunned to hear the overall costs of this project beginning day one?
IS IT TRUE its time that City Council resend the city $20 million dollar commitment for the downtown Hotel back to $16 1/2 million dollar loan level?
SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 City Council Minutes.
These minutes are not intended to be a verbatim transcript. Audiotapes of this meeting are on file in the City Clerk’s Office.
ORDINANCE G-2013-14
Ordinance G-2013-14 Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â FINANCE Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â FRIEND
An Ordinance of the Evansville Common Council authorizing the City of Evansville, Indiana, to issue one or more series of its “Economic Development Revenue Bonds, Series 2013 (Downtown Convention Hotel Project)”, in an agreement principal amount not to exceed $38,500,000, and approving and authorizing other actions in respect thereto
Chairman Friend: Okay, we are gonna move into Ordinance G-2013-14. This is the issuance of revenue bonds Series 2013, specifically the downtown hotel. We we’re going…l’m gonna open it
up and there’s been amendments in place of my committee and what I would like to do is I’d like for our Mayor to come forward and I think you’d like to make some comments and we welcome
you and Mayor Lloyd, thank you for coming out tonight.
Applause
Mayor Winnecke:
Chairman Friend: Mayor Winnecke:
Chairman Friend: Mayor Winnecke:
Chairman Friend:
Thank you.
Mayor, Mayor, let me, before we get started…
Sure.
Obviously we’re gonna allow you to do your statements as long you like but… It’s about 60 minutes, that’s alright.
That’ll be fine, that’ll be fine. You know you’ll be Hennity tonight, I’ll tell
you that. What…what we gonna do, once we get by your…we’re gonna do this, hold this to three minutes for everybody so when we get into it, I’ll hold up a…l’ll hold up my finger, two fingers, that means one minute, two minutes gone by; you got a minute to go. Try to keep this speeding this along, if that’s okay. But with you Mayor, you have all the time in the world.
Mayor Winnecke: Thank you. It’s great to be the Mayor.
Laughter
Mr. Chairman, Madam President, fellow members of the Council, thank you for allowing us to come back to you to present our latest proposal on the downtown convention hotel.
Councilwoman Brinkerhoff-Riley: But there would be a return on their investment if the hotel was successful.
HCW CEO Huffman: There would be.
Councilwoman Brinkerhoff-Riley: And if the hotel were sold in five years, they would be reimbursed to whatever their percentage of ownership was off of the sale price?
HCW CEO Huffman: I don’t know that but it depends on what it would sell for.
Councilwoman Brinkerhoff-Riley: But my point is that they would get a return in a sale based on whatever percentage of ownership they had and…
HCW CEO Huffman: We would hope so but it’s highly likely they could not also.
Councilwoman Brinkerhoff-Riley: No, no, I understand. I mean it’s an investment that there is risk for. I was just curious of in the event it was sold at a profit that they would get a return on their investment that way. Okay.
Chairman Friend: Mr. Huffman, do you see this being an owner of common stock or is it gonna be convertible debentures? Have you…l mean, do we know what the structure of that will be?
HCW CEO Huffman: We don’t at this time.
Councilman O’DanieI: If I could ask, it may be for Ted or the Mayor, the part of the 20 million includes two million dollars that’s been pledged from the Convention and Visitors Bureau as well
as a million and a half from the County government. Is their portion going toward infrastructure or going towards that 7 1/2 million of subsidizing the hotel?
Mayor Winnecke: It has always been contemplated that the County’s portion of 3 1/2 million dollars, of which we included the CVB piece, would go toward the ancillary projects and part of
that is some improvements the County owed Centre, to which they have the ability to approve whatever improvements they’d want to make there.
Councilman O’Daniel: Okay so the citizens of Evansville are actually then subsidizing the entire amount in that not having the ownership of the ancillary projects to that extent. Well…
Mayor Winnecke: Rephrase that.
Councilman O’Daniel: Well it’s maybe semantics but it’s who has skin in the game, correct? So the…ifthe County puts 3.5 in it…
Mayor Winnecke: May I…may I…
Councilman O’Daniel:…that’s going to things that actually improve something as opposed to maybe putting in a million and a half, we pick up the other half and they put two towards the hotel subsidy and we pick up 5 1/2.
Mayor Winnecke: It’s always, again it’s always been contemplated that the County’s 3 1/2 million dollars would go toward the ancillary projects and right now that figure stands about 12 h million dollars…
Councilman O’Daniel: Correct.
Mayor Winnecke:…so if that holds true then the City’s piece would be nine million on the ancillary; the County’s 3%.
Councilman O’DanieI: And is…has that been reduced to any sort of agreement?
Mayor Winnecke: No but based on conversations from the weekend, we’ll ask the County to do that and I doubt that there would be any problem.
Councilman O’DanieI: I know a lot of things have happened in the last 72 hours, correct?
Mayor Winnecke: Well I think that’s a pretty ask.
Councilman O’DanieI: Yes.
Mayor Winnecke: In fact I could vwite it out right now. I’m sure somebody would happy to sign
it.
Councilman Adams: (Off Mic) There is one constant that all of my constituents are (Inaudible) (Mic On) There is one constant that all of my constituents are both City and County residents.
Mayor Winnecke: Excuse me?
Councilman Adams: That the money that the County’s giving is coming from my constituents and the money that we’re giving in some way is a revenue stream that should be used for my constituents.
Mayor Winnecke: Well I’m not exactly sure how I am supposed to answer that but let me try it this way. We’ve asked the County to be financial partners with up in this…
Councilman Adams: Uh-hem.
Mayor Winnecke:…and so as a result of the structure of County government, they’re revenue sources come from County-wide.
Councilman Adams: That’s correct.
Mayor Winnecke: So they have identified two million dollars of the 3 1,4 million dollars to come from the innkeeper’s tax. They’ve identified a little over a million dollars, I think a million two
or three, that would come as a result of refinancing bonds at the Centre so their other two or three, whatever that balance is, would come from whatever sources they have access to. Does that help?
Councilman O’Daniel: What is the repayment time and what are the terms of that as it relates to our bond. If we were to approve a 20 million dollar bond, how are they repaying that?
Mayor Winnecke: The County?
Councilman (YDanieI: Uh-hem.
Mayor Winnecke: In terms of the CVB commitment, it’s been…like the commitment was $200,000 for two years, we, you know, we can arrange, I’m sure however the County wants to figure out the other 1.5 million dollars they can, if they’re willing and able, they already have bond refinancing money in hand so they could probably do, again it’s up to them, the entire 3.5 over ten years if they so choose.
Councilman O’Daniel: Or they could pay it all up front, right?
Mayor Winnecke: That’d be their option.
Councilman O’Daniel: Why is it their option? But…l’mjust…l’m asking.
Mayor Winnecke: I don’t know I’m just…
Councilman O’DanieI: I mean if they’ve got the money…
Mayor Winnecke: I’m not trying to be argumentative.
Councilman (YDanieI: No, no.
Mayor Winnecke: I don’t know.
Councilman O’DanieI: Well I think these are things, and it gets to the later point, but because there’s been a lot of moving parts and we don’t really some of those answers, that additional time may be necessary to look into these things.
Positive and Negative Comments from Audience
But, you know, I mean this a major commitment on the part of the citizens of Evansville and from my standpoint, you know, there were a lot of folks that were ready to, my word, give away as much as 37 1/2 million dollars for this development and in 72 hours that was pared in half and, you know, I think that while great movement has been made, that I think we need a little bit of time to digest all this to see whether or not it makes some sense.
Letter to the Editor In Support of Aces
SPORTS FANS OF EVANSVILLE,
As you probably know the Evansville Purple Aces basketball team beat University of Tennessee Martin last night to advance to the championship game of the CIT.
The Aces have played very well in this tournament. In fact last night’s first quarter saw them play as well as they have in years.
IT WAS A REALLY FUN GAME TO WATCH.
They will play in the championship game of the CIT tomorrow night, April 2 at 6PM at the Ford Center.
It is not THE National Championship game, but it is A national championship game. So I urge, challenge or whatever you want to call it to FILL the Ford Center tomorrow night and cheer on the Aces.
You will enjoy the game.
Jim Staley
Two Seriously Injured after DUI Related Crash
SPONSORED BY DEFENSE ATTORNEY IVAN ARNAEZ.
DON’T GO TO COURT ALONE. CALL IVAN ARNAEZ @ 812-424-6671.
- On Tuesday, March 31, 2015 at approximately 6:07pm the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office responded to the 4000 block of Old Henderson Road in reference to a crash with a vehicle on fire. Upon arrival deputies observed a 2004 Jeep Liberty that was fully engulfed in flames.
Several bystanders had stopped at the crash and assisted the female driver and two passengers. The Perry Township Fire Department responded and extinguished the vehicle fire. The driver and one of the passengers had serious injuries. AMR responded to the scene and transported all three occupants to Deaconess Hospital.
Based on evidence gathered at the scene, the vehicle appeared to have been southbound on Old Henderson Road before leaving the right side of the roadway. The vehicle then re-entered the roadway and crossed the opposing lane before leaving the left side of the roadway. The vehicle then struck a tree and caught fire.
The crash remains under investigation. Alcohol has been confirmed to have been a factor in the crash.
DRIVER: Ashley Morgan Stembridge, 22, of Evansville
Vanderburgh County Recent Booking Records
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DON’T GO TO COURT ALONE. CALL IVAN ARNAEZ @ 812-424-6671.
http://www.vanderburghsheriff.com/recent-booking-records.aspx
EPD Activity Report
SPONSORED BY DEFENSE ATTORNEY IVAN ARNAEZ.
DON’T GO TO COURT ALONE. CALL IVAN ARNAEZ @ 812-424-6671.
Event celebrates USI’s rich history of community engagement
The University of Southern Indiana’s Outreach and Engagement will host a “Celebration of Engagement†beginning at 3 p.m. Thursday, April 2, in Carter Hall in the University Center West. The free and open to the public event is part of the University’s year-long celebration of its 50th anniversary.
The program, which highlights the University’s rich history of community engagement, will include talks by USI President Linda L. M. Bennett and Mark Bernhard, associate provost for Outreach and Engagement; a keynote address by Lt. Governor Sue Ellspermann; and a history of Outreach and Engagement presented by Ed Jones, vice provost emeritus of Outreach and Engagement.
The event also will include an Engagement Fair with more than 21 booths representing each of the four colleges at USI as well as a variety of departments and community partners. A series of tours highlighting key areas of the University will be provided from 4 to 5 p.m., including each of the four colleges as well as the Rice Library and University Archives, and the Applied Engineering Center. A reception will follow at 5:30 p.m. with opportunities for networking.
Bernhard said the “Celebration of Engagement†is an opportunity to showcase a new model for Outreach and Engagement—the result of a multi-year restructuring of the department which recently celebrated its 40th anniversary. “We’ve identified our core purpose as ‘Unleashing Potential and Expanding Knowledge,’†said Bernhard. “When looking at the different units within Outreach and Engagement, it made sense to look at how we could be structured in such a way that would focus on several overarching areas. Those areas include Community Engagement, Opportunity Development, Lifelong Learning and Distance Learning.†Some of the many programs offered in the four key areas of Outreach and Engagement include:
Community Engagement
- Historic Southern Indiana
- Service Learning
- Historic New Harmony
- Connect with Southern Indiana
Opportunity Development
- Resource Development
- Crane Partnership
- Innovation Pointe
- I-69 Innovation Corridor
- Applied Research
- Technology Commercialization
Lifelong Learning
- Southern Indiana Japanese School
- Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC)
- Veteran, Military and Family Resource Center (VMFR)
- Bachelor of Professional Studies (BPS)
- Dual Credit
- Corporate Training Partnerships
- Continuing and Professional Education (CPE)
Distance LearningÂ
- Online Training Consultation
- eLearning Module Development
- Online Webinar, Presentation and Live Meet
- Professional Development and Online Programs
Those interested in the free event can register at USI.edu/cared. For more information about the event, contact Outreach and Engagement at 812-228-5098.
Tarantino to receive USI President’s Medal
Shelby Tarantino will graduate this spring with a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science degree from the University of Southern Indiana, which she completed in three years, while maintaining a 4.0 GPA and competing on the USI Women’s Soccer team. During the Commencement ceremony for the Pott College of Science, Engineering, and Education and Outreach and Engagement at 6 p.m. Saturday, May 2, Tarantino will receive the President’s Medal, the highest honor presented to a graduate in the Class of 2015.
Described as having “quiet awesomeness†by one of her professors, Tarantino “is a quiet young woman, doing great things for others while admiring their courage.†Her goal to become an occupational therapist is representative of her desire to show compassion and integrity to all people.
In her three years at USI, Tarantino was a member of the Student Athletic Advisory Committee, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, The National Society of Collegiate Scholars and the National Honor Society. She was a member of the USI Women’s Soccer team, a peer coach and biology tutor in Academic Skills, and served as an intramural referee.
She completed her 300-hour practicum at Easter Seals Rehabilitation Center and a summer internship with Special Net Resources. The internship introduced Tarantino to a young woman named Holly, age 25, who has Asperger’s Syndrome. Tarantino worked with Holly on job interview skills, dressing for success, and transportation responsibilities, which has led her to receive a part-time job. She also planned group activities that included Holly’s circle of friends, all of whom have very diverse special needs.
She demonstrated she has the “compassion and integrity to have others be treated in a way she would want to be treated,†which lent her the opportunity to serve as a travel companion for Holly and her 22-year-old blind friend on a Disney cruise to the Bahamas.
Serving as their travel companion, Tarantino did a lot behind the scenes in order to arrive at locations within the airport and on the boat, updating the young women’s parents daily, and keeping watch for unsafe situations. She also worked with the women in social situations, personal hygiene, taking medications appropriately and overall motivation to try new things.
She also volunteers time with It Takes a Village Canine Rescue, Hearts on Fire Running Series, Varsity Club Fall Festival Booth, USI Women’s Soccer Youth Camps, USI Sodexo Food Services, Easter Seals Rehabilitation Center Swimming Lessons, Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) Canned Food Drives and SAAC Make A Wish bake sales.
Tarantino is the daughter of Michael and Kelli Tarantino of Loveland, Ohio. She has two siblings, Kylee and Clayton. After graduation, she plans to continue her education at the University of Southern Indiana in the Masters of Occupational Therapy Program while playing her fourth year of USI Women’s Soccer.
Other finalists for the President’s Medal from the Class of 2015 include Alexandrea Wells, Brenden Davidson and Brooke Neuhoff. The Student Affairs Committee of the Faculty Senate selects the President’s Medal recipient.
University of Evansville President Thomas Kazee Issues Statement on Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA)
Dr. Thomas Kazee, president of the University of Evansville, issued a statement today regarding Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
The statement reads:
“I have been asked in recent days by many of those in the University of Evansville family about my position on the recently passed Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). So let me take this opportunity to explain how I see the issue in terms of the University, the state of Indiana, and the public welfare. University presidents should not, in my judgment, express personal opinions on matters of public significance without careful consideration of the relevance of the issue for their institutions. Some issues, however, are especially salient not only for the society at large but have the potential to significantly impact the University, and RFRA is one such example.
A core commitment of the University of Evansville is to nurture a climate of respect, understanding, and appreciation of difference. Moreover, as an institution we oppose practices and policies that can lead to discrimination against any person on the basis of race, color, creed or religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, or disability. It is from this foundational premise that I join those voices around the state, including Evansville’s Mayor Lloyd Winnecke, major Indiana corporations such as the Eli Lilly and Cummins, and the presidents of a growing number of Indiana universities who are deeply concerned about this legislation.
I respect Governor Pence’s argument that RFRA is designed to promote religious freedom and prevent government overreach, but this legislation cannot be divorced from the broader context of the national discussion about laws which arguably permit discrimination. I think we can all agree that we want Indiana to be a welcoming and inclusive state. Unfortunately, RFRA fuels the perception that we are intolerant and thus is damaging to the public welfare and to the University of Evansville. I urge the Governor and the state legislature to reconsider this action or, failing that, pass legislation, as has been done in other states, to ensure that the law is not used as a tool for discrimination.â€
New Data to be Released on Prevalence of Youth Substance Abuse in Southwest Indiana
What: 2014 Southwest Indiana Youth Survey Results
When: Wednesday, April 1st at 10:00 a.m.
Where: Southern Indiana Career and Technical Center – 1901 Lynch Road
Youth First President & CEO Parri O. Black will share the results of a survey monitoring the prevalence of youth substance abuse in Southwest Indiana as compared to the state and national average.
A reception hosted by the Evansville Retired Teachers Association will follow the presentation.
About Youth First, Inc.: Youth First’s mission is to strengthen youth and families through evidence-based programs that prevent substance abuse, promote healthy behaviors, and maximize student success. Youth First partners with 50 schools across 5 counties to provide 35 social workers who assess needs, develop and implement prevention plans, and connect students and their families to community resources. Youth First also offers afterschool programs involving parents and caregivers to strengthen families. For more information about Youth First, please visit www.youthfirstinc.org or call 812-421-8336.