IS IT TRUE that the Fire Alarm House located at 116 Baker Ave. was slated for demolition in 2013 as a City owned property? …that the Department of Transportation was responsible for the structure and lot and had no use for it?…that the windows were boarded up and lawn and gravel lot kept tidy, but the City department had grown weary of expending funds and manpower?…that upon learning of its fate, the Department of Metropolitan Development took possession of the building and sold it to Michael S. Martin Realty XI LLC for $100 on October 8, 2013?…that the sale was lauded by all within the DMD as the future of that block and that it would soon be the headquarters for Mr. Martin’s business Architectural Renovators, LLC?…that fifteen months later the property is in even worse shape than when owned by the City?…that over the summer it could have been cited for weeds and trash?…that the windows are currently open, and the elements pour into the structure at will?…that this is the same company that is vying for the Owen Block Building?…that the community cannot wait fifteen months for the Owen Block Building to be secured and a renovation project started?…that it is shameful that the Fire Alarm House, built in the early 1900’s has been given to someone who cannot or will not protect it from further demise?…that this is the problem when one entity is relied upon too heavily to be the City’s savior with dilapidated property?…that there is only so much capital and man hours possessed by any company?…that it reminds us of the days when The Kunkel Group, (Mayor Weinzapfel’s golden developer) was the go-to entity for any downtown Evansville property needing improvements?…that the question must be posed as to whether Mr. Martin is capable of taking on any additional projects or is his plate too full?…we wonder if the Owen Block Building will hang in limbo as the Fire Alarm House this last fifteen months or as the McCurdy Hotel has for 6 1/2 years?

IS IT TRUE that the Office of the Mayor gave the Evansville Water and Sewer Department orders to replace 416 meters for Johnson Controls because the subcontractor Vanguard refused to replace them?…Vanguard won’t even clean out the pits if there’s any debris in them they refuses to replace the meters until the maintenance department of the Waterworks cleans the pits out for them?

IS IT TRUE that the City of Evansville is busy doing a job that only government can step in and do when our laws are written poorly and a private business fails and move on?…the lot at the former Miller Plating facility is having a fence put around it and the taxpayers of Evansville are paying the $50,000 tab for the installation?…this is a necessary precaution to keep adults, children, and pets from wandering in and being exposed to the toxic waste that is on this site?…the City County Observer would like to commend the City of Evansville for stepping up to protect the public from the liabilities associated with a toxicity filled lot?…this and other situations like this will hopefully inspire the lawmakers at the state level to amend the legislation about walking away from toxic waste sites by owners with no consequence to pay for their actions?

IS IT TRUE that the CCO also wants to thank and acknowledge President Obama for the improvements in the economy over the last 5 years?…things are better than they were in the depths of the recession in 2010 and the man in charge deserves some credit for the improvements?…the next step in really making life head back to where it was before the wheels came off the bus is to get those middle class wages back to where they were and despite some of the claims the reality is that we are still about $2,500 per year plus inflation away from getting back to the levels of 2008?…that is just the top line number without consideration to the bottom line number which has shrunk due to price increases?…the real key to middle class elevation is to elevate the skills of the people who make up the middle class?…one popular rule of thumb holds that anyone earning 25% more or 25% less than the median is within the middle class?…by that metric, households earning between $38,954 and $64,924 are middle-class?…as rules of thumb go this seems a bit off when it comes to living a traditional middle class lifestyle?…it is also geography dependent with San Franciscans needing nearly $200,000 per year to live a middle class lifestyle while Evansville families can do so for around $50,000?

IS IT TRUE that President Obama’s trial balloon to commit $60 Billion over 10 years to assure that everyone can go to a community college free has commanded much interest?…it has not been that long since community colleges were almost free offering tuition of $10 per credit hour in most locations?…during the last 20 years community colleges, like other higher education institutions have seen tuition rising faster than healthcare until a college education can be the ruin of a young person’s financial future?…IVY Tech, Indiana’s Community College now charges over $130 per credit hour making a full load of 30 credits per year set a kid back $3,900 plus FEES, books and living expenses?…the rise in tuition for college has been driven by easy federal money that is available through the FAFSA program?…as much as we support a more educated work force there is the guarantee that whatever the federal government gets involved in will increase in price?…it is almost a given that whatever program is developed will double the cost to nearly $8,000 per year just through inefficiencies and red tape?…the other stark reality is that the community colleges and even four year universities nowadays are doing the jobs of the high schools?…there was a time before big education that locally controlled schools were turning out students that had thinking skills, could fill out a job application, understood promptness, and had the mathematical skills to balance a checkbook and complete a tax form?…those people were ready to work as valuable employees right out of high school?…rather than hand out free vouchers for community colleges, maybe the best outcome would come from fixing our broken public school system so community colleges can be what they are supposed to be?…that is a low cost alternative for the first two years of college?

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