IS IT TRUE that in a communication titled with the headline “CONVENTION HOTEL PROJECT MOVES FORWARD”, Mayor Lloyd Winnecke & HCW CEO Rick Huffman jointly stated that,

“Today was another productive meeting to move the convention center hotel project forward. Through the re-bidding process, Hunt Construction has been selected to build the new Doubletree convention center hotel in Evansville. With selection of Hunt Construction, the city and developer will now finalize documents, secure private equity and make necessary arrangements to work towards a closing date.”

IS IT TRUE that the wording in this joint statement raises red flags that are of concern to anyone who has even a fleeting grasp of the difference between debt and equity financing?…thus the phrase “secure private equity” jumps off the page as code for the intention to sell a percentage of the project instead of borrowing the money to do the construction?…the fact that will eventually sink in is that the taxpayers of Evansville and Vanderburgh County are putting up $ 20 Million and will own absolutely no part of the downtown hotel?…the other interesting conundrum is that the shareholders of the Old National Bank are paying $14 Million for the allegedly worthless naming rights for the Centre as a pass through to the hotel project and will own absolutely nothing for their investment/donation?…that amounts to $34 Million of the $71.3 Million getting nothing for the money they are supposed to be good stewards over?…HCW on the other hand needs to come up with $37.3 Million either out of their pocket, securing debt, or selling off part of the hotel?…if the end game here is for some outsider to come to town and own say 49% of this hotel project for about $30 Million leaving HCW with say 51% for $7.3 Million that the taxpayers of this town and the shareholders of ONB will have been bamboozled so bad that it will make the Earthcare Energy LLC owners looks like angels of mercy?

IS IS TRUE the other bright red flag is the disclosure in the SNEGAL statement about “finalizing documents” to work towards a closing date?…that translates into the fact that a deal is not yet finalized between the City and HCW (because it expired again), making it impossible to seek private equity or even a loan, which fundamentally prevents any construction contract?…what we have here people is what we had 6 years ago when former Mayor Weinzapfel was boasting about the deal he had with Browning and that is simply a City and a developer who were dreaming of working together to get a downtown convention hotel?…the passing of time has not yet tangibly changed a thing?…a real ground breaking looks closer but it may not be closer as once again weasel words have emanated from the Civic Center about the true status of the downtown hotel?

IS IT TRUE the case remains that both bids were analyzed in the vacuum of a closed door meeting?…the public has to rely on the words of people who have intentionally been coy in misleading the status of this project that the bids are what they say they are?…if the Hunt Construction bid is really conformal to the RFP in terms of product and pricing there is no justifiable reason to withhold it from the taxpayers of this city?…until the bid, the agreements, and the financial details are made public, we should all assume that there is something to hide and that our elected officials are doing the hiding?…as we said yesterday, we will believe this when we see it as the secret nature of this whole sordid series of tasks are not indications of transparency or good public policy?

IS IT TRUE  that speaking of closed door meetings, the Civic Center Moles are telling us that some closed door meetings that may well violate Indiana’s sunshine laws are being held by some members of the Evansville City Council to hammer out a 2015 budget they can agree to vote yes on?…this violates the sanctity of having budget hearings in the first place?…if a deal magically appears that comes from the shadows, we the people of Evansville will have once again been jobbed by our elected leaders?…we have a right to know what the trade-offs were to reach a deal and it is the legal obligation of the Mayor and the City Council to hold these discussions in a public forum?

IS IT TRUE that the following e-mail was sent out by City Council Vice President , Dr. Dan Adams recently to City Council members?  … this meeting was called by Dr. Dan Adams for the purpose of pounding out a composite on the proposed 2015 City Budget?  … we wonder if you feel that Evansville City Council violated the Indiana Sunshine  law by having this meeting behind closed doors?   .this e-mail was posted by the CCO without bias or editing.

On Sunday, September 28, 2014 5:38 PM, “DRHDA501@aol.com” <DRHDA501@aol.com> wrote:

Ladies and Gentlemen, Since John will not be back from vacation until late Tuesday, let me go ahead and suggest that we meeting in Scot Danks’ office at 3 pm (1500 hrs) on this Wednesday to attempt to pound out a composite 2015 Budget that a majority of us can vote for. Connor, John, and I are supposed to meet with the Mayor AGAIN on a week from this Monday. It is my sense that there is not a majority that wishes to vote for the Budget as it was presented to us, but I could be wrong. I would like for all of you to have a hand in creating this eventual plea in that the City reserve funds are not staying level and the predicted revenues seem over stated if you allow for past trending …Thus, cometh the rub !

Thanks, Dan

FOOT NOTE:  THOSE elected City Council members attending this meeting yesterday in Scott Danks office were President John Friend, Vice President Dr. Dan Adams,  Finance Chairmen Conner O’ Daniels, Missy Mosby and Jonathon Weaver.  After this meeting Jonathon Weaver made a public call to hold the next budget discussion in a public forum.

IS IT TRUE Gibson County is presumed to be on the verge of hosting a visit from the President of the United States on Friday and Evansville, or at least the airport will be able to bask in the moment?…President Obama was here for a rally in 2008 during his hotly contested primary against 2016 presidential hopeful, Hillary Clinton?…that time candidate Obama nearly filled Roberts Stadium and this writer has to park way down Illinois Street in a residential neighborhood and walk to Roberts?…that year the future president electrified the country with his campaign of “hope and change” and brought the chant “yes we can” to the American people with the enthusiasm of the Notre Dame fight song?…that was then and this is now so it will be interesting to see what President Obama chooses to do with his time in the tri-state?…presidential visits whether one agrees with the politics or not are always gratifying and a chance to show off for the nation?…Evansville and Vanderburgh County will get one shot at this spotlight that will be shining on the motorcade route heading north to Gibson County?…we hope that route is well manicured and free of litter for this visit so “The Daily Show” doesn’t get a second chance in a couple of weeks to take pot shots at our “identity?”

IS IT TRUE the silence has been deafening for those awaiting the verdict of the closed door series of meetings to decide if there is an acceptable bid to have a real groundbreaking for a downtown convention hotel?…it is amazing to see the newer renderings that look almost identical to the former Executive Inn and to imagine the 4 Star, turned 3 Star, turned into whatever fits the budget turning out almost exactly like the Big E would have been with a $10 Million remodel?…we wonder if conventions would have flocked to town if the Big E would have been updated and rebranded as a Doubletree as it once was proposed to have been?…we do know that would have been done at least 5 years ago so the lost convention dollars would not even be a point?…someone should put together a case study of the comedy of errors that was started by former Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel’s premature and inaccurate declaration that “if Evansville builds an arena 4 Star Marriott will come to town with no incentive?”…that it is finally disclosed that the same firm that built the Ford Center has been selected to do the new hotel project and that the price is right at the top level allowable for 12 less rooms than originally planned?…the Winnecke Administration says the deal will be done within two weeks and we will believe that when we see it?…what we do know is that as of today there is no legal agreement in place and that another extension is required just as we predicted?

IS IT TRUE it is about time that ground was broken on the full cloverleaf intersection where Highway 41 and the Lloyd Expressway cross one another?…this intersection has been one of the highest traffic nodes in Evansville for many years making this a worthy investment that should have been done long ago?…we hope to see this project proceed rapidly, honestly, and competently as this is one of the opportunities to put the tern “Expressway” into the multilane road full of stop lights that we call the Lloyd Expressway?…it is amazing that the name was ever even considered to have the suffix Expressway attached to it?…this project is an example of real progress that will save many citizen drivers both time and money?

IS IT TRUE the business that President Obama will be visiting is Millennium Steel which is a minority owned business that “slits” large spools of steel in preparation for being transported across the street to Toyota?…the cut to size pieces of steel are then driven across the street to Toyota where they are turned into automobile body panels?…Millennium Steel has similar facilities providing the same service for Toyota plants in other locations including Georgetown, KY and San Antonio, TX?…the particular way that Millennium Steel is operated enables Toyota to have a very high percentage of its purchases to be classified as having been bought from a minority owned business?

IS IT TRUE members of the Evansville City will be attending a political caucus  at City Attorneys Scott Danks office tomorrow?  …we hope City Council members will not discuss any issues concerning the  proposed 2015 City budget?

IS IT TRUE David Coker authored an excellent article in the CP on the industrial history of the City of Evansville?…his words about feeling pride when watching the “Price is Right” game show and hearing about Evansville being the place that boat trailers were made triggered similar memories in this author?…back in the day Evansville really did have a brand and that brand was “a place where things are made”?…from the LST, to Chrysler, to Bucyrus Erie, to Servel, to Faultless, to Whirlpool, Evansville always was a place for heavy industry to make products to sell to consumer markets?…that Evansville is gone much through the evolution of globalization but also by the stodgy failure to adapt to the world as it changed?…Evansville is of course not alone among the cities of industrial America to be bypassed by the winds of change but it has been bypassed none the less?…times were very different when one could trade a high school diploma for a union card and a good paying factory job?…as Bruce Springsteen sang “those jobs are gone and they ain’t coming back” so it is time for Evansville to get to the business of creating an atmosphere where job creation will occur naturally (to borrow a line from the 2011 Winnecke campaign)?

IS IT TRUE there is an order in which an entity with limited resources can make such an atmosphere possible?…prioritizing fun and games to the top is simply not in the accomplishment playbook?…for an atmosphere of achievement to take root first a place has to be desirable to creators of good jobs?…that includes a working sewer system without an EPA sword of Damocles hanging over the citizens wallets, walk friendly sidewalks, a good water system, safe neighborhoods, and excellent schools?…all of these are “must haves” to attract or even retain the kind of people who are vital to a vital and sustainable economy?…after the “must haves” are in place things like pristine public parks and bike friendly transportation corridors can be brought online?…only after these things are in place should fun and games projects on the public dole be considered?…Evansville of course has this backwards and thus it has a chronic identity problem?…when the “must haves” are in place an identity will start to emerge as it did back in the day?…until then the fun and games dole projects are not only bankrupting us, they are preventing a natural identity from happening?…we have to stop putting lipstick on a pig to start a real transformation process?

IS IT TRUE that other editorial writers that contribute to the literary world of Evansville, Indiana are awakening to the idea that income must exceed spending to manage a city responsibly?…they even seem to have figured out how to maintain a household on a known income stream?…the missing piece in scaling such a thing to a tax revenue dependent entity like the City of Evansville is that knowing what the revenue is going to be with the exactness of a weekly paycheck is impossible?…Mayor Winnecke has presented a best case revenue plan to develop a budget that spends every dime?…the bulk of the City Council is trying to force a worst case revenue budget and craft the spending to that?…the only logical choice is to go with the lowest revenue estimate to craft a budget and increase spending (or debt reduction) later If things work out for the best on the revenue side?…the old political trick of overestimating revenues and borrowing he difference is no way to run a government?

IS IT TRUE that CCO columnist and former GAGE president Joe Wallace has been named as one of three finalists for the Inland Empire Spirit of Entrepreneurship Award for 2014 for his role as Chief Innovation Officer of the Coachella Valley Innovation Hub?…the Inland Empire is a region of Southern CA that is roughly the equivalent of a Midwestern state in population and economic activity?…the CViHub in only three years has attracted 30 start-up companies that have a collective valuation of over $100 Million and has been projected to have a $12.5 Billion economic impact over the next 20 years by Dr. John Husing?…those who are interested can read about the awards at www.inlandspiritawards.com?
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IS IT TRUE that the appearance of chaos and disorganization this weekend with the City County Observer is a result of an aggressive attack on this publication by an outside entity that would prefer that this publication did not exist?   …we are presently working on addressing this issue and hope to correct  this problem in a couple of days?  …we want to thank you for you patiences in this matter?

IS IT TRUE after we published this status of the Real Clear Politics polling average for the United States Senate on Friday another poll came out that shifted the projections of another seat into Republican hands?…the projected outcome now has 52 Senate seats in republican hands and 45 democrats with 3 independents?…two of the independents already caucus with the democrats but the leader in Kansas has pledged to caucus with the majority party and has a healthy dose of libertarian leanings?…the other big news in national politics is that Attorney General Eric Holder has announced that he is leaving the Obama Administration as soon as a replacement can be confirmed?…this is a certain signal that the democrats are resigned to losing the Senate because Holder’s departure prior to seating a new congress will make his successor’s confirmation more favorable for democrats?

IS IT TRUE the secret opening of the bidding to construct the downtown hotel project has still not been released to the public?…you can bet that if the bids were overwhelmingly favorable that there would have been a celebratory press release and yet another golden shovel moment scheduled?…the longer these secrets remain a secret, the more it looks like there is still trouble in the martini sipping paradise?…the rubber meets the road Wednesday when the latest version of a construction agreement will expire unless there is proof of loan approval by HCW for a hotel complex that meets the RFP that was issued 2 years ago?…we must remember that there was a minimum room number on that RFP and if HCW comes in below that all of the work done including the $20 Million handout are null and void?…you can bet that if silly giddy ceremony is not announced by tomorrow that there is indeed trouble in hotel paradise?

IS IT TRUE a snippet or two has been emerging from the shadows about just what the changes to the hotel were to drive some of the cost out of the bids?…it was widely discussed that 8 rooms would be eliminated but that 8 has now turned into 12 and the total will now be 245 instead of 257?…that is only 5 more rooms than CVB president Bob Warren says is the minimum required to attract conventions?…that word minimum is beginning to be the “identity” of the stripped down hotel?…the new 10 story height with a restaurant and bar look nearly identical to the former Executive Inn?…maybe a facelift would have accomplished the same thing that this 6 year cluster@?/$ is about to result in?

IS IT TRUE the 2013 audit of the City of Evansville happened on time and once again the opinion is “unqualified”?…of course the 17 pages of descriptions of “adverse” opinions with respect to GAAP (generally accebpted accounted practices) remains just like it has for over 10 years?…as long as a laundry list of violations does not result in any consequence other than a “dear Russ letter” nothing will ever change?…we wonder why the State of Indiana even bothers to have audits if a rotten report card for compliance still results in the highest grade possible?…it is sort of like giving the dumbest kid in the class an A after writing a letter of failure to the parents?…the audits are seeming to be pretty useless these days?

IS IT TRUE going back to the hotel there are some who are saying that the price has run off of the rails because the parking garage capacity has been doubled?…if and we do mean if this is the case, then the parking garage expansion should be paid for from the IU Medical School budget instead of the hotel budget?…300 additional spaces in high rise parking by traditional metrics would add about $6 Million to the cost?…deducting 12 rooms will only save about $1.6 Million but will devalue the hotel by $1.2 Million so as far as financing the project is concern the downsizing will have little impact?