IS IT TRUE August 20, 2013

IS IT TRUE the Winnecke Administration has submitted a budget for 2014 for the City of Evansville to the Evansville City Council in the amount of $307 Million of spending?…it was just a few short years ago that the City budget was crossing the $200 Million figure for the first time?…if memory serves this writer correctly the last Weinzapfel budget was in the range of $220 Million making this 3rd budget submitted by Mayor Winnecke roughly 40% higher than the budget he inherited?…these budgets of course do not include giant capital projects like the Ford Center or the hotel that the Winnecke Administration wants so badly to grant $37.5 Million to HCW of Branson, MO to build?…The Fire Chief has requested a 19% raise for his executive secretary, which would make her 1 of 3 people that has parity on the Fire Department?…The other 2 are the Fire Chief & Asst Fire Chief?…the firefighters union just voted down the contract offered by the City by a margin of 166 to 46?…if not for the appearance of excess in spending for frivolous games projects and the 16 person expansion of the Water and Sewer Department staff maybe these firefighters would have been more open to the City’s offer?

IS IT TRUE that the Facebook page called “Citizens of Evansville against a Taxpayer funded Hotel” is tonight reporting that the artwork they created for the page has been stolen by those who oppose what the page has to say?…the post announcing the theft of the artwork reads as follows?

“The opposition for my fanpage against the subsidized hotel has stolen our artwork, the cover page and profile picture, and is using it for their own fanpage!!! They deliberately stole it, with the exception of a few words to show that they support the hotel. This really upsets me! Go ahead and provide your own information and take a stand, that’s fine. but to take someone’s artwork behind our back is unethical and copyright infringement. First they steal our public funds for a private business and now they steal our artwork! I hope this shows how unethical they really are! I’m fuming right now! I have done fan pages and tons of artwork before and created this fanpage with help from others, 4 admins currently, and never had this happen before. ahhhh!!!! I feel like punching a wall.” Phillip Schutz

IS IT TRUE the Facebook site goes on to show an exact copy of the artwork used by “Citizens of Evansville against a Taxpayer funded Hotel” that has been repackaged into another Facebook page that is certainly confusingly similar that is called “Citizens of Evansville for a new downtown convention hotel”?…I have seen both of these sites with my own eyes and if this were a trademark infringement case the people who did this would be on the losing end of an expensive lawsuit and may be subject to criminal prosecution?…seeing this happening in real time is like being a customer in an establishment that is being robbed?…this ranks up there ahead of digging through opponents garbage to count beer cans or destroying campaign signs both of which have been alleged in recent elections?

IS IT TRUE if the supporters of the hotel would do what any person or entity that is applying for a grant would have to do they would not have to resort to ripping the opposition’s artwork off?…if they could explain how the Mayor can claim the hotel will create 250 jobs when the report he paid $105,000 for says the number will be 41 they may not be needing to steal someone else’s intellectual property?…thus far this whole hotel attraction process has been marred with the same brainless unvetted antics that the Earthcare Energy fiasco and the McCurdy Hotel tragedy were?…the new motto of the City of Evansville should be changed to “if you can’t VET, lie, cheat, and steal”?…whichever side you may be on in this discussion this is a new low in Evansville politics?…this one is even worse that the Opus One Christmas party at the CVB or the after council meeting boozefest in downtown Evansville paid for by an Indianapolis lobbyist?…this time some heads should hang in shame, but it is doubtful they will have the presence of mind to even know they have destroyed a young person’s belief that being active in civic matters can make a difference?…a pox on all who participated.

IS IT TRUE Part 2 August 19, 2013

IS IT TRUE the following statement regarding a conversation between Rick Huffman of HCW, the development company from Branson, MO and two members of the Evansville City Council?

“As some of you probably know, Councilman Friend has been asking for business records, a business plan, and tax records from HCW, the developer. He had a meeting with Rick Huffman, the “H” in HCW, and he told him point blank “WE ARE THE BUSINESS PLAN!” According to Friend, this statement was made in front of Councilman Dr. Dan Adams as well.”

IS IT TRUE that both Councilman John Friend and Councilman Dr. H. Dan Adams have confirmed to the City County Observer that this is an accurate representation of their meeting?…we find it amazing that anyone who is asking for a grant of the taxpayers money for so much as $100 would be so arrogant as to tell two members of the grant management team that “WE ARE THE BUSINESS PLAN!”?…the way this went down not only confirms that there is no business plan whatsoever but that the developer has no respect for the Evansville City Council or the hard earned tax dollars of the people of Evansville?…the only people that we are aware of that is even close to being this flippant and arrogant while panhandling are Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump?…we are sure there are others who have such a high opinion of themselves to do such a thing but the names are not on the tip of our tongue?

IS IT TRUE perhaps the Evansville Redevelopment Commission, 4 members of the CVB Board, and the Evansville City Council should sit down for a talk with the senior commercial loan staff of Old National Bank and ask them just how far a statement like “WE ARE THE BUSINESS PLAN” would go toward getting to YES with their loan committee?…we all know the answer to this but hey, it’s just taxpayer dollars so lets bundle them up like Jesse Pinkman and toss money out the window like some of our most slothful residents do with fast food bags?

IS IT TRUE that being blatantly told “WE ARE THE BUSINESS PLAN!” after respectfully asking for a business plan for weeks should result in a vote of the City Council of 9 – 0 to tell a person with this attitude NO?…the City Council are the stewards of the public’s money and such a flippant attitude combined with brass balled arrogance does not set the stage for a good working relationship?…we suspect that this attitude from anyone at all before a grant committee or a loan committee would result in this door being shut forever?…we shall soon learn whether or not 5 members of our City Council have the courage to stand up to a bully or if they will cower and give the bully our breakfast, lunch, and dinner money?

IS IT TRUE this makes the fact that the Mayor’s office and two appointed commissions rolled over and support this deal without having even attempted to VET it even more astounding?…a wise man once said, “a good deal with a bad partner is not a good deal”?…we wonder what that wise person would say about a bad deal with a bad partner?

IS IT TRUE August 19, 2013

IS IT TRUE the Courier and Press editor quoted County Commissioner Marsha Abell saying that the water and sewer rates shall rise only 36% and will costs the rate payers only $10 a month?…while this quote may be close to the truth for the next year the fact remains that sewer rates are set go up 76% over the next 3 years costing the average ratepayer more like an extra $35 per month?…this is just a small taste of what is coming when the bonds are issued to finally fix the sewers under order of the EPA?…when the minimum of $545 Million and possibly up to a Billion dollars is financed the monthly rates will increase by between $35 and $65 per month just to pay the interest on the debt?

IS IT TRUE that County Commissioner Marsha Abell has been all over the news lately expressing her support for the City of Evansville’s plan to give $37.5 Million plus an expensive parcel of land to HCW of Branson, Missouri as an incentive to build a hotel in downtown Evansville?…Commissioner Abell even seems to be on board with the idea that refinancing the Centre is the best way to get her paws onto a couple of million dollars to help our her former Commissioner and friend, Mayor Winnecke?…just a few years ago when Mayor Weinzapfel was in office and had presided over the demolition of the Executive Inn Commissioner Abell was not all smiles and hugs about the prospect of the County being asked to hand money to the City to help ameliorate the mess the City had made of the Centre’s convention business?…at that time Commissioner Abell and Commissioner Steve Melcher both were pretty outspoken that the City’s cavalier and unplanned action was the cause of the Centre’s demise and that it should be the responsibility of the City of Evansville to fix their own mess an make the County whole for the financial damages caused by the haphazard way the City conducted ITS project?…we wonder why a single letter change from D to R in the Mayor’s office caused Marsha Abell to flip flop the way she has on who hosed the pooch at the corner of MLK and Walnut?…we wonder if the Centre had been a private business just how large the damages from a lawsuit may have been due to the willful infliction of damages by the City of Evansville?

IS IT TRUE the government of Vanderburgh County is considering refinancing the Centre to hand money to an out of town developer because the City of Evansville messed up at a time they busted their budget by $2 Million and are considering layoffs and reductions in services?…this happens at a time that the City of Evansville is planning to add 16 full time positions in its Sewer and Water Department?…we are beginning to wonder what else will have to be sacrificed by the people of Evansville to squander taxpayer dollars on a facility that most Evansvillians will never see the inside of?…when it comes to Arenas, and places like the Centre there are never ever any private businesses that will invest in such things because they do not make money?…that is not the case for a hotel?…there are already close to 4,000 hotel rooms in greater Evansville that were all built without a government handout?…the same goes for restaurants, retail space, and apartments?…the City of Evansville by handing money to a for profit entity with local competitors is setting a very dangerous precedent?…we can bet the next entrepreneur that comes along will have their hand out to do anything at all in this jurisdiction?

IS IT TRUE the weekend brought several questions regarding the discrepancies between Mayor Winnecke’s words and the findings of the Hunden Study that he commissioned and paid $105,000 for?…the biggest but not only discrepancy is in the number of jobs that will be created by the new hotel?…the Mayor says 250 but the Hunden study says 41?…the Hunden Study backs their number up with a series of pro-formas that include itemized operating expenses that look quite accurate for typical hotel operations?…unless this gap can be explained and explained clearly the City Council should either postpone a vote or vote NO due to misrepresentation of the benefits to the people of Evansville as a result of this project?…we wonder if the Mayor can be off by over 500% on just the jobs at the hotel just how far off is everything else he has been saying about this project?