On January 3, 2013 the Evansville Courier & Press reported the following

“The hotel project will be front-and-center early this year. Mayor Lloyd Winnecke said Tuesday that he has selected one of the three development proposals submitted for the city’s consideration. He will meet one-on-one with City Council members over the next few days to explain his recommendation. Winnecke then will present the choice to the Evansville Redevelopment Commission.”

Yesterday, January 8, 2013 Councilman Al Lindsey clearly stated in the CCO that he wanted nothing to do with any one-on-one meeting and called on the Mayor to make a presentation to the City Council at a public meeting.

Today January 9, 2013 Mayor Winnecke’s Chief of Staff Steve Schaefer asked that Councilman Lindsey reconsider the one-on-one meeting and made a statement in an email that absolutely counters the quotes attributed to Mayor Winnecke in the Courier Press.

“Councilman Lindsey, it is our hope that you will re-consider and be a part of the process.

As Mayor Winnecke indicated in his email to Council in December, it is his intent to keep City Council informed and engaged in the process to build a new convention hotel in downtown Evansville.

As you know, the authority currently resides in the hands of the Evansville Redevelopment Commission to select a hotel developer and drive this process. Mayor Winnecke took it upon himself to form an advisory group made up of community and financial leaders, including two members of City Council, to interview and evaluate the three development teams that were chosen from the RFP process. The Mayor, with input from the advisory group intends to make a recommendation at a public meeting of the Evansville Redevelopment Commission in the near future for next action.

Please feel free to contact us with questions.

Thanks.
Steve”

Then Councilman Jonathan Weaver felt a need to send the following email to the entire City Council call for Councilman Lindsey to “resign if he has an issue”

Al,

“This city needs us to move forward, stop the bickering and just get the job done. If you have an issue, resign.

Jonathan Weaver”

Prior to all of this Councilman Lindsey and Marianne Cox, the scheduler for Mayor Winnecke invited Lindsey to a meeting and he graciously declined.

“Good evening Al,

I’d like to get you scheduled to meet with Mayor Winnecke next week to discuss the status of the hotel project. Please call me at 436-4969 tomorrow (Wednesday) and we’ll look for a mutually workable date and time.

Thank you,
Marianne E Cox
Executive Assistant/Scheduler to Mayor Lloyd Winnecke
Office of the Mayor – City of Evansville, Indiana”

“Marianne

Thank you for the invitation but I must respectfully decline due to my stance on transparency on any and all public projects. I feel that any discussions concerning the hotel project should be done in public and during council meetings.

Al Lindsey.”

I must say that I was disturbed when I read in the Evansville Courier and Press that Mayor Lloyd Winnecke had already made his decision on which of the three bidders on the RFP for the downtown convention hotel was “his” choice. I was not aware that as a member of the Evansville City Council that we had no say or input in the process of awarding such a contract.

The last several years have been marred with false start after false start for a downtown convention hotel to serve the Centre and the new Ford Center. Our former Mayor at one time announced that a 4-Star hotel would be completed with private money if only we would build a new arena. We did our part and still we have floundered for 4 years since Mayor Weinzapfel’s announcement with no hotel that we allegedly have to have for the Centre and the Ford Center to do well. Mayor Winnecke has continued the secretive and authoritative ways of Mayor Weinzapfel. It is not his job to choose which of the three bidders should win the deal.

The other thing that bothers me is that the Mayor has announced his intention to go to each member of the City Council on an individual basis to talk them into what he wants to do. It is not his place to sell each member of the City Council in a series of private meetings. It is his place to make a public presentation before the City Council and to make his best case on why he made this decision in a vacuum and why it is best for Evansville. This presentation should include an overview of just why the chosen proposal is better than the other two complete with the public funding requirements of each.

The financial commitment has been reported to be over $20 Million from the taxpayers of Evansville. This is a decision that needs to have the people of this city on board to move forward. The time for closed door meetings, serial arm twisting, and authoritative directives is over. The time for the transparency that Mayor Winnecke campaigned on is now, and I call upon the Mayor to come before the City Council to make whatever case he has to make. Then we the Evansville City Council will exercise our duties to either fund this effort or not.

Al Lindsey
Evansville City Councilman, 6th Ward

Outstanding_Sheriff_Warrants

This list represents the active warrants held for service by the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office on the date listed. It is no longer current the moment it is produced. Therefore, the current validity of a warrant cannot be obtained from this information alone, but must be verified by the sheriff’s office. In general, the sheriff’s office will not confirm the validity of a warrant to non-law enforcement personnel over the telephone. This must be done in person.

If you have a tip or information about any of these warrants or the persons listed as wanted, please send an email to sheriffwarrants@vanderburghsheriff.com or call 421-6276.

As always, the sheriff’s office greatly appreciates any information or assistance you can provide in the apprehension of those persons who are wanted by the Vanderburgh County Courts.

Respectfully,
Eric Williams
Vanderburgh County Sheriff

OFFICE OF THE MAYOR
LLOYD WINNECKE
January 9, 2013 Contact: Ella Johnson-Watson
For Immediate Release
Evansville Mayor Winnecke Tapped for Regional, State Leadership Roles

(EVANSVILLE, IN) – Evansville Mayor Lloyd Winnecke has been selected to serve in leadership positions at the regional and state level. Mayor Winnecke was elected President of the Southern Indiana Mayors Roundtable for 2013, and he has been named chair of the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns (IACT) Public Safety Committee.

As president of the Southern Indiana Mayors Roundtable, Mayor Winnecke will lead the discussion during meetings and help set the legislative agenda on issues presented to the Indiana General Assembly. The Roundtable meets monthly and is comprised of approximately 34 mayors.
“I think it is vitally important to have someone of Mayor Winnecke’s stature, who serves the largest city in Southern Indiana, to act as our president,” said former Tell City Mayor Bill Goffinet. “He will work with other mayors in our region and carry their message to lawmakers in Indianapolis.”

The Southern Indiana Mayors Roundtable will hold its first meeting of 2013 at Crane Naval Surface Warfare Center on Jan. 24.

Carmel, Ind., Clerk-Treasurer Diana Cordray, the incoming President of the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns Board of Directors, said IACT is pleased Mayor Winnecke agreed to accept a broader leadership role with the association.

“The Public Safety Committee is one of IACT’s most important public policy committees,” Cordray said. “I welcome Mayor Winnecke and look forward to his commitment to public safety.” She said the Mayor will work closely with the 17-member committee to monitor issues involving public safety throughout the state and in the new legislative session.

You should have received this from USI today. In the event that you did not – here is the information that was disseminated. Hope to see you there!

On Wednesday, January 9, the University of Southern Indiana’s College of Nursing and Health Professions is opening its second USI Community Health Center, this one at Cedar Hall Community School.

“With the success of the USI Community Health Center at Glenwood, I am pleased that we are able to expand our school-based health clinic initiative and now provide additional primary care services at the USI Community Health Center at Cedar Hall,” said Dr. Ann White, dean of the college.

The USI Community Health Centers are the result of a five-year $1.2 million grant to USI from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The grant was a collaborative effort between USI, the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation (EVSC), St. Mary’s Health System, and Southwestern Behavioral Healthcare, Inc.

The centers provide primary health care services to neighborhood residents, including students, families, and staff. USI undergraduate and graduate students in nursing, respiratory therapy, occupational therapy, food and nutrition, social work, dental and health administration participate in delivering services to USI Community Health Center patients and neighborhood residents.

“Benefits from this partnership help our students and families in many ways,” said Cathlin Gray, EVSC associate superintendent for family, school, and community partnerships. “Families having access to a familiar place to see medical professionals for immunizations, and help when children are ill, is essential. Children who do not feel well often do not perform well in school. Our goal is to help create a community of individuals who are healthy and ready to learn. We thank all of the partners for coming together to make a difference for this community and look forward to future endeavors.”

Since the USI Community Health Center at Glenwood Leadership Academy opened in January 2012, 400 patients have been served during 792 appointments. More than half of the patients were from the Glenwood neighborhood. Fifty-eight USI students in the College of Nursing and Health Professions have benefited from the experiential learning opportunity of working with patients at the center.

The USI Community Health Center at Cedar Hall will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesdays. The next USI Community Health Center will open at the Juan Diego Center at Nativity Church.

For more information, contact Dr. Mayola Rowser, assistant dean of the USI College of Nursing and Health Professions, at 812/461-5257.

Notice is hereby given that the Board of Directors of the Evansville-Vanderburgh School Building Corporation (the “Corporation”) shall convene on Tuesday, January 15, 2013, at 2 p.m., at the offices of Ziemer, Stayman, Weitzel, and Shoulders at 20 N.W. First Street, 9th Floor, Evansville, Indiana, for the purpose of (a) considering the release and transfer to Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation (“EVSC”) of all interest reimbursement payments received and now held by the Corporation under Build America Bonds; and (b) considering any other business which may properly come before the meeting.

This morning the Evansville Fire Department responded to an apartment fire at 4985 E. Sycamore Street on Evansville’s eastside. The apartment is 1 of 4 units contained within the building. The fire damage was contained to one apartment while the apartment below had very minor water damage. The other 2 apartments in the structure had very little, if any, damage. The first fire units on scene arrived quickly and contained the fire to the utility closet. Fire Investigator Jennifer Hunt determined the fire cause to be accidental due to combustible materials being too close to the burner area of the furnace.

District Chief Greg Main called for a 2nd Alarm because it was an apartment complex. As soon as the fire was reported extinguished, the extra personnel and equipment were returned to their stations.

The couple who lived in the apartment was home at the time of the fire and got out without injury. Fairmont Apartments has offered the couple another apartment until the damage can be repaired.