IS IT TRUE: March 27, 2012
IS IT TRUE: March 27, 2012
IS IT TRUE that every day is an opportunity to learn and yesterday was a red letter day for learning when it comes to the way the City of Evansville is governed?…that we at the CCO learned that despite calls for a prudent vetting process that would have only taken a couple of weeks that when Mayor Winnecke is willing to use one on one meetings and robocalls to “persuade†members of the City Council to vote the way that he wants them to that someone will blink and conform even after expressing reservations to do so?…that everyone knew that there were 4 votes in favor of granting the $4.8 Million unsecured loan to Earthcare going into the meeting and that these three Council members were using some logic other than the logic used by banks or investors to justify their positions?…that most everyone knew that there were four votes strongly opposed to voting yes last night but who may turn to yes votes if Councilman John Friend’s questions and a real world tested model was shown?…that the last vote, the vote of Councilman Conor O’Daniel was said to be on the side of reason and his questions last night were entirely reasonable?…that after meeting with the two Earthcare executives in the hall during the break Councilman O’Daniel returned to council chambers and cast a YES vote defying every word of logic that had come from his own mouth before the break?…that is how the 5 – 4 contentious vote to make an unsecured loan to an unproven company happened last night in Evansville, IN?
IS IT TRUE that the executives of Earthcare Energy had a day of learning as well?…that the most important lesson that Earthcare learned is that the Evansville City Council has enough members who will back down when given an ultimatum that ultimatums work?…that this lesson will come back to haunt the City Council the first time that Earthcare Energy has a shortfall of cash?…that we will predict that the ultimatum card will be played again at some point in the future and that the next time the 5 City Council members who either blinked or were seduced by the siren’s song of job promises will have an angry mob to deal with?…that the executives of Earthcare learned that a majority of the Evansville City Council will fall for the song and dance of “we are in process of getting billions of dollars of orders from New York but we won’t show or tell you anything about themâ€?…that while there were four members of the council that were not impressed by this routine that the other 5 were and these guys will remember that weakness and exploit it again if they ever have a need to do so?
IS IT TRUE that if the VETTING of this business had been done correctly by Debbie Dewey and the Winnecke Administration before making an announcement and smiling prematurely for the camera that last night could have been a united 9 – 0 vote?…that Ms. Dewey seemed embarrassed last night that she could not even testify to having seen the MOU’s (memorandums of understanding) and the 6 – 7 rejection letters from banks that Earthcare had applied for loans with?…that the well posed questions of Councilman Friend for the most part went unanswered?…that if this company has any problems at all it will be the 5 City Council members who voted with their emotions instead of their minds, Mayor Winnecke, and Ms. Dewey will answer for it?…that the CCO predicts that the weakness demonstrated last night will become a rallying issue for the opponents of consolidated government?…that we wonder if the people of the unincorporated parts of Vanderburgh County want anything to do with being a part of the same old song and dance that the City of Evansville has been doing for a half century now?
IS IT TRUE that we wonder when the newly hired Director of the Evansville DMD is going to return one of the many phone calls to a CCO staff member who wants to know when and where is the next Evansville Brownfield meeting is going to be held?…that the CCO also would like for the newly appointed Director of the DMD to provide us with a breakdown of locations of “FRONT DOOR PRIDE” homes that are scheduled to be built in 2012 in each of the City of Evansville’s political wards?…that it looks like starting today that the CCO shall be sending out many “Freedom of Information” requests to the newly elected City administration so we can provide our readers with the above information that they have requested?… that the names may have changed in Evansville politics but the political games are the same?
VHS Pet of the Week: “Rose”
Rose is a 1 ½-year-old, spayed DSH. She is all four declawed. Rose is a super sweet girl who loves to play. She would really love to have the company of another cat. She will do quite well in a home with older children as she can be a bit rough at times. Her favorite thing is watching out the window so her new home needs plenty of them. For more information on Rose and how to make her a part of your family, visit www.vhslifesaver.org or call (812) 426-2563.
State of the City & Bicentennial Celebrations
Mayor Lloyd Winnecke will deliver his first State of the City address on Tuesday, March 27, at noon at the Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Coliseum, 300 Court Street, during the monthly meeting of the Downtown Evansville Rotary Club.
Following his speech to the Rotary Club, Mayor Winnecke will visit the Koch Family Children’s Museum of Evansville (cMOE), 22 S.E. Fifth Street, at 1 p.m. for a Bicentennial Birthday Party and Cake Cutting Ceremony. He will be joined by former Evansville Mayor’s Jonathan Weinzapfel, Russell Lloyd, Jr., Frank McDonald, II, and Michael Vandeveer.
The Bicentennial events will continue at 4:30 p.m. with the official Evansville Bicentennial Birthday Celebration at the Old Post Office Building, 101 N.W. First Street. At approximately 5:30 p.m., Mayor Winnecke will read a proclamation commemorating Evansville’s 200th birthday on March 27, 2012.
Update: Technology Company Thriving After “Graduating†GAGE’s Small Business Incubator Program
After graduating from Innovation Pointe, a small business incubator managed by the Growth Alliance for Greater Evansville, AnalyCIS now has their own location at 5200 Washington Avenue where they employ nine people.
With its name being a combination of “analysis†and “Computer Information Systems (CIS),†their mission is “to provide agile, customer centric, platform/vendor neutral, and effective professional technology answers for the modern user.â€
The Limited Liability Company is owned and managed by Martin E. Richey. His credentials include a MS in Computer Information Systems from Missouri State University; a Post Baccalaureate Certificate of Computer Information Systems from the University of Southern Indiana; and a Baccalaureate of Liberal Arts from Ambassador University. He has extensive technical experience as a network engineer, programmer, technical project manager, and professor. After holding several senior management positions, Marty is passionate about making advanced technology accessible to users.
AnalyCIS has many local customers in several states, including for profit customers, as well as nonâ€profit state, county, and city governments. Recently, AnalyCIS was awarded a defense contract with the United States Navy.
City Council votes 5 – 4 in favor of $4.8 Million loan to Earthcare Energy
The Evansville City Council took an unprecedented step in voting to provide a $4.8 Million loan to a start up company from Houston, TX to manufacture a gas pressure step down device that they have a license for in the old Whirlpool Building. The City will also be covering two years rent for Earthcare.
The hotly contested vote was taken after a vote to forcefully extract the bill from the Finance Committee whose chairman Councilman John Friend was opposed to going forward due to the fact that many of the questions asked regarding the financial plan had not been answered and because no real world technical testing was presented.
Ken Haney of Earthcare testified before the council that he had orders from all over the world coming in and that they are on the cusp of getting a multi-billion deal in New York. No details of any orders were submitted. Mr. Haney also testified that Earthcare had been turned down for loans at 6 or 7 banks but provided no documentation with respect to why.
Councilman Conor O’Daniel voted to support the loan after giving every indication that he was against doing so and asking many articulate questions for which no answers were offered.
Other Council members voting for the loan package were President Connie Robinson, Councilwoman Missy Mosby, Councilman Johnathan Weaver, and Councilman H. Dan Adams who has an MBA from Washington University.
Council members Dan McGinn, Stephanie Brinkerhoff-Riley, John Friend, and Al Lindsey all voted against the loan. And so begins the saga of the City of Evansville’s foray into the world of investment banking. The $4.8 Million loan has no collateral associated with it.
IS IT TRUE March 26, 2012 Part 3
IS IT TRUE March 26, 2012 Part 3
IS IT TRUE that former elected official Steve Bagby has been working the phones today trying to convince members of the Evansville City Council to vote in favor of handing an unsecured $5 Million loan to Earthcare Energy?…that we wonder just what captured Bag’s attention to get him involved in the last hour robo-calling to get this passed?…that several members of the Mole Nation are saying that Mr. Bagby is the leading candidate to be appointed to be the Evansville City Clerk when Alberta Matlock retires for medical reasons as has been announced?
IS IT TRUE that members of the management team of Earthcare Energy have been reported to be accompanying Mayor Winnecke in meetings to try and convince certain members of the Evansville City Council to vote yes on approval of a $5 Million loan for Earthcare TONIGHT?…that Mayor Winnecke may have deferred all questions to GAGE president Dewey yesterday when the CP called him but that making this personal makes this issue his issue?…that if this is jammed through TONIGHT without proper vetting that this loan has the potential to be Mayor Winnecke’s defining moment if things go even a little bit wrong?…that this could be his version of the Hudson Valley Christmas Tree debaucle?
IS IT TRUE that any member of the Evansville City Council that has had any discussion at all with Earthcare Energy officials with respect to employment, supplier contracts, consulting agreements, or any other self-serving propositions for either themselves, their relatives, or their businesses, should respectfully recuse themselves from casting any vote tonight?…that if any elected official votes yes tonight and this loan is made and then that official or a relative shows up somewhere in the pocket of this business that it shall be memorialized in the next city elections repeatedly?
IS IT TRUE that there was not even this much calling and coercion going on in the debate over the smoking ban?…that Councilman Al Lindsey as he often does boils it down to one simple question?…that Councilman Lindsey asked “is the City of Evansville a bankâ€?…that the answer is of course no but some of its members seem to try to play like they are?…that we wonder whether the loans that the City of Evansville has made in the past have a better or worse collection records than many of the failed banks in the recent banking mess?…that we are betting that the failed banks have a better track record?
Hudson Valley Trees, Roundy’s, & Shelf Staple Foods all Got Deals and Left Town
Excerpt from Evansville City Council Meeting in 2004:
MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS
Vice President Watts: Is there anything under Miscellaneous Business? Councilman Melcher.
Councilman Melcher: Last week, about Tuesday or so, I was getting two or three phone calls about Roundy’s and I guess it came out in the paper Friday, I guess this is something I’ve talked about over and over and over when we get tax abatements that we’ve never had anything on there where if they would get out before the tax abatement is over that they owe the citizens of our community something. I don’t know what we can do. I’m going to try to look into that a little more now because this is the third company that has done this to us. You remember we had Hudson Valley Trees and I thought we had Shelf Staple Foods or something that did the same thing. Well Roundy’s is leaving and we feel we did everything we could to keep them which I think worked. I can’t project what their sales and that, so I asked DMD if they would get me, because I couldn’t remember the year, but they got a ten-year tax abatement and they are in their sixth year. So as you know the way a ten-year tax abatement goes, they only pay roughly 10 percent the first year and 23 percent the second year, so they have gotten by real well now and maybe where they are going they are getting a better deal and they’re going to get another tax abatement. We’re going to have a lot of workers out of work, and I just think it’s something that we need to be constantly looking at. We’re all for economic development. We want to help. I’m glad we’ve got the point system, but even when we have a deal of tax abatement or tax phase-in as we call it now, is so everybody works out. We get a business, we get people working, and we’re all investing back into the community, and we’re willing to give up a little bit because we know that down the road we’re going to get more out of it. So it’s kind of like a marriage and now we’re getting divorced I guess and moving on. They also got airport development zone credits with the State, and I don’t know how the State is going to handle that. It seems like they took all the incentives because you know the first five or six years is where the bulk of it is and now they’re leaving. And I think that is kind of a shame of them doing that and maybe they had to financially. I can’t speak for that, but there ought to be something built in somewhere in our tax phase-in if something like this happens. I even talked about one time that they put a bond up or something during this tax phase-in and it goes down every year for a certain time. I just wanted to get that on the record tonight that we’re for economic development but we need because this might be happening more and more since outsourcing seems to be the way the Federal Government wants to take it, so I think that’s something we need to look at and I just wanted to get it on the record this evening. Thank you.
Councilman Kniese: Steve, I think it would be interesting to find out how many companies over the “x†number of years have received tax phase-in and how many have left and how many are still here. I think that would be interesting to see what kind of success ratio would be associated with that program.
Councilman Melcher: That’s not a bad idea. The one thing I think we did with Shelf Staple Foods, we even loaned them some money. I really think we had a hard time getting it back, but I think we did. But it’s really tough when you are in business I know.
Councilman Kiefer: Mr. President. John, I have a question in regards to what Steve is saying. I think he makes a very valid point. Is there, can we legally, uh could we do something by ordinance that said that either they would post a bond to cover that diminishes as time passes or maybe we could even place, like in this case, they’re selling their property, maybe we have a lien on to the property if something like that.
Councilman Melcher: I don’t think there is anything you can do now.
Councilman Kiefer: I mean, I don’t think now, but I’m saying in the future could, would we have the ability to do that or is that something that has to go through the State Legislature?
Counsel Hamilton: It’s completely spelled out by the State Acts so I think it would have to be amended at that level. I could look into that….
Councilman Kiefer: Well, that would be worth checking into, because I think he’s made a very valid point on that.
Counsel Hamilton: The State spells out the requirements and gives you parameters that you have to live in between. But I’ll look at it.
Councilman Kiefer: Okay. Madam Clerk, were you able to contact anybody about doing a presentation on the efficiency study to the City Council?
Clerk Matlock: I’ll make a note to myself.
IS IT TRUE: March 26, 2012 PART 2
IS IT TRUE: March 26, 2012 PART 2
IS IT TRUEÂ that several years ago that the City of Evansville made a loan to a Christmas Tree Manufacturer from Newburgh, New York for a large amount of start up money, tossed in some tax abatement, a bit of reduced utilities rate charges, and provided them with prime location?…that they not only spent a short time in Evansville and quickly packed up and left the city taxpayers without repaying a red cent of the loans back?…that we wonder why this failed City sponsored start up venture didn’t receive the same political fanfare when they abruptly left this area as a failed Governmental sponsored business entity as they did when the administration in charge announced jobs with big smiles and self congratulations?
IS IT TRUE the Evansville City Councilman at-large, Dr. Dan Adams shall be challenging the authority of Councilman and Budget Chairman, John Friend’s, decision to hold the proposed Earthcare Energy project in committee in order to obtain more information about this startup company request for a $5 million dollar loan?…that Dr. Adams shall be asking City Council to force this request out of the Finance Committee in order for City Council to vote on this issue TONIGHT? …that CCO predicts that Dr. Adams political move shall fall on deaf ears and go down to defeat? …even with his back room political buddy helping (Council President, Connie Robinsons) this loan won’t be approved this evening?
IS IT TRUE: March 26, 2012 “Continued from Yesterday’s CPA Call to Actionâ€
IS IT TRUE: March 26, 2012 “Continued from Yesterday’s CPA Call to Actionâ€
IS IT TRUE that aside from a call to action from certain CPA’s who are close to the process a technical vetting project of substance regarding the Earthcare Energy device has yet to be made available?…that yes we have read the words of GAGE president Debbie Dewey where she claims that it has been vetted by the Department of Defense but there is not one shred of documentation originating at the DOD that validates this device in any manner?…that the Concurrent Technologies Corp. study authored by Roger X. Lenard for the Air Force Research Labs does indeed verify that there is a significant amount of energy that could be captured from this kind of device?…that the rest of that document basically recommend that the AFRL actually do a test to verify that the Langson device is a good device to capture this energy with?…that in the “Investment Summary†presented to the City Council with Dewey’s blessing it is explicitly stated that this test will be finished by March 31, 2012?…that anyone with even a slight perspective on risk elimination would either delay a funding decision until after this test is available or make funding contingent on the results being available within about 30 days?…that moving forward when this test is only a week away from completion is playing recklessly with the people of Evansville’s money?
IS IT TRUE that the youtube video of the Langson device in the Carson City, NV lab shows an inlet pressure to the “shroud covered box that holds the special sauce†is set a 70 psi (pounds per square inch)?…that that Concurrent Technologies study for the AFRL states in its “Bottom Line Up Front†section that the pressure let downs that merit real world conditions are from 600 psi – 200 psi?…that given that as truth that any design that will have a long life in field conditions should have a safety factor built into the design that will work without failure or leakage up to about 1,000 psi?…that the most preferable test of this device would therefore be a real installation that operates at a pressure of 600 psi augmented by a four corner test that goes from extrema conditions of 1,000 psi with a temperature range that reflects the reality of the situation of maybe – 40 degrees to +200 degrees?…that after all these devices will have to work from Alaska to the Arabian Desert so they need to be tested for such conditions?…that the world of engineering design at 70 psi and 1,000 psi are very different?…that the world of 70 psi is dominated by consumer items like bicycle tires, replacement windows, pool pumps, and water hoses?…that one should imagine what might happen to a bicycle tire or a water hose taken up to 1,000 psi?…that every one of them will fail by design?…that when a test at working pressures and temperatures has been done by a third party we might start believing too?
IS IT TRUE that the Courier Press has an article up that strongly implies that the founder of Earthcare is basically threatening to pull the plug on this if the City Council of Evansville does not vote his company a $5 Million dollar loan TONIGHT?…that if and we do mean if this is true that it is time to pull the plug by taking it off of the agenda and wishing him well in some place that responds to ultimatums?…that NO SERIOUS BUSINESS PERSON would make such a demand and NO LOCAL GOVERNMENT WITH ANY STRENGTH WOULD GIVE IN TO SUCH DEMANDS?…that we were shocked to read the subtitle on the following CP article?…that if this is true that the giver of this ultimatum should be sent a strong message that EVANSVILLE DOES NOT RESPOND WELL TO THREATS and good luck in South Carolina?…that ultimatums whether given to city governments, people or small shops are the domain of bullies and despots neither of which we can recommend as business partners?