IS IT TRUE September 6, 2013

IS IT TRUE the reality that there will not be a vote on the proposed $37.5 Million incentive package for HCW of Branson, MO to put a convention hotel in downtown Evansville is sinking in to all involved from Mayor Winnecke and his appointed puppets to the staunchest of the opposition?…the City County Observer would like to encourage every one of these people to take advantage of this hitting of the reset button by first taking a breath and then putting on your Tom Terrific thinking caps?…this pause is a golden opportunity to get the quest for a downtown hotel back onto a rational track that can gain the support of many more of the people of Evansville?…this is an opportunity to establish a competent vetting procedure in a place where emotions and gut feelings have ruled the day?…this is an opportunity to learn to rely on data as opposed to the whims and desires of a small group?…it is also an opportunity for the community at large to learn how to VET projects so another Earthcare Energy debacle or even another flying political circus like this 5 year “gotta get a hotel at all costs” project has become?…this is a golden opportunity for Evansville’s government to grow up?

IS IT TRUE that the President and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of Southwest Indiana, Christy Gillenwater recently published a letter to her memberships in the chamber newsletter addressing the failures of all efforts to revitalize downtown Evansville?…Ms. Gillenwater referred to downtown Evansville as a “ghost town’?…this rather accurate description by Ms. Gillenwater comes after the City of Evansville has spent well in excess of $200 Million of bonded debt on temples to entertainment?…Ms. Gillenwater went on to state that successful downtowns have a dedicated committee or commission that owns the revitalization effort and the Evansville does not have one?…we are beginning to like this lady and agree wholeheartedly?…in her final and most excellent statement Ms. Gillenwater wrote, “WE DON’T HAVE A PLAN. WE NEED GOALS, WE NEED A TIME FRAME, AND WE NEED A LEADER”?…the City County Observer salutes Ms. Gillenwater for her poignant and excellent observations and on her courage to come out and call a skunk a skunk as we have been doing for the last 4 years?…a MASTER PLAN has been at the top of every TOP 10 needs list the CCO has ever published?…we wonder what the Mayor of Evansville and the Evansville Redevelopment Commission thinks about the Chamber’s statement about no plan, no committee, and no leader?…we encourage Ms. Gillenwater to hang tough?…we may just join the Chamber if she keeps telling the brutal truths that need to be told and succeeds in keeping those puppet strings from the Civic Center from being welded to her words?

IS IT TRUE John Dunn of Dunn Hospitality had his interview with Brad Byrd last night and we must say he made his points in a clear and eloquent manner?…Mr. Dunn made it clear that he supports the concept of a downtown hotel but that he and the other citizens of Evansville should not be expected to pay for something they don’t own?…Mr. Dunn addressed the recently publicized issue of his pulling of personal donations to six charities that he has supported with tens of thousands of dollars in the past?…it was a statement by Matt Rowe who is the director of the Reitz Home made on behalf of “all of the museums” that Mr. Dunn has an issue with?…Mr. Dunn supports Mr. Rowe’s right to express himself personally on the hotel issue but does not think that “the museums” as organizations should be held to their director’s personal positions?…John Dunn called out Mayor Winnecke for “gross exaggeration” in the number of jobs he claims will be at the hotel and in the construction process?…as we have stated many times Mr. Dunn pointed out that the Hunden Study that Mayor Winnecke paid over $100,000 for does not even support his job claims and that the errors are by over 200%?…Mr. Dunn reminded the people of Evansville that he and Dunn Hospitality have invested over $100 Million in Evansville?…he opined on the RFP’s that were sent out by both the Winnecke and Weinzapfel administrations as being so restrictive on the number of rooms that they are essentially impossible to be run at a profit and stand on their own?…he accepts and understands that the right size is 120 – 150 rooms if Evansville is to get a downtown hotel without a massive subsidy?…in closing Mr. Dunn stated that he loves Evansville, has chosen to spend his life there and that “he has never taken a penny of government handouts to build any of his hotels”?…this sounds like the kind of man that Evansville needs to bid on a downtown convention hotel?…it would be interesting to see what happens if the RFP is amended to be 120 – 150 rooms?