IS IT TRUE that the latest spending report for the new Arena has finally gone over the $95 Million figure that we have been assured would not be exceeded by project manager John Kish?…that it is thus far only a 1% overrun of slightly over $900,000?…that this figure includes both change orders and some work that is not yet completed so that it should reflect the expected final cost of the Arena?…that now is the time for the Evansville City Council Finance Committee Chairman John Friend, CPA to sharpen his vision on the day to day commitments that may be made?…that with the soft costs determined that each dollar that the hard costs exceed $95 Million that either the soft costs will have to be reduced or the City of Evansville will have to ask the City Council to raise its “not to exceed” limit for funding?…that the budget is now busted by how ever little amount and that now is the time to hold the spending feet to the fire?

IS IT TRUE that you can now purchase gasoline at the new station located on the Marine Point property? …the reason why is that the new Marine Point gas station is located in Kentucky where the taxes are 5 cents a gallon lower and where gas is typically 10 cents per gallon cheaper? …that because of this reason you don’t have to drive across the money saving bridge in order to pay less for gas?

IS IT TRUE that on this coming Wednesday the Evansville City Council and the Vanderburgh County Council shall be holding a joint Budget hearing?…one should watch for the discussion pertaining to the overall budget and activities of the Vanderburgh/City of Evansville Information Technology Department?…that there is a quiet but strong movement among elected officials to conduct a full financial review of this seemly highly secret Department?

IS IT TRUE that the other significant piece of the budget for the City of Evansville will be in the allocation of funds to do the design of the Combined Sewer Solution for approval by the EPA?…that to ignore this important line item as was done in the 2011 budget will assure that the City of Evansville will not meet the EPA deadline for a solution?…that if this deadline is missed that it will jeopardize the agreement with the EPA that gives us a lot of time to implement the approved solution AND cause the fines to start again for discharges into the Ohio River?…that if this important item is overlooked that the accumulated cash in certain campaign funds should be attached to cover the fines?

IS IT TRUE “CCO MOLE #3” ask our readers to watch and listen to the discussions pertaining to future plans pertaining to the now vacant Vanderburgh County School Administration building located on the Civic Center property? …this is the reason why the Vanderburgh County School Board move quickly and quietly to relocate its operations across the street last week?

IS IT TRUE that the new voting centers shall only be used on Election Day …that General election voters will be allowed to continue to do early voting at area libraries?

IS IT TRUE “CCO Mole #3” is still saying that how the 5th Ward goes so does the Mayor’s race?…that what is not completely clear in the politically balanced 5th Ward is just who goes with who?…that while it is publically clear that Councilman John Friend is on Team Davis and that Brent Grafton is on Team Winnecke, that there are many people who have told the CCO that they will be voting Davis and Grafton and that others have told us they will be voting Winnecke and Friend?…that neither of the candidates for Mayor of Evansville seem to have much in the way of coattails in the City Council contests?…that it may be the coattails of the 5th Ward candidates that determine the next Mayor?…that it is well known that Lloyd Winnecke needs democrat votes to become Mayor?…that it is equally known that John Friend needs republican votes to retain his 5th Ward City Council seat?

IS IT TRUE that it was abundantly clear from conversations held today that a local CCO would not have any trouble finding political stupidity and malfeasance in South San Francisco?…that selective enforcement and SNEGAL kick back schemes are the rule of the day in that locale as well?

IS IT TRUE that a fleet of Atlas Van Lines have been spotted at the EVSC building?…that they are moving from their current administration building to their new $6+Mil no-bid contract offices about 150 yards away?…that stealthy no-bid operations are the exact opposite of transparent government?…that we hope our tax dollars are being managed wisely but we hope that the decision will be made according to form or within the spirit of the law?…that SNEGAL must have been the substitute superintendent on the day this decision was made?

IS IT TRUE that in a recent C&P article, Roberts Stadium is reported to bring in just over $3Mil per year in revenue? That after expenses, they incurred a loss of about $34k in 2010?…that in this same article, Jenny Collins predicted that the new Arena would bring in $3.5Mil per year?…that the operating expenses would also be $3.5Mil per year?…that she doesn’t have a clue what the expenses are going to be because the the City of Evansville has yet to sign a contract with an operator and has not booked a single act into the new Arena?…that preliminary estimates such as these tend to be optimistic for new projects?…that Roberts Stadium does not have a mortgage?…that we bet that the numbers that Ms. Collins is quoting do not include the bond payments?…that spending over $128Mil to replace one break-even venue with $3Mil revenue with another breakeven venue with $3.5Mil revenue is financially irresponsible at best?…that excluding the bond payments in your P/L calculations is just false accounting?…that we have a place in Evansville for people that know nothing about financial matters?…that we may be seeing Jenny Collins on the Evansville Redevelopment Commission soon with that kind of mathematical ability?

IS IT TRUE that the value of an entertainment venue cannot be measured solely by its balance sheet?…that the infusion of cash in food, lodging, and entertainment can make it worth the cost to keep a building in operation?…that organizations such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses bring millions of dollars to the city when they hold events here?…that we still do not know if they are interested in returning if Roberts is shut down?…that we do know that they are concerned with costs and are looking at other options?

IS IT TRUE that tomorrow (Monday, August 1st), is the deadline for the CCO’s Freedom of Information Act regarding the Arena PREMIUM seating sales?…that we should finally know what privileged few have contracts on these seats, and for what price?…that we will be publishing this information for the public to analyze?…that we bet that their are no contracts that have been signed and authorized by the ERC?…that we bet the same situation holds for the sponsorship?…that a un-named headline sponsor has reportedly been selected by an un-contracted VenuWorks for an ERC that has not authorized the deal?…that SNEGAL is still in charge down at the Civic Center?…that it will be quite interesting to see if this whole premium seating and sponsorship pre-announcement has been SNEGAL or just a bit of false hype?…that we are betting on SNEGAL?

**UPDATE**
IS IT TRUE that despite the vague approach to the new arena’s revenue estimates, Jenny Collins was essentially projecting that the Arena would draw LESS TRAFFIC than Robert’s actual numbers?…that when you factor in increased venue rental cost and increased ticket prices, the $3.5Mil Arena Projected revenue would equate to LESS BODIES than Roberts $3+Mil actual revenue?…that despite having a perfect opportunity to report very optimistic numbers, Jenny Collins (perhaps unintentionally) predicted that the brand new $128+Mil Arena WOULD DRAW LESS TRAFFIC THAN ROBERTS STADIUM ALREADY DOES?

Link to article: http://www.courierpress.com/news/2011/jul/30/cost-of-roberts/