IS IT TRUE that the Economic Development Coalition of Southwest Indiana has allocated some federal grant money to pay for a study of the potential that this area has for growth?…that Garner Economics of Atlanta has been commissioned to do this study?…that there are those who will be critical of hiring an outside of Evansville firm to do this study?…that when searching for opportunities that seem to have eluded the local business community and local governance for many years an outside firm is usually the best choice?… that Greg Wathen is very well connected in the economic development industry and made the best choice that he could make with the funds that were available?

IS IT TRUE that SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis were done and published in 2000 and again in 2007?…that in both cases these efforts were locally lead and chose all local participants?…that the results of these analyses were strikingly similar?…that would indicate that little or no positive change occurred between 2000 and 2007 to change the results?…that as informative as these exercises were that in the end they were just exercises?…that in one case there was some “strategic editing” done in the areas of identified weaknesses and threats?…that the “strategic editing” was done so as not to perturb the powers that be?…that this locally driven “strategic editing” is why Mr. Wathen is doing the right thing by hiring an outside firm to do this study?

IS IT TRUE that it is certain that this region has some untapped resources and unknown opportunities that can and should be acknowledge and exploited for economic growth?…that there have been opportunities identified in the past that just do not seem to get the attention of people who pursue them?…that we expect that this study will identify resources and opportunities with positive potential?…that we are quite interested to see if these opportunities will be new or recantations of opportunities published in the past?…that we hope and encourage that any good opportunities be pursued?…that Evansville’s economic problems are not in place because of lack of opportunities?…that there have been many opportunities brought forward but that the initiative, the funding (as in venture capital), and the talent have not been mobilized to capitalize on them?…that maybe this time it will be different?

IS IT TRUE that “CCO “MOLE #3” has just predicted that Conor O’Daniel is on his way to be elected to the second position on the Democratic AT LARGE City Council seat?

IS IT TRUE the political battle lines have been drawn between Davis and Tornatta? ….that the Tornatta campaign is all about keeping things the same while preserving the programs of Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel and Davis is campaigning on the issue of “a new broom sweeps clean”?

IS IT TRUE that incumbent City Council Dan McGinn hasn’t spent one nickel on yard signs, TV, radio or newspaper ads? …. that we know the reason why? ….that Councilman McGinn has done an outstanding job in representing the needs of the citizens living in the 1st Ward? ….that the fact that he has publically taken Mayor Weinzapfel head on in many issues and won certainly helps enhance his popularity?

Charlotte Suburb Embarks on 25 Field Complex

Do you remember last year when the Evansville Convention and Visitors Bureau wanted to spend $18 Million on 8 little league baseball fields? There was actually broad support for the idea of having a classy ball park complex but the construction price came under fire for being excessive. It was eventually defeated.

Charlotte, North Carolina suburb Mooresville is now embarking upon their own $20 Million little league ballfields project so our curiosity has migrated to just what can you get in Charlotte for $20 Million? Here is what they are getting:

* 25 lighted baseball fields

* 60 cabins

* Laundry

* Dining Hall

* Concession Stands

The 25 fields and the team cabins are expected to draw 80,000 visitors per year and are being developed by private investors. The total public incentives committed to attract the investment was only $1 Million paid out over a 10 year period. The project is expected to create 20 full time and up to 500 part time jobs.

If the proposed ballfields project in Evansville would have involved a private investment of $20 Million and a public incentive of $1 Million there would have likely been substantial support. The cost of a ballfield also seems to be more in line with reality in Charlotte than it was here. Well, in a land of $239,916 apartments what can we expect?

You may read the entire contents at the link below.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/04/12/2216922/work-starts-on-170-acre-youth.html

MAYORAL PRIMARY RESULTS:

Democratic Primary: 246 total votes
Rick Davis – 184 (75%)
Troy Tornatta – 62 (25%)

Republican Primary – 194 total votes
Lloyd Winnecke – 115 (59%)
Douglas DeGroot – 79 (41%)

THE NEXT POLL: “What do you think of the proposed Evansville Vanderburgh City County Consolidation??”
There are options for both residents who live within the city limits, and outside the city limits. This poll should give us all a strong idea of what each demographic thinks about the proposed consolidation.
Vote on community-observer.com!

Funds Investments to have Regional Focus

The Houston Technology Center said Tuesday that the newly created Houston Technology Future Fund plans to raise $100 million in venture capital to fund early-stage technologies in the greater Houston area.

The fund would provide equity to technology companies within a 30-county area in the aerospace, energy, information technology, life sciences and nanotechnology sectors. John White, a partner at Houston based venture capital firm Murphree Venture Partners, will serve as CEO of the fund.

“Houston is a fertile landscape for entrepreneurship and has an extensive history of innovation,” White said in a statement. “We believe the Houston Technology Future Fund will not only assist these innovations in reaching commercialization, but will also provide a terrific return to investors.”

White will serve on the investment committee with Scott Crist of Houston-based Texas Ventures, Benton Mayberry of Houston-based Winston Sage Partners Inc., David McWilliams of BioHouston Inc. and Dennis Murphree, general managing partner of Murphree Venture Partners.

The advisory board includes J. Downey Bridgwater, HTC board chair and Sterling Bancshares Inc. (NASDAQ: SBIB) president and CEO and Walter Ulrich, president and CEO of HTC, as well as two unnamed representatives.

Source: Houston Business Journal

IS IT TRUE? Part 2: April 12, 2011 Apartment Refurbishment Reflects Waste in Government Pricing

IS IT TRUE that a well done project on the eastside in the area of income properties just celebrated its completion?…that the old Stonehedge apartments have reopened under the name Abbey Court?…that just last summer that the people of the neighborhood were upset at the prospect of Stonehedge being converted to low income housing?…that Stonehedge was purchased for $4.25 Million last summer and has just undergone renovations in the amount of $2.7 Million to bring the total cost of the project up to approximately $7 Million?…that when you divide that total cost by the 250 units that Abbey Court now offers that the cost per unit works out to $28,000 each?…that Abbey Court offers 1, 2 and 3 bedroom units at prices ranging from $514 to $874 per month?…that the average rent per square foot per month amounts to about 70 cents?

IS IT TRUE that the City of Evansville should take some lessons from the developers of Abbey Court when it comes to budgeting for apartment style units?…that the recently announced projects by the Office of the Mayor somehow manage to have per unit budgets that are over 8 times as expensive to construct than Abbey Court has been?

IS IT TRUE that the Cedar Trace Apartments III located at 2000 North Seventh Avenue is a project to construct 48 new apartments consisting of 14 one bedroom units, 24 two bedroom units, and 10 three bedroom units?…that a thinking person would be inclined to expect the cost of Cedar Trace III to be about 48/250 of the $7 Million spent on Abbey Court?…that such a thinking person would be very wrong to make such an assumption?…that the total development cost stated in the Mayor’s press release of February 28, 2011 is exactly $5,760,000?…that this development cost works out to exactly $120,000 per unit or 329% more per unit than Abbey Court was refurbished for?…that we wonder who in their right mind would embark on such an overpriced project?

IS IT TRUE that Cedar Trace III is a relative bargain when compared to another program announced in the same official press release?…that the VISION 1505 project located at 1505 North Third Avenue at the site of the abandoned SAFE HOUSE takes overspending to a new level?…that VISION 1505 proposes to refurbish the old SAFE HOUSE into 32 apartments at a staggering cost of $7,677,308?…that this works out to $239,916 per apartment?...that we once again wonder who in their right mind would embark on an even more overpriced project?

IS IT TRUE that Abbey Court was done at market price and will be a sustainable investment that pays off for the private developer?…that if the Abbey Court project were to have been completed by the City of Evansville with a SAFE HOUSE style of refurbishment budget that Abbey Court would have cost nearly $60 Million and would have to charge over $4,000 per month for a 1 bedroom apartment to make ends meet?…that we understand that government projects have some red tape and restrictions that raise the prices but in no way accept the assertion that the government should be spending a 700% premium over private pricing to get things built?

IS IT TRUE that in a world of a government that pays $100 for a hammer that can be bought at a big box retailer for $20 that people just shake their head and laugh?…that the people whose money is spent so frivolously are the taxpayers of America, nearly 118,000 of whom live in the City of Evansville?…that the $100 hammer is a better deal than the $239,916 apartments being proposed by the Mayor’s office?…that it is not so much the value of government that is raising the debt of the nation and all of the cities and states in it?…that it is the callous disregard of our elected officials to make rational decisions on what to pay for things that has saddled us with a staggering amount of debt?…that just because Uncle Sam hands a place like Evansville a token tax credit does not make it right to spend $239,916 on an apartment that could have been bought on the open market for $28,000?

IS IT TRUE that it is no wonder that the McCurdy Hotel stands vacant and a home to pigeons and Indiana brown bats?…that at prices like these the McCurdy will cost over $20 Million to restore?…that a good policy for elected officials should be that “if you would not spend your own money on something do not spend your governments money on it either”?…that after all the governments money is our money?

EPD Activity Report April 11 2011
EPD Activity Report April 11 2011 – 2

IS IT TRUE that the fireworks are heating up in the campaign to seek the Democratic nomination for Mayor of Evansville?…that the heir to the Weinzapfel thrown will absolutely have to fight for it?…that the City County Observer does not condone or approve of the first volley of name calling and accusations of not being a team player that has been lobbed by the Tornatta campaign at the Davis campaign?…that we would prefer that this nomination were decided by a battle of wits instead of a battle of nits?…that calling someone disloyal and disruptive to a machine that operated behind closed doors, spent lavishly on a temple of sport, and found legal but sneaky ways to circumvent the will of the people should be worn by Mr. Davis as a BADGE OF HONOR?…that it is better to be a member of the loyal opposition who seeks to better the conditions of the whole than a water carrier for a team with a reputation for breaking the rules?

IS IT TRUE that as we have stated now for a full week that there are some real game changing issues that need to be addressed by the next Mayor of Evansville?…that substance and not schoolyard drama is what should be used to judge whom is the best man for the job of Mayor of Evansville?…that position papers of substance with JOBS, INFRASTRUCTURE, PARKS, and COMPETITIVENESS need to be addressed and they need to be addressed now?…that failure to address these issues in a public way with plans and strategies of depth is the only way to prove any candidate’s worthiness to lead this city?…that Evansville has the legacy problems that it has like a languishing economy, federally chastised infrastructure, litter, blight, brain drain, overflowing sewers, and lack of transparency because the status quo that created these problems has been coddled and celebrated as opposed to being challenged?…that any candidate that does not challenge the status quo and minimally communicate some detail regarding positive changes is truly unworthy of anyone’s vote?

IS IT TRUE that in plain simple “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it style” rhetoric we have now been treated to the old adage “if you ain’t with us you are agin us” by Mr. Tornatta?…that as we reminded the President of the Evansville City Council a few weeks ago, Sir there are many things that are broke and they are in need of fixing?…that in truth if any candidate is not on board in accepting the stubborn facts that our best and brightest young people leave town for better career opportunities, a large portion of the town has the smell of neglect about it, that crime is escalating, and that the housing stock is increasingly dilapidated really needs to have an intervention?…that celebrating where we are as a city is about as worthy of a celebration as a basketball team that just went 3 – 23 and lost its senior day game by 30 points?…that dramatic change is needed and it is needed now if Evansville is to reverse the slide to become Evanstroit?

IS IT TRUE that we and the people of Evansville are still waiting for substance and vision from a worthy candidate?…that we and the people of Evansville expect and deserve honesty and transparency in government?…that we and the people of Evansville expect and deserve a full accounting of the capital projects that are under way and on the drawing board that will consume local taxpayer dollars?…that whether it has been Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, Whigs, Greens, or even Know-Nothings that the machine that has brought Evansville to the brink of operating in a third world manner is not worthy of support?…that it really is time for change on the banks of the Ohio?…that we are begging for the details of that proposed change to step forward and claim his place as our next Mayor?

EPD Activity Report April 10 2011

IS IT TRUE that we are down to the last three weeks of the primary season in this watershed year in Evansville politics?…that the City County Observer has republished our readers choices for what are the most important things needing to be done right in 2011?…that at the top of the list was an EVANSVILLE FOR THE NEXT DECADE PLAN?…that inside of that plan there will be (if it is ever written) a page called the TABLE OF CONTENTS?…that minimally the table of contents will have items called JOBS STRATEGY, Parks and Recreation, INFRASTRUCTURE, and COMPETITIVENESS?…that there will be more but that these items are the ones that have the potential to define who and what Evansville is for the next 50 years?…that we are coming off of nearly a decade without planning and are in dire need of logical and achievable direction from our leadership?

IS IT TRUE that we demand and encourage the FOUR CANDIDATES for Mayor of Evansville to write and release to the public their detailed preliminary plans to address each of those subjects?…that we further encourage all FOUR CANDIDATES to release the balance of their own opinion as to what the rest of the table of contents will look like?…that the City County Observer will publish any and all position papers of substance written by all four or any one candidate?…that 30 second sound bites and 60 word abstracts to address subjects that require cognitive thought are nothing more than a platitudinal insult to the people of Evansville who are hungry for substance, competence, and honesty?

IS IT TRUE that one thing that the candidates all seem to agree on is that JOBS is the item at the top of their list?…that one TV commercial from Troy Tornatta even references a JOBS PLAN of Mayor Weinzapfel that he would like to continue?…that we reiterate our offer to publish this jobs plan in its full content IF THERE IS SUCH A PLAN which we seriously doubt?…that for any candidate to squawk the words CREATING JOBS like Parrots of the Caribbean with no plan to back up the squawking is just more election year nonsense?…that CREATING JOBS takes much more than just chirping the words?…that we are quite interested in the details of how the campaigns have thus far done nothing more than acknowledge the problem?…that there are most likely a full 117,429 people in the City of Evansville that know that JOB CREATION is a problem here?…that only four of those people have put their names forward as candidates for Mayor of Evansville?…that those seeking office should be the ones developing the plans to lead the other 117,425?…that if the people who want to be Mayor will not advise us of their plans and ideas then we need to just hold a lottery of the total citizens of age and appoint our Mayor through a game of chance like the radio stations award people with disk jockey jobs for an hour in their contests?…there is much more expected of a Mayor than smiling for the camera and speaking in catchy phrases?…we look forward to these four gentlemen taking the opportunity to prove that they are men of substance and not just everyday politicians?

IS IT TRUE that many people have contacted us and expressed the belief that the total good private sector jobs created by the four candidates for Mayor of Evansville is exactly ZERO?…that we find this to be disturbing and do not want to believe it?…that we offer each and every candidate the opportunity to articulate the private sector jobs he has created, how he did so, and to release the details of the quality of the jobs?

IS IT TRUE that we also challenge all four of the candidates to share a “Take Back the Parks” plan?…that this would be a good exercise to get the brain cells working?…that the locations, the sizes, and nearly every other feature about our parks are well defined?…that the initial conditions are fairly well known?…that a thinking person should be able to put together a first draft of a “Take Back the Parks” plan in a couple of weeks even with a full time job?…that this is a softball challenge and we really hope our candidates will step up to the plate and take a swing at this one?…that sometimes leadership involves getting out there first?…that this is a fairly easy opportunity to grab by the horns and prove yourselves worthy with?