Evansville City Councilwoman Stephanie Riley today announced that she intends to introduce a resolution next week to rescind the approval of the Earthcare Energy loan approval that passed under duress by a single vote back in March.

Earlier this week it was announced by City of Evansville attorney Ted Ziemer that the bonds that must be sold to fund the Earthcare Energy loan for $4.8 Million and that the loan could be funded as early as next week. Councilwoman Riley stresses the importance that in order to introduce the resolution to rescind the loan approval that the bonds should not be sold before introduction of the resolution to rescind.

Riley released the findings of her personal discovery process yesterday that included bankruptcies, failed businesses, tax liens, and arrests records attributed to the management team of Earthcare Energy. She also highlighted how material misrepresentations had been made by Earthcare officers to the Evansville City Council during the loan application process. Since that release near unanimous support has been expressed by the people of Evansville to rescind the approval which was passed after Ken Haney of Earthcare issued an ultimatum to the City Council.

Councilwoman Riley requests that the people of Evansville make join her in opposing this loan and the sale of the bonds to fund it. She calls upon the citizens of this city to contact the 5 members of the Evansville City Council who voted for this loan (Robinson, Adams, O’Daniel, Mosby, & Weaver) along with Mayor Winnecke who has been an enthusiastic supporter of the Earthcare Energy deal and ask them to hold off on issuing these bonds until after the next City Council meeting on May 14, 2012.

At that meeting Councilwoman Riley asks that the concerned citizens of Evansville pack the chambers of the City Council and demand that this previously ignored material information be discussed prior to moving forward with the Earthcare Energy loan.

EVANSVILLE, IN – The Evansville Water and Sewer Utility (EWSU) and Mayor Lloyd Winnecke launched
a public effort in support of one of the city’s largest capital improvement projects to date, Renew
Evansville. It is EWSU’s approximately 20-year plan to improve Evansville’s sewer system and comply
with the Clean Water Act, as mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of
Justice and the State of Indiana. Renew Evansville will significantly upgrade Evansville’s sewer system
infrastructure, improve operations and reduce water pollution. Through a detailed assessment of the
current system, public comment and state and federal approval, EWSU will have about 20 years to
complete the plan to comply with a federal consent decree and state and federal regulations.

To gather public feedback as Renew Evansville is being developed, the following tools are available:
• A public website, www.RenewEvansville.com, which contains information about the agreement
with federal and state regulators, the timeline for implementation, copies of many of the
submissions the Utility has filed with the EPA since November 2010 and information for
residents.
• Updates via Twitter by following @RenewEvansville.
• A Citizens Advisory Committee that meets regularly to provide feedback on the plan’s
development.
• A speakers bureau, which can make presentations to neighborhood associations, civic groups
and other community organizations.

“The Evansville Water and Sewer Utility is ready to take action and work to improve and enhance one
of our city’s most important, yet unseen, assets,” EWSU director Allen Mounts said. “We encourage
Evansville residents to provide input and help make Renew Evansville the best investment for our city’s
sewer system.”

To engage public comment in planning, EWSU plans to hold public meetings about Renew Evansville
between Aug. 1 and Sept. 30, 2012. At that time, a draft plan will be available for the public to review
and comment.

Through Renew Evansville, Utility officials plan to upgrade existing infrastructure, use new construction
and “green” solutions to expand current pipe and sewer capacity, and make improvements to the
Utility’s operations and maintenance. EWSU must submit its final long-term Integrated Overflow
Control Plan to the EPA by Nov. 30, 2012.

For more information about the program, visit the newly launched www.RenewEvansville.com.

EVANSVILLE – The Vanderburgh County Treasurer’s Office is reminding Vanderburgh County property owners that Thursday, May 10, 2012, is the final day to pay the spring installment of property taxes. If your payment is late, a 5% penalty is imposed on your outstanding balance for the first 30 days following the deadline. After 30 days, that penalty increases to 10%.

Vanderburgh County Treasurer Rick Davis reminds local taxpayers about ongoing construction at the Civic Center – construction that has seriously reduced the number of parking spaces available at the Civic Center.

“Although the parking lot construction has been covered extensively by the local news media, including TV, radio and the newspaper, people still forget about the lack of parking spaces and are having trouble finding a parking spot,” said Davis. “We’re trying to alleviate that problem by promoting other popular forms of payment, including paying at Old National Bank; mailing your payment; or using our handy drop box in front of the Civic Center.

“Of course, if you have a question or need to talk to someone in person, we will be glad to assist our taxpayers,” said Davis. “But for the folks who just want to make their payments and do not require personal assistance, I recommend they use an alternate form of payment this year in order to help prevent more serious parking issues for taxpayers who require assistance.”

Davis reminded taxpayers that the Civic Center will be closed on Tuesday, May 8, due to the Primary Election Day, and that Old National Bank branches will be open and available to accept payments. When paying at Old National Bank taxpayers must bring the statement that was mailed to them by the Treasurer’s Office in order for the bank to process the transaction. Payments will NOT be accepted at the bank once the due date has expired.

You may also mail in your payment to PO Box 77, Evansville, IN 47701-0077. As long as your envelope is POSTMARKED by May 10, 2012, you will avoid late fees.

The drop box is also available in front of the Civic Center 24 hours a day. Davis said the drop box will accept payments even after the Treasurer’s Office closes at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Taxpayers can drop their payments into the box until midnight without being assessed a penalty.

Payments can also be made online by visiting www.vanderburghtreasurer.org by using any major credit card. There is a user fee of 2.75% to pay online. The website also accepts electronic checks (E-Checks) for a flat $3 fee.

Payments can also be paid using a credit card by mailing in credit card information on a form provided by the Treasurer’s Office with every bill mailed out. There is a 2.75% transaction fee to take advantage of this feature.

You may pay by phone using any major credit card. Call 1-800-2PAYTAX. You will need to provide the following “jurisdiction code” – 2405. There is a 2.75% transaction fee to take advantage of this feature.

You may also visit the Vanderburgh County Treasurer’s Office at The Civic Center, 1 NW MLK Jr. Blvd., Room 210. The office is open to the public from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

A Debit Option feature, where taxpayers can have their property taxes deducted electronically straight from their banking account without a fee, is also available for the fall installment and all payments thereafter. (The deadline to sign up for this program for the spring installment has already passed). To set up the Debit Option payment plan for the fall payment, please contact Arrinda in the Treasurer’s Office at 435-5437.

All of the various payment options are included with your bill, said Davis.

If taxpayers have questions about the assessment of their properties, they should contact the Vanderburgh County Assessor’s Office at (812) 435-5530. If taxpayers have questions about exemptions for their property, they should contact the County Auditor’s Office at (812) 435-5293. For questions concerning property tax payments, contact the County Treasurer’s Office at (812) 435-5248.

Captain Jennifer Hunt is being promoted to the rank of Inspector. Hunt, a 12 year fire department veteran, will be the first female promoted into that position. Captain Hunt will assume her role in the Inspection Division which is responsible for inspection of businesses and enforcing the City’s Fire Prevention Code. Hunt’s first day in the Inspection Division will be May 7th and she is excited about the challenge of her new assignment.

EPD Activity Report May 2, 2012

By: Katie Fehrenbacher

When a friend of mine who follows clean power and greentech closely sent me Bloomberg’s story on Rocketjet, I burst out laughing. We have an unspoken contest over who can send each other the worst scams in the energy and green industries. Rocketjet’s hopes for perhaps crowd-funding its water atomic engine that will kick off a “Free Energy Era” is one of the more obvious ones — enough to draw the attention of the often straight-laced Bloomberg, and also to become a mini-symbol of all that could go wrong with the new crowd-funding act.

But after the initial guffaw, Rocketjet got me thinking: why are there so many snake oil salesmen and scam artists in the energy space? Other gems that have emerged in recent years are the solar developers at Matinee Energy (awesome piece by the Phoenix New Times on these folks), biofuel company Cello Energy, which was sued in court for fraud, the oft-discussed capacitor maker eeStor, which has over-promised and never delivered, and the biochar ponzi scheme Mantria, whose lead investment broker funnelled other people’s funds into, among other things, his own penchant for prostitutes (another amazing local report covered those guys).

And yes, I know all sectors have their own charlatans. The web, in particular had more than its fair share in the 90′s dotcom boom. But the green energy sector has its own specific brand of snake oil salesman that benefit from the difficulties of knowing and proving breakthroughs in science; the optimism of investors who want to give their funds to investments that have a higher aim; and the fact that a major breakthrough in the trillion-dollar energy markets could actually be a massive financial opportunity.

Some of these energy scams have the imaginative do-gooder power and infrastructure buildout of the monorail scheme. Put the money into building out the infrastructure-heavy project and it’ll bring jobs, revitalizing a depressed area, and also save the planet (misplaced clean power projects or factories come to mind for this type).

Other energy scams involve a breakthrough that is so large that it’s, well, not scientifically possible. Things that tout free, infinite clean energy are often too good to be true. And these companies aren’t even necessarily scams, but perhaps over eager or incorrect scientists. There’s been more than a few times when scientists have called BS on venture-backed green startups.

The problem with these colossal-sounding breakthroughs is that they are near-impossible to prove even to other scientists. Take eeStor, which probably wouldn’t consider itself a scam, but which promised huge gains for its ultracapacitor yet never publicly proved its technology nor showed off or commercialized its tech.

Even for a seasoned energy investor, it’s hard to distinguish between an outright scam, a really bad idea and a high-risk project. The majority of some investors’ green portfolios could be allocated to super high-risk startups, which probably won’t work and won’t ever make money. But those wouldn’t necessarily be scams — just investors with a high tolerance for risk (and it’s easier if it’s high risks with other people’s money).

There’s also just the reality that energy entrepreneurs that are trying to crack the very difficult greentech world are sometimes a little “out there,” to begin with. As Bill Gates put it, the world needs hundreds of “crazy energy entrepreneurs” that think their idea alone can solve the energy problem. The energy problem is really, really hard, and will need quite a few amazing breakthroughs to deliver progress.

That’s the real problem with the outright energy scams. The crazy energy entrepreneurs we so need and love won’t be able to get the funding or partnerships they need if the bad apples tarnish the sector. But at the end of the day, they do make for some pretty fun reading.