IS IT TRUE? PART 2 August 1, 2011 IT’S McCURDY DAY IN EVANSVILLE

IS IT TRUE that there is no longer any reason for the City of Evansville to rescind the deal down at the McCurdy like they had to do with Woodruff Hospitality over the new downtown Convention Hotel?…that the McCurdy Hotel deal is now in default and is as dead as the witch of the west when Dorothy threw water on her?…that the little four year non-performing perpetual extension machine is finally over?…that there are now three actions that the City of Evansville can take with respect to the McCurdy?

IS IT TRUE that the first thing that the City of Evansville can do is to extend the contract like they have done again and again?…that if this is the route taken that once again City Centre Properties will have this old treasure by the throat as the exclusive developer in search of funding?…that to extend the exclusive period would keep the City of Evansville from issuing a new RFP or talking to other potential developers?…that would be as brain dead this time as it was last time?…that this situation needs to hit the reset button just like the downtown Convention Hotel did?

IS IT TRUE that the City also has the option to put out a new RFP with a call for bids from developers that may wish to respond?…that such developers could suggest what incentives are going to need to be offered to get the financing needed to convert the McCurdy Hotel into something that is beautiful and useful as opposed to a convalescent home for pigeons and bats?…that serious consideration should be given to turning the McCurdy back into a vintage hotel?…that the cash flow from a hotel is more valuable from a space perspective than apartments are?…that if 90 apartments can be made from the space available that maybe a 150 or so room vintage hotel could emerge?…that with the cash projections from a hotel like this run like others at 60% occupancy and $100 per day that each room would generate about $1,800 per month or a grand total of $270,000 per month?…that 90 apartments at 85% occupancy and $900 per month only yields $68,850 per month?…that one of these things may actually attract enough cash interest to do this job ($15 M – $18 M) and that the other never will?

IS IT TRUE that the third option and often the chosen option by politically motivated types is the option to do nothing and hope no one notices?…that we bet that this will be what happens?…that if the ERC and the City of Evansville take this approach that they can cross their fingers that City Centre comes to the table someday with a financing package and still try to work quiet back door deals?…that this silence option has SNEGAL’s fingerprints all over it and keeps the Mayor and his minions off of the front page with yet another embarrassing project that fell apart for lack of oversight and failure to calculate realistic valuations?

IS IT TRUE that we hope that the Evansville Redevelopment Commission asks for a “2 for the price of 1” deal when it comes to vetting because someday the McCurdy will be in need of that same vetting service?…that we encourage option #2 that is issuing a new RFP for the McCurdy project as soon as possible so that he next administration is not stuck with another “pig in a poke”?…that doing nothing only works if the mainstream media of Evansville goes into hibernation for the remainder of the Weinzapfel Administration?

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For debt-ceiling deal to become law, what needs to happen by Tuesday
Selling the debt-ceiling deal to a critical mass of lawmakers is a formidable political reach. Many conservatives say the deal doesn’t go far enough, while some liberals say the richest Americans should have to pay more taxes…
Read the entire article at: http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2011/0801/For-debt-ceiling-deal-to-become-law-what-needs-to-happen-by-Tuesday

Stocks rally after debt agreement is reached
NEW YORK — Stocks are rallying after President Barack Obama and Congressional leaders announced that they had agreed on a deal to raise the nation’s borrowing limit ahead of Tuesday’s deadline.
Read the entire article at: http://www.ajc.com/business/stocks-rally-after-debt-1064435.html

Click Here to download the Water & Sewer Utility Agenda for August 2, 2011

Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels has named an associate professor of physics from the University of Southern Indiana (USI) to serve on the Indiana Higher Education Commission (ICHE).

Dr. Kent W. Scheller teaches all levels of the physics curriculum in the Pott College of Science and Engineering at USI. He started a two-year term and will attend his first ICHE meeting on August 12 in Gary, Indiana, at the IU Northwest campus.

“My interest in the commission position is simply the evolution of my desire to positively impact education at all levels,” Scheller said. “As a scientist, I don’t have to look far to see the need for a more highly educated populace. I do not operate under any misconception that I have answers to all of the questions – nor do I have an agenda. What I do have, though, is an understanding of the basic issues, experience in educational policy-making, and a desire to be a positive voice.”

His teaching skill and methods are cited by faculty and students alike for engaging students’ imaginations and encouraging them to apply physics to their daily lives. Scheller’s service efforts on campus include a third year serving as vice chair of the Faculty Senate in addition to committee work with the strategic plan committee, the core curriculum committee, and faculty affairs committee. He received the H. Lee Cooper Core Teaching Award at USI in 2007.

A native of Haubstadt, Indiana, Scheller is active in the community. He is president of the South Gibson School Board of Trustees and president of the Sts. Peter and Paul School Board of Trustees. He earned a baccalaureate degree in physics from the University of Evansville, and both a master’s degree and doctoral degree in nuclear astrophysics from the University of Notre Dame. He and his wife Amy are parents of Nicholas, 13 Abby, 7 and Jacob, 5.

The Indiana Commission for Higher Education has 14 members, nine from Indiana’s congressional districts, three at-large members, a student representative, and the faculty seat. The commission is a coordinating agency of the state government. It helps define educational missions of Indiana’s public colleges and universities, reviews budget requests from those institutions, plans and coordinates postsecondary education in Indiana, and approves new programs or campus expansions.

Source: USI.edu

Monte is a talented and versatile saxophonist & musician, also playing the flute, clarinet, oboe, electric bass, and trombone, to name a few. A lunch hour with Monte will soothe your soul.

*THE REGULAR WEEKLY BROWN BAG SERIES WILL BEGIN OCTOBER 12, 2011*

All performances will take place in the Arts Council’s Bower-Suhrheinrich Foundation Gallery. The public is invited to attend, free of charge. The Gallery is located at 318 Main Street in the Innovation Pointe building.

Visitors are invited to bring a lunch from home or your favorite downtown eatery and spend the lunch hour listening and looking at all the BSF Gallery has to offer, including the current visual art display and a consignment shop filled with local artists’ works. The BSF Gallery hours are Monday – Friday, 9am – 5pm.

Call 812-422-2111 for additional information or visit the Arts Council website at www.artswin.evansville.net for updates on current arts events in the Bower-Suhrheinrich Foundation Gallery, as well as those in our community.

Candidate for 5th Ward City Council Seat Speaks out on Local Feudalism

Strong Mayor… weak council…weak boards

By: Brent Grafton

I am on record with the CCO (ref e-debate……….), stating that as an elected City Councilman I would focus a great deal of energy to try and re-establish the balance of power between the Executive Branch, Legislative Branch and Citizen Boards that was originally designed into our City Government. If the experiment in government that the world knows as the United States of America proves anything, it proves that however inefficient the rule of Law becomes, in the end it is the most fair and sustainable form of government. Power can only be trusted when it is executed in a system that has checks and balances.

What I believe we see in Evansville today is an attempt to rule by loyalty to a personality rather than loyalty to the Law. This is the system, that the medieval world knew as feudalism, where the King owned everything and if you were loyal to the King, not necessarily that you were competent, you would be given a fiefdom over which you would be a vassal of the King.

As Americans, we naturally feel that there is something wrong with a system that breaches the rights of some citizens to give advantage to another. We have fought many wars to leave feudal monarchy across the ocean and away from our shores. What a surprise to wake up one morning and discover it alive and well in a conservative Midwestern town !!!!

The political pile of debris we see in our community today is the consequence of a very poor execution of personal loyalty governance. The page in the playbook that appears to be missing is the one where it explains that if you are going to demand loyalty you must also be loyal. If you do not return loyalty to those who have sacrificed their competence and fiduciary responsibilities to serve at your pleasure, you will fail, and more importantly your government and your community will suffer from your failure.

The good people of our community deserve a good government. Now is the time to return to the rule of law where every citizen, regardless of political affiliation, is treated the same. No more sweet heart deals cut behind closed doors that give special advantage to a few good servants. We are a good people. We need the opportunity to work together for the greater good of the place we call home. That will only happen if we can reinstate the checks and balances that were designed into our system. Those checks and balances will help to guarantee that the people’s business be done in the public arena.

The world has changed and that change has created immense possibilities to create a much more healthy community.