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IS IT TRUE? September 21, 2011 Part 2

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McCurdy
IS IT TRUE? September 21, 2011

IS IT TRUE that finally the words that the Evansville Redevelopment Commission, the City County Observer, and a host of others had been wanting to hear regarding the McCurdy Hotel were spoken yesterday by Mr. Steve Scott of City Centre Properties?…that those words in the status report were “our financing will close by October 31st and we will start the refurbishment in November”?…that this brought smiles of relief and applause all around the room?…that we had all better hold our rabbits foot and cross our fingers that this does not vaporize like many other such statements have over the last four years since the press conference announcing this project?

IS IT TRUE that when the City County Observer asked Mr. Scott after the status report if the real estate taxes on the McCurdy have been paid that he said he would have to get back to us on that?…that when he was told that the Vanderburgh County Assessors website indicates an overdue balance in the amount of $12,274.76 yesterday morning that he had little to say other than that he would have to check on that?…that this amount when compared to the total cost of this project is only 0.10% of the approximately $12 Million total?…that having an overdue tax bill of $12,274 (0.10%) is not an indicator of financial strength and makes us a bit pragmatic regarding getting enthusiastic for this project really moving ahead?…that an equivalent scaled transaction would be making a deal for a $20,000 car and not having the $20 (0.10%) to pay the recording fees?

IS IT TRUE that on the morning of September 21, parcel #82-06-30-020-005.002-029 also known as the McCurdy Hotel and located at 100 SE Riverside in Evansville, IN indicates that there is still a delinquent tax amount of $12,274.76?…that if we can report that the taxes are paid on this property that the CCO will become more enthused about the proposition of this project moving forward?…that the RFP for the downtown Convention Hotel required developer equity to be invested?…that whichever company chosen to develop that hotel will have significant skin in the game from day 1?…that the financial details as presented regarding the McCurdy project calls for absolutely ZERO DOLLARS of developer equity?…that between City of Evansville direct contributions ($1.403 Million), US Park Service Tax Credits ($1.8 Million), an FHA backed loan ($8.2 Million), and a bridge loan of $1.8 Million that this is a classic NO DOWN PAYMENT deal that is financed or guaranteed with GOVERNMENT MONEY?…that as much as the McCurdy will be a classy addition to a slowly developing downtown Evansville, it is just demoralizing to see out of town people getting a 100% financing package from the people of the United States to do this?…that we also wonder just how much of a market there is for luxury apartments?…that we shall see as this unfolds?

IS IT TRUE that we are quite pleased that the park at 4th and Main will be getting a facelift and reliable stewardship?…that this park has gone from being a nice place to sit for lunch to a gathering place for street people and drug dealers?…that it is a wonderful thing that the Kempf family is partnering with Keep Evansville Beautiful to do and we are looking forward to spring of 2012 when the work will get started?

Attorney General’s statement on ruling in Barnes case (Resisting Police Entry)

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Zoeller: Fourth Amendment intact, misdemeanor convictions upheld

INDIANAPOLIS – Today the Indiana Supreme Court issued a new ruling in the case of Richard L. Barnes v. State. The Court today granted a rehearing of its May 12 ruling in the case and then simultaneously ruled on that rehearing — affirming the defendant’s convictions for battery on a police officer and resisting arrest. The Indiana Attorney General’s Office on June 27 filed a brief supporting a petition for rehearing, arguing the Court should rule more narrowly than it did May 12 while affirming Barnes’ convictions. Today Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller issued this statement:

“The Indiana Supreme Court’s ruling today means that individuals still have the common law right of reasonable resistance to an unlawful entry, though there is never justification for committing battery against a police officer. In volatile domestic violence situations, police have the right to enter a home to ensure safety of others, but today’s ruling also means the individual has the right to stand against his locked door to protect his home and communicate with police outside without a physical altercation. While the Legislature considers whether to revise the existing statute, we respect the Indiana Supreme Court’s ruling, which underscores that the individual’s constitutional right remains in force,” Zoeller said.

The Indiana Attorney General’s Office represents the prosecution on appeal. After the Indiana Supreme Court’s 3-2 ruling on May 12, Barnes filed a petition for rehearing and the Attorney General supported a rehearing, but for different reasons than the defense. The Supreme Court today granted a rehearing, and then ruled based upon the pleadings already filed, without additional oral argument. The 4-1 ruling today means Barnes’ misdemeanor convictions aren’t overturned.

NOTE: The Indiana Supreme Court’s ruling today in the Barnes v. State case is at this link:
http://www.in.gov/judiciary/opinions/pdf/09201101shd.pdf

Downtown Today: 9/21/2011

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Time 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Subject IBTR
Location 307
Reminder 15 minutes
TIFFANY COLLINS @ 5269
Categories ROOM 307

Time 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM
Subject GIS TECHNICAL COMMITTEE
Location 318
Recurrence Occurs the third Wednesday of every 1 month effective 9/21/2011 until 9/21/2011 from 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM
Reminder 15 minutes
Laura Howell @ 5071
Categories ROOM 318

Time 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM
Subject BLOOD PRESSURE SCREENING/FREE
Location MAIN HALL 1ST FLOOR
Recurrence Occurs the third Wednesday of every 1 month effective 9/21/2011 until 9/21/2011 from 9:00 AM to 10:30 AM
Reminder 15 minutes
435-5015 HEALTH DEPT
Categories Phone Call, EVENTS

Time 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
Subject PARKS BOARD
Location 301
Recurrence Occurs the third Wednesday of every 1 month effective 9/21/2011 until 9/21/2011 from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM
Reminder 15 minutes
GLENN BOBERG @ 6141
Categories ROOM 301

Time 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Subject DEFERRED COMP
Location 318
Recurrence Occurs the third Wednesday of every 1 month effective 9/21/2011 until 9/21/2011 from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Reminder 15 minutes
DIANNA WEBB
WEBBD@NATIONWIDE.COM
Categories Must Attend, ROOM 318

Kempf family and Keep Evansville Beautiful Teaming up to Reclaim Park at 4th & Main *Pre-released Artist Rendering*

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*updated with artist rendering graphic*

The project to revitalize the park at 4th and Main Street in downtown Evansville is finally going forward. An agreement between the Edwina Kempf Family, Keep Evansville Beautiful, Old National Bank, and the City of Evansville will allow the much needed stewardship and revitalization of the downtown park to proceed. The City County Observer has supported this effort and will continue to support it as we see urban parks as a positive contributor to quality of life.

More details may be revealed at 1:00 pm today at a press conference to be held at the park.
Artists rendering of proposed park:

IS IT TRUE? September 21, 2011

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The Mole #??

IS IT TRUE? September 21, 2011

IS IT TRUE that the Vectren Corporation issued a statement yesterday afternoon in an effort to inform and clarify the benefits to the residential rate payers if approval is granted by the IURC for them to raise our monthly bills by $1.08 to pay for the installation of the so called “dense pack” technology upgrades that will enhance the efficiency of two steam turbines?…that Vectren’s statement made an estimate of what each residential customer may save over the 36 year life of the upgrade?…that according to Vectren that we can each look forward to banking between $30 and $130 over that 36 year period?…that this calculates out to between $0.07 to $0.30 (yes you read that right 7 cents to 30 cents per month) for our investment of $1.08 per month?…that everyone reading this needs to let that sink in for a second?…that Vectren’s spokesperson actually said that with a straight face?

IS IT TRUE that if each of us sends $1.08 to Vectren they think it is a great service for them to send us between 7 cents and 30 cents each back?…that there must be something that they are not sharing because that proposition is a guaranteed immediate loss of between 63% and 94%?…that the company that is making the people of SW Indiana this offer that we can’t refuse is petitioning the Indiana Utilities Regulatory Commission for a guaranteed 7.29% return on investment for the same “dense pack” gear that they wish to install?…that some things really are astonishing when you think them through?…that a four year old when offered the same deal with stacks of pennies has the good sense to think they are being tricked?…that the financial proposition of this request for ratepayers is so bad that this must be a trial balloon launched to be rejected as a distraction while something else is sneaked through while we are concentrating on our 7 cents for $1.08 offer?

IS IT TRUE that 7 cents per month can be easily saved or earned by picking up and recycling about 3 aluminum cans?…that the average person consumes 3 cans full of cold beverages per day?…that at that rate just saving each person’s aluminum cans for recycling saves more money each day than this Vectren deal saves in a month?…that whomever put this trial balloon out there must really think that the people of SW Indiana are a bunch of economic imbeciles?…that Chase Kelley, Vectren’s spokesperson says that we will hardly even notice the change in our bills?…that with an average electric bill of $155 per month that this is one thing that Ms. Kelley is correct about so let’s just all pony up our funds and send Vectren an additional $1.83 Million per year so they can buy a shiny new toy and we won’t notice it anyway?…that this upgrade is not even needed to meet EPA standards?…that if the standards are raised that Vectren says we will be ahead of the curve?…that one more time “does Vectren really think we are all stupid”?

IS IT TRUE that unfortunately we the people of Evansville are not the ones that get to make this decision?…that we have the IURC to do that for us and lately they have been getting the wool pulled over their eyes on a regular basis?…that between expensive lobbyists, political contributions, smiling spokespersons, and plain old back room coersion that this playing field will not be level when the decision is made?…that sometimes utility pricing is complex and really does need advanced analysis and a room full of actuaries to teach the IURC why a rate increase is needed?…that this proposition whereby over a 36 year period the ratepayers hand Vectren $466.46 each to get back between $30 and $130 (333% range) really is a deal that a four year old knows is not a good deal?…that we hope that the political appointees at the IURC will prove that they are smarter than a four year old and reject this ridiculous proposition?

IS IT TRUE that the City County Observer wishes to issue a challenge to each and every candidate for office in the City of Evansville’s 2011 election?…that we challenge every candidate first to make public disclosure of the full dollar value of the political contributions that Vectren, Vectren’s PAC, Vectren Officers, and Vectren Subsidiaries have made to your campaign?…that the second challenge is to make your position known on this proposition of Vectren’s to take a guaranteed 7.29% return in exchange for a guaranteed loss for the ratepayers of at least 63%?…that we offer to publish each and every candidates position without edit or bias?…that we extend the same offer to Vectren Corporation?

Jeff Dunham Coming to Ford Center

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Jeff Dunham is coming back to Evansville with his interesting and entertaining puppet show. Dunham, Ahmed, and company last appeared in Evansville at the Centre in the mid 2000’s

Link to Press Release

Ford_Center_-_Jeff_Dunham

Vanderburgh County Tax Sale Sets Records

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PRESS RELEASE PRESS RELEASE PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

Sept. 20, 2011

Vanderburgh County held its annual property tax sale at the Civic Center on Tuesday. Vanderburgh County Treasurer Rick Davis played the part of the auctioneer, offering 523 properties that have outstanding property tax delinquencies from May 10, 2010, or before. The county brought in a total of $2,261,607.76 in revenues from the tax sale, far more than the $853,772.82 brought in during 2010 and $930,856.53 brought in during 2009.

On Tuesday, 169 of the delinquent property liens were purchased by bidders. Heading into the tax sale, there was a total of $1,628,002.37 in delinquencies eligible for tax sale, meaning the county auction brought in $1.4 million in surplus, more than 3 times the amount of surplus brought in during the 2010 tax sale. The 354 properties that did not sell at Tuesday’s property tax sale can now legally be taken possession by the Vanderburgh County Commissioners within the next six months and then brought before a Commissioners’ Auction within the next year.

A total of 68 bidders took part in the auction, compared to only 30 last year. Thirty-five bidders purchased delinquent liens in 2011, compared to only 18 purchasing delinquent liens in 2010. The entity with the largest number of winning bids was Inner City Remodelers, LLC, from Franklin, Ind., which bought 43 of the delinquent parcels, spending $146,163.48 in the process. Wiper Corp., doing business as Banco Popular, 7900 Miami Lakes, Fla., paid the most money, purchasing 10 delinquencies for a grand total of $442,500.

The lowest winning delinquency bid came for 816 E. Louisiana., which sold for $102.49, and went to Inner City Remodelers. The largest delinquency bid, $170,000, came from a parcel located at 5900 Oak Grove Rd., purchased by Banco Popular.

Davis credited his co-workers for helping Vanderburgh County taxpayers get their bills caught up. Treasurer’s Office staff made telephone calls to delinquent property owners this summer in an effort to remind delinquent property owners of the impending tax sale. The eligibility list of delinquent properties was at 1,447 shortly before the July 1 certification date, and the Treasurer’s Office staff helped drop that number down to just 997 properties on July 1. Further efforts by the Treasurer’s Office staff members dropped the tax sale number down to the 523 that were sold on Tuesday.

The number of bidders increased dramatically from last year to this year. Consequently, the county brought in $1.4 million more than last year at Tuesay’s tax sale.

Davis said the economy has a great deal to do with the increase in tax sale activity.

“Interest rates on investments are not paying off right now,” said Davis. “A 10-year Treasury note is earning only about 2% right now, but investors flocked here because they can earn 10% to 15% on their investment in a year or less at these tax sales, by state statute.”

Davis said a vast majority of unsold properties were vacant and the tax sale is a good procedure to get the homes back in good standing.

“Last year I talked to several businesses who purchase these liens for a living, and they said banks really tightened their grip on the amount of loans they offer for these types of investments in the past,” said Davis. “Apparently, the economic risk is now worth the reward for people and businesses who invest in these types of auctions.”

Davis noted that individuals who purchased tax sale properties on Tuesday do not actually own the property. Instead, they have purchased a lien on the property. Delinquent taxpayers have one full year to pay the delinquency, plus interest, in order to redeem their property.

Here are some historical facts and figures concerning the tax sale compared to previous years. All properties that were offered at tax sale are attached as an excel spreadsheet.

Tax sale 2006 448 properties for sale 303 sold took in 3800171.79 surplus amount 3275339.84

Tax sale 2007 422 properties for sale 288 sold took in 8904139.79 surplus amount 7798247.47

Tax sale 2008 617 properties for sale 331 sold took in 3984812.50 surplus amount 3182361.14

Tax Sale 2009 596 properties for sale 216 sold took in 930,856.53 surplus amount 402444.87

Tax Sale 2010 585 properties for sale 133 sold took in 853,772.82 surplus amount 452948.06

Tax Sale 2011 523 properties for sale 169 sold took in $2,261,607.76 surplus amount $1,407,834.94

****Surplus = Late tax amount on a home = $1,000 and someone bid $1,500 … surplus amount is $500.

A few more nuggets of information regarding Last Year’s Tax Sale:

In 2010, there were 30 bidders, and 18 different entities came away with winning bids.

In 2011, there were 68 bidders, and 35 bidders purchased liens.

In 2010, Indiana Renewal and Development LLC of Indianapolis bought the most properties: 55 (spending $104,069.12).

In 2011, Inner City Remodelers, LLC, from Franklin, Ind., bought the most properties: 43 (spending $146,163.48).

In 2010, SFS LLC of Birmingham, AL, dropped the biggest amount of money on winning bids, spending $238,807.82 on 10 winning bids.

In 2011, Wiper Corp., doing business as Banco Popular, 7900 Miami Lakes, Fla., paid the most money, purchasing 10 delinquencies for a grand total of $442,500.

In 2010, Parcel # 82-09-03-014-083.047-027; 2223 Van Bibber Ave, sold for $166.11 (lowest winning bid, purchased by Marjorie Angermeier, Evansville)

In 2010, Parcel # 82-04-32-002-650.008-019; 7221 Greendale Dr, sold for $80,000.00 (highest winning bid; went to Halifax)

The tax sale list is certified on July 1 of each year. To end up on the certified tax sale list, a property owner must be delinquent from the spring of the prior year. FOR 2011, folks who had not paid their property tax bills that were due on May 10, 2010, or before, ended on the tax sale list.

When we certified the tax sale list on July 1, 2010, there were 1,266 properties on the tax sale list, down from 1,494 the year before. When we held the tax sale on Aug. 31, 2010, that number was whittled down to 585 properties. In 2009, there were 596 properties at tax sale.

When we certified the tax sale list on July 1, 2011, there were 997 properties on the tax sale list, down from 1,266 the year before. The “eligibility list” in the weeks before the July 1 deadline was actually 1,447. When we held the tax sale on Sept. 20, 2011, that number was whittled down to 523 properties. In 2010, there were 585 properties on the tax sale list.

Inspirational Video on Dealing with Failures

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Only 1 minute and 17 seconds long

Vectren’s Dense Pack Technology Description: This is what they want an extra $1.08 per month for

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Vectren seeks to enhance electric generation efficiency;
project allows Vectren to burn less coal, lower bills and emissions

• On Sept. 13, Vectren filed a request with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) to install dense pack technology on two coal-fired electric generation units at its A.B. Brown power plant in Posey County, Ind. Dense pack technology is an energy efficiency upgrade to the turbine, which allows Vectren to burn less coal while generating the same amount of energy.

• The project will cost around $32 million. The cost to the customer, however, will be offset through a reduction in coal burned; i.e. lower fuel costs.

o Note: Customers pay for fuel costs, which is the coal burned to produce electricity. This charge is passed on to customers on a dollar-for-dollar basis.

• The project will be phased in and over time will result in burning 5 to 8% less coal than today.

• Over its useful life, which is expected to be four decades, the project will pay for itself and actually produce a bill reduction (or credit) for customers. The total bill reduction for a residential customer over the life cycle of the project is expected to be at least $30 and as much as $130, depending upon coal costs and the realized efficiency rating of the dense packs.

o Note: The positive bill impacts above do not take into consideration other savings that should result from this efficiency project, including savings associated with reduced environmental compliance costs and reduced turbine maintenance costs; i.e. more efficiency translates into fewer emissions since less coal is needed and less wear and tear on the plant.

• The dense pack technology will enhance Vectren’s ability to meet current and future Environmental Protection Agency rules given burning less coal equates to less emissions. Furthermore, the project will help conserve natural resources.

• This technology has already been successfully implemented on Warrick Unit 4, which is a 300-megawatt unit located in Warrick County and jointly owned with Alcoa.

• The request is subject to approval by the IURC.

Vectren Shares Rise after announcement of Fee Increase

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Vectren Corporation stock (VVC) was up $0.77 in afternoon trading today. Coupling that with the 81.78 Million outstanding shares calculates an increase in the value of Vectren by $63 Million or slightly more than the anticipated earnings increase if the $1.08 monthly fee is approved by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission.

Investors seem to be betting that Vectren will maintain its pattern of success in getting the IURC to grant them increases of at or near the levels that they ask for.

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