IS IT TRUE August 6, 2012
IS IT TRUE it is once again deadline day at the City of Evansville?…there are two key deadlines and that both of them are today and that both have to do with the things that the Department of Metropolitan Development initiated?…that the first deadline is another $370 or so payment that is due to the City of Evansville by Earthcare Energy as the interest only portion on the balance of $184,000 owed on the $200,000 loan that was backdoored to them by the Economic Development Authority Loan Fund without even telling the Evansville City Council what was going on?
IS IT TRUE the second deadline is the little issue of interested developers submitting their qualifications for consideration to be included in receiving a real RFP (request for proposal) from the City of Evansville to build and operate a downtown Convention Hotel?…that at least the Hunden study that cost the taxpayers of Evansville $75,000 got the final valuation right?…the recommended City contribution to the project is between $6M and $7.3M but does not include much of the infrastructure needed like hooking up the bridge to nowhere or putting up a parking tower?…that the City County Observer predicts that there will indeed be at least one qualified and interested developer and that the City of Evansville will end up absorbing between $15 Million and $20 Million of the expenses required to get this hotel to the ribbon cutting?
IS IT TRUE that the City is at this time proposing or planning $8 Million for a dog park, skateboard heaven, plain old park combination at what may soon be the former Roberts Stadium site?…there is also the Centennial Park announced by former Mayor Weinzapfel for an additional $2 Million right before he left office?…that neither of those two parks which are not needed have identified where the money is coming from?…the $10 Million total is in the ballpark of the entire annual budget for the Parks Department that still is not proving it has the capacity to even do the minimal job required to keep up the parks that Evansville already has?…then there is the resurrected ball fields for another $13 Million bringing the total on the table already to $23 Million?…when you add this $23 Million to the total that the City will spend to get a downtown Convention Hotel that adds up to about $40 Million?
IS IT TRUE if you add that $40 Million to the $127 Million Ford Center plus the ALREADY CONTRACTED deal with Johnson Controls for $53 Million the grand total is $220 Million that will have been spent on what are basically frivolous things at a time when the City of Evansville is under EPA court order to repair the Combined Sewers over polluting the river, the streets, the slough, etc?…THE SPENDING ON FUN AND GAMES THAT WERE AND ARE CONSCIOUS DECISIONS BY THE CITY OF EVANSVILLE IS NEARLY SUFFICIENT TO HAVE PAID TO FIX OUR SEWERS?
IS IT TRUE those who wonder why there is resistance to consolidated government need look no further than the thought process that produced this series of spending decisions?…maxing the credit cards to pay for temples to sport when the basic infrastructure is not functional is simply irresponsible?…on the other hand there are many supporters of consolidation that believe that the City of Evansville is in such shambles because of idiocy and that the only hope for Evansville is to be taken over by Vanderburgh County?…both arguments have merit and that it sort of comes down to the old metaphor about whether the glass is half empty or half full?…that very much depends on whether one is drinking or pouring?
IS IT TRUE that a reader brought up a question about why President Obama is not renting out the old Roger’s Jewelry store during this election cycle for a campaign headquarters?…that answer lies in the poll released yesterday showing him trailing Mitt Romney in Indiana by a margin of 51% to 35%?…that indicates clearly that Hoosiers are not in the mood for another helping of Presidential Kool-Aid this year?…that with $400 Million already spent on a voter registration campaign, $200 Million on attack ads, and a dwindling war chest Air Force One will not likely be landing anywhere that is not contested or handing our campaign contributions?
The Dental Hygiene Program at the University of Southern Indiana recently received a $2,000 service learning grant from the University to help promote opportunities for faculty to engage students in service learning projects related to dental assisting and dental hygiene. Service learning projects at USI foster community engagement and fall somewhere between volunteering and internship/field placement. They provide a clear benefit to the community and are excellent learning opportunities for students.
According to one of our key Republican moles, presidential candidate Mitt Romney will be visiting tomorrow afternoon at 2:30 at the Stepto’s Bar-B-Q Shack on Evansville’s North Side.