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IS IT TRUE – SEPTEMBER 23, 2010

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IS IT TRUE that Mole #3 (the Nostradamus of local politics) is going out on a limb once again to predict that the extremely popular Vanderburgh County Treasurer Rick Davis will announce right after the Westside Nut Club Fall Festival that he shall be a candidate for Mayor of Evansville in the Democratic Primary.

IS IT TRUE a group of Hoosiers in Washington DC along with former presidential aide Harold Ickes are hosting a September 27, 2010 fundraising reception in Washington DC for the mayoral campaign coffers of Evansville Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel (D)? …..the tickets range from $250.00 for individuals and $1,500 for political action committees?

IS IT TRUE that a Evansville City Council member has formally filed a PUBLIC ACCESS REQUEST yesterday with the State of Indiana in order for him to get information concerning amount of money that the city has paid for legal and paralegal fees during 2010? …that this information is vital to each and every member of the Evansville City Council to make an informed decision with respect to the 2011 budget?….that we have never heard of one elected official having to resort to public access laws to get budget information from a Mayor elected to serve the same city?

IS IT TRUE we still predict that 2010 Budget vote for the City of Evansville will either be 7-2 or 6-3 for approval?

IS IT TRUE that the City County Observer political poll between Patty Avery and Jim Tomes was extremely interesting? ….Mrs. Avery collected 133 votes to Mr. Tomes 117? ….this vote suggests that Mrs. Avery collected her Lion’s Share of votes from our independent readership? ….this vote strongly suggest that Mr. Tomes needs to work harder on attraction more of independent voters?

IS IT TRUE that a candidate for Vanderburgh County Commission make a hole in one at her political fund raiser golf outing yesterday? ….that her hole in one was on the 13th hole? ….legend has it if you make a hole in one on hole #13 you shall be granted one wish that shall come true? ….we can only guess what she wished for?

IS IT TRUE that most of the entertainment offerings, with the exception of the Carnival rides will be free, said Vernon Stevens the Hadi Shriners’ Treasurer and the Coordinator of ShrinersFest 2011?

IS IT TRUE that we wonder if Evansville GAGE lost $300,000, $400,000, $500,000 or more than $600,000 on the 2009 Freedom Fest? ….the soon to be released 2009 financial audit of GAGE (done by local accounting firm) could provide us with the answer to this most important question?

IS IT TRUE that as of September 22, 2010 636 persons requested voting by mail applications? ….35 are overseas and 70 are in the military? …..so far 499 have been approved to vote by mail?

IS IT TRUE that 9 conventions and 9,985 room nights have been lost since the closing of the Executive Inn per information written in the ECVB “lost business report”? ….that no reference to the numbers of room nights booked in any of it’s 2010 minutes approved by the Board of Directors of the Evansville Convention and Visitors Bureau?…that these losses substantiates Candidate for County Commissioner Marsha Abell claim that the closure of the Executive Inn has economically hurt The Centre?

IS IT TRUE that to the surprise of many local politicians that the campaign for Prosecutor between the incumbent Stan Levco and Nick Herrmann is turning out to be a real dogfight?

IS IT TRUE that the races for United States Senator and the House of Representatives are academic? … that the real contests of interest are at the local and state levels?

The New Evansville Arena Project CALL TO ARTISTS REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

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ARENA PLAZA ART
Application Deadline: October 15, 2010

In November 2011, Evansville, Indiana will celebrate the grand opening of a new 11,000-seat, multi-purpose arena. The focal point for a downtown revitalization, the new arena is designed to become the premium sports and entertainment venue in the area. The open-air plaza adjoining the entrance to the new arena has been identified as the location for a major piece of public art. The New Evansville Arena Project, in cooperation with the Evansville Public Art Commission and the Evansville Arena Advisory Committee, intends to award a commission to an artist or artist team to design, plan, create, fabricate, transport and install a work of public art on this open-air plaza adjoining the entrance to the new Evansville arena. The commission is open to all artists or artist teams authorized to work in the United States. Accordingly, the Arena Project requests that any interested party submit a proposal for consideration for this commission in accordance with this request.

Description of the Desired Work

This competition seeks an aesthetically pleasing, imaginative, innovative, site-specific piece of art that has a purpose and a belonging, a sculptural piece that will have a positive impact on the location. The winning design must make a strong visual statement, must convey a sense of progress, and must be inviting, intriguing and thought provoking without being imposing.

The winning sculpture will be a focal point not only for the new arena but also for the entire city. As a destination point for residents and visitors of all ages, it will become a visual identity for the City of Evansville. As part of the City’s collection of public art, the City will have complete ownership of the work.

The selected design must be appropriate to all the varied activities that will take place in the arena and the surrounding area. A single focus will not serve all audiences. The winning design will support the arena and not compete or detract from its architectural prominence. To encourage the greatest range of artistic creativity and possibilities, proposals may employ any medium. However, the successful sculpture will be durable, easily cleaned, low-maintenance, and suitable in form, material and content for a mixed-ages audience that will include young children.

Ball Field Proposal—$765,000 Already Spent or Committed on Preparation

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FIRST ARTICLE IN A SERIES OF TWO

By: Joe J. Wallace, Hadannah Business Solutions and assisted by CCO Staff

I like many others who have been following the saga of the Robert’s Stadium Ball Fields Project now known as “The Park”, left last week’s meeting with many questions regarding the financial projections that were presented. In particular, my curiosity lies around the assumptions of just where the figure of 100,000 out of town visitors came from and just how many tournaments are needed to attract a crowd like that. The other question that has drawn my curiosity is in how it came to be that “The Park” needs a budget that is exactly equal to the credit limit of the Evansville Convention & Visitors Bureau. That curiosity led me to the offices of the ECVB where the City-County Observer had already filed for access to the minutes via the Freedom of Information Act.

I would like to thank the staff members of the ECVB for their hospitality and cooperation. My associate and I were treated as though we may be bringing the next big convention to town. We were provided a conference room to work in, water, and quick access to the documents that we had requested. At the end of the day we asked for copies of a number of documents and were provided them for a nominal fee. These people are very good hosts.

What the Minutes Contained:

The Park or Destination Evansville as it was then was first alluded to in 2004 but started being referenced in the minutes of the Board of Directors in March of 2009. Former Executive Director, Marilee Fowler conducted all Board of Directors meetings according to Sunshine Laws and invited members of the local media to all meetings. Many meetings were attended by multiple members of the media so the allegations that this project was done behind closed doors are simply not true. The local media was there and could have easily reported on the activities that were taken pertaining to this proposal. The Park only seems like a secret because the local media outlets chose not to report on it.

Through October of 2010, a total of $1.6 Million has been authorized to be spent on The Park and $765,000 has been either spent or committed. Most of that spending has been on addressing the environmental concerns regarding Wesselman Park and on adding details to the concept. The Tourism Capital Development Fund for 2011 is budgeted to be $1,511,633 derived from adding 2.5% to the projected 2010 funds. That is the $1.5M that David Dunn was referencing at last week’s meeting as being available to service the bonds that are proposed to be sold to finance the construction of The Park. It was interesting to note that all previous budgeting had been done using three year trailing averages but that for 2011 the method was converted to a projection of growth from a projection of revenue.

One of the questions that I had was just how solid was the $1.5M annual revenue figure. Having reviewed the minutes I would call that figure a best case scenario that is subject to contraction due to the economy and due to the loss of TCD funds because the Executive Inn is mothballed. So just how much will the Executive Inn issue reduce that funding? We learned through examining the “Lost Business Report” that 9,985 room nights have been lost in the nine months the Executive Inn closed because conventions chose to go elsewhere. This finding substantiates and quantifies the public claim of Candidate for County Commissioner Marsha Abell’s that The Centre has suffered financially due to the premature closure of the Executive Inn. Mrs. Abell’s opponent Troy Tornatta disputed that claim in a recent debate.

The direct impact to the TCD funds during that period based on a $70 rate is $24,463 which annualizes to $32,617. Those same lost conventions also lead to a loss of operating revenue for the ECVB of $41,937, and lost sales tax revenue of $64,235 from room rental losses alone. That total is $139,789 of losses in tax just from the loss of room nights. As conventions have multipliers for food, recreation, and entertainment, it is probable that the losses in taxes collected due to the “Executive Inn Debacle” will be between $300,000 and $500,000 for 2010 alone. That does not include lost rent revenue by The Centre. When one starts to connect the dots, the true costs of letting the Executive Inn swing in the breeze with no project manager really comes into focus.

A preference to put The Park at the Robert’s Stadium site was first recorded in July of 2009. It is referenced later that a number of other sites were considered. To the credit of the Board of Directors, it was acknowledged in that same meeting by Joe Vezzoso that “some conventions will probably never come back to Evansville if we can only deliver 250 rooms adjacent to The Centre”.

The Board meetings of 2010 started out with very few references to The Park. In the March 29, 2010 meeting the attendance jumped to 37 from previous meetings that drew less than 20 attendees. The attendance was most likely due to the public departure of Executive Director Marilee Fowler and the interest in any forthcoming details regarding her decision to seek her fortune elsewhere.

A statement was entered into the minutes that specified that the 7 board members were not paid and that 2 are appointed by the Vanderburgh County Council, 2 by the Evansville City Council, and 3 are appointed by the Mayor of Evansville. It is of interest that every member of the Board of Directors of the Evansville Convention & Visitors Bureau is a political appointee.

Future Opportunities Lost:

In the March 29, 2010 meeting, a list of the projects that have received money from the TDC funds was recorded. There are 16 such projects that have received a total of $8,785,969.45 including the African American Museum, the Evansville Museum, the Goebel Soccer Complex, and the LST. What dawned on me was that I knew some details about many of the recipient projects and know that the TDC funds were not paying for the full project but were being leveraged to make bigger projects happen. The Evansville Museum project is leveraged by more than 10 to 1. At that rate the $8.7M may well have been instrumental in cementing between $50M and $100M worth of projects to go forward in Evansville. It seems to us that this money has been leveraged effectively and reflects good stewardship and good public policy.

If the decision to max the ECVB’s credit card to a level of $18M to build The Park is made, the opportunity to leverage other projects will be off of the table for the foreseeable future. Many of the 16 projects that have received these TDC funds would never have happened if the ECVB had bonded the cash stream from the innkeeper’s tax several years ago to build baseball fields.

Defining The Park:

The Board meetings of April, June, and July have been dominated by efforts to further the design and definition of The Park. This effort has been led by David Dunn and the media has been buzzing around each meeting. In April, Mr. Dunn revealed that The Park’s preferred location next to Wesselman Park was contingent upon the destruction of Robert’s Stadium being part of the project. It is not recorded as to who or why that was made a contingency but it does seem like this contingency was imposed for the sole purpose of saving the City of Evansville the $1.25M expense of tearing down Robert’s Stadium and to assure that the demolition occurs as fast as possible. The possibility of having an 8-Plex of ball fields and keeping Robert’s Stadium is not mentioned anywhere. The aerial photographs and renderings suggest the possibility that The Park could have included both the 8 ball fields and a well maintained Robert’s Stadium at a lower cost. It was in the April meeting that the 8-Plex was approved, that it was authorized to begin discussion with the City of Evansville Parks Department, and that the Destination Evansville Committee was unanimously granted the authority to develop The Park at a cost not to exceed $18 Million. In every public meeting and every Board of Director’s meeting since then it seems as though Mr. Dunn is focused to carry on with his mandate.

All in all, I would have to conclude that the ECVB has been open and focused from day one. The fact that local media chose not to report this news does not make this group guilty of any back room deals. The staff was pleasant and we believe that prospective conventioneers will be in good hands at the Evansville Convention and Visitors Bureau. Downtown Evansville will be represented very well by this crew as soon as a Convention Hotel is in place for them to market.

Footnote: My analysis of exactly how other places attract visitors and how much they pay for sports complexes will be published tomorrow.

A special message from U.S. Chamber President and CEO, Tom Donohue

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Tom Donohue
I’m looking forward to my visit with Southwest Indiana business leaders on Tuesday, October 12. Local businesses are looking for ways to expand and create jobs in a difficult economic environment, but our leaders in Washington, D.C., aren’t making it easy for them. The unknown impacts of health care and financial regulatory reform, the growing footprint of the federal government, and the potential for major tax increases in 2011 are keeping businesses from investing and hiring. Lack of clear vision and execution on trade, infrastructure, and energy policy is also holding our country back from a robust and sustained economic recovery.

Now more than ever, the nation’s business community must rally around a renewed effort to protect and advance our free enterprise system and pursue an agenda in Washington that will create the 20 million new jobs our economy will require over the next decade. I’m pleased to be the guest of a strong supporter in this effort, The Chamber of Commerce of Southwest Indiana, and share the stage with a proven leader and free market champion, Governor Mitch Daniels.

Sincerely,

Tom Donohue
U.S. Chamber President and CEO
Please plan to join us at The Chamber’s Annual Meeting & Dinner on Tuesday, October 12 at The Centre in Downtown Evansville. For more information or to reserve a seat, please click here or contact Carly Griffin, events manager, at 812.425.8147 or via e-mail at cgriffin@ccswin.com.

Evansville Bond Bank Votes to Bid on Knight Township Tax Warrants

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(EVANSVILLE, IN) – September 24, 2010 – The City of Evansville, by and through the Board of Directors of the Evansville Local Public Improvement Bond Bank (Bond Bank), today voted to bid on tax anticipation warrants expected to be offered for sale by Knight Township next Thursday, September 30.

“One of the best things about Evansville is how we come together to help out friends, neighbors and even complete strangers in times of need,” said Evansville Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel. “By committing to bid on these tax warrants, the City of Evansville is lending a hand not merely to another government entity, but to the hard working families of Knight Township who depend on the support and services the Township provides.”

Before the bids come due next Thursday, the Bond Bank will complete its analysis of Knight Township’s cash flow needs to determine what is needed for Knight Township to operate through the end of the year, being sure to not expose the Bond Bank to any risk.

The Bond Bank will not loan more than 80% of the tax levy or the maximum cash flow deficit needed, as required by law. The Bond Bank also intends to work with the Vanderburgh County Auditor to ensure that the Bond Bank is paid once the tax warrants are issued.

The Bond Bank will work closely with Knight Township officials and provide assistance and/or recommendations regarding its budget. In addition, the Bond Bank intends to require Knight Township to submit monthly reports, including a cash flow summary, to the Bond Bank for review. Jenny Collins, Evansville City Controller, serves as Executive Director of the Bond Bank and will spearhead oversight efforts.

New Summer Family Festival in Downtown Evansville

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Evansville Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel, the Growth Alliance for Greater Evansville (GAGE), and the Hadi Shriners of Evansville announced this morning that a plan has been jointly developed for the Shriners to assume responsibility for planning, organizing and producing a free annual summer air show and festival on the riverfront in Downtown Evansville – and that the Blue Angels, the Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, are booked to headline the June 2011 festival.

Burn Ban Issued for Vanderburgh County

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Due to extremely dry conditions, the Evansville Environmental Protection Agency (EEPA), in coordination with the Evansville Fire Department and the Suburban Firefighters Association,
has issued an Open Burn Ban for the jurisdictional area of the City of Evansville. The Vanderburgh County Commissioners have issued a Burn Ban for Vanderburgh County.

The Open Burn Ban will continue until conditions improve. As of the date of this notice, 35 counties in Indiana are under a burn ban. The Indiana Department of Homeland Security maintains a statewide county status of burn bans which may be found at: http://www.in.gov/dhs/files/burn-ban/. The EEPA will notify the public when the ban has been lifted. All forms of Open Burning are prohibited, including, but not limited to:

v Recreational, ceremonial, or camp fires;
v Burn Barrels (county residents only; a reminder that these are never to be used for trash);
v Agricultural and ditch clearing;
v Prescribed burns;
v Previously approved Open Burn Variances; and
v Previously approved Air Curtain Incinerator Permits.

This ban does not include charcoal or gas grills for cooking, or outdoor fireplaces incorporated in a structure such as a shelter house (with a chimney). Any exceptions to the Open Burn Ban must be approved in advance, in writing, by the Director of the EEPA, Chief Jarboe of the City of Evansville Fire Department, or Chief Kahre of Scott Township Fire Department.

If the EEPA had previously approved an Open Burn Variance or Air Curtain Incinerator
Permit, upon request, the Variance or Permit may be extended for an additional two weeks after
the ban has been lifted. For Open Burn Variances or Air Curtain Incinerator Permits issued by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM), please contact that department.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Evansville EPA at (812) 435-6145.

Zoeller files lawsuit to stop nuisance robo-calls

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Greg Zoeller
INDIANAPOLIS – By placing prerecorded robo-calls to Hoosier consumers who had joined the Do Not Call list, an Indianapolis telephone solicitor violated multiple telephone privacy laws, Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller said.
Zoeller on Friday filed suit against the telephone solicitor, Otis Thomas of 3011 North Gladstone Avenue, Indianapolis, seeking a permanent injunction and thousands of dollars in civil penalties.
“When a solicitor calls Hoosiers who asked not to be called and subjects them to a prerecorded message they didn’t ask to hear, it adds insult to the injury in violation of our laws,” Zoeller said. “Since Indiana consumers have said emphatically they have little tolerance for robo-calls, the robo-callers will find no leniency here.”
According to the complaint filed Friday in Marion County Civil Superior Court, Thomas markets prepaid legal plans and services to consumers. Since at least April 6, 2010, Thomas used an autodialing device to place calls to consumers and played them prerecorded robo-call sales messages without a live operator obtaining their permission first, a prerequisite for such calls to be legal.
Moreover, Thomas placed robo-calls to 12 consumers in Marion County who had previously registered for the Indiana Do Not Call list, which means they should not have received telemarketing calls regardless of whether the calls were live or prerecorded.
Besides a permanent injunction to block Thomas from placing robo-calls, the Attorney General’s lawsuit seeks civil penalties of up to $10,000 for the first violation and $25,000 for each subsequent violation of the Indiana Telephone Privacy Act. The suit also seeks up to $5,000 for each violation of the Indiana Auto Dialer Act.
“The existence of this widely-known law is no secret and there is no excuse for any solicitor to disregard it now and violate Hoosiers’ privacy. The Indiana General Assembly passed the Auto Dialer Act limiting robo-calls in 1988,” Zoeller said.
Consumers who have received robo-calls and want to lodge a complaint can contact the Attorney General’s Telephone Privacy Division toll-free at 888.834.9969 or visit www.IndianaConsumer.com. At the same number and website, consumers can register for the Do Not Call list – it is updated quarterly – and lodge complaints about telephone privacy violations.
Court dates have not been scheduled yet in the lawsuit.

Open Letter to Gail Riecken

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Cheryle Musgrave



Gail Riecken
Dear Gail,

This acknowledges receipt of Democratic Party Chairman Mark Owens’s email of September 20, 2010 at 5:13 p.m. on your behalf. In this email, you accept a single debate from the three I challenged.

Further, you dictated the date, time, and place of this single debate for October 8, 2010 at 6:00 p.m. at the CK Newsome Center, 100 E Walnut St # 1, Evansville, Indiana. You have reserved a room. It is my understanding that non-profit groups are not charged for the use of this room and that neither campaign will incur a cost.

It is curious that you have chosen a day and time likely to be of great inconvenience to many voters and I once again express my objections on behalf of the voters of the district, who deserve better service than this. You say your schedule is too “tight” for more than one debate; my position is that public servants are here to serve the best interests of the people of the district, and not the other way around.

However, as this appears to be the only debate to which you will agree, despite your earlier acceptance of three debates, including one in Newburgh, I have reserved this time on my calendar. I will hold the October 13 date previously announced for the Newburgh American Legion, in case your “very tight schedule” clears up to provide the voters in Newburgh an opportunity to attend a debate in their hometown.

In addition, you accept the moderator and the terms of the moderator for the debate. The moderator is Randy Wheeler, News Director for WIKY and a member of the Executive Board of the Indiana Debate Commission; Mr. Wheeler is acting independently in this instance and not on behalf of the Commission.

Mr. Wheeler has submitted a detailed format for the debate. I have signed and returned this document and accept its provisions. I ask that Mr. Wheeler make known the email address to which voters may submit questions a week before the event.

Political Cartoons

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Check out this month’s political cartoons.