IS IT TRUE that a Facebook post on the site called “Evansville Community Tennis Association” is gleefully stating that the materials to start building the indoor tennis courts at Wesselman Park have been ordered?…that there is some level of complication and even controversy about whether or not their contract to build anything has been breached?…that there are other details like submitting a design for approval, getting permits, getting the approval of the appropriated government bodies, etc. that should certainly be completed and verified before any materials were ordered?…that if the ECTA is delusional enough to order materials before getting written permission and permits to proceed then that tells us something?…that the post is as follows:

“I received some very good news this evening from two (2) highly reliable sources…the materials for the indoor tennis facility at Wesselman Tennis Center have been ordered!!!! Sounds like the countdown to indoor tennis by ECTA has begun!!!! WAY TO GO, ECTA BOARD and all the other non-board members who’ve devoted much time/energy and more to making this dream a reality! On behalf of our entire tennis community, THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR HARD WORK and DILIGENCE!!!”

IS IT TRUE that the Evansville IceMen finally have a deal that they are pleased with that officially makes them the hockey team in the new Evansville Arena?…that the deal reflects much confidence on the part of Ron Geary and the IceMen that hockey will be a major attractor of fans in the new Arena?…that the deal is more complicated and a bit more risky than what the simple two sentence plan that the City County Observer had suggested?…that when it comes to private enterprise and negotiations that what we really wanted to see is a deal that Ron Geary and the Evansville IceMen are enthusiastic about?…that we plan on attending some games ourselves and encourage the people of Evansville to come out and support our hockey team?…that if Ron Geary is happy with the deal then the CCO is happy with the deal?…that we are even going to get out or our normal mode and offer congratulations and thanks to the Evansville Redevelopment Commission for intervening and accelerating the signing of a deal that the IceMen see as a partnership with the City of Evansville?…that we say THUMBS UP to the Evansville IceMen and the ERC?

IS IT TRUE that we are relieved and feeling safer already since we now know that both candidates for Mayor of Evansville opposed meth labs?…that at least 80% of the decisions that government makes are decisions that can be made by a rational mind and that opposing the manufacturing of meth is rational position?…that opposing meth making is not policy and that we encourage both candidates to get on board with Evansville City Councilman Dan McGinn in his crusade to disrupt the material supply chain of the key ingredient in the meth making process?…that over the counter products that contain pseudoephedrine should be prescription based

IS IT TRUE that with all of the drugs that are near the expiration date for their patents that some American drug companies like Pfizer and Merck should seize the opportunity to obsolete pseudoephedrine based medicines altogether with a new patentable formulation?…that maybe something in the Federal Lab Consortium patent portfolio would be applicable to such an effort?…that GAGE has a tech transfer agreement that enables them to make the FLC patent portfolio available to businesses within a 28 county area around Evansville?…that to do that they need the technical talent available to read and understand patents and to recognize the not yet identified potential of local businesses?…that politics and self limiting policies are keeping them from even considering such things?

IS IT TRUE? August 12, 2011

IS IT TRUE that a case of rape is being investigated by the Evansville Police Department?…that this alleged crime has been reported to have taken place in the 800 block of Southeast 2nd Street?…that it has furthermore been reported in the neighborhood that access to the victim was made by climbing to the 2nd floor and forcing entry through a window?…that this crime has the neighborhood association of the Historic District on high alert making sure that all of the residents of this unique and valuable area of Evansville are aware and on the lookout for the perpetrator?…that anyone who has any information that may lead to the arrest of a suspect should call (812) 435-6072?

IS IT TRUE that the census tract immediately to the south of the Arena that includes the forthcoming downtown convention hotel has the worst violent crime rating of any census tract in all of Vanderburgh County?…that the rating for this census tract is 3 on a scale of 100 meaning that 97% of all census tracts in America have better rates of violent crime?…that if there is not a targeted effort to improve that ranking that fear of the Arena will continue?…that to really make the downtown a destination that it not only needs to have at least a 50 ranking on violent crime but that the perception of safety at all times needs to be pervasive?…that statistics do not lie, that this 3 ranking is what it is, and that this is something that needs to be dramatically improved?

IS IT TRUE that Mole #40 tells us that the Evansville IceMen along with their owner Ron Geary were in a celebratory mood last night on the upper level of the Maingate bar just across from the new Arena?…that there were some well dressed gentlemen making a presentation to the IceMen and their families?…that Mole #40 was not close enough to see the presentation but that the IceMen and Mr. Geary seemed to be pleased?…that a positive demeanor from the IceMen and Mr. Geary may just be a good sign with respect to the discussions that have drug on with the City of Evansville’s legendary negotiating team?…that maybe today we will be treated to a deal that will assure the people of Evansville that there will actually be hockey in their hockey Arena this year after all?…the we along with many others have our fingers crossed?

IS IT TRUE that the City County Observer would like to seek permission from both Prime Lodging LLC or Verville Construction and the Kunkel Group to publish their current Dun and Bradstreet reports?…that according to Dun and Bradstreet their reports include things like “Likelihood this company will experience financial stress in the next 12 months”, “Likelihood this company will not pay on time over the next 12 months”, “Timeliness of historical payments for this company”, “Payment performance trend over the past 90 days”, and any public findings with respect to pending legal issues?…that this is the kind of information that has been available all along and should have been accessed and utilized by the Evansville Redevelopment Commission as a sort of pre-vetting condition?…that we will not be publishing any D&B report on any business without prior written permission to do so from a corporate officer?

IS IT TRUE that what the City County Observer truly seeks is to promote good public policy?…that when it comes to the Arena deals that are being negotiated good public policy constitutes having contracts that add strength and enhances the probability of success for the private businesses that are to be the major tenants of the Arena?…that today the subjects of most interest that are indeed private and for profit are VenuWorks, the Evansville IceMen, and the two respondents to the RFP to build a hotel?…that all three of these need to be vetted well for staying power so that a revolving door of teams, developers, and promoters due to poor up front choices?

IS IT TRUE that all VenuWorks, the IceMen, the Kunkel Group, and Prime Lodging are all relatively young businesses that are stepping up to assume risks in new and unproven markets?…that all of these businesses are in this fracas because they see an entrepreneurial opportunity to prosper by leveraging the people of Evansville’s investment in the new Arena?…that the Arena is a 50+ year asset and is not sitting on wheels so the threat of moving the Arena to Louisville is just not real?…that the City of Evansville is a municipality that has the authority to tax to meet its obligations and is assumed to have established staying power?…that the City of Evansville through a series of public meetings and committee sessions made the decision to borrow $128 Million to build the new Arena?…that the pro-forma developed and presented during those meetings included a hockey team, a management company, and of course held the assumption that a 4-Star hotel would be right next door?…that the survival of VenuWorks, the IceMen, and the hotel developer/operator are quite important to the City of Evansville?

IS IT TRUE that any deal that is made with any of these businesses or future businesses that involve dates at the Arena that does not promote and enhance the success of these businesses is a bad deal for the City of Evansville?…that it is a general rule that start-up businesses do not necessarily make a profit until the third to fifth years?…that the Arena itself needed to consider this during the planning stages and needs to consider this for ITSELF in the formulation of these contracts?…that the City of Evansville needs to make deals with companies that have solid business plans, depth of knowledge, and solid financial backing?…that to expect emerging businesses to assume all of the risk associated with the large risk that the City is taking is unwise?

IS IT TRUE that the City County Observer fully agrees that in the long term that the Arena needs to operate in a manner that it can fulfill the promises made by the Weinzapfel Administration during the public meetings that “NO TAX INCREASES” will be needed to fund the Arena operation?…that to expect that the Arena will cash flow in year 1 is unrealistic?…that the Arena secured over $30 Million in borrowed money to cover soft costs like the start-up period’s operational shortfall?…that we doubt if the early private investors have such a luxury?…that deals made now that kill the early investors in the “Arena dream” are deals that will kill the long term viability of the Arena?…that if the City of Evansville really wants a “WHITE ELEPHANT” downtown that the certain way to do this is to enter into agreements that do not allow VenuWorks and the Evansville IceMen to make a profit?…that we should all remember the BlueCats and what happened to them due to excessive costs and low attendance?…that if one thinks it was difficult for hockey to get a foothold in Evansville, one needs to imagine a second team deciding to come here if the IceMen fail?…that the same goes for VenuWorks?

IS IT TRUE that we expect to see the month of August end with solid deals on the table that allow both VenuWorks and the IceMen to believe in their business model and to feel as though the City of Evansville is their partner as opposed to their warden?…that we expect to see the month of September end with a good agreement in place with a thoroughly vetted hotel developer?…that to expect anything less would be to give up on the City of Evansville?…that we hope our expectations are met for the long term success of the people of Evansville as the myriad of other legacy problems comes home to roost upon the next administration?

IS IT TRUE? August 11, 2011 Special Evening Edition

IS IT TRUE that there is much speculation that a decision will be made with respect to the winning bidder for the hotel next to the arena tomorrow followed by an announcement on Tuesday?…that the City County Observer believes that such speculation is without merit because there has not been any time to do a full vetting and make a competent recommendation since last Friday when the choice of London Witte was announced?…that this vetting process desperately needs to be seen as fair and objective by the people of Evansville and in particular by the media of Evansville?

IS IT TRUE that Sara Miller who is an appointed member of the Evansville Redevelopment Commission is also a Vice President of Commercial Lending at Old National Bank?…that Ms. Miller in her role of making recommendations on commercial loans has access to all of the state of the art tools and analysis packages used to qualify or disqualify her applicants and their projects as credit worthy?…that one of the tools that Ms. Miller has at her disposal is the ability to pull a Dun & Bradstreet report on both the Kunkel Group and Prime Lodging along with any predecessor companies that may be applicable such as Verville Construction?…that the City County Observer challenges Ms. Miller to do exactly that and to make those Dun & Bradstreet reports available to each and every member of the ERC in Executive Session?…that this step should have been taken already so that if there are any red flags associated with payments or terms they would already be identified?

IS IT TRUE that ERC Commissioner Greg Elpers is out of town and will not be in attendance at tomorrow’s meeting?…that as a licensed CPA in a prestigious firm that Mr. Elpers should be using the skills and tools that are available to him in his day job to better serve the people of Evansville in the politically appointed position that he willfully accepted?

IS IT TRUE that the other item that may be on the ERC docket tomorrow is the latest casualty of a lack of planning and that is the Evansville IceMen’s status with respect to the new Arena?…that the IceMen are scheduled in the pro-forma developed specifically for the Arena to be a full 28% of all of the events that will be there in any given year?…that once again it seems as though the intention of the Arena management is to force unfavorable terms down the throat of the prime tenant of the Arena?…that it has been reported that under the terms offered by the City of Evansville that the IceMen will have to sell 3,500 tickets per game to break even?…that the IceMen have never ever drawn more than about 1,900 to a home game at Swonder and typically draw about 1,200 at a very affordable price of $7 per ticket?

IS IT TRUE that to force a situation that requires 300% growth on day one to break even is oppressive and irresponsible on the part of the Arena management?…that as the City County Observer published last week that a deal for the City of Evansville to get $2 per ticket with no limits would be both fair and equitable?…that the City could actually come out very well in such an arrangement if the Arena is really the draw that it has been alleged to be?