The list of 8 specific questions that were respectfully requested from Arena Project Manager John Kish by Evansville City Councilman and Chairman of the Finance Committee John Friend, CPA, are still unanswered comprehensively.
As there will be a public meeting of our City Council on Monday night September 12, 2011 where Mr. Kish will be at the lectern to provide pertinent information regarding the nearly completed Ford Center, we hope to see these unanswered questions brought forward again. Of course the numbers need to be up to date and the contemplated hotel deal needs to be structured to close the books accurately on the rescinded agreement with Woodruff Hospitality LLC while being completely transparent about the status of the vetting process.
The following link is to the questions of May that still need to be answered.
Weinzapfel and his gang of cronies are laughing all the way to the bank!!! While Evansville waits to hear the real costs of The John.
Public projects require complete disclosure. This is public money building the Arena and providing incentives for the Hotel ! The people who are stonewalling Councilman Friend are not dealing with their own money, they are refusing to disclose how public money is being spent, and that is wrong ! Please join me in backing Friend all the way on this one. If these documents (requested 4 months ago) are not provided at Monday’s Council Meeting, an investigation should be immediately commenced. If anyone thinks otherwise, please explain where secrecy in public works projects is permitted by law.
Who is going to investigate?
Who has a different/independent point of view?
Nobody.
I support the release of the info… BUT, Friend strikes me as mostly political in this call.
It’s impossible to fully support a guy who’s record is:
Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes… Wait a minute what just happened?
anology which I believe is closest: you go to the Doctor, they put you in the hospital. Months later you got your bill for the hospital stay. Only then do you find you were charged $ 100 for an aspirin. Then it’s time to question.
I would expect the following group or group(s) to investigate this project if basic information requested by a Councilman is not handed over: Vanderburgh County Prosecutor; County Auditor; Indina State Board of Accounts; Indiana Attorney General; an independent CPA firm selected by the Evansville City Council to investigate/audit the expenditures for the project; U.S. Attorney General (re: special bonding program which was utilized); Casino Aztar.
I agree his questioning is strictly political, but that does not make his questions any less valid.
What is the Whinezapfel administration hiding?
Friend needs to use his badge, call a hearing, pass out subpoena’s, put the witnesses under oath and proceed to inquire on behalf of those who elected him …. if the witnesses do not show up send the EPD to pick them up…. if they show up and lie turn them over to the prosecutor…. not difficult but it could be political suicide….. takes courage…
BGrafton,
I do like your approach ! Since you are Friend’s opponent, will you commit here today that, if victorious in November, you will affirmatively take these steps in your first City Council meeting in January ?
yes…
BGrafton, can you confirm you are the real candidate and 100% stand by your pledge to Beerguy and all other potential voters?
@Bgrafton: duly noted. Best of luck in your campaign.
How about this, if I am victorious in November, I will join and support Mr. Gafton in taking these steps in City Council.
Mr. Gafton ? Are you suggesting he is prone to gaffes ?
Or, did you mean Mr. Grafton, and he is prone to graft ?
“Mr. Grafton” Sorry did not catch that, do not tell Brent.
Now we are talking….people with a back bone willing to dig and find those buried treasures in the civic center basement.. 🙂
Mr Grafton & Mr Walters if you state that you will follow through with this plan in public (not just in this forum), the voting public will be yours for the taking, but you must promise in public to follow through with this plan and make the public understand what you are going to do.
Then when elected…..do it.
JMHO
So as I am charging up this hill to make Evansville’s government more fair and transparent …. and the shots that are fired to stop me come from behind … are you willing to cover my back????? This is not a one person task… my pledge to act is to myself, my country and my creator, my invitation to you is to join me in engaging the battle…. do not leave me on the beach ….
“my pledge to act is to myself” . . .
You earlier stated that, if elected, in your first City Council meeting you would “use your badge, call a hearing, pass out subpoena’s, put the witnesses under oath and proceed to inquire . . . ”
and send out the EPD to pick them up if they didn’t appear to answer the Arena questions.
Are you still pledging to the voters in the 5th Ward and all posters on this cite, or have you scaled back your commitment from yesterday ?
actually I believe I intensified my commitment…
I will do as I say, always have always will.
This article exemplifies this administration’s and Tom Barnett’s (DMD Director) policy of stonewall, stonewall, stonewall. They fully believe it is acceptable to operate behind closed doors and shut the public out of the process entirely. BAD BAD BAD public policy.
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