There was no council meeting last night. Given the break, given the pause from passage of one tax break after another, cross examination of administration witnesses, presentations by sewer and insurance experts a few matters are worthy of contemplation.

Who will be the next mayor?

We have a line up. Tom Henry is already running and only a calamity will keep him from leading the Democratic ballot, while on the Republican side a yawner shaping up: Paula Hughes is fading, Liz Brown has made her splash with little follow up, Mitch Harper is…well, Mitch Harper is very hard to read, and Eric Doden is treading water. No excitement. None.

A year ago Tom Henry looked very vulnerable. Little seemed to be going right for him, but a cautionary note was sounded by a Republican councilman: “if he gets a big payout on the I&M deal he will look golden.” He did and he does. The city is not in the throes of layoffs, the administration is not closing parks, just the opposite, new ideas are presented to council each week for their consideration. For most of us Fort Wayne is in fine shape. The city, like Scrooge McDuck, is wallowing in a $100 million surplus, what more needs to be said. While famed financial analysts are predicting a quickening pace of governmental collapse and default due to dwindling revenues Fort Wayne has the luxury of calmly contemplating how to invest in our future. Tom Henry (thanks to Graham Richard, Ivan Lebamoff, Tim Haffner, Pat Roller, etc), will have a hundred lines for his campaign brochures ranging from “I cut your taxes” to “It’s a Sunny Day in Fort Wayne.” He closed the deal.

Henry already has a sizable campaign war chest and should be most concerned that the line of contractors bellying up to pay to play doesn’t get him in trouble. Need I mention Matt Kelty? The campaign finance reports will make interesting reading.

Paula Hughes wants to run Fort Wayne but announced in New Haven. As president of council council she was already seen as an outsider, so the announcement cemented that “barbarians at the gates” image, or just the suggestion that many more mistakes would follow under the Hughes Administration. The one word that is repeated by politicos when referring to Paula’s campaign is “uninspiring.” On her web page and in her announcement she spoke of jobs and economic development. Everybody speaks of economic development. It is part of the mantra, it is the call from pulpit that is expected to illicit response from the congregation. It is becoming a cliche, meaningless, a slogan empty of substance. Give me a specific or two or three or four. What do you mean by economic development? Show me specifics!

Same with Councilwoman Liz Brown. She announced recently her intentions to take over city government. More economic development, more attention to business development, more services for neighborhoods…and, and, lower taxes. That’s novel. Two telling votes were against neighborhood wishes so they are not moved, the city already is on knee pads to help business relocate or expand, and economic development is a throw-away phrase. Mrs. Brown may have a warm and reassuring personality, but it does not come through at council where she is very aggressive with her fellow council members and with most people who testify at the table. She has not won may friends, and that is the essence of being a mayor, consensus building. It is one thing to be the one in an eight to one vote, to wave the finger in the air and make an arcane point, but in leading a city a higher level of team-building is essential. She who torches common ground will have a very hard time reaping a harvest.

Eric Doden. Hmmm. Comes from a wealthy background. Ambassador Steel. Father made a million. Just moved to town. Now, he wants to take over our city. I value John McGauley’s judgement greatly. Mr. McGauley might make a fine mayor someday, so when John says that I would really enjoy Eric I believe him. I would expect Eric however, a la Liz Brown, to serve a term on council to learn the ropes. She, to her great credit, has jumped in to government head first, sometime feet first. She is in the process of becoming an expert on city government and it be to our detriment to lose her on council. Doden should do the same. Learn the departments, learn the budget, learn the players, gain some “cred.” It is always nice to have new blood, new ideas, new energy, but Eric has not learned the basics, let alone the nuances that determine success or failure of a city. Why do some city’s rise while some fall…Chicago, Detroit, Gary, Pittsburgh. Leadership.

The wild card is Mitch Harper. Mitch knows almost every living thing in Allen County. He has a thousand stories to tell on any given topic. He knows where the bones are buried, literally. So, will he run? There are plenty of people -friends, relatives, blogs, passers by, barmaids, politicos and the rank and file- who would love to see him run. He is one of the smartest politicians in Indiana, bar none. He is as nice to little old ladies as one could ever expect. He is nice to everyone. Beside the personality to be mayor he has the experience, he also is very, very politically savvy and would probably not hire a lobbyist to push gambling while telling the rest of us of his neutrality.

Harper, in short, would make a superb mayor. Mr. Harper, however, is taking a long time to decide. Targets do not stand still forever.

Regardless of who runs the numbers, the raw numbers favor Republican candidates. With the annexation of Aboite Township neighborhoods the balance of power shifted to the Republican column. Matt Kelty would be mayor today, but his campaign was as inept as one could ever imagine. Tom Henry, then outside politics, holding now power base, a former councilman who had been tossed overboard by his neighbors, was able to rise from the dead and become mayor.

Public sentiment is not for a law-and-order type, not for a dynamic reformer, not for a moral imperative, at the moment, a steady hand at the helm is valued. November of 2011 could however, call for another sort of candidate and personality.

Right now, Tom Henry is odds on to win. He is a steady hand. Money, reputation, personality and respect all favor him. Only Mitch Harper can match or exceed him on those points, and Mitch seems to have retreated to the side lines.

So, unless Tom Henry does something untoward, unless Liz Brown comes up with a hot and defining issue, there will be no reason to change.

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One hour to deal with millions and millions and millions.

Friendliness.

Respect.

Thoughtfulness.

No rancor, no animosity, no moments when one council member snapped a reprimand at another council member. Only one mildly tacky moment.

I&M representatives in the front row and city representatives behind them

So, last night Tom Henry in the person of Tim Haffner brought home the bacon. As Ben Lanka pointed out over the weekend in his excellent piece in the Journal, it was a long and convoluted process that started a century ago with the establishment of City Light around 1909, changed course when we leased the utility to I&M in the mid-70s and seemed headed for a costly divorce when Graham Richard pulled out the pre-nup and challenged I&M’s plans for a seamless takeover. Lanka and Dan Stockman’s piece is worth reading, well worth reading.

Due to Mayor Richard’s higher expectations and to the tough, thoughtful, careful negotiating by Tim Haffner and the team he assembled, I&M has agreed to pay the city, you and me and our children, tens of millions, not a few hundred thousand, for the utility. As Mr. Haffner said last night, this frees up the Light Lease Trust fund, over $30 million, for public use, and wins the city close to $40 million more over time, to better our community.

It was a very polite meeting and the matter cruised through the public hearing and the vote without hardly a negative comment. Only the testifying president of the Chamber of Commerce seemed oblivious to the tone of the evening by mentioning how unseemly all the squabbling had been to an outsider considering Fort Wayne as a site for their business expansion. I guess he would have preferred the city take the initial low ball offer and simply roll over so his job would be a tad easier. One wonders who he cares about?

So, back to the pros at the table. They were literally tripping over each other to move and second the “do-pass.” Tim Pape explained it clearly: the administration had done a very good job of keeping council members informed at every step of the process. Everyone was up to speed by the time the resolution was brought to the table. People may wonder, he said, why we argue for an hour over $11,000, but speed this through. Everyone at the table, simply put, had been part of the process. They could, however, have done a better job of keeping we peasant masses informed.

The only unseemly moment was when Liz Brown noted that she had gotten a phone call from heavy-hitter Keith Busse of Steel Dynamics and a variety of other business organizations and interests, pushing for the community’s pay out to go straight to economic development. Busse, as presented by Mrs. Brown, seemed greedy and pushy. Candidate Brown sounded too anxious to get her teeth into the kill. Tom Smith, in a calming comment, suggested that many, many needs in the community exist and that many, many of them might fall under the economic development rubric. He said there would be time for the community to offer its ideas at a measured pace. No need to fight like hungry hyenas.

So, with a smiling delegation of I&M folk, smiling council members, a smiling corporate attorney, Tim Haffner, a few beaming members of the administration, not to mention a jovial audience the measure got a resounding “do-pass” and the evening was all but over. The Henry administration reassured everyone that plenty of time will be structured for public input, that the ideas we folk offer be taken serious and that the process will be even more transparent as the new body scanners at Baer Field. Keith Busse is welcome to a seat at the table like the rest of us.

Another matter on the agenda last night was a report by Kirk Moriarty, the head of the Enterprise Zone, on the activities of his group. The Enterprise Zone runs along the central railroad tracks and was set up to create jobs in the center city. Liz Brown was sublime in her praise for Mr. Moriarty’s work and that of the organization upon which she sits as a member. The Enterprise Zone was a good idea in the early 80s, Graham Richard made it work then as a private citizen, and remains a good idea now, but sadly, over the years has underachieved. This is candidate Brown’s passion so let us see what her work there and that of Mr. Moriarty can produce that might speak to her management of the city.

As for the rapprochement between the City and I&M, give Mr. Haffner and his team a great deal of credit. They decided to expect more and they got much, much more. Haffner assembled a remarkably talented team and went eye-to-eye with AEP, the parent of one of America’s largest companies…and earned a sizable payout for Fort Wayne.

Haffner, it should be noted, came into the fray with an unfair advantage. His dad had worked as a young man for City Light and then for for the City running the Street Light Department among other offices in our little town. Kenny Haffner was always determined to do the best for his city, raised a remarkable family of public-minded kids and his son’s achievement would have made the tough, compassionate, go-getting elder very proud. It reminds us that this city has been built over two-centuries of tough, hard-nosed, determined work, and more than a bit of healthy public squabbling, despite the ruffled sensitivities of our man at the Chamber. So, before the hyenas start pulling at the kill, remember the little giants who got us here and give a little thanks. Now, back to work.

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Bingo.

Saturday, in the News-Sentinel Kevin Leininger pretty much nailed the issue of Harrison Square. It is worth the $.50 at a news stand near you to read what he has to say. Buy the paper. It keeps a smart voice in business.

Mr. Leininger’s point is that the city has failed in its responsibilities to you and to me. He reminds us he said it before years ago, that they, the City, refused during the lead up to the vote on Harrison Square, to make Barry Realty finances public, then failed to demand a performance bond and are currently failing to keep track of income and expenditures at the stadium. In other words, they are doing and long have done a pathetic job of stewarding your funds.

During the initial debate, council members John Shoaff, Tom Smith and Don Schmidt asked to see, to verify, the status of Barry finances. They were patted on the head and told that the city had checked and all was in order. Council need not worry. Later we learn that City Controller Pat Roller and project consultant Steve Brody were the only ones who eyeballed the balance sheet of Barry. They both worked for the team that wanted the deal to fly.

Now, it comes to light that the city is not even bothering to obtain an accounting of the income and expenses Hardball/Barry is incurring at the stadium, numbers that affect the amount Hardball is to pay to the city. Numbers that might come in handy should this discussion we are having end up in court. They are not even checking. “We trust them,” remains the vapid mantra to this day.

Perhaps the administration and Redevelopment Commission should begin representing the community and stop defending, protecting Barry.

What now? Reading the Redevelopment resolution governing the deal a letter is to be sent to Barry now that the city has deemed Barry/Hardball are/is in default on their obligations, which they clearly are/is. Fifteen months ago the condos were to have been completed, indeed a long gestation period. Of course they couldn’t sell their condos locally, those small units were priced at levels New York bon vivants, and Russian oligarchs could afford, not Fort Wayne at prices. Ah, overlooking the stunning Jefferson Boulevard and Downtown Public Library for only $300,000. The completion of the condos was to usher in the next phase of downtown development to be followed by a third phase altogether amounting to some $44 million in downtown revitalization. A tempting morsel, that. Apparently, too tempting to allow for clear thinking and tough negotiating. Two administrations became partners with Barry…

Now, the condos are in serious doubt. Barry, upon receipt of the dun letter, will have 90 days to cure, the Initial Cure Period, if they are ‘showing good faith.” They could beg another 90 days, during which Hardball must continue to work “in good faith,” must show they could not cure in the initial 90 days and, pays the city $5k a day in liquidated damages “until the breech is fully cured.” This could go on for six months, right to the beginning of ball season. Barry could just bail and just may well do that, earlier than later. Their card is the team and the stadium: imagine the fear on the 9th floor of seeing the Tincaps leave town like the Colts left Baltimore. Barry can just walk away from the deal and what do they lose?

Envision the ruckus an empty stadium next to an hole in the ground downtown would raise. Envision Tom Henry a one-term mayor.

So, I suggest to my councilman, Tim Pape, who has been the chief cheerleader for the administration at council, who strongly supported the construction (as did I) of Harrison Square and whose law firm represents the Redevelopment Commission, that he begin to work with the critics of this mess to find a way out of the mess he and the previous administration have created and this administration has allowed to fester. I suggest that tact also to Glynn Hines who backs the administration, I suggest that to Karen Goldner who labors at the table to paint the rosiest of administration pictures, I suggest that also to Marty Bender who works for the mayor and seldom sees that as a conflict of interest when voting on myriad administration (read: his bosses’) proposals. It is time now for the administration to work with the critics, Shoaff, Smith and Harper, to chart a course out of this mess.

A friend told me once about real estate that you make your profit when you buy, not when you sell. It applies to this situation, too. We bought a pig in a poke with the encouragement of men and women we trusted and entrusted.

Scores of millions in downtown development were so alluring that the Redevelopment Commission and my friend, Mayor Graham Richard, were willing to trust Hardball and to defend them from prying eyes in order to get their deal. They bought into a disaster in the making that will take sharp negotiating and creative thinking to avert.

Given the current administration’s willingness to play ball with Hardball/Barry, offer up one pass after another it only makes sense now to appoint Shoaff, Smith or Harper and two from the administration, perhaps deputy mayor Beth Malloy and a colleague, to figure out what to do to bring the Barry/Hardball project to fruition… or to find another ball team and different developers.

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Too many of us are too critical of our members of council. Each and all of them labor many hours, ten, twelve, twenty hours, each week on behalf of the community and each has opened him or herself to examination of their personal lives, of their business and of their decisions or comments. They endure personal attacks. Each has offered to work on our behalf to become experts in the various departments and philosophies of government at significant personal expense.

Tom Didier has a heart of gold and works hard every day for his district. John Shoaff is polite and kind to everyone, has fathered one of the great projects of the last 100 years in Fort Wayne, is a visionary and is a master of the rules that govern council meetings. Mitch Harper carries a wealth of knowledge about the history of Allen County, is a master of the legislative process and knows nearly everyone in the county. Karen Goldner has worked her way through various public policy organizations to also become a master of the ways and means of government. Tim Pape is a most eloquent advocate for his positions and an astute politician. Glynn Hines is the friend of youth, is the leader of the Black community and can be forceful in his feelings. Marty Bender is the expert on public safety issues and has a long memory that adds context to council deliberations. Liz Brown is not afraid to ask tough questions. She is a respected steward of public funds. For his part Tom Smith represents all of us. He is a son of Fort Wayne and determined that the city shall prosper, that neighborhoods will thrive and that everyone will have their say.

They all have their weaknesses, too, but so do we all. So, criticism should be of votes and rationale behind those votes, not the motives of the members of our council. It should be for us to work with them in their efforts so that they might be even that much more effective.

Recently, I read of one more of many cities facing bankruptcy, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Fort Wayne does not suffer that fate. Our finances are in rather good condition, considering the nasty effects of the economic downturn, the Great Recession. This is not Bell, California, where a lack of public involvement, a lack of transparency and a lack of a free and unfettered press allowed leaders of that community to line their pockets most handsomely. Fort Wayne, for all the gnashing of teeth, is getting steadily better. Perversely, we will be a better place thanks to Navistar, we are a better place thanks to Graham Richard’s Harrison Square project, we are a richer place because of John Shoaff’s Headwaters Park and for the tough stewardship of each and every council member.

Certainly, we can do better, but instead of bitching at home in front of the TV, get involved. Tell a council member what you want Fort Wayne to look like and be for your grandchildren. It is your city.

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It was a bittersweet moment today for Graham Richard, our former mayor.

Graham stood at the very back of the crowd of 200 or so people, mostly heavy hitters, politicians and affiliates of one downtown organization or another, to watch current Mayor Tom Henry, Redevelopment Director Greg Leatherman and a few others give and take credit for the new hotel adjacent to the ballpark.

It was all Graham’s vision and his name was mentioned once in passing.

So, a couple of representatives of the hotel spoke about the process and about their surprise at seeing so many people turn out to support the opening. Inside there were another 100 or so folk enjoying the new sports bar, milling in the lobby or waiting for a room or wondering what the crowd was all about.

It is a nice hotel. The sports bar is filled with big screen TVs, there are plenty of booths and bar stools and tables. Big smiles abound. It is new, it is clean, it is open and fresh. You might want to come down just to see the place.

A few years back it was just an idea. Most of that area was blighted, really blighted: there were a few houses among the weeds, there were a few parking lots, Belmont Liquors, a nice suburban-look restaurant and more weeds. The houses, for the most part, had seen their best days many years ago.

Mayor Richard had a vision and pushed his staff, including Mr. Leatherman, to make it happen. Obviously, there were bumps along the way, and questionable transactions, but the vision of a ballpark, a hotel, a large parking garage and a condo complex is now 3/4 of the way to realization.

Greg Leatherman was given the greatest credit and, perhaps, the strongest round of applause, deservedly so. The hoteliers credited him with making sure that the project crossed every hurdle. He took a modest bow. The hoteliers complimented the local banks that got on board, because of button-holing by the mayor, and they spoke of the mass that had been created with the huge project nestled among the Grand Wayne, the Embassy, the Lincoln campus, the Library, the Firefighters Museum, the Botanical Conservator and the Federal Building. One fellow emphasized the density, the mass, that had been created as a reason the hotel could go forward. Much applause.

So, now it is up to Mr. Leatherman to make the last piece of the puzzle come to pass, the condo building. He assured me that Barry is making progress, but they still do not have a lead bank around which other lenders can rally. It is different, he said, finding financing for that sort of a building, compared to a hotel, because lenders expect a full portfolio of leases in hand, signed and notarized. It is different also, he lamented, because the easy money that washed all over the place when the project was envisioned is now a fond memory. Bankers are hoarding their money.

Greg added that he was also left out of the loop when Barry flew in the high-level Savannah delegation in mid-August to see the ballpark. Nobody, except Tim Pape, the mayor and another unnamed council member, were privy to the stealth tour. We are digging for that other name. And, Greg said to me before the dedication today that there was not a media campaign to discredit John Shoaff, the principle critic of the project. Things just worked out that way, he said, and I believe him. In the 30-years I have known Greg I know when he is holding back. You will remember Mr. Leatherman was on two radio talk programs and two editorials appeared, both attacking Mr. Shoaff. Seemed like a campaign, but Greg insisted it was not.

So, Barry Realty is the on the spot. The other three legs of the project are complete leaving just a big hole in the ground to mark their languishing promise to the community. It is good that John Shoaff pushes Barry hard and demands the liquidated damages be paid. If nothing more, it is a reminder that we are all paying close attention. The $400k that would result would help the city budget, no doubt.

Leatherman, for his part, fully believes that Barry will make good on their promise and his points to a few leases that are nearly ready to go. He also reminded me that Barry has already put some $6 million into the ball complex and deserves some credit for the entirety of the project.

Meanwhile, at the back of the crowd, in blue jeans and a light shirt, no tie, no suit, loafers, not oxfords, taking it all in with a tired smile was the guy who had the vision and pushed so hard to make it happen. Today, he said to me, would have been his mother’s 92nd birthday. She would have been very proud.

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Harrison Square Doubts Were Well-Founded

By Ron Reinking, CPA

In the ongoing discussion in the press and the chatter on local talk radio regarding Fort Wayne’s Harrison Square there’s a line of reasoning that goes like this:

“Nobody could have foreseen these economic times . . . city officials did their very best with our money . . . they should not be blamed for having the courage to bring a vision to reality, a plan that could have worked, something good for the entire community.”

That is a defense, however, against accusations never made.

No one believed that those involved in the planning of Harrison Square were careless or insincere. It did become obvious, however, that while promoters initially may have wished good for the community, human nature inevitably took over and self-interest began to drive public policy.

As a result, Fort Wayne now must be counted another victim of well-intentioned visionaries with the power to tax.

The Nobel laureate Milton Freidman in his award-winning book and television series, “Free to Choose,” describes such a situation in the context of one of four different ways people spend money, i.e., “spending other people’s money on other people.”

Thus the well-meaning fellow with a fuzzy civic vision places himself in the position of spending others money for community “good.” Classically, it means serving on a not-for-profit board or assuming the position of “public servant.” In many of these positions, Friedman wants us to know, there is virtually no restraints on spending and, if your intentions are deemed worthy by the media, honor and esteem to boot.

And when, as is the case of Harrison Square, the wheels do fall off, there is no personal punishment or accountability. Indeed, failure itself is often used to justify even more money to “clean up the mess.”

Dr. Friedman continues: “If I want to do good with other people’s money, I first have to take it away from them. That means, at its very bottom, a philosophy of violence and coercion. It’s against freedom, because I have to use force to get the money. In the second place, few people spend other people’s money as carefully as they spend their own.”

Citizens of Fort Wayne, if they hope to prevent future debacles, must hold the boosters of Harrison Square accountable to the Freidman dictum, and for a number of reasons.

First, we must question how much civic courage it takes to pursue a vision of “good” with money taken from other people. Was it ethical, appropriate and even legal to expropriate the taxpayers’ resources for condominiums and baseball stadiums? If the answer is “yes”, then we are little more than indentured servants of a government granted unrestrained power to tax and spend.

Second, we must ask if it is true that nobody could have foreseen this outcome. Eighty percent of the public saw it coming, according to opinion polling. And 100 percent of private investors refused to risk their own capital on the government’s vision. The politicians, with no skin in the game, proceeding anyway, calculating they could make excuses if the bag (which we now hold) ultimately turned up empty.

It is a good guess that the Atlanta “investors” in Harrison Square still retain benefits in the form of tax abatements, forgiven leases of the old stadium and probably cash.* Fort Wayne citizens wish they could say the same.

On this last point it is interesting to note that practically all construction contracts contain performance bond requirements and set dates for completion of a project, thus placing risks on the developers. In the case of Harrison Square, these risks have now apparently become the taxpayers’ problem. (Some will recall that Councilmen Tom Smith and former Councilman Don Schmidt asked unsuccessfully to review our Harrison Square partners’ financial statements in order to evaluate their credit capacities.)

And finally, as hard as it is to say, nobody can ever know for sure that the project is honest. That, unfortunately, is the nature of other people spending your money — you’re never quite certain where it went.

This was the primary concern of Fort Wayne citizens like me with Harrison Square — specifically, that without the tests of a free market we would never really know whether it was a good idea or bad.

That concern, recent events now demonstrate, was spot on.

Ron Reinking, CPA, owns an accounting firm in downtown Fort Wayne. He is an adjunct scholar of the Indiana Policy Review writing frequently on economic development and urban public policy. Contact him at ipr@iquest.net.

* A good part of the investment of the lone “private investor” in Harrison Square, a company of unknown assets and financial accountability, was apparently guaranteed by various agreements and legal devices.

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Good afternoon and welcome. This is the first time a state of the city speech has been delivered here in the regional public safety academy of northeast Indiana.

Which is slated to lose a projected $1.8 million through the end of next year. Henry’s power grab at the facility resulted in most of the board resigning due Henry trying to exert too much control over what was to be an autonomous entity.

Today is the 200th birthday of Abraham Lincoln…many say, our greatest president (pause) so far.

So far my ass. Henry forgot to mention that since Obama was elected, the Dow Jones has lost 2,000 points, the porkulus package is filled with bullshit, including $30 million to protect some stupid tiny mouse in Nancy Pelosi’s district that won’t stimulate anything.

I try to keep Lincoln’s second inaugural address in mind as we face those challenges: “with malice toward none but charity for all,” he said, “…let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds…”

How original. Obama’s been running around quoting Lincoln all week, now Tom Henry is parroting the same Lincoln speeches. How about something in the way of original thinking?

Politics did put us on the map in 2008….and we enjoyed our moment in the spotlight. Former president Bill Clinton, presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton, Ted Danson in support of Hillary…

Danson is the dumbass that claimed back in 1988 that all of the oceans would be dead within 10 years and so would all of us. Henry is still star-struck over meeting one of the biggest asshat liberals to walk the planet, amazing.

We accepted matching dollar applications through the middle of December, and set aside 200-thousand dollars in CEDIT money to fund the projects, but the response was so strong and the projects are of such high quality, that I agreed with the staff to double the infusion to 400-thousand dollars..

Then he snatched it away from the city council members so *he* can better decide how to use the funds.

When the program started in 1990, each council district received $450,000 with an additional $450,000 split among the three at-large members. Henry slashed that amount to $250,000, and now it’s going to ZERO.

On to the casino issue.

We know the issue of gaming has broad implications. That is why, as a community, we are studying it in depth. We need to fully understand what those implications are—both the positives and the negatives.

As your mayor, I am committed to creating opportunity for all our citizens and making sure that Fort Wayne and northeast Indiana have every chance to thrive and compete.

So let’s seize this moment to do several things that are essential:

First, let’s continue the community conversation about the benefits and costs of this opportunity; Second, let’s allow the emerging prospect of gaming to move forward in the legislature; and third, let’s have the courage to pursue a full consideration of the gaming issue…. remembering that it must bring us new jobs, high-quality investment, and significant new revenue enabling us to enrich our community in meaningful ways. Nothing less is acceptable.

Sorry mayor, it won’t work. From Fort Wayne Observed:

One of the big items that has gone unnoticed in talks of casino gambling in Fort Wayne is that there will soon be a very large casino opening this summer just a short drive from northern Indiana.

It is the new FireKeepers Casino being constructed on Interstate 94 near Battle Creek, Michigan. It is only 4 miles west of I-69. The casino is being developed by the Nottawaseppi Band of the Potawatomi Indian Tribe.

From Disenfranchised American:

The Sturgis City Council voted last night 9 to 0 to approve a new Casino to be built, right near the Indiana line, just north of Howe, IN.

How many casinos can one region have and still be successful?

Also from Fort Wayne Observed:

Dan Carmody, Fort Wayne’s former head of the Downtown Improvement District, responded to a recent Fort Wayne Observed post on the possibility of casino gaming in Fort Wayne:

From my experience at the origins of heartland gambling casinos are poor levers of economic development and even worse as new forms of revenue generation for units of local government. We are faced with a situation which demands a return to basics, casino gambling is a nice niche for affluent societies but not a cornerstone for local economies in crises.

Why’s he wasting the time and money on this?

Business is also alive at Fort Wayne city utilities, the last of our sewer separation project, in southeast Fort Wayne was finished in 2008… Creating additional holding space for sewer overflows and solving basement back-up problems.

Our city-owned utilities continues to invest in its infrastructure as well. Most recently completing a 32 million dollar clarifier project at our sewage treatment facility. These improvements will significantly increase the plant’s capacity to treat raw sewage..

Ahem. I’m still on a septic, (after being in the city for over 3 years), and several other neighborhoods in Aboite are shit-up-the-creek as well. I also live in an area without a city maintained storm water system. The ground doesn’t perk and a large portion of the affluent (shitty-water) runs into the Hadley ditch.

Another example of collaboration is the city and county working closely together for the joint information technology needs of local government.

Yet the mayor’s office still cannot provide city council with monthly operating statements?

Back in 1974, mayor Ivan Lebamoff had the vision to implement a very creative plan. He agreed that the city would get out of the business of bringing electricity to customers and instead would lease the electric utility to I&M. The agreement stated that I&M would continue to operate the system and the city could, if desired, take back the utility at the end of the lease.

The completion of the lease is approaching, and discussions are underway on an agreement that will best serve local citizens and customers. The city is currently holding thirty five years’ worth of lease payments, held in a community trust. I had hoped today to tell you how I thought we, as a community, could be discussing the use of the trust fund. But two things prevent me from opening that conversation: one— the market has taken investors on a wild ride, and our trust fund, which was at about 35 million dollars a year ago , thanks to our economy, is worth significantly less. That’s troubling.

Even more pertinent, however, is the fact the money was originally set aside to assure citizens they would have a responsive, reliable source of electricity. Because first and foremost, that money is dedicated to assuring continued electrical service for our citizens-that’s our top priority…and we do remain hopeful that an agreement will be reached soon.

The first reason he doesn’t want to discuss is troubling. Who’s he having the discussions with? How about a little transparency. The second reason is bullshit. I&M can continue to service customers with or without the lease. The majority of what they leased from the city they have since replaced with new equipment.

And he barely touched on Harrison Square.

As we look ahead into 2009, we still have many unanswered questions. We certainly don’t know how the economy will continue to impact the entire Harrison Square development, especially the retail and residential portions.

But I do invite each of you to join me April 16th for the first pitch at Parkview Field!

Sans a hotel, condominiums and retail.

Yawn..

AWB

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3. Graham’s legacy: An empty hole Fort Wayne Politics reported that White Lodging is backing out...

Yesterday Kevin Leininger reported this:

Although officials with Merrillville-based White Lodging Services say they still hope to begin construction on the 250-room Courtyard by Marriott this year, President and CEO for Investments Deno Yiankes said Friday the company is negotiating with its third would-be lender and that a loan agreement could still be at least months away.

Still hope? Months away? That’s not very definitive, now is it?

No condo’s, no hotel, no retail.

And it appears that White Lodging is giving Austin, TX the shaft as well.

The Austin Statesman reported last month that groundbreaking on a 1,000-room, $275 million hotel [by White Lodging] – originally scheduled for 2008, then this year – is being shelved until further notice.

AWB

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1. Graham’s legacy: An empty hole Fort Wayne Politics reported that White Lodging is backing out...
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3. What about Barry? What’s happening with Barry Real Estate and the failed condo/retail...

Graham Richards’ legacy:

A failed inner-city housing development, a $2 million tax break to a McDonald’s restaurant, the failed Public Safety Academy of Northeast Indiana, the failure in the development of The Harrison condo project, and screwing the city for $300,000 for his consulting gig.

What am I forgetting?

Happy New Year! – AWB

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