Wednesday, the Fort Wayne Redevelop Commission will meet. Top on the agenda will be the Harrison, the source of great frustration for the administration, its Redevelopment director Greg Leatherman, the volunteers and staff who are the RD Commission, nearly every member of city council, pundits, sages and a few thousand interested citizens. Perhaps I should add to that list of hand-wringers the principles of Hardball Capital and Barry Realty. Everybody is frustrated, angry and befuddled by this project, fingers have been pointed, blame assigned and plenty of citizens have made recommendations, some civil, as to what to do with “that hole.”

Truth is, more than anything else, the market is to blame. Wall Street, Goldman Sachs, Phil Gramm, everyone who cheated on a mortgage application, Freddie, Fannie, sleazy get-rich-quick brokers, six camels in Kuwait and me. I accept full blame. Time to move on.

But to where?

Well, the contract says that Barry Realty/Hardball has to start paying damages due to their failure to deliver, if, they are to retain the option to build. That will probably be part of the announcement. I guess that Barry still sees this as a good deal, still wants to invest here, still has drawings on the table, especially with the unexpected (by many) galloping success of the adjacent ball park. And, I guess that the City still wants to work with Barry for a variety of reasons, mostly under the heading of not changing horse in mid-stream and partially because there is no other horse at the moment to climb upon. Splash. Perhaps the extended Barry/City deal will involve the $5,000 per day damages payment from Barry/Hardball to the City as stipulated. Perhaps not. We shall see. I think the City, Mr. Leatherman and the Redevelopment Commission (even City Council) want the building much more than the $5k per day in damages, and see the ongoing relationship with Barry yielding substantially more than the fines ever could.

Here is the key question: what do we as a community want?

If we want to bitch and moan and continue to point fingers then by all means have at. I doubt, however, that we really want to waste the work that has gone into the project to date.

I want the building in the air and active. I want a vibrant downtown with busy people scurrying about doing business and making money. I want more attractions, fewer parking lots and a night life. I want a downtown that is active past 5:15pm, one in which new buildings are on the tax rolls and old ones are fetching higher prices. I want restaurants that are packed, events that sell out and surrounding neighborhoods where houses are cheerily maintained by the owners who work in the buildings downtown.

That’s my vision. Blink.

So, I want the Harrison and the two promised developments south of the ball park near the old train station to be built.

I am willing to wait longer for that result. Patience, Little Grasshopper.

A year ago a dear friend of mine at Tower Bank encouraged me to apply for a refinance of my home loan. I did. Hither-to-fore, I was courted by bankers, but he, upon seeking my paperwork turned me down. My 800 credit score, my unblemished record of payment, my steady income and plentiful assets no longer mattered. Any flag other than bright white was grounds for denial. Most people or businesses met the same fate. I laughed with my friend, went home and contemplated the effect on the community. The Harrison has suffered, more than anything else, from that market in which bankers who could sit on money and make more on the spread than through community investing, in which new regulations demanded a great capital reserve and in which trust had evaporated.

Things are actually looking up. Really. Seriously. The stock market, for those of you who do not hold shares, is rapidly coming back, investors are peeking out of their bomb shelters and fat-cat capital is beginning to loosen. The Great Recession thwarted the Harrison, the Sluggish Recovery is about to carefully invest in the Harrison. Here’s to a brewpub, even if Scotty can’t get it together. (Maybe I should reapply for the loan.)

Bankers, not the mayor, not Greg Leatherman, not Hardball, not Barry, not those five camels in Kuwait, are responsible for the project remaining a gapping hole. Bankers may finally be lined up like Jupiter and Mars.

I believe on Wednesday Mr. Leatherman will have better news, if not good news, to offer and will announce steps that lead toward completion of the project. Tea leaves seem to suggest it. It is in our best interest for this building to be built and join the tax rolls, better than more finger pointing, more than more jokes about what to do with the hole. This is about a better Fort Wayne, so I am pulling for the Redevelopment Commission’s success in finalizing this deal.

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Central Atlanta Progress, in partnership with Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) of Atlanta, has set the line ups for the breakout panels at CAP’s Eighth Annual 2010 Downtown Development Day, which will take place Nov. 4 at AmericasMart Building 2 WestWing.

Experts from Cousins Properties, Forest City Enterprises, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Atlanta Development Authority and other esteemed companies will offer their knowledge and insight into what’s happening in Downtown. The panels will run concurrently from 10:45 a.m.-12 noon.

Panel 1 will discuss how to attract retail and residential development to Downtown.

Panelists include Jim Borders, CEO, Novare Group; Michael I. Cohn, executive vice president retail investments, leasing and asset management, Cousins Properties; Sarah Kirsch, senior principal, RCLCO; and Harvey Rudy, senior director of development, Barry Real Estate Cos. The panel will be moderated by Herman H. Howard, vice president – Atlanta regional practice leader, HOK.

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Monday afternoon the Redevelopment Commission voted to start the clock ticking. A draft of a letter to Barry Real Estate and another to Hardball announce the city’s holds Barry in default of its agreement with the city of Fort Wayne concerning Harrison Square, namely construction of the Harrison, a mix residential/retail building along Jefferson Boulevard.

After a few “scribner’s errors” are corrected the letter will wing its way to Atlanta and once delivered will set the clock in motion as described in the 2007 agreement with Barry. (I hope the commission remembers to request a receipt.)

To wit: there will be an initial 90-day cure period after which Barry may request a second 90-day cure period, if they are willing to pay $5,000 per day in liquidated damages. Barry, however, could simply throw their hands in the air and turn the whole mess back over to the Redevelopment Commission, (RC) leaving open the question of the lease on the stadium and keeping a gaggle of lawyers off the bread lines. Obviously, there is more to it than that, but that is the nutshell version. Ninety days, the first cure period, carries us to about New Years, where the second cure period would carry to the beginning of April and the start of ball season.

Attorney John Wernet, Esquire, council to the Redevelopment Commission, and a member of the same law firm as Tim Pape, a member of city council and the staunchest supporter of Harrison Square and the RC position on the matter, and the only council member to meet with the stealth Hardball tour group a month ago, said that it is too early to talk about other “remedies.” One can only speculate what he meant because he was rather taciturn, but given he is a lawyer and court is the favored venue of lawyers to settle disputes and redress grievances it must be read between his few, very few lines. Ah, the stuff of dreams for lawyers. “Jeeves, powder my wig!”

Christopher Guerin, the president of the RC, said the commission staff will now be free to talk with other developers and developers will be free to approach the city. Apparently, he is not in close contact with staff. I understand they have already chatted with developers to gauge options and let it quietly be known that the project soon may be officially on the market.

Interestingly, Judi Wire, a member of the commission, asked if the written response expected from Barry would be made public. The lawyers said maybe. She was not pleased, nor was Greg Leatherman, the RC executive director. He felt it important to keep the public informed. So did Mrs. Wire, but the lawyers, Mr. Wernet, Esq., in particular, cited of caveats of confidentiality, exactly what got us in this mess.

To close, Mr. Leatherman added that he has spoken with one prospective tenant, a retailer, for the building, and heard from a little bird that another is exploring the possibility. Parking issues seem to be at the fore. And, Mr. Leatherman said that Barry continues to say they are working hard to secure additional leases, Scotty’s Brewpub once more cited as the white knight. The fact remains, it would be a very expensive building in which to live or work.

The other fact remains that the city has left itself with limited options. Failure to require a performance bond is among the more grievous errors.

Again, when the contract was written we were in the go-go days of the economic boom where property values seemed to increase daily and it was easy, very, very easy, to obtain a loan. Everybody wanted into the building boom, so corners were cut. This is one of those corners. If the economy were to have continued to grow at a similar pace to 2006 then there would be cranes all over the downtown skyline; as it is, construction companies are scrounging for projects and the errors of this project would have paled in comparison to the brilliant successes. As it now unfortunately is the failures stand naked in the lights, center stage.

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Jim,

This is your interpretation of recent events and you’re entitled to it. However, a few facts:

On July 19, the members of the Redevelopment Commission, in executive session, decided that a letter of default should be issued. We would have voted on that publicly at our August meeting if the Scotty’s Brewhouse agreement hadn’t surfaced.

All of this was before John Shoaff spoke out on the $5,000-a-day penalty on August 24th.

What the Redevelopment Commission did yesterday, as it has all along, was continue a process that will, we hope, ultimately result in The Harrison being built, either by Barry Real Estate or some other developer. In other words, we acted to broaden our options, by making it possible legally to talk to other developers. What we did not do was take the punitive measures John Shoaff has argued for.

There has never been any doubt that one day the Redevelopment Commission would seek some remedy for the default, once damages could somehow be quantified, perhaps in the form of a renegotiated stadium agreement.

Again, our priority is seeing that The Harrison is built, and the Commission will continue to act to bring that about.

I stand by every word I wrote in my Journal-Gazette piece.

Sincerely,
Christopher Guerin

Just what is it the Redevelopment Commission doesn’t understand about condominiums being built downtown? It’s a flawed concept. No one is standing in line for a Fort Wayne downtown condo.

According to the National Association of Realtors, the price for condominiums in the Midwest are down 4.1% in 2010 over 2009. To take it out further, the median price has dropped from $195,200 in 2007, to $152,900 in July, 2010. That’s a 22% reduction, and prices are still falling.

Excel file is here.

As for Midwest sales of condos, there’s a 30% reduction in 2010 over 2009, and July over June of 2010 was down 41.7%

On top of that, you can buy a one-bedroom condo at Midtowne Crossing for as little as $54,900, and there’s more than one for sale.

So I have to ask. Where’s the logic? Why are we still stuck on this condo/retail fantasy? Let’s impose the fine, fire Barry, and then put it out for other developers to take a look at.

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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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I think it’s time someone demanded some answers are where we’re going with this.

Barry losing chance to develop FBI, Archives buildings

Struggling Barry Real Estate Companies Inc. may lose the chance to develop four massive federal buildings because it is unable to secure a construction loan.

It’s a major setback for Barry Real Estate, which is trying to maintain control of key parts of Allen Plaza, the landmark project it developed in downtown Atlanta.

Barry Real Estate recently sold its interest in the nearly $100 million National Archives and Records Administration Building in St. Louis, and may also sell its development interests in three planned FBI buildings in Portland, Ore., Cincinnati and Minneapolis.

“[We] might go down a similar path on those projects,” said Chris Schoen, CEO of Barry Real Estate.

Just saying..

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Hal Barry of Barry Real Estate was at a hearing before a panel overseeing the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) held today at Georgia Tech. Mr. Barry had this to say about the banks.

“Finding a lender to finance these buildings has been a real joke,” Barry said.

[...]

“The recession hit us hard,” Barry said.

Atlanta developers and attorneys shared similar stories with the oversight committee of a banking reluctance to finance new developments or refinance existing deals with reasonable workouts, given the realities of metro Atlanta’s distressed market.

The fact is, the banks are right to hold back. Yesterday, Forbes’ Investopedia had this item:

Bad Commercial Real Estate Loans Now Coming Home to Roost

The numbers are pretty alarming. This year, about 36% of the $270 billion in commercial real estate loans maturing this year are underwater – a situation where the mortgage balance exceeds the value of the underlying property. And things will get worse before they get better. By 2011, 49% of the maturing loans will be underwater, rising to 63% in 2012 and 61% in 2013, before cresting at 57% in 2014.

Between 2010 and 2014, a whopping $770 billion in maturing commercial real estate loans are expected to be underwater. The situation is so grim that even long-time players in the commercial real estate game are predicting that we are facing something akin to a “lost decade” for the U.S. commercial real estate market.

Things have been going so swimmingly well for Barry Real Estate that Lance Patterson, Barry Real Estate’s president and chief operating officer quit back in July. Patterson came from First Fidelity Mortgage Corp in 2005 where he held the role of chief operating officer. In his four short years at Barry Real Estate Patterson was instrumental in bringing in over $1 billion in debt for Barry’s projects.

Back in 2001 the FDIC was issuing warnings to local banks they were vulnerable to downturn in the real estate market. Lance trudged on.

“I don’t think there’s any danger that vacancies are going up or that we’re going to have some problem loans,” said Lance Patterson, chief operating officer of The First Fidelity Mortgage Corp. “We’ve had a fairly decent and consistent amount of building over the past five or so years. It’s fluctuated a little bit, but our take on it is that’s its in equilibrium right now.”

He noted that Atlanta was experiencing a near record level for leasing and net absorption of properties. In addition, over the past several years it has been difficult for builders to obtain money for new buildings.

“It doesn’t mean that people won’t in some cases find money to do their deal, but it sure puts a big lid on it,” Patterson said.”

A few years later Lance was at Barry Real Estate borrowing money like there was no tomorrow.

Poor planning on Barry’s part does not constitute an emergency for others.

Why haven’t we bailed yet?

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So, as the meeting neared an end, the last meeting of 2009 and the last with Tom Smith in the chair, I noted to one of the citizen regulars at the meeting, one of the fellows who sits three rows back and keeps notes, that it had been an unusually jocular meeting. He laughed loudly enough to draw the stare of Clerk Sandy Kennedy and reminded me in more hushed tones that Tim Pape was not there. Ah… He added that during the year many of the fire-fights at the table were between Brown, who is given to a conservative bent highlighted by rants and tough questioning, and Pape who is a supporter of the administration and somewhat left of center in his philosophy. Tim also can be hard on his fellow council members as witnessed by his attack on John Shoaff during the Calhoun Street debate. With Mr. Pape gone the meeting went quietly, if with more than a bit of humor, into the night.

Smith goes out as having done a reasonably good job leading the body, speaking forcefully at times for his positions and frequently against those of the administration. He became the public face of the Republican opposition to Mayor Tom Henry. And he always kept the discussions moving along. Smith, however, would not win the Robert’s Rules of Order Pour Le Merit, but he did overcome a number of tricky situations, including the short, but tense impasse over the budget. It was short because of his leadership and Mitch Harper’s quiet stage management. Mitch gets the Elmer McDonald Award for effective leadership without raising much dust.

Smith, however, did not preside in one sense: he did not set the agenda for the year. The administration and Sandy Kennedy, for the most part, decided what council would discuss. Council was a reactive body in 2009.

Next year should be even more reactive with Marty Bender as president. That’s the rumor. Marty is the least vocal member of council. In one way that is good for a president. He can simply play council cop and make sure legislative traffic flows smoothly. (Visualize the old time cop at the intersection with white gloves and a whistle.) But Marty, famously, is not a friend of the first amendment, freedom of speech. He shut down comments on the Calhoun Street debate and was angered when opponents of chewing up Calhoun sent him a whopping (by his standards) 95 emails opposing the expenditure. He told me he was angered by having to read all those emails. Geez Marty. So, we shall see whether he welcomes comment or tries to stifle it. Marty also is an employee of the Fort Wayne Police Department and the City of Fort Wayne. That puts him in a compromised position. Some of the mayor’s proposals have been controversial, so how will Marty vote or manage votes on controversial matters in the future? If he does the honorable thing there may be quite a few 4-to-4 votes. But much more is done behind the scenes and the president theoretically has power over what comes to the table and what does not. President Smith encouraged discussion and debate; we will see whether Mr. Bender maintains independence from his bosses and looks beyond his paycheck and pension package. I guess opposition from the table or the floor may not get very far.

Last night, in short, council continued their support of the Grand Wayne and the Convention and Visitors Bureau without rancor or very probing questions. They committed to support the local GM plant (with tax dollars) in exchange for a weak promise from GM to keep a certain level of jobs at the plant. Council also passed an agreement with lenders concerning the ongoing purchase, now tied up in court, of Aqua Indiana on the north side of the city. There was also a short, terse discussion of the deteriorating condition of downtown sewers which one city manager all but described as a ticking timebomb.

In short, it was a bit of a Christmas party with all members showing good cheer to their colleagues and putting off, for an evening, the problems of the coming new year with its tight budgets, dwindling revenues, Renaissance committees, contracts, gambling, and subterranean ticking time bombs…

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Down in Tennessee, Barry Real Estate doesn’t seem to have any problem developing property and spending money.

From the Tennessean.com.

Tower Investments and Barry Real Estate Companies have reached a deal to develop property adjacent to the proposed downtown convention center site, Tower announced today.

[...]

Atlanta-based Barry recently finished developing the Pinnacle at Symphony Place, a 29-story office building a few blocks south of the convention center site. The company’s senior director of development, Jimmy Barry, said the site they now plan to develop is ideal for a mixed-use commercial development, which could include office and retail space.

Meanwhile, Harrison Square continues to be left with a gapping hole.

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I decided to take time from cleaning the gutters today to give a small retrospective of Mayor Henry’s term in office. I’ve listed below some of Henry’s major non-accomplishments. It’s not all-encompassing, so feel free to add your thoughts in the comments section.

Backpedaling on the creation of a fire merit board. During his campaign, he stated he supported it.

Last year, Henry wrote: “I support a true merit system within the fire department. I will work with the union, the chief and the city council to pass into law a merit ordinance that works for all firefighters.”

And when it came around, Henry said this.

“The mayor does support a merit system that mirrors that of the police department,” Mitson said. “He’s not against the merit system but thinks the current legislation passed by the city council is flawed.”

The takeover of the Northeast Indiana Public-Safety Academy. More here.

Refusing to take part in the bridge summit last year between Allen County and Fort Wayne government executives.

Signing the ridiculous lighting ordinance that enables citizens to call the “light police” if they think a neighbor’s light is too bright.

From Fort Wayne Observed.

Council members Shoaff, Goldner, Tim Pape, D-5, Glynn Hines, D-6 and Marty Bender, R-at large voted for the law. Council members Brown, Didier, Tom Smith, R-1st, and Mitch Harper, R-4th, voted against it during both readings.

Henry presented a flat budget in 2009, in spite of HB1001 and a projected $2.1 million shortfall in property tax receipts. He then suggested an increase in local income taxes. Thankfully city council managed $2.5 million in budget cuts in spite of Henry.

Henry also suggested the City Council will likely have to take a look at increasing local income taxes. He initially suggested the council examine income taxes this year before saying it wasn’t needed for 2009.

Complete inaction on the High Performance Government Network contract. Graham Richard furtively crammed a $95,000 per year three-year contract down the city’s throat in the last days of his administration. If it had been $100,000 or more, it would have needed city council approval. More at FWP.

Not enforcing the contractual agreements his mentor Graham Richard saddled the city with regarding the Harrison Square development and Barry Real Estate. Where’s the leadership? Is he waiting for a brother in the real estate business to get a company formed?

Hiding the fact the city hired a firm to lobby for a casino in Fort Wayne. It took the city three months to come clean.

He also neglected to announce that three months earlier, the city hired a Cincinnati law firm, also to lobby for legislative passage of a bill to allow a casino referendum in the city.

The Indianapolis firm is to be paid $3,000 a month for a year. The Cincinnati firm, $3,000 a month for 14 months, plus an upfront payment of $15,000. This $93,000 is in addition to the $45,000 the city pays for a separate legislative lobbyist to handle other issues and to the $32,000 the city paid another lobbying firm to study the economic effects of gambling.

The city doesn’t have much to show for its money. No formal proposal to allow a Fort Wayne referendum was ever made, let alone voted upon, in this year’s legislative session.

Bowing down to pressure from Glynn Hines’ bitching that we needed more “people of color” on the 9th floor, and hiring Vince Robinson as PIO, in part, because he’s black. Don’t get me wrong, Vince is capable and more than qualified, afterall he worked for Graham. But in recent weeks, Vince has displayed he’s really “into” the non-transparency thing.

“It just so happens that Vince Robinson is also a minority so he fulfills two of my goals and that was to have a professional working for us as well as someone of color,” Mayor Henry says.

Hines: They’ve let down the African-American community in not having a single African-American at a department head..

Attempting (successfully) to sneak in an additional $4 million in the financing arrangement for Renaissance Square, a 28 percent increase.

The use of CEDIT funds for the unnecessary destruction of Calhoun street , which has nothing to do with economic development.

The use of CEDIT funds for Renaissance Square, which has nothing to do with economic development.

The building will be purchased for $7.3 million from Renaissance Square, LLC. Renovations and furnishings will add approximately $7.2 million to the budget for a total cost of $14.5 million. The purchase funds will come from County Economic Development Income Tax dollars .

Presenting a 2010 budget that does nothing to prevent a future shortfall as property tax revenues continue to decline. He’ll most likely call for a tax increase next year instead of being prudent.

It gets the city through 2010 and gives the city time to seek other sources of revenue and lobby the state for changes that would help, Henry said.

“What we’re doing is buying time,” Henry said.

While he buys buildings and gets his friends into the trash business.

Giving city employees a 1.5% raise, when almost 10% of the Fort Wayne’s workforce is unemployed.

Refusing to release the video of the José Baudilio Lemus-Rodriguez shooting.

Attempting to give I&M the boot, in spite of the fact that I&M employs 352 employees with an annual payroll of $27 million. They pay $2.5 million in annual property taxes and donate $500,000 a year to local nonprofit groups. Last year they spent $12 million in the aftermath of the ice storm, bringing in over 1500 workers to restore power.

Henry has also continued to refuse to disclose how much the city has spent on attorney fees in the ongoing senseless feud.

Makes you wonder if he has a brother in the power business.

And the crown jewel of Henry’s accomplishments, the Earth First contract. If you’re unaware of what’s going on with that, you can read about it here.

Okay, what did I miss?

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The controversial toll bridge to the Embassy has a couple new wrinkles. First, it seems the city may well bow to public pressure to open the sky bridge so we rabble may enjoy what we have paid for. Secondly, the city has held on to this little secret for a year or more. Wonder why?

To set the scene, part of the even more controversial Harrison Square plan involved a sky bridge from the Embassy to the new hotel. Said sky bridge would thus link the parking garage on Calhoun and Washington to the Hilton to the Embassy to the Marriott to the stadium. Nice. In bad weather a conventioneer or hotel guest could travel from building to building without bundling against the cold or rain. As a regular old citizen I also had dreams of traveling around the downtown enjoying the second floor views of our lovely little city, spared from the weather like a squirrel in the tree tops.

Then, last week, an angry city council president Tom Smith let the cat out of the bag. To his credit he blew the whistle on a part of the deal that he felt was unfair, namely, that we mere citizens would not be allowed to use the sky bridge (which we are paying for) from the Embassy (our Embassy) to the new Marriott (which we are subsidizing). Only hotel guests would be allowed on the million dollar passage you paid for. Smith figured, rightly, that the community would not accept that.

The City administration responded. Greg Leatherman, city official, rationalized that hotel security would be compromised if just anyone (read: we rabble) could enter the building. He said the Marriott needed to limit access to their building. Leatherman, it seems, wears two hats, one when drawing a city paycheck and the other when he speaks on behalf of Marriott or Hard Ball Capital.

Later, it became clearer that the real reason was money: Marriott had designed the entry point into the hotel with only guests in mind: a small, compact, hole in the wall through which one or two persons at a time could pass. To make the entryway into a more public space to handle more foot traffic (we rabble) additional space would be needed. Sellable rooms would have to be sacrificed for a lobby and wider gateway. The Marriott would lose some four or five rooms in the re-engineering. It was simply a question of money. To cover their greed they played the “security” card. To the Marriott people using your money to pay for a bridge was quite acceptable while letting you use what you had paid for was not.

Sources tell me that Greg Leatherman informed other city employees of the little problem long ago, but chose not to make it public knowledge. Apparently, Greg and his fellow leaders in this administration felt it was better not mentioned, that it would go away or not be noticed, or no one would complain. Per his thinking, now one would raise much of a fuss. Thanks to Smith the fuss has been raised and you will have access to what you paid for.

I understand that a “come to Jesus” meeting has been held with city officials and representatives of various foundations and other groups in the city and the Marriott will work out a solution that will allow we mere rabble to use the sky bridge during the better part of the day and evening. You will be able to use it to walk from the Hilton parking garage all the way to Tin Cap stadium to watch a game, and then come back to the Hilton for a night of merriment.

There is a greater question: is this administration trying hard to be a one-term administration. Given their self-inflicted embarrassments on gambling, on Calhoun Street and on the Harrison Square condos, one has to question to whom this administration listens and for whom it works.

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Mayor King Henry is keeping the emails a secret.

Go figure.

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