Posts Tagged “John Shoaff”

By Jim Sack

The matter in question, an ordinance approving a plan “to streamline business permitting in Allen County,” was discussed by an extraordinary gathering of both the Allen County Council and the Fort Wayne City Council and witnessed by most of the leaders of the Fort Wayne business community. The ordinance in question was outlined in a generally informative presentation and then passed during a meeting within the larger meeting by the Fort Wayne City Council. The remarkable performance played to a full house in the renowned Allen County Public Library under the cooperative batons of City Council Vice President John Shoaff and Darren Vogt, the County Council president. Read the rest of this entry »

By Jim Sack

Elissa McGauley was not happy. The economic development specialist for the Department of Economic Development, slumped in her chair, her face was not its normally bright, smiling self. In front of her, to the right, at the city council table, sat Tom Lewandowski and Cheryl Hitzemann, both of the Northeast Indiana Central Labor Council, representing, as they said, “unemployed and anxiously employed” area workers.

They were systematically highlighting inconsistencies in the tax abatement program that Mrs. McGauley runs for the city. Read the rest of this entry »

By Jim Sack

Beans.

The Republicans at city council last night were anxious to get through the short agenda and onward to their bean dinner in the suburbs. The coming primary is foremost in their minds and judging by the recent haircuts and sartorial dress at council last night more than a few are girding for the last hectic week before the fates decide. The agenda was to a necessary distraction. Read the rest of this entry »

By Jim Sack

So the big item on the agenda last night was a $30 million bond proposal to further clean our drinking water. One council member after another offered appreciation to the administration for the way in which the project was structured and for the recent briefings the administration gave to council members leading up to the committee vote.

The usual suspects who most often support the administration voiced their approval: Karen Goldner, Tim Pape and Glynn Hines. Even John Shoaff said it was wise and appropriate. Mr. Shoaff is usually to bonds as a mongoose is to cobras. He doesn’t like them for a variety of reasons, mostly the additional cost, but last night he express approval and appreciation of the project. Other council members around the table asked a few questions and made a few comments, but nothing unusual until Liz Brown, candidate for mayor in the Republican primary, and councilwoman-at-large, jumped in. Read the rest of this entry »

By Jim Sack

The drowsy end of the two-hour meeting might have been the most interesting. Charles Eberhart from somewhere in Waynedale lumbered to the open mic. A few weeks back he had affably pushed Pickle Ball, a downsized version of tennis for geezers like me…and foggies like him. Last night he called into question, in an equally affable manner, that the city and the county had both hired the same guy to represent them in matters concerning co-location in the old and new city halls. Eberhart wondered how either entity could trust the negotiator to have their interests foremost. He noted that Ken Neumeister was that man and then quipped that Neumeister had boasted about how he had already saved the county more in the deal than the substantial amount they are paying him. Hmmm? At whose expense. Eberhart, a retired union man, added that such an arrangement would have been unthinkable in management-labor negotiations of his era. You could see eyes on council narrow as they considered the implications. Read the rest of this entry »

By Jim Sack

Accounting.

Mayoral Candidate Paula Hughes has chosen to pick a fight with the Henry Administration over accounting.

A few days back Paula issued a news release saying essentially that the City of Fort Wayne, not the “city,” was leaning too heavily on the equivalent of lines of credit, mortgages and credit cards to finance projects. Read the rest of this entry »

By Jim Sack

The Mitch Harper era has begun.

Last night’s council meeting was blandly civil, exasperatingly cordial, and smoothly managed, front to back. Hardly a hair was out of place, matters came up, matters were politely discussed, hands where reservedly raised to vote with little pinkies extended.

Mitch was fully and completely in control last night and it was a bore.

Even Councilwoman Liz Brown was generally polite, except for one little snarky moment, but generally, every vote was unanimous. And, be it known that large amounts of money and large projects were read, discussed and voted. Perhaps Councilman Pape’s absence contributed in some way to the rather un-Fort Wayne-like evening.

The single highlight of the evening was when Councilman Tom Smith put everybody in the economic development community on notice: he held a copy of the Journal Gazette up, to the delight of Ben Lanka, and explained to everyone the circumstances surrounding a failed deal between Trine University in Angola and Steuben County government. He had highlight paragraphs in green. A $28 million dollar deal to create high-tech, high-quality investment had fallen through because the county government up north could not come up with their match. Here is a link to the JG story…

Smith called loudly on the local job hustlers to get to Trine by sun-up, if not sooner (if they hadn’t already been circling around the carcass) and pitch that the project be brought down here. As the deal has fallen through in Steuben it would not be poaching, Smith noted, but rather a matter of saving a valuable project for the area and for Mother Indiana. (Certainly, there are ec dev types in Toledo who can also read…and they would be poachers.)

So, Smith put the local quasi-governmental “job-creators” on notice that they better pitch this one immediately, will be under pressure to win it, and better have a report on the table by noon, perhaps the Mayor could include the successful deal during today’s State of the City address. One could imagine that Smith and others at the table were thinking I&M money as seed to build new industries, not just jobs, but lines of businesses, in Fort Wayne. Ring the bell, document the salivation. Perhaps a convoy formed this morning for the trek up with walkie-talkies to report back from the front.

That was it. Smith rang the bell. The rest of the meeting was rather staid, which is, I believe, how Mitch prefers it. Taking the House of Commons and transforming it to the House of Lords. Here, here. Pip pip.

There was a light moment last night, Charles Eberhard humored the group during “public mic time” with a call for more Pickleball Courts in Fort Wayne. A matter of some general concern, certainly. Pickleball is tennis for foggies and geezers like myself. He explained it is played on half of a tennis court and involves much less stress and strain. He called on John Shoaff to be his doubles partner in Over 70s competition. I think someone suggested the two might rise to represent Fort Wayne at the World Cup or Olympic levels.

So ended the meeting. Pip pip.

By Jim Sack

Mitch Harper was on time, in plenty of time, but is still getting his sea-legs.

Marty Bender was mercifully silent.

Sampson and Udris were stellar.

Mrs. Brown had her attack collar on again.

Mr. Howard clarified with a smile.

Mrs. McGauley went on and on and on.

And the smell or a rat was detected. Read the rest of this entry »

By Jim Sack

I can only imagine the frustration Mitch Harper must have felt as the shiny new president of Fort Wayne city council struggled in his car plowing through snow, slowed by the grey-hairs in their rear-wheel-drive Buicks, to get to the meeting he was to chair, a meeting in which eight other council members were patiently (to degrees) waiting, where the city clerk had laid out the table as if for Thanksgiving dinner, where two “real” reporters, a couple scruffy bloggers, an intern, a police officer, the new fire-fighters union chief, a few administration representatives, two men from City TV and a couple of aspiring candidates patiently checked their watches in the hope that by staring at the second hand the president would magically appear.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Jim Sack

It came as a bit of a surprise to John Shoaff when he was nominated for vice president of Common Council. But, it underscores how non-partisan, at times, our council can be. Shoaff, despite being of the minority party, was moved, seconded and unanimously approved by all five Republicans and the three other Democrats in about seven seconds. Electing Mitch Harper to the presidency a scant minute and a half before, by comparison, took well over 30 seconds. Shoaff looked mildly bewildered. But these things are worked out before the meeting, which saved everyone time. Someone, however, might have warned him. Read the rest of this entry »

By Jim Sack

Here’s what I have learned from sources high and low.

The benefits and problems of instituting a local city court had been researched by City Clerk Sandy Kennedy for months before its introduction. Fort Wayne had such a beast in the past, and before which I once had to pay my dues to society. $49 and costs.

The five “signators” to the introduced ordinance included as least one member of council who was surprised to see he had “signed” on. Read the rest of this entry »