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.

Lewandowski and Ms. Hitzemann had been at the table before, a few months ago, for the same purpose, to inform council that the powerful labor body would conduct a study to determine if the promise companies made while seeking tax abatements were being fulfilled. They said at the time that they would work closely with Mrs. McGauley and were very complimentary of the time and attention she had given them up to that point. They were no less complimentary last night as they stressed repeatedly that it was the system, designed by the state, city and council, to bring jobs to the area and to increase the local average wage, that they were assessing, and their’s was not a quest to excoriate any one person or any company for failure to perform or for fraud.

So, last night they handed down their indictments, based upon assessment of the 2005 promises and the subsequent reports, detailing whether the unnamed companies had delivered the goods. Hard to tell, was a big part of the findings.

Mr. Lewandowski and Ms. Hitzemann said in comparing the scores of reports they found widespread inconsistencies in what was detailed: the reports, they added, were a hodge-podge of ill-defined statistics signifying next to nothing for the central purposes of evaluating compliance and in support of that stated goal of creating more jobs paying higher wages.

When Mrs. McGauley was asked to join the two at the table she did so reluctantly and, at first, suggested she really didn’t want to talk about the matter. She then went on to agree with much of what the labor leaders had said. But she was not the issue and council treated her with deference and respect. It is the way the program is set up, and especially the vagueness concerning how compliance is to be reported that was severely called into question.

Councilwoman Liz Brown tried and failed to undermine the duo’s analysis which, as Mr. Lewandowski hastened to add, was done without the first taxpayer dollar. Mrs. Brown didn’t seem to get their point that the system was not providing measurable data, something she has so often less deferentially demanded in other situations. Finally, Council President Mitch Harper expressed the essential point: that we citizens are all expected to “be in compliance” in our personal dealings with government and it should not be any different for corporations who seek government help, your tax dollars, in order to grow, in order to make a profit. It is a question of the “erosion of trust in government,” he added, a point well made.

It was later noted that a company would be “in compliance” if they hit 75 percent of their apparently fungible employment and payroll goals. Hmmm. Try that with your boss…or your creditors. Seventy-five percent. Isn’t that a low “C” in school. Is that our expressed level of excellence? A council member asked what would happen if the company achieved 74 percent? Eyes searched the ceiling for an answer. None was really given. In essence, once a company has gotten their tax abatement the money is all but gone and just try to “claw it back.” Heck, we could get a reputation of being anti-business.

So, council has now to decide whether it will act to improve the alleged messy system, or wait for another evening when Mr. Lewandowski and Ms. Hitzemann present yet another set of findings that further call into question the efficacy of the entire program. It was added by another council member that the information provided to council upon which they now make decisions about your tax dollars would not be sufficient information for a business to make sound decisions. Hmmm.

Meanwhile, Mrs. McGauley, slumped in her seat and John Sampson, another of the economic development gurus in Fort Wayne, the director of the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership, looked very concerned sitting next to Mrs. McGauley. Mr. Samson has yet to answer Mrs. Brown’s question about the “losses” his organizations have suffered in their quest to bring jobs here. He says that statistic is impossible to determine, but he is sharp as a tack when it comes to touting his operations few “wins.”

In a side note, the agenda last night was dominated by new ordinances creating tax breaks for companies in exchange for the promise of jobs…. Word must be out. One of the applicants, it was noted, is a company that shut down operations in Hicksville, our not-so-distant neighboring community, to come here, certainly in part for the abatements. One can question whether companies play towns and cities off against each other in the abatement game, and one can certainly question whether that which companies promise to us is ever delivered. Given the inconsistencies in the self-reporting system now run by Mrs. McGauley’s office is very hard to determine, at best.

Brick streets and their maintenance was also on the agenda last night. A bill to preserve and maintain our few brick streets was passed with hardly a whiff of dissent. Tim Pape noted that brick streets last significantly longer than asphalt streets, cost fractions to repair over the same period of time, are better for the environment (asphalt leeches oil in to the ground), can be locally produced (oil comes from you know where), and enhance property values in neighborhoods where brick streets exist. I argued these same points in the mid-80s to city government, the Block Grant evaluation task force during the Helmke years, but got nowhere. To their credit, West Central pushed this for years and the city has finally come around, so thanks to Tim Pape and to the others whose efforts will save you tax dollars and enhance a bit the livability in those neighborhoods.

Oh, and one other thing, John Shoaff, councilman-at-large, announced last night that he is gearing up to fight changes to State Boulevard where it curves at Spy Run Creek. The state wants to straighten the curve and add lanes so as to speed traffic another couple of miles per hour, exactly the opposite of the successful traffic-calming effort on Rudisill Boulevard. Given the road is part of our Park and Boulevard System, deemed of historic significance by the federal government, and passes through a neighborhood that is also on a historic register, Mr. Shoaff has plenty of backers in his effort.

By the way, sorry for the hiatus. Germany called…

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It should be noted, (and Pape and Goldner never mention this), the ordinance only appropriates $700K. There is nothing in there that spells out when they have to do anything, or what they have to accomplish. Just give Tom Henry and Beth Malloy $700K to buy more software and contract some of Beth’s friends to provide retraining programs for employees who aren’t very nice to applicants. There are no deadlines, no benchmarks, no nothing. Just cash.

Pape submitted the ordinance, which is laden with errors. He also has no clue who wrote it. Goldner and Pape call it a power grab. Henry says Harper is ignoring the business community.

Harper did this for valid reasons, and rather than show a willingness to work out the kinks in the ordinance, Golder and Pape would rather stand in front of cameras and piss and moan.

Goldner in her press release stated, “Harper unilaterally decided he’d delay the process himself and <sic> add more red tape.” It’s not more red tape. Given the city now wants to give health insurance to city employee’s spouses, Harper is not only questioning the language in the ordinance and the lack of benchmarks, among other things, but whether or not the city can actually afford it.

Goldner continued, “The ordinance is designed to eliminate unnecessary delays in large-scale business investment that creates good paying jobs, and it needs to get done now.” It’s been an ongoing problem for years. What’s two additional weeks to insure it’s done right?

In a release today, GOP Chairman Steve Shine stated the following:

“Vogt and Harper are exercising a spirit of cooperation that has been missing in local government for quite some time,” Shine said.”This action exemplifies what Republican leadership is all about.”

The action of bringing city and county councils for joint deliberations and agreement on benchmarks has been met with much different reactions from fellow council members. The all-Republican Allen County Council reserved discussion on the changes in the permitting process without fanfare. Conversely, Democrat Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry and Councilpersons Karen Goldner and Tim Pape are greatly resisting a full discussion of all stakeholders that are charged to protect the taxpayers in one meeting.

“I am disappointed by the action of city Democrats,” Shine said. “As a taxpayer, I am glad council leadership came together to make sure this expenditure isn’t simply a blank check to the Henry administration.”

Goldner, Pape and Henry just want business as usual when it comes to “their” ordinances. Ram it through, the hell with scrutiny.

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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.

But, Mitch Harper played it straight. No short cuts. Business with a smile, but all business. He even recognized a large group of Boy Scouts who came to observe the governmental process and who were led by the city’s able forester, Chad Tinkel. Mr. Harper even invited three of the Scouts to lead the body in the pledge of allegiance that opens the regular session of council last night. Steady at the helm.

The committee session was rather proforma, a public hearing to which no one spoke, followed by discussion of three measures which all passed out of committee with 9-zip or 8-one majorities. Ah, consensus. In fact, two measures, the designation of economic revitalization zones to help local companies expand, were approved with numerous laudatory comments about each business. One council member made a point to commenting to the Scouts that the companies were both in high tech suggesting what merit badge they might next pursue.

The regular session zipped right along with mostly 9-0 votes, but Mrs. Brown registered a couple of “no” votes as did Mr. Harper. The president also abstained on bills concerning one of the software companies. Mr. Harper is very, very careful to protect his reputation for fairness and might be taken as a model by a couple other council members.

The only bill that raised any dust was that which concerned the changing of lighting on the Cloverleaf. Marty Bender was angry. He reminded council that the interchange is state owned ground, however the city is footing the bill and the state can later order the new lights be taken down, thus, leaving the city out $200,000 and without lights at the busy interchange. His comment was forceful and latent with anger. He had previously mentioned how “screwed up” state government is compared to local government which he finds more than trying enough. He voted no, as did Mr. Didier, Mr. Smith and Mr. Harper. Five to four. Mr. Bender did compliment the city for choosing LED light to replace the sodium vapors, noting the savings in significant electricity and maintenance, but he was angry with the State of Indiana for not offering to contribute and holding out the threat that the Department of Transportation might order the city to tear it all down. Hmmm. One might wonder where this is going and where it may pop up again?

Mr. Harper gaveled down the regular session and then opened the floor to citizens to speak. Growing visions of beans were dancing in Republican minds, sugar plum fairies and all. Charles Eberhart, candidate for mayor on the Democratic ticket, popped the balloon as he strode to the table and then whispered some cryptic comments directed at Mitch Harper concerning something to do with the 4th District which Mitch represents. Very strange. Mr. Harper looked a bit perplexed, but more at the way Mr. Eberhart presented himself, I guess, rather than being uninformed of the topic. Mitch is seldom out of any loop.

Then, it was time for council members to speak. The beans were about to rise to their full gaseous potential despite bubbling in warming trays miles away from Ceruti’s. At first, a number of the council members passed their opportunity to comment yielding to John Shoaff who initially offered a rebuttal to comments made by editorialist Tracey Warner of the Journal Gazette in the Tuesday morning paper. Mr. Warner’s snipe at Mr. Shoaff concerned, and concerns, a traffic “problem” that the administration plans to “correct” in a manner which Mr. Shoaff opposes, the widening, straightening and speeding up of State Street west of Clinton. Mr. Warner wrote Shoaff was “micro-managing” and interfering. Shoaff shot back that the project affects hundreds of homes in a dozen neighborhoods and could well halve their property values and cost more to the community in the long run than we would gain from an extra lane and five more miles per hour of speed. Mr. Shoaff pointed out that Warner “micro manages” every day from his editorial page, so it is a bit like the pot calling the kettle black.

Then, Mr. Shoaff changed tack and comment on the recent spate of comments about how utterly and terribly hard it is to do business in Fort Wayne. He explained that, for sure, there are problems, but that by and large the system works quickly and takes into account the various interests that might be effected by new projects or expansion. He mentioned the matter of flood control, as one example. He singled out a candidate who had been expressing this forcefully and commented that it was a bit unfair. He tried to keep the comment “gender-free,” but slipped later and noted the culprit was a “she.” Mrs. Brown stiffened.

Shoaff added that a intergovernmental committee has been at work for a bit under a year and is about to offer a report. That committee included two county commissioners and the no non-sense Roy Buskirk. Mr. Shoaff is also a member, as is the deputy mayor and another member of council.

Then it was Mrs. Browns turn and she let fly. She offered one anecdote after another, including a failure to get forms and processes on-line and the infamous 40-copies of plans required to submit for a project. (She would, perhaps, have the tax payer foot the bill for reproductions?) She was hot. She added that over and over again as she has campaigned she has heard from developers and project managers that the system is cumbersome and convoluted.

She snapped that she stands by her comments that business development “efforts are stymied,” that it is an “extremely difficult process” and thanked Mr. Shoaff for the opportunity to “enlighten him on the process.” She did note it was a problem on both the county side and the city side, but did not note where complaints she had “constantly” heard should be directed. Her comments have been campaign attacks directed at the city administration in her effort to win the nomination, not against the county. As the city does not have a building department, as the county controls the taxing records, more than a few permits, and information on land use, as the planning department is a combined county-city affair it would be helpful to specify the bottle necks. The city may not necessarily be the “culprit.”

Mr. Pape then took his turn and pointed out that often fingers are pointed at the city when it is a county matter. He noted that 12 years ago a red tape commission was set up to slash that villain from local permitting processes. He talked about 12 years of the continuous improvement philosophy then introduced by Graham Richard and how the city, in that oft repeated chant, is doing more with less. Expect to see that line on billboards. Then, Mr. Pape chided Mrs. Brown: “It’s not the smartest thing to say you’ll do something over which you don’t have control.” She was visibly angry. He added that every developer wants a fast track for their particular project, but that there are others who will be effected by that change and those people need also to be advised and heard.

Then, Mr. Smith, a staunch Republican, gently added that during his decade plus on the Plan Commission he found staff to “work very hard” to help planners and developers, that the process was fair, and was balanced.

Mrs. Brown grabbed her bags and left in the middle of his last sentence.

The truth is there are problems as Mrs. Brown points out. Some are easier to overcome than others, many are not so easy to resolve because a given, specific problem is inter-governmental, some problems, in fact, were created in Marty Bender;s “friends” in Indianapolis at the legislature and will have to be solved there. The city is a creature of the state and they set many of the rules. The city and county, however, are working together now on the problem and we all expect them to offer specific changes to remove ridiculous or outdated provisions from local books.

Ironically, as the dust settled, as Mrs. Brown’s heels could be heard clomping toward the parking lot and her cooling bowl of beans, Mr. Shoaff was heard to say that his reference had been to statements made by Paula Hughes, not Mrs. Brown.

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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.

“So, you’ve been working on this for ten years! she said. A polite and affirmative response was offered by Kumar Menon, the head of city utilities, who detailed a deadly outbreak of cryptosporidium in Milwaukee water in the mid-90s that led to new, federally mandated treatment processes. She asked a few more questions and got more polite answers from Dr. Menon, his associate Matthew Wirtz and another gentleman from the department. She nipped at the proposal from a variety of angles trying very hard to find somewhere to attack. She finally did, it seemed, for a brief moment, find an opening concerning other projects that would be undertaken with money from the bond, projects that would otherwise have been paid for from other sources. Her vision of uncovering malfeasance in office petered out. Each subsequent line of interrogation led to more polite answers that all seemed rational business practices. Other council members nodded or rocked in their chairs. She leaned forward and asked about the City Utilities cash that would be involved in the project and was met with more polite and detailed explanations. She finally, with a tone of frustration, ended one line of questioning with a mutter comment, “well, that’s disturbing.” It was hard to tell what had disturbed her, but she was clearly disturbed.

She ended up being the only member of council to vote against, what another member of that body labeled, the safe drinking water bill.

Then, as the vote was called, she blurted that she wanted to explain her vote. Heads turned. Apparently, she is not against safe drinking water, not against the UV equipment to be purchased with the $30 million, not against the bonding method, not against the low interest rate, not against anything in particular that had anything to do with the bill before her, she was just angry that Menon and City Utilities had supposedly snubbed her over unrelated questions of fire hydrant financing from a year ago and she was using this vote and her questioning to find a way of getting back at them for her perceived injustice. Menon apologized for failing to provide her with the information she had requested and rather lamely said he had that very information for her just yesterday but she had failed to show for the briefing, but she could stop by anytime, he smiled. She made the point a second time and Tim Pape reminded her that she had missed the meeting.

Normally, bills make three steps through council: introduction, committee discussion and final vote. Introductions are rather pro-forma, usually just a reading. The committee session, in which all members are a part of all committees, is where, homework having been done, each member may ask as many questions, ad nauseum, should they so wish. Normally, council members explain their rational for voting a measure up or down during final vote in regular session. Apparently, Mrs. Brown felt compelled to blurt out her frustrations well in advance of the final vote, as if she was trying, in some sad way to explain her seething anger.

Marty Bender was also irritated by a new lighting proposal for the Cloverleaf where Coliseum Boulevard (the Bueter Road) meets Maumee Avenue. He was not, however, angry with the city; nope, his frustration was with the State of Indiana. When the state rejiggered the ramps at the intersection they removed a 90-foot tall light. The city, upon review and consideration, decided to install new, highly energy efficient lights and to remove the badly deteriorating and costly-to-maintain tower lights. LED systems are going in. According to Marty, the state caused the problem, has placed a variety of constraints and mandates on the project and requires a state approved contractor do the work, but will not contribute the first dime to the project. Regardless, the city traffic engineer noted that costs of operating the new lights will plummet, as will maintenance costs. The old lights required changing expensive bulbs every two years, the new LEDs should last 15 years between change-outs. The old system eats 44-thousands watts of energy per year compared to 8,200 watts for the LEDs, according to the engineer. He, Shan Gunawardeena, went on to add that the city is replacing old systems through out Fort Wayne with LED fixtures and leads the state in that sort of energy saving, dollar saving effort. President Mitch Harper then brought up LEP (Light Emitting Plasma) lights which were invented in Indiana and are manufactured just south of Indianapolis. A long, technical discussion ensured, but the off-shoot was that the city is also analyzing LEPs to determine their quality, longevity and cost of operation. The city clearly feels proud of their cost-saving, new tech initiatives.

The other big matter last night was a flood mitigation project between the old north side industrial park and the I-69/Coldwater intersection. A land swap will mitigate flooding in the area, make land more “developable” and beautify there area, as well. Most members of council were clearly pleased with the resolution, including Tom Didier, in whose district the area lies and in whose ears regular complaints have been heard repeatedly from the hundred or so firms that have suffered water damage and other problems over the years. The deal between the City, Menards and Sturges Development will cost just under one million dollars, but the city will be able to recoup much of the costs and put more land in production thus yielding a few more tax dollars. We shall see.

In all, three big projects came to the table and the city walked away with three wins. It is an election year and each Tuesday is increasingly highly charged as we approach the May primary and then head toward the November ballot. It was clear that the election was a factor in the discussions.

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The star of last night’s council meeting was a citizen, Phil Marx. It was a dose of reality after an evening of mud-wrestling.

What Mr. Marx vividly and dramatically detailed to council was a litany, a long-long litany, of the abuse he and his neighbors had long endured and against which they had fought and defeated in order to take back neighborhood from thugs. Mr. Marx read police statistics for just one street, his, that were simply amazing -knifings, screw-driver to the head, shootings, assaults, false 911 calls, battery, vandalism…jeez, Louise. The list went on and on and on to the discomfort of all members of council and everyone in the audience.

Then Marx, who led the fight against the gang-bangers and drug heads and thieves,handed out a bit of credit. Assistant Chief and councilman Marty Bender, he said, would make multiple stops and ever-so-slow patrols through his neighborhood on a daily basis to show the colors, to run off perps, to simply check to see if Mr. Marx and neighbors were still standing! Over a period of years Marx and others fought back and, as he noted last night, took back their neighborhood from the derelicts who had terrorized him and everyone else on the block. Marx then read his list of infractions from a more recent police cycle and it all came up goose-eggs. Apparently, closing one den of thieves, one house, changed the entire tenor of the neighborhood. Mr. Marx again gave praise to Marty Bender, lauded Chief Rusty York and all the officers who had taken time to ride down his street to just check and to show the colors.

Mr. Marx also voiced his appreciation to Council President Mitch Harper for starting the curative ball rolling by writing on Mr. Harper’s blog about the ongoing battle of neighbors vs. low-life. Mr. Marx, noticeably, did not express appreciation to his councilman on the east side during his recitation of the ordeal.

For Mr. Marx is was an empowering ordeal that he could well have done without. Few of us want to be harassed by young toughs with their hats on backward, tats climbing their arms, their pants sagging to their knees and uttering threats, especially while we are on a ladder cleaning gutters, as Mr. Marx recounted. Mr. Marx fought back and relentlessly demanded the city take notice. It was apparent from what he said and how Mr. Bender responded that the city took a very long time to take Mr. Marx at his word and then an even longer time to weed out the gutter-dwellers.

So, I hope Mr. Marx will make stay involved in government, in holding official feet to the fire and help other neighborhoods rid themselves of these poor, neglect young miscreants.

Mr. Marx would be a better nominee than most for our local “leaders” citizen of the year award.

Meanwhile, council distinguished itself in a fight over procedure, or, rather, make that two fights over procedure.

The first tussle was between President Harper and Councilwoman Golder. It was a mess. He proposed to change a decades-old process allowing “prior approvals.” Ms. Goldner defended the system. She said she could not see the difference between what he was proposing and what was currently in effect. His “new” system, he said, (suspension of the rules) and is in keeping with Roberts’ Rules of Order; the other process, prior-approval, is not in keeping, he said. He explained that his “new” system, which is really the older system revived, would end the questionable newer system (prior-approval) he said was put in place to “wire around Jimmy Stier.” Some of you will remember Jimmy. Essentially, prior approval was the fast-track system; Mr. Harper’s new system, (suspension of the rules) which was the old system, now raises the bar substantially requiring unanimous approval at a key point to move forward.

Another way of looking at it, the “prior approval” system anticipated that council would later “make good” on its promise by formally and legally passing said ordinance. Until it was formally passed, however, its legality was suspect and could leave 1) a contractor holding the bag, 2) a big hole in a street and 3) lawyers licking their briefs. (As a side note: Liz Brown, contradicting her normal pro-business position, uttered something in support of Mitch: it’s “not our job to get every ordinance out the door as fast as possible.” This is the woman who frequently complains about the city putting too much red-tape in the way of business.) The new system…or old system revived…is less subject to lawsuit.

The debate was nasty at times with Ms. Goldner being interrupted in mid-sentence by the normally polite Mr. Harper. She asked permission to continue with her thought. “No,” he snapped. Murmurs from other members at the table. Glynn Hines rose, rolled his eyes and poured himself a coffee at a side-stand in obvious muted anger. Eventually, Mrs. Brown offered a canned motion in support of Mr. Harper, which passed, and the matter ended, but not without tarnishing a bit the reputation of council.

As for the process, it was clumsy. Apparently, a couple council members knew what was coming, as witnessed by Mrs. Brown’s memorized motion, but the whole mess could have been averted with a little broader consultation.

Then, Mr. Harper invited a pair of vendors to the table to criticize the city’s handling of the cleaning contract for the People’s Palace. The two vendors leveled a number of charges and insinuations against the process and said they felt it had been “very questionable.” Mr. Pape asked, as a point of procedure, whether the two were being given special treatment by Mr. Harper and pointed out the irony of procedure being violated to discuss a perceived breech of procedure. It was the second mess of the evening.

Later, Jim Howard, the purchasing manager, had a chance to defend the way in which the contract was bid. He challenged each and everyone one of the arguments offered by the losing bidder. Again, as she did last week, Mrs. Brown asked Howard if the city could save money by not advertising bids as extensively as it does, as is required by law. Interestingly, she also encouraged greater government transparency later in the meeting.)

Another high point was the presentation of a clock to Mr. Pape for his years of service to the community. He accepted it graciously, if a bit prematurely. He has another seven months left on his contract. One can easily note that he is a changed man since his announcement not to run. His humor is lighter, less pointed, he offers more compliments, he tries to moderate disagreements, of which there are sufficient number.

Otherwise, it was a frustrating evening of arcane procedural wrangling juxtaposed against the message Mr. Marx presented at the dais. Marx and the rest of us are on the front line and need more help in protecting and improving our neighborhoods. Meanwhile, council parses words, toss barbs and otherwise looks petty.

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Scott Harrold and Elissa McGauley sat before council last night as an example of city-county economic development cooperation and left nearly everybody in the room scratching heads to try to understand the tangled and intricate proposal they had introduced.

Harrold and McGauley are both economic development specialists with the county and city, respectively. McGauley, who called Howard her “counterpart” at the county, works to help businesses gain tax abatements and to oversee their compliance with the promises they make to the community in exchange for your help.” (The tax breaks they receive means you will have to pick up a share of their abatements, and millions in tax “incentives” are handed out each year in the hope the company will 1) keep its promises, 2) create jobs and, 3) add to the economic viability of Fort Wayne and Allen County.)

So Last night Mrs. McGauley and Mr. Howard were at council table in a rare joint appearance (with a member of the Alliance ring side for support) to explain the proposal to abate, incent, and otherwise smooth the way for Greatbatch, an orthopedics company moving to town, to develop a plot of fallow land where California Road and Kroemer Road meet on the westside of town.

Greatbatch wants your help and our economic development teams have been, contrary to popular angst, been falling all over themselves to come up with an incentive package. Think: men in robes bearing gifts. With a high local jobless rate our representatives have been pulling out all the stops, including helping develop the parcel, laying utility lines and reimbursing the company for some of their costs of improvement, as well as abating their taxes for ten years in the future.

As there were only six members of council on hand last night it was easy to watch their eyes, many of which were glazed over. Trying to decipher the jargon Mr. Harrold and Mrs. McGauley used was like trying to follow a cricket test match on shortwave radio from Bangladesh. Liz Brown was the most determined to get to the bottom of the issue to determine whether it was a good deal or a flawed deal. She sensed more than a few flaws. It seemed even her keen observations were put to the test as indirect responses did little to answer her direct questions.

Mrs. Brown pointed out quite a few problems with the contract that had been presented to council, mostly ambiguities that she felt would give the company plenty of room to use incentives in ways they were not intended. Her questions were met with nuanced responses. She was clearly frustrated.

Councilwoman Karen Goldner then tried to sum up the jist of the matter, the broad flow of the deal, for we ignorant rabble and managed to get Mrs. McGauley and Harrold to nod to her synopsis in the way someone laughs at a joke they don’t quite get.

One council member finally asked Mr. Harrold if, in all their tracking of abatements whether the benefiting companies had fallen short of their promises and, if they had fallen short, whether incentive money, your tax dollars, had been “clawed back,” meaning repaid. Clawed back… Interesting way of looking at the process. The answer was yes, some companies had failed to deliver, but no, no tax incentives had been returned. “Special circumstances” beyond the control of businesses caused those problems and we should not expect them to repay, explained Howard. Given it is IRS season try that one when your return is flagged. Council has asked the same question a dozen times in the past two years showing a certain level of impatience and disapproval.

The measure passed. One council member subsequently told me that the tangle of promises and payouts, reimbursements and contracts was simply unfathomable. You have to wonder how many more of those glazed eyes on council had only a vague notion of what they had committed your tax dollars to do. By the way, the parcel is outside city limits.

There was more last night. Three labor contracts were up. Mrs. Liz Brown, candidate for mayor, voted against all three which included a 1%, across-the-board wage increase. While it may not matter in the Republican primary all of her votes against pay raises for city employees will be remembered in November.

Then, City Fleet Manager, Larry Campbell, whose grasp of verbs and pronouns is tenuous, defended a deal with Petroleum Traders for fuel. $3.7 million. Councilman Marty Bender likened previous gas deliveries to sludge and noted that police cars had stalled or wouldn’t start with PT fuel. Campbell replied that a rigorous testing program was in place to resolve that problem and that shipments had been refused. He added, later, that the city had not experienced that problem with deliveries from Lassus Brothers. (Penny wise, pound foolish?) He also added that he might have to return to council later in the year for another $100k or so should consumption exceed the budget. He hinted strongly that it would. Mayoral candidate Brown again was not happy. The contract passed.

Police chief Rusty York, soft spoken and seemingly tired, also testified before council last night. He spoke in support of a $1.142 million request for high tech gear for his patrol cars. In essence, each car is a mobile office with wi-fi access to the world – GPS, internet, contact with state and federal data banks with cross-referencing to known bad guys, cameras, digital hi-def recorders, etc. The discussion strayed to a conversation about where 911 offices would be located in the new two-building arrangement, but came back in time for a 6-0 vote in favor or Chief York’s request.

Council members Hines, Pape and Didier were missing last night. Spring break? Since his announcement that he would not be running for re-election, Mr. Pape has seemed to have flown the coop, as if that’s where haggard old lame ducks recover. Perhaps, instead of simply disappearing we might organize a dinner, give him a watch and ask the Democrats to appoint a replacement to fill out his term. Or, easier yet, he might just resume representing the district. While council meetings are noticeably shorter without him, his keen mind and rapier-like insights might have helped untangle the Greatbatch deal and kept his fellow council members awake as the dulling convolutions of the deal were disclosed.

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Tim Pape has decided not to run again for council. Damn. Over the last couple of years I have been increasingly awed by Tim’s skills at the council table.

I should have known, given his easy jocularity last Tuesday at Council, that something was up. He was his normal quippy self, but he often reposed with an impish grin. He looked unusually comfortable. The grin was different than his venus-flytrap “gotcha” of a smirk. It suggested the carefree bliss one gets just before turning in a resignation, which is what he has done. I should have asked, I probably didn’t want to know.

In fact, when blogger Steven Parker told me that he, Parker, had a strong feeling that he, Pape, would not run again I downplayed it. Probably because I was not ready to consider who might replace Tim and additionally because I had grown to appreciate his remarkable skills. on behalf of my lovely part of Fort Wayne, as well as on the bigger matters that confront us.

Okay, so someone should start planning the tribute dinner and order the engraved sword and plaque. He has done more than his share for the community. Victory lap. He is leaving office with his reputation intact, no scandals, no sad speeches with a clingy wife at his side (cue: Stan By Your Man). Nope, he is going out in first-rate style.

You might say the biggest loser, other than my lovely part of town, is the mayor who now has to hope a remarkable champion will step forward to speak for the mayor as eloquently as did Tim.

But, instead of the dinner for 2,000, instead of the public accolades, you will hear the sound of the Democratic Party searching hurriedly for a candidate to fill Mr. Pape’s large shoes. I have often heard the name of Geoff Paddock tossed around. Geoff is as nice, savvy and as astute as they come, different than Mr. Pape, but with his own set of remarkable skills.

The Republicans have a candidate who has now gained a bit of stature, if only because the seat is now open and he has to be considered, but he is as unremarkable as Pape is astute.

What complicates this all is the filing deadline is days away. I will guess that Tim gave a heads up to people who should know in the Democrat Party leadership. Probably the people who were his committee, his biggest contributors and his kids were also told. They will be happy to see that Cheshire cat smile at home more often.

Statement of Tim Pape on his service to the people of the 5th District and Fort Wayne:

Fort Wayne, Ind. – I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to serve my hometown and especially, the people of the 5th District.

It is humbling to know that my fellow citizens put their faith in me, that they have entrusted me to make decisions on their behalf. Public service remains a privilege and an honor. It is also a responsibility that I have always worked diligently to uphold.

In any time, but especially in these times, politics is challenging. It demands a great personal investment. But it is also meaningful and fun and rewarding – constantly rewarding.

Although it has been a sacrifice for my wife and children, we believe it is a sacrifice that is worth it. Becky and I have been able to show our children the importance of community, that it takes each of us to help it grow and keep it strong. We’ve exposed them to public life and the obligation of every person to make a civic contribution. My kids already understand that casting a vote is the most precious right and the most important act of any citizen in a democracy.

Every time I look at Will, Madeleine and Hillary, I know that we are helping to shape the future of our city, because we are involved. That fills me with pride.

I am equally proud of the hard work we’ve done, working together with people all across Fort Wayne, to revitalize Southtown Centre, recharge downtown and enhance our neighborhoods. I’ve been proud to fight for good jobs and to bring down and sustain a sharply lower tax rate. I’m proud that our commitment to performance-based government and our smart fiscal management have put Fort Wayne in a strong position economically, one that will allow us to compete and succeed in every arena.

I am grateful to Mayor Graham Richard and Mayor Tom Henry who offered me the chance to work with them on so many important initiatives. Thanks to my dear family. Thanks to my constituents who I have been fortunate to serve. I have loved every minute of it all, but I will not be seeking another term on Fort Wayne City Council.

I am determined to stay engaged. I learned so much about economic
development during my time on City Council. I want to put more of my efforts into that area and work to make our region an economic powerhouse.

When I first ran for public office, I was 31 years old. And I’m still a young guy. Beyond my personal news today, the message I want to send to others like me who care about Fort Wayne’s tomorrow and are just starting out is this: We are a community ready for continued progress and for the energy of younger voices. Take up the challenge as I did.

If you do, and I encourage you to do it, be prepared to work more hours than you can imagine, to listen more closely, to care more deeply, and to fight harder than you ever thought possible for the things that will make our community great. Don’t be a tiny voice for timid ideas. Be a big and fearless voice for bold ideas that can strengthen and transform Fort Wayne for generations to come.

I may be stepping away from the City Council table, but I am not, nor will I ever, step away from my commitment to my community. It was a gift to have been able to serve the people of Fort Wayne and the 5th District.

Thank you all.
Tim Pape

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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.

Neumeister is already known or playing both sides, perhaps against the middle. He raises money for Democrats and Republicans, helps the sheriff with his fund raising, bought land that he sold to the county at a nice profit and has thrown his weight behind Democrat Mayor Henry for re-election and behind Republican Ken Nicolet, a city employee, who is running against incumbent Republican Tom Smith in the primary. Call it bi-partisan government or Machiavellian self-interest, when Eberhart raised the question you could tell some council members were not comfortable with the implication of conflict of interest.

Mr. Eberhart’s comments called into question the wisdom of Mayor Tom Henry in hiring Neumeister at taxpayer expense to represent the city while also representing the county in the matter.

Otherwise, it was Tim Pape’s night. He made closing arguments on two matters before council and was on the winning side in both votes: adding a management position to the 311 Call Center for $75,000 including benefits; and in releasing some $3 million for city utility maintenance that Council President Mitch Harper had managed to tie up. In both cases Mr. Pape listened to the arguments on both sides of the matters, held his comments until the end and then clearly and succinctly summed the situation, enunciated the potential downsides and stated his rationale for his position and action. He may well have moved a vote or two with his clear analysis, maybe not. Council members often come to the table prepared, often have already made up their minds and are indifferent to the arguments either side of them. But, Mr. Pape can be the most eloquent of the members of council, speaking in a “everyman” way that is easy for everyone to understand and would have made Perry Mason take note. Last night he burnished his image.

Oh, about the call center, 311. The city made the point that the system can do vastly more than simply take calls and route them to departments for response. Additionally, the system can develop methods by which statistics gathered in the calls provide government officials with trends that can help foretell problems so preventive maintenance or “preventive” policies can be implemented. Without leadership it is achieving only a small measure of its potential payback to the community. A stitch in time saves nine.

That was also the theme of Mike Kiester’s presentation to council concerning sewers and lining work that will be soon undertaken by the city. Kiester was asking for a million dollars to line 31,000 linear feet of aging sewers. He gave a very, very strong presentation to council and got their unanimous approval. He said TV checks had identified the areas most in need of lining and that by doing the work now it would cost the city much, much less than inevitable emergency repairs. “We are trying to get ahead of the problem.” A stitch in time saves nine.

There were a number of appointments on the docket last night: Lockwood Marine, a reader of this page, a friend of John Shoaff and a champion of honest government, was reappointed to the Metro Human Relations Committee. You might remember that there was a previous vote that ended tied. Tim Pape was not present at that meeting, but was for round two. Last night Mr. Pape cast his vote with John Shoaff’s nominee. Councilwoman Brown has nominated another capable fellow. At the previous meeting when called upon for his vote Mitch Harper had passed, but eventually had to vote and chose to cast his chit in favor of Mrs. Brown’s nominee. Mitch frequently holds his vote until the end, perhaps to see which way the wind is blowing. In this matter his vote in that first round was crucial and one could see a bit of chagrin flash across his face at being on the spot: vote for friend John Shoaff or Republican candidate Liz Brown’s nominee. His vote made the matter a tie that was broken last night by Mr. Pape.

There was also a bit of cat fight at the beginning of council last night. Again, you may remember on his second night as council president, early in January on a very snowy night, the record snowfall for that night in Fort Wayne history as Mr. Harper later pointed out in his defense, the newly elected president was late to gavel down his own meeting. Very, very unusual. Last night, before the cameras came on Mr. Harper quipped humorously about being late and then snickered that Councilwoman Goldner might again take umbrage if the meeting got off to a slow start. She was not amused in the slightest. She shot back quickly by repeating her criticism of that snowy January night that it was “rude” to make council, members of the media and a half dozen visitors wait. (He had called ahead to have the meeting held.) He retorted something toward Ms. Goldner that was lost under the surprised sounds of other council members. He just should have left that one drop.

And, there were two public hearings at the beginning of the meeting. En toto they involved over $4 million of public money. Committee chairman Tom Smith called once, twice then a third time for public input. No one came to the mic at his first call, nor the second nor his third. And, when the mic was open to publicly make a comment about anything concerning the city of Fort Wayne from sewers to the ninth floor only Charles Eberhart bothered to make a comment.

For all the gnashing of teeth, for all of the anger and angst, few people bother to take the time to come to council and say what is on their mind. Very few, indeed.

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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.

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Last night the Southwest Area Partnership met at the Fort Wayne Sport Club. Tim Pape, among others spoke, but he was superb. If he chooses not to run he should turn either to college lecturing or motivational speaking with the Zig Zigler cabal.

He recounted the process in place to recommend to the mayor how to use the “inheritance” in the form of the City Light Lease agreement and from the City Light Lease fund, the two amounting to $75 million. He asked everyone in the room to become involved, to lobby him, as he is on the task force, and to pepper everyone else on the task force with good ideas.

During the discussion it became clear that one concern is for sewers and alleys, streets, curbs, vacant lots, demolitions, etc., the stuff neighborhood leaders often hear from their constituents in the neighborhoods. As a friend told me yesterday prior to the meeting, his recently annexed neighborhood is still, four years after his taxes went up, yet to receive the city services promised. Pape nodded understandingly. And, he noted the various changes in administration policy to address unmet promises and neglected infrastructure.

Pape sees the bigger picture for the community, sometimes to the chagrin of his neighborhood leaders, me included. Last night he spoke in big picture terms. He noted that the city already has a substantial reserve fund, some $25 million, that is greater than mandated by the legislature and greater than necessary to preserve Fort Wayne’s top level bond rating. So, he said, talk of holding some of the “inheritance” as an additional reserve should be considered in that light. I would add that banks are paying less than one percent on investments so our reserve, unless more aggressively invested, would become smaller over time, rather than larger. It can be seen as a tool not used that wastes away.

Pape also reminded the group that the legislature, through the bi-partisan work of State Rep Phil GiaQuinta and State Senator David Long, has caused creation of a fund that will grow to $50 to $70 million in a decade. That coffer would be the Capital Improvement Fund which will be managed by an appointed board and devoted to the ongoing development of the downtown and surrounding areas. After bonds for the Coliseum expansion are retired the fund will grow quickly from proceeds from the food and beverage tax.

What Mr. Pape painted was a picture of a community that has acted prudently over the years, through the Lebamoff, Helmke, Moses and Richard years into the Henry Administration, to build our savings and to plan for a better future. One quick read of the Wall Street Journal will tell you that it could easily have been otherwise, given the large number of cities, towns, counties and other taxing districts that are laying off police, who are closing pools, cutting back on every form of maintenance and who are teetering toward insolvency in one form or another.

Talk turned to jobs and economic development. Pape again spoke informatively about a recent presentation of the Alliance and the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership, both based in Fort Wayne, both creatures of government, the former the closer, the latter the searcher for business growth for our area. John Sampson and Andi Udris had both spoken with energy about their wins and loses, and about the challenges we all face in keeping area income high.

A woman from the neighborhood group asked Mr. Pape why we had to have these organizations, why we just couldn’t do create jobs the old fashion way? Maybe we could, he said, but he added that every job we create in Allen County in the private sector is the target of South Carolina or Alabama or Arizona governments who are trying to lure them to their taxing areas, in order to build their economies at the expense of our’s. It is a new world, Tim added, money moves faster, jobs come and go with dizzying speed and we have to be very, very competitively nimble if we are to attract the people who innovate and create economic opportunity. Currently, we are not even holding our own. Wages, compared to the national average, have dropped from a bit above average in the Harvester days to well below average now. Consider that fact when you next bitch about welfare rolls and shabby neighborhoods.

Last night one hundred people, a hundred neighborhood leaders along with government officials, listened, asked questions, considered his responses and asked more questions. For all of the criticisms of Mr. Pape, and I would have my share to offer, he is exceedingly well-informed, highly intelligent and very persuasive… and he has an open ear.

So, back to alleys and curbs. That is what was most on the minds of the neighborhood leaders, not a water park, nor the North River Project (news to come on that), or some other creative use of the “inheritance;” rather attendees chanted maintenance, maintenance, maintenance. But, Mr. Pape also encouraged those present to think 20 or 30 years out about what Fort Wayne could become.

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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.

The meeting gaveled down perfectly on time with seven, not nine members present. Two Democrats, Mr. Pape and Mr. Shoaff, were both absent. Mr. Pape eventually arrived. Housekeeping was quickly taken care of and Glynn Hines, sixth district councilman, moved two bills through with perfect diction and decorum. Hines gave President Harper exactly the sort of civil and unembellished committee leadership Mr. Harper has been looking for. Hines needed five minutes at the very most. Polite and efficient. City Utilities Committee yielded to Finance and the meeting began to bog down like the German Army at Stalingrad.

Tom Smith’s committee was all about infrastructure last night. City Engineer David Ross came to the table to explain an Auburn Road project. Widening, sidewalks, new signals, all to aid traffic flow. Ross went on about the cost, some 80% of which will come from other sources, not your property taxes. Ross referred repeatedly to a digest sheet he had provided to council in their two-inch thick packets of materials for the night’s meeting.

Two city employees then came to the table to explain a sewer design project. One of the two witnesses was very, very nervous and was treated with kid gloves by everyone at the table, especially the normally acerbic Councilwoman Liz Brown. The young woman had trouble explaining the project and then learned from a councilman that an important sheet had been left out of the packet and the vote would have to be tabled. They were mildly chided. The two employees went on to explain they were trying to save the city money and time by conducting the study in 2011 for projects scheduled for 2022 and 2025. Because the project proposed is very large creating the design now will show other area projects where not to dig in the coming years so that costly relocation of utilities will not have to be redone in ten years. Very smart. Very nervous. One piece of paper missing.

The Lake Avenue Road Diet was next up and the discussion and the reminiscences and the personal stories of young councilmen daring to pass on the unusually narrow stretch of Lake from Anthony to Coliseum. Council members just could not keep from telling stories or near misses, all except Marty Bender who uttered not one sound all night, mercifully, except “here” and “aye.” The traffic engineer explained that Lake will emulate Rudisill’s configuration without the bike lanes. Two travel lanes and a center turn lane will reduce travel time and the number of accidents, he said. It made sense and council members generally agreed. Again, most of the money will come from federal and state sources, not local property taxes. They smiled at that. Progress on someone else’s dime.

Next, a bill to add a travel lane to Dupont. Again mostly federal dollars at work. The $10 million project will cost we local taxpayers $1.2 million. After much discussion leading to the vote Tim Pape quipped that everybody sure wants to cut federal spending, unless it is for their project. It passed unanimously.

Then, the stars of the evening, John Sampson and Andi Udris had their turns at the table. Sampson, whose leg bobbed up and down like he was working an old sewing machine explained his organization, the Northeast Indiana Regional Marketing Partnership, a non-profit construct of local government and business, to council. He was blunt, to the point, clear spoken and passionate about his work. They are, essentially, outside sales for Fort Wayne. They call on companies and “site selectors” to get leads or make first contact with companies that may wish to relocate to Fort Wayne. Mr. Harper, it seems a past critic of Sampson, lauded the presentation, to Mr. Sampson’s obvious surprise and relief. Mr. Harper delivered the praise in such a way that Sampson was leaning back in his chair preparing for a verbal blow when, instead, the doggie biscuit was presented. Council approved Mr. Sampson’s request for funds.

Andi Udris, our big Latvian director of the Alliance, another non-profit economic development “engine,” then took the seat. The Alliance, he explained to a council that already knew, are the “closers” for Fort Wayne. Once Samspon finds and qualifies a lead Udris and his team then close the deal by helping the relocating company through the various permitting and other processes needed to start a business here.

Sampson and Udris were both given the funding from council they requested and some council members suggested, Tim Pape, in particular, that they should get more because the jobs they do are so critical to the community.

A story was told about a contest, literally a contest between Fort Wayne and Kansas City for a manufacturing planning to expand. Came down to a meeting in KC where the company explained to the mayor about a million dollar problem in the way of moving to Kansas City. The mayor, it was retold, excused himself and came back in only a few minutes with a commitment to allocate the needed $1 million.

Udris and Sampson both painted a picture in which cities fight one another today to lure companies to their industrial parks. Companies with jobs in this recession are king and they go where cities chip in the most…

They both suggested that a large chunk of the I&M lease money be spent on economic development tools to help them bring more jobs to Fort Wayne. Their presentations were sobering and very informative. If it wasn’t clear before it should be now that Louisville or Aachen or Tsingxang would love to lure ITT or any other local industry away from Fort Wayne, and they are happy to pay whatever the price. And, with the ease of moving capital, the speed of equipment obsolescence and the increasing computerization of everything, almost any company can move…quickly.

There followed a humorous discourse between President Harper, Clerk Sandy Kennedy, Councilwoman Brown and Councilwoman Goldner over a proposal by Mr. Harper to make council records more easily “searchable” on the city web site. I recommend you watch on City TV the exchanges where Mr. Harper would explain city policy and Mrs. Kennedy would say it wasn’t so. Mrs. Brown and Ms. Goldner both go into the semantics mess.

Among the shortest lines on the agenda last night and the biggest drain of time was a Special Ordinance establishing new Economic Development Target Areas. Elyssa McGauley ably runs that program for the city that ties many abatement and incentive programs together to benefit existing local businesses wishing to expand or improve their systems. Council members had received her comprehensive packet with a neat description of each newly proposed zone well before the meeting. To illustrate, she displayed a large map with each new and existing zone colored and outlined. She then proceeded to read what was before each council member, as if a witness at a congressional inquiry with a dozen lawyers following line by line. It was unnecessary and long, long, long. Council members love economic development, but they, too, tired of hearing what they had already studied. When Mrs. McGauley finally left the table she looked completely drained of energy and emotion.

Mr. Harper, with his promise to move meetings along more efficiently, could suggest to administration witnesses to be brief and not go over material included in council packets.

Finally….the matter of garbage cans and their financing. You may remember last week Tim Pape put on hold the question of financing the recycling carts. An Arizona firm and a Pennsylvania company with offices in Fort Wayne, PNC Bank, were the finalists. $33k was the difference in favor of the Arizona bankers. Mr. Pape questioned whether the deal would fall within Buy Indiana parameters, thus giving “points” to PNC because of their “local presence.” The tabled discussion resumed. Val Ahr, the deputy controller, came to the table and was almost immediately under attack by Mrs. Brown. Ahr said she “shopped” the deal between Arizona and PA to see if they could come down on their prices. Both made adjustments. The cost to the rate payers dropped and the difference between PNC and Arizona narrowed to $17,000, still favoring the Arizona company. But, “under the bus” for political considerations. Jim Howard, purchasing director, then quickly came to the table, sorted things out, gave reasoned and clear advice and the matter passed with two votes opposed, Brown and Mr. Harper.

A nasty end to an unnecessarily long meeting. Mrs. Brown, who had been gentle with witnesses most of the evening took an unnecessary shot at the Alliance in the form of a condescending barb about their website, and then growled at Mrs. Ahr who had reopened bidding and saved the city considerable money.

The rat? One has to wonder why PNC was given special treatment. These things come and go at the table with dizzying speed. So, why should PNC get a “second look?” Perhaps it is less about garbage can financing, less about Buy Indiana legislation and more about a pending downtown development.

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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.

Over seven long minutes the wishful thinking turned slowly to frustration.

Karen Golder showed her cold-induced-ire by moving to start the meeting without President Harper. A rather confused discussion followed and Vice President Shoaff eventually took the president’s chair to get the show going. “Oh,” a coup d’etat” smiled the senior eminence among the two real reporters. About then, President Harper, flushed, flecks of snow on his overcoat, hair blown slightly askew with a framed picture under his arm strode forcefully into the Chamber using the “secret” passage from the men’s room to council chambers.

Meanwhile, Otto, the tall, laconic camera operator for City TV resumed his countdown to air yet another time. Three-two-one. The camera’s red light came on. Without missing a beat, Mr. Harper gave the welcoming intro, quipping about the weather, made a self-effacing joke and quickly shifted attention by holding up the portrait of our recently deceased mayor and offering a rememberance to Paul “Mike” Burns, a Democrat, who would have lit into the tardy council president like a thoroughly pissed off hornet for being late.

Too bad you could not have seen this at home. There really should have been a camera in the car beside Mr. Harper, one mounted on a following car to show him swerving in and out of traffic, and a camera overhead in a helicopter to show his breakneck progress. I am sure he drove like the perfect gentleman he is, but there must have been beads of sweat on his temple and a dryness in his mouth.

And, there was a new seating chart last night. Seating matters and is dictated by el presidente. While they all have microphones and use them for emphasis, position counts. Relationships develop. Liz Brown now sits out of striking distance from the witness chair with the result that her piercing stare does not bring any witnesses to tears last night, as it has. Councilmen Bender and Hines dwarf her from either side like bodyguards or, simple, guards. Mr. Shoaff, the new VP, sits now next to the City Council Attorney Joe Bonahoom whose son Zach is running against City Clerk Sandy Kennedy who sits at the left hand of the president. In truth and in Biblical parlance the president rather sits at the right hand of Clerk Kennedy Almighty, maker of agendas and rules.

Tim Pape has been exiled to the end of the table, where Mrs. Brown once so menacingly scowled. Tim smiles more, sometimes like a full Venus Fly-trap, but his questioning disassembles spin in a more disarming way. Councilman Smith is next to Karen Goldner and may be feeling the first effects of the cold she brought to the table last night.

On the matter of the recycling bins, Valery Ahr, the deputy controller, came to the table to explain the new financing. Mrs. Brown listened and then asked a few key questions, in a most polite way, that revealed that the new financing package will amortize over seven years, rather than ten, and result in greater payments in each of those years. Consequently, payments will be $120,000 higher each year than budgeted. Where will the extra money come from, asked a patient Mrs. Brown? The deputy controller haltingly said that City Utilities would cut spending here or there to find it. Mrs. Brown asked the question in different forms again and again until it was clear that there would be consequences. Hmmmm. Two questions: why did the administration not check with the banks in the first place to ascertain rates and terms so they could properly budget for the loan figures, and is City Utilities rolling in enough extra money that they have $120,000 pocket money laying around? Or, are they robbing Petre to pay Paolo? What budget line or service will suffer because of the forced change?

The dumpster ordinance was tabled on a motion from Tim Pape (yup, after all that…) because the winning lender is in Arizona and he wanted to know how far apart the winner was from number two, PNC, with branches conveniently located all over Fort Wayne, as if a drive through might help. Okay, there are PNC branches here, but will the loan be serviced by workers in Waynedale or those in Pittsburgh. (The hold is a result of the Buy Indiana legislation that Karen Goldner sold to council. Indiana firms, say in Evansville, get preference, points, ahead of out-of-state firms, say in Antwerp, Ohio, in contracts with the city. You can easily see how that will benefit us all.) Delaying the vote has consequences, in this case, possibly pushing the final vote out beyond the “lock-in date of the low, low, really low interest rates Valarie won for us all. Low rate expires, a higher rate is offered and we all pay more… Oh. Council, in a sort of muddled cacophony of thoughts tried to find a parliamentary way of speeding the process after Mr. Pape received his answer, and came up with a Rube Goldberg four or five step process. Clerk Kennedy, experienced at these things over the decades, offered a solution that will simplify the process to two steps with a final vote in well under the wire. (Young Mr. Bonahoom, her challenger, was hopefully taking notes.)

Otherwise, Mr. Harper ran a civil and congenial meeting that was a testimony to his Robert’s Rules skills and his legislative experience. It will be interested to see whether future meetings are an Alice in Wonderland journey through the Robert’s looking glass or whether he and parliamentary side-kick John Shoaff use Roberts to speed meetings, contain the outbursts and dot every “i.”

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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.

That was one of the themes at last nights council meeting, saving time. Mitch Harper led off by saying that as president he would play a subdued role as president and focus on quietly managing the process for maximum efficiency. He did, however, involve himself in most of the discussions last night and probably, in one evening, said more from the president’s chair than did former council president, now merely Councilman, Marty Bender in all of last year.

Tim Pape saved the most time. He said nothing. Zero. Not a single public comment. He voted, he offered whispered asides to Councilman Tom Smith to his left, but Tim, usually argumentative, often the voice of the mayor from the table, sometimes the orator, said nothing. He was followed closely in brevity by the still stunned Councilman Shoaff, the ever taciturn Marty Bender, Mr. Smith and Glynn Hines.

Hines saved bundles of time by bundling numerous ordinances up for discussion into one neat bundle, the first sign of the “consent agenda” that President Harper has lovingly spoken. That style of agenda would reduce the number of items for on an agenda to just those about which council members would wish to hold discussion or debate. Hines noted that a group of ordinances from Water Filtration were each about the purchase of a given supply, activated carbon, pebble lime, sodium chlorite and others, each within its own ordinance. So, he asked consent to lump them together. So given.

Jim Howard, the animated city purchasing director, effused from the witness microphone that he and the administration had tried something new, a reverse, internet auction, to get the best prices on all the various and sundry chemicals that are used to treat our water. He explained that the city, in cooperation with a firm specializing in arranging such auctions, set up a system that graded vendors on quality and price. Bidding was blind with the dozens of companies seeking to sell to us seeing only their position in the bidding. The number two company, for instance, would then feel compelled to lower their bid a bit, in this reverse auction, to leap-frog to number one position. Mr. Howard gave statistics to show that the process had saved us quite a bit over last year. In one instance a starting bid was $704 for a product while the final bid dropped to $613, one assumes, per ton. Mr. Howard was very proud of the process and the results. Council also seemed pleased. The process saved money, according to Howard, and will, over time, save…time.

Fire hydrants. We have over 9,000 fire hydrants in Fort Wayne. Maintenance of those hydrants was another topic of discussion. Scores each year are damaged by sloppy driving, among other threats to hydrants. Annually, the city tries to rebuild, replace or repair half of the hydrants so that when a fire truck races to a halt, the firefighters rush to the hydrant and expectantly turn the valve that water actually comes out. Unfortunately, there have been disappointments from frozen or malfunction units in the past. The Fire Department and Water Maintenance are working much more closely together, it was stated, to keep them all in tip top shape. (One would have thought they would have been working together on that matter since Heinrich Hildebrecht was chief…) It was noted that that the oldest hydrant is dated 1916 and that models from the 50s through the 70s do not have the quality of previous or current products. 1916. They just don’t make them like they use to…

There were humorous moments last night. City Clerk Kennedy, in her annual role as president pro tem between outgoing and incoming presidents, jumped the gun, and the gavel. There is a floor manager who for years has given a count down to the council president so that the live “airing” of council via cable’s City TV opens precisely on time. Sandy, who certainly has seen this process play out over the last decade and more, called the meeting to order only to be waved off by the floor manager. “Thirty seconds,” he said. Laughter.

Mayor Henry addresses city council

Mayor Henry descended to speak to council. He offered prepared remarks last night near the beginning of the meeting in a conversational style that sounded every bit like a speech that had been painstakingly crafted to present the administration’s very best side. He started with the I&M settlement, added the co-location win, added 911 consolidation, added the facade grant program, add the completion of the downtown Marriott, added, added, added. It was an impressive list and a strong presentation. Then he tried humor. It was a jab at Liz Brown, his possible opponent in the Fall. He said sometime to the effect that when he came to work he found someone was parking in his mayoral parking spot. He repeated the line for emphasis and then delivered the punch line about Liz Brown already trying to move in. The laughter that followed ranged from enjoyment to mild groans. At least one, “oh jeez” was heard. In effect, the Mayor had given stature to his opponent, he had lowered himself to her level and elevated her to his level through his try at humor. He opened himself to a reposte which she quickly delivered but was drown out by the din. The mayor’s strong delivery of accomplishment after accomplishment after accomplishment was diminished by the attempt at humor. Tom would do better to remain, as one councilman later said, in the Rose Garden, Mayoral, above the petty fray.

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Tim Pape met last night with eight neighborhood leaders for his quarterly gauge of public sentiment and neighborhood needs. He got an earful…in fact, he always does. Tim’s district is the southwest side sandwiched between Mitch Harper on the west and Glynn Hines to the east. It runs from the center of town to a cornfield somewhere out near Waynedale. We range from the well-to-do in 5,000 square foot homes to cottages in neighborhoods troubled with nitwits selling drugs, driving arrogantly and disappointing their neighbors.

So, quarterly, Tim calls a meeting and a bunch of us show up to sound off. Topics covered last night included: the city’s fiscal situation, the casino, lighting for a neighborhood entrance sign, sidewalks, what to do with the light lease fund, trees, sound barriers, Ardmore Avenue changes, speeders, Rudisill Boulevard changes, police personnel changes, speeders, drainage, speeders and more. Tim takes notes. He promises to attend to some matters, in other cases he offers advice on how a problem might be resolved without government time or money.

We also talk about visions for the city and Tim has his of a better place, a more attractive place, a safer place to live. That discussion permeates the other topics.

After about an hour the assembled neighborhood leaders head on to the city-wide president’s meeting in a nearby assembly room in the city-county building. There, city officials make informative presentations and 75 to 100 neighborhood leaders pose questions, make comments bring up issues. There are sometimes common threads of concern. Notes are taken.

Later this month I will host my neighborhood annual meeting, I will attend a regular seven-neighborhood coalition meeting, then I will attend the Southwest Area Partnership meeting where Liz Brown and Mitch Harper are regular attendees. During the course of a month I will converse with council members, planners, mayoral aides, police officers, firefighters, neighborhood code officers and a dozen more officials of local government.

This is the legacy of former Mayor Ivan Lebamoff and people like Jimmy Stier, a long-time councilman and continues with Mr. Pape. At the end of the meeting last night he asked what we expect of him in the coming year. He got another earful ranging from city finances to speeders.

On the way out of a meeting last night Grant Shipley, president of the Wildwood Neighborhood Association, the group that worked in grand concert to make sure the changes to Ardmore did not destroy their neighborhood, told me a story of other cities around the country he knows intimately enough. Cities, he said, right and left, are in deep trouble with wholesale demolition of neighborhoods and community. I told him a few stories of my own along the same lines. We agreed that Fort Wayne, for all the gnashing of teeth and waving of arms, or perhaps because of all the waving of teeth and gnashing of arms, is in pretty darn good shape. I mean, tell me of any place in the world where kind ladies offer you a cookie as you get off a plane?

At least in one regard Fort Wayne is world class and that is in the area of citizen participation. We have the likes of Ivan Lebamoff, Jimmy Stier and Tim Pape to thank for that.

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