Posts Tagged “Tim Pape”

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

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. 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 »

Frank Suarez, the latest in a lengthy line of Fort Wayne Public Information Officers released a statement earlier this week that stated in part, the following:

Joint Statement of the City of Fort Wayne and the Office of the Allen County Prosecutor on the issue of a Fort Wayne City Court:

[...]

The idea of a Fort Wayne City Court is one that has been talked about for some time. The ordinance calling for a City Court was prepared because City Clerk Sandy Kennedy, various members of Fort Wayne City Council, including Council President Marty Bender and Councilman Glynn Hines, along with the Henry administration, all believed it to be a good idea. Research supported its pursuit.

In light of the new opportunities for dialogue, the City, City Council and the County/Prosecutor’s Office have agreed to address these issues and work to secure those solutions within the current system. As part of that mutual understanding, the ordinance calling for the establishment of a Fort Wayne City Court has been withdrawn from consideration.

Horse hockey. The fact is this. The Henry administration thought they had the vote in the bag. 5 ayes and 4 nays. The five they knew that would vote in favor were all the usual Henry disciples, including Tim Pape.

Prior to the press release, Frank Suarez was busy on the phone calling the opposition. While I’m not certain how many of the opposition votes he contacted, I do know he contacted at least one of them. What? Wait? Why you ask, if they had five votes in favor? Simple answer.

Tim Pape left for sunny Florida, creating an “absent”. Hence, the “joint” press release was nothing more than fluff. It was a draw.

By Jim Sack

It was what was missing that proved most interesting last night at city council.

First, the ordinance concerning the new yellow-topped recycling bins was withdrawn to be reintroduced another time. The city could not find a local bank to loan the money to buy the carts, $2.7 million. The project is designed to pay over time for the upfront costs through your water bill. The upfront costs, however, are substantial and the city prefers to borrow. Unfortunately, those pesky banks, the ones that won’t loan a farthing to their formerly best customers, had real qualms about loaning such a huge amount to such a questionable entity as the city. Perhaps the city’s finances are in worse condition than anyone has told us. The city will go, hat in hand, again to the fat cats to scrounge the cost and represent the ordinance at a later time. Read the rest of this entry »

By Jim Sack

No one as so much as raised an eye brow when Tom Smith read the I&M-City deal into the record in preparation for the final vote, well, penultimate vote, last night. Some eyes darted from colleague to colleague, there was a careful smile, but no objections, no points made, no fingers thrust into the air, no beating of the chest over an arcane principle. Mr. Smith brought the matter to the table then Council President Marty Bender called for ayes and nays. It passed 9 to zero. Tim Haffner, the city corporate counsel sitting in row three, could have stayed at home and watch from his couch. Angela Boerger, the message mother for the city, could have enjoyed another hour of Wagner. Nobody on either side of the shifting aisle of local politics wanted to rock the boat, everybody is happy with this deal. Now, one more step at the state level and then it will be official. In fact, council members, members of the Henry Administration and some citizens are already conjuring up uses for the funds. Read the rest of this entry »