Some Things Never Change
From an NS story in 1992 regarding the construction that made Calhoun one-way:
Demolition of all but the frame of the former G.C. Murphy Co. building began with a loud thud and a cloud of colorful balloons yesterday. The demolition should take about six weeks.
With the pull of a lever, Mayor Paul Helmke dropped a wrecking ball through the canopy of the 1950s landmark that will anchor the $15 million NBD Center, formerly INB Center, at the northeast corner of Wayne and Calhoun streets.
[...]
After reminiscing about shopping at the Murphy department store as a youngster, Helmke said at a news conference that history is giving way to a downtown revival. The area, which used to be the commercial center of downtown, began declining in the mid-1970s, he said.
NBD Center will provide a necessary link with other revitalization efforts: Midtowne Crossing at an opposite corner, the Civic Center, Embassy Theatre and Main Street improvements, Helmke said.
”It’s a part of Fort Wayne that will show us the new heart of Fort Wayne,” he said. (4/16/92)
Wayne Township Goes Further Into Debt
The Wayne Township Trustee asked for another million dollar loan; and the Wayne Township Advisory Board approved the loan by a vote of two to one. You can read more in the News Sentinel.
There are two things about this article that bother me.
The first is the fact that the News Sentinel reports that one of the reasons Maria Parra voted “no” on this issue was because she knew the other two Board members would vote “yes.”
I think Maria Parra has done a good job in questioning the Township finances and I think that the finances of Wayne Township need to be further analyzed. I am glad Maria Parra voted no; however, she should not vote no because she knew it would pass due to the other members voting yes…
The second is a quote from Wayne Township Trustee, Rick Stevenson, saying that the loan is needed due to the “Bush Economy.” The Wayne Township Trustee needs to learn more about economics and stop spouting inane Democratic talking points. I would suggest he ask some of the same questions that Maria Parra has been asking rather then blaming the President of the United States. He might also want to learn more about Congress and its roll in the economy since we have a Democratic Congress and they have a much large effect on the economy then a lame duck President.
As the readers of this blog know I feel that we are headed towards some difficult times; however, we are not there yet. We are not in a recession; in fact, the economy just grew by 1.9% this most recent quarter and unemployment is significantly below normal levels.
It makes one wonder how much money the Wayne Township Trustee would ask for if we were in a real recession or if unemployment were actually high.
Mike Sylvester
Say Bye To The Best Block In All Of Downtown
What a depressing bit of news:
The city of Fort Wayne is starting the process of reorienting Calhoun Street to handle two-way traffic downtown. The proposal will allow north-south traffic between Washington Boulevard and Berry Street.
[...]
the plan would widen the roadway from 24 feet to 34 feet.
[...]
The anticipated cost for the project, using local funds, is $1.47 million.
We’re going to take the most pedestrian friendly and quaint block in all of downtown and gut it - Brilliant! We’ve been through this before so I’ll just quote from my previous post as the same arguments still apply:
A Couple Of Corrections/Clarifications
First, two people I respect have told me that my Tax Abatement Bamboozle post came off as insulting Elissa McGauley’s intelligence. After re-reading it I’m still not sure how that could be but just to set the record straight, I did NOT intend to insult her intelligence or honesty. The point I was trying to make was that she didn’t answer the question at hand - namely exactly what criteria in the state code was the city using to classify the Coldwater & Wallen property an abatement?
Second, I was contacted by commissioner Nelson Peters and he said that the post on banning BBQ was inaccurate. I told Peters that I was relying on a direct quotation from a front page story in the Journal Gazette for my post. Here’s the quote:
Allen County restaurants will likely no longer be allowed to start grilling ribs and other meats outdoors, although existing businesses can continue the practice.
The county commissioners Friday agreed to repeal part of the local health code that allowed restaurants to cook food outdoors for 10 days each month but grandfathered businesses that currently have permits.
That quote is pretty cut and dried but Peters claims that they did not agree to the repeal. In fact he said quite the opposite which was that they rejected any changes to the code. I’m not sure what’s going on here. While I disagree with the JG’s approach (or lack thereof) of presenting the anti-establishment viewpoint, I do believe they do a good job in getting the facts right.
I guess we’ll have to wait and see what happens with this one…
FWCS Board’s Unwillingness To Compromise Comes Back To Haunt Them
FWCS has already depleted their emergency building funds for the year. When these stories of legitimate school needs arise readers need to remember two things (only one was mentioned in the JG story).
- The board still hasn’t held any substantive discussions on a new facilities plan this year.
- Last year the board turned down a proposal that would’ve given them $300 million to fix the vast majority of their facility-related problems. Instead they chose to gamble with our school infrastructure and went for the full $500 million property tax increase which was ultimately rejected by taxpayers during the petition drive.
It is unfortunate that the board majority’s shortsightedness allowed them to turn down such an obvious compromise and put our teachers and students in a precarious situation…
Downtown Condo Sales
Yesterday the mayor was quoted on WOWO as saying he thought Barry Real Estate will have 30 condos sold by the end of the month. This was the developer’s goal in order to keep the project schedule and they reiterated it before city council. WANE also quotes mayor Henry about the 30 condo mark:
Henry said the developers had a goal of having 30 people put down payments on a condo by the end of the month, and he thinks they are close to meeting it.
What I have heard, and what hasn’t been reported, is that many of these (allegedly the entire top floor) were purchased by a single buyer at a discount. This would allow the developers to keep their schedule and move forward with retail portion which already has interested parties.
However I do not believe this block of condos will be allowed to be rented out as it’s my understanding that most of the units must be owner-occupied and there are strict covenants about rental units. Obviously selling 30 individual condos is vastly different than selling a large chunk to one buyer.
I would expect an announcement on the condo sales very soon and hopefully they will tell us how many individuals have purchased condos. I guess I would be quite incredulous of reports that they went from 5 condo sales to 30 in such a short time.
City Spurns Local Companies For IT Contract
The city has decided to hire a company whose headquarters is based in France to handle its Information Technology services. Once again, it’s an out-of-town consultant hired to come in and do work that could clearly be done by local companies.
While the company has its headquarters in France, Ozzie Mitson said the company the city and county will deal with is based in Houston. The current consultant, Affiliated Computer Services, is also based in Texas.
In the private sector technology businesses have what they call their “core competencies”. These are areas of expertise that they wish to continue to develop and that are critical to future success. City government should see all technology-related contracts in the same light - they are the city’s core competencies and should be nourished, not outsourced.
Time and again city leaders, including the mayor, have talked about the need to create 21st century jobs. Yet when presented with an opportunity to do just that they back away and hire yet another out-of-town consultant. Yes many of the employees will stay local but the management should be here as well. The profit from such a venture would get reinvested into this community and not shipped off to France and/or Texas.
Fortunately at least one councilmember, Karen Goldner, is going to fight for local companies:
“I think this was an enormous lost opportunity for the city and the county to invest in both IT services, but also to invest in the local economy,” she said.
Fort Wayne Woman Denied State ID
Another citizen put through the government bureaucratic wringer. Ashley Smith’s NS story about a woman who hasn’t been able to get a new drivers license is worth reading:
But a birth certificate is not the only document that is accepted, said BMV spokeswoman Dollyne Sherman.
“She has more than one option here,” Sherman said, including a certification of report of birth or U.S. consular report of birth from the State Department, or even a notarized letter from the State Department saying no record could be found.
“We have to make sure that every avenue has been taken to obtain the document by state law.”
Her calls to the State Department - keeper of these records - yielded an unexpected response, Banks said.
“They say I don’t exist.” State Department officials did not return calls seeking comment.
Citizen Fights Drug Dealers
The JG had a front page story today about a man fighting local drug dealers in his neighborhood at much great personal risk. So was this story about Phil Marx you ask? Nope, some guy from Lima, Ohio. So why won’t they write about Marx’s story? Could it be because he’s critical of the FWPD? Nah, that would mean the JG has a pro-establishment bias and I’m sure that’s not the case.
To be fair, the above story was written by the Associated Press and the JG might be working on a local story, I don’t know - I hope so. It sure would be nice for the media to shine some light on a local citizen who has spent the last twelve years fighting for his neighborhood. He’s the kind of person who should be encouraged and held up as an example, not simply ignored…
Tax Abatement Bamboozle
Prior to the public hearing I sent a letter to council President Tom Didier voicing my opposition to the Coldwater & Wallen road abatement that was eventually approved by city council. The letter mirrored much of my previous post here at FWP but the most significant part was my request to have the city enumerate exactly which definition of the Indiana Code they were using to classify this property an Economic Revitalization Area.
To my knowledge the city has never been challenged on this before and honestly I saw no way they could justify their decision based on the Indiana Code. Well Didier didn’t ask the question but councilman Tom Smith did. And what followed was a somewhat incoherent response from Elissa McGauley based on city code but never once mentioned the state law that they are bound by.
She did say “obviously we follow Indiana Code” but nowhere in her response did she follow up and answer councilman Smith’s (or my) question - exactly what definition from Indiana code is the city using? The state statute is very specific in its definition of Economic Revitalization Areas and if the city (and council) were following the code then the answer should’ve been very straightforward.
For reference I’ve posted the Indiana Code and then McGauley’s response. Judge for yourself whether she actually answered the question:
