Imagine if you could watch this on television instead of letting me type it. That would be progressive. That's why is doesn't happen, because then you could observe the futility of the council obstructionists from home ... and with good beer, no less.
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The deputy mayor comes forward, and CM Benedetti says "oops": I had no idea it was time sensitive.
Meanwhile, every ROCK activist has left the room, satisfied that the only conceivable threat to women and children could come from John Mattingly's live dancers.
That's pathetic. Ten people remain in the room to talk about neighborhood stabilization. Ten, counting city officials and Chief Crabtree. You'd think that ... never mind.
ROCK doesn't care about what is real, only what is ideology. I'll write about this in a future column.
Carl explains the program. NSP. $50 million sitting there to be divided; state issued a notice to make proposals. On Feb. 13, the city indicated willingness to get some of it. Funds have to be requested through a proposal. There must be a framework. The city went through the HUD stats to determine eligibility -- greatest propensity for foreclosure and low income occupancy. The census tract with the best rationale is Census Tract 704 (near east end, downtown to Vincennes between Market and Beeler. Redevelopment discussed Tract 707 (west of State by Cherry and West).
Carl provides far more information than this exhausted group deserves. Forty minutes to chart cabarets, and they're toast. Ten minutes to explain the neighborhoods ... at least the smutty-nosed ones are no longer here. Carl justifies the investment wished for SEJones neighborhood. I suppose he has to talk Dan Coffey down off the ledge. I expect Steve Price will speak against the idea of improving his own constituency.
No ... don't mention the neighborhood associations ... no ... Price will go berserk.
Ten minutes in, Benedetti demands that Carl cut to the chase. $5 million for what he's tried to explain already, and also more ("couple million") for lower income homeowners. Vision is to help people be homeowners.
Coffey: "We went throught this once before ... S Ellen ones is worst than it was before."
Carl: "I don't know what you're talking about."
Coffey: "How much was spent when the city purchased all this property?"
Carl: "For the park?"
Coffey: "What's happened is the dilapidated housing is gone ... it's moved across the street." "Hoping that ... other organizations to come in there."
Coucil cabal revealed: Benedetti wants to see monies for other areas. So does Gahan, Messer and McLaughlin. Coffey obviously fears the influence of the evil east enders, and Price does too ... except that he's an east ender himself, albeit a Dewey Heights east ender. That might matter.
Benedetti: Couldn't we come back and redistribute it after we're awarded?
Carl fishes for carp. Yep, we'd have to come back for specific applications. Will that appease them enough to get a vote?
Benedetti: "At least we're going to apply ... and you're going to update us?"
Of course, says Carl.
Price: "Is it possible ... you have enough to do 75 houses ... can you (apply) to bad property (names various streets where he owns rental property).
Carl: Can only compete for the money for a concentrated area. Cannot scatter it around. State advised city to shrink the area considered.
Coffey complains that it's just something else coming up at the last minute, even though he previously spoke of hearing it in redevelopment. If he did, then why didn;t he let the other council members know? Unless, of course, the real point as always is to preserve the best possible grandstanding opportunities.
Messer: Why is Linden Meadows incomplete? "My concern ... if we don;t put something in play to get those houses to market," (Price interrupts - they want $100,000 for them) (Messer: no they aren't)
Old time council follies ...
Coffey: Objects to the area being chosen. Now all devolves into chaos, as members each speak about the specific topic that concerns them ... even Coffey wants to vote. Gahan has to intervene to explain the vote. They vote to bring it back up. Now they reintroduce it and maybe even will vote before midnight.
For it: All of them. None against it. Afer all that. Over.
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