While Caesar’s proclamation lacks the gravitas of “Remember the Alamo!,” I suppose we all pick our spots, based in part on the books we’ve read, or in Caesar’s case, not read.
On the broader topic of complete streets, I am in complete agreement with my friend Randy Smith, who by the way, makes no money off non-book reading council persons. Randy knows my history with Caesar quite well, and in his follow-up letter of September 11, he deftly chooses to sidestep it, so as to stir the pot with respect to his intended target, Mayor Jeff Gahan.
Given the gist of my letter, it’s a secondary point, as is Randy citing the Urban Enterprise Association’s dismemberment at the hands of the incoming administration earlier in 2012. Funny: When that particular pot was boiling, it was I, not Randy, who spoke openly on the topic of the UEA in this blog, before the city council, and at the critical UEA meeting to follow, each time disagreeing strongly with the position of the Gahan administration, which he now accuses me of coddling.
At any rate, while I don't contest Randy's right to redirect the complete streets discussion, I’ll merely note that my letter was not aimed in the Mayor’s direction. With regard to complete streets, Randy is entirely correct. Mayor Gahan needs to be on board with it, and to lead the campaign, along with the city council, neighborhood associations, and anyone else in this city who cherishes workable concepts of modernity, and who wishes to utilize a street grid that exists for all of us, not merely drivers.
Newspaper reader “Sam” then takes the rebuttal a step further:
Why the kid gloves with, Gahan!? Isn't it obvious?
Roger can't speak bad against Gahan or he'll take live at 5 elsewhere and revoke his amphitheater privileges.
Roger is a sell out.
Unfortunately, and unlike Randy, “Sam” chooses not to address the fundamental question of complete streets, but I’ll answer him (or her), anyway.
Amphitheater “privileges” and other events like Live @ Five cannot include adult beverage vending without the requisite permit from the Indiana Alcohol & Tobacco Commission. Bank Street Brewhouse possesses a supplemental catering capability, for which we pay a yearly fee allowing us to write these permits to enable adult beverages to be sold legally at numerous types of functions.
As you might expect, doing so involves paperwork, and carries a measure of liability. Paperwork takes time, and insurance costs money. Clearly, it’s a business relationship, with risk and gain for both sides involved. Furthermore, vendors other than NABC have transacted business at the events mentioned, working under the Bank Street Brewhouse event permit at no cost to them.
For instance, Wick’s did roughly four times more business than NABC at the July 3 fireworks show. Irish Exit and River City Winery also have taken part, as well as food vendors for whom no such ATC permit is required. I can’t speak for other participants, but at the beginning of the Live @ Five series, I informed the mayor’s office that we’d be donating a percentage of cumulative sales at season’s end to the charity of its choice, and if the mayor’s office did not designate otherwise, these would go to the Animal Shelter.
Has NABC profited from all this? Of course we have. After all, the "Sams" of the world insist on calling me a socialist; I call myself a leftist and a reluctant capitalist, and what we've been doing with the city is a business arrangement along side other, more civic-minded considerations, such as the fully sensible role of locally-brewed craft beer in every aspect of daily life.
But if you think we’ve made enough money to open a bank account alongside Mitt Romney’s in the Cayman Islands (less than 108K, natch), you obviously don’t know much about the beer business, where the best way to make a million is to begin with five million.
And, I have been transparent about all of this from the inception, all year long, and answered every question directed to me by humans with full names – and as of today, one without. I recall one such exchange on Twitter with newspaper reporter Daniel Suddeath in which he thanked me for answering questions openly.
Could there be other ways of doing these events? Of course; dozens. Have I asked for any favors outside the boundaries of the events in question, or been handed anything? No, I’ve just lived up to my end of the deal in good faith. Should there even be city-sponsored events like Live @ Five? That’s a good question, too, and one that is open to honest debate, along with various notions of competitive bidding, future contractual arrangements, licensing, and other ways to accomplish something. Obviously there's more than one way to throw a party, although there are fewer ways to make a party legal with the state.
In closing, it is amusing for “Sam” to assert that I’m a sell-out, seeing as selling is the root cause of capitalism as we know it. Like so many other things in life, I suppose it’s all about words, and how we use them.
Considering that I’ve been showering no more than usual lately, it would appear that my conscience is clean, but I can speak for me and me alone.
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