On October 20, in the aftermath of the #Orange Occupation, the Green Mouse was curious.
GREEN MOUSE SAYS: Did BOW give Dan Coffey permission to leverage city-owned ground during the Orange Occupation?
The Green Mouse was having a conversation with a downtown business owner, who asked a simple question.
Who owns the grassy lot at the foot of Bank Street, by the flood wall and to the east of Underground Station?
That'd be the City of New Albany. The business owner rolled his eyes.
Did the Green Mouse realize that during all four booth days of Harvest Homecoming, councilman Dan "Wizard of Westside" Coffey manned this city-owned grassy patch, charging drivers to park their cars on this lot?
"No," said the Green Mouse, grasping for his flask.
Did the money actually go to the city, or did it go into Dan Coffey's pockets?
Did the Board of Works grant permission for city-owned property to be used in this way?
We routed the latter question to the Board of Public Works and Safety via Vicki Glotzbach, our ever-helpful city clerk, and promptly received this answer:
"I asked Mr. (Warren) Nash yesterday about your concern and he said he is not sure that the board of works knew about that situation."
Consequently, I asked for this issue to be placed on the agenda of next Tuesday's BOW meeting, if for no other reason than ensuring it becomes part of the permanent public record by making the board aware of it.
As noted recently, it appears that developer Matt Chalfant is negotiating with the Redevelopment Commission to build at 32 Bank Street (the grassy patch in question). According to customary working procedure, BOW should have known about Coffey's temporary parking gig.
If not, then the odds favor "permission to profiteer" having been granted Coffey by Redevelopment (or the inner circle at City Hall).
Conversely, the Wizard might have assumed that with Jeff Gahan as his perennial protector, no one would think to question his actions.
By the way, is Dan Johnson still hanging on in Louisville?
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