Many of you hadn't been born the last time these Schmitt Furniture windows were visible.

Almost from the inception of NA Confidential in 2004, boarded up windows (as opposed to "The Boarded Window," a short story by Ambrose Bierce) have served as metaphors for downtown degradation.

REWIND: "Windowless Views of Scribner Place." (2006)

South Side Inn to rise again -- may its reflection one day be cast in real Schmitt windows. (2007)

About this new Downtown Facade Improvement program ... our interest in the topic goes all the way back to 2004.

It's been 14 years, and the neglect still is in the active process of being reversed. Much of Schmitt Furniture's block is being overhauled as I write, with projects underway on all four sides. There's much work yet to be done, but for today, to those engaged in this process: thanks and congrats.

Exciting news from Schmitt Furniture: "All of our buildings are to have new windows installed, including the currently covered windows."

In a random Facebook thread Friday evening, Schmitt Furniture confirmed that windows are on the agenda.

With facade work now underway on the State Street side, it's clearer than ever that these exterior enhancements are a future-oriented power move by the store's owners.

Congratulations to all, and we can barely wait to see the results.

Previously:

About this new Downtown Facade Improvement program ... our interest in the topic goes all the way back to 2004.

Well, look at this: "Resolution Requesting Amendment of Horseshoe Foundation of Floyd County Bylaws Regarding City Council Appointments."

Tonight is the last city council meeting of 2017, paving the way for the first city council meeting of 2018, which means it will be appointments season all over again.

Seems like only yesterday, doesn't it?

As it pertains to the Horseshoe Foundation board, its appointments come with a significant caveat in the context of recent ideological shifts.

New city council game of chance: Horseshoe Party Affiliation Roulette. (January 16, 2015)

In the past, the foundation has insisted that only real Democrats and genuine Republicans can attend its meetings, seeing as these are the only two parties legally allowed in God's own America, with the council expected to send one sub-species of each, meaning that the sole GOP choice for eight years running has been Kevin Zurschmiede, the council's sole Republican.

This is vitally important, given that much of New Albany's economic development planning centers on impolitely demanding money from the Foundation, especially when the TIF Credit Card is running on vapors.

Hence this interesting diversion on tonight's agenda, in the form of a polite resolution.

As currently constituted, the council's partisan breakdown reads like this:

4 DemoDisneyDixiecrats: Caesar, Phipps, Nash and McLaughlin
2 Republican: Aebersold and Knable
1 HPQR (Historic Preservation Quasi Republican): Barksdale
1 Independent: Blair
1 CFP (Coffey First Party): the Wizard of Westside

Don't ask me to handicap this one, although Scott Blair's example is an interesting way to extend this post a further two minutes until dinner.

At least twice in the past, Blair was appointed to the Horseshoe Foundation board, and was promptly batted back. Blair should be a natural to vote yes on tonight's resolution, except that he also possesses a principled objection to resolutions as non-binding wastes of the council's time --although there have been past exceptions.

Expect Coffey to be toting his abacus, all the better to determine whether this or any other proposal is calculated to Make Coffey Great Again, and if not, the proportion of axle grease needed to persuade him.

Phipps will defer to the mayor, and it may require two pre-meeting martinis to get me all the way through it.

Wish me luck.

Here's your city council agenda for Monday evening.

Owing to prior commitments, as well as the preservation of what's left of my sanity, I'll be unable to attend the two April council meetings.

Tonight's scorecard is here:

The council packet for tonight's meeting runs to a whopping 125 pages in PDF format, most of which is devoted to mind-numbing legalese defining the parameters of G-17-04.

This measure appears to be a refinancing of redevelopment bonds downtown to free up money to use in conjunction with last week's Horseshoe Foundation tithe, so as to facilitate implementation of the beloved Conducator's plans for improvements in his own suburban Disneyesque image.

City Hall describes the four major projects to be funded (in part?) through the Horseshoe Foundation's $5 million gift.

In short, if the fix is in, it's time to pop a few corks, kick back, and enjoy the pervasive banality.

ON THE AVENUES: Our great and noble leader is here to stay, so let's break out the țuică and make a joyful noise.

By the way, thanks to Matt Nash for his kind words at the last meeting in March. They are appreciated.

About this new Downtown Facade Improvement program ... our interest in the topic goes all the way back to 2004.

Scroll down for the reprint of an article I penned in 2004, shortly after this blog's inception. Things have changed ... and they've stayed the same.

First, here is the city's description of the rationale for new downtown facade improvements, as revealed for the first time last Tuesday.

horseshoe-foundation-gives-5-million-gift-to-city">Downtown Facade Improvements

New Albany has a plethora of beautiful, historic buildings in its downtown. Unfortunately, over the years, some of these buildings have had windows shuttered and closed off, original brick walls painted over, and historic character lost. Some buildings have even been painted together to appear as one structure. This project will seek to revitalize, refurbish, and redevelop buildings and facades in the downtown area, reinvigorating these historic strcutures to their original historic look, including improved windows and uncovered original brickwork.

It should be noted that for a very long time, the Urban Enterprise Association has had a successful facade improvement matching grant program. The announcement on Tuesday seems to hint at an expansion of it, and yet obviously the paragraph above seems written to describe Schmitt Furniture, above all others.

The devil's always in the details, and this new program will be no exception. It doesn't mean I oppose it. Rather, I need to see the fine print. We all do.

There are other examples, of course.

Then there are these piles.

Prescient readers will note that on Tuesday, the city of New Albany accepted $5 million dollars of seed money from the Horseshoe Foundation and tied the grant to projects advocated by this blog for a number of years.

We're delighted to have been so far ahead of the curve in a conceptual sense, though it remains to be seen what percentage of the total required for these projects that $5 million proves to be -- most or only some?

It remains that we've supported the Greenway, the use of Loop Island Wetlands, and the clean -up of QRS (Riverside) Recycling.

We've praised the potential of the under-utilized amphitheater, and wondered why something couldn't be done about the horrendously neglected overlook structure.

We've pushed the idea of narrowed, two-way streets and enhanced walkability, as on the two blocks of Market from State to Pearl.

And, since the beginning, we've sought adaptive reuse. These past 12 years, many windows (and their buildings) have benefited from restoration as entrepreneurs put their money where their aspirations are, and downtown has come a long way as a result.

This is a very important point.

TIF bonds and similar corporate welfare subsidies have been largely absent from these privately impelled improvements. On Tuesday, the mayor had not one word to say about private investment, only the many ways the city itself takes credit for what has happened.

This was shortsighted. It's inaccurate. Still, in spite of Gahan's ineptitude, this new facade grant program, whatever its shape, might prove to be a good thing. However, it also has the potential to be controversial, especially if there is any hint of favoritism.

Consequently, I'd suggest that Team Gahan spend more time than it usually does making sure that downtown's stakeholders understand what's happening and why.
 
Is that too much to ask? Now it's back to November 22, 2004.

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Windowless views of Scribner Place

As previously noted, I attended the outdoor press conference in early October during which New Albany Mayor James Garner unveiled plans for Phase I of the Scribner Place downtown redevelopment project.

Envisioned by Garner’s predecessor as a bold stroke on a grand scale, the Scribner Place project has been subjected by the incoming regime to a stringent editing process that has left much of the original proposal on the cutting room floor.

All portions of the Scribner Place plan that might require heavy lifting (i.e., hotel, retail, condominiums) have been discarded or deferred, rendering it fiscally responsible and far better suited to the current administration’s signature lack of imagination.

The YMCA, swimming center and parking garage slated for the first phase can be financed in large measure by annually mandated guilt abatement kickbacks from Caesar’s Indiana, whose million-a-day gross continually reminds us (a) that we’re all in the wrong business, and (b) that ordinary people are incredibly stupid.

In a press conference replete with unintentional humor, one of the funniest moments came when a representative of the Louisville media grew tired of waiting for the New Albany Tribune’s Amany Ali to ask a significant question and quizzed Mayor Garner as to his comments to the effect that that Scribner Place would bring people to live downtown.

With no housing plan in sight, where will these new residents live?

A confused Garner could do no more than mumble and point to the perennially unoccupied second and third floors of nearby buildings as if to suggest that their owners would miraculously see the light after decades of willful negligence and begin creating condos overnight.

It so happens that one of the structures standing behind Garner was the majestic Schmitt Furniture building, which hasn’t had windows above the ground floor since some time during the Johnson administration. In fact, on the entire length of the Schmitt Furniture block running along Main Street, there are no windows above the ground floor on any of the buildings.

If anyone is to live there, they’ll not be enjoying a very good view of Scriber Place.

During his speech, Garner insisted that the citizens pf New Albany should be thankful for certain “families” (among them the owners of Schmitt Furniture) who agreed to sell their properties to make space for the Scribner Place project.

These properties, located between Main Street and the flood wall, contain warehouses of no architectural value built atop brownfield areas where forges and other 19th-century industrial enterprises once operated.

So, if we are to believe Garner, families running businesses in buildings without windows, and who sell virtually worthless properties in need of some measure of toxic clean-up to the city at somewhere close to market value are patriotic.

Opportunistic businessmen, perhaps. Patriots? Name a street after them, and get on with it.

City Hall describes the four major projects to be funded (in part?) through the Horseshoe Foundation's $5 million gift.

Earlier, we had video from today's ceremony.

horseshoe-foundation.html" style="color: #333333; text-decoration: none;">Cosmetic surgery: Horseshoe Foundation gives Jeff Gahan $5 million to spend on whatever he damn well pleases.

There'll be time for further discussion.

Until then, following is the city's press release -- Team Gahan's own words and illustrations, offered without comment.

One clarification: The segment of Market Street pictured below is between W. 1st and Pearl. 

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horseshoe-foundation-gives-5-million-gift-to-city">Horseshoe Foundation Gives $5 Million Gift to City

This morning, at a media event at the scenic Riverfront Amphitheater, the Horseshoe Foundation of Floyd County awarded a $5 million gift to the City of New Albany.

"On behalf of the City of New Albany, I'd like to express my sincere thanks for this extraordinary gift from the Horseshoe Foundation of Floyd County," stated Mayor Jeff Gahan. "Their generous gift will benefit the City of New Albany for years to come."

The gift is to help fund projects in downtown New Albany and along the Ohio River Greenway. Four major projects will be funded through this generous gift from the Horseshoe Foundation of Floyd County.

Additions Along the Ohio River Greenway

As the original Ohio River Greenway Project nears completion, a few areas surrounding it are in need of some revitalization.

One project aims at developing the Loop Island Wetlands into a nature preservation area, and encouraging residents to take part in and enjoy the natural beauty of the area. The Ohio River Greenway Project aims to bring increased tourism to the area, encourage healthy lifestyles, and improve the overall quality of life of residents, and this project will assist the Greenway in those goals. The nature preserve, in addition with other beautification efforts on site, will create a beautiful space to relax and reconnect to our roots as a river community.

Along the western edge of the Ohio River Greenway, river recreation reigns supreme. Plans for this section include campgrounds, canoe and kayak launch off points, docks/slips, fuel pumps, a boat house and boat ramp, and more.

"For years, access to our natural waterways here in New Albany has been limited," stated Mayor Jeff Gahan. "These projects, and others like the Silver Creek Access project, will help us reconnect to our river heritage."

Market Street Promenade

This project aims at both beautifying and improving the safety and walkability of the Market Street corridor, while retaining the unique historic feel. It will include enhanced crosswalks and intersections with decorative pavers, improved pedestrian safety and walkability, all with a focus on the historic character of the area. Work will also be done to enhance the overall tree canopy with native and proper species, and improve the landscaping and foilage for both beautification and improved safety and sight-lines.

Downtown Facade Improvements

New Albany has a plethora of beautiful, historic buildings in its downtown. Unfortunately, over the years, some of these buildings have had windows shuttered and closed off, original brick walls painted over, and historic character lost. Some buildings have even been painted together to appear as one structure. This project will seek to revitalize, refurbish, and redevelop buildings and facades in the downtown area, reinvigorating these historic strcutures to their original historic look, including improved windows and uncovered original brickwork.

Riverfront Overlook

The current overlook for the New Albany Riverfront Amphitheater has served its purpose for many years overlooking the beautiful Ohio River. However, after many years, it is time to look at updating this structure. This project will both study and redevelop the structure into a more usable and friendly location for residents and visitors to gather and view the majestic Ohio River, along with events and festivals along the riverfront property.

Cosmetic surgery: Horseshoe Foundation gives Jeff Gahan $5 million to spend on whatever he damn well pleases.

4:15 p.m. update: City Hall describes the four major projects to be funded (in part?) through the Horseshoe Foundation's$5 million gift.

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The down and dirty: Horseshoe is tithing $5 million for New Albany.

$2.5 million is to be devoted to a westward expansion of the Greenway from its current amphitheater terminus toward the vicinity of QRS (recycling; presumably to be reclaimed), and another $2.5 toward facade grants (details undisclosed) and "beautification" in downtown, including amphitheater touch-ups.

There are no further details at this time. I shot some sloppy video. If you have the stomach for self-congratulatory rhetoric (not a word of which recognizes the investments made by independent local businesses), then have at them.

The public has had no input into the planning, and we can only hope the Foundation has some measure of control over the disbursements.

Jerry Finn introduces Mark Seabrook, who contemplates whether he's ever going to run for mayor.

Horseshoe's Brad Seigel.

Pat McLaughlin recognizes the power of his board appointments.

The dignitaries sign, and Jeff Gahan launches into agoraphobic outer space.

Just remember: We're all here because we're not all there.

On Tuesday morning, the Horseshoe Foundation's going to fork over roughly $5 million smackers to the Great Campaign Finance Monetizer -- but for what?

On Monday afternoon came a breathless e-mail teaser from Develop New Albany:

"Please join us tomorrow for a Major Announcement from The City of New Albany and The Horseshoe Foundation at 10:30 am at the Riverfront Amphitheater."

At first it seemed that Mayor Gahan intended to announce the dissolution of municipal government and the institution of a hereditary monarchy, but then the Green Mouse phoned in.

It's a $5,000,000 donation to the city from Horseshoe. No one will tell me what for, but it's a nice chunk of change, and I'm sure Team Gahan will waste it.

Hmm.

What might the city do with $4,750,000?

a. Remodel the amphitheater into a usable riverside performance venue?

Nah -- that makes too much sense.

a. Get a leg up on the pro soccer stadium.
b. Finish chopping down the remainder of our street trees.
c. Purchase and remodel the Reisz Furniture Building for use as Gahan's new City Hall.
d. Pay off Duggins' bar tabs.
e. Buy out the QRS recycling grounds for a new luxury floodplain development.
f. Now Develop New Albany can hire a full-time staff person.
g. (your choice here)

C'mon -- someone out there knows what's happening. Drop me a line so I can prepare the satire.

New city council game of chance: Horseshoe Party Affiliation Roulette.

Last night, city council president Pat McLaughlin once again appointed 6th district Independent Scott Blair to serve with John Gonder on the Horseshoe Foundation board.

This is important, given that much of New Albany's economic development planning centers on politely demanding money from the Foundation.

My, how we miss Guido. He could have rocked that one.

In the past, the foundation has insisted that only real Democrats and genuine Republicans can attend its meetings, seeing as these are the only two parties legally allowed in God's own America, with the council expected to send one sub-species of each, meaning that the sole GOP choice for eight years running has been Kevin Zurschmiede, the council's sole Republican.

In 2013, it went down like this:

McLaughlin thanks Benedetti for her servitude, challenges Horseshoe Foundation to do something about it at year's first council gathering.

As it transpired last night, Blair's appointment in 2015 comes with a delightful, new berry twist.

McLaughlin (read: council attorney Matt Lorch) has determined that Indiana state law defines one's political party identity as being derived from the individuals's chosen party ballot in the previous year's primary election, and Blair having voted Republican in May of 2014 ... voila!

The Independent is magically a Republican for the purposes of the Horseshoe Board.

Recalling that former GOP party chairman David Matthews once told me that he used this very same standard of past primary voting identification to vet potential Republican office seekers (Blair himself might recall this trait), it should be evident that Blair's GOP primary vote last May was undertaken with an explicit shared understanding of its future usefulness when contriving Horseshoe-inspired political performance art to be performed during appointments in January, 2015.

And maybe this is why Diane Benedetti was angered last night that McLaughlin's letter via Lorch to Horseshoe explaining Blair's ideological transformation was mailed without copies being provided to other council members, which McLaughlin explained as a regrettable oversight owing to the time-sensitive need to expedite his explanation as a last-minute courtesy before Horseshoe's January meeting.

Of course, he might have done it on any of the 220-odd days elapsing since the plot was hatched in the 2014 primary, but I digress. Dan Coffey promptly declared that while communication and transparency are always good, they're not anywhere near as compelling when Benedetti suggests them, and so let's all consider this recent factoid about the company that owns and operates Horseshoe Southern Indiana:

The parent company has posted losses for each of the last four years, and its total liabilities have climbed to $28.2 billion.

Most of the debt stemming from the buyout is concentrated in Caesars Entertainment Operating Co., the unit expected to file for Chapter 11 protection.

With all eyes (rightly) turned toward Pillsbury ...

(Thanks to A for the link)

Ohio River Greenway in the news.

It is fitting from time to time to check in with the Ohio River Greenway project, which some day will provide a pain-free walking and bicycling link between Bank Street Brewhouse and the forthcoming Flat12 taproom in Jeffersonville.

Greenway's page at Facebook (updated often)

Greenway web site

Recently it was announced that the Ohio River Greenway would be coming into some much-needed cash, as DNA explains in a news release:

The Ohio River Greenway in Floyd County is expected to receive a $2 million dollar contribution. Half of the contribution will come from an anonymous donor (thank you anonymous donor!) and the other a match from the Horseshoe Foundation of Floyd County (Thank You Horseshoe Foundation!).
Greenway officials are expected to focus on plans for the Western portions of the Ohio River Greenway in Floyd County. The eastern edge of New Albany’s segment of the Greenway begins at Silver Creek. Still to be completed are two segments: from the Sherman Minton Bridge to West 10th Street and between East Eighth to East 18th streets. 

Port authority or otherwise, you can bet we'll see two-way movement for bikes and walkers on the Greenway -- and no monster trucks.

There are two interesting pieces by Daniel Suddeath in the weekend edition of the Paywall Picayune.

New Albany may establish port authority; Gahan: Authority would aid in riverfront planning, development

NEW ALBANY — New Albany is set to take the first steps toward establishing a port authority — a move that could bolster the Ohio River Greenway and aid the city in constructing riverfront developments such as piers and a marina.

On Thursday, the New Albany City Council is slated to cast initial ballots on forming a port authority through legislation backed by Mayor Jeff Gahan. State statute allows local port authorities to construct facilities, improve canals and waterways and build dock lines and piers within its jurisdiction.

And ...

Ohio River Greenway likely landing $1M donation; Horseshoe Foundation considering a matching grant

NEW ALBANY — The Ohio River Greenway Commission likely will be the recipient of a $1 million donation for riverfront improvements in New Albany.

On Thursday, Greenway officials presented the Horseshoe Foundation of Floyd County with a grant proposal for the organization to match the $1 million donation. Greenway Commission Project Coordinator Shaunna Graf said Friday she couldn’t confirm that the donation had been made, but said the organization has “many conversations with various donors all the time.”

If you have the requisite hall pass, you may go there, taking care to dodge the Hansons that continue to come flying at you like a video game of old.

Indiana's code defines port authority, and I must digress here: Yesterday when I searched for the relevant code section, the search ended with a specific URL: IC 8-10-5 Chapter 5. Creation of Port Authorities by Local Governments

Today, every attempt to paste this same URL into my browser leads immediately to the Indiana General Assembly 2014 page. While I contemplate the message of this redirectional intrigue, the code still can be accessed here: Port authority as defined by Indiana code at Findlaw

Maybe this link will be direct and active again: http://www.in.gov/legislative/ic/2010/title8/ar10/ch5.html

WEEKEND REWIND 1: "Today's Tribune column: 'All this and Clyde Tolson, too.'" (2010)

Back in the fall of 2010, with repulsive bridge tolling on the front burner, the topic was One Southern Indiana's annual visit to the city council to seek alms. Earnestly the delegation asked for cadre-improvement bucks to train another generation of Stemleresque "leaders" while fluffing the River Ridge oligarchs' stiffies. CM CeeSaw was all hero worshipful of the big kids at the besuited table, but I needed to do some housekeeping first. It was so long ago that the newspaper hadn't dumped me yet. 

Imagine that.

---

All this and Clyde Tolson, too. 

September 16, 2010

By ROGER BAYLOR, Local Columnist

Thank you all: Natives and tourists, drinkers and teetotalers, buffet grazers and jerky gnawers, hard-core blackjackites and soft-core slots voyeurs, and fans of faded pop stars on the concert circuit.

By patronizing Horseshoe Southern Indiana, and Caesar’s before it, you have enabled a delightfully socialistic process that often makes American politicians cringe and decry, especially if they’re of the elephantine persuasion.

It’s called the redistribution of wealth, and it’s the governmentally-mandated price that Horseshoe Southern Indiana and its brethren must pay to operate. Hereabouts, the Horseshoe Foundation transforms casino profits into grants and awards for worthiness, and even an atheistic cynic like me applauds the $20 million duly redistributed during the past decade.

I mention the largesse for the same reason that I wear a bicycle helmet – in the preventative tense. With a third New Albany city council reading due for One Southern Indiana’s (1Si’s) $70,000 handout request, which I oppose, it’s my guess that someone who doesn’t appreciate the questions I publicly ask is going to launch a few brickbat-cum-queries in my general direction.

Dear reader, excuse me for deeply yawning as I answer now, saving valuable public speaking time for the more important task of battling bridge tolls directed against working Hoosiers.

---

Q. Is it hypocritical of me to criticize 1Si’s council handout request, given that in 2009, my New Albanian Brewing Company received a $50,000 loan from the Horseshoe Foundation’s Small Business Revolving Loan Fund?

A. No, because it isn’t 1Si’s money. Here’s the first paragraph of the press release. Italics are mine.

“NEW ALBANY, In. – (March 20, 2009) – The Horseshoe Foundation of Floyd County (HFFC) has named PTG Silicones and The New Albanian Brewing Company as the first recipients of the Small Business Revolving Loan Fund program, which was launched in December 2007. The fund was created to assist emerging private business enterprises based in Floyd County with expanding operations and increasing or retaining employees. It is capitalized by a $250,000 grant made by HFFC and administered by One Southern Indiana.”

I’d have rather gone directly to the Horseshoe Foundation’s office and collected the loan as bundles of unmarked hundreds in a Big Lots plastic bag, but the terms of the application process specified an intermediary, and that’s where 1Si comes into the story. The amount of clerical time expended to expedite the loan application is a matter of varying opinion, but what isn’t contested is that NABC borrowed money from the casino’s good works arm, not the unelected regional development authority.

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Q. But didn’t your company become a member of 1Si at roughly the same time, and hasn’t 1Si expended numerous staff hours helping you?

A. To paraphrase President Lyndon Baines Johnson’s famous comment about J. Edgar Hoover, I thought it might be enlightening for once to stand inside the tent and spit out, rather than the other way around, and so yes, NABC became a member of 1Si. What I’ve learned since is that when it comes to 1Si and NABC, our respective tents are located so far apart that neither spitting nor any other form of bodily excretion is a truly effective means of communication.

1Si advocates a carefully scrubbed, well-tailored “evangelism as networking” vision that perfectly reflects itself in the mirror of its core support: Suburban, exurban, conservative, and committed to economic “development” as the perpetual resource drain of anti-green sprawl.

Not every member marches in lock step, and probably few pay attention to the details of 1Si’s public policy positions, as calculated by an autonomous star chamber operating outside the checks and balances of the ballot box – with the implied consent of local government, which seemingly tolerates 1Si’s periodic public policy outrages (support for closing neighborhood schools in New Albany and intimacy with religious advocacy groups like ROCK, to name just two) in exchange for economic “progress” unmeasurable by objective yardsticks, currently billed to New Albany at a rate of 70K.

NABC has evolved in a different place, and in a different way. We’re interested in small business issues, New Urbanism, downtown revitalization, sustainability, locavore living and thinking, and many other related topics covered in this column during the past two years. It was a novel idea to join 1Si. We won’t be repeating it.

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In two previous readings of the 1Si handout, Councilman Bob Caesar voted in favor both times. I view this as a conflict of interest.

“Conflicts of interest can be defined as any situation in which an individual or corporation (either private or governmental) is in a position to exploit a professional or official capacity in some way for their personal or corporate benefit.”
-- (Wikipedia)

CM Caesar’s “corporate benefit” is his business (and 1Si member), JO Endris & Sons. I must assume that he joined 1Si because he believes the web site spiel:

Through government and workforce advocacy to quality connections and business training, One Southern Indiana is taking care of business – yours.

But if 1Si is “taking care” of JO Endris & Sons, isn’t it an obvious “corporate benefit,” and accordingly, isn’t it a conflict of interest for Caesar to participate in the vote to fund 1Si?

If Caesar argues the converse, that there’s no conflict of interest because membership in 1Si is of no benefit to his business, shouldn’t we be asking why 1Si exists in the first place … and what it says about a councilman’s fiscal acumen to pay dues for no benefit?

Seriously: It isn’t too late for Caesar to do the ethical thing and remove himself from the discussion and vote.

You have no idea how long Roger’s been waiting to use the word “excretion.” In the past, it has appeared periodically at the NA Confidential blog: www.cityofnewalbany.blogspot.com

'Bune's editorial board gets close, but loses scent in comments on Horseshoegate.

Yo: The News and 'Bune’s editorial board, composed of Publisher Bill Hanson, Editor Shea Van Hoy and Assistant Editors Chris Morris and Amy Huffman-Branham, musters a rare editorial.

Rarer still, the Jeffersonville-based board gets the overall conclusion right, albeit mostly for the wrong reasons.

OUR OPINION: Horseshoe plays losing hand with (Scott) Blair snub

If the Horseshoe Foundation isn’t a political entity, then it really shouldn’t base board member selection on party affiliation. If the board doesn’t want to change its spending policy, then it should handle that argument in a fair setting and allow the city council to be represented as its leader chooses.

The belly laughs begin with the notion that the Horseshoe Foundation is an apolitical entity, but let’s dry our eyes and soldier forward to the real reason why Blair’s selection so upsets the Foundation’s ideological apple cart: Politics, Seabrook-style.

Even people in North Korea, otherwise hermetically shielded from world events, intuitively grasp that when Blair contested the GOP’s anointment of Matt Oakley by running in the 6th council district as an independent and winning the seat handily, there’d be some variety of hell to pay from what passes for a Republican hierarchy hereabouts.

Note that party chairman Dave Matthews does not appear on this short list of GOP luminaries, which is topped by state representative Ed Clere and … wait for it … Mark Seabrook.

That’s right, it’s the very same, relentlessly partisan Mark Seabrook who controls the Republican majority on the board of county commissioners, and who also serves as majordomo of the Horseshoe Foundation board.

There isn’t enough concentrated gullibility on special at Wal-Mart for me to believe that Blair’s snub is a coincidence with Seabrook at the helm, calling the Foundation shots, although I’m absolutely certain that city council president Pat McLaughlin and the body's éminence grise, Dan Coffey, knew exactly what they were doing by lobbing Blair’s name to within range of Seabrook’s reach.

After this, Develop New Albany's strategy of stocking its board with non-profit functionaries should be even more frightening.

Anyway, nice try, 'Bune editorial board. You got at least some of it right. Now it’s back to the daily bible proverb listings.

NAC Guest Columnist Randy Smith: "Don’t Rush to Build Outdoor Swimming Pool."

For analysis of the 'Bune's editorial take: see Before the meeting, let's think about differing qualities of life. Thanks to Randy for writing.

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Don’t Rush to Build Outdoor Swimming Pool

As a person of a decidedly communitarian bent, I’m usually one of “them people” who are first to call for public funding of projects and facilities that both benefit the public at large and whose costs can best be borne by the taxpayers as a whole. That is, usually I’m for it.

But I’m filled with dread at the thought that we’ll wake up some Tuesday or Friday morning and discover that the New Albany City Council and Mayor Jeff Gahan have put this community into debt to build an outdoor swimming pool.

The administration estimates that an outdoor water recreation facility will cost in the neighborhood of $9 million. Mayor Gahan has already asked the Horseshoe Foundation of Floyd County to divert a portion of their charitable giving to help foot the costs of a swimming pool.

It appears that the city wants to float a bond of about $20 million to build an outdoor pool facility, multiple fields for the local Little League affiliate, and a soccer complex at the inner-city Binford Park.

But do the people of New Albany need, or even want, a new outdoor pool? As we blow through the second decade of the 21st Century, is building a swimming pool a legitimate and equitable use of tax money?

One might say that if the nearby casino wants to pay for it (an unlikely prospect, but who knows?), then the city should immediately accept the money and build an outdoor swimming pool. I contend that even if a benefactor were to cover some or all of the costs, New Albany would be better served to spend that money on something other than an outdoor pool.

Those who might say this is a premature voice in opposition just don’t know how New Albany government works. Rather than persuade us, the mayor is relying on a long-past and little-contested campaign as his mandate to build a pool to replace the Camille Wright facility. I hardly think the voters saw Mr. Gahan’s election campaign as a referendum on whether we should go $20 million in debt for recreation projects, or even as a vote to sever the city parks from the joint city-county system.

And nothing says that the city council will do any more than the bare legal minimum before authorizing the issuance of municipal bonds to fund what may well be an obsolete project from day one.

Both Clarksville and Jeffersonville have outstanding outdoor aquatic centers. With the amount of money being proposed for a new pool in New Albany, the city could provide free admission at and free transportation to either of those facilities for every likely user of a new city pool—with no additional annual operating or capital costs, to boot.

A “spray park” along the riverfront or even multiple such parks scattered strategically around the city would be a better use of tax dollars. Let’s face it. In this day and age, an outdoor swimming pool is an albatross and I believe it’s a wasteful public expenditure.

It’s time to start a long public conversation about this to build a consensus on whether we need or even want a new outdoor pool in New Albany. Unless we have that, and unless people let their representatives know that they don’t want a new pool, my nightmare may become a costly reality. And for goodness sake, there’s no need to rush this decision. I don’t think a bond referendum would stand a chance of passing public muster, but a council that listens only to its own counsel might believe otherwise.

Note: I put a lot of skin into the game supporting the public investment in the YMCA and New Albany-owned indoor aquatic center. My wife and I fought for it politically and also made a significant (for us, at least) financial contribution toward its construction.

McLaughlin thanks Benedetti for her servitude, challenges Horseshoe Foundation to do something about it at year's first council gathering.

At last evening's first city council meeting of 2013, the Armageddi Error ended (at least for now) as Pat McLaughlin (4th district) was selected president and John Gonder (at large) vice president.

Both were nominated by Dan "Wizard of Westside" Coffey, telling us much about the current whacked-out alignment wherein Coffey has found new political life by serving as a swing fifth vote in a quasi-progressive (by NA's exceedingly low standards) bloc generally composed of McLaughlin, Gonder, Greg Phipps (2nd) and Scott Blair (6th). That Coffey has been able to do so sans spontaneous combustion continues to fascinate the peanut gallery.

Forming an opposing vague and admittedly mutable grouping has been the deposed Diane Benedetti (5th), lone and lonely Republican Kevin Zurschmiede and somnolent Shirley Baird (both at large) and Bob "CeeSaw" Caesar.

Internal housekeeping occupied much of the meeting's short running time, although the council also unanimously approved an ordinance permitting the Floyd County Health Department to regulate swimming pools to ensure maximum "compliance," to use the word repeated most often by the department's attorney, Mr. Fox, who assured listeners that health department officials are not arbitrary, do not pursue power trips, and never once have been heavy handed in pursuit of said "compliance," even if not a single person present had once suggested otherwise.

I believe the department protesteth too strongly, a tendency usually more revealing than originally intended.

The evening's most entertaining segment was reserved for McLaughlin's board appointment time, during which it was revealed by Coffey that the council's newest  power structure does not intend to be bound by the Horseshoe Foundation's insistence, as enunciated by foundation board president Mark Seabrook and foundation chief Jerry Finn, that the council's two yearly appointments to the foundation board must include a member from each of the "only" two American political parties.

Having already replaced Benedetti with Gonder for the first foundation board slot, McLaughlin agreed with Coffey's interpretation by appointing Blair, a declared Independent, to the second seat in place of Zurschmiede. During previous years, the latter had seemed bound to the foundation board for life by virtue of his minority GOP status (chortle), a condition undoubtedly exploited by his fellow Republican, Seabrook. Now we'll see whether the foundation kicks back.

Grace Schneider's Courier Journal coverage:

During a relatively brief meeting, McLaughlin also announced appointments of council members to various police, transportation and building committees. The only point of discussion centered on two appointments to the Horseshoe Foundation of Floyd County board of directors.

Earlier Monday, McLaughlin received a letter from foundation board President Mark Seabrook, a Republican county commissioner, stating that foundation bylaws say that two members from the City Council should come from each major political party unless the council is composed of one political party, according to the letter.

McLaughlin appointed Gonder, a Democrat, and, at the urging of some council members, Scott Blair, an independent who was elected in 2011.

McLaughlin said after the meeting that he doesn’t think it’s appropriate to exclude a third-party member, so he was willing to submit it and “see how it plays out” with the foundation.

“Mr. Blair is well known in the business community, so I think it’s a worthy appointment,” he said.

Like the proverbial glove: Ed Clere, a healthy Horseshoe Casino, and Toll Free New Albany.

The best way for New Albany to avoid the considerable collateral damage of bridge tolls (which Rep. Clere has enthusiastically supported), is for Horseshoe Casino's indirect taxation to continue, and to thrive.

(Look at it like this. Jerry Finn, head of the Horseshoe Foundation, served on the Bridges Authority, so as provide an acceptable proxy to protect the interests of the Casino, a mission that was accomplished when tolling was removed from the Casino's main access bridge, the Sherman Minton ... meaning that implicitly, Finn knew all along that tolling would be bad, insofar as it would discourage Kentuckians from coming to Indiana -- which would be death to Horseshoe. All he (and Clere, for that matter) need do now is to extend what already has been proven, and help his adopted city, not by random flower plantings, but by helping it to avoid the pass-through price of bridge tolls)

As such, Rep. Clere is entirely correct in seeking a re-examination of all casino laws.

What I'd further recommend is that the Foundation, having understandably participated in the Horseshoe revenue protection exercise otherwise known as "no tolls on the Sherman Minton Bridge," provide matching money for the city to complete its streets before the coming deluge of motorized citizens passing through to flee the chaos of bridge construction and the larceny of tolling.

As we hold our breaths in utter futility, here's the article.

Indiana lawmaker calls for 'holistic look' at all casino laws, by Charlie White (C-J)

With a new Horseshoe Casino set to open March 4 in Cincinnati and the possibility of more casinos opening in surrounding states, Indiana needs to reassess its gambling policies, putting all options on the table, according to state Rep. Ed Clere.

Clere said Hoosier state lawmakers must find ways to shore up casino revenues — money the state has become “very dependent” upon — by reexamining the number of gambling licenses it allows, locations and the state tax structure.

“The Indiana legislature has made gaming policy in an incremental, ad-hoc, usually reactive fashion for two decades now, and I think it’s time to take a holistic look at all our gambling statutes,” said Clere, a Republican from New Albany.

Nash on making good decisions: Can he locate any to analyze?

I'm sure Matt appreciates that since my newspaper column was Lucy van Pelted by management following an abortive council run in 2011, he gets double the slagging from New Albany's nattering nabobs of troglodytery.

In this week's installment, Matt ponders decision-making. Excerpted (italics mine) is the part of the column addressing bridge tolls, a topic that New Albany's city council desperately wished we'd stop bringing up, especially since the body once standing in the forefront of opposition to tolling has decided it's more important to fluff local oligarchs than consider the interests of New Albanians.

As ever hoodwinked by his desperate need to be seen frolicking at the respectable adults' cafeteria table, Bob Caesar claims to grasp tolling's toll, but nonetheless suckles at Kerry Stemler's teat to advocate finishing something, anything, however monstrous, and in spite of how adverse or costly it is. Caesar is able and eager to "lead" by calculating future property taxes to the last digit in order to defeat a bid to redevelop a rotting building a block away from his shop, and cares not at all to do the math on the Ohio River Bridges Project's fifty-year drain.

Perhaps one reason for our legislative body's newfound timidity on bridge tolls is an unwillingness to reference the Horseshoe Foundation, which provides critical social service funding via potentially mutable grants, money that local politicians must obtain to avoid vexing themselves with leadership and thoughtfulness on taboo topics like revenue enhancement, and furthermore, is headed by Jerry Finn, who also sits on the Tolling (Bridges) Authority's board, and exerts even more non-elected influence on the life of the city by co-chairing Keep New Albany Clean & Green with failed Republican-turned-Democrat mayoral candidate Irv Stumler, who now uses the Board of Public Works as a convenient steno corps for taking flowerpot dictation, and noting finally that the Tolling Authority has vowed to keep the Sherman Minton Bridge, i.e., the direct route to Horseshoe, toll-free.

Whew! Someone get me Donald Sutherland, a park bench and a DC backdrop. At any rate, throw all these factors into the Random Connectivity Generator, give that wheel a mighty heave, and then head straight to the News and Tribune to read all about it. But don't stay there long, because the newspaper hasn't bothered.

Verily, those gleaming new trash bins in Jeffersonville are perfect for certain types of disposal.

NASH: Making good decisions

NEW ALBANY — This time of year there are parts of my life that seem to slow down to a snails pace while other things are moving as fast as ever. When the holidays are in full swing, sometimes it is hard to concentrate on one topic when writing a column. This week I discuss a few topics that have been in the news over the last few weeks ...

 ... Another big topic that I have followed for the last few years that seems to be taking off is the building of the two new bridges across the Ohio River. A few weeks ago a contractor was chosen to build each span. Also over the last few weeks the Clark-Floyd Counties Convention and Tourism Bureau along with the town of Clarksville and the city of Jeffersonville have each pledged $10,000 to fight the use of tolls to pay for the bridges on the Interstate-65 corridor. Their argument is that while an East End Bridge will lead to more economic development, the new downtown bridge does exactly the opposite.

One of the questions I have is why is there still no answer on the cost of the tolls? They know how much the bridges are going to cost. They have been studying the traffic for over a decade so they know how many cars are crossing the bridge. It seems to me that someone that has gone to college to study statistics should be able to give some estimate of what the cost of tolls would be by now. Why are the cost of tolls not being made public?

I seem to think that they are waiting until they get too far into the project to turn back and then will announce their final cost. I predict it will be closer to the original projection of $3 than 25 cents — a prediction that was announced before a New Albany City Council meeting a few years ago.

A year ago I wrote about tolls or the Ohio River Bridges Project. On the day that that column was published one of the members of the board that is overseeing the project sent me an email claiming there were seven inaccuracies in my column and he was willing to sit down and set the record straight. I agreed to meet him but he later withdrew when he realized that I would write about our conversation. I am still waiting for him to let me know what exactly those inaccuracies were.

Bicentennial Commission: The budget, the bank account, the Horseshoe Grant, and what's in store for Bicentennial Park.

(courtesy of the city council's agenda packet ... newspaper coverage is here)

From Foxwoods to Horseshoe, and following the money.

Setting aside for a moment the ethical implications inherent in government taxing the addictions of its citizenry, which after all has been occurring since the dawn of human history, what happens when a government that is unwilling (or is not permitted) to tax its citizens directly becomes reliant on the revenue produced by indirect taxation such as that produced by legalized gambling – or gaming, as preferred by America’s casino industry?

Precedents in other areas of purported sinfulness are many. As Ken Burns’s “Prohibition” documentary series observes, prior to the introduction of the income tax, excise taxes on beverage alcohol constituted a huge portion of federal revenue.

Obviously, this is a form of addiction in itself, whether an indispensable fix for those state governments issuing the restricted permits, or local authorities seeking funding for governmental agencies as well as their outsourcing of educational and social services to extra-governmental agencies and non-profits, all of which queue accordingly for grants from entities like the Horseshoe Foundation here in Southern Indiana.

Thus, these functions are off-loaded, and subsequently rely only on the continued popularity of gaming (see the article linked below) and whatever mechanisms exist to divide the proceeds among applicants.

At the Horseshoe Foundation, a Board of Directors manages the foundation and allocates disbursements with the assistance of grant and investment committees, under the overall direction of an executive director. Elected officials occupy some seats on the board and committees, while others are occupied by people representing a cross-section of the community.

It’s interesting to contemplate the ever increasing extent to which the Horseshoe Foundation’s very existence helps governmental ends meet. It’s also fitting and proper to monitor the ulterior motives of whomsoever has his or her hand on the spigot, and to advocate maximum transparency, seeing as the lines separating political and non-political can get somewhat blurred at the local level.

As Ronald Reagan himself was fond of saying, “Trust, but verifiy”. He was a Republican, you know.

Foxwoods Is Fighting for Its Life, by Michael Sokolove (New York Times)

 ... It would be easy to look at what has occurred at Foxwoods and think, Here are people who fell into money and didn’t know how to handle it. Which happens to be true. But how the casino reached this point, and the challenges its owners and operators now confront, is part of a much larger story — one involving the gradual relaxation of moral prohibitions against gambling, a desperate search for new revenue by state governments and the proliferation of new casinos across America. Casino gambling has become a commodity, available within a day’s drive to the vast majority of U.S. residents. Some in the industry talk of there being an oversupply, as if their product were lumber or soybeans.

If the director of Community Housing Initiatives is involved, does it mean Legacy Square will have condos?

In a single news story, the News and Tribune’s Daniel Suddeath provides one of the best ever assessments of New Albany’s perennially comic pandemic of cross-pollinated, multiple-board staffed, conflicted-interested, “but I know better than you”, backdoor-dealing, palm-greasing, sheer caterwauling dysfunction of a “ruling” class.

Blessed with such a wealth of material, Suddeath coolly functions as concise journalistic straight man, permitting the words of the principle players to function as self-hoisting petard mechanisms. Excellent work.

In this instance, the narrower topics are a rapidly approaching Bicentennial, the future of the former slumlord property in the epicenter of downtown, and how many hundreds of thousands of dollars it will take to bring to fruition the specific vision of just one from a handful of competing community political pillars, who are united only in a determination that whatever planning is done might occur with as little public input as possible.

But the story might have been written to describe the local political process as it pertains to any number of civic matters doomed to perpetual misfiring in precisely the same fashion.

New Albany council may be asked for more funds for Bicentennial Park; Horseshoe Foundation yet to vote on construction grant

Benedetti said the council has been supportive of bicentennial events, and the body wants to ensure any projects associated with the celebration are handled appropriately.

In a larger sense, we’re only one month into the new mayoral administration, and already the probable course of the coming years can be clearly grasped.

The new council president, who seemingly regards a razor-thin election squeak-through as mandate, has spotted a power vacuum, and now she will be weaving spider webs from her adroitly chosen, power-brokering seats on Redevelopment and the Horseshoe Foundation.

Her chief council enabler from the 2nd council district will rally the DNA shock troops and hoard the Bicentennial portfolio as closely as his fairy godmother will allow, eager to prevent the slightest whiff of counter-cultural impropriety to intrude on his buttoned-down worldview, even as discredited England administration’s operatives who inexplicably remain in positions of authority seek to assert their time-honored influence, simultaneously preparing the ground for the ex-mayor’s forthcoming, doomed candidacy against Ed Clere in the House 72 race.

As for Mayor Gahan, a few simple and unsolicited words of advice should suffice: As it pertains to the Bicentennial, the culture vultures are not going to wait for you to take the initiative, so please do it now.

And as it pertains to every other aspect of running the city?

Same exact advice.