Belated recognition to city council for its hate crimes resolution.

Someday someone will write an entertaining History of New Albany Common Council Non-Binding Resolutions, in which a panel of experts will seek to unravel the reasoning behind CM Scott Blair's yes/no votes, as opposed to principled abstentions, on such resolutions.

I've never been able to detect a pattern, but then again, I haven't attended a meeting for a while, and maybe a new paradigm has occurred. Insofar as the council's recent hate crimes resolution is concerned, it's wonderful and bipartisan.

Thumbs up.

At the same time, am I the only observer puzzled by Deaf Gahan's willingness to allow a Republican to take credit for opposing hate crimes? Perhaps Hizzoner hasn't noticed any of the swastikas -- or the homeless people, or the opioid epidemic. There's bound to be a demented twist.

By the way, the Green Mouse informs us that Blair will be the next council president come 2019, this being (p)art of the deal securing his vote for Al Knable in 2018. But whose bidding will David Barksdale slavishly spin this time around? Only the shadow knows, and I may be compelled to attend that first January meeting, if only to drain a flask.

New Albany passes hate crimes resolution, by Chris Morris (Biblioteca de Tom May)

NEW ALBANY — Indiana is one of five states in the country without a hate crimes law. Al Knable said it's time for that to change.

Knable, president of the New Albany City Council, drafted a resolution recently supporting Gov. Eric Holcomb's push for the Indiana General Assembly to pass a hate crimes bill next session. The city council unanimously passed the non-binding resolution 9-0 earlier this month and Mayor Jeff Gahan was expected to sign it before it was sent off to the governor's office.

"The governor pushed for that last year and it failed. It didn't get much traction," Knable said. "The governor is still making this a key piece of his legislative agenda in 2019. It's been on my radar for several years."

Holcomb said at the the One Southern Indiana's Governor's Luncheon event that a hate crimes bill was "critically important" ...

Truth in headlines: "New Albany BUYS two seats on 1Si's Economic Development Council with $30K donation -- but that's fine because it's all meaningless."

It turns out I wasn't the only observer who found it a bit strange that the Tom May Compendium's city council coverage yesterday trumpeted the purely peripheral: "New Albany gets two seats on 1Si's Economic Development Council with donation," but then again, perhaps terminal decline has a way of disorienting headlines and content.

First a brief detour, because recently arrived readers might be confused, so here's a reminder of why I'm referring to the local chain newspaper in this way.

"News and Tribune" changes its name to "Tom May Compendium."

(March 25, 2018)

First the newspaper doubled down on its weekly Sunday coverage of religious superstition with two columnists, one local (Tom May) and the other not (Nancy Kennedy).

Now May gets a second column slot (albeit it one not published weekly) at a time when the newspaper surely would be better served by a newfound commitment to diversity.

Apparently the free-lancer May used to be the ad-driven publisher Hanson's minister, or best friend, or some such example of crony journalism. It's the sort of fertilizer guaranteed to produce a bumper crop of satire, so now I'm a farmer -- and I'm digging, digging, digging.

Back to those two awesome donation bonuses.

One Southern Indiana visits city council, sells $30,000 of pencils, and flies back to Abuja.

In Morris's story for the Tom May Cornucopia, only a slim paragraph is devoted to these seats on 1Si's mysterious star chamber. Fortunately, Mark Cassidy attended Thursday's meeting and he explains what the newspaper neglected to add.

Mark begins by referencing my larger point that our regional economic development (read: oligarch enrichment) organization tends toward breathless exaggeration when claiming ripple-effect prowess; perhaps not in accuracy of the raw statistics they quote, but assuredly as it pertains to their role in producing them.

I asked the council how I could obtain the materials 1SI presented to the council as proof of their worth. Vicki Glotzbach (city clerk) offered to make me a copy that night, and Dan Coffey offered his to me on the spot. Thanks to both of them. I will be reading it closely. Not that it will make any difference.

Indeed. This particular barn-less horse was last seen galloping in the direction of River Ridge. Regardless, I'm looking forward to Mark's report. He then gets to the "two seats" sequence. I've highlighted one critical point.

Bob Caesar asked the only question. He wanted to know why the money we gave them last year was for a specific project, but this year it is more of a general contribution. Actually it's an excellent question. Scott Blair rambled on about this and that, and then came what I think was the real answer: For a $30k donation of this type, the city will get two seats on the 1SI high muckety-muck Economic Development Council. One is appointed by the Mayor and one by Council.

This is a board that gets to hear things first. Anyone think Scott wants a seat?

And, yes, the only way to get a seat on this prestigious board is by contributing a minimum of $10,000. Qualifications such as education and/or experience be damned. A fat wallet is all it takes.

Perhaps the Tom May Anthology's headline should have read like this.

New Albany BUYS two seats on 1Si's Economic Development Council with $30K donation -- but that's fine because it's all meaningless.

One Southern Indiana visits city council, sells $30,000 of pencils, and flies back to Abuja.

It was city council meeting night, as pushed back from the Labor Day holiday. I can't do Thursday meetings any longer, and during the days to follow, you'll be hearing about a few other changes in store; in short, I'm preparing to retire from polemics and devote full time to beer.

Seriously.

Seeing as I'm not the "cold turkey" type, we'll need to ease into polemical detachment.

Glancing at Chris Morris's coverage, I have a few questions, and I might as well ask them. Heaven knows the newspaper won't.

The full passage is reprinted below, but the shortcut: tonight was One Southern Indiana's annual pass-the-hat visit to Speed Through City.

Follow this handy * at the bottom to reminisce about a previous instance of this pageantry, which occurred eight years ago and was just as funny. According to Morris, 1Si has made good on its mission statement, which in essence is to take a commission for linking local government subsidies to corporate entities that rarely need them.

"The numbers back up their claim."

So says the reporter, but how does he know? Only because 1Si says so. Is there independent verification for these claims?

Who knows? Apparently, the reporter didn't ask.

"According to a 1si presentation, for every dollar the city of New Albany has invested into the organization’s economic development program, $4,321 has been created in new taxable capital by companies."

That's a far better return than offered by ex-Nigerian royalty. If true, then shouldn't the city of New Albany put all $3 million of its paving money into 1Si's economic development programs? I mean, we'd get lots more bang for the buck.

On second thought, strike that. Someone might mistake the satire for insider trading.

Sans snark: Is One Southern Indiana worth $30k annually? Yeah, probably. 1Si fluffed the oligarchs on the Sazerac transaction at Pillsbury, and that one's worth a finder's fee. If they can keep Wendy from purging the humanities majors, what 1Si is doing for vocational training alone probably merits the tithe.

But isn't it the job of journalists to ask questions and verify (or disprove) statistical assertions like 1Si's?

Isn't it true that the organization just about always gets a pass on matters like this because of what it says its doing?

New Albany gets two seats on 1si's Economic Development Council with donation, by Chris Morris (Tom May Lives Here)

NEW ALBANY — One Southern Indiana officials tout their work in encouraging companies to build, expand or remain in Clark and Floyd counties. And over the past 12 years, the numbers back up their claim.

Since 2006, 164 new projects have been announced which have resulted in 13,639 jobs, with 2,361 of those jobs based in New Albany. Also during that time, more than $500 million in payroll has been added either by existing or new companies.

According to a 1si presentation, for every dollar the city of New Albany has invested into the organization’s economic development program, $4,321 has been created in new taxable capital by companies.

In order to continue that work through its economic development programs, those same officials asked the New Albany City Council for $30,000 for 2019 at Thursday’s meeting. The donation also will give the city two seats on 1si’s Economic Development Council, and will give the city’s logo a proper location on advertising materials.

The request, on the first two readings, passed unanimously. The money will come out of the Economic Development Income Tax fund should it pass a third reading.

Last year the council appropriated the same amount to be used for a more specific program, 1si’s talent development initiative.

---

* In 2010, the question was whether the city would be giving $75,000 to 1Si, and some of us thought the money would be better spent by ourselves, for ourselves.I sarcastically (!) offered to serve as intermediary.

I’d like to submit a bid, billable to my consulting company, Potable Curmudgeon, Inc.

I’ve already asked Pete at Digital Resource Center in downtown New Albany to help with the estimate.

We’ll be publishing a couple hundred glossy ringed binders filled with testimonials, pie graphs, statistics, and artfully retouched 1Si press releases. Sleekly professional, though not ostentatious, their design will befit the buttoned-down aspirations of self-respecting Southern Indiana CEOs, each of whom can be counted upon to strategically place the unopened binder on one corner of their desks, where its multi-colored ubiquity will attest to the veracity of the contents.

The beauty of Potable Curmudgeon Inc.’s plan, which we’re calling “Res ipsa loquitur, Southern Indiana,” is that its existence is definitive proof of its value. The binders will serve as unimpeachable evidence of economic development success. Why? Because the binder says so.

Can we prove any of it? Of course … you DO have a binder in your hands, right? What more proof do you need?

If the city council acts today, Potable Curmudgeon Inc. will extend a remarkable 50% reduction to just $35,000 for regional economic development, renewable each and every year, and with binders available in a wide range of different colors to satisfy the interior décor of local corporate headquarters.

Except green.

For some reason, it’s just not a popular color around here.

Gahan belatedly rediscovers misplaced "pride," appoints Warren Harding Nash to the long lost Human Rights Commission, and disappears back into the bunker.

This post was edited on September 7 to remove a reference that cast Cliff Staten in an unflattering light. An explanation and apology can be found here.

Council minutes of Monday, August 6

Cliff Staten (father of the current redevelopment director) will be joining Nash (current Board of Public Works and Safety president, spectacularly failed mayor and the father of a sitting council member) as Gahan's long delayed appointments to Dear Leader's intentionally moribund Human Rights Commission, coincidentally enabling the HRC's sudden resurrection just as the heat is starting to come down on Squire Adam's unresponsive Donnelly Democrats for not giving a tinker's damn about human rights.

If you believe that Warren Nash on the Human Rights Commission somehow differs from Scott Pruitt in charge of the EPA, please drop me a line. You'll be entered into a drawing, and the lucky winner gets to serve with Gahan's brother-in-law on the City-County Building Authority, or with the mayor's son-in-law on Flood Control, or with his daughters at their summer jobs at the Aquatic Center -- or maybe I'm thinking about former redevelopment director Duggins' sister married to consultant Wheatley who gets all the posh the redevelopment gigs, or the HWC Engineering connection with Dugout ...  

Anyway, second prize is all of them at once in the rubber room of your choice. 

By the way, welcome to Nepotism City.

Dan Coffey wasn't making it up: 500,000 truck trips would be necessary to remove Duke's toxic coal ash from the Gallagher plant's ponds.

At June's second city council meeting, 1st district councilman Dan Coffey raised an important point about Duke Energy's Gallagher power station, which has been burning coal ever since its four units were built during the period 1958-1961.

During speaking time for council members, Coffey suggested vigilance by city officials about Duke Energy’s coal ash pond cleanup, to begin as Gallagher winds down.

Coffey warned against Duke shirking the clean-up of highly toxic coal ash, and also mentioned that removing the coal ash might require 500,000 truck trips over a period of years.

There were guffaws and the rolling of eyes, but Coffey was right. Here's the source from May, 2017. Did you read it? I didn't. Tim Maloney is the Hoosier Environmental Council Senior Policy Director, and Duke Energy's spokeswoman is Angeline Protogere.

Duke Energy plans coal pond closures at Gallagher Station in New Albany
Environmentalists concerned with closure method, by Elizabeth Beilman (Unexpurgated Tom May Content)

 ... "For all these old coal-fired power plants, the real question is what happens to the waste, and is that handled in a responsible way?" Maloney said. "Leaving it sitting there next to rivers and atop shallow groundwater systems, in our view, is just the least desirable option."

But Protegere said removing much of the 9.3 million tons of coal ash at Gallagher Station from ponds would require 500,000 truck trips over the next few decades. Closing ponds in place takes "months or years," she said.

"Obviously that has a major community impact and a significant amount of truck emissions," Protegere said. " ... There are a number of factors that go into this decision."

Community pillars have snagged THEIR city hall -- but you've found YOUR voice. Sharpen those pitchforks, and bring on 2019.

David Barksdale, who for 18 long months has avoided even the slightest public mention of numerous lives to be impacted by public housing demolitions, said working conditions in the City-County Building are "inhumane."

He really did.

Bob Caesar credited Develop New Albany with revitalizing downtown New Albany during the 1990s -- not the YMCA, or riverfront development alcoholic beverage licenses, or the investments of entrepreneurs, contractors and small business owners.

Greg Phipps and Pat McLaughlin jumped out of their empty seat suits to blame eternal county government perfidy for problems ranging from parks funding to high summer temperatures.

Credit McLaughlin for one thing. At least he doesn't claim to be a high-powered intellectual.

And 5th district councilman Matt Nash voiced not even one solitary thought aloud, all night long, until uttering the word "yes" during the Reisz luxury city hall vote.

Perhaps we were right, and the new city hall really will be named after Warren V. Nash, Matt's father and Jeff Gahan's inexplicable Svengali.

Welcome to YOUR New Albany community pillars, four of them Democrats, and the other one now completely dead to us in any relevant political sense, as is the historical preservation contingent, whose future effectiveness now is tied to the person of Gahan, who deigned to attend the meeting, read a prepared statement, and rush off as quickly as he had arrived.

I'll never forget Greg Sekula's sophistry: from August 8, 2017, everything about the Reisz project was open and transparent -- conveniently ignoring the fact that months of bunker buffering prior to that infamous date were not visible at all.

This fix was lodged firmly in, and pretty much the entirety of Gahan's ruling clique was there to dance the jig over their forthcoming enhanced work abodes. The terminally self-interested spoke in favor of the Reisz, and regular folks against.

Therein lies the critical importance.

As the pillars cherish their names on those plaques, I see the vague outlines of the coalition that's going to flick the clique and topple Gahan's personality cult in 2019. My comrades in the resistance should take heart from last evening's political racketeering. Like fish bones in a dumpster in summer, the stench is rising, and all over town, voters are taking notice.

And vomiting.

It becomes ever clearer that the opposition to Gahanism is driving the narrative, and it's only a matter of time until this narrative, presently a steadily expanding trickle into local mainstream consciousness, more closely resembles a torrent.

You're invited to help us begin exploring alternatives to the closed system of monetized political patronage that Gahan has constructed in New Albany. The same old suspects are incapable of conjuring fresh ideas, and Gahanism as a doctrine is completely exhausted.

It is sustained only by pay-to-play cash infusions from vendors and other contractors, who play the game as directed by Dear Leader and point mirrors at Team Gahan's minions in an endless cycle of preening selfies, and with the assistance of compromised collaborationists like Barksdale.

Problem is, we're all paying dearly for Gahan's Romper Room. It's flush and it's plush ... but just remember that it isn't impregnable. The enemy of our enemy is our friend, and we need to work together toward a common goal of removing the Reisz Five from the public teat.

Let's keep in touch, shall we?

New Albany City Council votes in favor of Reisz purchase, by Chris Morris (Tom May's Rolltop Desk)

NEW ALBANY — In a little more than a year, New Albany will have a new city hall.

The New Albany City Council voted 5-4 Monday night to enter into an agreement with Denton Floyd Real Estate Group to rehabilitate the old Reisz Furniture building and turn it into the new city hall. The city will pay $570,000 a year — out of Economic Development Income Tax funds — for 15 years, and in year 16 will take ownership of the building.

New Albany City Attorney Shane Gibson said the cost to restore and turn the dilapidated building into city hall will be $5.6 million ...

 ... The vote was a carbon copy of the first two taken on the ordinance. Dave Barksdale, Bob Caesar, Greg Phipps, Matt Nash and Pat McLaughlin voted in favor of the proposal while Dan Coffey, Scott Blair, Dave Aebersold and Al Knable voted against.

GUEST COLUMN: Councilmen on Reisz: "You have a duty to treat public money as the public’s money. You can’t just spend it on what you WANT."

This commentary is contributed by Randy Smith, owner of Destinations Booksellers. 

---

A fictional council member of a Second Class City in Indiana:

· I WANT to give taxpayer money to a church. Sorry, it’s not allowed under the constitutions of the United States and of Indiana.

· I WANT to give taxpayer money to a charity. Sorry. Indiana has given the trustee the ability to levy taxes for such purposes. They have not given it to you. Go talk to the trustee.

· I WANT to give taxpayer money to the schools. Sorry. If you hadn’t given up the authority to levy taxes for schools years ago, it could be done. But you did and you can’t.

· I WANT to create a public transit system with public money. Sorry, you gave that authority and all available revenues to TARC.

I WANT a new city hall. Hmmm. Do you have a need for new space? Is the space you have too small or is it unusable? Do you have financial obligations that make that too expensive? Do you have a fiduciary responsibility to the taxpayers that overrides what you WANT?

Guess what? If you want a new city hall, it’s not illegal. In the current circumstances, it’s evil, but it’s not illegal. Considering the vastly inflated costs, there are almost certainly individuals who can be indicted, and even if I’m wrong, it stinks to high heaven.

You have a duty to treat public money as the public’s money. You can’t just spend it on what you WANT.

Now, if you want to raise your personal pay packets, I might just come down and speak in favor of it. It certainly would improve the talent pool at election time. Then, if you WANT something, you can spend YOUR money on it. If you want to preserve old buildings, you can invest YOUR money. If you have a pet charity that involves, oh, let’s say backpacks, you’ll have extra money you can donate. Gosh, I guess if you want to give money to a church or a school, you’ll be able to.

But keep your hands off my money.

No Democrat, no Republican, no independent is looking at next year’s municipal election and saying, “You know, if those Democrats would just demolish half of all public housing, I’ll vote for them.”

No Democrat, no Republican, no independent is looking at next year’s municipal election and saying, “You know, if those Democrats would just build a new city hall, I’ll vote for them.”

Votes matter. Machines don’t. You may think you’re invulnerable from defeat. You are not. Ask the people you replaced if they thought they were popular, if they were sure they would win reelection. You may say, well, I’m a Democrat in a Democratic district. So long as I play along with the machine, I’ll be safe.”

You may be saying to yourself, “This is New Albany. This is Indiana. There won’t be any newly energized voters looking to lop off the heads of incumbents.”

You may be saying to yourself, “I’m giving up my seat after next year, but at least my name will be on the plaque for a city hall that should last a while. This ‘yes’ vote will be my legacy.”

It’ll be your legacy, alright. It will haunt you. It will diminish your reputations. This is but another in a long line of decisions made in the shadows – most of it was even kept from this body, although I can’t speak to how many private conversations with particular councilmen led to this vote.

Why do we need new space for city hall? Because Jeffersonville and Clarksville got new ones? Why are we renting such an enormous amount of space? Because the city civilian staff has tripled? Why are we choosing the Reisz warehouse? Because the developer took decision-makers on a junket to Keeneland with paid escorts? Why are we paying such an exorbitant rent when we don’t have to?

How much more are we going to pay in utilities? Who is going to perform and pay for the maintenance of this ancient building? How is security going to be handled? Are we going to replicate the guarded entrance and metal detectors at the current site? New furniture is a given, but how much MORE furniture will be needed for triple the space? Will there be a vast public hall available for public meetings, government or community? Will that public hall be designed for the broadcasting of official meetings and with a sound system that allows all in the hall to hear? Will the building have public wi-fi and will it be strong enough to accommodate hundreds?

The building exists. It is old. But in the words of Councilman Barksdale, does it even meet the criterion of “contributing?” Why have we not had a vigorous discussion of this warehouse’s historical significance? There are many buildings that have been torn down, much to the regret of historic preservationists LIKE ME. Most were torn down because the city wanted them gone, or at least, were willing to let them be. Who says this building is about to be torn down? Jeff Gahan? What the hell does Jeff Gahan know about historic preservation? Does he even give a fig?

I don’t think even one councilman is urging this building be torn down. In fact, I believe every member is in favor of the building being put to an adaptive reuse. The city can prevent demolition and if they won’t, the council can defund the administration until they comply with the council’s wishes. They can make the position of mayor an unpaid position. They can impose new restrictions on the RDA and RDC until they comply with the council’s wishes.

If every single member were in favor of this expensive relocation, would the Reisz building be the place to move?

Mr. Barksdale is so clearly compromised in this matter that he must abstain from voting, particularly if he stands ready to provide the fifth “yea” in a 5-4 vote. David, have you come to some sort of accommodation with Mr. Coffey whereby he can provide the fifth vote? How about with David Aebersold? Councilman Blair? President Knable? And if there are not even 4 “yes” votes without you, don’t tarnish your integrity. Tonight, I don’t ask you, David, to vote against this boondoggle. I insist, however, that you have such obvious conflicts of interest that you must abstain. Give up your seat temporarily and march to the podium as a citizen with a special interest and make your best advocacy case. But don’t pretend you are objective.

A 4-4 vote will set the stage for a reasonable exploration of ways to reclaim the Reisz building and to determine if a relocation of city administrative offices is wise.

Reisz Elephant people power tonight? If we're to spend $10,000,000 on anything, it should be for as many people as possible, not one single government building.

Regardless of the outcome of tonight's city council meeting, with a third and final vote scheduled to endorse or reject the Reisz Elephant city hall relocation project, June of 2018 will be remembered as the month when Emperor Gahan's personality cult paraded past and the voice of a child rang out:

"But he isn't wearing anything at all!"

In future years, we'll look back and see an uninterrupted arc of hypocrisy, beginning with Gahan's hostile takeover of the New Albany Housing Authority in early 2017 alongside promises of rampant demolitions to come, and now culminating with tonight's fix-is-in $10,000,000 to construct his own luxury office suite.

A pretend Democrat of the most abominable variety, Gahan's reign of self-aggrandizement has now reached its orgasmic apogee, and these words of Kevin Baker in Harper's, intended to describe the New York City he remembers, apply just as accurately to Nawbany -- or as we refer to it, New Gahania.

"Back when the city endeavored to serve its people instead of just weed them out if they didn’t make enough money."

Allow me to summarize the arguments in opposition to Gahan's Reisz Elephant Luxury City Hall, as presented in these pages over the past three weeks, but as a preface, just a brief word about the nature of politics.

Several times recently, I've been scolded for having the unmitigated gall as a non-office-holder to so much as participate in the political process, by people who insist the Reisz Elephant is about historic preservation, and therefore not political at all.

These people simply are delusional.

The practice of politics is making decisions about power; what happens and doesn't, and who benefits -- and doesn't.

The basic family unit is purely political in the sense of determining how its members are to proceed through life, by means of budgeting, shared responsibilities, delegated authority and numerous other decisions. The city is intended to work in like fashion -- and periodically, it even does.

I've run for office, attended meetings and endeavored to "do my homework." My household is located within city limits, pays taxes, and does its small part to make New Albany a better place.

We're ordinary people, and ordinary people needn't ever listen to the scoldings of self-appointed elites and governing cliques, which arguably are more virulent in a small town than a large one. We -- YOU -- have every right to participate in this process, rich or poor, big or little.

And make no mistake: at present, a remarkably small number of people are making all the decisions. Team Gahan is a clique by the classic definition, an insular sociopolitical group that thinks it knows better than you.

But you have every right to participate in politics with whatever legal tools are at your disposal (illegality is another topic, along with civil disobedience).

The "ins" always seek to define the propriety of the "outs," and you have every right to protest their limitations with words, signs, your own physical presence and your voice.

They're no better than you. They only think they're wearing clothes.

---

With the advent of the Reisz Elephant, we find the few with their pricey luxury wants versus the many and their everyday basic needs.

At a time when citizens are suffering, basic human conscience seemingly dictates our working together in search of solutions, rather than building walls -- as Jeff Gahan seems intent to do with regard to county government, hurting the downtown economy in the process.

Breaking down the Reisz bait 'n' switch, my ON THE AVENUES column of June 21 has become the year's most read, and it offers an overview.

Government Lives Matter, so it's $10,000,000 for Gahan's luxury city hall clique enhancement. Happy dumpster diving, peasants!

However, it's not too late to reformat and democratize the project. Denton Floyd has done "pre-development" work, but a "no" vote by council will revert Reisz to the city and allow a do-over.

As for the vote itself, it shouldn't be taken unless absentee Wile E. Gahan deigns to appear before the legislative branch and put some skin in his own game for once -- and David Barksdale can restore his political integrity by recusing himself.

As it stands, Barksdale and the city's contingent of historic preservationists are having their pockets picked by a mayor with absolutely no interest in old buildings, but who possesses epochal campaign finance avarice and a fetish for provocation that eerily echoes Donald Trump's.

An example of how the city can accomplish more by spending less has been suggested by CM Scott Blair by encouraging the private sector to rehabilitate the Reisz, freeing the city to build a new city hall on land it already owns.

The best place to begin a community dialogue is the notoriously secretive Redevelopment Commission, which must be opened to public scrutiny. Redevelopment's rigged and non-competitive deal with Denton Floyd is an act of surreptitious lubrication that must not be repeated, and it's also time to expand the scope of public meetings and curb the power of non-elected boards and commissions.

As it stands on Monday morning, council is arrayed in two blocs, with five members in favor of the city hall relocation expenditure and four against.

The Reisz fix appears more solidly "in" than usual, but I persist in thinking that one of the four Democratic councilman presently insisting that luxury government office space somehow must be prioritized, even at the expense of their supposed core mission of defending those of our citizens who are most at risk, will examine his conscience and see that in addition to high monetary cost, there is a high opportunity cost to Gahan's fancy.

If we're to spend $10,000,000 on anything, it should be for as many people as possible, not one single government building. See you tonight. It's going to be a long, hot, uncomfortable meeting, but your voice must be heard.

GUEST COLUMN: Councilmen on Reisz: "You have a duty to treat public money as the public’s money. You can’t just spend it on what you WANT."

Absentee imperial mayor? City council should delay the Reisz Elephant vote until Deaf Gahan deigns to appear and answer questions. Isn't that why he's here?

Consider it foreshadowing (August 10, 2017):

Reisz Vote Buy Bonanza: "The News and Tribune asked to interview Mayor Jeff Gahan and was instead referred to statements in a news release."

Monday's council vote on the Municipal Government Self-Stimulation Act of 2018, aka Uncage the Reisz Elephant, will no doubt place take place with either Mike Hall or new hire Josh Staten on hand to "communicate" from the mayor.

It will be the latest in a long series of absolutely critical, time-sensitive-or-the-deluge council ballots at which Jeff Gahan has remained sequestered in the command bunker with the campaign finance abacus, a case of Bud Light Tangerine and the Netflix play list.

Of course, there's good reason why the forever agoraphobic Gahan's team of bootlicking sycophants must keep him safely secured against questions, and it's because the moment any public interaction strays from the script (read: eludes the control of handlers), the mayor's inability to improvise, or to connect with genuine human beings (as opposed to inanimate objects) is blatantly exposed.

When this happens, the harder Gahan tries, the worse it gets -- and the angrier he becomes.

In this now legendary video from city hall's rigged January meeting about the "Mayor Jeff M. Gahan Presents the Mt. Tabor Campaign Finance and Roadway Expansion Project," the mayor's petulance escalates with each of his dully repetitive refrains of "that's why we're here," until he's aggressively demanding to know why citizens aren't listening to him, even as he insists that this Potemkin facade of a meeting was staged to prove he's listening to them.

It's required viewing for every voter in 2019, and would be a comedy classic if not for the gravity of Gahan's serial ineptitude.

Will we catch a glimpse of the Great White Hope amid Monday's final vote on the Reisz Elephant? In my view, council should delay the vote until Gahan materializes to answer questions.

Meanwhile, last evening's guest column is worth a hard look.

Councilman David Barksdale's role in the Reisz Affair deserves closer scrutiny -- and his fellow historic preservationists should be the ones most worried. They've tied themselves to one mayor and his squalid motives, and thrown all their eggs into one basket.

Reisz's ripple effects will be much less in terms of economic development than proponents claim, and far more extensive as they pertain to compromising historic preservationists' credibility.

GUEST COLUMN: David Barksdale must recuse himself from the Reisz city hall vote.

As for the municipal corporate attorney's scowling and defensive (35 Questions) performance before council on June 21st -- these being the questions Gahan should be answering -- let's turn it over to the newspaper.

NEW ALBANY: Debate rages on over Reisz building, by Chris Morris (A Tom May Joint)

NEW ALBANY — For more than one hour New Albany City Attorney Shane Gibson stood before the city council Thursday night and answered 35 questions submitted to him about the proposed move of city hall to the vacant Reisz Furniture building. Many of the questions had been asked before, and many focused on the yearly payment and the added space the city would be acquiring.

Thursday was just a preview of what's to come.

The council plans to take a final vote on whether to move city offices to the Reisz building, which would be developed by Denton Floyd Real Estate Group, on July 2. Gibson will be back to answer more questions then prior to the vote, and provide additional input. The ordinance to use Economic Development Income Tax money for the project passed its first two readings last month by a 5-4 vote.

GUEST COLUMN: David Barksdale must recuse himself from the Reisz city hall vote.

I wrote these words in 2015.

During the time I’ve been paying attention to the local scene, there simply has not been any point of comparison with the atmosphere today in terms of retribution, intimidation and implied vengeance.

For those in support of the opposition, the consistent message is there’ll be hell to pay if the incumbent loses his bid for re-election.

My calls for UN election monitors and assistance from the Jimmy Carter Center are only partly in jest, because the situation is getting increasingly tense as voting draws near.

It's three years later, and my efforts to enlist just one or two local contractors to comment on the process by which Denton Floyd was handed the Reisz city hall project, with an unprecedented accompanying cash gift of 750,000, have met with eerily similar replies: "Roger, how can we still do business in this city if we talk openly about this?"

Trust me, folks. Had Team Gahan solicited open bids with the promise of three-quarters of a million up front, with the building's purchase price already pre-determined, and the promise that future EDIT money would preclude the possibility of failure ... let's just say that numerous contractors would have been competing for the project.

But the fix was in, and as I write, redevelopment continues to withhold the documents detailing the terms of the $750,000 check's handover to Denton Floyd -- unless, of course, there are no documents.

Pro tip: that's even worse.

I can verify the identity of the writer of this guest column, who also fears retaliation. Many community pillars don't want to hear it, and it's time their snooze ceased. It is a well-founded fear, and an oft-repeated reality. The only surprise at this point is that members of Gahan's inner circle haven't started wearing identical leather jackets.

---

Council,

Some of you know me well. Some of you barely know who I am. I no longer attend your meetings as frequently as I once did. Why? Because I sincerely believe that you as a body and you as individual councilmen have no interest whatsoever in hearing from your constituents, whether they are knowledgeable resources you could use or deluded lunatics. You ignore anyone who does not pay to or get paid by you.

This “deal” with Denton Floyd for a luxurious new city hall on Main Street is not only unwise but obviously criminal, pitifully evil, and abjectly corrupt. I hope you all have lawyers on retainer, because when the lawsuits begin, you will all be called as witnesses, if not as parties, and you will need the effective assistance of counsel.

But let’s forget for a moment the criminality. This is just foolish. This city’s resources are incredibly limited, with almost no revenues that you can deploy on a discretionary basis. To commit $10 million to a new, luxurious city hall that is by no measure a necessity is an abdication of your fiduciary duties.

You are poised to approve an enormous commitment of city funds, knowing full well that huge chunks of that will wind up in the pockets of craven bureaucrats that also have fiduciary duties to the citizens of New Albany. Further, I can find no evidence that the developer in question is committing even a single dime, risking even a penny. I can’t think of any developer – or investor of any sort – who would reject this deal. That reinforces my conviction that this is a deal riddled with corruption.

Your vote on Monday night will be your legacy. A “yea” vote will become a political Mark of Cain that will haunt you for the rest of your days. For the Democrats slavering to heed the orders of their master, it will be the vote that eliminates your party from participation in local government for at least a generation.

But I’m here to address the lone Republican who favors this boondoggle. At least I think he’s a Republican. He might be the only person in that party who supports it. Perhaps he’s switching parties?

I am greatly in favor of historic preservation of significant buildings. I think I’ve demonstrated that adequately through advocacy and at least modest financial support. But there is one person in this city who is most closely identified with that cause – David Barksdale – or as the local newspaper calls him, “Dave.”

David, Dave, Davie … you must recuse yourself from this vote. 

I seriously doubt that you have a financial stake in the outcome of this vote. I will grant you that much respect. But you have a massive conflict of interest. I vigorously disagree with your stance on this, but your reputation, also, is at stake. If you are known for anything, it is your commitment to the historic preservation of buildings. Monday's vote is your payoff.

For you to take this bribe, for you to abdicate your fiduciary responsibility to the taxpayers in exchange for this pitiful – in fact, arguable – “preservation” bauble is an egregious blunder. The others planning to vote yes will pay a political price. You, David, will surrender your integrity.

Step out of your seat. Come to this podium and advocate for this diversion of public funds. I would disagree with you, but I might still respect you. But you must not cast a vote in favor. You do not have the objectivity necessary to ethically cast a vote. Recuse yourself. Abstain.

The Reisz building can still be put to adaptive re-use. Do not pretend that this is the only, or even the best proposal. Your colleagues have offered intriguing alternatives that meet the same objectives at far less cost. Let us, as a city, debate these. If the Reisz building is endangered, condemn it and seek a more rational program to restore it in place.

But do not sacrifice your reputation by pretending that you are looking at this objectively. You can’t. Media accounts report that if this were a vote on $15 million or $20 million in financial commitment, you still would vote yes. That alone is evidence that you cannot separate your devotion to historic preservation from your duties as a councilman.

Save your reputation. Step aside for this vote. Your constituents will have no problem if you move to table this notion and spend the next six months trying to sway David Aebersold or Scott Blair or Dan Coffey or Al Knable to support your views. 

But you cannot be the deciding vote on a 5-4 vote on this proposal.

TONIGHT'S MEETING REMINDER: "Town hall to discuss possible Reisz purchase."

Don't forget tonight's meeting about the Reisz Elephant.

Stop the Reisz Elephant: There'll be a public meeting on Wednesday, June 27, downstairs at the library, at 6:00 p.m.

The newspaper recaps the story and previews the meeting.

Town hall to discuss possible Reisz purchase, by Chris Morris (Tom May Press)

NEW ALBANY — Dan Coffey said a lot of people are upset about the proposed purchase of the old Reisz furniture building for the new city hall, and he hopes many of them come to his town hall meeting tonight to share their feelings.

The meeting, at 6 p.m. at the New Albany-Floyd County Public Library, is intended to "get the facts out," about the cost of the building, according to Coffey. He said there are questions that have not been answered by the city's administration.

"The bottom line is they have not been forthcoming with the answers," Coffey, first district city councilman, said. "The process has been flawed and the real information has not been given to the public."

Readers, I've been doing my best to cover this issue, and the simplest way to look at it is that historic preservation is the very last consideration. It's actually a red herring. The Reisz Elephant is about Jeff Gahan's power and his political aims, as lubricated by lots and lots of money.

Look past the stated aims, and see the corrupt underbelly of the current occupant.

---

Previously:

Reisz Elephant: Lawyer Gibson hails redevelopment's back-room RFP fix as an excellent way to do business with just one company.

Jeff Gahan handed Denton Floyd $750,000 to kick-start the Reisz project. Where are the documents detailing this transaction?

2-for-1? Scott Blair describes a better way to save the Reisz building AND get a new city hall.

Donald Trump would greatly appreciate the disruptiveness of Jeff Gahan's signature Reisz Elephant.

Jeff Gahan's attacks on county government stand an excellent chance of hurting the business climate in New Albany.

ON THE AVENUES: Government Lives Matter, so it's $10,000,000 for Gahan's luxury city hall clique enhancement. Happy dumpster diving, peasants!

GREEN MOUSE SAYS: Latest Reisz City Hall cost estimate reaches $9,250,000 -- and the tote board keeps spinning.

Truth is stranger than fact: Back in 2012, the Reisz building was to become a senior living complex. Bob Caesar kneecapped it -- and Deaf Gahan DISAGREED with Cee-Saw.

ON THE AVENUES: Histrionic preservation? $8.5 million to gift Jeff Gahan with a new city hall "want" is inexcusable and simply obscene in a time of societal need.

Jeff Gahan handed Denton Floyd $750,000 to kick-start the Reisz project. Where are the documents detailing this transaction?

At last Thursday’s city council meeting, municipal corporate attorney Shane Gibson finally stated publicly what we’d assumed all along about the variety of options to "save" the Reisz Furniture Store.

According to Gibson, there are only two options. It’s Jeff Gahan’s way, or the landfill.

Gahan’s $10,000,000 project to renovate the horribly “neglected, dilapidated and blighted” building and create a luxury city hall commensurate with the mayor’s grandiose self-image is intended as an either/or proposition.

Gibson told councilmen that if the city’s back-alley deal with Denton Floyd falls through, there are no other choices aside from demolition. Either the city spends a minimum of $10,000,000, or there’ll be a hole in the ground.

Anyone listening to Gibson should have asked a simple question.

How so?

Last August, the Redevelopment Commission approved a payment of $750,000 to Denton Floyd, from which roughly $400,000 was intended from the very start to be used by the contractor to buy the building from Schmitt Furniture.

According the Elevate website, this purchase occurred in September, a month after the meeting, which strongly implies the real estate transaction was complete save for the cash.

Thus, Schmitt Furniture was indemnified for neglect, dilapidation and blight, and Denton Floyd owned the building, awaiting final council approval of the back room deal.

Returning to Gibson's ultimatum, how can the city demolish a building owned by someone else, in this case a firm with which Gahan and cohorts are closerthanthis? Certainly there are ways, but the larger point is the disposition of the money we’ve already spent.

The city might well condemn the building and demolish it – and if so, the city’s out $750,000.

Or, Denton Floyd might ask to demolish it, and city still is out $750,000, but Denton Floyd used the city's money, anyway, leaving it free to return to being behind schedule and over budget on the M Fine seniors housing conversion just up Main Street.

As an aside, Denton Floyd undertakes few large-scale projects without voluminous government assurances, whether here or in Jeffersonville. But that’s for another time.

Back to Gibson’s question time before council, which by all rights should have been Gibson’s and Gahan’s joint appearance. The corporate attorney blithely assured onlookers that if the mayor isn’t handed his palace forthwith, the building’s a goner.

Where does it say all this?

The Redevelopment Commission voted unanimously last August in favor of resolution (RC-06-17), enabling the $750,000 windfall payment to Denton Floyd, as well as smaller payments toward the Louis Hartman House on State Street (future home of Indiana Landmarks; no self-interest THERE) and the Knights of Columbus.

Commission stalwart and Democratic Party chairman Adam Dickey's minutes detail the discussion.

The meeting minutes make no mention of the dollar amounts involved, but then-reporter Elizabeth Beilman of the News and Tribune included them in her coverage of the meeting.

The overarching point is that while details aren't always discussed aloud, they're included in the text of the resolution, accompanying legal documents, or both.

You know, like a contract.

And: Throughout city council’s discussion of the Reisz project, from May 2018 to the present, including the 35 or 36 questions for Gibson to answer or artfully evade last Thursday, the actual text of the resolution and the content of accompanying legal documents have not been seen … by anyone, on council or off, although presumably the council’s two redevelopment representative at the time, David Barksdale and Bob Caesar (the latter since replaced) viewed the terms.

These details are kinda important, aren’t they? 

Would any self-respecting attorney merely hand a $750,000 check to a contractor without specific language about the terms of the transaction taking place? There'd be signatures, right?

And wouldn't there be detailed explanations of contingencies, the simplest being things like insurance coverage and time frames?

Or are we to believe that former (seriously?) redevelopment chieftain David Duggins brought a briefcase filled with C-notes to the limousine for Denton Floyd's public-officials-only Keeneland junket (with paid models) last September?

Isn't it impossible to believe that the Redevelopment Commission resolution and/or legal agreements between the city and Denton Floyd explaining the $750,000 payment AREN’T accompanied by more than a post-it note reading “if it doesn’t happen, just keep the money and tear down that motherfucka”?

Furthermore, if the resolution and/or legal documents discuss other possibilities and contingencies beyond demolition for the Reisz, then the entire truth wasn’t being told last Thursday night ... and if Barksdale and Caesar knew otherwise as they sat listening, doesn't their silence speaks volumes?

Until this information is made public, how can city council proceed with a vote next Monday?

Here's the text of my e-mail this morning to Barksdale and redevelopment director Josh Staten. Don't forget Wednesday's meeting at the library:

Stop the Reisz Elephant: There'll be a public meeting on Wednesday, June 27, downstairs at the library, at 6:00 p.m.

---

Good morning,

The topic is RC-06-17, the Redevelopment Commission's ordinance of 08/08/2017, described in the meeting's minutes as being titled "Resolution Promoting Historic Preservation, Economic Development, and Blight Removal.

The meeting minutes for 08/08/2017, which are available on-line, include a detailed discussion of this resolution, but the minutes neither make mention of funding amounts, nor include the text of the resolution itself.

However, in Elizabeth Beilman's coverage of the meeting for the News and Tribune, she quotes a figure of "$826,000 in total funding commitments for the Reisz Furniture building, the Louis Hartman House on State Street and the Knights of Columbus," of which $750,000 for the Reisz project is specified.

Consequently, in terms of public information, we know the nature of the discussion about the resolution. We also know the dollar amounts, courtesy of the newspaper reporter. But we have not seen the text of resolution RC-06-17, and for this reason I'm writing to you today to request a copy of the resolution.

I'm happy to visit the office to pick this up, or you can e-mail it to this address. I trust this will be promptly rendered.

Thank you

R

---

Previously:

2-for-1? Scott Blair describes a better way to save the Reisz building AND get a new city hall.

Donald Trump would greatly appreciate the disruptiveness of Jeff Gahan's signature Reisz Elephant.

Jeff Gahan's attacks on county government stand an excellent chance of hurting the business climate in New Albany.

ON THE AVENUES: Government Lives Matter, so it's $10,000,000 for Gahan's luxury city hall clique enhancement. Happy dumpster diving, peasants!

GREEN MOUSE SAYS: Latest Reisz City Hall cost estimate reaches $9,250,000 -- and the tote board keeps spinning.

Truth is stranger than fact: Back in 2012, the Reisz building was to become a senior living complex. Bob Caesar kneecapped it -- and Deaf Gahan DISAGREED with Cee-Saw.

ON THE AVENUES: Histrionic preservation? $8.5 million to gift Jeff Gahan with a new city hall "want" is inexcusable and simply obscene in a time of societal need.

2-for-1? Scott Blair describes a better way to save the Reisz building AND get a new city hall.

Previously: 

Donald Trump would greatly appreciate the disruptiveness of Jeff Gahan's signature Reisz Elephant.

During the course of answering 35 questions at last Thursday's city council meeting, corporate attorney Shane Gibson attempted to navigate contradictions on more than one occasion.

For instance, Gibson argued that a minimum expenditure of $10,000,000 to render the "blighted" (and "neglected," and "dilapidated") Reisz Furniture Warehouse Store into luxurious, expanded work space for Jeff Gahan was the very best solution yet offered to the problem of salvaging the structure, while simultaneously conceding that no other options have been considered.

How can we know it's the best plan when there's nothing to compare it to?

As 6th district councilman Scott Blair (I) illustrates with this Facebook comment, plenty of options exist. It's just that Gahan, Gibson and their ship of fools won't consider them.

I agree that a better use of the Reisz building is mixed retail and residential. The city could offer less than $1,000,000 subsidy to a private developer (purchase the building for around $400,000 and $375,000 and fix infrastructure). The city would recapture the subsidy over time through property taxes. A new city hall could go into an appropriate size building or be a new build. $4,000,000 seems to be a good estimate for new construction. A site could be the parking structure next to Big Four Burgers on Main St. Advantages are lower overall cost, bringing more people into downtown, and infill of a blighted lot.

In short, two buildings -- one rehabbed, the other new -- for half the proposed expenditure. And yet an idea like Blair's HAS NOT EVEN BEEN CONSIDERED.

Redevelopment's request for proposal (RFP) period?

A whole ten days. How could this be sufficient time for other interested parties to participate -- assuming they weren't scared away by previous public statements strongly implying the single plan was a done deal. 

When it came to the two-way street grid changes, at least three traffic studies were conducted over a period of years before these statistics were handed to HWC Engineering to be ignored. Most of the final expense was borne by the federal government, and the campaign kickback gravy was especially succulent.

But $10,000,000 for the Reisz Elephant isn't being offset by a gift from afar, and Team Gahan has conducted no studies, and considered no other alternatives. It's Gahan's way, or down comes the building.

Blair's idea has one major flaw, because the work required to save Reisz and build city hall probably would not be finished before next year's elections, and completed bright shiny objects are essential to Gahan's flashcard campaign strategy.

Donald Trump would greatly appreciate the disruptiveness of Jeff Gahan's signature Reisz Elephant.

A white elephant is a possession which its owner cannot dispose of and whose cost, particularly that of maintenance, is out of proportion to its usefulness. In modern usage, it is an object, building project, scheme, business venture, facility, etc., considered expensive but without use or value.
--- Wikipedia

Jeff Gahan's $10,000,000+ Reisz city hall proposal certainly addresses a messianic need to self-glorify in the lap of luxury, but far more importantly, it disrupts.

Since 2016, "disruption" is often used to describe Donald Trump's theory of governance. While feeding a steady diet of red meat to his core supporters, he seeks to overload the circuits toward a goal of disrupting "business (or politics) as usual," facilitating a renegotiation on his terms.

Politics in any size of pond is about power, and power is money, and so I submit that we're seeing a similar strategy of disruption in New Albany, as directed by Gahan. He intends to disrupt county government, but also New Albany's city council.

It doesn't require a PhD to see that since taking office, Gahan has seized every available opportunity to sever ties with county government. That's because Democrats are toast in the county, and at best, capable only of rearguard actions. To preserve the party's municipal system of patronage and keep the money flowing, the city power base must be fortified and walled off.

The best previous example of Gahan's instinct to secede came during his first term with an immediate (and wholly unannounced) move to split the joint parks department, inaugurating a spending spree and tripling the city's annual budgetary commitment to parks.

Of course, all those contractors and vendors donate to the mayor's campaign finance fund, don't they?

Now the time has arrived for Gahan to disrupt the arrangement by which city and county share an office building.

In due time (after I mow the damn lawn) the Green Mouse will be here to explain our theory that Gahan’s ultimate objective is to induce county government to indemnify the city to abandon its current home and move to the too-expensive-by-half Reisz Elephant.

Or, in more familiar terms: To preserve the Democratic governing clique's power, Gahan is building a wall -- and Mark Seabrook's going to pay for it.

Meanwhile, Gahan's disruption of city council became inevitable when 2018 dawned and Dan Coffey stood outside the tent, no longer under mayoral control. This meant that the potential of a Republican/Independent bloc had to be avoided immediately by detaching its weakest link, nominal Republican David Barksdale.

But Gahan's first steps toward council disruption came with the attempted kneecapping of council president Al Knable, a maneuver that seemingly failed. However, it's now clear that it was a feint, paving the way for the mayor to complete the process of isolating Barksdale from the potential opposing bloc.

As we speak, Barksdale's role in Reisz leaves him in danger of being drummed out of his chosen party. This helps Gahan municipal power consolidation, doesn't it?

We already know that Gahan's commitment to historic preservation exists only insofar as it increases his own city-versus-county power base, and by extension, as long as it bolsters his burgeoning campaign finance account. In short, Gahan doesn’t give a damn about old buildings -- and Barksdale is consumed by them. In effect, Gahan is tempting the alcoholic with a nice bottle of Kessler.

Situations like this always favor the ethics-free, self-interested cynic.

It's buildings over people, time and again, and people aren't the only entities capable of being held hostage. Last Thursday, corporate attorney Shane Gibson confirmed that we've arrived at a purely intentional ultimatum: either Reisz is rehabbed as the mayor prefers, or he'll be sure it is demolished without further discussion.

Not only has Barksdale facilitated his own captivity; now he's in Stockholm Syndrome territory.

Stockholm syndrome is a condition that causes hostages to develop a psychological alliance with their captors as a survival strategy during captivity.

Concurrently and unfortunately, by embracing a position of supine obedience to Dear Leader, Barksdale and other local historic preservationists are squandering their future credibility by allowing foundational principles to be merrily co-opted by the prerequisites of Gahan's squalid, grubby political sewer.

To conclude, our elders were astute.

When you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas.

Neighborhood inequality? On the placid street where Caesar lives, traffic must be moving too fast. Someone fetch a traffic engineer!

High atop Silver Hills, just a couple doors down from Bob Caesar's garage (where all the Bicentennial pot holders and koozies as yet are being stored), there's a radar speed display trailer marked "Sheriff," parked on Camp Avenue at the three-way stop with Knob Avenue

Ironically, the topic of street safety re-emerged at last evening's city council meeting, with councilmen David Aebersold, Greg Phipps and Dan Coffey openly discussing the fearsome and pedestrian unfriendly intersection of Spring and Vincennes.

Al Knable mentioned the late Chloe Allen's name aloud, something that has eluded Jeff Gahan's snark clique during the two years following her death at the driver-privileged intersection in question. 

Remembering Chloe Allen -- and the unfinished task of making streets safe for all users, not just drivers.

Aebersold and Caesar (!) resolved to attend next week's Bored of Works meeting to broach the topic of further street grid safety needs beyond city hall's premature declaration of victory. It's a start, and I'll try to attend to monitor the decibel level of BOW's snores.

Two weeks ago, hall of famer Jim Rice of HWC Engineering insisted to me that as walkers or cyclists, our own two eyes are never to be trusted if what they behold contradicts a professional engineer's tireless efforts to maintain speed and traffic flow through heavily populated areas.

In fairness, HWC only returned the street grid verdict it knew Gahan, the witless paymaster, wanted to hear. But any impartial observer can plainly see that problems remain on the flood plain.

Meanwhile, on the commanding heights, where traffic volumes are far less and stop signs profuse, someone has decided that enough's enough, hence the radar speed display trailer.

It remains unclear why it's there, which is the reason for this post, but the digital display is a reminder that someone -- sheriff, police or councilman -- is listening to driver-related complaints where the cool kids live.

The remainder of us would enjoy experiencing this on occasion. If city engineer Larry Summers is reading, he might begin by returning phone calls.