UPDATED: Just out of curiosity, at the final city council meeting of 2019 ...

It seems odd. What exactly happened with Dan Coffey? At the final council meeting of 2019, new 1st district representative Jennie Collier was already seated, while election losers David Barksdale and Matt Nash were present, not winners Jason Applegate and Joshua Turner. Is it a special exception of sorts when a council person has, in effect, retired?

I genuinely don't know the answer, so when it comes, it will be appended here.

10:45 a.m. update, courtesy of former 5th district councilman Matt Nash: Dan Coffey, who was not running for re-election to council, moved from the 1st district some time last summer and resigned in early December. Jennie Collier (1st district council woman-elect) was caucused in by the Democratc Party, which won the seat in 2015 when Coffey still considered himself a Democrat.

Council district survey results are in, and Bob Caesar remains abjectly clueless about street and road issues.

Who gets quoted the most? The one who comprehends the least. Welcome to governance, New Gahanian Style.

DESIGN DESIGN DESIGN, you blithering idiot.

He hasn't learned a single damn thing, has he?

New Albany City Council compiles list of top public priorities, by John Boyle (Hanson's Journal of Misplaced Priorities)

 ... With the growth of the population along with work being done on roads in different sections of the city, overall traffic has increased. Caesar pointed out two types of traffic — commuter and consumer.

Commuter traffic consists of drivers coming to and from work, while consumer traffic is due to people running assorted errands. The latter is affected by and, perhaps, affects the traffic situation the most, Caesar said.

Unlike commutes, trips out on the town can't always be planned out well.

"When you run around picking up different things, you don’t know how long it's going to take," Caesar said. "A lot of times, people don’t want to have to wait at stop lights, and sometimes you can kind of get yourself in a rush.”

In order to trim time off of their trips, Caesar said drivers will cut through residential neighborhoods that wouldn't otherwise see thru traffic, often doing so at dangerous speeds. Solving the situation will be tough, he said.

Speed limits have been lowered in many neighborhoods, but other things like increased police presence, signage, speed bumps and prominent lines marking stop signs could help.

"It’s a sticky wicket to really discourage people from taking all of these cut-throughs around town," Caesar said. "It’s something we need to convince people to not do. Most of the time, you’re not really cutting down time, even though you think you are.”

Dan Coffey's last council meeting is Thursday night, and then there'll be no more Wizard of Westside.

Departing 1st district council representative Dan Coffey has missed the past three meetings of the body, on November 4th and 21st, and December 2nd.

I don't know why, but I do know that Coffey deserves recognition for two decades of service as a councilman. Fair is fair, even if we've disagreed far more often than not.

Coffey is the last continuously serving elected official linking the present era to the period in 2004/2005 when I first began attending city council meetings and writing about them here at the blog. The longest of tenured blog readers will remember the many times he and I clashed. It could be savage, vicious and occasionally hilarious. One need only search these pages for literally hours of informative reading attesting to the tenor of those times.

And yet, through it all Coffey and I still retained the ability and willingness to speak with each other. That counts for something. In the final analysis, we two have one fundamental thing in common, because we're both incurable and implacable independents -- good, bad or indifferent.

I believe Coffey could have run as an independent in the 1st district and won. He never seemed comfortable as a Democrat. He's on the right and I'm on the left, and yet I instinctively know how this discomfort feels.

Frankly, there's no defense of Coffey's behavior on those occasions, regrettably often, when he chose to bully, threaten and (in effect) single-handedly filibuster the council. I won't attempt any exoneration.

At the same time I'm prepared to embrace what probably is a minority position, and credit Coffey for caring about his district and, overall, giving a damn.

Coffey is a classic example of someone who always did the best with what he had at his disposal. His methods may or may not have produced the best results for his constituents, but he worked it hard for 20 years. This can't be taken away from him.

Obviously I don't know what Coffey is planning on doing, post-politics. Will he run for another office? Maybe we could join together for a podcast on local affairs. THAT would be supreme entertainment, wouldn't it?

As a longtime adversary of the self-described Copperhead, allow me to extend sincere thanks to Dan Coffey for his long years of service to the community, and to wish him the best of luck in the future.

On election eve, "Democrats (and Coffey) Skip New Albany City Council Meeting."

They don't even pretend well, do they?

Democrats, Independent Skip New Albany City Council Meeting, by Nick Vaughn (The Aggregate)

On the eve of municipal elections across Southern Indiana, the New Albany City Council meeting did not have a quorum and could not conduct business. The only council members in attendance were Council President Scott Blair (I) and Republican Councilmen Al Knable, Dave Aebersold, and Dave Barksdale. All Democratic members as well as Independent Councilman Dan Coffey were not in attendance.

While it is not immediately clear why so many council members missed, a source who was present at the meeting stated that Democratic Councilman Greg Phipps "had something come up" while Bob Caesar (D) stated he was going to be campaigning during the meeting's time. Councilman Matthew Nash (D) reportedly gave a personal reason for missing the meeting ...

City council unanimously approves Sherman Minton Bridge resolution as Team Gahan huddles in the bunker.

I'm not going to suggest that the politicization of New Albany's city council is at a steroidal fever pitch in the run up to Election 2019 ... although during roll call last evening, all four Democrats abstained -- then demanded more information.

My coverage of council's Sherman Minton Bridge irresolution is at The Aggregate News.

Council Approves Resolution on Sherman Minton Bridge, by Roger Baylor at The Aggregate News

As baseball hero Yogi Berra is alleged to have opined, Thursday evening’s meeting of the Common Council of the City of New Albany was an instance of déjà vu all over again. To understand the transportation trauma being addressed at the meeting, one must revisit recent history ...

Tonight's council action: R-19-08 Resolution in Support of Maintaining Access during Sherman Minton Bridge Renewal Project.

Courtesy of Al Knable.

I haven't been to a city council meeting in a while, primarily because previous experience has taught us that when elections draw near, the body's politicization reaches a fever pitch -- as it has with the fireworks ordinance hijinks and Payhan's veto.

However, there's a resolution on tap this evening that might prove to be genuinely useful, albeit non-binding.

R-19-08 Resolution in Support of Maintaining Access during Sherman Minton Bridge Renewal Project

It's always nice to see David Barksdale climbing down from the Reisz Mahal scaffolding to consider measures that pertain to human beings, as opposed to cornices.

At-large councilman Al Knable explained on Facebook.

I wrote this resolution and am presenting it for debate and hopeful approval at council’s September 5 meeting; 7:00 p.m. in the third floor assembly room of the City-County building (highlighted areas only show recent edits, not of greater or lesser importance). Resolutions are non-binding but I believe it’s imperative that we voice collectively to INDOT that this project, while necessary, will have major impacts upon our citizenry and economy. If you’d like to be heard on the matter I encourage you to come and opine- you’ll need to sign up prior to the meeting’s start.

Council Democrats have been instructed by their party "leader" Tricky Dickey to obstruct anything that comes to them from Republicans. The vote on this resolution should be unanimous in favor.

Will it be?

Look, ma, CM Greg Phipps’ favorite mayor ever vetoed the fireworks ordinance.

As predicted, Mayor Deafley "Slick Jeffie" Gahan announced his veto (sorry, Susie, no capital 'V' on veto) of the city council's recent tepid fireworks ordinance in an insulting and poorly worded post at Payhan's propaganda site.

Weddings, birthdays and holidays ... and the time Gahan bulldozes a homeless encampment?

---

I hereby Veto recent action by the city council to ban legal fireworks in New Albany.

The proposed ban would limit the use of fireworks to only 4.5 days (107 hours) per year, without first obtaining a government permit.

The 5-4 split council vote to ban legal fireworks is an intrusion into the private lives of our citizens and could silence the joy of many important occasions, like weddings, birthdays, and holidays.

As written, the proposed ordinance is impossible to enforce and introduces confusion between New Albany police officers and the people of New Albany.

Indiana State Law has already addressed the use of fireworks in IC 22-11-14.

---

Previously:

Limiting fireworks is the easy part. Enforcement is New Albany's traditional Achilles heel.

Limiting fireworks is the easy part. Enforcement is New Albany's traditional Achilles heel.

Matt Nash, Greg Phipps, David Barksdale, Al Knable and Scott Blair voted in favor while McLaughlin, Dan Coffey, Bob Caesar and David Aebersold voted against.

A strange council configuration approved a symbolic ordinance that probably will be impossible to enforce; given forceful opposition by the police chief, Deaf Gahan might well veto it anyway.

Meanwhile, within eyesight of my front porch, there are a half-dozen visible and persistent ordinance violations missed weekly when the city works extra hard to enforce just that one ordinance pertaining to blocking the street sweeper.

Welcome to New Albany. It's not an intelligent place, presumably because most of you prefer it that way.

New Albany City Council passes ordinance limiting fireworks, by John Boyle (Bill Hanson's Evangelical Medicine Show)

Vote passed by a 5-4 margin

NEW ALBANY — Citizens of New Albany now have more restrictions regarding when they can shoot off fireworks.

At Thursday's sometimes tense New Albany City Council meeting, council members voted 5-4 in favor of passing an ordinance limiting when fireworks can be used.

The final version of the ordinance, which will be tied in with the current noise ordinance, was identical to that which passed on first and second readings at the Aug. 5 meeting, with an amendment adding two more days to the week after the Fourth of July.

Now, residents of the city can only use consumer fireworks from 5 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. June 29-30, July 1-3, and July 5-11. Fireworks are also allowed from 10 a.m. July 4 to 12:01 a.m. July 5. For New Year's celebrations, fireworks are legal from 10 a.m. Dec. 31 to 1 a.m. Jan 1.

Violations of the ordinance will result in a fine of $150 for the first offense, $300 for the second, and $500 for each thereafter. The ordinance also includes a clause that allows groups and organizations to acquire permits to shoot off fireworks outside of the set time frames.

Discussions of personal liberties took place in the lead up to the vote ...

City council has no jurisdiction over "extreme" fighting events, according to The Aggregate.

Previously NA Confidential made mention of the promoter's criminal neglect.

Egg on City Hall's face yet again as fly-by-night rasslers exchange body fluids in Vinod Gupta's building.

Here's the rest of the story.

City Council Makes Decision on Extreme Fighting, by Marty Miller (The Aggregate)

 ... At the Council meeting on Monday, August 5, after a long work session, they got around to discussing their findings and possible solutions. Their answers may not be satisfactory to those residents who wanted something done about this type of event, but the truth is that the City Council can’t do anything about it. Other than zoning regulations that already exist, the City Council is actually legally preempted from regulating athletic events that are already under the jurisdiction of the Indiana State Gaming Commission. This means that the local government cannot impose any regulations, restrictions, or otherwise inhibit properly licensed events.

However, there may also be some good news for those concerned about public safety. Trainwreck informed us that they were no longer operating in New Albany. More generally speaking, the Indiana Gaming Commission has a fairly cut and dry policy when it comes to fighting events. Their ordinance states, “no boxing, sparring, or unarmed combat match or exhibition, except as provided in this chapter, may be held or conducted within Indiana except under a license and permit issued by the commission.” Therefore, regardless of the nature of these events, if they do not possess a permit then they can and will be prosecuted under specified sections of Indiana criminal law ...

It would be nice if the newspaper paid close enough attention to get details correct, like how long we've been waiting for River Run financials.

"Council members also asked Gibson to provide a breakdown of 2018 revenue and costs associated with the River Run Family Water Park."

If memory serves, the first such request for River Run financials came in 2016, one year after the water park opened just in the nick of time to serve as campaign prop for the mayor in 2015.

Team Gahan refused to divulge these numbers then, and has continued to do so ever since.

Surely the reporter Morris knows this by now; just as surely his superiors at the News and Evangelbune are aware that Jeff Gahan's penchant for secrecy means that his minions routinely ignore information requests or purposefully distort answers on the rare occasions that they take such requests seriously.

But Morris is obsessed by sports, and Susan Duncan my Facebook memes, and Bill Hanson with turning over the editorial page to Tom May.

And, consequently, none of them give a damn.

New Albany City Council begins budget process (Morris; Tome May's Bluespaper)

City employees expected to get 2 percent raise

NEW ALBANY — The New Albany City Council held a 2020 budget workshop Monday to get preliminary revenue numbers and budgets from various city departments. Another workshop, which will deal with police, fire and parks department budgets, will be held at 5 p.m. Aug. 15 before the next council meeting.

The 2020 general fund revenue is expected to be around $28 million, according to city attorney Shane Gibson. He told council members he will have riverboat and Economic Development Income Tax (EDIT) revenue projections at the Aug. 15 work session.

Gibson went through several city department budgets with the council members which included: mayor, city controller, city clerk, city attorney, flood control, building, motor vehicle/local roads and streets and weights and measures during the workshop ...

How much does the mayoral fixer Gibson earn yearly, anyway? They won't ever tell us that, either.

City council gathers tonight as Irving Joshua reminds all and sundry to keep their grubby hands off Redevelopment's assessed TIF capture.

I'll be tipping a toe back into muddy waters this evening with a city council meeting light on agenda items.

I asked two council persons about the statement above, which prefaced the council packet for tonight. The consensus is that it's legally mandated boilerplate from redevelopment, informing one and all that what the commission TIFs, it keeps.

Will there be "live" tweeting? Probably not. Give me a break, will ya? Psychiatric convalescence is hard, and I'm not as young as I used to be.

The pre-election council agenda is as barren as Voodoo Gahanomics.

From the guy who says dissidents like me have a "hateful nature."

You and I aren’t going to see things the same way, that’s a generational thing. I look at the good things that have happened and want to see this city keep trending upward and to be a place I want to keep living. That’s what’s important to me now and in the future. You have to spend up front to fix years of problems and my greatest fear in a White Mayorship is that progress would stop and this city falls backwards all because of economic ideology.

Who knew it was "generational thing" that 2 + 2 = 4 ... or, more appropriately in New Gahania, 2 minus 2 equals negative 2?

In reality, math isn't an "economic ideology." Unsustainable debt comes closer to the mark. If the debt load crushes us, there’s no moving forward in ANY capacity; unlike the Feds, we can’t print money.

Isn't it also the case that the city's residents living under the poverty line — 25% or so — have seen very little of the forward motion to which Gahan's misleading rhetoric constantly refers.

Just because you're young doesn't mean you're numb, or dumb. Look behind the curtain and see how things really are. It isn’t bright and shiny at all. Here's the city council agenda for this evening.

Council rejects Gahan's, Redevelopment's Colonial Manor tax increment financing lollapalooza by a 5-4 vote. Alterations to come?

It might surprise you to hear me say that overall, tonight's council meeting was one of the most informative in a good while. The pros and cons of Team Gahan's Redevelopment Commission resolution to spend $2.6 million to acquire the Colonial Manor property were presented, and it was rejected 5-4, with the three council Republicans and two Independents against, and the body's four Democrats in favor.

Council president Blair's pre-vote summary of the stakes involved was very good. Interestingly, the Redevelopment Commission's visiting Indy lawyer Zoeller from the firm of Frost Brown and Todd ...

 ... which is a frequent Gahan campaign donor, stated that any amendments attached by council to the resolution would require Redevelopment's approval. However council's lawyer confirmed that no amendments could be attached; it was yes or no only.

Blair aired his frustrations with the Redevelopment Commission's overall autonomy and secretive nature. He suggested Redevelopment take out an option for purchase to allow time to incorporate council's points. Al Knable and others noted that it might be the only chance we get to "do" Colonial Manor right, and so it would be advisable to take our time and resist haste.

In turning down tonight's resolution, council in effect sends it back to Redevelopment with helpful post-it notes for changes sufficient to garner future council approval. For example, a comprehensive Charlestown Road corridor study is urged to be a part of what comes back for consideration. Other caveats include a citizen advisory committee and public input meetings that genuinely seek participation and not the rubber-stamping of pre-determined outcomes.

Given that the Redevelopment Commission is regarded by Jeff Gahan as his personal plaything, and the Colonial Manor purchase with the TIF One Platinum card plainly was intended as a rushed feather in Dear Leader's re-election bonnet, things now get interesting.

Don't forget next week's listening session. There might be more tomorrow, but right now, I'm tired.

Previously:

Researcher says: "In most cases around the country TIF did not fulfill its main goal of boosting economic development."

ON THE AVENUES: Amid Deaf Gahan's "victory" over grassroots activists at Colonial Manor, the toxic paranoia is no less rancid.

City Hall's staged Colonial Manor farce: It was INFORMATIONAL, you see, not COMMENTATIONAL. Deaf Gahan can't help it if voters don't know the lingo.

GREEN MOUSE SAYS: It's the Colonial Manor video Jeff Gahan didn't want you to see last night.

Researcher says: "In most cases around the country TIF did not fulfill its main goal of boosting economic development."

The reason why we're always talking about TIF?

• TIF benefits are routinely exaggerated
• TIF abets pay-to-play political patronage
• TIF abuse shifts funding from schools and services to more speculative "public-private partnerships"
• TIF expenditures typically are made by appointed boards, and consequently are not transparent

Because of the legal stipulation that TIF expenditures for property purchases above the appraised amount must come with approval by elected officials (as opposed to the usual appointed functionaries), city council will vote this evening on a resolution favoring the use of TIF funds by the Redevelopment Commission to purchase the moribund Colonial Manor shopping center from absentee owners.

Indiana law now makes clear that TIF is intended to fund infrastructure to promote development that would not occur but for the added infrastructure financed by the TIF revenues. Evidence that the development would not happen but for the establishment of the TIF district must be presented before the TIF district is approved. TIF is not meant as a source of revenue for responding to ongoing development, nor as a substitute for other sources of infrastructure funding. TIF districts are required to expire once the infrastructure bond is repaid. TIF is not meant as a permanent source of revenue for the enacting government.

It should be an interesting evening. The Green Mouse has tonight's tally at 4 council persons for, and 4 against, with Nanny Barksdale as the swing vote.

But is he really swinging?

Almost certainly not. Barksdale already has voted "aye" at Redevelopment for the Colonial Manor power play, and while nominally Republican, he's rubber-stamped Jeff Gahan's mega-spending almost as often as Greg Phipps (a Democrat).

This one's a done deal, so read why TIF shouldn't be.

The Trouble With TIF, by Tanvi Misra (CityLab)

Cities love to use Tax Increment Financing to boost development. Should they?

 ... After reviewing available research on the implementation and impacts of TIF, (Professor David) Merriman concludes that the mechanism, while helpful in some ways, leaves a lot to be desired.

“In the end, it can be a valuable mechanism,” he said. “It’s not something I’d like to get rid of—but it deserves a lot of scrutiny because public sector dollars are being re-routed into a different task, away from general purpose funds.”

snip

To understand what he means, let’s first explain how TIF works: When a city designates an area as a TIF district, the property value of all the real estate within its boundaries at that time is designated as the “base value.” This is the amount that, for a set amount of years after the fact, generates revenue through the city’s property tax process. Everything over and above that, through an increase in value of existing real estate and new development in that time frame, goes into a separate fund earmarked for economic development.

The city can then use this second pot of money to lure private investors with loans and subsidies for commercial projects, or to make public projects more attractive.

snip

Critics often charge that (TIF) funnels money out of the taxpayers’ pockets into a special fund that, by and large, works in a pretty opaque manner. While some of that money funds essential public works, much has also gone towards erecting new Whole Foods, renovating glitzy hotels, and building stadiums—the type of projects, one might argue, should not require such incentives. And the evidence Merriman analyzes suggest they may have a point. He shows that, in most cases around the country, the tool did not fulfill its main goal of boosting economic development.

“On average, [TIF] may be moving development from one part of the city to another, and changing the timing of the development, but there’s not more development than would have otherwise been made,” Merriman said.

In addition, this is a tool with several drawbacks. According to Merriman, TIFs might “capture” some tax revenue above the capped “base value” that may have been generated anyway through natural appreciation in property values if the TIF hadn’t been created. This is money that taxpayers might have otherwise paid directly towards an overlapping school district, or for public services. And while TIF is not a direct tax increase, it may lead to higher rates or service cuts elsewhere, if the city plans on bringing in the same general property tax revenue as before TIF.

“If property taxes are higher—if the rates are higher—then the TIF money has come of the taxpayer’s pocket,” Merriman said. “It’s a diversion in that way.”

In other words, TIF doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Like other tax incentive programs, it may have the adverse affect of creating competition between neighboring jurisdictions in a way that is not always beneficial—all for outcomes that are mixed, at best.

Perhaps the biggest concern with TIF, though, is that of transparency, because of the way this mechanism effectively bypasses the public municipal budget process.

“Once a TIF is created, the operation of a TIF receives less scrutiny than other spending,” Merriman said.

---

Democratic mayoral candidate David White understands that change begins with a whole lotta scrubbing, and NA Confidential advocates just such a deep civic cleansing. 

After eight years on the job, Mayor Jeff Gahan's list of stunning "achievements" is long, indeed: tax increases, budgetary hide 'n' seek, self-deification, daily hypocrisy, public housing takeover, non-transparency, pay-to-play for no-bid contracts, bullying city residents and bullying city employees. Eight years is enough. It's time to drain Gahan's swamp, flush his ruling clique and take this city back from Gahan's Indy-based special interest donors. 

NA Confidential supports David White for Mayor in the Democratic Party primary, with voting now through May 7. 

Hello darkness, my old friend: Is David Barksdale yet again the council's swing vote on Gahan's Colonial Manor power play?

"Shades of the Reisz Mahal," said the spider to the fly.

The Green Mouse has been told that occasional Republican councilman David Barksdale, who has voted with City Hall almost as often as council's Rubber Stamp Quartet of Democrats, yet again looks like the swing vote; the Mouse's abacus shows the Democratic foursome in favor, with two Republicans and two Independents opposed.

Of course we're referring to Thursday evening's resolution to approve the Redevelopment Commission's use of the city's TIF One Platinum card to purchase the moribund Colonial Manor shopping center from absentee owners.

ON THE AVENUES: Amid Deaf Gahan's "victory" over grassroots activists at Colonial Manor, the toxic paranoia is no less rancid.

At last week's Redevelopment fix-fest, council president Blair asked for documentation of the city's current TIF zone status. It runs for quite a few pages, and can be viewed here: CCPackets-041819

Here's the resolution. The bracketed passage explains why this measure even appears before council, and isn't just another backroom deal.

And this statement by redevelopment director Staten is meant to allay fears that the crazily rushed Colonial Manor deal isn't, well, just another backroom deal.

Is a construction date of 1965 historic enough for Barksdale's fetish? Will he fall into Dear Leader's bed/web/thrall as before? Or is it time to Make Spines Great Again (MSGA)?

Slip sliding away, Vol. 2: "In researching Indiana Code, it was discovered that the City of New Albany abused the power of eminent domain in acquiring land for a public utility."

Last night Kelly Feiock, a Mt. Tabor Road resident, patiently sat through the regularly scheduled city council meeting so she could rise during public speaking time and offer a few facts for the consideration of the city's presumed legislative body.

Slip sliding away, Vol. 1: A desperately Deaf Gahan seeks to divert your attention from Mt. Tabor malfeasance by attacking the citizenry for doing their homework. Voters, call his arrogant bluff.

Her testimony was devastating, but the image I'll never be able to erase from my memory was that of her councilman, Matt Nash, staring at the floor; inert, used up, unable to act autonomously without Jeff Gahan, Adam Dickey or Shane Gibson handing him a script. How very depressing.

Afterward a friend messaged me.

I don’t see Gahan surviving past the primary. His sins are stacking up. It’s over.

To which I replied:

Maybe. Don’t forget the people who benefit from his sins, who’ve convinced themselves that Gahan is the devil they know.

One would think that fair-minded Democrats (as Nash himself used to be) would be appalled by the steadily accumulating stench emanating from Gahan's Down Low Bunker of Misgovernance.

ON THE AVENUES: Donnie Blevins tells his story.

Isn't bullying like that inexcusable -- and what on earth does one man need with all this money?

The Jeff Gahan Money Machine, Part 20: Buying and selling a city? Our master list of 59 Gahan wheel-greasers is a pornographic potpourri of pay-to-play.

Pay to play corruption, Mt. Tabor malfeasance, the intimidation and bullying of city employees ... folks, it's no longer about party affiliation. It's about cutting out a cancerous growth so this city can have a democratic future. Democrats, your party has aligned itself with tyranny, and I encourage you to vote for David White on May 7. 

The following is from Kelly Feiock, and approximates what she presented last night.

---

It appears the City of New Albany has misappropriated government funds by abusing the power of Eminent Domain with the Mt. Tabor Road Project.

The City proposed the Mt. Tabor Road project in 2013, which is federally funded (80% federal and 20% local funded). The total cost was originally estimated at $6.5 million, with the city contribution being approximately $1.3 million.

This project severely affected approximately 40 properties on Mt. Tabor Road and Klerner Lane in New Albany. Although the City needed roughly ten feet of property for grass buffers and sidewalks on many of the properties, it acquired an additional 13 feet (or more) of right-of-way on these properties for overhead power lines.

In researching Indiana Code, it was discovered that the City of New Albany abused the power of eminent domain in acquiring land for a public utility. The public utility, in this case Duke Energy, is responsible for using the power of eminent domain for rights-of-way of its powerlines. In doing so, Duke Energy should take, acquire, condemn, and appropriate an easement itself.

Please see Indiana Code as it pertains to Eminent Domain:

IC 32-24-2  Chapter 2. Procedures for Cities and Towns

Per IC 32-24-2-3 "Property" is defined for Cities and Towns as used in this chapter, "property" refers to real property or personal property.

IC 32-24-2-6 Application of chapter; condemnation resolutions; notice;

remonstrances

Sec. 6. (a) This chapter applies if the works board of a municipality wants to acquire

property for the use of the municipality or to open, change, lay out, or vacate a street, an

alley, or a public place in the municipality, including a proposed street or alley crossings of

railways or other rights-of-way. However, this chapter does not apply if a municipality wants

to acquire the property of a public utility (as defined in IC 8-1-2-1).

IC 32-24-4 Chapter 4. Procedures for Utilities and Other Corporations

IC 32-24-4-1 Public utilities

Sec. 1. (a) A person, firm, partnership, limited liability company, or corporation authorized to do business in Indiana and authorized to: 

            (1) furnish, supply, transmit, transport or distribute electrical energy, gas, oil, petroleum, water, heat, steam, hydraulic power, or communications by telegraph or telephone to the public or to any town or city;

            (2) construct, maintain or operate turnpikes, toll bridges, canals, public landings, wharves, ferries, dams, aqueducts, street railways, or interurban railways for the use of the public or for the use of any town or city; may take, acquire, condemn, and appropriate land, real estate, or any interest in the land or real estate to accomplish the essential delivery of services described in subdivisions (1) and (2).

IC 32-24-4-2 Fee simple or easements

Sec. 2. The condemnor may take, acquire, condemn, and appropriate a fee simple estate, title, and interest in an amount of land as the condemnor considers necessary for the condemnor's proper uses and purposes. However, for rights-of-way, the condemnor shall take, acquire, condemn, and appropriate an easement.

See also: https://www.duke-energy.com/community/trees-and-rights-of-way/what-can-you-do-in-right-of-way/distribution-lines-guidelines-and-restrictions

Slip sliding away, Vol. 1: A desperately Deaf Gahan seeks to divert your attention from Mt. Tabor malfeasance by attacking the citizenry for doing their homework. Voters, call his arrogant bluff.

True story.

Previously, the photos.

GREEN MOUSE SAYS: Deaf Gahan may be juiced to the bejeezus-belt on donor cash, but he's not getting any votes from the Mt. Tabor Road construction zone, is he?

As of 12:00 noon on Tuesday morning, there's been nary a peep in Hanson's Folly (periodically known as the News and Tribune) about revelations offered near the end of last evening's city council meeting about the project only Deaf Gahan could have so pompously named: The Mt. Tabor Road Restoration and Pedestrian Safety Project.

Perhaps this is to be expected given the tendency by publisher and editor to allow Gahan's in-house propaganda commissariat to write and pre-approve New Albany stories for them.

In turn, failures of duty like this are why stakeholders living on and near Mt. Tabor Road have been compelled to devote inordinate amounts of time completing the same sort of homework Gahan never bothered with in school, having still not cracked open a book since he took up permanent residence in the Oval Crooked Office.

For eight years prior to running for mayor, Gahan constantly was running for mayor. As witnessed by his pay-to-play campaign finance haul since 2011, Gahan never has stopped running for mayor during all the years since.

The Jeff Gahan Money Machine, Part 20: Buying and selling a city? Our master list of 59 Gahan wheel-greasers is a pornographic potpourri of pay-to-play.

$438,000 surely buys plenty of Rice Krispies Treats and Kool-Aid, although these folkloric medications only worsen the self-delusion, arrogance and hubris that have characterized Gahan's career in politics.

But we must be honest and concede that while the office may have exacerbated these tendencies, they've always existed deep inside the shadowy cranium of an otherwise mild-mannered veneer peddler whose only real achievement since attaining his current position of authoritarian tinpot has been to constantly inflict his will on those who never mistook his dull-witted plodding for inspired genius.

Now during an election year intended by Gahan as royal coronation, it laughably transpires that “running for mayor” is an insult Gahan directs at others, though of course never at himself -- and lots of folks who seek municipal contracts are perfectly content to fluff Deaf's inflated ego as "Democrats" stand idly to the side, pretending they're progressive.

Of course if a guy like Gahan walked into a tavern every day for seven years, during each visit reminding the patrons of his exalted, divine-right perfection, it's barely conceivable the regulars might gently mock him while at the same time tolerating his presence as comic relief from a minor eccentric.

Conversely, he might also be kicked out the door and straight to the curb as an obnoxious blowhard.

And so over there stands the mayor, dimly aware that because it's an election year he can't duck the media on every question, agreeing to speak with WAVE about an unnecessary road-building project that defines his tenure in office -- albeit it NOT the way he thinks it does -- then taking this opportunity to trash stakeholders for contesting his exalted, divine-right perfection.

Lest we forget the last time Gahan opened his mouth about this issue.

Click through, read the whole story, and join me as we await the newspaper's inevitable backpedaling.

Volume 2 here

Back and forth in New Albany over Mount Tabor Road project by Sara Rivest at WAVE-3

Progress on Mount Tabor Road construction questioned

A neighborhood dispute over new sidewalks in New Albany has now spun into debate over where money is being spent and whether it will even be finished as planned.

Those concerns came from a resident who said she’s done her homework, as well as one council member who wanted to hear her out on the Mount Tabor Road project.

Resident Kelly Feiock said she filed a complaint with the Indiana Bureau of Auditors on Monday.

“The intersection and the east side of Mount Tabor Road has been put on hold,” Feiock claimed. “There is no plan, there is no funding.”

Feiock lives on that road, has watched the project unfold and brought what she stirred up to the city council Monday.

“Anybody know why the project was reduced from one mile to a half a mile?” Feiock asked. “Alright, how about $6.5 million that was initially proposed and now its $3.1 million -- what happened to the other $3.4 million? Anybody? Seriously? Tell me because you’re the councilmen?!” ...

Courtesy of Dan Coffey, the Grant Line Road annexation map that Jeff Gahan doesn't want you to see.

Current councilman and forthcoming mayoral candidate Dan Coffey (Independent) has made public the map showing the Grant Line Road area north of IU Southeast being projected for annexation by Jeff Gahan's monetization cadres.

This is the area the city is looking to annex. While we are told not to openly discuss this with the public, I believe we should have an open and transparent government that allows public input to help make a better and informed decision.

Absolutely right. I agree with Coffey and thank him for the map. Here's a closer look at the pertinent data.

Coffey is correct in observing that much of the annexation discussion so far has been strictly back-channel.

However the topic began leaking out when the NA-FC school corporation's administrators recently informed the school board, seeing as the corporation must voluntarily accept Grant Line Elementary's inclusion.

This was the first time most folks became aware of the proposal, although an overview of the annexation plan was discussed at last week's city council meeting, with all involved stressing that nothing can occur in 2019 because annexations aren't permitted by the state during pre-census years.

Even yurt-dwellers in Mongolia can see that Team Gahan lusts after the $1.85 million yearly tax haul, but at last week's meeting Scott "Coulda Been a Contender" Wood explained if the annexation becomes official, there's a period of three years during which residents in the annexed area are obliged by the state to form some undefined manner of participatory committee and to designate uses for the tax revenue in question; it does not go automatically into city coffers until the fourth year.

Presumably such committees choose for infrastructure improvements designed to bring the suburb into line with the city's urban "norms." The word "sprawl" was not mentioned, and personally I'm waiting for this future committee to be immediately infiltrated and neutralized by Dear Leader's operatives, with these three years of infrastructure cash inevitably going to pay for the projects already planned by Gahan's campaign finance donors for the vicinity.

Then again, I'm a cynic.

GREEN MOUSE SAYS: Deaf Gahan wants to annex Grant Line Elementary School. Why didn't the Redevelopment Commission discuss this at its last meeting?

At the end of the day it's just another example of Gahan's pathological need for secrecy, and his preference for conducting as much pre-planning as possible outside the public's eye so the ensuing process is subject to full personal control with no meaningful effort to glean public input. 

Folks living along Mt. Tabor Road, and others attending last week's Colonial Manor top-down debacle already know this. Fortunately, there's an antidote to the toxic effects of cash-stuffed envelopes, Rice Krispies Treats and Kool-Aid: #FireGahan2019

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By the way, if you're not following Deaf Gahan on Twitter, you're missing out: https://twitter.com/DeafGahan

Brutal satire for a city allergic to it, but still.

With Duggins' NAHA command bunker silent throughout, city council attorney Stein answers the question about public housing residents and political signs.

City council Democrats remain comatose, but we have an answer to a question that arose a month ago.

For background, first this on February 22.

Do New Albany Housing Authority residents enjoy freedom of speech as it pertains to political campaign yard signs?

The Green Mouse has learned that earlier this week a resident at the New Albany Housing Authority planted a David White for Mayor yard sign in his yard.

It wasn't as big as this one, but still.

Then this on February 23.

Political yard signs at NAHA? As DemoDisneyDixieDickeycrats doze, Al Knable seeks an answer.

Once again, Knable takes the first step on an issue pertaining to human rights and freedoms.

It isn't known whether noted human rights campaigner Greg Phipps had anything to say on Thursday about free speech on the New Albany Housing Authority campus, or if he was joined in his concerns by fellow Democrats Bob Caesar, Pat McLaughlin and Matt Nash.

Then again, not one of them has had the first coherent thing to say about NAHA since the inception of Jeff Gahan's hostile takeover of public housing in 2017.

At tonight's council meeting, Knable returned to the topic and queried council attorney Amy Stein, who revealed the results of her research: NAHA has the legal ability to decree that signs in common areas are either allowed, or not allowed. NAHA cannot allow some and prohibit others. However, as it pertains specifically to political signs, the private space of NAHA residents trumps the commons, and NAHA cannot prevent residents from placing political signs in their windows.

The same question was submitted to the Human Rights Commission, and it isn't clear whether it will or won't discuss the issue at the HRC's next meeting.

Thanks to Knable and Stein for their diligence.

Reacting to Mt. Tabor Road council sidewalk resolution, Deaf Gahan declares Monday as "High School Weight Room TIF-cake Day."

The Green Mouse received this from the citizen activists on Mt. Tabor Road.  

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Mt. Tabor Rd. Residents (and all other concerned neighbors),

Please mark your calendar for this Monday, March 4th at 7 pm as the City Council will be discussing the Mt. Tabor Rd. project. Al Knable has drafted a resolution requesting the proposed sidewalks on the northern side of Mt. Tabor Rd. be removed from the plans. IN DNR told the City and its engineers to not build on the northern side of the road and residents have stated they don’t want the sidewalk. Since the administration has ignored all involved, the City Council is stepping in and making its request known.

If this resolution is passed it will be important to discuss this change with your attorney as the City will no longer need 10’ of land for a grass buffer and sidewalk. See Indiana Codes:

IC 32-24-1-15 Forfeitures; failure to pay damages or take possession

     Sec. 15. (a) If the person seeking to take property under this article fails:

(4) to take possession of the property and adapt the property for the purpose for which it was acquired not later than six (6) years after the payment of the award or judgment for damages, except where a fee simple interest in the property is authorized to be acquired and is acquired; the person seeking to acquire the property forfeits all rights in the property as fully and completely as if the procedure to take the property had not begun.

     (b) An action to declare a forfeiture under this section may be brought by any person having an interest in the property sought to be acquired, or the question of the forfeiture may be raised and determined by direct allegation in any subsequent proceedings, by any other person to acquire the property for a public use. In the subsequent proceedings the person seeking the previous acquisition or the person's proper representatives, successors, or assigns shall be made parties.

[Pre-2002 Recodification Citation: 32-11-1-11.]

As added by P.L.2-2002, SEC.9. Amended by P.L.163-2006, SEC.13.

IC 32-24-2-17 Attorney's fees

     Sec. 17. If applicable, a landowner who incurs attorney's fees through the exercise of eminent domain under this chapter is entitled to reasonable attorney's fees in accordance with IC 32-24-1-14.

As added by P.L.163-2006, SEC.14.

IC 32-24-1-14 Costs of proceedings; litigation expenses

     Sec. 14. (a) Except as provided in subsection (b), the plaintiff shall pay the costs of the proceedings.

Attached are the minutes from the last council meeting as well as the proposed resolution.

Monday, March 4, 2019 At 7:00 P.M.
Regular Council Meeting
Third Floor Assembly Room
City/County Building