SHANE'S EXCELLENT NEW WORDS: We're utterly gobsmacked at an unexpected Extol absence.

Leafing through the latest edition of Extol Magazine, we're gobsmacked to see that the City of New Albany no longer is listed among the advertisers, and the usual full page advertisement from the Gahan4Life people is missing.

Understanding that New Albany's ruling elites typically don't stoop to converse with NA Confidential, the Green Mouse still feels compelled to ask:

Could it be that someone at the top of our muddled civic heap finally grasps the potential ethical murk of the magazine's co-owner and advertising sales head Jason Applegate simultaneously serving as city councilman? 

Note the word "potential," and recall the reasons why elected officials with potential conflicts of interest should recuse themselves or abstain from voting in certain circumstances ... even in abjectly corrupt Trumpian and Gahanan times.

If this is the case, and the whole thing isn't a coincidence, then good for them. We should strive for ethical excellence, not construct luxury dog parks atop it.

But what of the word "gobsmacked"? 

After all, the purpose of this column about words is to explore the meaning of those that typically elude the comprehension of local ruling elites. The Macmillan Dictionary Blog provides an answer.

---

Word of the Day: gobsmacked

Definition: extremely surprised

Origin and usage: Written evidence for the adjective gobsmacked dates as far back as the 1930s, although it has a much longer history as spoken slang. The term is a compound of the words ‘gob’ and ‘smack’. The Late Middle English word ‘gob’ derives from the Old French word ‘gobe’, meaning ‘mouthful’ or ‘lump’, and the word ‘smack’, comes from the Middle Dutch word ‘smacken’.

Examples: The word gobsmacked is a slang term that is generally defined as experiencing a feeling of intense surprise, such as the kind of shock you would feel if you were suddenly hit in the face. The action of clapping a hand to your mouth as a reaction to a surprising event is a less violent interpretation of the word gobsmacked. Generally, gobsmacked refers to something so shocking that it leaves you utterly speechless.

Although there are only written examples of the word gobsmacked from the last eighty years or so, it is highly likely that the word was used in spoken language before that time. The word comes from the borderlands between northern England and southern Scotland. It was later popularized by television dramas which were set in those areas, such as Boys from the Blackstuff and Coronation Street. These programs grew to attract sizeable mainstream followings, introducing the word gobsmacked into the wider world where it was then picked up by newspapers and other media.

Ooh, ooh, that smell: 5th district councilman Matt Nash, a key supporter of Jeff Gahan's colonial agenda, now is employed by the New Albany Housing Authority -- the mayor's personal colonial realm.

New Albany’s 5th district councilman Matt Nash, son of longtime Democratic power broker, current Board of Works gatekeeper and ineffectual former mayor Warren Nash, has taken a job in maintenance at the New Albany Housing Authority.

Matt was pictured in Thursday’s News and Tribune helping Riverview Towers residents (and at least one cat) return to their homes after their displacement in the wake of the recent crisis of David Duggins’ ongoing gross managerial incompetence.

The new job at NAHA comes directly on the heels of the $10 million Reisz Mahal city hall relocation project, approved in council by a 5-4 margin, and with Matt's crucial “aye” vote coming without a single word of attributable public explanation.

In fact, Matt has been a reliably affirmative vote for Mayor Jeff Gahan; although statistics aren’t readily available, he probably has voted with mayor and party in excess of 90% of the time since taking office in 2016 -- and it's hard to blame this lopsidedness on the perfidy of county government.

In Matt's defense, it’s also impossible to know how often he has been subjected to threats and bullying from vile party chairman Adam Dickey, or the extent to which these pressures, and the local party’s enduring small-pond dysfunction, have contributed to this muddled situation.

(You want my opinion? Local mirror-gazing Democratic fixers like Dickey, Gahan and the elder Nash never have given a solitary damn about Matt as a person, only how he might be utilized in pursuit of their self-aggrandizement.)

In 2015, when 5th district Democratic primary winner Dustin Collins was forced to withdraw from the race for reasons of health, Matt was chosen as replacement by the same Democratic Party precinct apparatus overseen for decades by his father.

The Green Mouse believes Matt inquired about the NAHA job or was pointed in this direction earlier in 2018, prior to the city hall relocation fix. It isn’t possible to know precisely whether there is any connection between the timing of the position and Matt’s vote on the Reisz boondoggle.

But it looks really awful, any way you cut it. Since time began, New Albany has been one humongous, underachieving swamp of constantly revolving quid pro quos.

Naturally, we can expect Shane Gibson to ooze forward in a pool of cash-scented K-Y Jelly, arrogantly assuring us there’s nothing at all unethical, or suggestive of a conflict of interest, about just another councilman getting a federal government job.

Except Matt hardly is just another councilman, and it remains that every last decision-maker at the New Albany Housing Authority was put into place not by a clueless bureaucrat in Washington DC, but by toadies and bootlickers inserted into NAHA by Jeff Gahan himself, as charged with performing politically-motivated tasks precisely like this one.

Lest we forget, last year the housing authority was abruptly and violently annexed by Gahan, and its governing board hurriedly packed with drooling sycophants intimately connected to the Democratic Party’s political patronage machine.

Overnight, NAHA became Gahan’s and the Democratic Party’s new toy, and a way of providing bored C-minus students with a delightful local social engineering experiment to call their very own.

Throughout this process, Matt the councilman remained resolutely (and regrettably) silent. He had nothing to say when Gahan’s right-hand hatchet man, Duggins, was hired as NAHA director at full pay without any experience whatever, replacing the summarily axed Bob Lane, quickly proving to be so flagrantly unqualified for the job that Tony Toran had to be hastily appointed as deputy director,

By the way, Toran is a key Democratic Party hack from way, way back.

These days the New Albany Housing Authority functions as a colonial possession of a corrupted political party and its megalomaniacal mayor, and now a sitting councilman works for the degraded satrap -- to be sure, in an ordinary low-level job located nowhere near management level, one not to compared with the palm fronds, sweet grapes and vestal virgins handed on a silver platter to the fantastically overmatched Duggins.

To be blunt, it’s Matt’s solemn duty as councilman to scrutinize matters like Duggins’ actions at NAHA; he hasn’t done enough of it, but now Duggins is Matt’s boss. How is this NOT a conflict of interest?

I’m addressing you personally, Matt.

We're not close friends, but we're friends nonetheless. I like you and I’ve struggled with writing about this, but you’re too damned smart not to grasp the implications of what you're doing. You’re neither an unwitting dupe nor an unfortunate bystander, and yes, you're complicit in the perpetual nastiness of these self-appointed pillars of society, although as a mitigating factor, we all can see the way they've never refrained from using you for their own petty political ends.

Whatever the background and intent, you’re in an ethically untenable political position, and one of these two paid positions needs to be terminated. Either stop being an NAHA employee, or leave the city council seat.

There isn't much alternative from an ethical standpoint. Whatever your choice, integrity genuinely does matter, even when you're the only one in the club embracing it.

Your decision to shed one of these two positions will be the single most ethical act to occur on the part of a Democrat during seven years of increasingly narcissistic Gahanism, something to be approvingly recalled in the years to come, and pleasingly contrasted with the toxic legacy of forever posturing second-raters like Dickey and Duggins ... and Warren, who quite plainly is a schlub even if he's your father.

Best of all, this can be a chance to get your life back from their insipid clutches, and to do so on your own terms. They're killing you inside, aren't they? Maybe it's time they picked on someone else for a while. 

I encourage you to consider it.

A 2016 reprise: "High atop Summit Springs with friends (and relatives) in low places."

There's a bureaucratic fix scheduled for this evening. The action is necessary to keep the campaign finance spigot pouring gravy to those porcine troughs.

They're in it for the money: Team Gahan and its Plan Commission's cowardly and abject capitulation to the Kelleys and their Summit Springs development atrocity continues tonight.

We've all been here before, and so from June 9, 2016 ...

---

ON THE AVENUES: High atop Summit Springs with friends (and relatives) in low places.

A weekly column by Roger A. Baylor.

---

But first …

A STATEMENT FROM OUR MAYOR

My fellow New Albanians, as your legally elected mayor I’m committed to making New Albany a fundamentally better place to live.

Lately there has been controversy about a development project called Summit Springs – retail, offices, living space and a hotel. It’s an unusually complicated situation, but I believe this development will contribute to the improvement of the city, and so I’m going to explain it to you.

In zoning-speak, Summit Springs is a Planned Unit Development (PUDD). It originated many years ago and was approved, according to the planning and zoning rules in effect at the time.

Then there were delays, and in the city’s view, the property’s owners (the Kelleys) lost the plot. The city felt they needed to seek approval a second time, owing to changed circumstances. They disagreed. This led to them filing a lawsuit against the city, and eventually, the judge ruled against us, making their development inevitable.

Precisely because there are valid concerns about the hilltop site for the second phase of Summit Springs, I decided as mayor that the city would be better off actively participating in the refashioned development project, rather than standing aside and doing nothing.

In my view, by virtue of partnering with the property owners and their development company, the city could more effectively enforce the terms stipulated by the PUDD. Moreover, with the city constructing the necessary access road, we could tie Summit Springs to State Street’s existing grid in a comprehensive way, ensuring traffic would be better controlled on this already busy thoroughfare.

This decision to create a “public-private partnership” was mine, and mine alone. Whether you agree or disagree, know that the buck stops with me. I possess the ultimate authority, and my department heads follow a script that I write.

Having said this, I also take full responsibility for a few missteps along the way.

Had the city won the lawsuit, the ultimate development plan may have turned out differently, but in case we lost, we needed to have a contingency plan of our own.

This is why it appears to some of you that we were spending money to fight the developer even as we were preparing for the possibility of joining the development. Actually, what we were doing was being prepared.

Consequently, it has been suggested that the city’s economic development director may have been overly zealous in taking part in preliminary discussions with the development company hired to build Summit Springs – before the lawsuit was resolved, and in conjunction with the development company’s owner, who happens to be the economic development director’s brother-in-law.

It was a mistake for me to ignore the conceivable conflicts of interest in this situation, and while I honestly believe there was no impropriety, it’s certainly true that appearances matter.

Furthermore, I’ve come to see that nepotism is a potentially serious matter, and as such, I’ll be appointing an independent board of review to examine all such cases in my administration, regardless of where this body’s investigation leads. The run-up Summit Springs will be included in this process.

Now, back to Summit Springs. The bottom line is that while our city council is justified in revisiting its planning and zooming ordinances so as to account for future developments, and should do so expeditiously, it cannot retroactively change the rules for Summit Springs.

I’ve met with the families on Fawcett Hill Road, and their two major requests – to keep their road from becoming a through-way, and to increase the depth of the green buffer between their homes and the Summit Springs development – are both reasonable and do-able.

Because the city is partnering with the Kelleys on Summit Springs, I like my chances of ensuring these requests are honored. I’ll see to it that they are, and that’s a promise. We’ll get it right.

Finally, not only are we obligated to follow the law with regard to the Summit Springs PUDD, and to safeguard those nearby residents of Fawcett Hill, but we must be mindful of our ongoing, city-wide difficulties with stormwater runoff. We’ve been doing our best, but we simply must do better.

It’s past time for a comprehensive, updated storm water master plan, and it will begin at Summit Springs. Ultimately, this revised master plan will include the usual proven engineering solutions as well as innovative “green” incentives for homeowners and businesses to do their little bit in restoring hydrological equilibrium to the city of New Albany.

Thanks for your time. I’m confident that the key to future success with projects like Summit Springs is a fundamental enhancement of communications with the public, because after all, your tax dollars are at stake. Call or e-mail me any time.

---

NA Confidential Department of Egregious Fiction Disclaimer:

“Yet again, you’ve been reading the words Mayor Jeff Gahan has not said, and will not say. These words are unlikely to be uttered, ever. Try to forget them. If you can’t forget, drink harder.”

---

The Courier-Journal’s Lexy Gross provides an excellent overview of Summit Springs in the context of Monday’s city council meeting (See also: Tighter development restrictions sought in New Albany, by Jerod Clapp).

Locals ask council for help to fight N.A. project

Some residents were disappointed to learn Monday night that the New Albany City Council probably won't take action against a disputed development project, despite acknowledging that city officials and the developer potentially violated a 2008 city ordinance in the process.

"It’s so clear this is not proper procedure," said resident Aaron Hellems, who has continuously fought the so-called Summit Springs project. "It’s so clear that no one really wants to step up to the plate and do anything about it. They feel empathy and understand we’re in a difficult position, but when it comes to saying this is wrong and needs to be corrected, no one is willing to take it up."

The development in question -- located off State Street in New Albany -- was last approved by the city's plan commission and council eight years ago. The planned unit development district, or the PUDD, was delayed because of economic conditions at the time, according to the city's counsel, Shane Gibson.

At some point early on, the city agreed it would pay for an extension of Daisy Lane, forming a public-private partnership with the developer ...

It was left to Dan Coffey to astutely quiz the 800-lb gorilla.

"When did we go from being in a lawsuit against (the Kelleys) to being a partner with them?" Coffey asked Gibson Monday.

Gibson, who as corporate counsel for the city has been privy to the location of so many dead bodies that he probably knows the mayor’s gym locker combination, simply ignored Coffey’s query.

Scott Blair noticed, and promptly followed up, asking Gibson this question a second time, and the attorney quickly copped a plea.

He said he didn’t know.

Well, of course he didn’t. No one in the city knew, either.

In March, no one knew that Summit Springs was about to rise from the dead. No one knew that when it did, the city already had executed a deft 180-degree turn, ditched a three-year lawsuit faster than a used condom, and claimed a piece of the action, boastfully deploying that most exhausted of bromides, “public-private partnership,” to explain the turnabout.

In a city where 25% of the inhabitants live beneath the poverty line, no one knew how important is was for us to have a high-end hotel property clinging to the side of a geological questionable hillside, with an exhilarating view of Louisville for those well-appointed visitors in town to see friends who’ve taken up residence at the “luxury” balsa bocce hutches known as Break Wind Lofts at Duggins Flats.

But everyone knew, at least once the clearcutting began on the hillside, owing to statutory pre-emptive bat breeding regulations understood by so few public officials that John Rosenbarger came close to unceremoniously botching them within the confines of his Ohio River Greenway fiefdom, before rushing chainsaws at the last possible moment to further denude a constantly eroding riverbank.

By then, the full frontal Summit Springs slope already had been timbered, and when the inevitable questions started being asked, Scott Wood stepped forward to take responsibility. On Monday, Gibson again stated that Wood acted alone, entirely removed from City Hall’s oversight.

You’ll recall Richard Nixon saying the same about the Watergate break-in.

It’s a surprise that Wood wasn’t fired –not because he approved a clear-cut explicitly prohibited by the PUDD in question, but because by doing so, his boss’s public-private cat was loosened from its restraining bag, and the city was forced to come forward with its hackneyed “another heroic Gahan victory for God and country” press release before the errors in spelling and syntax had been corrected by the third floor’s cleaning lady.

Coffey’s question again: "When did we go from being in a lawsuit against (the Kelleys) to being a partner with them?"

Indeed.

For how long a period was the city spending money to contest the development it subsequently joined, while at the same time spending money to plan the exact terms of its participation?

Until we know the answer, there is an ongoing and perfectly legitimate question about conflicts of interest, even if wasn’t obvious at first.

The city’s economic development director is David Duggins. His sister is married to Paul Wheatley, chosen by the Kelleys to develop their land. Duggins’ preferred model of old school, back slapping, golf course visiting, strip club patronizing, hundred dollar handshake “economic development” (with taxpayer expense account) is tailor-made for just this sort of abuse – as is Gahan’s refusal to learn the meaning of the word “nepotism.”

However, one thing is clear. A City Hall constantly prattling about its prowess in public-private partnerships should be able to guarantee implementation of the Fawcett Hill Accords.

By doing so, Jeff Gahan would at least spare these ignored residents the financial burden of engaging attorneys and waging a war of legal attrition, which is their only choice at present.

---

When I told this story to a local political old-timer and asked for his reaction, here is what he said.

“John Gonder lives up on Fawcett Hill Road, right?”

---

I’d like a double for two nights at the Vindictive Suites by B. J. Sheraton, please. Check in is at 4? That’s perfect. I have bocce at 6, followed by mocktails on the River Run mezzanine.

Can you call me a cab?

Say what?

That’s okay.

I’ll just beam myself up.

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.

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.

Exciting things are happening in conflict of interest, right newspaperman?

It's a screenshot at the News and Tribune, snapped via iPhone late last evening.

If you’re wondering about the newspaper's averted eyes and softball tosses, here’s the answer: ad revenue. The Fourth Estate accepting money from local government.

What could go wrong?

The ad itself isn't well executed. The white text set against the color splash isn’t clear, although I believe it represents some level of truth in advertising:

A Deforestation City: Where Men Are Cash-Stuffed Envelopes, and Trees Are Scared.

It's a whole other topic in itself, because six years of Gahanism has failed to produce a sustained branding or marketing effort apart from the ubiquitous and sadly metaphorical "weighted down" anchor plague.

We patiently await the day when the newspaper's Bill Hanson takes a few minutes away from the exhausting process of hiring new Christian advocacy columnists to explain why we're wrong to point to these self-interested Gahan-generated campaign ads, as intended expressly to produce friendlier coverage.

Communication, newspaperman. Ever heard of it?

ON THE AVENUES: High atop Summit Springs with friends (and relatives) in low places.

ON THE AVENUES: High atop Summit Springs with friends (and relatives) in low places.

A weekly column by Roger A. Baylor.

---

But first …

A STATEMENT FROM OUR MAYOR

My fellow New Albanians, as your legally elected mayor I’m committed to making New Albany a fundamentally better place to live.

Lately there has been controversy about a development project called Summit Springs – retail, offices, living space and a hotel. It’s an unusually complicated situation, but I believe this development will contribute to the improvement of the city, and so I’m going to explain it to you.

In zoning-speak, Summit Springs is a Planned Unit Development (PUDD). It originated many years ago and was approved, according to the planning and zoning rules in effect at the time.

Then there were delays, and in the city’s view, the property’s owners (the Kelleys) lost the plot. The city felt they needed to seek approval a second time, owing to changed circumstances. They disagreed. This led to them filing a lawsuit against the city, and eventually, the judge ruled against us, making their development inevitable.

Precisely because there are valid concerns about the hilltop site for the second phase of Summit Springs, I decided as mayor that the city would be better off actively participating in the refashioned development project, rather than standing aside and doing nothing.

In my view, by virtue of partnering with the property owners and their development company, the city could more effectively enforce the terms stipulated by the PUDD. Moreover, with the city constructing the necessary access road, we could tie Summit Springs to State Street’s existing grid in a comprehensive way, ensuring traffic would be better controlled on this already busy thoroughfare.

This decision to create a “public-private partnership” was mine, and mine alone. Whether you agree or disagree, know that the buck stops with me. I possess the ultimate authority, and my department heads follow a script that I write.

Having said this, I also take full responsibility for a few missteps along the way.

Had the city won the lawsuit, the ultimate development plan may have turned out differently, but in case we lost, we needed to have a contingency plan of our own.

This is why it appears to some of you that we were spending money to fight the developer even as we were preparing for the possibility of joining the development. Actually, what we were doing was being prepared.

Consequently, it has been suggested that the city’s economic development director may have been overly zealous in taking part in preliminary discussions with the development company hired to build Summit Springs – before the lawsuit was resolved, and in conjunction with the development company’s owner, who happens to be the economic development director’s brother-in-law.

It was a mistake for me to ignore the conceivable conflicts of interest in this situation, and while I honestly believe there was no impropriety, it’s certainly true that appearances matter.

Furthermore, I’ve come to see that nepotism is a potentially serious matter, and as such, I’ll be appointing an independent board of review to examine all such cases in my administration, regardless of where this body’s investigation leads. The run-up Summit Springs will be included in this process.

Now, back to Summit Springs. The bottom line is that while our city council is justified in revisiting its planning and zooming ordinances so as to account for future developments, and should do so expeditiously, it cannot retroactively change the rules for Summit Springs.

I’ve met with the families on Fawcett Hill Road, and their two major requests – to keep their road from becoming a through-way, and to increase the depth of the green buffer between their homes and the Summit Springs development – are both reasonable and do-able.

Because the city is partnering with the Kelleys on Summit Springs, I like my chances of ensuring these requests are honored. I’ll see to it that they are, and that’s a promise. We’ll get it right.

Finally, not only are we obligated to follow the law with regard to the Summit Springs PUDD, and to safeguard those nearby residents of Fawcett Hill, but we must be mindful of our ongoing, city-wide difficulties with stormwater runoff. We’ve been doing our best, but we simply must do better.

It’s past time for a comprehensive, updated storm water master plan, and it will begin at Summit Springs. Ultimately, this revised master plan will include the usual proven engineering solutions as well as innovative “green” incentives for homeowners and businesses to do their little bit in restoring hydrological equilibrium to the city of New Albany.

Thanks for your time. I’m confident that the key to future success with projects like Summit Springs is a fundamental enhancement of communications with the public, because after all, your tax dollars are at stake. Call or e-mail me any time.

---

NA Confidential Department of Egregious Fiction Disclaimer:

“Yet again, you’ve been reading the words Mayor Jeff Gahan has not said, and will not say. These words are unlikely to be uttered, ever. Try to forget them. If you can’t forget, drink harder.”

---

The Courier-Journal’s Lexy Gross provides an excellent overview of Summit Springs in the context of Monday’s city council meeting (See also: Tighter development restrictions sought in New Albany, by Jerod Clapp).

Locals ask council for help to fight N.A. project

Some residents were disappointed to learn Monday night that the New Albany City Council probably won't take action against a disputed development project, despite acknowledging that city officials and the developer potentially violated a 2008 city ordinance in the process.

"It’s so clear this is not proper procedure," said resident Aaron Hellems, who has continuously fought the so-called Summit Springs project. "It’s so clear that no one really wants to step up to the plate and do anything about it. They feel empathy and understand we’re in a difficult position, but when it comes to saying this is wrong and needs to be corrected, no one is willing to take it up."

The development in question -- located off State Street in New Albany -- was last approved by the city's plan commission and council eight years ago. The planned unit development district, or the PUDD, was delayed because of economic conditions at the time, according to the city's counsel, Shane Gibson.

At some point early on, the city agreed it would pay for an extension of Daisy Lane, forming a public-private partnership with the developer ...

It was left to Dan Coffey to astutely quiz the 800-lb gorilla.

"When did we go from being in a lawsuit against (the Kelleys) to being a partner with them?" Coffey asked Gibson Monday.

Gibson, who as corporate counsel for the city has been privy to the location of so many dead bodies that he probably knows the mayor’s gym locker combination, simply ignored Coffey’s query.

Scott Blair noticed, and promptly followed up, asking Gibson this question a second time, and the attorney quickly copped a plea.

He said he didn’t know.

Well, of course he didn’t. No one in the city knew, either.

In March, no one knew that Summit Springs was about to rise from the dead. No one knew that when it did, the city already had executed a deft 180-degree turn, ditched a three-year lawsuit faster than a used condom, and claimed a piece of the action, boastfully deploying that most exhausted of bromides, “public-private partnership,” to explain the turnabout.

In a city where 25% of the inhabitants live beneath the poverty line, no one knew how important is was for us to have a high-end hotel property clinging to the side of a geological questionable hillside, with an exhilarating view of Louisville for those well-appointed visitors in town to see friends who’ve taken up residence at the “luxury” balsa bocce hutches known as Break Wind Lofts at Duggins Flats.

But everyone knew, at least once the clearcutting began on the hillside, owing to statutory pre-emptive bat breeding regulations understood by so few public officials that John Rosenbarger came close to unceremoniously botching them within the confines of his Ohio River Greenway fiefdom, before rushing chainsaws at the last possible moment to further denude a constantly eroding riverbank.

By then, the full frontal Summit Springs slope already had been timbered, and when the inevitable questions started being asked, Scott Wood stepped forward to take responsibility. On Monday, Gibson again stated that Wood acted alone, entirely removed from City Hall’s oversight.

You’ll recall Richard Nixon saying the same about the Watergate break-in.

It’s a surprise that Wood wasn’t fired –not because he approved a clear-cut explicitly prohibited by the PUDD in question, but because by doing so, his boss’s public-private cat was loosened from its restraining bag, and the city was forced to come forward with its hackneyed “another heroic Gahan victory for God and country” press release before the errors in spelling and syntax had been corrected by the third floor’s cleaning lady.

Coffey’s question again: "When did we go from being in a lawsuit against (the Kelleys) to being a partner with them?"

Indeed.

For how long a period was the city spending money to contest the development it subsequently joined, while at the same time spending money to plan the exact terms of its participation?

Until we know the answer, there is an ongoing and perfectly legitimate question about conflicts of interest, even if wasn’t obvious at first.

The city’s economic development director is David Duggins. His sister is married to Paul Wheatley, chosen by the Kelleys to develop their land. Duggins’ preferred model of old school, back slapping, golf course visiting, strip club patronizing, hundred dollar handshake “economic development” (with taxpayer expense account) is tailor-made for just this sort of abuse – as is Gahan’s refusal to learn the meaning of the word “nepotism.”

However, one thing is clear. A City Hall constantly prattling about its prowess in public-private partnerships should be able to guarantee implementation of the Fawcett Hill Accords.

By doing so, Jeff Gahan would at least spare these ignored residents the financial burden of engaging attorneys and waging a war of legal attrition, which is their only choice at present.

---

When I told this story to a local political old-timer and asked for his reaction, here is what he said.

“John Gonder lives up on Fawcett Hill Road, right?”

---

I’d like a double for two nights at the Vindictive Suites by B. J. Sheraton, please. Check in is at 4? That’s perfect. I have bocce at 6, followed by mocktails on the River Run mezzanine.

Can you call me a cab?

Say what? That’s okay.

I’ll just beam myself up.

---

June 2: ON THE AVENUES: A few beers at Vladimir’s local in Ostrava in June, 1989.

May 26: ON THE AVENUES: On the crass exploitation and politicization of tragedy.

May 19: ON THE AVENUES: Requiem for the bored.

May 12: ON THE AVENUES: A design for life.

May 5: ON THE AVENUES: Getting back, moving forward, drinking coffee.

Last of the red hot Duggins: Come for the council meeting, stay for the floor show.

Afterwards, he met with the mayor.

WEEKEND REWIND 3: "Caesar stars in 'conflict of interest' night as council approves, but slashes, bucks to 1Si." (2010)

(Edited on April 22 to reflect the 2008 origins of non-reverting monies -- R)

It was October 4, 2010, and hat in hand, One Southern Indiana's pre-Wassmer-sausage-fest kingpin Michael Dalby came to the council chambers after consecutive 5-4 votes in favor of 1Si's blood money of a care package, intended to be drawn from a non-reverting economic development fund created in 2008, one intended to provide authentic local economic development entities (as opposed to the gargantuan 1Si) a provision to lay claim to monies for specific economic development programs. 

What ensued was so typically New Albanian that a book could have been written about it (by an outside hack for hire, no doubt) and not the Bicentennial.  

Hence our discussion during the council meeting of April 18, 2013. Now you know the other side of the story.

As only New Albany's city council seems capable of doing to such an extreme degree of sad sack proficiency, the third reading of the "Money for Nothing" ordinance to provide taxpayer largesse to 1Si finally passed, although reduced, but only after an eternity of theatrical Duck Duck Goose that left onlookers exhausted and thirsty.

Admirably, Jeff Gahan and Pat McLaughlin had principled changes of heart, but Jack Messer and Dan Coffey also flipped -- in opposite directions, even though Coffey viciously pilloried 1Si before meekly voting to accept the compromise reduction in the amount of protection money paid them, but mind you, only for "past" services, which have not been itemized in any way, shape of form. It didn't matter to 1Si, which brought its heaviest, sub-Mendoza Line hitters into the fray to mechanically deny obvious political taints while flashing calculators to total the forthcoming amount of TG Missouri's Japan-bound air conditioning subsidy.

Over three readings, Kevin Zurschmiede and Diane Benedetti remained consistently in favor of ignoring 1Si's recent Frankenstein monster transformation into a political action committee; after all, KZ's a Republican already and DB might as well be, not least when she's wearing her nifty Savanarola outfit for Halloween and council conclaves.

And then there's Bob Caesar, 1Si member, 1Si advocate, 1Si fan, and sometimes even playing at being a councilman in real life. After exercising the most blatant conflict of interest vote since Benedetti's decision not to absent herself from her brother's real estate zoning appearances, Caesar took advantage of a five minute recess (for the purpose of council members receiving their stipends?) to bound across the room, beaming, and land in Michael Dalby's lap. The last time anyone saw giddiness like that, it was probably the high school prom. Unlike the aftermath of the prom, someone in this instance "got some."

One sits, and watches, and shrugs, and asks: If Bob Caesar, a downtown small businessman, cannot grasp the existence of other economic development models -- especially those pertaining to the place where he, himself, does business -- what hope is there of altering the failed corporate subsidy paradigm?

Caesar and many others like him just want to be accepted as members of the big boy's club, and the sad thing is that they never see the big boys openly snickering at them once their backs are turned. Imagine investing the money not as a corporate subsidy for billion dollar companies like TGI Missouri, but in helping to build the skill sets of our own people through education and training. Imagine the money actually reaching small businesses like Caesar's and the many others in New Albany.

1Si succeeds at its shell game because small-timers want to be part of the insider club. They'd be better off refraining from subsidizing the subsidizers, and instead of cradling the bottled water at networking functions, emulating Hemingway and using the bottle as a means of sovereign action by throwing it.

Other media coverage:
New Albany council cuts funding for chamber of commerce group (C-J)
New Albany City Council reduces, approves 1si money (Tribune)
COUNCIL MEETING 10/3/10 YES, IT WAS A LONG ONE (VOP)

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

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

Imagine that.

---

All this and Clyde Tolson, too. 

September 16, 2010

By ROGER BAYLOR, Local Columnist

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

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

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

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

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

---

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

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

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

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

---

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

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

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

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

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

---

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Give 'em hell, Matt: 1Si's candidate endorsements "unethical."

In his column today, Matt Nash offers clear thinking on One Southern Indiana's controversial candidate endorsements. It continues to amaze me how many of 1Si's own people oppose the oligarch enrichment organization's star chamber approach to interfering in the governmental process, but cannot offer an opinion openly for obvious reasons.

It's more than ironic ("hypocritical" springs to mind) that 1Si now purports to support localism with one hand (Think Local, or some such ineffectualism), while the other hand endorses candidates and positions actively designed to deter localism.

Perhaps 1Si thinks we don't notice, but we do. Too bad the same cannot be said of local politicos like Councilman CeeSaw, whose conflicts of interest v.v. 1Si continue to embarrass.

NASH: Who is paying for 1si

... I cannot stop One Southern Indiana from making whatever endorsements that they see fit. I believe it is unethical for them to ask local governments for money if this is the path that they have chosen.

REWIND: Caesar stars in "conflict of interest" night as council approves, but slashes, bucks to 1Si.

(Originally published on October 5, 2010)

As only New Albany's city council seems capable of doing to such an extreme degree of sad sack proficiency, the third reading of the "Money for Nothing" ordinance to provide taxpayer largesse to 1Si finally passed, although reduced, but only after an eternity of theatrical Duck Duck Goose that left onlookers exhausted and thirsty.

Admirably, Jeff Gahan and Pat McLaughlin had principled changes of heart, but Jack Messer and Dan Coffey also flipped -- in opposite directions, even though Coffey viciously pilloried 1Si before meekly voting to accept the compromise reduction in the amount of protection money paid them, but mind you, only for "past" services, which have not been itemized in any way, shape of form. It didn't matter to 1Si, which brought its heaviest, sub-Mendoza Line hitters into the fray to mechanically deny obvious political taints while flashing calculators to total the forthcoming amount of TG Missouri's Japan-bound air conditioning subsidy.

Over three readings, Kevin Zurschmiede and Diane Benedetti remained consistently in favor of ignoring 1Si's recent Frankenstein monster transformation into a political action committee; after all, KZ's a Republican already and DB might as well be, not least when she's wearing her nifty Savanarola outfit for Halloween and council conclaves.

And then there's Bob Caesar, 1Si member, 1Si advocate, 1Si fan, and sometimes even playing at being a councilman in real life. After exercising the most blatant conflict of interest vote since Benedetti's decision not to absent herself from her brother's real estate zoning appearances, Caesar took advantage of a five minute recess (for the purpose of council members receiving their stipends?) to bound across the room, beaming, and land in Michael Dalby's lap. The last time anyone saw giddiness like that, it was probably the high school prom. Unlike the aftermath of the prom, someone in this instance "got some."

One sits, and watches, and shrugs, and asks: If Bob Caesar, a downtown small businessman, cannot grasp the existence of other economic development models -- especially those pertaining to the place where he, himself, does business -- what hope is there of altering the failed corporate subsidy paradigm?

Caesar and many others like him just want to be accepted as members of the big boy's club, and the sad thing is that they never see the big boys openly snickering at them once their backs are turned. Imagine investing the money not as a corporate subsidy for billion dollar companies like TGI Missouri, but in helping to build the skill sets of our own people through education and training. Imagine the money actually reaching small businesses like Caesar's and the many others in New Albany.

1Si succeeds at its shell game because small-timers want to be part of the insider club. They'd be better off refraining from subsidizing the subsidizers, and instead of cradling the bottled water at networking functions, emulating Hemingway and using the bottle as a means of sovereign action by throwing it.

Other media coverage:
New Albany council cuts funding for chamber of commerce group (C-J)
New Albany City Council reduces, approves 1si money (Tribune)
COUNCIL MEETING 10/3/10 YES, IT WAS A LONG ONE (VOP)

Dealing from a stacked Bridges deck.

Courier-Journal reporter Marcus Green begins the deconstruction of Louisville and Southern Indiana Bridges Authority Chairman Charles Buddeke's conflicts of interest...

Potential bridges contractor looking at using Buddeke land, by Marcus Green, Courier-Journal.

A construction firm angling for work on new Ohio River bridges wants to locate a building and shipping yard on property owned by the family of the chairman of the agency that will select the project’s lead contractors.

Greenville, S.C.-based Fluor Enterprises is negotiating to use land along River Road controlled by a Buddeke family company, according to a June 28 letter from Fluor’s business development director, made public as part of an effort to change the property’s zoning.

Paul Buddeke is president of the Buddeke Co. and its subsidiary River Road Terminals. His brother Charles is chairman of the Louisville and Southern Indiana Bridges Authority, which is in charge of financing and constructing the Ohio River Bridges Project.

and Louisville Courant's Curtis Morrison provides further documentation, rightfully asking why Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear would appoint such a conflicted person in the first place.

Watch to see Charles Buddeke resign , at Louisville Courant.

Considering there are over 4 million people in Kentucky who do not stand to directly profit from the project, it is a testament to Beshear's resourcefulness that he was able to find an appointment who would.

My own joy comes from Buddeke himself who, when asked about the conflict, says “if that becomes a problem I can just...recuse myself from the process.” After years of insisting sans evidence that the Bridges Project has majority support and lying about both the number of jobs the project will create and the inability to make changes to it without starting from scratch (you know, "the process"), Buddeke says, "It's OK, just trust me."

As Morrison suggests, Kentucky gubernatorial politics may make questions of a possible Buddeke resignation from the Bridges Authority more prominent in local news. My question, though, given the level of purposeful misdirection prominent throughout "the process", is why that resignation call shouldn't be aimed at all Authority members.

Pots and kettles throughout Kentuckiana quiver as Kerry Stemler sneers: "Uninspired, uneducated, non-committed people."

Nice cameos, Curt; NAC appreciates it. Louisville Courant has the whole story here: "...uninspired, uneducated, non-committed people"- Kerry Stemler.

At Thursday morning's Tolling Authority meeting, the finance committee delivered to all the Authority members the draft of the proposed financing plan, that I guess they aren't planning on revealing to us until the December 13 public meeting, just 3 days before they vote on it.

Of course the most annoying question asked to the Authority members was a result of a press release sent out earlier Thursday morning: Say NO to Bridge Tolls calls for Tolling Authority to comply w/ Beshear's ethics order before December 16th vote approving tolls.

"Say NO to Bridge Tolls calls for 'Tolling' Authority to comply with Beshear's ethics order before December 16th vote approving tolls."

(Submitted press release)

12/9/2010

Say NO to Bridge Tolls calls for “Tolling” Authority to comply with Beshear's ethics order before December 16th vote approving tolls.

Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear has ordered members of policy-making boards such as the Louisville and Southern Indiana Bridges Authority to reveal any potential conflicts of interest on an official disclosure statement. Say NO to Bridge Tolls is calling for all “Tolling” Authority members (including those appointed by Indiana) to comply with Beshear's ethics order before the December 16th vote approving tolls.

The Courier-Journal reported a week ago that five members of the Tolling Authority a 14 member group named by Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson, have ties to The Build the Bridges Coalition through organizations that serve on the coalition’s board.

For example, Greater Louisville Inc., One Southern Indiana and the Louisville Urban League are all part of the coalition. Tolling Authority members, include chairman Charles Buddeke, who also is on the GLI board; Joe Reagan, GLI’s CEO; co-chairman Kerry Stemler and member Pat Byrne, who are affiliated with One Southern Indiana; and Ben Richmond, CEO of the Louisville Urban League may all have conflicts of interest. Additionally member Sandra Frazier may also have conflicts of interest. Her firm Tandem Public Relations built the website for The Build the Bridges Coalition and worked with the coalition on an aggressive media relations outreach program (according to their website).

Shawn Reilly of Say NO to Bridge Tolls said “We have asked that all members of the Louisville and Southern Indiana Bridges Authority comply with Governor Beshear's order before voting on the bridges financing plan at their December 16, 2010 meeting.”

Reilly also said “The public needs to know if Tolling Authority members or their families have ties to Wall Street banks or construction companies that stand to profit from potentially lucrative construction, consulting, or finance contracts.”

Say NO to Bridge Tolls has submitted a request to the Bridges Authority requesting copies of all the official disclosure statements and conflict of interest statements before the December 16th deadline. If the deadline is not met formal ethics complaints may be filled.

Say NO to Bridge Tolls is a broad-based community group representing tens of thousands of people across Indiana and Kentucky that are opposed to any tolls being placed on existing bridges or Spaghetti Junction, to pay for the Ohio River Bridges Project.

Link to Facebook Group

Link to Courier Journal story: Governor Beshear orders strict reporting of potential conflicts

Link to Courier Journal story, Pro-Ohio River bridge group's study sees tolls of 75 cents to $2

Contact: Shawn Reilly

Say NO to Bridge TOLLS

(502) 386-6096