It's Amazing How Far We Have Fallen Since Mayor Roberts

(mbawrites.com)

Last night, I attended the Meet The Candidates Night event at the United Neighborhoods Of Evansville meeting. I would first like to thank UNOE for putting on the event. This was my first UNOE event and I am very impressed with the structure of their organization as well as their goals, beliefs, and commitment to Evansville. I think UNOE is just what we need to fix the many problems that exist around town.

In regards to the candidates speeches, I came away with the impression that if we could have captured all the hot air in that room last night we would never need to pay a Vectren heating bill again.

Over 50 years ago, our city government, our political leaders, and our city use to stand for something. Mayor Hank Roberts came to office with a purpose and a plan, not with a goal of padding his resume or getting a job promotion. His "Plan of Progress" was widely successful and is still paying dividends for our city. With his plan, he gave life to Roberts Stadium and preserved the Soldiers & Sailors Coliseum.

But in the end, it cost Roberts his job. It only took one term as mayor before the naysayers had finally overwhelmed him. Yet, when everything was said and done, it was Roberts, not the naysayers, who Evansville remembers and misses the most. Shortly before his death 25 years ago, many local residents visited him and brought him cards during the holidays...

http://local.evpl.org/views/viewimage.asp?ID=678353

Roberts' goal was not to become mayor because he wanted a job, he wanted to improve his own career, or he wanted money & fame. Rather, his one and only goal was clearly to get things done. He knew that building Roberts Stadium would not be popular until he would be long gone from office. He also knew he would take a lot of heat for not bulldozing the coliseum over. But Roberts said damn the torpedoes and got it done. If he would not have done that, Evansville would probably be a smaller town than Newburgh today.

Now, our city has fallen victim to a strong and unrelentless pall. At last nights meeting, there were indeed some bright spots. Of the 5 candidates on the right of this blog, 3 of them were asked about Roberts Stadium specifically (if I remember correctly). All 3 candidates, Dr. Adams, Al Lindsey, and Lon Walters reiterated that they were fully behind saving Roberts Stadium. I was glad to see Lon remind the crowd that the correct step to take is to place indoor soccer, football, basketball, youth sports, and trade shows in there for which I have identified the proper investor for.

As for some of the remaining candidates, all I can say is WOW. I'm now thoroughly convinced they just don't get it. These candidates, who decided to keep reminding us that demolition should be left open as an option, kept telling us over and over that they wanted to see the best outcome for the taxpayer.

This may sound good on the surface to those who don't do any research on the candidates, but in reality it is just a bunch of fluff and I will tell you why.

Of those who brought up demolition and converting the land to a park, did any of them give a price estimate for this park or any other alternative project?

NO

Of those who did not give a specific plan for Roberts Stadium, did they get an estimate for raising the floor (which I have and it's $400,000-$500,000)?

NO

Of those who did not give a specific plan for Roberts Stadium, are they aware and have they began exploring the fact that the Indiana Pacers are looking to create their own NBDL team?

NO

Of those who did not give a specific plan for Roberts Stadium, have they researched the leads I have compiled which include an investor with 2 + teams, connections to mid size concerts, and youth sports?

NO

Note: Lon Walters has done this and even brought the Courier & Press article where I announced this with him. Here is the article for those interested...

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2011/jun/19/roberts-stadium-deserves-judgment-from-fair/?partner=RSS

Of those who said a park on the Roberts Stadium lot might be better, did any of them say how they were going to keep their new park from reproducing in Wesselman Woods' virgin forest?

NO

Basically, if any of these candidates would have really cared about finding a solution for Roberts Stadium, they would have done just a little bit of research on Roberts Stadium. Yet they did not and now claim they are in it for the taxpayer? If they were really in it for the taxpayer, wouldn't they already be investigating the leads on Roberts Stadium that would save the city from having to demolish this legendary facility? Wouldn't they at least like to know that demolition is a zero-sum game because anything else on the lot will cost just as much?

This is the type of mindset that has destroyed our town for almost 50 years now. We are given candidates who are seeking office for their careers, not because they have plans, visions, and ideas for Evansville. And when they are cornered on this, they claim they are in it for the taxpayer even though these candidates have put up zero opposition to our county wasting over $100 million on roads to nowhere while our EVSC budget is getting close to $200 million. In fact, some of these candidates are proud of their support for these wasteful roads that will do nothing more than create urban sprawl.

The scariest and most disappointing statement I heard last night came when Commissioner Winnecke said he had no specific capital improvement projects in mind. I found this to be extremely disappointing given that Commissioner Winnecke has the 2001 downtown master plan in his jobs plan and high speed rail in his transportation plan.

While refusing to spend money now on capital improvement projects (such as Roberts Stadium) may seem to be a good answer to those who are worried about taxes, the truth is, all it does is cost both our city and our taxpayers who will end up deferring these projects to a 30 year bond that will cost us even more with interest...

http://evansvillemovingforward.blogspot.com/2011/09/why-penny-pinchers-are-driving-us-into.html

After last night, I am left wishing mayor Roberts was here, just like Hank Williams does with Abe Lincoln...




If we are going to save Roberts Stadium so that future generations can see an icon of Evansville's great history, we need to elect candidates that are genuinely serious about Roberts Stadium. We've seen candidates tell us a thousand times that they would form a committee if elected, but the clock is ticking on Roberts Stadium right now. We can't afford to lose golden opportunities such as having a NBDL team affiliated with the Indiana Pacers.

You shouldn't have to be elected to give an effort to save Roberts Stadium. I have done got an estimate for raising the floor, lined up one investor with multiple teams, and have identified how we can make the ball fields work at Kleymeyer Park.

Over 50 years ago, Hank Roberts came into the mayors office with a plan, a vision, and a goal for improving Evansville. It's about time our local leaders did this today!