I Call To The Stand The Evansville Parks Department

(koehlerlaw.net)

Note: This coming week, I will be discussing issues and concerns that are in relation to the questions and comments that Mayor-Elect Lloyd Winnecke expressed during last night's meeting. The main and sole purpose of this is to ensure that everyone is on the same page and fully educated about the benefits of Roberts Stadium versus the negatives of the counter-proposals. Education is key to Roberts Stadium receiving a fair trial.

Since the ball fields project died a slow and painful death, Roberts Stadium has been on a trial that will ultimately determine its life and fate. There is no question that Roberts Stadium is the defendant in this case.

Since day 1, the plaintiffs in this trial have attacked Roberts Stadium on many fronts but to no avail. They have claimed that Roberts Stadium isn't in good shape, yet the HNTB report states otherwise. They have claimed that no one is interested in investing in Roberts Stadium, yet the emails from Chip Rosetti prove this to be a complete lie. They have also claimed that Roberts Stadium isn't compatible with anything affordable. Once more, the emails to engineers involved with Roberts Stadium suggest that raising the floor at Roberts Stadium is very much affordable ($400,000 to $500,000) and would eliminate the most expensive part of Roberts Stadium-the water pumps.

Now, the plaintiffs are attacking Roberts Stadium on what appears to be one last front. They are now claiming that the land which Roberts Stadium sits on shall serve as a green space instead. They claim that this solution is cheaper and more practical.

To get to the bottom of this claim, we need to call the Evansville Parks Department to the stand. Why? Because previous testimony from the Evansville Parks Department suggests that a green space will not be cheaper than Roberts Stadium, nor will it be free.

First of all, it is important to understand that building a park next to Wesselman Park, which is an Old Growth forest, is not practical as the newly planted trees will produce seedlings that will migrate to the Old Growth forest and damage the eco-system. I will be talking about this in an upcoming post.

On June 20,2010, in an interview with the Evansville Courier & Press, the Evansville Parks Department gave us some quotes that go a long way in answering some of our questions...

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2010/jun/20/special-report-evansville-parks-department-isnt/

Note: The following are questions asked by me. The answers are quotes taken from the above article. These ARE NOT direct answers to my questions.

Question: If Roberts Stadium is turned into a park, a green space, or ball fields, will your department be able to handle the extra amount of work?

Answer: "In discussing a plan to build new baseball and softball fields at Wesselman Park, proponents of the project have yet to give much attention to one important question: Who will perform the maintenance?

Dan Schall, executive director of the Evansville Parks Department, said he doesn't think that's a responsibility his staff can take on, not without more help at least."

Question: Are there any additional avenues of funding that you expect to receive to offset the additional maintenance costs of a Roberts Stadium park?

Answer: "And he(Schall) isn't likely to find the money for extra work any time soon,
especially as state leaders continue to press forward with limits on cities'
ability to raise property taxes.

"Financially, we don't know how we would do it," Schall said.
The Parks Department already at times can seem to have too few resources to
undertake the tasks laid before it, Schall said."

Question: Does your crew ALREADY maintain Roberts Stadium?

Answer: "Beyond that, separate crews maintain 21 special properties, including Roberts Stadium, The Victory, Swonder Ice Arena and Fendrich, Helfrich and McDonald golf courses. And there are the city's 51 street boulevards, although the responsibility of mowing them is largely contracted out to private firms."

Question: As your department struggles to stay level with the existing facilities you have to maintain, are there even more challenges ahead for you?

Answer: "The dearth in hiring has come at the same time as the department's responsibilities have expanded to include the maintenance of the Goebel Soccer Complex, new sections of the Pigeon Creek Greenway Passage and other properties."

Question: Have all of your parks been adequately maintained at all times?

Answer:"He(Schall) said he wouldn't be surprised if many residents can recall seeing instances of high grass standing in local parks.

"It can be that at the beginning of the year, we are trying to get our pools
going," he said. "And the people in the community see the grass growing, and
it's, 'How come you are not out here cutting the grass?' Well, we are out here
trying to get our pools going at the same time."

Question: Does the public genuinely understand what they are in for with a new park at the Roberts Stadium lot?

Answer: "Susan Harp, chairwoman of the parks, trees and beautification committee of the United Neighborhoods of Evansville, said she doubts the public appreciates how
difficult it is to maintain a park."

Question: Are there other parks that should get priority over building a park at Roberts Stadium?

Answer: "Others in Evansville say they have been patiently waiting for the city to make improvements to parks near their homes. Mary Kixmiller, president of the Tepe Park Neighborhood Association, said she is expecting a decision soon on the future of Tepe Pool, which was closed in 2006 after being deemed to be in poor condition."

Question: Critics of Roberts Stadium say it must turn a profit to stick around even though they refuse to count the indirect spending that events such as high school basketball tournaments will bring. Has your new Goebel Soccer Complex turned a profit without counting the indirect benefits?

Answer: "Schall said new sports fields have proved their value to the community, even if they aren't money-makers for the Parks Department. Goebel Soccer Complex, opened in 2004, has yet to turn a profit. But any measure of its success would be incomplete without taking into account the revenue it has brought to local hotels, shops and restaurants, he said."

Question: Did the previous EVCB think that demolishing Roberts Stadium would cost the current projection of $200,000?

Answer: "But the Visitors Bureau has discussed its plans in public on several occasions, saying its budget of between $15 million and $18 million for the project sets aside about $1.25 million for demolishing Roberts Stadium."

Question: Were the ball fields, which stood a greater chance of either a park or green space of profiting, projected to profit?

Answer: "Dunn said he isn't disheartened by the thought that the fields may run a deficit, especially if that happens only in the early years.

"We don't think of them as a profit center," he said."

Question: It is estimated that Roberts Stadium, in mothball formation, costs $300,000 a year to maintain. How much would the ball fields, which would have taken up the same amount of land and used similar materials such as trees and landscaping as a park or green space cost to maintain?

Answer: " For the fields to be built at Wesselman, research conducted by Dunn and others suggests an operating cost of between $300,000 and $500,000 a year, he said."

Question: Has your department done an acceptable job of maintaining the parks you already have such as the Goebel Soccer Complex?

Answer: "Yet even the best management can't overcome every adverse circumstance. Schall concedes the Parks Department has had a "bad year" at the Goebel Soccer Complexso far in 2010.

Schall said the condition of one field was bad enough to be deemed unsuited for
matches in the Indiana State Cup Preliminary Round, held in the middle of May."

Question: How does your customers feel about the condition of the Goebel Soccer Complex?

Answer:" In an e-mail sent to Schall and Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel, Scales called the Goebel Complex "an embarrassment to our city.""

Question: Do customers of the Goebel Soccer Complex approve of the product?

Answer: " Jennifer Scales, whose two children play for the Southwestern Indiana Soccer Association, said she wasn't surprised by the decision.

Scales later said playing at the fields costs too much for what a team gets
in return.

"If I were scheduling a game, I would avoid the Goebel Soccer Complex because
of the field conditions, price and lack of general accommodations," she said."

Question: Is placing down materials for a green space or park, such as sod, free?

Answer: "Earlier this month, the Parks Board awarded a $12,600 contract to the local firm GrassMasters Sod Farm to replant 12 acres at the Goebel complex."

Question: Last question, if Roberts Stadium is saved, it will likely be placed in the hands of an organization such as SMG or a non-profit organization such as a foundation. Did moving Roberts Stadium from the Evansville Parks Department to the Evansville Vanderburgh County Building Authority help with your budget?

Answer: "The Downtown arena, for one, won't be the Parks Department's responsibility to keep up, as Roberts Stadium is.

That work instead will fall to the City Building Authority. Schall said he is
grateful for the switch."

There you have it, nothing, and I mean nothing, in that article suggests that there is any room whatsoever in the budget of the Evansville Parks Department for yet another park or green space to be built at Roberts Stadium. Nor is there any evidence to suggest that this park or green space would be free or would cost less to maintain than Roberts Stadium.

It's very simple. If you are looking at the Roberts Stadium situation from a financial standpoint, you have no choice but to fight to save Roberts Stadium. If Roberts Stadium is renovated, the pumps, which are the main expense of Roberts Stadium, will be eliminated. Furthermore, the events inside Roberts Stadium which could include indoor football, soccer, minor league basketball, USI basketball, high school basketball, youth sports, trade shows, professional lacrosse, inline skating, and mid-size concerts will offset the small costs of running Roberts Stadium. Whereas, a green space or park, stands no chance of making any money.

Before we decide that demolishing Roberts Stadium and building a green space or park on the lot is "what is best for the taxpayers," we must do a little investigating. WE MUST CALL THE EVANSVILLE PARKS DEPARTMENT TO THE STAND!

(truenewsfromchangenyc.blogspot.com)