The Missing Minutes ???

 

The Jeffersonville - Clark Co. Blog has received  what is alleged to be the original minutes of the Sept. 1, 2011 Redevelopment meeting, where Walnut Ridge owned by Jeffersonville mayoral candidate Dennis Julius is awarded the contract for the controversial Hwy 62 median landscaping project. The BatBlog did not get this through an open records request, they were e-mailed to the BatBlog account and the BatBlog (see disclaimer below) does not verify or claim they are the originals...only that this version  exists. It will be interesting how this version  compares to the ones apparently found and supposedly available through open records requests.

  The "Missing Minutes" the Batblog received aren't clear whether Julius as a sitting member of the Redevelopment Commission abstained or voted for the awarded contract,(bottom page 2) though it does say the vote was unanimous... Readers can make their own determination and interpretation , and actually it may be a moot point because it seems in the BatBlog's opinion that by Julius merely being a member of the Redevelopment. Commission and receiving and obtaining the benefits of the contract he may have been in violation of Indiana law:

IC 36-7-14-10
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IC 36-7-14-10
 Commissioners and nonvoting advisers; pecuniary interests in property and transactions Sec.10 (a) A redevelopment commissioner or a non voting appointed under section 6.1 of this chapter may not have a pecuniary interest in any contract, employment, purchase or sale made under this chapter. However, any property required for revelopment purposes in which a commissioner or non voting adviser has a pecuniary interest may be acquired, but only by gift or condemnation.

(b) A transaction made in violation of this section is void
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BatBlog Disclaimer:
The BatBlog neither claims the below documents obtained from an anonymous source are original only that they exist. As well the BatBlog is only stating our opinions on the legal ramifications and interpretations of the statutes listed above. It is our intention to inform the public and apply our opinion so that taxpayers and voters  can make educated decisions moving forward .....Thank You.....

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                                     JEFFERSONVILLE REDEVELOPMENT COMMISSION
                                                      SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES
                                                            SEPTEMBER 1, 2011

 The Jeffersonville Redevelopment Commission held a Special Meeting on September 1, 2011 at 5:30 PM in the Second Floor Conference Room, 500 Quartermaster Court, Jeffersonville, Indiana. The following were present:

James Lake, President
Derek Spence, Vice President
Dennis Julius, Secretary
Nathan Samuel

 Staff:
Mary Sue Ellenbrand, Secretary
David Lewis, Attorney
Andrea Stevens, Interim Director

Guests: Mike Hutt

Absent: Robert Stevens

CALL TO ORDER: Mr. Lake called the meeting to order at 5:30 PM.

CLAIMS: Ms. Stevens presented claims for $545,754.12 and $97,866.44 and property acquisition claims for $1,093,431.77. Mr. Spence made a motion to approve the claims. Mr. Julius seconded. Motion passed unanimously.

BIG FOUR BRIDGE LANDING STREETSCAPE PROJECT:

Ms. Stevens presented R-19-2011 which is a resolution that the Redevelopment Commission supports the city of Jeffersonville’s submittal of an application for grant funding to the Indiana Office of community and Rural Affairs to address the Big Four Bridge Landing Streetscape Project. The Redevelopment Commission commits the requisite local funds in the amount of $135,969.50 from the Falls Landing Tax Increment Financing District, as matching funds for the program. This commitment is contingent upon receipt of MSRP funding from the Indiana Office of community and Rural Affairs.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________


Mr. Samuel made a motion to approve R-19-2011. Mr. Julius seconded. Motion passed unanimously.

RESOLUTION NO. 2011-R-20:

This resolution adopts a list of real property interest to be acquired and the prices to be offered to the owners of such parcels. Due to Mr. Lewis not having prior information on this resolution the resolution was tabled until the next meeting. The commissioners did agree that the offers in Exhibit C could be made. Mr. Samuel made a motion to allow Ms. Stevens authorization to make offers in Exhibit C. Mr. Julius seconded. Motion passed unanimously.

FIRE DEPARTMENT MEMORIAL:

Ms. Stevens reported that the Fire Department will be dedicating a memorial on September 11, 2011. They are asking for $5,000 to landscape and finish the area. Mr. Spence made a motion to approve $5,000 for the Fire Department. Mr. Samuel seconded. Motion passed unanimously.

JEFFERSONVILLE BUILDING CORPORATION REINSTATEMENT AND ASSOCIATED FEES:

Ms. Stevens reported that the Jeffersonville Building Corporation needs to be reinstated. If this happens there will be fees involved. Ms. Stevens is asking the Redevelopment Commission to fund the fees when the reinstatement takes place. Mr. Lewis will investigate and report back at the next meeting.

BID SELECTION – 10TH STREET MEDIAN PLANTING PROJECT:

Ms. Stevens presented the bid for the 10th Street Median Planting. Walnut Ridge was the only bid. The bid was for $419,601.15. Mr. Samuel made a motion to approve Walnut Ridge’s $419,601.15 bid for the 10th Street Median Planting and authorize the Department of Redevelopment to enter into the contract. Mr. Spence seconded. Motion passed unanimously.

ADJOURNMENT: Mr. Lake asked if there were any additional business. Mr. Julius made a motion to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 6:20 PM.

Kevin Vissing Responds

Kelly Khuri asked Kevin Vissing (both Clark Co. councilpersons) about a plan he had discussed to satisfy both sides of the RDA issue in a post last week ...Kevin  kindly responded yesterday..

In reference to my last post. I discussed with a commissioner, how we could please the electorate on this RDA thing.

No illegal meetings 1 councilman, 1 commissioner. Totally legal to any paranoid voter out there.
Discussion about fixing RDA was knocked down by another commissioner.

If the commissioners don't appoint anyone to RDA , Scott Co. gets to pick all 5. That's not good. So stay tuned. If I find out anything new, I'll let (Colonel North, Nazi sympathizer), HT, Kelly and maybe one other poster, what I know. Thanks KV 

KV went on to add.....

No doubt Kelly does her homework. I've never heard anyone question that.
Kelly looks awfully great in her photo. I NEED SOME OF THAT REPUBLICAN MONEY , SO I CAN SPRING FOR A MORE PROFESSIONAL PHOTO LIKE HERS.

Finally Kevin added...
 I just read the evening news
It pretty much tells all there is to know about RDA.

The Missing Minutes

The BatBlog has discovered that the minutes from the Jeffersonville Redevelopment Meetings for the years 2010 and 2011 have mysteriously turned up missing. One has to wonder why and how important public documents could just suddenly just disappear from existence.

 Was this a political move to protect someone ??? What was on these missing minutes ??? Were they just misplaced ??? Were they ever posted to the City website if not Why ???

Interestingly enough local political pundit NHBSM seems to know a lot about them as he opined on the Clark County Chatter that :

 "The redevelopment minutes for 2010 and 2011, as far as I know, were never found. I know the minutes were taken, and voted on but it seem they were lost or shredded.

(Not Honest) Mike went on to say if any of the missing minutes were to show up it would be an "election year miracle"

Does NHBSM know more than he's letting on ??? Just a coincidence he mentioned "shredded" in his comments ???  Does he know exactly what happened to the minutes ??? Why would it be a miracle if they showed up ???

Well the BatBlog knows Democratic mayoral candidate Dennis Julius was on the Redevelopment Commission on the questioned years and NH has been a mouthpiece for the Julius campaign....More coincidences ???

 Also interestingly the years where the records strangely disappeared were the years when the commission discussed, took bids and ultimately awarded Walnut Ridge (owned by Julius) a nearly million dollar contract for installation and upkeep of the 10th St. median landscaping disaster.

 More questions arise.... did the minutes show Julius voted for the median landscaping project ???
did he abstain from the vote ??? Though it is unethical in our opinion and possibly illegal for a sitting member of the Commission to monetarily receive tax dollars for a contract rendered while he is on the commission. It would seem to  be even more unethical and illegal ??  if he was allowed to vote on said contract ....

There are lots of unanswered questions hopefully to be answered before election day. If these things did occur and the BatBlog is not accusing anyone merely asking the questions, this would be a serious breech of public trust and transparency....The BatBlog will continue to search and look for the answers to this and other issues and Remind everyone ....REMAIN VIGILANT MY FRIENDS....

More on RDA and a Question For Kevin Vissing

While it appears that the RCI (Regional Cities Initiative) is dead from lack of interest and serious questions about it's operation, another question has arisen. Clark Co. councilman Kevin Vissing has stated to the Jeffersonville - Clark Co. Blog .
"We may be coming up with a plan, that may satisfy both sides of this. It depends on how the state views it."






Fellow county councilperson Kelly Khuri has raised a question that is also intriguing to the BatBlog. Ms.Khuri asked :

"And Kevin just who is this "we"? Please do fill me in.

"Another "plan" ??
Well tell the citizens representative....ME all about this or is it another...hmmm how should I say ...oh I know , what Wendy Chesser calls "a secret," in the dark of night plan"

Ms. Khuri added :

"No more vagueness Kevin. It's time to REPRESENT the citizens NOT keep them in the dark.

To see Ms. Khuri's complete comments and KV's : ..CLICK HERE


It is not the BatBlog's intention to take sides but it appears Ms. Khuri has a legitimate question for Mr. Vissing. Why hasn't Ms. Khuri been involved in this "plan." The BatBlog is a big proponent of transparency and openness in government and hopes Mr. Vissing will be willing to share his/their plan with all of us.

No Democrats In Dist. 2 ???

   The BatBlog finds it curious that there were like 6 different Dem. candidates trying to caucus into the open Clark Co. council seat recently, yet nobody has stepped forward for the vacant  Democrat Dist.2 Jeffersonville City Council seat opening in the fall election.  Has this slot been opened to caucus ??? It's hard to believe there are no viable Dem. candidates in the whole district.

 The incumbent Dist.2 councilman  Rep. Ed "Moe Zastawny has served several terms but is by no means unbeatable. Especially after some questionable decisions made by the council in whole. It is no secret "Moe" Zastawny has an on going feud with Jeff mayor Mike Moore as does Dem. chairman Tom "Bulldozer" Galligan. Is there a conspiracy here ??? Is "Bulldozer" intentionally not caucusing a Dem. to run against "Moe" ??? If this is the case just one more reason Galligan needs to go as chairman of the local Democratic party, his leadership has taken Democrats to new lows and serious defeats at a much better organized and run Republican party here in Clark Co.

A Tip of the Hat...

 

A BatBlog "Tip of the hat" to Riverfox, Cindiloohoo, Gabriella, Biker Dude, Jiyabird  Kelley (sorry if I left anyone out) from the Clark County Chatter who came to the aid of Trisha Roehm of Southern Indiana Animal Rescue in her battle with the  County over zoning and her animal rescue operation. The hoped for result hasn't been realized as yet ,but hopefully County Comm. Rick Stephenson can help and use his influence to swing the results around to keep SIAR in operation as in the past...

 Our less fortunate four legged friends need a caring ambassador and caretaker for their needs and Ms Roehm has provided for them for a long time unselfishly and with compassion here in Clark Co.. Here's wishing her good luck in her battle and thanks for the support by those mentioned above. It's great and heart warming story when people band together for a worthy cause...

If you would like to help go to       http://www.gofundme.com/t62faesw 

From RiverFox

****************************************Breaking News***************************************
As predicted by the BatBlog the Jeffersonville City Council ignored public sentiment and their constituency by overwhelmingly overriding (8-1) mayor Mike Moore's veto of the  1 million dollar upgrade of the Woehrle soccer complex. Once again politics and special interest groups play a bigger influence on this council than the wants and needs of the general public who elected them. As this council has shown on a number of occasions they are inept and clueless in their decision making...
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The Lawsuit .....Mayor Vs. City Council

  The BatBlog has obtained a copy of the lawsuit filed on behalf of Jeffersonville mayor Mike Moore against the Jeffersonville City council concerning their (the council's) dual duties as both city council and parks authority. Recent events have shown that this dual responsibility is not in the best interest of the citizen of Jeffersonville and hopefully a judge will rule accordingly.....

Mayor Moore's Veto

The BatBlog has obtained a copy of Jeffersonville's mayor Mike Moore's veto of the proposed 1 MILLION dollar upgrade of the Woehrle soccer complex. While the veto itself isn't worth the paper it's written on due to the override coming from a vindictive, reckless Jeff city council, it does bring up some concerning issues.

  The issue is whether the Park Authority should be made up the very same people as on the city council, as is the case now. It is just not good government practice to have the city council funding their own projects and ideas, That is not how good government works or operates, and it totally bypasses the checks and balances intended to have government work efficiently and benefit the taxpayers and citizens.

  The dual responsibilities of a combined parks authority/ city council  circumvents the separation of executive and legislative powers of governmental duties. It is just not good practice and one wonders about the legality of it all. It has become exceptionally poor practice here locally due to the contentious relationship of the mayor and the current city council. It just gives the two opposing entities (mayor and council) another political football to play with.

  We can thank Ron (wishy washy ) Grooms who proposed the poor legislation that allowed this dual responsibility of a combined parks authority- city council. It has created another roadblock here locally for efficiency  and fiscal responsibility.

  On the project itself while it has been scaled down considerably from earlier 3 MILLION upgrade it still appears to the BatBlog to be a totally unnecessary  waste of money for a facility in a poor location and not really wanted or utilized by a majority of the electorate. It appears though that the 1 MILLION upgrade is getting ready to be shoved down the taxpayers throats...due mainly to the Parks authority- city council's dual responsibilities and counterproductive ability to make up their own projects  and then vote for the funding of the same project.  It's just a poor way to run a railroad or a City......

A Message from Rick Stephenson

  County Commissioner Rick Stephenson sent me an e-mail requesting I post this message. So here you go Rick and by the way I think it's a great idea...any openness and communication is so important and has been lacking here locally for a long time....Here's hoping some of the other office holders and offices (City and town councilpersons, mayors, assessor. etc.) will follow your lead and open up a line of communication with the taxpayers and voter's who elected them.....

From County Commissioner Rick Stephenson:

Seeking input:

I am considering having a forum once a month for any citizens of the county to come and voice any concerns about the county.  This will not be an official action of the Commissioners office, but a chance to talk directly to me about any concerns that you may have.  No action will be taken at these meetings. 

I will make notes of the issues to research and advice how to proceed to rectify situations. I would also remind all that I will be honest with my answers and not all issues can be corrected by the County. 

I will probably allocate an hour for this to take place. If it runs over I will stay longer.  This will be your face time in an informal setting to voice all concerns of the county.  This is also a time to let me know what is going right in the county as well as what might be happening that you disagree with. All discussions will be civil and calm. (Not looking to get mugged here) 

As I have stated, I am seeking input as to is this something that the citizens of the county would support.  It could get pretty lonely up there if I am all by myself. 

If any of you belong to any organizations that would like me to visit for any question and answer period just call me to set a date.  My personal cell is 502-468-9325

More on the RCI ....We Still Have Another Chance To Stop It....

 

In the aftermath of yesterday's vote approving the Regional Cities Iniative by the Clark Co. council one has to be dubious of the claims by several of the councilperson's that of a majority of the e-mails they received were for the Initiative. The good news is though, yet another county (Floyd) by a 5-2 vote has wisely rejected and according to reports may have doomed the plan in this area due to lack of population requirements.

  The BatBlog feels the NO vote by the surrounding counties makes our own county council look rather foolish, uneducated on the issue, not caring about the wants of their constituents and playing politics instead of doing the right thing. It's no secret that several on the council  at times are pretty peeved and put back at councilwoman Khuri. Ms. Khuri was a staunch believer this program wasn't right and was vocal to the point of possibly ruffling the feathers of some of her fellow councilpersons. Let's hope that this council isn't playing politics instead of doing what's best for county residents, voters, and taxpayers. as we move into the future.

  Congratulations to Ms Khuri, Tina Webster and other staunch advocates who gave up their personal time to educate voters and show their feelings to voters and county councils in this area. Though they didn't get the vote desired here in Clark Co. it appears to be dead in this section of the state. If by some loophole it arises from the dead, we need to bombard the statehouse with e-mails and letters telling Pence to take his carrot elsewhere, as our area is doing just fine developing business and growth without his gimmicky plan that smells of big government and possible corruption down the road.

  Hopefully in bipartisan way Democrat's, Republicans, Libertarians, and independents have arose with a common sense  goal in mind and have buried this thing once and for all...

Remain Vigilant My Friends....

Vote NO....to the Regional Cities Initiative

  A very important vote will be coming up this week before the Clark Co. Council. The BatBlog has learned that the council is leaning heavily towards voting YES to the Regional Cities Initiative the brainchild of Indiana governor Mike Pence. The BatBlog along with many Clark Co. citizens feel this Initiative is not in the best interest the citizens and taxpayers of our county. This is a complicated and confusing issue that we feel the people aren't well educated about and are in the dark concerning the details. In essence the passing of this program would basically take away the right of the people to control their tax dollars, as non elected appointed officials will be overseeing this project which leaves it in our opinion open to cronyism, waste and favoritism.

Below local realtor and incoming Sellersburg town councilwoman Martina "Tina "Webster gives an excellent explanation of the program and it's ramifications if it is passed. The BatBlog urges you to watch and learn from this video and contact your local Co. councilperson and tell them your opposition to this Initiative,,,,Tell them to vote NO....

Politics as Usual in Clark County...

 

 

   More politics as usual in Clark Co. as once again the party caucus system gets it wrong. Lead by party chair Tom Galligan local Democratic precinct committee persons chose to appoint Barbara Bratcher Haas to replace long time, well respected Democratic Sellersburg Clerk Treasurer  Dave Kinder who recently passed away.

  Nothing against Ms. Haas as she has served honorably in several political positions in the past here in Clark Co. but apparently Mr. Kinder's dying wish was for his Deputy Michelle Miller (R) to fill out his term until this November's election where Ms. Miller is on the ballot for the Clerk/Treas. position.

  It's pretty sad  when a long time loyal , well respected  Dem. who served admirably like Dave Kinder did, has his dying wish snubbed by fellow Democrats all in the name of politics. The honorable thing to do would have been to honor Mr. Kinder's wishes and allow Ms. Miller to fill out his term, but no this is Clark Co. and the same caucus that appointed John "Toxic John" Perkins as county commissioner got it wrong again.....

  To add insult to injury as reported by the News/Tribune Ms. Haas had made it known that Ms. Miller would be replaced along with her assistant in the Clerk/ Treas. office....a sorry state of affairs and another black mark on local politics.

  The BatBlog has stated before it's time to give Dem. party chair Tom Galligan a plague. thank him for his service and move on . Under his leadership the local Dem. party has sunk to record lows both politically, ethically and at the ballot box. Republicans will continue their dominance and record beat downs over the Dem. party until Galligan is removed or does the right thing and retires.

The Power of the People and Social Media...

 

The power of the people aided by the insurgence and popularity of social media was never so evident as in the past several months. We the people are having our voices heard thru Facebook, the Clark County Chatter and hopefully influenced a little bit by the Jeffersonville - Clark Co. Blog (the BatBlog,) Concerned and empowered citizens are speaking out on key issues and are making a difference.

   Cases in point are the Greater Clark Co. School referendum where GCCS is asking for over 100 million dollars to revamp the Clark Co. (specifically Jeffersonville school system.) Already GCCS has changed course of closing downtown elementary schools due to the uproar and in a large part the Facebook page opposing the plan. The BatBlog feels the whole referendum is doomed to failure this fall when it goes on the ballot. Due mainly to social media , thru the sources named above that have informed and educated voters of their lack of confidence in the administration and school board to do the right thing and to spend educational tax dollars wisely.

  Another case is the Jeffersonville Parks Authority's (city council) proposed Woehrle soccer/ sports complex where initial plans had over 3 million dollars earmarked for a facility that is in a poor location, has poor roads leading to it and frankly not many people were interested in. Again thru social media concerned taxpayers raised their voices over wasted dollars and while apparently the new complex will still be built, it will be a scaled down quite significantly about 1/3 of the original plans.

  The Hwy. 62 median landscape disaster "the mess in the middle" is another example where citizens realized from the beginning this was a colossal mistake and waste of OUR hard earned money, Through local social media it was brought to the forefront and now thankfully is coming to an end and will save hundreds of thousands of dollars in the process.

..

The BatBlog has been on top of these issues from the start voicing opposition and hopefully playing a small part in making a difference...On a smaller scale but equally important the BatBlog (through readers tips) has exposed the rampant drug usage in the Clark Co. jail which is now being addressed by the new sheriff's administration. Small issues like special treatment for individuals like Joe Renck's parking space in a no parking zone  (The Story) have been addressed and rectified also the high grass in Allison Brooke Park. As well we have exposed self proclaimed "city watchdog' NHBSM for what he is..



Continue what we've started ...politicians read Facebook the CCC and thie BatBlog everyday....report to hoosiertaxpayer@outlook.com...

We have made a difference and will continue as long as we  "Remain Vigilant"