Death Sentence for the Mess in the Middle...

  Mayor Mike Moore of Jeffersonville has declared the death sentence for the Walnut Ridge disaster of  of a landscaping job along the 10th St. medians. Citing safety concerns Moore says the trees will remain but the medians will be planted with grass seed. This puts an end to the foolish idea of the Jeff city council to pour more money into this poorly planned money pit

This boondoggle  "The Mess in the Middle" was an over priced, over grown mess from day 1. The BatBlog bids it a good riddance...We do hope that a good home and some use can be found for some of the plants as it would be a shame to just destroy them...Maybe NHBSM needs a landscaping update...

All it needs is a little Roundup

Got a Story ???

Have you got a story ??? Want to get things done ???  Share it with the Jeffersonville - Clark Co, Blog (BatBlog) at  hoosiertaxpayer@outlook.com. Confidentiality guaranteed ...

The BatBlog is your place to report any suspicious or shady going ons, Our goal is to expose what is right and wrong in the local political scene and make residents, voters and taxpayers more aware, more educated and better prepared to elect better representatives of the people of Jeffersonville and Clark Co.

 The only way to keep our tax dollars safe from mismanagement and waste is to "Remain Vigilant" and with vigilance and sharing information through social media the taxpayer has more tools available than ever before to fight corruption and mishandling of tax funds. Politicians work for us and now more than ever we can hold them accountable for their actions and the money we pay them to be working for US....not special interests or their personal likes or agendas...

 As Always Remain Vigilant My Friends !!!

Win, Win Situation...Clark Memorial Hospital Sale

 It's nice  reporting some good news for a change. The taxpayers of Clark Co. are off the hook for 50 million dollars owed on a bond for Clark Co. Hospital under terms of agreement on the sale of the hospital to LifePoint.

The operations at Clark Memorial had become a money pit... The BatBlog has been informed that allegedly Clark Memorial under the current management was close to defaulting on the monthly bond payment which could have forced reduced services or possibly even closing the doors of CMH and making Clark Co. government and taxpayers responsible for the bond payment...The sale and bailout of CMH is a win, win situation for county residents.

 In the agreement Clark Co. taxpayers will not face anymore liabilities from hospital operations and the bond will be paid off. Current employees will retain their jobs (subject to drug test), capital improvements to the hospital will be made, county inmates will continue to  get medical care for 5 years and the Doctor's groups affiliated with Nortons will be retained.

 The BatBlog would like to thank the County Commissioners and the group of people who worked with them to hammer out this deal which is in the best interests of Clark Co. taxpayers and residents...

Whose 11 Point Plan Is It ???

 

It appears Ed Z. feels he's under personal attack by angered residents for comments in his 10/11 point plan for Jeffersonville's future. Now he knows how the residents of Clark Arms must feel when a public official recommends their homes be replaced by "upscale" condos and they be relocated so as to increase the City's tax base. These residents made up of low income elderly and disabled were told basically they just don't fit into Ed Z's vision for the city's future in their "unsafe" apartment complex.

   His idea doesn't include where and how to pay for these residents of Clark Arms to be relocated, just they and their homes just don't fit into his master plan for the future of Jeffersonville. Instead of a plan to improve and make safe the living conditions for these residents , he suggests we just move them out hinting they provide little or no "disposable income" or tax base.

  Mr. Zastawny has no idea what a personal attack is .... Example: being told you don't belong in the new and improved downtown district.... being told your residence is unsafe and unsightly.  Makes no difference that  limited resources and income makes downtown convenient and practical for these residents living needs and quality of life. Now that improvements have been made downtown and your apartment building is now in prime location you are no longer wanted or fit into the future master plan....Now that is a personal attack.

 Mr Zastawny is playing the victim card because outraged residents spoke up and called him out by speaking from their hearts.

 The BatBlog wonders if Ed. Z's plan is a trial balloon for fellow councilman and mayoral candidate Dennis Julius ???  Julius has been very reluctant in our opinion of  stating just what his plan's are on the Canal ???  10 St. median mess ??? etc. etc. In just about every issue he appears to stand in the background and go along with the council majority... Is Ed.Z's plan also favored by Julius ???  They seem to vote alike on almost every issue...If not Julius needs to step forward with his own plan so the voters can get a feel of his own ideas before Election Day...

Thanks to My Friend RiverFox for Sharing With The BatBlog....

Asshole of the Month ...Ed (Moe) Zastawny

  Congratulation to Ed (Moe) Zastawny the BatBlog's "Asshole of the Month". In Moe's 10 point plan for the City of Jeffersonville (actually it's 11 points which makes one wonder about Zastawny being part of the city's financial numbers) Moe wants to tear down the Clark Arms low income apartment complex and replace it with "upscale" condos.

 Gee thanks Moe from the less fortunate and elderly who you conveniently want to just move out thanks to the revival of downtown due to the brand spanking new Big Four Bridge ...which by the way your council had practically no part in developing. You might know the City gets one nice feature (walking bridge) and all of sudden it isn't good enough for the poor or elderly...

 Yeah let's just cast the residents aside to make room for your well to do cronies now that this area is acceptable to them. Never mind that your 10 errr 11 point plan makes no mention of how to house the castoffs once their home is torn down.....Never mind the poor and elderly have been the backbone of the downtown for a long time ....it's time for them to go...

  The BatBlog wonders if fellow councilman and mayoral candidate Julius helped think up the 11 points in Moe's 10 point plan ??? Yeah Ed "Moe " Z showed his true colors and how he thinks about the majority of town folk ....Let them eat cake....

Ed Z. now makes the BatBlog hall of shame and a charter member of "Asshole of the Month" club....

Who Cuts The Grass ??? Allison Brooke Park

*****************************************************UPDATE****************************************
Once again the BatBlog get's er done.... park was freshly mowed today and looks good...don't know who cut it most likely not the Parks Dept. though...sounds like Parks Authority is too busy trying to move the poor and elderly out of downtown
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 The BatBlog will give who ever a break because of the continuous rain lately...but just wondering who cuts the grass at Allison Brooke Park ???

It's getting a little shabby lately...and the BatBlog understands the Park's Authority (City Council) doesn't maintain some of the City parks....(figure that one out)... The understanding is the mayor and city council's pissing contest is the reason for this asinine impasse.

Let's see the Parks authority maintains the  Hwy. 62 medians...Is this a park now ??? but they don't maintain Allison Brooke or the Big Four Landing Parks are they still considered parks ???
Seems like a pretty simple situation turned complicated by a bunch of idiot politicians...

Is it asking too much to have the "Parks" Dept. maintain the errr Parks... Just wondering who do we call to get the grass cut at Allison Brooke ??? The  Street Dept. ??? Recorder's office ??? Sewer Dept. ???

Ahhh remember simpler times when the Parks Dept. took care of parks, Street Dept. took care of streets and your sewer bill could be payed without taking out a second mortgage....Only in Jeffersonville.....

Mistrust It Runs Deep...

 It seems like everyday we hear or read about a story where either an elected official or a body of elected officials have betrayed the trust of the voter's and taxpayers. Creating a mistrust that is pretty prevalent among the populace.

 Case in point is the Greater Clark Co, School's referendum and initiative to build, upgrade, realign and hopefully improve area schools and education. The original plan  met a wave of opposition  because of  plans to close several neighborhood schools mainly in the downtown area. The local school administration and the complying school board quickly changed course after a series of public meetings, where citizens could vent their opposition and did so vocally.

 Now the revamped plans and referendum supposedly will keep the initially planned closed schools open. This  apparent gesture of good will and listening to the people will hopefully gain momentum to have the GCCS referendum (which includes a tax hike) pass in the fall general election. Will this promise to keep these schools open be enough to gain the YES vote the school administration wants ???

 The BatBlog thinks NOT, that prevailing feeling of mistrust runs deep  and while GCCS Superintedent  Melin may have every intention of keeping his promise for the schools in question to remain open. The BatBlog feels the consensus of the voters will be to turn down ANY tax increase and the referendum. First of all voters locally don;t have much confidence in elected officials spending their tax dollars wisely, especially here in Jeffersonville where time and time again money has been wasted by various groups of officials....you know who they are.

 Secondly Dr. Melin's own study said the downtown school's originally set for closure needed a lot of improvements, but curiously there was no outlay for money for improvements for these schools in the revamped plan. That raises the question in a lot of people's minds that these schools will eventually be closed regardless ???...Another case of mistrust running deep...

The BatBlog while supporting educational improvements doesn't see anything in the revamped referendum or have the confidence that this is the best or even the right way to improve area schools...This is a flawed referendum that BatBlog encourages voters to reject this November...

 Vote No and Remain Vigilant my friends......

Public Service Announcement ...NHBSM's and Krueger's Flood Report

NHBSM and  Krueger has provided the BatBlog with a public service announcement on the today's rainfall....which of course is all the Mayor's fault....

I have two pieces of driftwood sitting in my drive.....and I don't live near the river!!!

The creek overflowed onto 10th street this morning (again) so anything floating floated down the street.

sportsman drive flooded early...and deep...getting into some of the homes. Former street commissioner Dave Hosea blocked sportsman drive preventing more people from drowning out their autos in the high water

Even Veterans Parkway at Hamburg Pike was flooded. For some reason when JTL designed our side of VP he designed a two block long swell in the roadway that allows about 18 inches of water to accumulate in the roadway.

Water was almost waist deep in front of Slammers on Chestnut Street.

Grider automotive had water inside the building

The Clark County Museum looked like a building floating down the river

Water on Maple Street near Penn was about 3 foot deep

Eighth Street looked like a canal. Water was so deep near Fulton Street that I turned the truck aroud.

Water was against the doors of Branhams Church on 8th.

Sunday morning was a washout!!

"The Mess in the Middle" and Lipstick on a Pig ...

 

 The Jeffersonville City council/ Parks Authority appears to be in a frantic rush this week to try and make the Hwy 62 median landscaping disaster "The Mess in the Middle" at least halfway presentable. First this week the council called out the "Green Team" for lack of progress . Now at the Parks authority meeting this same week, which by the way is also the same City council,  yep these same morons who obviously are lacking in patience allocated nearly $100,000 for an outside contractor to maintain the medians.

 What's the big hurry ??? I thought there were to be meetings with the "Green Team" to coordinate a plan ??? Is the council/park's authority suddenly concerned about our scenic view as we traverse Hwy.62 ?? Are they worried someone might get lost in the woods crossing the highway ??? Do they have an extra  100 K just lying around collecting dust ???
Or could it be because there is a mayoral election in Nov. and that mayoral candidate Dennis Julius who is pretty much the daddy of " The Mess in the Middle" (his company did the work) needs this disaster cleaned up before Election Day ???

Maybe it's just a coincidence the timing, that Julius is also a member of both the council and authority, and it is no secret most other council members support Julius bid because of an apparent on going feud with the mayor.

They (the council) wouldn't be playing politics with our tax dollars in order to spruce up Julius' "Mess in the Middle" ??? would they ???....Come to your own conclusion....The BatBlog has came to theirs and The BatBlog also wonders ..When did the 10th St. medians become City parks ??? Isn't   the Park's authority supposed to fund parks not highways ??? Who funds highways and streets ??? the sewer dept ???

 One thing is certain as one of the BatBlog's readers cleverly pointed out....you can put lipstick on a pig....but it's still a pig...and we have one ugly ass pig perched in the middle of Hwy 62 medians or is that the Hwy 62 Parks ???

The Mess in the Middle....

**************************BREAKING UPDATE *****************************************
The BatBlog once again draws attention and gets action....unfortunately the stooges on the council/ Parks board decided to pour nearly a cool 100 grand to maintain the "Mess in the Middle." Yeah the same council that eliminated City court to save money (rolling eyes) is frittering away 100K in an attempt to clean up the mess...Uhhhh by the way when did the medians become a park ??? This landscaping gift (rolling eyes again) to the taxpayers is a gift that will keep on taking a $100,000 a year  and right down the old drain....I 'm sure that taxpayers would rather see this money go to reduce the outrageous sewer bills...but that makes too much sense...for this bunch of clowns..

 It will be interesting to see what the taxpayers get for their $100,000....don't worry the BatBlog will be there to report and will Remain Vigilant.....
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Continuing on from yesterday's post, everyone we've talked to is embarrassed and dismayed at the money spent and the sight of the "landscaping" mess along Hwy 62 (10th St.) medians. To actually call it landscaping is a stretch in itself. It's hard to fathom that a landscaper and nursery with the experience and years of service as does Walnut Ridge and Dennis Julius, would do such a poor job or even have their name attached to it.

  Even the most inexperienced weekend gardener knows you don't cram plants nearly on top of each other as was the case with the median project. Now after a couple of years of maturation what we have is an overgrown sightly mess that the city doesn't have the manpower or funding to maintain...

Supposedly Walnut Ridge didn't due the design work on the project, but nonetheless is at fault in our opinion. No honest , self respecting landscape company would plant so many plants that close together knowing the result after a few years of growth. The designer should have been told about the bad design from  the landscaper and worked together for a better result. Some of plants have grown to the point that they are dying from the overgrown conditions.

 While we are sure WR made a handsome profit off the project, It makes you wonder about the qualifications, ethics and judgement of the owner (who is running for mayor) who would allow this high priced travesty to occur. Is money more important than quality work and doing the right thing ???

I 'm Taking My Ball and Going Home !!!

 

Hey Moe "How you spell horticulture ??"   Shut up dummy !!!

 Like little children fighting over a toy the Jeffersonville City Council is threatening to take their ball and go home...NEWS TRIBUNE STORY CLICK HERE .Not satisfied with the hiring of Green Team manager chosen by Mayor Mike Moore the council is complaining (in their opinion) of a lack of progress by the newly formed Green Team to manage the City's landscaping.

 The "Green Team" was an idea created and funded by the City council. In their dissatisfaction with mainly the new manager's qualifications the council hinted early on at de-funding  the position but have since backed off and now are looking at re-organizing the team. The main critics of the Green Team on the council are Ed (Moe) Zastawny and Nathan (Curly Joe) Samuel neither of whom probably knows the difference between a rose and a dandelion... Moe Z. wants the new manager to take a test that only 50 people in the whole world have passed, as a requirement for the manager's job. Curly Samuel said "the bottom line is, let's have awesome looking landscaping." "We want to impress people."

 This another of many cases where the "want to bes" on the council are attempting to overstep their bounds and duties. The council's duties are to pass ordinances and fund government and government services. They are NOT the branch of government that hires employees or over sees departments or department heads. They are clearly stepping beyond their scope of what a councilman is required by law to do.

 It is totally asinine to require an employee in a landscaping position to pass a test and get a horticulture certification that only 50 people in the world presently have. It's ridiculous, which along with other recent decisions shows you the mentality of this particular councilman and the council as a whole.

 As for Curly Samuel  we are already "impressing people" with the unsightly mess called a landscaping job along the 10 th St. medians...done by one of his comrades on the council Dennis "Green Thumbs" Julius. Yeah people  we the taxpayers got screwed to the tune of about 2 million dollars for that fiasco....

Congratulations !!!

A big BatBlog Congratulations to Martina "Tina" Webster who will be the new 1st district councilperson for the town of Sellersburg in January 2016. Tina who won the Rep. primary in May and the Dem.'s didn't caucus anyone for the fall election so Tina will take her seat at the beginning of the year. Tina is a bright, young, energetic  lady who will make a fine public servant and is the type we need more of in local politics....Congratulations and Good Luck Tina !!!

Once Again....Asshole of the Month

 Three time winner and without doubt "The Village Idiot" NHBSM proves once again he is the champion BatBlog "Asshole of the Month." Commenting on the local internet forum about the recent break in of mayor Mike Moore's garage, Not Honest showed once again his abnormal, delusional behavior toward Jeffersonville's mayor which appears to be to the point of obsession.

 Not Honest Mike's comments (shown below) about the mayor's recent confrontation with a group of young thugs preparing to apparently burglarize Mr. Moore's garage show NH has taken his jealousy,vengeance and hatred of the mayor to a whole new level of obsession and frankly weirdness.

To take what was a dangerous situation with a physical  confrontation by young criminals and attempt to turn the facts to actually try and blame the victim (the mayor) is absolutely a new low in decency even for a bitter old man like NHBSM. The mayor did what any homeowner would have done in that situation to protect his home and property and was well within his rights.

 Because of a personal grudge Not Honest Mike continues to print lies and slurs in his attempt to discredit the mayor no matter or with out regard to any sense of decency. This is a man that supports the mayor's opponent Dennis Julius in this fall's election...That should tell the voters a whole lot moving forward.....

NHBSM  you have topped yourself in your delusional,continual untruths and any sense of reality ...Congratulations you are once again the BatBlog's "Asshole of the Month" and frankly if I was the mayor I would be more worried by the delusional, obsession of NHBSM than those young thugs who accosted him....

NHBSM'S Post

1.  Citizens should always call the police and not try to enforce the law or play police.

2. Was this excessive force? This was a garage, not his house and the garage is not attached to the house.  Did any of the teens remove anything from the garage? Were they just looking? Did they go into the garage to take a leak? From the reports it sounds like the mayor just assumed they were committing a crime of theft.

3. From the papers and TV, there were five teens but the mayor says only 3 were in the garage. So was the one with dreadlocks one of the ones in the garage? Was he just with them and tried to get away before excessive force was used? Does a property owner have the right to pull someone off a bike by their dreadlocks and attempt to detain them for the police?  Whose rights were violated by whom?

4. Is it politically correct in these times to use the term "dreadlocks".  I noticed the CJ changed it to being grabbed by the hair.  Is the mayor guilty of racial profiling when he said he was watching to see what the kids were up to?

5. Did the mayor violate the rights of the 5 teens? I may be wrong but I thought it violated the law to use force to stop anyone that was running (or biking) away from you unless they were endangering your life as in aiming or shooting a weapon. Was anything in the garage worth the risk of harming the teens?