https://www.facebook.com/GinaMBurgess/posts/10206665617183923 scroll down for more:
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http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20150525/EDITORIAL/150529877/1015/OPINION
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http://www.journalgazette.net/opinion/columns/Careful-stewards-acting-to-preserve-city-s-Legacy-6731660
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related article: riverfront cash flow "NEBULOUS"
http://www.journalgazette.net/opinion/letters/Letters-6668614
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RON TURPIN HAS HIS FINGERS IN A LOT OF PIES AROUND TOWN. DEFINITE INSIDER; AND AN INSURANCE EXECUTIVE. IM THINKING AN "INSURANCE-OCRACY"- IS A BAD THING.. thats a govt run of by and for the insurance industry. they already have mandatory auto insurance. nice WELFARE DUDES! instead of all of us paying a small universal minimum policy fee at the BMV. of course the BMV has been sabotaged to stoke peoples "mistrust". AND- something like im proposing- a SOCIALIST state run insurance corporation where all profits are returned to the state treasury- eliminate the middle man; and save cash..
ok- heres what RONNIE has to say about the LEGACY FUNDS..
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Letter to the editor: Disposing of myths about the Legacy funds
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Monday, May 25, 2015 - 12:01 am
I feel, as the chair of the Legacy Joint Funding Committee, that I must respond to a recent “Letter to the Editor” that questioned the integrity and veracity of the committee's process. As an individual I don't mind being questioned, I expect it any time one is willing to put themselves out into the public arena (even as a volunteer). However, I feel I must respond, in order that the public understand, and trust, the process.
I must dispel some myths that were propagated by this letter and other comments I have heard in the public arena. These comments are mine alone and do not speak for the committee.
Myth No.1 — The city administration controls the committee and tells it what to do. This is patently false. The committee is composed of nine individuals. Four are selected by the mayor (a Democrat), four are selected by the City Council (super majority Republican) and the final member is selected by the eight prior selected individuals. I as a committee member have never been told how to vote by anyone, at any time. Any voting decision is mine alone based upon the information provided by the applicants for funding.
Myth No. 2 —The LJFC approves everything it gets. This again is false. The committee came into existence in October, 2014. Since that time we have received 13 funding requests. Of those 13, we approved three to go on for City Council approval (for a total request of $7.8 million) and denied 10 (a total request of $16.3 million). We therefore have only approved 23 percent of the requests submitted and 32 percent of the total dollars we could have recommended.
Myth No. 3 — The committee doesn't review recommendations sufficiently. Prior to every meeting where a concept letter or application is to be discussed, we receive a packet of information giving a variety of details about the project/request. In addition to this, I (and I can only speak for myself but I know others on the committee do this as well) review 990's for the grantees, go on site visits and do other background reviews to better understand the application. By the time of the meeting, I have spent hours on each application and thus feel as if I understand the application as well as anyone outside of the requester. For this reason I only ask those questions which I feel will help me get a better understanding of the request. To ask questions outside of this, in my opinion, is to be a self-promoter.
Myth No. 4 —The Legacy Fund has no money left, and the committee has no idea how much money is in the Legacy Fund. The cash balance of the Legacy Fund at the end of 2014 was $42.4 million and was projected to have a balance of $97.9 million at the end of 2025. The committee works closely with the city administration to ensure we have access to financial data related to the Legacy Fund. For residents interested in learning more about the Legacy Fund, the SmartGov section at www.cityoffortwayne.org has detailed financial information.
The committee is committed to ensuring that the Legacy Funds last not only our lifetimes, but those of our children and grandchildren. We are a committed group of volunteers who are working diligently to protect these funds and only approve those requests that fulfill the spirit and letter of what the community has told us is important.
May 21, 2015 1:00 AM
Careful stewards acting to preserve city's Legacy
Ron Turpin
This is an exciting time to live in our community, and a big part of that are the opportunities we have in part through the Legacy Fund. As the chairman of the Legacy Joint Funding Committee, I feel I need to dispel some myths I have heard in the public arena so the public may understand and trust the process. These comments are mine alone and do not speak for the committee.
Myth 1: The city administration controls the committee and tells it what to do. This is patently false. The committee is comprised of nine individuals; four selected by the Mayor (a Democrat), four by the City Council (supermajority Republican) and the final member selected by the eight prior-selected individuals. I as a committee member have never been told how to vote by anyone at any time. Any voting decision I choose to make is mine alone based upon the information provided by the applicants for funding.
Myth 2: The committee approves everything it gets. This again is false. The committee came into existence in October 2014. We have received 13 funding requests. Of those, we approved three to go on for City Council approval (a total request of $7.8 million) and denied 10 (a total request of $16.3 million). We therefore have only approved 23 percent of the requests submitted and 32 percent of the total dollars we could have.
Myth 3: The committee doesn’t review recommendations sufficiently. Prior to every meeting in which a concept letter or application is to be discussed, we receive a packet of information giving a variety of details about the project/request. In addition, I (and I can only speak for myself but I know others on the committee do this as well) review 990s (tax exemption forms) for the grantees, go on site visits and do other background reviews to better understand the application. By the time of the meeting, I have spent hours on each application and thus feel I understand the application as well as anyone outside of the requestor. For this reason I only ask those questions that I feel will help me get a better understanding of the request. To ask questions outside of this, in my opinion, is to be a self-promoter.
Myth 4: The Legacy Fund has no money left, and the committee has no idea how much money is in the Legacy Fund. The cash balance of the Legacy Fund at the end of 2014 was $42.4 million and was projected to have a balance of $97.9 million at the end of 2025. The committee works closely with the city administration to ensure we have access to financial data related to the Legacy Fund. For residents interested in learning more about the Legacy Fund, the SmartGov section at cityoffortwayne.org has detailed financial information.
The committee is committed to ensuring that the Legacy Fund lasts not only our lifetimes, but those of our children and grandchildren. We are a committed group of volunteers working diligently to protect these funds and only approve those requests that fulfill the spirit and letter of what the community has told us is important.
Ron Turpin is chairman of the Legacy Joint Funding Committee. He wrote this for The Journal Gazette.
City not forthcoming with riverfront costs
On May 12, I attended what I believe was a pretty important Fort Wayne City Council meeting.
I am pleased the council has decided to take a deliberate and cautious approach to proceeding with what may be the biggest public project in Fort Wayne’s history. The mayor’s office proposed the council approve a plan to spend $6 million to study riverfront development and make some land acquisitions over the next two years. As was pointed out by the council, the public will not have any visible accomplishments at the end of this two-year period but will have spent $6 million of Legacy money, $3 million from the County Capital Improvement Board and $3 million from the Fort Wayne Community Foundation and will own some real estate. However, the $12 million to be spent under the mayor’s proposal will not pay for moving any dirt or constructing any promenades. That was never in question.
The question, which I give credit to John Crawford for asking, is: How much will the promenade cost? How much will something like what is depicted in the SWA drawing cost? When Deputy Mayor Karl Bandemer stated that they wouldn’t know until we spend the $12 million to do the studies, Crawford smartly asked: “How much would a tiny promenade cost versus a large promenade”? The mayor’s office refuses to even give a range of what they expect to spend on the completion of Phase 1.
Those who have given this some consideration would put reasonable estimates for construction of the proposed development somewhere between $75 million and $150 million. I think that is something the mayor’s office should be obliged to share with the public. How much is this project going to cost, and where is the money coming from.
JASON ARP
Republican nominee
Fort Wayne City Council, 4th District
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FORT WAYNE, Ind. — One of the quirks that endears Wrigley Field in Chicago to baseball fans are the rooftop views from houses on Waveland Avenue beyond left field. Now, developers in this city are hoping to bottle a little of that magic as part of an ambitious downtown renovation plan.
The Harrison, a four-story rental apartment building with 42 one- and two-bedroom units, will have balconies overlooking Parkview Field, the home of the Fort Wayne TinCaps, a minor-league team named for the headgear worn by John Chapman, a k a Johnny Appleseed, who is reportedly buried in this city of about 250,000 in northeast Indiana.
“It’s entirely conceivable you could catch a home run sometime,” said Jason Freier, the chief executive of Hardball Capital of Atlanta and the owner and managing partner of the 6,100-seat, $31 million stadium that opened in April 2009. “It would take a heck of a shot, but there have been balls hit over the condominium site already.”
The $110 million redevelopment effort, called Harrison Square, so far includes the ballpark, a brand-new Marriott Courtyard hotel and a 900-space parking garage; and skywalks to connect the Marriott and an existing Hilton hotel to the expanded Grand Wayne Convention Center, which will host the 2012 state Democratic convention.
But the Harrison, a 100,000-square-foot structure that will also have space for retail stores and offices, has been stalled by the recession and the inability to get financing. On June 13, a little more than two years after it was supposed to be finished, Mayor Tom C. Henry announced a private-public partnership that will finance the $18 million building.
“We started that last leg at the worst possible time,” said Mayor Henry, a Democrat who is running for re-election this year. “When the economy took a nose dive is when we needed everything put together. Once the needle began to point upward, banks started to get a little more generous.”
In the end, the project was awarded to PNC Bank of Pittsburgh, which will be responsible for about $8 million. The remaining money will be provided by others in the partnership, including Barry Real Estate of Atlanta and two local developers, Mark Hagerman of Hagerman Construction and Simon Dragan of Whitley Manufacturing Company, who will provide “north of $1 million each,” Mr. Henry said.
Hardball Capital will put $950,000 into the project via incremental payments while at the same time committing to $1 million worth of improvements to the ballpark over the next decade.
The public component consists of $4 million to $6 million in state and federal tax credits that can be sold.
“We also think that getting this project done is good for the city, and what’s good for the city is also important for us,” said Mr. Freier of Hardball. He and others credit Graham Richard, the city’s mayor from 2000 to 2008, with bringing the project from concept to reality.
“When I came here, we didn’t have an aggressive downtown development plan,“ said Mr. Richard, a Democrat who now is in private business and has a downtown office “within eyesight” of Harrison Square. “We didn’t have what I’d call an infrastructure that was attractive.”
The project was approved in April 2007. The property consisted of parking lots and old rental homes, Mr. Richard said, and once the blueprint was set down, the land was acquired in 18 months without resorting to eminent domain.
At the same time, Hardball Capital was looking to acquire the 15-year-old minor league ballpark on the north side of town and the team, then known as the Fort Wayne Wizards.
Mr. Freier, whose company also owns the Savannah Sand Gnats, said he wanted a new ball field that could be used for other sporting and local events. “You couldn’t get a semi truck out on the playing field,” said Mr. Richard, “so you couldn’t do rock concerts.”
The comfortable, retro-looking ballpark, built with Indiana sandstone and red brick, can be expanded to accommodate up to 8,000 people. In addition to concerts it is the site of N.C.A.A. Division I baseball and soccer games and local events like walk-a-thons and family movie nights using the Jumbotron. A ticket on game day can cost as little as $5, officials said.
Last Sept. 1, the 250-room Marriott Courtyard hotel and a 900-space parking garage opened, both of them overlooking Parkview Field. The $30 million undertaking by White Lodging, a Merrillville, Ind. real estate firm specializing in hotels, more than doubled the number of hotel rooms within walking distance of the convention center. The mayor and Mr. Richard like to boast that the Indiana State Democratic Convention has scheduled its 2012 convention in Fort Wayne because there are finally enough rooms to accommodate 2,000 convention-goers.
“It has not been outside Indianapolis for 80 years,” Mr. Henry said.
Those convention revelers will be able to enjoy an enhanced downtown. The new skywalks link the hotels to the convention center, and one links the Marriott to the historic Embassy Theater. The Fort Wayne Botanical Gardens are less than a block away, and other nearby attractions within walking distance are the city art museum and public library, a history museum and the Allen County Courthouse, a 1902 Beaux Arts architectural gem designated a national historic landmark in 2003.
The Harrison will have 25,000 square feet of retail space at street level and the same amount of office space on the second floor. Barry Real Estate said it had lined up Three Rivers Federal Credit Union and O’Reilly’s Irish Bar & Restaurant, an Indianapolis-based chain, for 6,000 square feet so far. Carson Boxberger, a local law firm, has leased the second floor.
The challenge now will be luring younger singles and retired people to live in a downtown that is roomy and clean but somewhat unexciting, said Craig Klugman, the editor of The Journal Gazette, Fort Wayne’s morning daily newspaper. The Harrison is projected to be completed by March 2013.
“I think if they price them right, there will be a certain market for people who want to live downtown,” said Mr. Klugman, who said he thought the relatively easy commute of most downtown workers made it more difficult to attract renters.
Mr. Henry said city leaders were working hard to make downtown Fort Wayne “a point of destination for people.”
“You know Fort Wayne is in the Midwest,” he said. “We don’t have the mountains of the West. We don’t have the oceans of the coast. We decided that downtown is what that destination should be.”
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