"The Farm"

[Palehorse]

Yesterday the current Mayor announced a multi-million dollar baseball-softball facility to be built on the current farm land directly behind Meijer and the Hampton Inn on Scatterfield Road. He stated the project has been in the works for 2 years and is now set to break ground in April of this year, and bring 75 jobs to the city of Anderson.

The facility will encompass several diamonds outdoors, and two that will be indoor fields. The mayor states that this will be a facility that will be utilized by teams and entities across the midwest and that it has the potential to generate millions of dollars in revenues for the city via the increased traffic and business traffic created by those that utilize the facilities.

Thus far in drilling down into this project I have found several reasons for concern. First, of the 75 jobs this facility is supposed to create, only 1/3 of them have a POTENTIAL for full time status. Additionally, I strongly suspect that the lion's share of these jobs will be within the minimum wage compensation range. The remaining 2/3 of the jobs will be part time-seasonal positions.

Secondly, those of us in this state, and especially central Indiana, have watched as a professional sports entity pushed for the funding of Lucas Oil Stadium, forcing it onto the shoulders of taxpayers in Marion County and the surrounding counties. Among the validations used in selling it to the citizens was the promise of hosting a Super Bowl in 2012; something that looks very unlikely to happen now that the facility is up and running and games are being played there. So, if a professional sports league cannot follow through on promises of increased revenues etc., as with Lucas Oil Stadium, what makes anyone willing to believe that non-professional sports entities across the midwest are going to go to the expense of traveling to Anderson, Indiana to hold their tournaments and utilize the facilities ????

From the figures I've seen people of Anderson are being expected to subsidize the construction of this new facility with tax incentives and cash equalling 1 million dollars; of which about 275,000 will be paid back to the city over time once the facility becomes profitable.

Third, the city already has an under utilized sports facility, namely the Wigwam, and it is sucking upwards of 300k a year from the city coffers just in electricity usage. In addition, the city is closing schools, which are going to also stand empty and sucking city revenues to heat and maintain them, for no return.  So where is the city coming up with the money to fund this new venture?

Fourth - Is a 1 million dollar investment of the taxpayers money really a prudent use of those funds, when they only create minimum wage jobs, and the investment is based upon the possibility of potential returns on teh investment when teams across the midwest begin to utilize it? In these depressed economic times does that sound like something that is very likely to happen?

No. . . I do not think so. What I think this is in reality, is a smoke and mirror campaign to dazzle the citizens of Anderson into believing something concrete was accomplished by the current administration in the final year of its term, in the hopes they'll vote them back into office for another term! Politics!  :mad:

[Terry]

When this project is started check the Mayors' pockets & his bank account!

[Palehorse]

When this project is started check the Mayors' pockets & his bank account!

Well, its started. . .so to speak.

They took out some trees and have laid a small gravel lot on the eastern end of the "farm". And they've had some equipment parked out there for several weeks now. I've seen a group of guys smoking and drinking coffee a few times over there, but that's about it.

So much for the groundbreaking!  ::D: ::D: ::D: ::D: ::D:

[Palehorse]

And here it is the end of April 2012, and the whole project is mired in fiasco and financial shenanigans. The "Investors" reneged on putting cup their portion of the cash at closing, and as a result the whole project is up in the air again.

The weeds are back, the trees are starting to grow again, and the equipment is rusting in the mud and rain.  ;D

Me thinks the project is DOA due to the fact it is FUBAR. (And was from the start).