More on Gaelic Sports

An anonymous 'tip' hit my email box, saying that the World Sports Park, aka cricket park, aka Gaelic sports park, was in fact presented to the Parks committee on August 23 last year.  The sender shared a link to the minutes of that meeting, directing me to page 23 of that pdf.

This was the budget hearing for the Parks Department, and the PowerPoint presentation of Parks Director, John Williams.  The presentation did indeed list the World Sports Park as a "2012 Accomplishment".  I went over to WTCY and located the video from that hearing and have embedded the full 24 seconds related to this park:

 

 

The email also sent me to one of the Mayor's Initiatives pages on the Indy.Gov site, dedicated to this park on the site of the current Post Road Community Park.  The plan shown there is different, even in shape, much less field types, from Williams' slide.  The Indy Parks website shows a map of the Post Road Park, which is the same rectangular shape was included in the budget presentation.  I was unable to find any World Sports Park in the list on the Indy Parks website.

 

Back to the Mayor's initiatives page - there is contained on that page a link to a World Sports Park 'brochure', which turns out to be a bigger version of the map shown on the main page.  Right clicking I was able to get the creation date of that document - 4/16/2013 3:08:33 PM.  My, but, that is the same date as the Mayor's Indian announcement of the project.  What a coincidence.

 

IBJ reporter Anthony Schoettle reports:

Mayor Greg Ballard revealed Tuesday during a trade mission to India that Indianapolis hopes to host the inaugural United States Cricketing Championship next summer or fall.

It was the first public announcement of the city's plans, and suddenly shed light on a $6 million project to create a complex that would host the event on the city's far east side.

Already, Ballard has enlisted the Indiana Sports Corp. and Visit Indy, the city’s tourism arm, to help attract, promote and conduct the cricket event, according to Marc Lotter, a spokesman for the mayor. The event will be sanctioned by the United States of America Cricket Association.

Lotter told IBJ the effort to host the event is part of the initiative to transform a 40-acre city park in the 1300 block of South Post Road into an international sports complex capable of hosting local, regional, national and international cricket, rugby, lacrosse and hurling events.

One multi-use field already is complete at the Post Road Community Park and is being used by the city’s local cricket club, Lotter said. The park will be renamed Indianapolis World Sports Park.

The $6 million project began two years ago. Lotter said that once it is complete in summer or fall of 2014, the park will have five athletic fields and be capable of holding events attracting as many as 10,000 spectators.

10,000 spectators.  Here is the aerial of the park property at 1300 S. Post Road, captured as a screen shot from MapIndy.  This aerial was taken in the spring of 2012, and you'll note the cricket playing field was not yet installed.

 

I wonder what the neighborhood thinks about this?  Evidently, at least one neighbor heard the same day the rest of us did, as they texted Councillor Brown during the April 18 Public Works committee meeting while this project was being discussed.  DPW personnel, including Director Lori Miser, could not say how much outreach the Parks Department had done in the area.

 

Well, I've rambled on.  This project may have been know by certain insiders, but it was kept very low on the radar.  Way too low for some Councillors, and way too low for the public who will foot the bill for at least $5.8 million.

SB621 - The MDC Appointments

As I noted in my last blog entry, SB621, which has now passed through the Legislature and awaits Governor Pence's signature, would remove the ability of the County Commissioners to make two appointments and give one to each of the Mayor and the Council.

The law takes effect on July 1, 2013, presuming, as I do, that the Governor will sign it.

However, by state law, the appointing body gets to set the term of its appointments.

The President of the County Commissioners, and County Assessor, Joe O'Connor, informs me that when Cornelius Brown was appointed in September, 2012, it was for a one year term through September of 2013.  When Ed Mahern was appointed in January, 2012, it was for a 3 year term, which would expire at the end of December, 2014.

This is what the new law would say:

(d) METRO. The metropolitan development commission consists of nine (9) citizen members, as follows:

(1) Five (5) members, of whom no more than three (3) may be of the same political party, appointed by the executive of the consolidated city.

(2) Four (4) members, of whom no more than two (2) may be of the same political party, appointed by the legislative body of the consolidated city.

 

The new state law does not specifically terminate existing appointment terms.  Nor does it say which new appointing body would get to exercise its new appointment power. 

SB 621 - Additional Changes, and, Interesting Questions Arise About the MDC

SB 621, which tries to extend the life of Republican rule over Marion County, has passed out of the Conference Committee changed from the form it had when entering that body.  The body itself was changed, substituting Republican Senator Waltz for Democrat Senator Breaux, and Republican Representative Speedy for Democrat Representative Bartlett.  Having shed any semblance of bipartisanship, the all Republican group passed their version of a 'compromise' piece of legislation.

All sections of the bill now clearly apply only to Marion County.  As we all expected, the 4 At-Large Council seats are again to be eliminated.  The Controller can now 'only' change the budgets of all Departments and Offices if the revenues drop from the levels expected when the budget was passed and 'only' twice a year.  The County Commissioners still lose their two appointees to the Metropolitan Development Commission, but one is shifted to the Mayor and one to the Council, giving the Mayor 5 and the Council 4 appointments.  Lake and Allen Counties are struck from the burden of having to count all absentee ballots at a central location - now only Marion County must do so.  And, Marion County's Township Boards drop from 7 members to 5 at the next election.

Interestingly enough is the question of when the MDC appointments shift.  According to state law, the term of these appointments may be from 1 to 3 years, as determined by the appointing body.  Here is the law, with the MDC portion highlighted:

IC 36-7-4-218
Membership of commission; terms and removal of citizen members
Sec. 218. (a) When an initial term of office of a citizen member expires, each new appointment of a citizen member is:
(1) for a term of four (4) years (in the case of a municipal, county, or area plan commission);
(2) for a term of three (3) years (in the case of a metropolitan plan commission); or
(3) for a term of one (1), two (2), or three (3) years, as designated by the appointing authority (in the case of the metropolitan development commission). 

A member serves until his successor is appointed and qualified. A member is eligible for reappointment.

So, one outstanding question is, when the Marion County Commissioners appointed Cornelius Brown and Ed Mahern, for what term did they appoint them?

The new section regarding the appointing bodies takes effect on July 1, 2013.  But at what time would the Mayor and the Council get to begin taking over those two appointments?

The shift of MDC appointments has always been the worst of the Republican power grab, and will leave Indianapolis and it Citizens even more at the mercy of Mayor Vaughn and his rapacious appetite for giving away taxpayer money to favored developers, regardless of how many employee contracts he has to gut or how many cops and firefighters he has to lay off to afford doing so.

Perhaps First Mention of World Sports Park at Public Works Board - July 11, 2012

The July 11, 2012, meeting of the Board of Public Works  appears to be the first time a contract was let regarding the 'Gaelic Sports' park known as the World Sports Park.

Larry Jones presents a contract to scope out the feasibility of creating a second cricket field at a park on South Post Road, north of Brookville Road, that would meet international standards.  He notes that the contract would be with Crawford, Murphy, and Tilly, Inc. because it was chosen by Indy Parks  for the work back in 2010.  ReBuildIndy money would be used for this initial work, but Jones does say that if it is determined feasible, then the cost would be 'substantially higher' - but no cost estimate is asked for or divulged.  The motion almost fails for lack of a second.

Here is the clip from WCTY's archives:

Public Works Board - August 22, 2012 - Sounds Like Regular Park Improvements

Still scanning through the Public Works Board meetings for discussions of the 'Gaelic Sports' complex to be known as World Sports Park.

On August 22, 2012, the Board voted on an amendment to the lone contract let for this venture to that date.  The way I hear it, it sounds like enhancements to an existing park and not much more.  Certainly not anything that DPW Director, Lori Miser, said would cost between $10 and $15 million.  (BTW, at Monday night's Public Works Committee of the City Council meeting, Miser said the total cost was $6.8 million - no explanation of the difference from the estimated price tag just 4 months earlier.)

A Board member had to ask where this park is located.  Here is the short segment of the meeting that dealt with the WSP.

Cricket Field Plans - Hiding in Plain Sight

I began looking for the Public Works Board meeting that actually approved the $5.8 million cricket fields dubbed 'City of Indianapolis World Sports Park'.

I caught an allusion to 'last fall' in today's Board of Public Works meeting, so began cruising WCTY's archives starting with September, 2012.

I found an item on the December 5, 2012, meeting of that Board - a 2nd amendment to a contract regarding the project.  The ensuing discussion among Board members brings out the expectation that this project will total $10-15 million, be part of a public-private partnership already being worked on, and is being done in conjunction with the Parks Department, which failed to mention anything to the Council.

I've embedded the entire conversation and will bring forward any other clips of other meetings where the 'gaelic sports' are mentioned.

At-Larges Back On the Chopping Block -- the Beat Goes On

This is what you get when parties are more important than honest government set up for the benefit of the people.  In this case, it is the Republican version of how that party would like to operate government - by itself.

The Indiana Legislature is overwhelmingly Republican at this point.  During much of recent history they have been mostly Republican in the Senate and see sawing with Democrats for the majority in the House.

What happens when you want Republican control ensconced in Uni-Gov?  You create 4 At-Large positions to ensure that Republicans will enjoy the majority in the Council.  The County wide elections for all other offices ensure Rs will control all divisions of Indianapolis for generations.

What happens when a Republican Mayor of Indianapolis simply doesn't pay into the police and fire pensions that are still the City's obligation?  Nothing.

Then what happens when a Democrat Mayor of Indianapolis faces having to pay the promised retirement money due to actual retirees, and the money is not there in the pension fund?  Nothing.  At first.  Then, the Legislature tells him he can raise taxes.

When raising taxes sinks that Democrat Mayor and he is followed by the accidental and now ceremonial Republican Mayor who bumbles in his testimony before the Legislature, what happens?  The Legislature take the pension obligation off his hands and let him keep the tax increase anyway.

What happens when a lawyer turned Councillor turned lobbyist finally morphs into Chief of staff/non-ceremonial Mayor?  That's when all the mean spirited, mud wallowing, take no prisoners stuff hits the fan.  That's when the budgets of duly elected Democrat officeholders are slashed in a blackmail bid.  That's when passing two tax increases must include 8 Democrat Councillors, and not just enough to gain a majority on top of all Republicans voting in favor.  That's when 'cooperation' turns into capitulation.

The Democrats on the Council (with a couple of exceptions) have done little except capitulate.  They and their Republican brethren have not been very interested in securing and protecting the role of the Council as a body independent of the Mayor's office.

So, now we see the logical extension of a power grab that has been operating for some time.  Get rid of the 4 Council At-Large positions, now likely to remain Democrat, and hope you can still manage to get a slight majority of Republicans to again win the 25 District seats come 2015.  Get rid of the County Commissioners', now likely to remain Democrat, appointments to the MDC and hand them to the Mayor.  'Allow' the Council to consolidate the Sheriff's Department, now likely to remain in Democrat hands, with IMPD and put it under the Mayor.  If revenues dip, allow the Controller, under the Mayor, to cut any budget he likes in order to match revenues with expenses - without going back through the Council, which heretofore was the fiscal body of the City.

The bill, SB 621, passed both chambers and now is in Conference Committee to work out differences in the versions passed.  IndyStar Legislative beat reporter, Mary Beth Schneider, tells us how things went in that Committee.

When the bill was heard earlier in the session, lawmakers heard from dozens of people opposing the bill, including one GOP councilwoman, Christine Scales. Only two people spoke in favor of it: Joe Loftus, the lobbyist for Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard, and Rep. Mike Speedy, an Indianapolis Republican who formerly served on the City-County Council.

Republicans used a joint House-Senate conference committee to try to erase any impression that there is little support for the plan. In a hearing that lasted six hours, other Republican members of the council, including Janice McHenry and Will Gooden, indicated at-large council members are anonymous at best and meddlesome at worst.

They brought in the star-studded duo of Republican Councillors Holden and McHenry (Gooden appointed to replace Ryan Vaughn on the Council a year ago, and McHenry who always sides with the Republican party) to testify against the At-Large positions.  Councillor Shreve would be the only Republican Councillor they could choose who might have less gravitas than these two.  No doubt Gooden and McHenry's oratory and logic were stunning, because the At-Larges are back on the chopping block.  Personally, I suspect it has less to do with purported anonymity and meddlesomeness, than simply because those offices are held by Democrats and that is inconvenient to the Republican Party.

The two Democrats on the Conference Committee say they will not vote in favor of this version of SB 621.  Interestingly, in a game of chess way, Conference Committees have no majority party.  Two Senators, one of each party, and two Representatives, one of each party, compose these committees.  Obstinate appointees can be replaced.  In this case, obstinate Ds can be replaced by cooperative Rs, who are in abundance in both chambers.  No telling if swaps will be made.  And, there is no telling if the revised version that comes out of the Conference Committee will pass both chambers in that new form.

This Legislative session is drawing to a close; with April 29 being the last day it can adjourn.  So the current heavy handed Republican reach into Indy's governance will soon end.  But, do not expect this to be the last chapter; it wasn't the first, second, third or fourth chapter.