Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Board Of Public Works Approves $6 Million Theft Of City Assets For Blue Indy


BOARD CHAIRMAN WOULD NOT ALLOW PUBLIC TESTIMONY
The string of law-breaking to benefit the French-owned company Bollore and its Blue Indy electric car sharing business continues unabated. With virtually no public notice, the Board of Public Works controlled by useless stooges of Mayor Greg Ballard added as its last agenda item on today's board meeting approval of the use of $6 million from the parking meter fund for the private company's monopoly car sharing business. With very little debate and a refusal by Board Chairman Andy Lutz to allow for any public comment on the agenda item when it was called for a vote after I requested it, the board quickly approved the item and adjourned the meeting with only the council's appointee to the board voting no.

The City-County Council's CFO, Bart Brown, who did not learn of the planned vote until late yesterday, appeared to testify at the request of the council's appointee to the board and took issue with Chairman Andy Lutz' contention that no City-County Council approval is required for today's action. Brown insisted that the Department of Public Works' 2015 budget contains no authorization to spend public dollars from the parking meter fund or any other city fund this year, a contention Lutz flatly dismissed. As a result of today's action, the Department plans to unilaterally authorize the transfer of $6 million to an escrow fund at Regions Bank where it is expected to be spent to help pay for the 50 public charging station sites Blue Indy plans to complete work on around the city before year's end.

Not a single City-County Council member or other member of the public besides myself was present and ready to testify in opposition to the blatantly illegal, 15-year contract the Ballard administration entered into with Blue Indy, which grants the company a right to operate a monopoly business on City-owned property without paying a dime for the use of that publicly-owned property. The administration relied on the granting of dozens of encroachment licenses to allow the private company to seize hundreds of public parking spaces and right-of-ways for its exclusive business use in clear violation of the law. There was no public bidding process whatsoever, and the contract waives all fees and taxes that any other business operating within the City would have been required to pay. The administration's representative, David Rosenberg, said the City allowed IPL to handle the public bidding of all of the work on the installation of the charging stations and kiosks required for each site instead of publicly-bidding that work. Other companies interested in offering car sharing services were turned away by the Ballard administration, which refused to consider their proposals.

It is absolutely incredible how many civil and criminal laws the Ballard administration has been allowed to break to achieve the theft of tens of millions of dollars' worth of public assets. Mr. Rosenberg gave board members the impression the $6 million it approved today was the City's only investment. That's only true if you omit all of the forgiven fees and taxes, assign no value to the use of the City's public assets and ignore the loss of parking meter revenues the City will have to reimburse the private operator of those city assets to offset their revenue losses. That's to say nothing of the untold business losses that are and will continue to be occasioned by the displacement of the the City's most prime public parking spaces to accommodate the unwanted electric car charging stations and kiosks, which will primarily benefit out-of-town visitors to the City.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think if the council fails to challenge these actions by formally asking a prosecutor for criminal charges to be filed, or by seeking civil injunctive relief from the Courts, they will tacitly be acknowledging the Mayor's authority to do the deal and their acceptance of its provisions.

Gary R. Welsh said...

It's over. We've reached a point where taxpayers are going to have to fend for themselves. Those we elected to serve us have abandoned us and the rule of law.

Anonymous said...

Indy is a beta test.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for caring enough to go to the board meeting.

Flogger said...

Just stunning is what I can say about this blog and your previous ones today. A public meeting and no public comment allowed. In AmeriKa today we do not have the heavy handed brutality of a Hitler, Stalin, or Mao. We do have a rigged system of a crooked casino, with marked cards, it has in it's effect a selection of political candidates thoroughly vetted and approved by the shadow government - the Republicrat Party.

We have had and continue to have the through destruction of any of the ideals expressed in the Declaration of Independence and codified in the Constitution. We have a complete operating system here in Indianapolis of the Executive, Legislature and Judicial Branches dedicated to the proposition that Crony-Capitalism shall reign Supreme. You may question it, but silly people you cannot change it.

Coupled with this supremacy is a Press Corp which is willing by commission and omission not to conduct any investigative Journalism - instead we have the stenographers at the Star and the bubbly, happy TV types - All is Well here in Indy - Oh look a new Bar opened up. The Press Corp in this city is intellectually vacant, but they know it. The purpose of the Press in Indianapolis is keep the illusion of prosperity and happy times.

I think we can be sure Smoking Joe Hog$hitt will steer well clear of these reefs.

Charles M. Navarra said...

I again thank you, Gary, for remaining hot on this issue. The citizens I speak to do not want this Blue Indy bamboozle shoved down their throats, do not want these untested, dangerous electric motor battery chargers on the streets upon which their children ride bikes, walk, and often play. This Blue Indy battery powered rental car business that Greg Ballard wants so badly to the point he will break criminal and civil laws must be rooted and yanked out from the fabric of our City immediately. The drive to get these unsightly rental business car charging station "tentacled" into our neighborhoods so that the excuse "we can't turn around now due to cost" must be halted. And must be halted NOW.

My great-grandparents legally immigrated to America from Italy to escape the fascism and socialism and statism of their native Sicily; today in America locally- and even nationally- we have tyranny never dreamt possible by our ancestors but forewarned about often by our Founders. But today here in Indianapolis we face the tyranny of one man who for some reason believes he is above the law and that we should follow him no matter what. I am proud to put my name on my comment so that Mr. Ballard, whom I've many times spoken to or seen at our many MCRCC events, knows exactly who I am and what I stand for. I am also an alum of Cathedral High School where Mr. Ballard was one year, or graduating class, ahead of me but now light years behind me when it comes to knowing, accepting, and doing anything and everything possible to protect the will of the people and their right to have their place and voice at the political table.

People, WAKE UP! Please, wake up!

Charles M. Navarra said...

How could I forget THIS:


I have a Facebook Page, Stop Blue Indy NOW, and a petition which is gathering steam at Sign The Petition to Stop Blue Indy NOW: <a href="https://www.change.org/p/indianapolis-city-county-council-save-the-history-values-and-your-control-of-your-neighborhood-before-it-is-too-late>Petition To Stop Blue Indy NOW</a>

Anonymous said...

Pee-yew!!! Something in Indy STINKS!!!!

Anonymous said...

When will Democrat Candidate for Mayor Joe Hogsett release a campaign video regarding HIS stand about the electric charging stations for the battery powered Blue Indy rental car business being injected into neighborhoods where they do not seem very welcome once citizens realize they lose valuable parking and property valuation?

Indianapolis voters have a right to know exactly where Democrat Joe Hogsett stands on this battery powered car rental company taxpayers are footing the bill for.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for posting this, Gary, and caring enough to go to the meeting to speak out. The pic of Hitler you posted says a lot. The title said "another" $6M, is this in addition to the $6M they already spent on charging stations?

Gary R. Welsh said...

The administration signed a contract obligating the city to spend $6 million before it sought the approval of this board or the city council. It knew the rubber stamp board would approve whatever it put in front of it. The City obviously issued all of the illegal encroachment licenses that gave workers permission to begin construction work months ago, which is why on the day this came for its first consideration work had already been completed or commenced on at least 26 of the 50 sites to be completed by year's end..

Anonymous said...

Question, I believe in an earlier post someone mentioned the charging stations weren't UL approved. Assuming that is the case, would the city be liable for any injuries that may occur?

Anonymous said...

So, the masterminds of "Uni-Party" are re-engineering Indianapolis to their Utopian ideal... an ideal that just happens to line the pockets of the most corrupt politicos and their friends this State has seen in a century. Think about it... prickly Mayor Ballard, he of Algore-ian "sustainability" tripe, works heartily against the will of the people to offer them his rental car business that moves them away from Indy-Go- a taxpayer transit system already struggling and sure to do so even more! Marion County taxpayers will continue to be forced to support the economically challenged bus system. The crass transit hysterics will soon have their coal-powered trains and such to join the "electric" buses the drivers fear will run out of juice before hitting the end of their runs. Ballard is trying all he can to make Indy a type of mini-Chicago- and we see how Chicago has turned out with its rising crime, tight living spaces, stand-still traffic, sky-high prices, and filth on their streets and a crumbling infrastructure where one can see the rusting iron bars breaking through the concrete... Turning Indy into another densely populated urbane Chicago is something that these liberals will never accomplish given the geography of the city, the history of the city, and the metropolis's woefully inadequate number of citizens to even hope for such an outcome. Electric buses, bus hubs downtown, people crammed into cheaply constructed and cheap looking boxes stacked atop commercial spaces crammed into sliver lots. And all this with no parking as the prime free parking spaces are given to the favored monied oligarchs.

Center Township is financially, economically, and artistically raped by these masterminds. Downtown Indianapolis now looks like an M.C. Escher lithograph where the architectural structure seems to be the core of an idyllic or "picture perfect" community but in reality windows and staircases and doorways lead to nowhere and the laws of physics do not apply. It is all a sad joke in the lithograph "Relativity" and it is fast become now all a sad joke in Indianapolis.

The quality of life in downtown is ruined for generations. This is what politicians like Greg Ballard and the liberals have brought us to.

These masterminds are fools.

Anonymous said...

Failure to gain necessary approvals from UL and NTSB exposes the entire city including duh council. See you in court.

Anonymous said...

Where is turn-coat Scales? AOL again?