As we still await the City’s release of preliminary testing data for the OmniSource property, I find it troubling that the local media has remained mute on the issue. Kudos to Indiana’s NewsCenter for their part in following the story (see here). Short of their coverage, other news sources have failed in their responsibility to inform Fort Wayne residents about the City’s refusal to release the data. Should the City move forward and purchase the property without adequate data, Fort Wayne taxpayers could be left exposed to cleanup costs before any plan for site development can be implemented.
Here are a few questions we deserve to have answered:
- We have been told that the purchase price is $4.3 million dollars. Most of us understood this price was negotiated in advance, and the $25,000 purchase option secured the deal for this price. We are now told “the City cited state code suggesting that economic development commissions are exempt from disclosure requirements, during negotiations with a commercial prospect….” Are negotiations still ongoing or was the purchase price fixed in advance as previously suggested?
- Participants on the North River Now! Project were told that time was of the essence, that the City had until December 31st when the purchase option expired to decide to make the deal. No indication was provided suggesting the City could extend the offer another year. Mayor Richard was recently quoted as saying the City can renew the option. Is this a new development or has it always been an option? If the renewal option always existed, why are we just hearing about it now?
- The option to purchase was secured at the beginning of the year. The agreement included a provision stating: āThe seller will convey the property to Buyer AS IS, without any warranty as to condition or environmental matters.ā This statement further suggests the price is non-negotiable and that concerns about environmental factors were known at that time. When did the City begin testing? We hear that the results are just now becoming available. One might believe the testing began only recently, after the investment of tens of thousands of dollars on outside design consultants and hundreds of hours of time by local residents to suggest ideas for the plan. If concerns were noted at the time of the option agreement, why not invest in preliminary testing before engaging the public in “dream workshops” if any resulting plan would not be viable?
Renewing the purchase agreement for another $25,000 seems like money well spent to ensure the viability of this land parcel for development. However, I am compelled to suggest that had the testing been performed in March or April, before paying substantially more on consultants, Fort Wayne taxpayers would have been better served.
Many people accuse the Journal Gazette of biased reporting. I see some evidence for this, but the real problem is something else. I think their frequent lack of coverage for important stories and a disregard for in-depth analysis points to laziness. It’s just too much work to do a good story.
Look at the way they handled the Libertarians during the election. First, they actually misinformed the voters by declaring there were no other candidates besides the Republicans and Democrats. After feeling pressured on this, they admitted there were other candidates, but stated that these candidates would not be interviewed because the J.G. felt they would not be elected. After more pressure, they finally covered the Libertarians in their special insert – just a few days before the election.
Way to go J.G. that’s some performance!
We have over forty local blogs that cover mostly political issues. Combined, they do about as well as the paper does. Plus, there is never any opinion left out with this diverse group. I think that if someone had a good blog for sports, weather and business we wouldn’t need the paper at all.
Dave,
You bring up several good points here and I’m glad a champion of North River development like yourself is viewing this with a skeptic’s eye. In my opinion too many Harrison Square supporters failed to do just that and we will eventually pay the price for it.
I think the traditional media is simply waiting for the other shoe to drop here as the city isn’t saying anything substantial about what’s going on.
Let me just say that having state and/or federal taxpayers foot the bill to clean up property polluted by the richest family in Allen County is not only insulting but also undemocratic.
Sadly, it’s exactly what I am expecting the Richard administration to propose…
Jeff,
I’m afraid your concerns are well-founded. Greg Leatherman suggested on 11/2, “the testing being done on the OmniSource property puts the City way ahead of what it faced with the Bowser site, and as a municipality, the City can tap into state and federal funding for cleanup costs, to minimize any burdens to taxpayers.”
I found this statement from the story interesting: “…If testing suggests a lot of cleanup will be required, that could drive down the sale price significantly.”
So if in fact the price remains negotiable, wouldn’t the City stand to get a better price with full knowledge of contamination factors? Why wait until the END of the option period? Boggles the mind.
Dave
Phil-
I agree. The lack of coverage on these important issues is exactly the problem.