Op Ed; Evansville New Administrator arrives; Assumes Duties

On Tuesday night at the meeting of the Redevelopment Authority, the agenda was filled with the details of the development agreement between the City of Evansville and Dysis II, the partnership that will restore the Economy Store, or the Old Ace.

No media were present other than the movie crew of the Evansville Observer. No citizens were present. Yet, something happened that you can hear on the audio, and will see in the coming movie. The long awaited vacuum of city administrator has been filled.

The details of the financial plan for The Economy Store had been the subject of intense efforts by developers, lawyers, city officials, and financial consultants over the past thirty days. As far as first tasks go, it was not one that I would have chosen. It was possibly the most difficult story that I have covered in the past year.

Mayor Decker sat in the back row and let the City Administrator take the lead in the discussion of the revised developers agreement. When it came time to present on the issue of the expenses of the engineering and financial consultant pertaining to the project, Dan Wietecha simply said, "I can't speak to the past. I can only speak to the future. It is normal and customary that the developers pay these expenses and in fact.....(in the biodiesel matter) that is the case. "

In one flash, it became clear that we have a new administrator and he is serious and experienced. It showed and it was welcome. I wish you all could have been there. You can listen in on the audio. Enjoy.