This is the second in a series of posts regarding the North River Project
Let us not get the cart (North River Project) before the horse (Omni Source property). Sadly that has already happened but at least the city is only on the hook for the $25,000 option they took on the property. There are serious questions that need to be answered before the city writes a check for $4,300,000.00.
The Saint Mary's River starts as a couple of creeks in Ohio before reaching Decatur, Indiana. The water continues to flow slowly toward Fort Wayne. When the water gets to Fort Wayne it makes several hard turns before reaching the downtown area. At that point it merges with the Spy Run Creek and Saint Joseph River to form the Maumee River.
The Saint Mary's River has little current flow at normal levels from Decatur to Fort Wayne. The reason for this there is very little drop in the elevation of the river bed. This provides for low current flow, little deep water, and on going water quality issues during the summer months. There has been periods of time when the Saint Joseph River watershed received large amounts rain that water would rush into confluence of the rivers and some water would actually flow "backwards" into the Saint Mary's river well past Foster Park.
To raise the level of the river to an usable level would require some type of dam. Sadly, any dam on the Saint Mary's here in Fort Wayne could produce a disaster for Decatur. If there is a sudden series of major rain storms dumping large volumes of water on the Saint Mary's watershed it would result in flooding for Decatur and the near southwest side of Fort Wayne. There are a couple of concepts that could take care of this issue but would cost in the order of millions and millions of dollars.
The Saint Mary's level fluctuates many many times a year. It will go from a couple of feet to fifteen feet within a few days with melting snow or heavy down pours of rain. During these events of high water the river could not be used in a safe manner by any one without extreme risk to life. Someone accidentally falling into the river could face drowning!
While the concept of a hardedge reaching out into the river with steps may be appealing it would be a difficult to impossible convince the Corp of Engineers to approve of such. Isn't there someone from the city that could approach both the Corp of Engineers and the state DNR two ask if a dam and/or this hardedge would be remotely acceptable? I think it would be wise to get their reply in writing for all to review.
An issue few have mentioned is Fort Wayne has an old dump located right on the banks of the Saint Mary's river. Before being a dump it was gravel pit that had a deep hole dredged into it. Both the public and commercial companies used this totally unregulated dump. Barrels of chemicals used by the wire industry, motor manufacturers, gas pump manufactures, utilities and whoever else wanted to dump anything added to the contents of the dump.
The pit was always full of water and bull dozers kept pushing the stuff into the hole until all the water was forced out of the hole and into the river. When the hole was finally filled, after years of use, it was closed and the owners moved to a new site.
Several years ago the dump was topped with clay and became a small park with baseball diamonds and tennis courts. It is located to the east of South Calhoun Street along Tillman Road. One has to wonder, is this former landfill leaking into the Saint Mary's and anyone coming into contact with the slow moving water of summer could face rashes, mild illness, or maybe long term health problems?
The Allen County Board of Health would be required to take daily samples of the river water and to check if people visiting the area should even come in contact with the water. With E-coli present and any number of other chemicals that would be in the water may quickly require the steps to be closed off. Would anyone ever be allowed to use the hardedge to set with their feet in the water? Would any children splashing along the edge face getting sick or have other health issues from coming into contact with this water?
Thursday, August 30, 2007
North River Design - Cart Before The Horse!
Let us not get the cart (North River Project) before the horse (Omni Source property). Sadly that has already happened but at least the city is only on the hook for the $25,000 option they have extended on the property. There are serious questions that need to be answered before the city writes a check for $4,300,000.00.
This posting only deals with potential environmental issues this property may contain.
The site was a known as Superior Iron and Metal back when it opened in the early 1940's. For us old people who remember the view we where greeted with when we drove either north or south on Clinton Street. We say any number of piles reaching up twenty to thirty feet in the air of junk. There would be automobile engines, truck engines, engines from huge machines piled up. You would see stacks of transmissions from these same vehicles. They would set there for months with the oil and remaining coolant running out of them onto the ground.
One would see piles of metal rising up higher then the homes to the west of the site. Some would soon become colored with rust but others remained shinny for months all mixed in the same pile. The reason for some material not rusting right away when exposed to the rain and so forth is it was coated with oils. Some was scarped from local plating shops that contained about every heavy metal you can think of on them. All oils, chemicals and metals slowly washed or oxcided off onto the bare ground.
There was tons and tons of old lead pipe piled on the property that when pounding rains beat on it the oxide of the lead would flake off and run onto the ground. Some of the lead was so bad that it would crumble apart into small pieces when moved and mix with the ground below it.
As the business operated they had tractors, front loaders and cranes moving around the site. This equipment drove over the puddles of coolants, spilled gasoline, transmission fluids, hevy metals other chemicals washed off scrap metal. This forced a mixing of the chemicals into the clay ground. Smaller chunks of metal was compacted into the earth as these machines moved around the site doing their work. This resulted in nickel, cadmium and other heavy metals to become mixed into the soil.
Some of our city officials act like if we do not quickly move ahead with the purchase of the property it will be gone. How many years has this former scrap yard set there covered with a thin layer of dirt and grass? How many years has owners tried to sale the property and found no buyers? At what price would they have sold it to some private company? What private company would touch this site knowing only what we do about it? Few if any is a good belief!
The asking price for the property is $4,300,000 for about 29 acres. That is a little under $147,000 an acre for a site that has one main road going one direction to it. The remaining street with access to the property is little more then a residential street. You can purchase brand new commercial property right off Maplecrest & 469 for a little over $200,000 an acre. There is a large parcel of brand new commercial property at Illinois & Hamilton road with an asking price of around $200,000 an acre. The point is this property is not being offered at some bargain price to the city.
While some will say these issues have been addressed in the North River Now Q&A section one has to question it. Below is the answer provided in the North River Now Q&A to the environmental issue.
Q. Are there any environmental issues associated with the North River site?
A. Initial environmental testing has been done by OmniSource with good reports, but further testing will be orchestrated by the City to establish and verify the status of the site. Underground storage tanks have already been removed. The option agreement for the land contains environmental provisions. They will be examined thoroughly and monitored closely to guarantee appropriate standards are met.
If you wish you can go to http://northrivernow.org/ and look under Frequently Asked Questions.
It has to be asked of city leaders to publish the complete "INITIAL ENVIRONMENTAL TESTING" information? What areas and what scope were they taken too? The underground storage tanks is a very very small fraction of the potential environmental problems that may be covered by a thin layer of clay and grass.
The "OPTION AGREEMENT contains environmental provisions." What are these provisions as they should be published so the general public knows what they may be on financial hook for?
What is not understood is the last sentence of, "They will be examined thoroughly and monitored closely to guarantee appropriate standards are met." Why would there need to be ongoing monitoring? What is going on under the surface that would require additional monitoring if this site is so clean?
The City Council, as the peoples review representative, must look very hard at the environmental issues of the property. If they just elect to make a motion and vote to "DO PASS" this resolution without a proper review they should all be voted out of office.
To the general public, including those who served so well on the North River committee, please drive out on the east side of Fort Wayne and look at the current Omni Source property. Would you build a home, let your kids play on a playground, or picnic on the ground this site sets on without proper cleanup?
This posting only deals with potential environmental issues this property may contain.
The site was a known as Superior Iron and Metal back when it opened in the early 1940's. For us old people who remember the view we where greeted with when we drove either north or south on Clinton Street. We say any number of piles reaching up twenty to thirty feet in the air of junk. There would be automobile engines, truck engines, engines from huge machines piled up. You would see stacks of transmissions from these same vehicles. They would set there for months with the oil and remaining coolant running out of them onto the ground.
One would see piles of metal rising up higher then the homes to the west of the site. Some would soon become colored with rust but others remained shinny for months all mixed in the same pile. The reason for some material not rusting right away when exposed to the rain and so forth is it was coated with oils. Some was scarped from local plating shops that contained about every heavy metal you can think of on them. All oils, chemicals and metals slowly washed or oxcided off onto the bare ground.
There was tons and tons of old lead pipe piled on the property that when pounding rains beat on it the oxide of the lead would flake off and run onto the ground. Some of the lead was so bad that it would crumble apart into small pieces when moved and mix with the ground below it.
As the business operated they had tractors, front loaders and cranes moving around the site. This equipment drove over the puddles of coolants, spilled gasoline, transmission fluids, hevy metals other chemicals washed off scrap metal. This forced a mixing of the chemicals into the clay ground. Smaller chunks of metal was compacted into the earth as these machines moved around the site doing their work. This resulted in nickel, cadmium and other heavy metals to become mixed into the soil.
Some of our city officials act like if we do not quickly move ahead with the purchase of the property it will be gone. How many years has this former scrap yard set there covered with a thin layer of dirt and grass? How many years has owners tried to sale the property and found no buyers? At what price would they have sold it to some private company? What private company would touch this site knowing only what we do about it? Few if any is a good belief!
The asking price for the property is $4,300,000 for about 29 acres. That is a little under $147,000 an acre for a site that has one main road going one direction to it. The remaining street with access to the property is little more then a residential street. You can purchase brand new commercial property right off Maplecrest & 469 for a little over $200,000 an acre. There is a large parcel of brand new commercial property at Illinois & Hamilton road with an asking price of around $200,000 an acre. The point is this property is not being offered at some bargain price to the city.
While some will say these issues have been addressed in the North River Now Q&A section one has to question it. Below is the answer provided in the North River Now Q&A to the environmental issue.
Q. Are there any environmental issues associated with the North River site?
A. Initial environmental testing has been done by OmniSource with good reports, but further testing will be orchestrated by the City to establish and verify the status of the site. Underground storage tanks have already been removed. The option agreement for the land contains environmental provisions. They will be examined thoroughly and monitored closely to guarantee appropriate standards are met.
If you wish you can go to http://northrivernow.org/ and look under Frequently Asked Questions.
It has to be asked of city leaders to publish the complete "INITIAL ENVIRONMENTAL TESTING" information? What areas and what scope were they taken too? The underground storage tanks is a very very small fraction of the potential environmental problems that may be covered by a thin layer of clay and grass.
The "OPTION AGREEMENT contains environmental provisions." What are these provisions as they should be published so the general public knows what they may be on financial hook for?
What is not understood is the last sentence of, "They will be examined thoroughly and monitored closely to guarantee appropriate standards are met." Why would there need to be ongoing monitoring? What is going on under the surface that would require additional monitoring if this site is so clean?
The City Council, as the peoples review representative, must look very hard at the environmental issues of the property. If they just elect to make a motion and vote to "DO PASS" this resolution without a proper review they should all be voted out of office.
To the general public, including those who served so well on the North River committee, please drive out on the east side of Fort Wayne and look at the current Omni Source property. Would you build a home, let your kids play on a playground, or picnic on the ground this site sets on without proper cleanup?
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
When A Deal Is A Deal - Part 2
I am not sure I heard right when the Fort Wayne City Council approved the zoning change for a piece of property at Paulding and Adams Center Road last night. I thought, I heard them say it was a 248 acre parcel. Is this the same piece of property Ken Neumeister owns?
The agenda for the City Council members had this regarding the zoning change for the acreage as follows
Z-07-07-04
AN ORDINANCE amending the City of Fort Wayne Zoning Map
No. T-19 & U-19 (Sec. 21 of Adams Township) – Councilmanic District #6
Northwest corner of Adams Center Road and East Paulding Road – Rezoning is to allow unspecified
industrial and commercial uses consistent with the land use to the north and east
One has to ask just how far north and east does this go? I for one would like for someone from the city to show us other zonings that had this same classification. I just wonder what classification the property falls into?
I am also confused about the acreage. If Sheriff Fries is purchasing 200 acres and Neumeister is keeping five acres then what happens to the other 43 acres?
Now I am not the sharpest tack in the box but I took the $800,000 that the property was appraised for, and say for laughs it was the 248 acres then that works out to about $3,200 an acre. If the Sheriff purchased 200 acres at $3,200 an acre the value would be $640,000. Which is close to the $675,000 that has been reported. More then likely all closing costs and associated fees Neumeister faced in the entire property transaction has been rolled into the difference between the appraised value and the selling price.
Following along if the parcel was 248 acres and Neumeister paid $615,000 for all it then his cost was about $2,500 an acre. He appears to retain to the ownership to the five acres at the corner of Paulding & Adams Center road and the remaining 43 acres. Commercial retail space at a corner intersection is not cheap and for the sake of argument let us say it is only worth $6,400 an acre. Since the 43 acres currently has an appraisal value of $3,200 per acre its value is $137,000. Hence, Neumeister may be setting on a gross profit of $167,000 if he was to sell it today and none of his money is tied up.
A question comes up with regards when Allen County agreed to relocate an open ditch that apparently crosses part of the five acres Neumeister is retaining. What does the agreement call for in the way of what the Allen County will spend on doing this?
I just wish Neumeister would lay out all the details from day one. I would like to see him provide the public with a flow chart and timeline of this event. Then we all could move onto other pressing issues.
The agenda for the City Council members had this regarding the zoning change for the acreage as follows
Z-07-07-04
AN ORDINANCE amending the City of Fort Wayne Zoning Map
No. T-19 & U-19 (Sec. 21 of Adams Township) – Councilmanic District #6
Northwest corner of Adams Center Road and East Paulding Road – Rezoning is to allow unspecified
industrial and commercial uses consistent with the land use to the north and east
One has to ask just how far north and east does this go? I for one would like for someone from the city to show us other zonings that had this same classification. I just wonder what classification the property falls into?
I am also confused about the acreage. If Sheriff Fries is purchasing 200 acres and Neumeister is keeping five acres then what happens to the other 43 acres?
Now I am not the sharpest tack in the box but I took the $800,000 that the property was appraised for, and say for laughs it was the 248 acres then that works out to about $3,200 an acre. If the Sheriff purchased 200 acres at $3,200 an acre the value would be $640,000. Which is close to the $675,000 that has been reported. More then likely all closing costs and associated fees Neumeister faced in the entire property transaction has been rolled into the difference between the appraised value and the selling price.
Following along if the parcel was 248 acres and Neumeister paid $615,000 for all it then his cost was about $2,500 an acre. He appears to retain to the ownership to the five acres at the corner of Paulding & Adams Center road and the remaining 43 acres. Commercial retail space at a corner intersection is not cheap and for the sake of argument let us say it is only worth $6,400 an acre. Since the 43 acres currently has an appraisal value of $3,200 per acre its value is $137,000. Hence, Neumeister may be setting on a gross profit of $167,000 if he was to sell it today and none of his money is tied up.
A question comes up with regards when Allen County agreed to relocate an open ditch that apparently crosses part of the five acres Neumeister is retaining. What does the agreement call for in the way of what the Allen County will spend on doing this?
I just wish Neumeister would lay out all the details from day one. I would like to see him provide the public with a flow chart and timeline of this event. Then we all could move onto other pressing issues.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
When Is A Deal A Deal
If you have not read the News-Sentinel article by Kevin Leininger about Ken Neumeister finding acreage for Sheriff Ken Fries shooting range then I urge you to do so before reading on.
Sadly as of Wed noon the Tuesday story had not been posted on their Internet site. I have no clue as to why
1- Fort Wayne Ministerial Alliance gained the control of some 200 acres of the old Adams Center Land fill as part of a legal settlement in 2002.
2- The Ministerial Alliance formed Genesis Way Development to keep this property separate of the rest of their operations.
3- The Sheriff decides the county needs to work on finding a shooting range for the department. This has been an on going need for several years.
4- Neumeister volunteers to help the Sheriff out in finding the needed land for shooting range.
5- Neumeister finds 200 acres controlled by the Fort Wayne Ministerial Alliance and purchases it in his company's name for $615,000. What is missing is all the details about who, when, what and where.
6- Neumeister somehow conveys to the Sheriff that he now owns 200 acres and is willing to sell it to Allen County for both a shooting range and road course.
7- When the Sheriff first talked about a shooting range for the department there was no mention of needing a driving course and other uses that required such a large piece of property. While the Sheriff can modify his plans but was this all completed before it was known Neumeister could/did have control of the property.
8- It is reported that two people or companies provided valuations of the 200 plus acres and they reported the value was near $800,000. While there is no question if these values are right it is unknown who supplied the appraisals and how they reached the $800,000 mark. They also failed to state what the corner five acres was worth presently.
9- Neumeister and the Sheriff reached an agreement that Allen County would pay $675,000 for most of the property, Neumeister would keep five acres at the corner of Adams Center Road and Paulding Road, the county would pay to have a drainage ditch relocated to benefit Neumeister's five acres value, and Neumeister would pay all closing cost and some unnamed expenses on the transfer of the property to the county.
10- The Allen County Commissioners voted 3-0 in favor of the Sheriff proceeding with the purchase. He was going to use the money the commissioners allotted plus over $200,000 from the jail canteen profits to assemble all the money that is needed. There seems to be several questions on how the commissioners gave their approval with few questions asked.
11- The Allen County Council gave its blessing to this also and some members got off the hook by stating they brought up the fact the Neumeister was the owner of the property. Again this brings up several questions as to the entire deal.
12- If the Sheriff builds the shooting range, buildings, and road course he stated the general public could use the range and the road course. He tossed out the place could provide over a million dollars income to the county a year.
13- Had Neumeister been the guy he claims to be he would have taken an option on the property for a period of time. He would then have worked with Sheriff to secure the deal at $615,000. The county would have then been able to sell off the five acres for at least $50,000 and maybe more after the county's part of the property had been developed.
Unlike others I offer a chance for all the cards be laid on the table before I pass final judgement.
Kelty Is No Better Then Me
I did not vote for Matt Kelty in the primary election back in May. I voted for Nelson Peters because I thought Kelty was too far to the right on several political issues. Not that he was a good or bad guy for which I already knew he was a good guy.
At this time I believe Kelty is innocent of the charges the grand jury returned. Under Indiana law Kelty and it may include others became "targets" of a grand jury as set forth by a special prosecutor (SP). The SP did assemble material and witnesses he felt was needed to explore if any crime(s) MAY have been committed. The SP would ask questions in seeking answers to such. The grand jury would then JUDGE the information, based on what they had heard and seen, if said person should face a formal trial to determine the issues presented.
The target of the grand jury has no right to question any witness or material to clarify anything that is presented. I have no clue as to what questions where ask of witnesses about the Indiana state provided filing forms that do not provide any place for information that now is being argued. If you read the Indiana law about the issue you can get two different opinions if you are open minded. So who is right? The court will decide after a full hearing.
When it comes to the perjury charges they are most serious charges. Again, we do not know what witness or witnesses said which resulted in the charges. I believe, we do know two things. Kelty did not take the 5th amendment in an effort to avoid answering the questions and that he kept the same story when he was asked multiple times.
I do not think the grand jury or the SP had an axe to use against Kelty. Each did their job and did it the best they could. The grand jury believed, based on what they heard crimes MAY have been committed. That a formal trial was warranted to explore the issues and issue the final verdict.
While many people think this is some kind of game then they are very sick people. Kelty is fighting for his name, his family, his professional life and freedom. I for one think he should be afforded that chance to defend himself in a court of law and, before group of his peers with all evidence from both sides presented and questioned.
At this time I believe Kelty is innocent of the charges the grand jury returned. Under Indiana law Kelty and it may include others became "targets" of a grand jury as set forth by a special prosecutor (SP). The SP did assemble material and witnesses he felt was needed to explore if any crime(s) MAY have been committed. The SP would ask questions in seeking answers to such. The grand jury would then JUDGE the information, based on what they had heard and seen, if said person should face a formal trial to determine the issues presented.
The target of the grand jury has no right to question any witness or material to clarify anything that is presented. I have no clue as to what questions where ask of witnesses about the Indiana state provided filing forms that do not provide any place for information that now is being argued. If you read the Indiana law about the issue you can get two different opinions if you are open minded. So who is right? The court will decide after a full hearing.
When it comes to the perjury charges they are most serious charges. Again, we do not know what witness or witnesses said which resulted in the charges. I believe, we do know two things. Kelty did not take the 5th amendment in an effort to avoid answering the questions and that he kept the same story when he was asked multiple times.
I do not think the grand jury or the SP had an axe to use against Kelty. Each did their job and did it the best they could. The grand jury believed, based on what they heard crimes MAY have been committed. That a formal trial was warranted to explore the issues and issue the final verdict.
While many people think this is some kind of game then they are very sick people. Kelty is fighting for his name, his family, his professional life and freedom. I for one think he should be afforded that chance to defend himself in a court of law and, before group of his peers with all evidence from both sides presented and questioned.
Why This Blog
I have been a long time reader of the many blogs here in Fort Wayne. They are a mix of being informative, educational, funny, self serving, hateful and questionable. It is my hope this blog will raise questions seeking answers and not tirades. With that let us begin.
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