Majority of council displays "business as usual" attitude
It's business as usual down at 215 Church Avenue: City administration not fully disclosing to the Oshkosh Common Council complete information that it, and the public at large, should have before development agreements and other matters are voted on, and a majority of our Common Council – including Meredith Scheuermann, who is seeking re-election next week - sending the message that such behavior is acceptable.
Two weeks ago the council approved a development deal that required an additional $2.7 million in public funding to reinvigorate the redevelopment of the old Mercy Medical Center property on Hazel Street - something that Ben Ganther failed to accomplish under his agreement with the city. One day after that approval it was learned that a principal player in the company that has the "new" development deal was a partner of Ganther’s in the original concept five years ago, though he and his father severed their ties with Ganther about a year or so later and sold their 50 percent interest in the project to Ganther for $1. The earlier relationship came as a surprise to nearly everyone involved in the process, including the city manager.
Yet community development director Jackson Kinney said the prior relationship was a matter of public record (note that persons involved in the "new" agreement operated under a different name five years ago) and he was so focused on the present and future that he never really thought to mention the previous relationship. Sounds more like a convenient excuse than an oversight to me, and there has since been a outpouring of public rage over the nonchalant attitude by Kinney; the lack of accountability coming from city hall; the failure to fully disclose to the council all pertinent details of matters coming before it; and the ties to and additional work being given to Ganther, even though he has a history of continually being in arrears in his property tax payments to the city on properties involving public-private partnerships. And to add insult to injury, Ganther will still be involved in and benefit from this project as a designer/builder.
Councilor Paul Esslinger brought the matter back for reconsideration last night, but unfortunately only two other councilors - Bryan Bain and Dennis McHugh - felt it was important enough to reconsider, so the matter was essentially dead on arrival.
Among those who refused to reconsider the development deal were two people leaving the council: William Castle and Shirley Mattox. Burk Tower and Meredith Scheuermann were the two others who did not vote in favor of reconsideration. Shame on all four of these councilors for this attitude.
Have they not been hearing the public’s concern and displeasure, or do they just not care? According to this morning's Oshkosh Northwestern, Mattox and Scheuermann each said their questions had been fully answered since the last meeting and they saw no reason to reconsider the proposal. I wonder exactly what those questions were that they asked and why they seem to think the public doesn't have a right to hear those “tough questions” asked and answered in a public venue at the council meeting rather than on the phone, in person or via email - which seems to be Scheuermann's preferred style? And does the fact that Scheuermann has received campaign contributions from Ganther in the past have anything to do with her refusal to reconsider a project that he will still directly benefit from? That is up to each voter to decide. She and Mattox may have gotten their questions answered privately before the meeting but it should have been done in public. And by not allowing the matter to come back before the council for consideration, the other council members didn't have an opportunity to get their questions asked and answered in a public setting, either. This is not the kind of “leadership” we need from our elected representatives.
Bottom line: I am not saying this deal should not have been left to stand when all is said and done; after all, something needs to be done with the property and no one else has really stepped up to the plate. But had the council been fully informed of all the details two weeks ago, I can assure you that some of the questions would have been asked differently and new ones would have come up. That could have happened last night, but it didn’t. The public deserves better than it got last night and we were owed a discussion in public. More importantly, the way business continues to be conducted by city staff and some city council members has to stop. I hope that voters will remember this when they go to the polls next Tuesday.
Two weeks ago the council approved a development deal that required an additional $2.7 million in public funding to reinvigorate the redevelopment of the old Mercy Medical Center property on Hazel Street - something that Ben Ganther failed to accomplish under his agreement with the city. One day after that approval it was learned that a principal player in the company that has the "new" development deal was a partner of Ganther’s in the original concept five years ago, though he and his father severed their ties with Ganther about a year or so later and sold their 50 percent interest in the project to Ganther for $1. The earlier relationship came as a surprise to nearly everyone involved in the process, including the city manager.
Yet community development director Jackson Kinney said the prior relationship was a matter of public record (note that persons involved in the "new" agreement operated under a different name five years ago) and he was so focused on the present and future that he never really thought to mention the previous relationship. Sounds more like a convenient excuse than an oversight to me, and there has since been a outpouring of public rage over the nonchalant attitude by Kinney; the lack of accountability coming from city hall; the failure to fully disclose to the council all pertinent details of matters coming before it; and the ties to and additional work being given to Ganther, even though he has a history of continually being in arrears in his property tax payments to the city on properties involving public-private partnerships. And to add insult to injury, Ganther will still be involved in and benefit from this project as a designer/builder.
Councilor Paul Esslinger brought the matter back for reconsideration last night, but unfortunately only two other councilors - Bryan Bain and Dennis McHugh - felt it was important enough to reconsider, so the matter was essentially dead on arrival.
Among those who refused to reconsider the development deal were two people leaving the council: William Castle and Shirley Mattox. Burk Tower and Meredith Scheuermann were the two others who did not vote in favor of reconsideration. Shame on all four of these councilors for this attitude.
Have they not been hearing the public’s concern and displeasure, or do they just not care? According to this morning's Oshkosh Northwestern, Mattox and Scheuermann each said their questions had been fully answered since the last meeting and they saw no reason to reconsider the proposal. I wonder exactly what those questions were that they asked and why they seem to think the public doesn't have a right to hear those “tough questions” asked and answered in a public venue at the council meeting rather than on the phone, in person or via email - which seems to be Scheuermann's preferred style? And does the fact that Scheuermann has received campaign contributions from Ganther in the past have anything to do with her refusal to reconsider a project that he will still directly benefit from? That is up to each voter to decide. She and Mattox may have gotten their questions answered privately before the meeting but it should have been done in public. And by not allowing the matter to come back before the council for consideration, the other council members didn't have an opportunity to get their questions asked and answered in a public setting, either. This is not the kind of “leadership” we need from our elected representatives.
Bottom line: I am not saying this deal should not have been left to stand when all is said and done; after all, something needs to be done with the property and no one else has really stepped up to the plate. But had the council been fully informed of all the details two weeks ago, I can assure you that some of the questions would have been asked differently and new ones would have come up. That could have happened last night, but it didn’t. The public deserves better than it got last night and we were owed a discussion in public. More importantly, the way business continues to be conducted by city staff and some city council members has to stop. I hope that voters will remember this when they go to the polls next Tuesday.
posted by Cheryl Hentz at 10:07 AM
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