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Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Ind. Gov't. - "Transparency in government" remains a goal

Town of Speedway. "Confusion about the availability of Speedway's redevelopment plan stalled a public hearing and prompted officials to improve efforts to keep residents and business owners informed." So reads the lead to this story by Josh Duke today in the Indianapolis Star. More:

"We don't want to be in a situation where the public feels like they don't have all the information," said Commission President Scott Harris. "I was embarrassed by that, and it won't happen again."

Harris' pledge came after Susan Luebbert, who owns Speedway Monogramming, a business within the town's designated redevelopment area, objected to Monday's public hearing because she could not obtain the complete redevelopment plan from the town before the meeting.

Harris promised to have copies available by Thursday at Town Hall and rescheduled the public hearing to 6 p.m. Nov. 21 at Speedway Public Library.

The Star had a story Sunday about the upcoming public hearing. Some quotes:
Town leaders envision transforming the aging industrial community into a year-round tourist destination by tapping into the motor sports industry. Upscale restaurants, condominiums and racing-related activities have been considered. The effort will include dressing up downtown buildings along Main Street and adding decorative landscaping and lighting.

Don Katterhenry, a member of the Old Speedway City Neighborhood Association, which was formed partly to seek the historic designation, is happy the park service acted before rehabilitation work could begin. "I just want the town's history preserved," he said. "The redevelopment members seem to agree, but this redevelopment thing is a little scary for me."

The historic designation, encompassing an area bounded by Main, 16th and 10th streets and Winton Avenue, is largely honorary. It puts no restrictions on what residents can do to their homes.

However, rehabilitation work on private property in the area now is eligible for income-tax credits, said Amy Walker, survey and registration assistant for the state's Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology.

Also, nonprofit agencies, government organizations and educational institutions are now eligible for grants to help pay for work within the district, she said.
"Hopefully, the people that live in this historic district will take care of their homes and will not change them too much," Katterhenry said. The neighborhood association had sought the historic designation for years but lacked funding to pay a private company to catalog the buildings. * * *

The Speedway Redevelopment Commission will give residents and business owners an opportunity Monday to share views on how to revitalize the town.

The Town of Speedway does not appear to have a website where governmental documents such as the redevelopment plan and the historic designaation plan could be made readily available.

State of Indiana. JK Wall of the Indianapolis Star reports today, in a story headlined "IMI wins $30 million in state contracts," that:

An Indianapolis-area concrete firm that pleaded guilty to price-fixing will be given $30 million in state contracts to pave roads from Fort Wayne nearly to Evansville.

Irving Materials Inc. won those contracts for one of its subsidiaries after agreeing to give $2 million toward a possible settlement with the state of Indiana.

That deal, struck between Greenfield-based IMI and the Indiana attorney general's office, was announced Tuesday. The state said it wants to recover money lost by taxpayers, but it also wants to get the best deal on the highway projects, and IMI was the lowest bidder on these contracts.

Four IMI executives, who also pleaded guilty to price-fixing, have agreed to not serve as officers or directors of IMI for three years. Those four -- Fred R. "Pete" Irving, Price Irving, John Huggins and Daniel Butler -- had already stepped down from their positions before the agreement was reached. They are scheduled to be sentenced in December. * * *

Federal investigators have said IMI conspired with other firms to fix the price of ready-mix concrete between July 2000 and May 2004. The scheme affected nearly all concrete sold in the Indianapolis area during that time, investigators said. IMI is paying a $29 million fine, the largest ever in a domestic price-fixing case.

IMI will benefit from the settlement because its wholly owned subsidiary, E&B Paving, will be awarded 10 contracts with the Indiana Department of Transportation. E&B Paving had been the low bidder on those contracts, but INDOT had held those contracts in a "pending" status until IMI agreed to acceptable terms with the attorney general.

INDOT would have paid $1.9 million more if it had hired the second-highest bidders on the contracts, according to INDOT spokesman Gary Abell. In 2004, E&B Paving performed 63 contracts or subcontracts for INDOT valued at $151 million. These are the first contracts it has received from INDOT since IMI's guilty plea was announced June 29. "We wanted to serve the taxpayer interests here," Abell said. "IMI has shown good faith, so we're reciprocating as we move toward a settlement."

In releasing those contracts, which are for roadwork from Fort Wayne to Warrick County, the state also insisted that IMI appoint one independent director to the board of E&B Paving.

The state will consider future contracts with IMI or E&B Paving case by case, Schultz said.

Here is the Governor's press release, dated Nov. 8. However, a copy of the "deal, struck between Greenfield-based IMI and the Indiana attorney general's office," as described in the Star story, does not appear to be available online at the State's website. The federal antitrust filings, plea agreement, and federal DOT "Suspension and Proposed Debarment From Federal Nonprocurement Programs" are all readily available, however.

State of Kentucky. The Louisville Courier Journal reports today:

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- A Transportation Cabinet lawyer refused to say yesterday whether the agency would go to court to keep secret the bills from outside lawyers hired to review records sought in the state hiring investigation.

The refusal frustrated Sen. Ernesto Scorsone, D-Lexington, a member of the General Assembly's Government Contract Review Committee. "Are you all still going to stonewall the public looking at these records?" Scorsone asked Transportation Cabinet lawyer David Sanford.

Sanford said the agency would abide by a final order of a court, but then refused to say if the cabinet would go to court to prevent disclosure of the records. "This is unconscionable," Scorsone responded.

At the Finance Cabinet, spokeswoman Jill Midkiff said her agency will ask a court to allow lawyers' bills to be kept secret.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on November 9, 2005 08:10 AM
Posted to Indiana Government