State of the City Address

1. State of the City Address Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel Presented to Rotary Club of Evansville March 17, 2009

2. Considerable Progress in 2008 • Road Paving • Sidewalk Replacement • Pigeon Creek Greenway Passage • Bike Lanes on City Streets • Education Roundtable • Southwest Indiana College Access Network • Bellemeade and Howell Parks Pools • Boys & Girls Club Partnership • Museum Expansion Project • Front Door Pride Progress • New Downtown Restaurants & Shops State of the City Address | Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel | March 17, 2009

3. The economy is the topic of the day . State of the City Address | Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel | March 17, 2009

4. January 2009 Unemployment Source: Indiana Department of Workforce Development, www.in.gov/dwd State of the City Address | Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel | March 17, 2009

5. Closings, Layoffs, Job Reductions, Salary and Benefit Reductions State of the City Address | Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel | March 17, 2009

6. Local Government Finances • City budget affected by: • Increased fuel costs • Increased utility costs • Increased health insurance costs • Decreased revenues • Result of State property tax reform State of the City Address | Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel | March 17, 2009

7. Local Government Finances • City budget balanced for 2009 • 5th year in a row • Could never have predicted what has happened with the economy • In a good position to handle it because of changes made over the past five years • Have demanded that our City operate more efficiently • Have looked for partnerships that allow us to make good use of our resources State of the City Address | Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel | March 17, 2009

8. Streamlining Local Government • Partnership with USI Center for Applied Research and Technology • Evaluated issues related to city-wide parking enforcement State of the City Address | Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel | March 17, 2009

9. Streamlining Local Government • Cooperative Purchasing Organization (CPO) • Cut costs • Create efficiencies • Leverage increased purchasing power • New online time and attendance system State of the City Address | Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel | March 17, 2009

10. Streamlining Local Government • 12 City positions eliminated in all • No employees put out of work • $553,000 annual savings* • Able to provide the same level of service *Based on 2008 salaries and benefits State of the City Address | Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel | March 17, 2009

11. Streamlining Local Government • Haven’t had to take actions that other Indiana communities have, such as: • Laying off large numbers of employees • Making drastic cuts to essential services • Increasing income taxes State of the City Address | Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel | March 17, 2009

12. Private Sector Relatively Stable • Local financial services relatively stable because of conservative lending practices • Evansville’s unemployment rate is a full percentage point below the State average • Ft. Wayne, Gary and South Bend have unemployment rates above 10% State of the City Address | Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel | March 17, 2009

13. Job Creation, Business Expansion • Mead Johnson Nutrition: • Investing $26 million to build new R&D Technology Center • Berry Plastics: • Investing nearly $21 million for new global headquarters in Evansville • Hiring at least 250 new workers State of the City Address | Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel | March 17, 2009

14. Job Creation, Business Expansion • American General: • $35 million expansion nearing completion • 150 new full-time positions will soon be filled • Vuteq(Toyota parts supplier): • Adding 50 jobs State of the City Address | Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel | March 17, 2009

15. Reality of the Economic Situation • These are challenging times • It will take a lot of hard work and collaboration to turn things around • We need to be patient State of the City Address | Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel | March 17, 2009

16. the economy didn’t reach its current condition overnight, and it will take time itto recover. State of the City Address | Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel | March 17, 2009

17. National Recovery Process • Federal government taking steps to speed up the recovery process • Not “Wall Street” vs. “Main Street” • Taking action on multiple fronts to: • Create jobs • Put people to work • Put money back into the economy State of the City Address | Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel | March 17, 2009

18. Meeting with President Obama State of the City Address | Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel | March 17, 2009

19. Meeting with President Obama • Had the honor of traveling to Washington, D.C. to meet with President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and several cabinet secretaries at the White House • Meeting took place right after Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act State of the City Address | Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel | March 17, 2009

20. American Recovery & Reinvestment Act • Will create or save millions of jobs • Invest billions of dollars in the nation’s infrastructure • Help reinvigorate neighborhoods • Invest in clean energy technology State of the City Address | Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel | March 17, 2009

21. American Recovery & Reinvestment Act • President Obama urged us to use this money wisely • That’s what the City of Evansville intends to do State of the City Address | Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel | March 17, 2009

22. American Recovery & Reinvestment Act State of the City Address | Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel | March 17, 2009

23. American Recovery & Reinvestment Act • States and cities can compete for billions of dollars in grants, such as: • $2 billion available through the Neighborhood Stabilization Program for redevelopment projects • $5 billion available for home weatherization • Will pursue funding to continue work dealing with flooding on the southeast side • We are carefully monitoring grant opportunities State of the City Address | Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel | March 17, 2009

24. American Recovery & Reinvestment Act • We are not waiting for the Federal government to bail us out • Have our own stimulus projects which will put hundreds of people to work and pump more money into our local economy State of the City Address | Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel | March 17, 2009

25. EVSC Construction Projects • EVSC spending $150 million to: • Build new North High School/Middle School complex • Renovate other schools • Work is underway • All projects should be complete by fall 2011 State of the City Address | Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel | March 17, 2009

26. EVSC Construction Projects • Timing is ideal • Bids for have come in well under budget • Due to reduced material and borrowing costs • Projects will: • Improve our children’s education • Cost less • Create jobs • Stimulate the ecoomy State of the City Address | Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel | March 17, 2009

27. New Arena to Stimulate Local Economy State of the City Address | Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel | March 17, 2009

28. Hundreds of New Jobs for Our Community • Economic impact study commissioned by the Evansville Regional Business Committeeestimated that: • 670 jobs created during construction period • 530 jobs created after arena is complete • New restaurants, new businesses need hundreds of workers State of the City Address | Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel | March 17, 2009

29. Spin-off Economic Development • Browning Investments is committed to building a 250-room hotel • City issuing an RFP in the next few weeks • Just the beginning of the investment and jobs that will be created in our community by a new arena State of the City Address | Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel | March 17, 2009

30. Deciding to Build a New Arena • Has been a long and thorough process • Started talking about what to do with Roberts Stadium years ago • Built in 1956 • Renovated in 1990 • Has served our community well • Have known for several years that the facility needs a massive upgrade State of the City Address | Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel | March 17, 2009

31. Public Involvement • Formed Roberts Stadium Advisory Board, with members representing: • Business • Labor • Neighborhood associations • Universities • Government • Hired experts like The Gateway Group to help us sift through all the data State of the City Address | Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel | March 17, 2009

32. Public Involvement • Roberts Stadium Advisory Board held 13 public meetings over the course of 18 months • Invited the community to participate and speak at each opportunity State of the City Address | Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel | March 17, 2009

33. Advisory Board Recommendation • Roberts Stadium Advisory Board unanimously recommended building a new arena downtown • City Council endorsed recommendation • County Commissioners, County Council endorsed use of Food & Beverage Tax to help fund it State of the City Address | Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel | March 17, 2009

34. Facts Supporting Recommendation • According to Gateway, we will need to spend up to $17 million over the next 3 – 5 years to keep Roberts Stadium open State of the City Address | Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel | March 17, 2009

35. Roberts Stadium Deficiencies • Would cost a total of $40 million to correct deficiencies • Concourses too narrow • Aisles too narrow • Seats too small • Concession areas and kitchens inadequate • Not enough restrooms • Restrooms not up to code • Facility not ADA compliant State of the City Address | Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel | March 17, 2009

36. Roberts Stadium Structural Problems • Would $90 million to fix major structural problems • Rigging can’t support equipment weight • Floor not regulation size • Too small for ice shows, arena football, hockey, and any other event that uses a standard floor • Undersized truck docks and marshalling areas State of the City Address | Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel | March 17, 2009

37. Renovating Roberts Stadium: Bottom Line • Would cost us at least $90 million to renovate Roberts Stadium to make it lasting and competitive • In essence, we would have to build a new facility State of the City Address | Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel | March 17, 2009

38. Building on Same Site • If build downtown, can take advantage of tax increment financing (TIF) district • TIF funds NOT available to use at current Roberts Stadium site • Would need to increase property taxes by about $60 million to build a new facility at the current site State of the City Address | Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel | March 17, 2009

39. Building on Same Site • No other economic development taking place in that area • None has occurred in the past 50 years… State of the City Address | Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel | March 17, 2009

40. Building on Same Site • Would have to shut down the whole area for almost two years to allow the intensive construction to take place State of the City Address | Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel | March 17, 2009

41. Downtown is the Best Choice • Can finance construction with sources of revenue that are only available downtown • Food & Beverage Tax • Gaming Proceeds • TIF District • Can finance a new arena and provide excellent coverage on debt obligations without raising taxes State of the City Address | Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel | March 17, 2009

42. More Bang for our Buck • Will see economic development take place downtown because of this project • People will walk to downtown businesses and restaurants • Retailers and developers already telling me they can’t wait for a new arena State of the City Address | Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel | March 17, 2009

43. Asset for Attracting Conventions • Arena will be located right next to The Centre • The two facilities can be used in tandem • Will allow our community to attract even larger conventions and events State of the City Address | Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel | March 17, 2009

44. Roberts Stadium Parking State of the City Address | Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel | March 17, 2009

45. Parking Comparison: Downtown vs. Roberts Stadium Downtown*: 5,296 spaces Roberts Stadium: 3,000 spaces * Within a five-minute walk of the intersection of Fourth St. and Locust St. State of the City Address | Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel | March 17, 2009

46. Downtown Parking City Garages Sycamore St.: 588 Locust St.: 378 Third St.: 613 TOTAL: 1,579 Private Garages 420 Main St.: 150 Executive Inn: 600 Old National: 600 One Riverfront: 425 Fifth Third: 400 TOTAL: 2,175 Surface Lots TOTAL: 1,542 Total Parking: 5,296 Spaces* * Within a five-minute walk of the intersection of Fourth St. and Locust St. State of the City Address | Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel | March 17, 2009

47. Planned Downtown Traffic Changes State of the City Address | Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel | March 17, 2009

48. Access Points to Downtown State of the City Address | Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel | March 17, 2009

49. Access Points to Arena Area State of the City Address | Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel | March 17, 2009

50. Access Point Comparison: Downtown Site vs. Roberts Stadium Roberts Stadium Downtown Evansville State of the City Address | Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel | March 17, 2009