City man is spokesman for anti-ballfield group
John Kalb has sent a letter to AG asking for injunction to halt project
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"Harrison Square opponent John Kalb said his name has become a verb.
“It means, you know, take them to task: ‘Maybe we ought to John Kalb them,’” the 71-year-old Fort Wayne resident said of the way he’s heard others use his name."
"He’s attended the majority of meetings related to the project and written letters to the Fort Wayne Redevelopment Commission and Allen County Prosecutor Karen Richards, alleging the city has acted illegally in advancing the project. Unsatisfied with the responses to those letters, Wednesday he mailed a letter to Steve Carter, Indiana’s attorney general, asking for a temporary injunction to halt construction on the project, which is scheduled to be complete in time for the start of the Wizards’ 2009 season."
"Kalb said his goal is to slow the process to the point it gets killed, to the point Hardball Capital, the Atlanta-based company that owns the Wizards and is contributing $20 million to the project, isn’t interested anymore."
"Kalb said he’s received hundreds of e-mails from people who support him. But he’s also had fellow opponents advise him maybe it’s time to stop fighting, something he grudgingly admits he’s thought about.
Leatherman said he believes public sentiment on the project is shifting, and will continue to as people learn more about it. Still, he admits, he hears people call the project, in Kalb’s terminology, a boondoggle."
"“I've offered to buy the beer on Opening Day for Sam Talarico Jr. if it ever opens,” Kalb said. City Councilman Talarico, R-at-large, has been one of the project's biggest proponents.
“And that will be the end of it,” Kalb said."
Thursday, August 2, 2007
14:59
Posted by scott spaulding at 8/02/2007 10:54:00 AM
Labels: Greg Leatherman, Hardball Capital, Harrison Square, Redevelopment Commission
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11 comments:
Although very unlikely...you have to ask yourself at some point John, what if you are successful in halting this whole project? Then we've got blocks of land with torn down buildings and parking lots with no plans for the immediate future (possibly years). What a great way to revitalize downtown. I hope you're the first volunteer to go clean up that mess.
Not only that, but the social consequences as well: being labeled the "downtown Fort Wayne killer"...being responsible for hundreds more young people leaving this city, etc. I know you aren't for a downtown "playground" but the harsh reality is, this is what draws young people to cities.
It seems more likely that John Kalb could buy that beer for Mr. Talarico if he would stop with the lawsuits and injunctions. How about it? I'd be happy to pitch in some peanuts and cracker jack for the gang at Opening Day.
By the way, I'm still skeptical of the supposed huge majority who is opposed to Harrison Sq. It's all relative of course, but I like to think that I know quite a few people in this town and almost everyone I know is very much in favor of, and looking forward to this project.
Steve
Steve, that is Ft. Wayne's nature though, to be skeptical to the bitter end. This town also has more penny-pinchers than any other place I've been. Maybe Harrison Square will kind of help turn the tide in these respects.
Joe - You are again not reading what is written. I am not against the Harrison Square project - just the boondoggle stadium. The number of young people that go, or will go, to Wizard's baseball games is so very small that we will never miss them. Ask Scott Greider why they moved back to Fort Wayne to find out what is attractive about our town - IT SURE ISN'T A DOWNTOWN BASEBALL STADIUM!!! John B. Kalb
If Mr. Kalb is concerned about government waste, involving lawyers is no way to save taxpayers money.
Steve, I must respectfully disagree with your statement. I have spent a lot of time with those outside my circle of young professionals. I knocked on hundreds of doors in the school petition drive and I have talked to dozens of Republican and Democratic voters in the past week. Without any prompting on my part, they have voiced their opposition to this project. Their perception of HS is becoming a very negative reality we will all have to deal with.
I've found that HS supporters seem to be a somewhat united front, but the undercurrent of FW voters (those you don't see downtown as it is) is staunchly opposed to this project.
I also do think a number of people in FW are against the stadium, BUT I feel alot of these same individuals are against just about any kind of change.
Harriosn Square would not be a reality without the baseball stadium being built. The stadium provides the anchor for many things to come (condos, retail, increased foot traffic, etc.)
Let's be realistic. Downtown FW has not seen any real private investment in a long, long time. Last week, I was in downtown Indy and was amazed at how much building and construction I saw.
Ours was once a thriving, busy, bustling downtown. It can be that again. With Harrison Square going forward, we drastically increase our chances of making that happen.
Rachel, remind me never to go door-to-door in this town! The negativity, skepticism, penny-pinching, or whatever that so many here seem to have can be tough to take sometimes. For example, I've heard a number of people complain about the "wasted space" of the main hall in the new library. By that logic, the dome on the Courthouse that our forefathers paid for is "wasted space." But this really isn't the arena for a discussion of the role of open space in art, aesthetics, public areas, etc.
So, trying to stay positive, trying not to dwell on all of my friends who have left town for greener pastures, hoping the kids grow up to like FW well enough to stay...
John, you don't want the baseball stadium...that is the ANCHOR OF THIS PROJECT! So, if there's no baseball stadium... there's no condos, no hotel, no shops, etc. Therefore all this land IS wasted, with no immediate plans for the future!
Also, John maybe I should start calling you Miss Cleo, since you obviously can look into the future and see how popular this stadium will be with the young crowd before it is even built. I know one thing, it will attract a heck of a lot more young people than Memorial Stadium!! Especially if you've got bars and shopping in the area.
Killjoy Kalb,
Your goal is to slow the process to the point it gets killed? Did you really say that? You do realize that there is such a thing called tortious interference with contractual relations don't you? For your sake, I hope there exists an exception for government contracts. I'd hate to see Hardball's reaction if you are successful in your Don Quixote-like endeavor.
@john b. kalb: John, it's been a pleasure getting to know you, and talking a little bit about downtown stuff. But our conversations have been a bit too abbreviated for me to communicate that HS - including the ballpark - IS a main reason we came back! No the only one, but a BIG one!
Reading the FW newspapers online for a year or so from NYC, I saw that finally the City was getting serious about doing something downtown. Hardball provided the perfect - almost providential - partner.
As for the waste of money on the old stadium, so be it. Sometimes you have to admit you made a mistake, bite the bullet, and start over. Happens all the time in business and households.
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