Rather than these State Senators filing a bill to protect Harold Workman:
Senators who support the job Harold Workman has done as president of the State Fair Board filed a bill Wednesday that would require confirmation by the state Senate of a governor’s appointments to the board.
Sens. Paul Hornback and Joey Pendleton, both farmers, said while the bill will not block an ongoing effort to remove Workman from the job he has held since 1993, it will give the Senate some say in board membership in the future.
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Hornback, R-Shelbyville, said, “This is a show of support for Harold Workman and a statement that the Fair Board is not a political toy to play with.”
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Carmicle said any claims that he had lobbied board members to support Workman’s ouster are “absolutely false.”
But Gov. Steve Beshear said Wednesday he’s been part of discussions among members of the board to remove Workman.
Maybe they should focus their efforts on getting back at Jim Host, who has been going after Workman (and talked Beshear into ousting him for at least two reasons – confirmed by Beshear staffers).
One of those reasons is Workman’s honesty about the Grease Bucket Arena’s performance.
The other, essentially, involves Kentucky Kingdom. Harold, who we still believe needs to go, apparently hasn’t been walking a straight line with the talking points handed down from Beshear and Host. With recent dramas involving the effort to screw Ed Hart over, a scapegoat was obviously needed.
Why would Host care about Kentucky Kingdom? Because of Danny Ulmer, who was chairman of the arena’s construction committee. He got tight with Host when he lured Yum’s sponsorship (he apparently has a home in Florida that’s near some Yum big dogs). Turns out, Ulmer and his company allegedly wanted Kentucky Kingdom several years ago and he was unable to make it happen. So when Workman and others at the Fair Board realized the theme park should be re-opened by its former operator, Ulmer and Host started foaming at the mouth. We hear meetings involving Host and Beshear actually took place to get the effort off the ground.
The rest is history.
And that’s why Steve Beshear is in on it.
11 responses so far ↓
1 The Highlander // Feb 23, 2012 at 7:53 pm
Jimbo Host — wouldn’t surprise me a bit. He’s got to find somebody to blame for the Grease Pit’s financial debacle (other than himself). Here’s one little bit of info that I’ll be no one knows (except the select few on the Arena Authority who are keeping it secret). It’s already asked for an additional $3+mm from the City Council this year IN ADDITION TO the $6.5+mm they GIVE IT. So, that means (without the City) it’s losing $10+mm THIS YEAR.
HERE’S THE NEWS — They’re on INTEREST ONLY. There’s NO PRINCIPAL RETIREMENT OF THE $349MM BOND ISSUE and that won’t start for 8 more years. So divide $349mm by 20 years and you’ll see the principal payment will approach $17.5mm a year and the Arena will be 10 years old then needing a complete refurbishment (but the rainy day fund’s all gone).
Jimbo Host ain’t gonna take the blame for that, now, is he.
2 Bill // Feb 24, 2012 at 1:35 am
Jim Host in my view needs to be in jail for this debacle. It’s been well known for some time that this dog wouldn’t hunt but they built it anyway. Their only hope in paying this off is to get a professional sports team of some popularity or caliber to actually move to Louisville and play there. Which probably won’t happen to start with despite the rants of the local famed NBA consultant. However, what’s really ridiculous is that Jerry Abramson was all over this as a great development and now its showing that Host, Abramson and the rest sold this city on this arena and then through some fancy financing by Goldman Sachs the people are going to pay for it out of city tax revenues, etc. Now if I got this right what Highlander said, that 17.5 million a year will just be for the principal. How much is the interest on that principal going to be on top of the debacle of paying 17.5 million. Its been my belief that over a thirty year period this might cost 25 million a year over a thirty year period all principal and interest paid for the bonds. Correct me if I am wrong or out of touch but it seems to me that they grossly overstated their revenues to be able to finance a project like this.
3 The Highlander // Feb 24, 2012 at 7:16 am
Bill: You’re correct all the way around. IF principal was being retired NOW, the shortage would be an additional $12mm a year that would be needed or a total THIS YEAR FROM TAXPAYERS of $22mm. When principal begins to be paid the annual interest will STILL BE $22MM a year (because there’s no principal paydown and the bonds can’t be refinanced to a lower rate because they’re ‘junk bonds’. Since none of this will happen — 8 years from now the P&I will be $22mm + $17.5mm + the costs of refurbishing a 10 year old arena (which will be between $10-15mm. So our children and grandchildren can look to a $45mm shortfall 8 years from now.
We need a statue of Jimmy Host in front of the debacle so it can be tarred and feathered when Louisville’s sleeping city awakens.
As for an NBA team there to help reduce this loss — won’t happen UNTIL Jim Ramsey and Tommy Turtleneck quit taking 88% of the revenue stream from the suites.
The difference in UofL taking the reveune and an NBA team is that the NBA team salaries are taxable – and the payments UofL makes to its players AREN’T.!!!!!!!!!!!!!
4 Jocko Flocko // Feb 24, 2012 at 11:59 am
Run, Highlander, run!
5 The Highlander // Feb 24, 2012 at 12:52 pm
Jocko: Why don’t you run? I’m too busy.
6 Bill // Feb 24, 2012 at 3:11 pm
I was pretty sure that I was correct in my assessment but I wanted to make sure that its just as bad as it looks. You can thank Abramson, Host, The Arena Authority, Fletcher, etc for hanging this mess onto the necks of the Louisville taxpayers. I’ve said for about 5 years that Jim Host was nothing more than a carpetbagger coming to Louisville from Lexington. He had no interest in anything for the locals other than spending our tax dollars to enrich himself. Its obvious that there was no real oversight into this project. Any wonder that the Goldman Sachs people were involved? Just by my experience that anytime you finance anything like a house or big project like this that it is going to be about double what the principal is at time of construction. Just like a house payment for say 100k or 200k, its going to double over the term unless you have lump sums you can pay it off early or double down your payments. I haven’t did all the math yet but its quite a substantial screwing of the local population. All at a time when Greg Fischer is going to preside over tens of millions in city debt and a draining of the rainy day fund. No wonder the streets can’t be fixed and infrastructure is falling apart. The jackass Fischer had to get up on stage and say that 2012 is going be a banner year for Louisville. Is this idiot insane? Millions of debt and its going to be a banner year. An economy and local job market in flux? Someone must have spiked the fruit punch at the latest social gathering. That or they put a turd in the punchbowl because its obvious that Fischer is full of it.
7 The Highlander // Feb 24, 2012 at 3:48 pm
The whole thing was a brainfart of Fletcher, who thought that he could get UofL ‘fan’ support if he was able to orchestrate an arena, exclusive, for UofL. Host agreed to resign as the Secretary of Public Protection and came to Louisville to do Fletcher’s bidding.
There nothing wrong with the arena OTHER THAN they’ve created a finance arrangement that allows UofL’s athletic department to utterly bleed all the revenue streams from 88% of the suite revenue to exclusive arrangements of all sorts. All those who are on the inside know it. The Courier’s NEVER properly investigated it.
There has NEVER BEEN (and never will be) a $349mm basketball arena with a prime tenant being a 501c3 charity (UofL [which doesn't pay taxes]) as its prime tenant — because there’s not anywhere near the tax base to afford the P&I.
So it was a ‘political’ deal that didn’t work because Fletcher proved to be a crook and the Courier never investigated it — since the site was ACTUALLY chosen by the former Editor — and the paper became ‘invested’ in it all.
Unless and until UofL gives up its hegemony, there will never ever be a major league hockey or NBA team and the arena will NEVER have a chance to be remotely a break even — and will be supported by the taxpayers (city of Louisville) for its entire existence — or it will be in bankruptcy.
8 Steve // Feb 24, 2012 at 5:04 pm
You have got to be joking me. The Yum center is not making the dollars that Host and others stated it would make.
Well then we need to rethink the financial stratgey of the facility? I know, hey Mayor and Metro council folks, lets make it the areas largest casino. People attending concerts and games can gamble and make the city rich.
There could be various slot machines like “Gordish” you keep playing the machine but no matter how much your debt is the machine forgives your loses.
Or “Mayor Jerry” you keep playing because the guy next to you thnk’s he is putting money in the machine he is playing but it is actually funding your machine.
We’re in the money!!!!
9 Steve // Feb 24, 2012 at 5:07 pm
By the way, I would not do a lot of crying for Harold. He is presently at a quarter of a mil salary each year. His state pension will be a nice 6 figures.
10 jake // Feb 24, 2012 at 5:53 pm
Workman needs to go. Should have left long ago.
This is just a corrupt way of getting rid of him.
11 The Tim // Feb 24, 2012 at 10:20 pm
There needs to be a shakeup in leadership. The fairgrounds is a valuable asset that’s falling apart.
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