When is a deal not a deal? When you get a “do over”. All kids know what a “do over” is. Grownups call them a mulligan. A friend of mine told me the story of “Mulligan Joe”. This golfer wanted a mulligan on every bad tee shot. The general practice is a mulligan on the first hole and that’s it. Most people would see a mulligan on every hole as “poor form” as the English would say. People around here just call it cheating.

Hayes Hickman writes the story of another “Mulligan Joe” in the August 4th Knoxville News Sentinel. This Joe’s name is Kinsey Probasco Associates of Chattanooga. They were awarded the contract to purchase the City assets at the Worlds Fair Site of the Candy Factory, the Sunsphere, and 7 Victorian houses.

KPA is being allowed by the City of Knoxville a “do over”. With the approval of the Haslam administration KPA has added $ 200,000 to their original proposal for the City assets. The reason as quoted in the KNS, KPA wishes to, “to invest an additional $200,000 to renovate the first floor the Emporium Building on Gay Street”. So does that mean it’s really a public service? For the betterment of the Arts Community?

KPA’s proposal offer for the 7 Victorian houses was originally $ 215,580. After City Council members commented about the price being so low that some of them would buy the houses at that price KPA decided to sweeten the pot but chose to say the extra monies were for the Emporium. The real estate firm Hop Bailey appraised the houses on an as-is, collective market value of $285,000. To add further embarrassment local attorney Albert Harb offered $380,000 cash for the seven Victorian houses.

According to Bill Lyons, the city’s senior director of policy development, “So really, they’re offering $415,000 for the Victorian houses”. Under some tortured logic it is seen as perfectly acceptable to change the rules after the other respondents for the RFP have been said goodbye to. Under even more tortured logic the money for the Emporium Building can also be counted towards the Victorian houses. Double mulligan. Sweet. Don’t play golf with the City; they will take your money.

When City Councilman Rob Frost asks why the City does not remove the Victorian houses from the RFP Lyons responded that by doing so would invalidate the original RFP and more importantly prevent the City from having any control over their use. Lyons was quoted saying, “”It could be a flop house, as long as they met code, there’s no control over the use.” Curious example isn’t it?

Rob Frost is a more than a little frosted about the whole deal. Frost was quoted in the KNS as asking, “If invalidating the RFP terms is a concern, asked Frost, then why weren’t the other eight firms who submitted proposals last fall allowed to amend their offers in light of the Kinsey Probasco plans for the Emporium?

That is a damn good question. Perhaps people should write their City Council members and ask that question. Here are the addresses.

Posted in uncategorized on August 4th, 2005 by #9 | RSS 2.0 |