By John Estridge
EDITOR’S NOTE AND EDITORIAL COMMENT: This is the third of a multi-part transcription of the August 24 Brookville Town Council meeting’s pertinent parts relating to Golf Course Purchase, Zimmer Building Purchase and Frisbee Golf Course. I wanted to break this down into parts because it will be a very long piece, if I can even finish it. It takes a long, long time to go over and over a recording to do a transcription, especially with how fast and slurred Curtis Ward, BTC president, is when he begins talking about something that apparently excites him. Another thing that happened in this part is the video started having glitches where it froze and then jerked to a start several seconds past where it started. So, this has been really fun.
Brandy Wilson: “Good evening. God bless all of you by the way, and my name is Brandy Wilson. I am, um, a lifetime resident of Franklin County. Grew up and raised in Brookville, actually county though, not town. But I currently live in the town of Brookville. Um, Curtis (Ward) is my neighbor. Brooke (Leffingwell, council member) is my sister-in-law’s twin sister. Um, Eric (Johnson, council member), our kids go to school together. Terry (Mitchum, Brookville Police Department Chief, who was sitting next to Brooke at the council table) used to live across the street. I am here to ask, very nicely, that you consider the town of Brookville. I know, Curtis, that you said when I messaged you and Brooke that you were based upon an abundance theory, more is better. Well, let me tell you, I have lived a life, as Tammy probably can attest to, more was not better. I chased, Chad (Wilson) and I both, things that were never going to get us anywhere. It was like trying to build a mansion with all the amenities, the pool, the golf course, the tennis courts, everything, and it was built on sand. Do you know why? Because we didn’t have a firm foundation. But now there is a firm foundation, and I think that you guys should really listen to the people of Brookville. It affects so many people. And I respect you. And I know you’re all intelligent people. But I also oversee a business in Brookville. I am the vice president of Remedy Home Healthcare. And I will tell you as someone who oversees a business, it doesn’t grow unless you have support. We have 60 employees, and we have over 200 patients. We’ve been open for almost four years. It did not grow by not caring for people, listening to people, so yes, you may oversee and run a real estate business with yourself. You don’t have other people underneath you…”
Curtis Ward: “Not true.”
Brandy Wilson: “…that you are trying to make happy. Your business is different than Remedy. And I’m not trying to call you out. But these people care. They’ve grown up here. We don’t want a big town commercialized. If we did, we’d move to the city.”
Applause
Brandy Wilson: “This is what we want. We want Brookville to be small. We want to go outside and know our kids are safe.”
Applause
Brandy Wilson: “So thank you for your time and like I said, God bless you. And I only ask that you pray before you make a decision. Because pride comes before destruction. Amen.”
Applause
Curtis Ward: “Brandy, I do have a follow-up question for you.”
Brandy Wilson: “Yes?”
Curtis Ward: “Are you concerned with the declining school population?”
Brandy Wilson: “I actually went to the school board meeting yesterday (Monday, August 23). Um, and you know, I am, but the declining school um enrollment has nothing to do with our town. It’s a whole separate entity, and it has to do with the school not providing and meeting the needs of the children. And I say that as an educator who has bachelor’s degree in elementary education and taught for four years. So not only do I have that as my background, but I also am thinking of running for office because I believe people are too prideful.”
Editorial Comment: Curtis is hurting the school system financially by purchasing the golf course. It takes that commercial property off the property tax rolls; thus decreasing the amount of money reaching the local school system.
Curtis Ward: “What about the empty businesses on Main Street?”
Editorial Comment: The Town of Brookville is creating another empty storefront on Brookville’s Main Street by moving the police department to the old Zimmer building, which has a $600,000 price tag just to buy let along remodel, on High Street. This is the kind of hypocritical stuff that routinely comes out of Curtis’ mouth. For those of you paying attention, remember Curtis’ Kum ba yah speech where he criticized everyone who thought differently than he did and spoke out? But he continues to treat everyone who has a different opinion than his like crap. This is more of that. The town council has done nothing to fill the empty storefronts on Main Street. And using our tax money for the golf course, Zimmer building, annexation, a $3 million bridge and trail to his buddy’s motel and a new ambulance and staffing for another of his buddies, is going to remove more money from things they could do to fill empty storefronts on Main Street.
Brandy Wilson: I do have a concern for those, but I think those need to be home businesses. Chad and I, when we go out, we support the mom and pop shops. That’s where we go. When we go out to eat, a lot of times Chad Googles where is the home restaurant. We try to buy all USA-made things even if we have to pay more. Chad is a union carpenter and America is very important to us. And I support fully, and am not ashamed to say, I am a proud conservative.”
Curtis Ward: “Are you concerned about the declining population in Franklin County?”
Audience: “No, no, no. I don’t think a golf course is going to help that.”
Brandy Wilson: “My son moved to Oxford when he moved out, and he said it was the best decision he ever made. He said because Franklin County doesn’t have anything to offer him. If we’re looking for jobs and we’re looking for businesses, we need to find an industry. Owens Corning is not supporting the people of Brookville. So if you want to broaden and give people jobs, we have to get out of the low socio-economic place that we are. We have to provide jobs. McDonald’s is not cutting it. Arby’s is not cutting it. But the purchase of a golf course and annexing people is not going to fix that problem, unfortunately.”
Curtis Ward: “It will not solve that problem, but it will help.”
Audience: “A seasonal job?” More comments from the crowd.
Brandy Wilson: “It’s the mansion built on sand, Curtis. That’s what it is.”
Audience: More comments from the crowd.
More things being said from the crowd I cannot understand.
Curtis Ward: “I am respectful when you guys talk.”
More things being said from the crowd I cannot understand.
Curtis Ward: “If we have a declining population, we have private economics, we have a workforce, young force, Brandy just attested to that. She has a young son who moved out of the county because there’s more to offer outside the county. That’s a concern.”
Things being said from the audience I can’t understand.
Eric Johnson rolled his eyes at Cathy Pelsor and smirked
Curtis Ward: “This will help solve that.”
Paul Chaney: (He spoke earlier in the meeting) “If I may, I have one more question. Are there stipulations connected to buying this golf course from the LLC?”
Curtis Ward: “We will get to (something) shortly.”
Paul Chaney: So you’re not going to answer my question?
Curtis Ward: Shortly, we will. (I can’t understand the rest.)
Paul Chaney: “Whatever.”
Dusty Robinson: (He spoke earlier in the meeting) I’ve got one more question since you brought it up to Brandy talking about buying a golf course and more people come to town. I don’t know where you want these people to come from. Do you want them from Dayton, Hamilton, Cincinnati, outlying areas of Indianapolis, where do you want them to come from to live here and then to travel back to Cincinnati, Hamilton, Dayton and Indianapolis, Shelbyville, the areas that have manufacturing jobs, good paying manufacturing jobs. As Brandy stated, industry is what we have to have. If you bring people in from the outlying areas, I’m already one of them, I travel all over the U.S. for work. I do not shop here. Ninety-nine percent of the time I don’t shop here. Because I pay for a house and I travel outside this area. The vast majority of the people you are going to be bringing in, when they get done with their day-to-day jobs wherever they are, they are going to finish their shopping at the Super Walmart and Kroger and then come here. We’re still going to be in the same situation then as we are now. Other than we might have more people here that will come and go, but it is not a solution to the problem. Manufacturing is a solution to the problem. Good paying, quality jobs from the, uh, plant-manager-type position all the way down to the laborers. That’s where it’s at.”
Curtis Ward: “So, I agree with you that manufacturing does offer, uh, great potential for Franklin County. Now look at Connersville. They were a manufacturing town and then the manufacturing jobs disappeared and then they were left in an economic disarray, correct?”
Dusty Robinson: “Yes, they let the manufacturing run them over is what they did. I grew up in that town.”
Curtis Ward: “Either way…”
Dusty Robinson: “I grew up in that town, and my father worked at Visteon his whole life, most of the majority of his life. I saw the decline up there. Don’t compare it to Connersville and bring all that… I know. I seen it directly.”
Curtis Ward: “I’m saying if you manufacturing as your sole source of savings for this area…”
Dusty Robinson: “I’m not saying it’s the sole source. I’m saying if you’re wanting to build the tourism of the town…”
Curtis Ward: “We do.”
Dusty Robinson: “You have to have the manufacturing, the good paying jobs on the back side … as they said, the seasonal work doesn’t get it. The part-time employees at the pool doesn’t get it, Arby’s, McDonald’s, all these low-paying jobs that are here in town doesn’t get it. And not everybody’s into real estate as some of the people are in this town that’s for this golf course and for the development of this golf course. It’s my understanding this is possibly not going to stay a golf course. It’s going to get developed into other things. So, you’re going to hold to that, it’s going to stay a golf course forever and we’re going to have a seasonal golf course for … we don’t even know what percentage of people that come for tourism go to golf…”
Curtis Ward: “What we’ve said…”
Dusty Robinson: “… versus what we have that go to the beaches, goes to the river, goes to the lake.”
Curtis Ward: “What we’ve said for three years is that we’re committed to keeping that a green space.”
EDITORIAL COMMENT: What he said earlier in the meeting is that the town council has been committed to buying the golf course from the LLC or from Sparky or from someone, since his story keeps changing, for the past three years. This is the first time anyone heard they have been committed to keeping the golf course just a green space.
Curtis Ward: “Will we operate it as a golf course? Yes. So, we’re committed to keeping it a golf course that’s viable. But we’re committed to keeping it a green space. Will there be a part of it that is a park? We hope so.”
EDITORIAL COMMENT: Two things here, and I might be too glib on the second one, but Curtis seems committed to everything and everyone but the people of Brookville who he is supposed to represent. He is committed to the LLC, which wasn’t there for the negotiations and was there for the negotiations, both according to Curtis. He is committed to the former owners. He is committed to keeping it a golf course. He is committed to keeping it a green space. He is one committed person. The other point is one of the things that really gets on my nerves is a person who asks seemingly rhetorical questions, and then answers them himself. I know that might be petty, but it really gets to me, nails on a blackboard stuff, smarmy stuff.
Dusty Robinson: “I think there’s too many things that’s hidden from the town people that you’re not telling them that we don’t know why you’re buying the golf course. We have no idea. The vast majority of the town people have no idea why you want a golf course. You keep telling us it’s a viable business. Show us. Sell it to us. You’re a real estate agent, sell it to me. Show me where the money is. Show me where the value is of keeping this golf course as a town. If somebody wants to come in and … business 101 — if a developing company wants to come in and buy the golf course and keep it a golf course if it’s a viable business. Why would a town want to buy it? Why would not an investment group want to buy it? Investment groups don’t buy dying businesses, not to my knowledge. I mean, I could be wrong. That’s all I’ve got.”
Applause
EDITORIAL COMMENT: Read Dusty’s last paragraph again. That really says it all. While Dusty says he does not know why Curtis is making us, the taxpayers, buy a golf course an investment group already purchased and now wants — in the worst way — to sell back at a loss, I think most everyone knows why Curtis is making the taxpayers purchase the Pig in a Poke Golf Course, especially Curtis knows.
I’ve always loved your style of writing John and this particular series is riveting! Especially this last one (part3) I have to say (just between you and me) that Cathy Pelser’s name was mentioned and at first I thought oh my goodness is she actually going to speak?! Have an opinion worthy of saying outloud?! But as usual she’s just ” present ” and that’s all. What a piece of work and quite an ASSET to any board, right ? NOT !? Can’t wait till the next installment or article of any kind. You’re our hero, well for many of us. Carry on young man and stay strong and committed. PLEASE! I miss seeing you out and about.