City has had $28 million for three years and has accomplished nothing

EDITOR:
Normally wisdom dictates that one cannot win battles with news people who possess ink by the barrel; however, when that power is coupled with a disregard for honesty and fairness, a challenge is demanded. Bertram de Souza exhibited that level of intellectual dishonesty.
I refer to his column published last Sunday in which de Souza commented on my discussion with Mayor McKelvey on the Dan Rivers radio program last week, which discussion degenerated into a shouting exercise by the mayor as though he was emotionally out of control. De Souza twisted and slanted the exchange in a shameless and disgusting manner.
Let me assure de Souza and McKelvey that no one I've ever met has made me "blink" or made my "lips quiver." What hogwash! I've debated presidents and governors who could not intimidate me, as could not any ineffectual politician or dinosaur political writer.
Only one inundated by stupidity would expect or believe that I would involve Mill Creek Metroparks in the arena quagmire.
The mayor and de Souza apparently did believe this.
I did say that I would take over the project if the mayor and City Council would give up complete control and involvement.
De Souza states that the mayor agreed to step down and remove his control of the project. Not so. No such letter was sent to me.
De Souza and the mayor have never wanted the arena project. That's the main reason there has been little progress made.
De Souza wants to build a Children's Museum. The mayor wants to build a new City Hall. The public wants something to happen and that is why I've been challenging the mayor and City Hall.
Result? A hate-filled, diabolical, disliked newspaper writer defaming a decent newspaper with diatribes of deception and dishonesty.
Why? To protect a mayor who has accomplished very little if anything in over four years of holding office while being paid a very handsome salary.
With all that having been said, the focal point of the discussion must get back to the project itself and what can be done to make it happen. No developer is going to match the existing $26 million with a second $26 million ("or thereabouts") as a pre-condition to any further discussion about the project. That makes no business sense. If the city administration actually knew anything about business, it would admit that its strategy of demanding that a developer come up with $25 million as a pre-condition to discussions on the project is a doomed approach.
The community has not yet had the opportunity to provide any meaningful input as to the overall concept of the project, the location, the size of the facility or the focus of the programs.
Despite the efforts of de Souza and McKelvey to divert attention from the real issue, the people of Youngstown understand the harsh reality of the fact that over $ 28 million was available to Youngstown in 2000; and today, three years later, we have lost approximately $1.85 million of the total, have purchased land for $1.5 million that will need millions more in site work and additional land acquisition and we have absolutely nothing in the works in terms of a project plan.
Twenty-eight million dollars, three wasted years and nothing to show for it.
HARRY MESHEL
Youngstown