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REGULAR MEETING OCTOBER 23, 2006
<br />years, moved to Mishawaka. A large national insurance company that had offices in
<br />downtown South Bend for over 100 years, moved to Mishawaka. Why, because this
<br />administration would not or could not work with them to keep them in our City, when
<br />they wanted to expand in downtown South Bend. Just recently, when Holladay
<br />Corporation, one of the largest and most successful developers in this Country, with
<br />offices here in South Bend, wanted to build a multi-million dollar office building on the
<br />East Race with a walk way to connect to the Century Center, which would have brought
<br />badly needed additional hotel rooms to the downtown, so that Century Center could once
<br />again compete for regional convention business, the answer was no! This didn’t fit the
<br />plan, what plan? In what should be the last straw for this administration, the TV and
<br />radio station that bear the call letters of this City WSBT, is leaving downtown South
<br />Bend and moving to Mishawaka. Why? Because once again this administration would
<br />not or could not work with them to keep them in our City, when they wanted to expand in
<br />downtown South Bend. But the City Administration, Department of Redevelopment, and
<br />the Department of Economic Development, along with their planners have been working
<br />on this City Plan. Mr. Master’s stated that this plan should be rejected, if for no other
<br />reason that you as our elected representatives send a message to the administration and
<br />more importantly, to the taxpayers of this City, that the status quo of lack of development
<br />in progress more deterioration and decline will not be accepted by you. Nothing explains
<br />the sad condition of this City, better than this simple fact, reportedly there are at least
<br />forty people working in the departments of Redevelopment and Economic Development,
<br />that as we stand here now, there are no more than 22 uniformed police officers patrolling
<br />the streets of this City to protect the citizens of this City. It’s no wonder why property
<br />values and the quality of life in this City continue to decline. The only things going up in
<br />the City of South Bend are the tax rate and the crime rate. Mr. Master’s urged the
<br />Council to say no to the City Plan.
<br />Mr. Don Schefmeyer, 300 S. St. Louis Blvd., South Bend, Indiana. Mr. Schefmeyer
<br />stated that he has been a resident of South Bend for over thirty years. His first job here
<br />was to manage Whitcomb & Keller Mortgage Company’s Commercial Loan Portfolio.
<br />Subsequently, he managed the commercial loan division at Tower Savings and in 1982,
<br />when the time was right he started his own company Action Mortgage and since that time
<br />he has been actively involved in over 80 million dollars of property locally. Mr.
<br />Schefmeyer stated that when he first came to town in 1977, he was amazed by the
<br />progressive attitude in South Bend. He had heard that the Midwest was euphemistically
<br />knows as the rust belt, where people were leaving in droves. While this was true in
<br />maybe cities like Detroit, it was not really true in South Bend, under the leadership of
<br />Mayor Peter Nemeth, Century Center had just opened and his office in the new
<br />Whitcomb & Keller building overlooked the continuing development of block 6, which
<br />was initiated by the owners of Whitcomb & Keller, which is now know as the River Glen
<br />Office Park. Although the economy was not good in the 1980’s, there was a spirit in the
<br />area, a progressive spirit, a spirit to success, a spirit of entrepreneurship. This after all
<br />was the community, that had weathered the closing of the Studebaker Corporation in
<br />1963, and in two years time in 1965 was given the Urban League’s designation of an All-
<br />American City. In the last ten years we have witnessed a damping of this spirit. Long
<br />time city residents both commercial and residential are abandoning South Bend. Some of
<br />this is undoubtedly due to the out migration to suburban and county neighborhoods
<br />common to most cities. But South Bend has lost more than business and residence. It
<br />has lost its brand. He stated that if he has one thing to tell the Council tonight, the Mayor
<br />and the Members of the City Departments that are represented tonight, that we must get
<br />our brand back in the City of South Bend. In 1977, South Bend was synonymous with
<br />the University of Notre Dame, when you came into town; the little signs that welcomed
<br />you to the City had little footballs on them. He remembered the first time that he came
<br />into town, it brought home that this was the place where Notre Dame was, the football
<br />team was, where Knute Rockne was, all that history comes flooding in, what do we have
<br />now? We’ve got a sign, that’s got a guy on an old bicycle that says City of Growth and
<br />Progress or some such amorphous nonsense. Progress, he really questions that, to get
<br />progress you need to go back further than ten years. The only significant new
<br />development announced for the downtown City other than expansions for not-for-profits
<br />is the game day condo project. Interestingly this development seems to be entirely
<br />focused on wealthy Notre Dame Alumni, who can afford prices digs overlooking Century
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