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REGULAR MEETING APRIL 8, 2013 <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Bill Sykes, 18927 Darden Road, South Bend, Indiana, stated that in light of the events that <br />happened today at Animal Care and Control,(SBACC) one man does not define a job place or an <br />organization, it is the people that work in that situation that are willing to accept orders and do <br />things that they know are wrong. So it is not just one man who is totally responsible. He stated <br />that he ran into an old friend Candy Huffman and she wanted him to relate this story to the <br />Council. Approximately six months ago, she wanted to adopt a beautiful gentle puppy, his breed <br />was that of a Rottweiler. She visited him daily and became quit fond of him and wanted him to <br />be a companion to her family and dog. The lady at the counter at SBACC said that her <br />application was first and would be able to take him home as soon as the gentleman who does the <br />adoptions comes back from being on vacation. So every day she went to SBACC to visit, the <br />following week rolled around and came to the shelter expecting to take him home that day, to <br />find out that the man put the puppy to sleep. She stated that he was a baby approximately five to <br />six months old, not aggressive in anyway. She stated that she lives in a nice home in the country, <br />12 acres of land, 5 acres that surrounds her home is fenced and secure. The lady at the counter at <br />SBACC said the puppy was put to sleep and there was a mistake in the paperwork. So an <br />innocent puppy was killed for no reason. She said that she feels strongly that he was put down <br />because of his breed. She stated that there are no bad pets, only bad pet owners. She stated that <br />her daughter took the news so hard. <br /> <br /> <br />Barbara Jewel, 821 Gartner Avenue, South Bend, Indiana, asked that her letter be read into the <br />record: <br /> <br />Ladies and Gentlemen, in the mid 1980’s, I was the Convention and Tourism Coordinator of the <br />St. Joseph County Chamber of Commerce. During that time there were five (5) of the World’s <br />Largest Events that took place in South Bend and at the University of Notre Dame. There were: <br />1. AYOP or America’s Youth on Parade – still being held at the University of Notre Dame. 2. <br />The RV Show now being held in Elkhart. 3. Winnie Watson’s Plate Collector’s Club sold to a <br />company located in Illinois. 4. The Wally Bayum Caravan Club or better know as the Air <br />Stream RV’s. 5. The Studebaker’s Driver’s Club which now meets every 5 years. <br /> <br />While at the Chamber, it was stated for every new dollar spent in our community, there was a <br />domino effect of eight. Recently when I called the Chamber, I was told they state there is a <br />domino effect of seven for every new dollar spent in our community. That has a tremendous <br />effect on what happens here. It affects many people and businesses. <br /> <br />In essence, every event held within our community brings dollars, new dollars, into our area. <br /> <br />Century Center is a beautiful building that has the capacity to bring large amounts of income to <br />our community. <br /> <br />Last Friday’s South Bend Tribune ran an article stating that the Board of Public Works, on <br />Thursday, recommended SMG, a company based out of Philadelphia, be awarded the contract to <br />manage and operate Century Center. They were one of three vendors vying for the position as <br />manager. Astoundingly, Global Spectrum, the previous manager, also out of Philadelphia, was <br />one of the three. The other vend was South Bend Hospitality. <br /> <br />What was so shocking was that Global Spectrum wanted to continue to manage Century Center. <br />In 2006, Global Spectrum was hired to replace Brian Hedman, the longstanding Century Center <br />manager, who was retiring. <br /> <br />During the time that Global Spectrum was in charge of Century Center, and according to the <br />report put out by AECOM, a report paid for by redevelopment monies, there were devastating <br />loses of over a million dollars a year. <br /> <br />Having worked as the Convention and Tourism Coordinator and having a close relationship with <br />many of the events that took place at Century Center, I was devastated to know Global Spectrum <br />was allowed to lose these massive amounts of monies and not called on the carpet before their <br />contract was up. <br /> <br />12 <br /> <br /> <br />