One-on-One with Evansville Mayor Lloyd Winnecke

Greg Parker meets with Mayor Lloyd Winnecke to discuss the latest plans and development taking place in the largest city in the Tristate.
    Evansville, of course, is the largest city in the Tristate.
    And with the latest plans and developments for a new medical school and convention hotel in the downtown area, the city is expected to grow even more.
    In this morning's One-on-One special report, Evansvile Mayor Lloyd Winnecke and I talk about the city's improvements and one particular challenge he considers to be the single, largest issue facing the city.
    If you ask Mayor Lloyd Winnecke about Evansville, Indiana, he'll tell you it's soon to take the midwest by storm.
"I hope people are literally taking photographs or just remembering what it looks like today because I think in 5 years or 10 years, downtown won't be recognizable...and all for the better."
    A big reason the city is moving forward is because of the city's latest step to build the new Indiana University Medical School in the heart of the city.
"The experts tell us that by 2020, just 6 years from now, three years after the facility is open, the annual economic impact to the city will be over 300 million dollars. 10 years after that, in 2030, it seems like a long time awaty, the annual income will be over 600 million dollars."
    Since the announcement of the new I.U. Medical School, more people have been looking into downtown residential and commercial real estate.
    And the newly approved "Hilton Doubletree" convention hotel is what Mayor Winnecke calls "a game-changer" for the city.
    But aside from future plans, Mayor Winnecke says the city already has so many other unique features....
    from the the water.
"The LST 325.... It's a wonderful asset...I would say if you haven't been to the LST, you need to go. If you haven't been to the LST, take someone you know and go. But we need to do all we can to promote the LST."
    Mayor Winnecke calls the LST 325 a piece of our history that must remain in the city and adds the chances of keeping her in Evansville are good.
    However, the biggest challenge currently facing Evansville is producing a federal government mandated update to the city's water and sewage utilities.
"What we've proposed to the Federal EPA is that we fix our sewers over a 28 year plan at a cost of roughly 540 million dollars. The EPA originally wanted the city to update our sewers in a 20 year plan that would have have cost 800 million dollars. We haven't heard back from the EPA as to what they're going to allow us to do. But clearly it's the largest, sort of issue, facing the city of Evansville and it has to do with the water and sewer utility."
    Mayor Winnecke describes himself as a person who always see's the glass 'half-full' and believes the city will overcome its obstacles, no matter how big or small they may be.
    And as for the community, Mayor Winnecke says its compassionate, motivated, and a place people proud to call home.
"Evansville is a great city. I think it's all about your approach and your attitude and I think more often than not, people want to feel good about their community and I think people feel good about Evansville."
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