Why the new police station downtown is a rush job

I was sitting in Franco’s just after I’d threatened to file a lawsuit to stop the city from an “Emergency” ordinance to buy some property at an inflated price. The seller of the property, Sandy Mendelson, was sitting across the table from me. “You file that lawsuit, you’ll find your body parts in different area codes, or, you can have a nice little advertising contract.” He followed with, “nobody cares about this” – meaning the dirty deal, where the city ended up paying about $8.7M to Mendelson and his partners- including Bruce and Deneal Feldman (Bruce is married to former county administrator and current CEO of Children’s, Debbie Feldman), Jason Liff, Alan Rinzler. You can read the details here: The different standards for public graft and corruption in Dayton, Ohio ^[1]

The group had paid $200K to buy the downtown Sears building including its outlots- the service center- which is where the Riverscape Pavilion sits, and the parking lot across Patterson- that Mike Turner needed for one of his giant pishers- the “world’s biggest fountain.” Yes, there was a $1.5M option to buy the land that was about to expire- but bad negotiation by the city ratcheted up the price from $3.4M up to $8.7M pretty quickly. There was no appraisal anywhere that would justify that price.

So, the first I heard about a new downtown police station was Monday- and here we are last night- the city is spending $1.4M to buy the rotting old DP&L Steam Plant and the old Diner at the corner of St. Clair and 4th street. Buildings that aren’t worth $400K (trust me, I know some people who looked at them closely and passed including the savior of Brown Street, architect Jeff Samuelson who has more vision in his pinky than the entire crew in City Hall).

My initial reaction- there’s the old Gilly’s, Greyhound Station, Drakes Gym on Fifth Street- plus the Neon and Channel 16’s parking lot- that could be converted into a police station REALLY FAST AND CHEAP. There are plenty of places to move Drake’s – including the old Chin’s/Elbo’s across the street behind the Neon. But, no. WE. MUST. DEMOLISH. SOMETHING.

This is Dayton after all, where the Fed’s ran an expensive sting operation called “Operation Demolished Integrity” where they claim that only Black people were crooks- not Nan Whaley, who they played tape after tape to the Grand Jury about her crooked dealings with demolition contractor Steve Rauch. The tapes, which are being protected by the Feds more than our Constitution, with the excuse of GloMar ^[2] and privacy. (I’ve written about this travesty extensively – and fought in court to get these tapes released using FOIA ^[3]). Bags of cash used to flow from Rauch into Whaley’s pockets- according to the feds own unsealed warrant ^[4]. Read more about the Culture of Corruption investigation in my extensive back posts ^[5]. If this city wasn’t so corrupt, I’d never have anything to write about.

My guess is Jeff Mims, Darius Beckham and Karen Wick need cash to win the fall election, guaranteeing more money keeps flowing to build our landfill taller, tear down more buildings and keep the “Monarchy of Montgomery County” Safe and in Power. So folks like Russ Joseph (brother of Dayton City Commissioner Matt Joseph) can keep his cushy job in the Board of Elections, along with Rhine McLin (who also used to be pals with Steve Rauch) and Dave Owens (brother of former Dayton Clerk of Courts and disgraced Dem Party Chair Mark Owens etc.

It’s how folks like Debby Lieberman lose her seat on the County Commission- only to have a new gruberment job working for our indicted clerk of courts Mike Foley paying almost $100K a year- and how former County Recorder Stacy Benson Taylor gets a job right away as assistant business manager at Dayton Public Schools making $105K a year without a job posting or application process.

I’m a few hours short of going under the knife for a very much needed hip replacement- or I’d be digging a lot deeper than I have time for right now. Wick and Beckham sure sent a lot of mailers out to make sure they were on the ballot in November- that costs money. Commissioner Fairchild, who was the ONLY one to vote NO on this travesty of an “Emergency ordinance” giveaway last night isn’t a great fund raiser. I’m incredibly disappointed that Shenise Turner Sloss didn’t vote no as well. (full disclosure- I’ve done work for Fairchild, Davis, Turner-Sloss, Wick and reluctantly this last time, Valerie Duncan). That money came from somewhere…

Considering the police station the city of Dayton is building on W. Third at Abby Road is going to look a lot like a bunker out of Robocop, I can only imagine what they are planning to replace the Diner and really cool looking Steam Plant. A long time ago, developer Bill Rain showed me a plan for that site with a 5000 seat hockey rink/concert hall, connected directly to the transportation center garage that would make a hell of a lot more sense than a police station (remember-these buildings are practically vacant most of the day except for shift changes). The station will have ZERO economic impact other than for the demolition and construction companies, it will mean more sirens in the middle of downtown as cruisers dispatch to emergencies and will hardly solve the bus hub problems that they are using as an excuse.

If a police station downtown was really going to “solve” the bus hub issues- put a sub-station right at the RTA site in the closed chicken joint right now- and see if it makes a difference. Or consider using the old Cold Beer and Cheeseburgers location under the empty parking garage attached to the Centre City Building across from the Levitt Pavilion. Or even the old Journal Herald/HammerJax site on 4th street. There are all kinds of other locations available- but, none of them come with huge demolition contracts to line Mim’s pockets.

And that my friends, is the real reason for this rush job.

Addition, an hour later.

The Westside Dems asked this April 29 at 5:26 pm on Facebook- I’ll answer at the end:

Curb Appeal Over Community Care: The Burned Supermarket That Says Everything

It’s been 180 days—half a year—since the Cornell Meat King Supermarket burned to the ground.

180 days of waiting.

180 days of excuses.

180 days of “we’re looking into it.”

And guess what’s still sitting there?

A burned-out, busted-up mess.

Wide open for the world to see.

Rotting in the middle of a neighborhood they love to forget.

Not cleaned up.

Not rebuilt.

Not even prioritized.

But somehow, the city found $6.4 million to grind down perfectly good curbs, replant some flowers, and turn Main Street into a two-lane, pothole-dodging obstacle course.

(And yes, every single person stuck in that traffic feels it. But that’s a post for another day.)

Six Months. A Whole Growing Season.

New grass has grown, died, and come back to life—

and yet that burned supermarket is still standing.

You can get a curb redone downtown faster than you can get public safety in West Dayton.

Make it make sense.

The Irony Is Blistering

There’s money to:

• Grind and pour fancy new concrete curbs

• Plant pretty new grass

• Water downtown landscaping like it’s a VIP club

But somehow no urgency to:

• Tear down a dangerous, burned-out building in a Black, working-class neighborhood

• Restore access to basic things like food, safety, and human dignity

When it’s downtown?

When it’s near a new brewery or condo building?

The city snaps into action overnight.

When it’s West Dayton?

We’re still twiddling our thumbs, dodging potholes and speed bumps that nobody asked for.

If You Want to Help West Dayton, Start With the Basics

We don’t need a new flower bed on Main Street while half the West Side looks like an afterthought.

We don’t need “revitalization” that comes with a press release and a photo op but no follow-through.

We need the obvious:

• Tear down the ruins.

• Fix the streets we actually drive on—not throw random speed bumps on craters.

• Invest in the neighborhoods you keep promising to “revitalize.”

Stop funding pet projects for a few connected voices—and start actually listening to the full community.

Because here’s the truth:

• West Dayton didn’t ask for curb cuts.

• We didn’t ask for surprise speed bumps.

• We didn’t ask for bike lanes where sidewalks are broken.

We asked for cleanup.

We asked for investment.

We asked for dignity.

And we’re tired of asking.

It’s Time to Vote for Real Change

On May 6th, we can vote for commissioners who don’t just talk about equity—they actually do the work.

But don’t wait until Election Day.

Here’s how you can make noise NOW:

Call. Email. Show Up.

Contact the Dayton City Commission and City Manager Shelley Dickstein’s Office:

Tell them loud and clear:

• Clean up Cornell Meat King—yesterday.

• Stop investing in pet projects nobody asked for.

• Put real money into the neighborhoods that have been carrying Dayton for decades.

City Manager’s Office:

[email protected]

[email protected]

(937) 333-3600

City Commission Contacts:

https://www.daytonohio.gov/262/City-Commission

Show Up, Too.

City Commission Meetings:

• Morning Meetings (Second and Fourth Wednesdays) ? 8:30 AM

• Evening Meetings (First, Third, Fifth Wednesdays) ? 6:00 PM

City Hall | 101 W. Third Street, Dayton, OH

(Check the schedule here before you roll up: Calendar Link)

Bring your voice. Bring your receipts. Bring your energy.

Six months. 180 days. No more excuses.

West Dayton isn’t invisible. We aren’t expendable. We aren’t asking anymore.

On May 6th,

Vote for the leadership our neighborhoods deserve.

Because if they won’t fix it?

We’ll fix who’s sitting in those seats.

#WestDaytonDeservesBetter ^[6]#CleanItUpDayton ^[7]#VoteMay6 ^[8]#NoMoreExcuses ^[9]#ShowUpAndSpeakOut ^[10]#HoldThemAllAccountable ^[11]#OurSideMatters ^[12]

The answer: Obviously, this isn’t a special project demolition contract- it’s under a blanket contract. No opportunity to do an “emergency” bid- for too much- to who they choose- for the kickback.

And there you have it.

Fight me.