[1]
Bama Pie building Still not Open - Chaney Promised Holiday 2005 Opening
This is NOT an article about the trust fund. This is an article about how city money gets given away to cronies, the work never gets done, and no one goes to recover the money. Doesn't anyone care about your tax dollars?
Robert Wilonsky of the Dallas Observer has been all over the Leo Chaney Bama Pie fiasco. The owner of this building, Derrick Mitchem has received over $360,000 for the renovation of this building from the City of Dallas. The funds were to be reportedly used to make it into an Automobile Museum. The museum is located in South Dallas, one block south of Fair Park on Pennsylvania Avenue (map [2]).
When Robert did his story in November [3], the owner of the building put some windows in to make it look like progress was being made. Robert wrote a follow up in March [4].
In November of 2005, Wilonsky wrote that "Mitchem couldn't be reached on his cell or home numbers, but Chaney insists it will be open by the holidays."
8 months later.. the building is exactly the same. The guy is four years behind on the payments, with no real progress to show for your $364,000. But Mr. Mitchem still can't be reached. Let me see... if I were the City, and someone owed me $364K... I would hire a private detective or someone (cost? under $1,000) and serve the guy with some papers or something. Or at least hire that crazy guy from Cheaters [5]... he seems to be good at finding people.
It's one thing if it was almost complete...but this is ridiculous.
I took some pictures myself. Not surprisingly, it looks the same as it has for years. The illegal dumping in the first picture is a nice touch.
Did Chaney mean the holidays of 2006?
Mr. Mitchem bought the building in 1997, so some work should have been done on the inside right? OK, maybe not.
According to Dallas city records, the only work done on the building was a $1,500 paving job in early April 2006 (completed). Let me repeat that - the City records show that the only work shown for the City's $360K+ investment is a driveway paving. That $360,000 includes $290,000 of Community Development Block Grant money. That's where the city gets its money for Minor Home Repair for seniors and low-income people, and other community programs. Do you know how many home repairs could have been funded with $290,000? Close to 100! The pictures speak for themselves.
They can be seen at my website Dallas Progress [6]...