Deanieleaks #7: Mayor's Office e-mail correspondence on the State Fairgrounds

In the latest release, State Fair Director Buck Dozier raises a red flag with Finance Director Rich Riebeling about access problems for fleamarket vendors should they be moved to Hickory Hollow (Mayor Dean withdrew that Hickory Hollow plan December 1 after withering public blowback).

In the context of the previous e-mails it is hard to see this meeting proposal as anything but a further effort to define and assign talking points among the Dean Team with feedback from the corporate mall owners who stand to benefit handsomely from an Expo exile. Shouldn't Dozier have invited a representative from affected Expo vendors if he intended to act as their access advocate?

[Original Message]
From: Dozier, Buck (State Fair)
To: Riebeling, Richard (Finance - Director's Office)
Subject: Update
Date: Tuesday, October 05, 2010 12:15:52 PM
__________________________________

You told me to harass you as things moved along. I have not as Toby, Weaver, and others seem to be on target.

I have one consideration for you that I don't feel that we have fleshed out well. I consider it to be a HUGE issue moving forward.

The issue of egress and ingress at the Hickory Hollow site. The building has only TWO doors in which to get vendors in and out.

I really feel the need to express to ALL who will have anything to do with the build out to talk with me and my crew about these issues.

Setting up a flea market, especially this one, is not like setting up a yard sale as you will know.

I believe that it would be profitable for CBL [Hickory Hollow owner], General Services, and a few of my staff to meet soon on the build out. Your thoughts and wisdom on the matter.

When we open Hickory Hollow I want us to be successful from the get-go.

I will be in New York next week on vacation, but will be here all of this week.

It is conspicuous that this was not a matter of "if" Hickory Hollow would open as an exposition of former Fairgrounds vendors but a matter of "when" for Dozier, regardless of how "HUGE" the obstacles were.

I will continue to publish more e-mails in the run-up to Tuesday's council consideration of the Fairgrounds bills. (Jump to Deanieleaks #1. Jump to Deanieleaks #2. Jump to Deanieleaks #3. Jump to Deanieleaks #4. Jump to Deanieleaks #5. Jump to Deanieleaks #6.)