A letter on the op-ed section of today’s Journal Gazette warrants a response of it’s own and some other thoughts I’ve had since considering this mess. Please note that the original editorial was published on March 3, 2009.
  Charis House editorial confusing
By Patrick Stelte, Fort Wayne[…] By restructuring the editorial, the main argument against Charis House is economic development in the Wells Street area. However after many years of underdeveloped, residential riverfront property, this piece of land has yet to be exploited by entrepreneurs. This argument falls apart with little scrutiny.
Perhaps the reason the riverfront property had not been exploited by entrepreneurs for so many years was the asking price? Perhaps developers who had done their homework on the property and compared the $8,800 paid by Dyle Hughes to the City vs the $700,000 asking price and decided it simply wasn’t worth it? I think anyone looking to acquire property would have looked at those figures and asked why. Knowing this now, it does not surprise me that the property has sat for so long without interest.
On a side note, the writer does not make any suggestions for the best home for Charis House. The title of the editorial is incorrect and misleading.
For the record, the title of the original editorial was, “Best home for Charis House”.
I would have thought, Patrick, that the responsibility for finding the best home for the Charis House rested with them? Why is it anyone else’s responsibility to step in and clear up this mess? A mess, that frankly would have been avoided had someone in the organization done their homework with this property. The editorial in question simply laid out the timeline and details, as it was then known. The potential tragedy is that the donors who gave of their funds to secure this property, now have the chance of seeing their dreams dashed because of the lack of due diligence.
There are a few other points made by Patrick that frankly have been covered in other posts on this and other blogs, so I’m not going to belabor the already stated.
I will end, however, with the other thought that has popped into my mind several times since this began unfolding. Â What, if any, involvement did Pastor Dave Humphreys have with this purchase? The purchase was made after he left he Rescue Mission Ministries at the end of 2007. To be honest, Pastor Dave’s management style did not endear him to many. However, the one thing that I learned in my experiences with Dave, was to be prepared to defend, explore and scrutinize any major purchase or policy decision. I cannot for the life of me believe he was involved with this debacle, nor would it have been handled in this slipshod manner.
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