Debt? What debt? The Jackson City Council approved a measure earlier this year that granted relief to Kusche Sports Sports Group lease of Smith-Wills Stadium.
The Jackson City Council unanimously approved Kusche's contract on April 30, 2019 although Councilmen Kenneth Stokes and De'Keither Stamps stepped out of the Council meeting before the vote took place.
The contract states Kusche Sports Group will pay Jackson the greater of $125,000 or 20% of all "gross marketing revenue" generated at Smith-Wills every October 1. This payment has a cap of $250,000. Mr. Bennett was supposed to obtain a $5 million performance bond and submit a copy to the city.
JJ obtained a list of all payments received from Kusche, Tim Bennett, or Overtime Sports (another Bennett company)through a public records request . Kusche paid a grand whopping total of $32,500 to the city of Jackson since January 1, 2020.
Kusche has never paid the minimum $125,000 annual payment required under its lease agreement.
Bennett can't claim he is not making enough revenue at Smith-Wills to pay his rent. Kusche also receives $370,000 a year for subleasing the Smith-Wills Stadium parking lot to the Veterans Administration. JJ reported on May 24:
Although it appears Kusche owes Jackson at least $500,000, such is apparently not the case thanks to what the Jackson City Council did on January 18. Read the resolution:
WHEREAS, the City of Jackson acknowledges that this caused an undue hardship on KSG, resulting in the inability to submit the required annual payments, however, in lieu of submitting annual payments, KSG continued to invest in the property by renovating bathrooms installing new equipment, maintaining baseball fields and allowing local high school and college teams to utilize the field as needed without payment; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Parks and Recreation believes it is in the best interest of the City of Jackson to accept these "in-kind" donations as partial rental payments and modify the lease accordingly; and
WHEREAS, based on the "in-kind" donations, the City of Jackson has reduced the anearage to $100,000.00 to be paid in quarterly installments annually, with the first payment due upon execution and each payment thereafter being due on October I st, through October I, 2026....
Councilwoman Lindsey wanted to table the resolution until more information was provided. A Jackson official said the resolution was "time-sensitive" because Mr. Bennett was involved in "negotiations" with other partners. Councilman Grizzell said Kusche did not charge JPS schools to use Smith-Wills for baseball games. Free baseball for the kids apparently carried the day. Watch the video below if you want to see some real shuck and jive take place.
Of course, it never occurred to anyone to ask about the $5 million performance bond that was supposed to cover such delinquency.
Kusche was supposed to make a payment immediately but has not made a payment this year.
33 comments:
that absolutely cannot be legal, I am not an attorney but that just can't be...........
yep this os what you get when your city is run by a girlboss, mayor mcCheese, and the fryguys
The 'renovations' and 'improvements' should be counted as an 'in kind' payment says the city so-called leaders? Did they not read the lease agreement wherein Kusch was to spend $6 million in improvements to the facility AS A PART OF THE LEASE?
OK, so he didn't have the revenue he expected (except of course he failed to disclose to the city that he was receiving $350k from the VA, but lets don't worry about that concealment) - and he did do some degree of renovations,or so he says. He certainly has not done six million dollars worth of renovations and improvements, so those few expenditures he made cant be counted as in-kind lease payments.
But of course this is the City with a Soul, and without a leader, so what better should we expect?
So yet again this company has made NO PAYMENT ago the COJ, all the while taking payments from the Veterans Adm! What a SLAP in the face to all these hard working people with the COJ needing these funds for water, sewer & infrastructure,
How much did he get in COVID funds?
Vote. Them. All. Out.
This is a clear violation of Mississippi law. Article IV, Section 100 of the Mississippi Constitution says that no liability can be compromised by anyone, including the Legislature, and that no liability or obligation shall be exchanged or transferred except upon payment of its face value. This section is in place to prevent these exact types of things from occurring.
Unlawful donation. But nothing will ever come of it.
MS Constitution, As Amended -- ART. 4, SEC. 100:
"No obligation or liability of any person, association, or corporation held or owned by this state, or levee board, or any county, city, or town thereof, shall ever be remitted, released or postponed, or in any way diminished by the Legislature, nor shall such liability or obligation be extinguished except by payment thereof into the proper treasury; nor shall such liability or obligation be exchanged or transferred except upon payment of its face value; but this shall not be construed to prevent the Legislature from providing by general law for the compromise of doubtful claims."
Just another in the long list of Kush scam plans.
They will never get blood out of this turnip-
There has always been a degree of bogus elected officials due to ego and power, now what we are facing is the same level of corruption, but a case of stupidity or just plain DUMB as a box of rocks added in!
AND...? Two sides to every story. What did THE CITY fail to provide?
2:24, Since you imply that you know something the rest of us don't, why don't you tell us what the city failed to provide under the contract?
Or are you floating up a smokescreen?
2:24 If the City DID fail to provide something(s), it is incumbent on Bennett to advise them of such. However, no such declaration was offered by Bennett. In fact, he's not paid the amounts he was obligated to pay AFTER this most recent lease amendment.
He's playing them, and it appears only Foote knows it!
The local news channels and journalist SUCK here. This should be headline news and they could figure this out just as KF did with just a little work. Can you imagine all the things we wouldn’t know our city does if it weren’t for this blog.
G.
Alright Lynn, lets do our job and put a stop to this shit.
There are lots of greasy palms involved in this matter.
Kusche, Tim Bennett,and Overtime Sports are beating COJ and its taxpayers like a drum.
Shad White needs to look at this.
These people are from a culture so broken they don't even understand why what they are doing is wrong.
Reminds me of the Hinds County solar deal. May want to read the Fox news article
Solar company found to have ‘reaped billions’ from top Biden law leads to outcry: ‘Appeasing the rich’
WAPT, WLBT and WJTV should be ashamed for not calling this clown and fraud out.
The CL is dead. No need to hear from them.
What trash does da’ mair have on those TV stations?
Or are they just playing to the audience?
It was shotgun city in Jackson this weekend and not a single thing on that was reported.
Don’t send a credible tip to any of these local Tv channels. They won’t do anything.
All their “reporters” are 22 and don’t care a crap about here. They are just getting a $26,000 check.
Yes, why isn't Shad "Clean Hands" White on the caper?
By dropping the annual rent by $25K the city is paying [via lack of revenue] $25K per year for the 'free' use of the field by JPS. Or maybe I'm overthinking this.
So is this Kusche group of Bennett's just a clever way of spelling Kush - one he's using to flaunt in everyone's face? Maybe that's why the COJ has been looking the other way?
I watched the video, and "shuck and jive" is an understatement.
Time to serve Bennett an eviction notice and get his flipping trailer off the sidewalk!
Just some more systemic socialism. He doesn't pay, and the taxpayers fund the use of the stadium for a broken educational system that the taxpayers are already funding.
Jeez
Who da heck is the City Attorney. That is the worst order ever presented. Renegotiating a contract after the fact based on contractor hardship. Can’t do it. Any vendor who offers a poorly thought out quote has a hardship, inflation too high- hardship. Where did the vendor produce documentation of hardship, did the vendor get Covid funds. Where is the written request from the vendor with his proof. The city of Jackson and state government that allows it thumbs its nose at state law.
When the city council discussed this yesterday, I noticed the mayor wasn't present during that time. Also, seemed like Ashby couldn't drum up much interest. It was vey curious.
Will be nice when the state finally takes this property back.
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