Independence Visitor Center Corporation ("IVCC") Appears to Have Engaged in Eight-Year Effort to Marginalize The Constitutional Walking Tour and Keep the Evidence Secret

The IVCC Has Spent at Least $515,626.00 on Legal Fees to Ballard Spahr over the Period from July 1, 2003 to June 30, 2010

Overview
On July 21, 2003, Bill Moore, President and CEO of the Independence Visitor Center Corporation ("IVCC"), sent a critical evaluation of The Constitutional Walking Tour of Philadelphia ("The Constitutional") to Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell allegedly in response to a request from the Office of the Governor ("2003 Memorandum"). The 2003 Memorandum was finally revealed by the Office of the Governor on July 26, 2011 after a lengthy legal battle spearheaded at least in part by the IVCC. In the 2003 Memorandum, Mr. Moore revealed his apparent dislike for The Constitutional since Mr. Moore appears to have perceived The Constitutional as a threat:

"My conclusions on this tour are as follows: ... Copycat idea - not unique to Philadelphia - difficult to separate the product from the Boston [Freedom Trail] experience ... would be confusing to customers ... Philadelphia is almost over-burdened with disjointed products that consumers find hard to understand and use." (emphasis added)

In stark contrast to Mr. Moore's conclusions, The New York Times published a supportive Travel Advisory article about The Constitutional Walking Tour on October 26, 2003 in which it stated:

"A new walking tour of Philadelphia [The Constitutional] helps visitors find their way to sites relating to the city's history and its key role in the creation of the United States.The self-guided, three-mile tour, the Constitutional, features more than 30 historical sites, including churches, museums, former taverns and old hospitals."

A Growing Chorus for Transparency at the Independence Visitor Center Corporation

Calls for openness at the publicly funded Independence Visitor Center Corporation ("IVCC") are increasing. In recent months, several elected members of the Pennsylvania Legislature have requested that IVCC adopt and abide by both the Pennsylvania Right to Know Law and Sunshine Act. Pennsylvania State Representative Michael O'Brien, Pennsylvania State Senator Anthony Williams, and Pennsylvania State Senator Lawrence Farnese have all written to Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and Pennsylvania Governor Rendell, asking them to make the Independence Visitor Center transparent and to heed the Final Determinations of the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records by releasing documents related to the IVCC.

On September 21, 2010, Representative O'Brien wrote to both Mayor Nutter and Governor Rendell:

"As you know this entity [IVC] is located in my district and I feel it is important that such an entity located in the heart of the historic area should be beholden to the values [...] our country was founded on [...]"

On November 22, 2010, Senator Williams wrote to both Mayor Nutter and Governor Rendell, saying:

"I would request your leadership in abiding by the Sunshine Act and the Pennsylvania Right to Know law [...] It is my understanding, the requests under the Right to Know law are being denied. Since the IVC receives funds provided by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, it would be appropriate to have this request fulfilled."

On November 23, 2010, Senator Farnese wrote to both Mayor Nutter and Governor Rendell, also issuing a call for open operations:

"Compliance with the Right to Know Law and the Sunshine Act would provide openness and accountability to this publicly-funded entity and its operations [...] I ask for your leadership in following both the letter and spirit of open records laws in dealing both with Mr. Bari and any other citizen requesting information in the future."

Elected public officials are attempting to make the IVCC transparent. These elected officials have acknowledged the need of the IVCC to become accountable to the public which funds it.

It is time for Mayor Nutter and Governor Rendell to relent in their protection of the secretive business practices at the IVCC. It is time for Mayor Nutter and Governor Rendell to release the requested records as ordered by the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records and to demand transparency and accountability at the Independence Visitor Center Corporation.

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Exhibits:
Letter from Representative Michael H. O'Brien to Governor Rendell, 9-21-2010

Letter from Representative Michael H. O'Brien to Mayor Nutter, 9-21-2010

Letter from Senator Anthony Williams to Governor Rendell, 11-22-2010

Letter from Senator Anthony Williams to Mayor Nutter, 11-22-2010

Letter from Senator Lawrence Farnese to Governor Rendell, 11-23-2010

Letter from Senator Lawrence Farnese to Mayor Nutter, 11-23-2010

What is Governor Ed Rendell Hiding?

Mr. Nutter, meet Mr. Rendell. He is now joining you in blocking the public's access to information, protecting corporate interests, and denying our Right to Know.

Governor Rendell appoints a "Governor's Representative" to serve on the Board of Directors of the Independence Visitor Center Corporation (IVCC), a 501(c)(3) taxpayer supported public charity, which runs the visitor centers at Independence National Historical Park, as well as visitor centers at Philadelphia City Hall, Fairmount Park, Free Library of Philadelphia (Central Branch) and Pennsylvania Convention Center.

This "Governor's Representative" is William A. Graham, IV.

Under the Pennsylvania Right to Know Law, The Constitutional Walking Tour requested records regarding the Governor's role on the Board of Directors of the Independence Visitor Center Corporation.

The Office of the Governor denied the release of the records.

The Constitutional appealed, and the PA Office of Open Records issued a legally binding Final Determination for the Governor to release the records (Jonathan Bari v. Office of the Governor, OOR Dkt. AP 2010-0733, September 13, 2010).

The Office of the Governor refused to release any records! Instead, on October 12, 2010, the Office of the Governor filed suit in a Petition for Review in Commonwealth Court to overturn the Final Determination.

On October 13, 2010, the Independence Visitor Center Corporation (represented by Ballard Spahr) filed suit in a Petition for Review in Commonwealth Court to overturn the same Final Determination.

Governor Rendell is going to great lengths to protect the IVCC, whose Board of Directors is chaired by John Estey, Governor Rendell's former Chief of Staff. Mr. Estey is also a senior partner at Ballard Spahr which serves as legal counsel to the IVCC; Ballard Spahr is also Governor Rendell's former employer.

What is Governor Rendell hiding?

Now I have to allocate my small business's scarce resources to defend myself in this matter. This is an absurd use of taxpayer dollars to ensure that the IVCC can continue operating in the dark, especially in light of the fact that the Independence Visitor Center Corporation just was allocated $5 Million in Commonwealth funds.


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Exhibits:

Petition for Review, Office of the Governor (Petitioner) vs. Jonathan Bari (Respondent), seeking to overturn Final Determination issued in Jonathan Bari v. Office of the Governor, OOR Dkt. AP 2010-0733, September 13, 2010; No. 2123 CD 2010, October 12, 2010.

Petition for Review, Independence Visitor Center Corporation (Petitioner) vs. Jonathan Bari (Respondent), seeking to overturn Final Determination issued in Jonathan Bari v. Office of the Governor, OOR Dkt. AP 2010-0733, September 13, 2010; No. 2123 CD 2010, October 13, 2010.

Final Determination, Jonathan Bari v. Office of the Governor, OOR Dkt. AP 2010-0733, September 13, 2010

What Do Gambling and Secrecy Have to Do with a Public Charity that Operates on Federal Land?

On September 23, 2010, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) granted SugarHouse Casino - Philadelphia's first and only casino - its official authorization to operate slots and table games.

On October 10, 2010, Paul Davies, Deputy Editorial Page Editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote,

"Casinos prey on those desperate for a miracle...It will be Rendell's legacy that the city he helped save as mayor will now see many lives destroyed by all the social ills that are sure to follow gambling in Philadelphia."

While the purpose of this blog entry is not to weigh in on the casino debate in Philadelphia, it is nonetheless important to learn what back room deals may have been made in Harrisburg to leverage casino operations to fund the Independence Visitor Center Corporation, a public taxpayer supported charity, that runs the Independence Visitor Center. (The land on which the Independence Visitor Center (IVC) is built, as well as the building itself, are owned by the federal government and administered by Independence National Historical Park, a unit of the National Park Service.)

William W. Moore, former President and CEO of the Independence Visitor Center Corporation (IVCC), wrote to Governor Edward Rendell about the IVCC and legalized gambling and casino operators. In the July 9, 2004 letter, Mr. Moore wrote the following,

"Congratulations on the historic legislation allowing slot machine installation in Pennsylvania. That was a long and difficult battle, but in the end residents and visitors to the Commonwealth all come out as winners. You may recall in a meeting in late 2003 discussing ways that we could leverage casino operations to help support the Independence Visitor Center operations. With the legislation successfully passed, I would like to renew those discussions...To secure our long-term future and provide sustainable, consistent funding I would like you to consider taking a renewed look at how we might achieve financial support for the Visitor Center operations either directly or indirectly from the licensing, permitting or operations of our new casino operators."

Casino operations are predicated upon having winners and losers, and as such, Mr. Moore's argument that "in the end residents and visitors to the Commonwealth all come out as winners" is absurd.

Statement on the DRPA and Independence Visitor Center Corp.

We applaud Governor Rendell, Governor Christie, John Estey, Chairman of the Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA), and the rest of the members of the Board of Commissioners of the DRPA in adopting resolutions for improvement, including abiding by both the Sunshine Act and Pennsylvania Right to Know Law.

Reform is a journey and not a destination. As such, reform has to continue going forward, and reform must include changes to the culture of the DRPA. The DRPA must prove to the taxpayers that the reforms adopted are not merely superficial concessions designed to quell a brief media uproar, enabling self-serving business interests to permeate its operations. Moreover, similar changes must occur at other taxpayer supported public trusts with commonalities to the DRPA.

For example, if Mr. Estey believes that the DRPA should adopt the Sunshine Act, abide by the Pennsylvania Right to Know Law, and conduct business in a transparent and fair manner, then the Independence Visitor Center Corporation (IVCC) should as well.

The Boards of Directors of DRPA and IVCC are both chaired by John Estey, Esq., senior partner at Ballard Spahr and Governor Rendell's former chief of staff. Both the DRPA and IVCC use Ballard Spahr as outside counsel; Ballard has billed DRPA almost $3.1 million in legal fees from 2000-2010.

Both DRPA and IVCC operate essential public facilities. Both the DRPA and IVCC have an insular culture that does the public’s business in private. Both the DRPA and IVCC are taxpayer supported public trusts that are rife with patronage. Both the DRPA and IVCC are stuck in a time warp because both the DRPA and IVCC have been quite clandestine in terms of their operations and corporate governance. Both the DRPA and IVCC are heavily influenced by Governor Rendell (Rendell personally appointed most of the Pennsylvania commissioners to DRPA and he appointed the "Governor's Representative" to the IVCC).

On information and belief, the DRPA gave the IVCC $1.8 million in 2010 in an economic development grant, although there is no information available as to the details of those funds from either the DRPA and IVCC.

Nonetheless, as reported in The Philadelphia Inquirer on August 20, 2010, Mr. Estey claims, "It's [IVCC] not a public entity [...]"

To the contrary, the IVCC is absolutely a public entity given the massive public funding which the IVCC receives, the federal land on which the Visitor Center stands, the federal employees stationed within, and the federal legislation that authorized its creation.

Both the DRPA and IVCC maintain a sense of entitlement, an attitude that they can do no wrong, that they answer to no one and are certainly in no way accountable to the public which funds them. Unless Mr. Estey and Governor Rendell (Mayor Nutter also serves on the Board of Directors of the Independence Visitor Center Corporation), extend the resolutions for the DRPA to other secretive public organizations, like the IVCC, the proposals for change will be exposed as political smoke screens, enabling business as usual to continue without restriction or public oversight.

Jon Bari
The Constitutional Walking Tour of Philadelphia

Exhibits
*Article published in The Philadelphia Inquirer: "Now, [John] Estey should get the Visitor Center to open up," 8/20/2010

*Letter from John Estey to Governors Christie and Rendell discussing proposed changes at the DRPA, 8/4/2010

*Letter from Jon Bari to Mayor Michael Nutter calling for transparency at the IVCC, 8/13/2010

*Letter from Jon Bari to Governor Rendell calling for transparency at the IVCC, 8/17/2010

Rendell's Pork-Laden Politics at the Independence Visitor Center

In response to the Harrisburg Patriot-News July 13, 2010, editorial titled, "Pork barrel rolls right to Philadelphia":

Governor Rendell's new Pennsylvania State budget is packed with so much pork for Rendell's pet appropriations under the guise of the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program. For example, when Pennsylvania is hemorrhaging cash, raising taxes and cutting services, Rendell has appropriated $5 million for the Independence Visitor Center in Philadelphia. This appropriation seems particularly bizarre given that this building, which is federally owned and funded, just opened in 2001.

Cronyism is commonplace with the Independence Visitor Center Corporation (IVCC), which operates the Independence Visitor Center in a clandestine manner better suited to the CIA than to a visitor center. In addition to the IVCC Board being chaired by Rendell’s former chief of staff, Rendell appoints a “Governor’s Representative” to the IVCC Board. However, the Governor’s office has denied Right to Know Law requests for further information on Rendell's role with the IVCC's Board. Additionally, Philadelphia’s Mayor Nutter himself serves on the IVCC’s Board. The City of Philadelphia has denied similar record requests for Mayor Nutter's involvement with the IVCC Board, and now both the City and IVCC have actually sued to block the release of information as ordered in a legally binding Final Determination by the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records.

Governor Rendell must insist that in exchange for $5 million to the Independence Visitor Center, the IVCC's Board must change to abide by both the Sunshine Act and the Right to Know Law. Alternatively, Rendell should compel his representative's resignation from the IVCC Board and yank the $5 million in funding.