Shuffling of funds by community member won’t derail rebranding the north side

Thousands of dollars were shifted from project to online reality show

A north side city council member says he’s confident about the rebranding of the north side business district.

Ryan Cornett says turning Old Towne North into Uptowne won’t be derailed even with the involvement of a troubled community activist.

Andrew Londre and his business have been pushing the Uptowne concept. Londre has faced immense backlash over the last few days after it was revealed he secretly shuttled thousands of dollars from a Kickstarter campaign to fund community projects. He apparently used that money to help pay for an appearance on an online reality show.  

City council member Ryan Cornett says he’s not worried about the bigger picture of improving the north side. 

“We have four or five different things that we’re attack on the north end of town to try and improve things,” Cornett said. “Even if this did have a hiccup it wouldn’t derail the whole north end thing.”

Others involved with the Uptowne project say Londre has been removed from any fundraising or organizational role.  

“The business owners, the people involved in this program, are outstanding people, who are doing everything they can, and they have made sure to compartmentalize everything and are moving the project forward,” Cornett said.

Londre has since vowed to return the pay back money to donors of the original projects.