Weekly Update to City Council
                                                                           from the City Manager
                                                                              November 1, 2009
H1N1 Update

The Health Department received another small shipment of vaccine this week, only 900 doses. By the time this reaches readers we will have had our first open vaccination clinic for pregnant women and caregivers of infants less than 6 months of age at MUM on Saturday October 31st. We still have two schools where we are vaccinating at risk children with chronic illness and there are providers who still have not received vaccine for their staff and patients.

Depending on how much vaccine we receive this week we will begin to set up school mass vaccination clinics. Following the school clinics we will be setting up mass vaccination clinics for adults 18 to 24 years old and then for adults 24 to 65 years old. The vaccine continues to trickle in, but it has been much slower than anticipated. We will get as many people vaccinated as soon as possible. Everyone needs to be patient and do what they can to avoid contracting the flu.

For any other questions or comments please contact the Middletown Health Department at 425-1818.

From the Int’l City Management Newsletter:
Lack of Candidates for City Offices

The Chicago Tribune (11/3, Huffstutter) reports on the lack of candidates in elections this year due to the recession. There is an acute shortage this year of candidates willing to take on the headaches of leadership. State officials and political scientists say finding candidates has always been a problem for small towns and rural communities, but the recession this year has made it particularly tough," as such jobs have "grown enormously more complex over the years, and it is hard to find residents who are willing and able to make difficult choices, particularly during times of shrinking budgets." In addition, "the pay is low, the hours long and the complaints loud."

Also from the Int’l City Management newsletter:
Charlotte, North Carolina, Mayor Argues For Light Rail And Mass Transit

The St. Petersburg Times (11/3, Varian) reports on Charlotte, NC, Mayor Patrick McCrory's argument "for light rail and better mass transit. Cities without them may be getting along fine now even as their roadways clog with traffic," he said, but "they'll be in for problems twenty or thirty years from now." McCrory said that convincing residents of the need for such expensive projects is "a hard task." But, "McCrory said all forms of transportation, including roads, are heavily subsidized. And you can only make roads so wide. Meanwhile, he said, the lines have attracted tremendous redevelopment around them."

Street Light Outages

Earlier this spring, the Pride in Action Committee recommended a volunteer program to identify street light outages that would be forwarded to Duke Energy for maintenance. As winter is fast approaching and daylight hours are getting shorter, the City would like to solicit volunteers to begin canvassing the neighborhoods in the evenings to identify outage locations for City staff to report to Duke Energy.

Community Volunteerism

We are very pleased to report that a committee from Zion Lutheran Church raked and bagged leaves at the Middletown Pioneer Cemetery on Sunday as part of All Saints Day. A special thank you to Pastor David Moreland and his congregation for their efforts in making our community a better place to live.

Weatherwax Customer Appreciation Days

Weatherwax is having customer appreciation days beginning Thursday Oct 29 thru Friday Nov 6. 1/2 price greens fees, carts, food and beverage. Specials on all golf merchandise. Tee times at 425-7886.

Upcoming Events

November 2 Middletown Park Board meeting, 5:30 p.m., Conference Room 2C

November 2 Middletown Board of Education meeting, 6:30 p.m., 1515 Girard Ave.

November 3 Middletown City Council meeting, 5:30 p.m., Council Chambers

November 3 Election Day

November 4 Airport Commission meeting, 5:00 p.m., Middletown Regional Airport, 1717 Run Way

November 5 Chamber of Commerce monthly business luncheon, 11:45 a.m., Middletown Senior Citizens, Central Avenue

November 7 Middletown Kiwanis Pancake Breakfast, VFW Hall, Coles Road

November 10 Board of Health meeting, 7:30 a.m., City Building, Conference Room 2C

November 11 Veterans Day Memorial Service 11:00am
Lunch @ American Legion Post 218, Noon, 116 S. Main Street

November 17 City Council Meeting 5:30 p.m., Council Chambers

November 18 Chamber of Commerce Economic Forecast luncheon, Noon –1:30, Chamber of Commerce, $25 Chamber members (Council Members, please advise Betsy if you plan to attend)

Links for additional information:

City Manager’s Weekly Update:
Middletown Community Calendar: Pothole Patrol: or call 727-3691 (Option 2)
Have a great week! Judy