| Middletown City Managers Weekly Up Date To Council April 26, 2009 |
| Tuesday, April 28, 2009 9:36:36 AM - Middletown Ohio |
Weekly Update to City Council
from the City Manager
April 26, 2009
Swine Flu Preparedness
Our Health Department is in contact with other area health agencies, the Ohio Department of Health and the Center for Disease Control regarding the Swine Flu issue. As more information becomes available, we will keep you informed. Advice from our Health Department: wash your hands with soap and water frequently, cover your mouth when sneezing or coughing with a tissue and if you are ill, stay home and take care of yourself.
Hamilton-Middletown Bus Schedule
Beginning May 4th, residents can take advantage of the new Middletown – Hamilton bus connection. The fare is $2.00 one-way. I am attaching the schedule for your information.
Fire Department COMBAT Challenge
Steve Ludwig, Jon Harvey, Jon Meyer, Tate Cobb and Pawel Miecykowski competed in the Team portion of the Combat Challenge, a physical agility competition among fire fighters, held 4/19 in Milford, Ohio. They made their way thru the preliminary round for their seed in the single elimination rounds. They beat Dayton fire fighters in the first round, only to be met by the team which came in second for the day, Wright Patterson Air Force Base. Wright Patterson turned in a winning time of 1:31, while the Local 336 turned in a time of 1:49 which qualifies them to go to the National competition. Pawel competed in his first ever individual competition. He turned in a time of 2:37 which gave him 9th place in the 40 and over group. He is eligible to compete in the Nationals in the individual category.
Police Impound Lot
The Division of Police is studying the feasibility of building and operating a municipal impound lot. The cities of Cincinnati, Trenton and Oxford, currently maintain impounds lots to enhance revenue. The potential site is on City owned property on Terry Drive, which is properly zoned for this activity. Construction costs are estimated at $135,000, which should be recouped in the first year of operation. The City would continue to utilize privately owned wrecker companies and would charge the vehicle owners the storage fee. Unclaimed, drivable vehicles would be sold at auction, while wrecked vehicles would either be sold at auction or for scrap. We are gathering information as to the amount of revenue the project will generate; early estimates are approximately $150,000 a year. If we are able to present a viable business plan as a result of our research, we will bring the project forward to council.
From the Int’l City Management Newsletter: Flint, Michigan, Considers Plan To Shrink By Demolishing Neighborhoods.
Note: We initiated the landbank legislation at our last meeting; you can see that other cities are doing the same:
The New York Times (4/22, A12, Streitfeld) reports on efforts in Flint, Michigan, "to slow this city's endless decline," in which "local leaders are talking about demolishing entire blocks and even whole neighborhoods," so as to shrink the city into "a few viable areas." The effort is being led by Genesee County Treasurer Dan Kildee, though City Council President Jim Ananich agrees, "We have to do something drastic." The county and city are able to consider such proposals because state law gives over properties foreclosed for delinquent taxes to county land banks. In order to regulate its shrinkage, the city is updating a master plan for the first time since 1965, since when it has shrunk from 200,000 to 110,000. Meanwhile, the Genesee County land bank acquired "about 900 houses in the city," last year. Eliminating some neighborhoods is defended as a means of saving costs on services and producing a more compact, efficient city.
Energy Stimulus Funds Received
Though we’ve not received official word, we will be receiving nearly $500,000 in energy stimulus funds. From our understanding, the funds are to be used on public buildings to improve the energy efficiency – new windows, HVAC, etc. – and we have a lot of older city facilities with failing windows, HVAC systems that would benefit from these funds. Another option is to use the funds to construct the less than 2 miles of bike path required to connect us to Franklin and the greater Miami valley system of over 200 miles of paths. We are having conversations at the staff level on priorities for the funds.
Upcoming Events
May 1 Aldi’s Ribbon-cutting (11:00 a.m.) and Open House Event, 11:00 a.m. 4:00 p.m., 3536 S. Dixie Highway
May 4 Park Board meeting, 5:30 p.m., Conference Room 2C
May 5 City Council Meeting, 5:30 p.m., Council Chambers
May 7 Chamber Monthly Business luncheon, 11:45 a.m. – 1:15 p.m., Middletown Area Senior Center, 3907 Central Ave.
May 7 Body Design by Therese Open House, 5:00 – 7:00 p.m., 823 Elliot Drive, Suite 1
May 8 City Planning Commission meeting, 6:30 p.m., Council Chambers
May 12 Board of Health meeting, 7:30 a.m., Conference Room 2C
May 14 Body Design by Therese Ribbon Cutting, 12:15 p.m., 823 Elliot Drive, Suite 1
Links for additional information:
City Manager’s Weekly Update: www.cityofmiddletown.org
Middletown Community Calendar: http://www.calendarwiz.com/middletowncalendar
Pothole Patrol: www.cityofmiddletown.org or call 727-3691 (Option 2)
Have a great week! Judy
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