Laubach feels Middletown is....

Mr. Laubach:

As far as leaving buildings empty and subject to breeding crime, you are ignoring a big part of the equation and that is the anti-business attitude by certain factions at City Hall.

The reason, and the ONLY reason, that many businesses have been kept out of Middletown is that city hall has kept them out.

Case in point? Middletown Area Senior Citizens wanted to stay downtown and made a SIX FIGURE offer for the Swallen building. They wanted to have their activities on the main floor and seniors’ apartments on the upper floors. This would’ve meant residents and many visitors downtown. PERFECT! Just what the doctor ordered! City hall said “NO”!

Members of the “snob” clique downtown stop every attempt at non-snob commerce downtown. THAT is why the place remains a crime-ridden ghost town. Stop that and things will change. Squandering the public treasure on repeated attempts on re-packaged playgrounds for the chosen few will NOT change anything but will simply seal our fate.

Sir, you state that you “did not pick the kind of business” and that is true. But please look at who DID “pick the kind of business” and you will find that it is the same ones who have been “picking that kind of business” for years and that it is ALWAYS the SAME “kind of business” to the exclusion of all other kinds of business and it is the “kind of business” that has always failed in downtown Middletown, and THAT is the problem!

Plum: I trust that you raise what you believe to be legitimate points. I think that you, along with the rest of us (and, indeed, all citizens) deserve any concerns to be addressed in a straightforward manner by the city. However, I doubt that anyone’s concerns will be addressed by anyone from city hall. Please allow me to address your comments/concerns as straightforwardly as I can:

You say:

“as a middletown taxpayer im also not thrilled about more tax dollers being spent downtown.but you have to start somewhere and i like the way the city has been tearing down junk propertys.”

Some would agree with this, some would disagree. I do know for a fact that there were offers of hundreds of thousands of dollars made for some of the properties downtown that have been razed. These offers were summarily rejected by city officials because the uses (such as apartments for senior citizens and an enhanced Seniors’ Center) did not “meet certain city officials liking”. Both downtown and throughout the city, certain city officials have their minds made up what they want, without regard for the commercial realities of the twenty-first century world. At this point, I am almost ready to agree that to bulldoze the entire area formerly known as “downtown”, including city hall, might be the best thing for the entire city.

You continue:

“i think for the first time in a long time downtown is on the way up.“

I would agree with you, but only if city hall would open the entire area up for free market, commercial development. The problem is, city hall will not keep their biased noses out of it and continue to insist on following a taxpayer-subsidized, failed model that most likely ensures failure and at best guarantees limited success for a single, subsidized business with which no other private businesses will be able to compete.

You continue:

“i really like what larry lewis has done with that corner high rise.”

I am unsure which high rise you mean. I searched the records of the Butler County Auditor and found over 50 properties owned by “Lewis Consolidated”, including 1108, 1120, 1119 and 1123 Central Avenue. It does appear from the street that some remodeling has gone on (besides the taxpayer subsidized facades) to the buildings on the south side of the street, but I have no other knowledge of these properties, or their proposed uses, so I cannot comment further.  Perhaps you could enlighten us???

You continue:

“and broad street bash has shown people will go downtown for the right reasons.”

Yes, I agree!!! You are correct, which means that city hall is once again WRONG!!! Perhaps you will recall that “The Bash” was NOT a brainstorm of city hall but was the idea and work product of the PRIVATE SECTOR, with very little assistance from city hall and NO TAXPAYER SUBSIDY!!! I think that you also seem to emphasize the point that many here have been making. The THOUSANDS of people in the crowds at the Broad Street Bashes are NOT the same people that you would see at any local art exhibit, are they? Do you EVER expect a local art exhibit to attract a crowd in the THOUSANDS that will purchase over THREE THOUSAND bottles of beer, or spend over TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS total (overall) in just a few hours on ANYTHING???

The last art auction that I recall in Middletown was at MUM during their 40^th anniversary gala. I’d estimate that the attendance was WAY less than a thousand, that the actual number of bidders was less than one hundred. (NOTE 1: Most of the tuxedoed and gowned attendees were crowded around the FREE “champagne and shrimp” during the actual auction.) (NOTE 2: For those of you who think that I am an “art-hating cheapskate”, please be informed that I was the successful bidder on a teapot by a local artisan at this affair, AND I swilled NONE of the free booze.) Anyway, the point is, compare the crowds at The Bash to the crowds drawn by ANY local “arts” affair and then examine your statement again: “and Broad Street Bash has shown people will go downtown for the right reasons.” Unfortunately, the Pendleton Arts Center (PAC) is NOT The Broad Street Bash, and The Bash doesn’t even need a HALF MILLION DOLLAR TAX PAYER SUBSIDY!!!   The PAC is NOT the "right reason!!!"

Next, you state:

“i also know laubach and marconi personally and laubach has only the best interests of middletown at heart…”

That is what I thought about Mr. Laubach up until now, but I believe that he is making a grave mistake on this one! Also, having the city’s best interest at heart does NOT mean that he is always correct.

You continue:

“…and [Laubach] has tried to overcome alot of terrible desicions made by the last council.

That may be what you think, but Mr. Laubach has repeated stated that “there is no use in looking back at what past councils have done.”  In this case, if Mr. Laubach would “look back“, he would be able to clearly see that he is about to repeat the same mistake that past council persons, including Mr. Marconi, have made! Beau Verre was heavily subsidized by the tapayers, just as PAC is about to be. What has been the return to the taxpayers? All of the arts, and all of the history projects, and all of the Olde Tyme shenanigans and all of the “Main Street stakesholders” cr*p have ALL been heavily subsidized by the taxpayers over and over and over, and always with no return. Any one who tries to state differently should be asked WHY we still have any empty downtown EXCEPT on the few nights every summer for The Bash!!! Can YOU, Plum, tell us why???

In closing, you state:

“would you really rather have marconi back? i mean at least laubach is a straight shooter”

NO! And this has nothing to do with Marconi, except that if Laubach would look back, he would see that this is one of the things that he would’ve said Marconi was doing WRONG! Laubach seems to have been straight shooter--so far. But this time he is clearly wrong!!! Laubach has even invoked the spirit of Adam Smith, an economist who would ABHOR a move such as the proposed taxpayer-subsidized PAC monopoly. Laubach needs to re-read Adam Smith, re-think his position, seek advice OUTside city hall, lobby his colleagues and DEFEAT THIS DOWNTOWN-KILLING proposition!!!

And Plum, if you calmly study the facts, you will agree. Re-read you own statements. The answer lies right within them!!!