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Vivian Moon Addresses City Council

Printed From: MiddletownUSA.com
Category: Middletown City Government
Forum Name: City Council
Forum Description: Discuss individual members and council as a legislative body.
URL: http://www.middletownusa.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1191
Printed Date: Jun 09 2024 at 5:50am


Topic: Vivian Moon Addresses City Council
Posted By: John Beagle
Subject: Vivian Moon Addresses City Council
Date Posted: Apr 08 2009 at 9:35am


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http://www.johnbeagle.com/" rel="nofollow - John Beagle

Middletown USA

News of, for and by the people of Middletown, Ohio.


Replies:
Posted By: randy
Date Posted: Apr 08 2009 at 10:27am
Way to go Mrs. Moon, you spoke the truth and the Council doesn't want to hear that. This City Council is not very effective.




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Posted By: scrapmonkey
Date Posted: Apr 08 2009 at 11:10am
Very well done Vivian !! Was there any followup by council to your presentation ?

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scrapmonkey

"Civilization begins with order,grows with liberty,and dies with chaos"~Will Duran

Posted By: John Beagle
Date Posted: Apr 08 2009 at 2:38pm
I was surprised to see the Mayor cut her presentation short. She made several good points, and at some point there should be followup, if no, looks like the State will do the followup.

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http://www.johnbeagle.com/" rel="nofollow - John Beagle

Middletown USA

News of, for and by the people of Middletown, Ohio.

Posted By: Vivian Moon
Date Posted: Apr 08 2009 at 3:21pm
I just received this email
If this is their legal response I can't comment further because it is now a legal issue.

Ms. Moon,

Thank you for your comments and your dedication to the cemetery.  It would be best when
emailing me regarding city business to use the City email address: http://webmailbb.juno.com/webmail/new/8?folder=Trash&msgNum=0000aek0:0019rAbH00002AWj&block=1&msgNature=all&msgStatus=all&count=1239217045&content=central# - larrym@cityofmiddletown
.org .

I believe council has carefully considered the allocation of our limited resources, and
unfortunately, improvements at the cemetery are not possible with limited funds.  We do
have the responsibility to maintain it as a safe and secure environment.  My
understanding is that the city was required to take over the cemetery when the original
cemetery association became defunct due to a lack of funding.

I know the city manager will be diligent in her review of your comments and suggestions,
as she carefully weighs the priorities that council has set for the city, and sets the
appropriate course of action.  Please know that it is not a lack of interest or concern
by council or city staff that drives our decisions, but rather it is balancing the very
limited resouces we have, and funding the great number of needs that we must meet.  There
are times when we must say "no" to a proposal as we weigh the impact of what
that will have on the rest of the city.  This, unfortunately, is one of those times. 
I've asked that the manager look into the demolition or removal of the vault structure,
given the condition and cost to repair, removal should be an option that the council
should consider given the safety issues that it may create.  As Mr. Becker indicated last
night, our preliminary financial results indicate that we may have upwards of another $1
million in cuts to make to balance our general fund budget.  It is times like this that
make your volunteer efforts, and all others that volunteer across the city, very
appreciated and your passion shows how committed you are.

Thanks again for your comments,

Larry

Posted By: Pacman
Date Posted: Apr 08 2009 at 3:48pm
And one of their issues at the Council Retreat this year was a $4000.00 increase in pay to Council Members.  Hmmmmm $28,000.00 for Council raises and we have to beg to fix the Pool $15k and $10K+ to get the Cemetery in a presentable condition.
 
What is wrong with this picture?
 
Tearing down the Vault would be a shame.


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When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.

Thomas Jefferson

Posted By: Vivian Moon
Date Posted: Apr 08 2009 at 5:09pm
And just think...Larry Mullingan and Sam Ashworth are such HISTORIC SUPPORTERS of Historic Dwntown Middletown....and the 11 acres at the Middletown Cemetery is the most
Historic thing in this town from 1827...Yep old George Crout would reeeeeally be proud of these two. And these are the same two that have went through all of the money that Mr. Crout left to the Historical Society.

Posted By: Pacman
Date Posted: Apr 08 2009 at 5:24pm
Vivian it almost sounded last night as if they had already made up their minds to tear down the Vault as I think it was Marconi that stated something about just tearing it down.

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When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.

Thomas Jefferson

Posted By: Vivian Moon
Date Posted: Apr 08 2009 at 6:20pm

It is because of the City’s pure neglect over the past 60 years that the vault is in such a critical condition. They could have used CDBG funds to repair the vault over the years but Mr. Kohler spent all the money downtown. Take a drive out to the Miltonville Cemetery and look at that vault. Their little vault is beautiful because they have taken the time to do the maintenance over the years. I was promised the money to restore the vault if I would take care of everything else. I lived up to my obligations and more…
Over the past five years I have gotten over $35,000 in donations and have spent thousands of hours pouring cement, planting trees, bush-hogging and digging in the dirt. I have also spent thousands of hours researching and correcting the burial records for this cemetery. Not only have I maintained the cemetery but I have funded it through my research for the past 5 years….and this is the THANK YOU I get from the City
PRIDE IN ACTION…yep I have seen first hand their PRIDE and their actions.


Posted By: makeadifference
Date Posted: Apr 08 2009 at 6:39pm
Is it something they can legally demolish.  I would think that a historic cemetary should have some regualations of what can and can not be done.  I think some of the money they are wasting downtown should be shifted to preserve history.  It is a shame they do not respect the deceased, it really shows what kind of people we have running this city. 

Posted By: scrapmonkey
Date Posted: Apr 08 2009 at 6:41pm
How pathetic of Mulligan to say that this historic vault & final resting place should be torn down. What are his plans for the remains inside ? Just dump them on the flower bed or put them on display ? How much more sickening can these people get ?!!!

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scrapmonkey

"Civilization begins with order,grows with liberty,and dies with chaos"~Will Duran

Posted By: spiderjohn
Date Posted: Apr 09 2009 at 6:35am
So----city planning and admin ignores the cemetary and wants to tear down the vault, but spent the necessary funds to put nice storefronts on empt abandoned decaying buildings downtown.
 
Seems like it should have been the opposite and for a LOT less cashola.
 
Seems like the only thing our Historical Society is interested in preserving is the livelihoods of Mr.Ashworth and Ms.Mulligan(plus the historic S.Main St. homes where the Mayor and Mr.Koehler live, of course!).
 
Any important activities scheduled for the Pickwick building?
 
Well--that cemetary property might be the perfect location for a new Section 8 multi-family location, or even a new store-n-lock!

Posted By: Vivian Moon
Date Posted: Apr 09 2009 at 9:05am
Spider
You forget to include a new Family Dollar Store or maybe they could sell the land to Cohen Bros.

If the City had their way they would bulldoze the entire cemetery down.
They would rather use CDBG money to demolish the vault rather than use the same amount of CDBG money to save the vault.

If I had known in 2005 that this would have been the outcome of this project you can bet I would never have turned the first shovel of dirt for the City of Middletown. WARNING BEING A VOLUNTEER FOR THE CITY OF MIDDLETOWN COULD BE DANGEROUS TO YOUR HEALTH & EGO.

The Middletown Historical Society is now in critical financial condition because of their wasteful spending on salaries they couldn’t afford and other item since George Crout stepped down as director. Mr. Crout left them with almost a million dollars and have spent all the interest and into the principal…while Sam Ashworth sat at one end of the table and Larry Mulligan sat at the other. I don't think they know what the word FRUGAL means. If you don’t believe me ask Mr. Gordon of the Middletown Community Foundation. They have also received grant money over the years for projects that they have never completed. I sat on the board for two years and that was enough for me. The Middletown Historical Society has never donated one dollar to the preservation of the Middletown Cemetery…

Posted By: Truth Teller
Date Posted: Apr 09 2009 at 9:23am

NEW CITY OF MIDDLETOWN WEBSITE (EXCERPTS)

 Community Revitalization Department - Community Development

The Community Development Division is responsible for the administration and implementation of the following U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) programs:

Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)
The City of Middletown, as an entitlement community, receives an allocation of CDBG funds each year. The City's program year runs from May 1 to April 30. Each year the city must submit to HUD a plan for the use of these funds. Current projects include:

Owner Occupied Housing Rehabilitation - In an effort to improve housing stock conditions in the City of Middletown, the City offers a variety of financing packages for low and moderate income homeowners, up to a maximum of $40,000 per home. Loans ranging from 0 to 4% interest are available, and under special circumstances for elderly homeowners, payment can be deferred. For more information please contact Skip Batten at (513) 425-7954.

It's apparent that the "final draft" Owner-Occupied Housing Rehabilitation Program guidelines and procedures that were prepared last summer wasn't adopted after all.  And, what about past program experience that raised ample concerns that too many projects involved excessive, non-secured HUD funding?  For example, the $100,000 project at 1018 Hughes Street in Ward 1?

Property Enhancement Program (PEP) - This innovative rebate program encourages grassroots neighborhood participation. The PEP will provide reimbursement of eligible expenses related to property improvements to selected neighborhoods. Just for turning in a petition, the City will assist your neighborhood with a clean up. For more information call the Planning Department office at (513) 425-7938.

Are CDBG funds again being made available to "over-income" homeowners in the S. Main Street Historic District?  Wouldn't this be an obvious conflict of interest with a prominent elected official and decision-making department head residing there?

HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME)

In early 2000, the City of Middletown joined with Butler County to form a Consortium for the purpose of receiving additional federal funding. HOME funds can be used for housing related activities. Current projects include:

Housing Opportunities - HOME funds have been used to assist new construction projects such as the Maple Park development as well as the acquisition and complete renovation of existing properties. If you are interested in purchasing a home, please contact http://www.butlercountynhs.org/ - Neighborhood Housing Services .

Is it wise to tout this project costing $750,000+ in HUD subsidies for constructing 17 houses over the past five years?


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