SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING

I have just expended the effort to re-read every post that Greygoose has made on this forum, and had concluded my previous conclusion that Greygoose was actually Mr. Adkins was in error. 

When I returned to post this admission, and saw this recent exchange between he and Acclaro, I think that my new conclusion is confirmed!!! 

I have just expended the effort to re-read every post that Greygoose has made on this forum, and had concluded my previous conclusion that Greygoose was actually Mr. Adkins was in error.
When I returned to post this admission, and saw this recent exchange between he and Acclaro, I think that my new conclusion is confirmed!!!

MikeP,

I’m most definitely not Mr. Adkins. I am a citizen, like you, that just wants the best for his hometown. Yesterday, I posted an excerpt that I read from the Pittsburgh Quarterly that really sums up my advocacy for the Moving Ohio Forward program.

The impact of vacant property extends beyond economic loss. Its role in unraveling the quality of life in a neighborhood and dimming the outlook of its residents is well documented. Nothing signals neglect and disinvestment more than a street peppered with empty, overgrown lots and abandoned houses. Not only do neighborhood residents get the message, but the larger community gets it as well. And once that happens, restoring community pride and engagement and convincing others to come in and invest becomes a much taller order.

We can disagree on what should be the priority for our city or the tactics used to fund those priorities but I seriously doubt that you don’t see the truth in the above statement. I truly understand that the city has other, pressing, needs. It is just “my” belief that this issue is the priority because, if not addressed, restoring community pride will be next to impossible to achieve and without it, what do you really have.

For the record, I have a lot of respect for acclaro’s opinion’s and have stated so. Yesterday, I felt that his response to my opinion crossed the “courtesy & respect” line and just wanted to remind him of such. Nothing more & nothing less.

GG

acclaro,

Are the Wofford comments directed toward me?

GG

Easy "head-fake." Personally, I would have chosen CoC, Citadel, or Presbyterian College.

http://youtu.be/IsXynepjTvc

Greygoose:

I think that if you go back through my posts you will not find even one instance where I spoke against removing blight.  Where that activity should rank on our city’s list of priorities is a whole other, lengthy discussion.

My gripe has been that, once AGAIN the same people who say that we are broke and that there is no money available (whether it be for streets, police, firefighters, sewers, or a large vat of hot tar and truckload of feathers) have sudden “found” a big wad of dough when it was needed for something that the “right” people want to do ... AGAIN!!!  That and the fact that, when it happened, NO ONE sitting behind the curvy counter even raised an eyebrow…AGAIN!!!

Perhaps you’ve noticed that I’ve used the phrase “tucked away in one of our other accounts” in quotes.  That is because it actually is an exact quote…of words spoken by the previous Finance Director a few years ago when a previous Council had backed themselves into a similar corner.  He proudly stated during a council meeting that he had just found $350,000 “tucked away in one of our other accounts” and no one in the room batted an eyelash.  (I was watching at home and nearly soiled my pants.)  If I recall correctly, he “found” it right after a tax levy that council was counting on had failed.

Greygoose:
I think that if you go back through my posts you will not find even one instance where I spoke against removing blight. Where that activity should rank on our city’s list of priorities is a whole other, lengthy discussion.
My gripe has been that, once AGAIN the same people who say that we are broke and that there is no money available (whether it be for streets, police, firefighters, sewers, or a large vat of hot tar and truckload of feathers) have sudden “found” a big wad of dough when it was needed for something that the “right” people want to do ...AGAIN!!! That and the fact that, when it happened, NO ONE sitting behind the curvy counter even raised an eyebrow…AGAIN!!!
Perhaps you’ve noticed that I’ve used the phrase “tucked away in one of our other accounts” in quotes. That is because it actually is an exact quote…of words spoken by the previous Finance Director a few years ago when a previous Council had backed themselves into a similar corner. He proudly stated during a council meeting that he had just found $350,000 “tucked away in one of our other accounts” and no one in the room batted an eyelash. (I was watching at home and nearly soiled my pants.) If I recall correctly, he “found” it right after a tax levy that council was counting on had failed.

MikeP,

I absolutely understand the point that you are making and do not dispute it. If you’ve read my recent posts, you will see that I was trying to support the “cause” but not the manner in which it was being supported (because I don’t). I am just trying to make sure that my viewpoint on the city’s leadership has a strong basis in fact. Keep throwing it out there…… your comments have more effect on me than you may think. Any statement that causes me to “ponder” my current opinion is a good thing and as I have stated before, my opinions continue to evolve because I am fairly new in this arena.


GG

Acclaro- Nice to here some one local hitting the books at Davidson. Sibling teaches there. I would encourage all to again contact your councilman and let them know that a vote is a vote. Beyond disappointed in this decision to "Vote again". What do you do with empty lots? What do you do with empty housing stock? Magic money!

GS, great school, your sibling is smart, Davidson is a tough school, 1000 kids that could have easily gone to Harvard or Yale.

Bill, your point is well made, but again the fallacy here is once again, the lack of recognition it is not a supply issue, and blight, it is a demand issue. But, I think I get your point. And that is removing only part of blight leaves significant more, that hinders interest, and therefore, market demand. In sum, we reach the same conclusion. Net sum gain----a resounding 0.

A startling oxymoron.

The worse offender in blight in the city of Middletown, is the city itself, Can it fine itself for its negligence, malfeasance, ineptitude? It is the cause of blight. Yet you GG argue property powners cause the problems. You haven't looked at the roads, the sewers, the curbs in disarray, and the terrible manner the city maintains its own assets.

That is what you continue to miss in your solution, and adoption landlords are the cause of blight. They are a minor problem.

The biggest culprit? The city itself. Lets try putting some asphalt down GG and cure the street blight, and work our way back to paint and a nail that needs to be reset on an apartment, how about it.

GG  You mentioned a while back that your thought process was evolving when it came to the leadership in this town that is the city manager. I thought you had also said you worked with several of the upper management people. My ? is what do you think of the leadership of our town. If you have reviewed this I apologize I have had other issues to attend to and have not been following much of these post.     Acclaro- I am being told the Mens B-Ball team is looking very good this year I hope they show again in the finals. I'll message you so your son may avoid my siblings classes very, very tough, only  joking. 

A startling oxymoron.

The worse offender in blight in the city of Middletown, is the city itself, Can it fine itself for its negligence, malfeasance, ineptitude? It is the cause of blight. Yet you GG argue property powners cause the problems. You haven't looked at the roads, the sewers, the curbs in disarray, and the terrible manner the city maintains its own assets.

That is what you continue to miss in your solution, and adoption landlords are the cause of blight. They are a minor problem.

The biggest culprit? The city itself. Lets try putting some asphalt down GG and cure the street blight, and work our way back to paint and a nail that needs to be reset on an apartment, how about it.

acclaro,

I would agree that the city is the single largest contributor to our blight problem. Does that invalidate my argument that landlords contribute heavily to the problem…. of course not. I will say, again, that I recognize the street and infrastructure problems. I would support street repair over demolition if the city was incentivized to do so. As it stands now, I feel that the bigger impact would be the removal of blight. For the record, I am not anti-landlord but the city must reduce its current percentage of rentals (currently 40%) as part of its strategy to get healthy. I am surprised to hear you state that rental properties are a minor blight problem….. we must be viewing different neighborhoods. Would you be OK with your next door neighbors renting their homes?

GG

GG thnx for your honest answer- taking a break from cleaning up storm damage on the iPhone so I just wanted to get back to you. At some point I'll message you and explain some dealings with this city manager that I have had.

In a letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, Portman said that the EPA has recently begun reinterpreting federal regulations to require nearly all demolition to be subject to rules on asbestos removal.

409
    I noticed that the City is paying between $400 - $800 per house for an asbestos survey.  I’m not sure why this would be needed in residential property since most products that contain asbestos are usually easily seen with nothing more than a walk around the property.
    It has been my experience that older commercial properties seem to have more asbestos products that a contractor would need to be concerned about.