All America City

Let's review.

A city that:

has crumbling streets and infrastructure
has a school system that is a bottom tier performer
has the highest taxes in Butler Cty
has a very limited job list paying decent wages with benefits
is tailored to low paying service job selections
has over twice the amount of Section 8 it is suppose to have
has put out the welcome mat for low income
is on the Forbes fastest dying city's list
has no econ dev plan to attract new business
is not business friendly and places many roadblocks to impede new business development
is revenue starved
has many empty lots where buildings once stood with no replacement buildings to follow
loans money to friends who have yet to show any of us any end results
is a hotbed for heroin use
has downsized the fire dept with an emphasis on reducing safety aspects for the people
has a poor, dysfunctional teacher/admin relationship within the district
has a very poor reputation/ image in relation to surrounding communities
caters to the few while ignoring the majority
has tried many projects that usually result in failure- IE Lake Middletown, Bicentennial Commons
has had many industries leave including corporate offices- some due to embarrassment in entertaining clients in town.
lacks a decent entertainment choice/dining choices
has an arts area that is in constant movement but never settled and is always in change offering a small percentage of the population any interest
has inept leadership capable of making unbelievable decisions and always going the wrong direction
conceals, at times, information from the general public with an exclusionary program centered on keeping people on the outside looking in
moves money around from fund to fund doing it's best to mask the money flow from the citizens
never listens to the people unless they are friends of the city
places incredibly inept people in key decision-making positions
uses non-logical methods to determine solutions to city issues.....

You tell me if Adkins has a candidate for All-American city status or not.

MJ:
Adkins: Goal is to make Middletown ‘All-America City’ by 2020

By Ed Richter
Staff Writer
MIDDLETOWN —
In 1958, an “awakened” citizen effort drew up a 14-point program for Middletown’s progress. That program addressed several issues that city leaders at the time acknowledged, including infrastructure, public safety and keeping schools up to date.

As work started on many of those fronts and problems were addressed, Middletown was designated an “All-America City” by Look magazine. City Manager Doug Adkins says it can happen again.

And his goal is to see Middletown achieve that “All America City” designation — again — by 2020, he told the Middletown Rotary Club during its meeting Tuesday.

After working as a city prosecutor and community revitalization director, Adkins said he’s seen and read many of the city’s master plans that have been developed between the 1950s and the 2000s.

Adkins, who was hired as city manager last summer, said he “found” his hook after learning what did and didn’t work as a result of those plans.

“The first step is to understand that Middletown can not and should not be the city it was in the 1950s,” he said. “The world has changed.”

“Word isn’t getting out about Middletown to the region and the community,” Adkins said as the reason he would be hiring a communications intern to get the word out via social media and other platforms. The use of an intern was also noted in the 1958 “All-America City” article.

As for a plan, Adkins reviewed the highlights of the 2015 initiatives and goals which includes focuses on public safety, the restructuring of the public safety departments, the need to be fiscally sustainable, leading the local fight against heroin use, develop housing, parks and recreation plans, and address quality of life issues. He also said every city department has specific, measurable goals and objectives with timelines to complete which will be posted to the city’s website.

“2015 will be a planning year,” Adkins said.

He also said the city has to work at attracting businesses and creating jobs. In 2015, Adkins said the economic development department would be revitalized along with infrastructure improvements, a 25-year paving program, working with various community partners, updating the 2005 master plan, and the city’s antiquated zoning code

“Business wants certainty,” Adkins said. “The end goal is to make it easier to do business with and in the city of Middletown.”