June 1 meeting

Why do I think City Council choice was a poor one? Now, I don’t know Mr. Allen…I’ve never met the gentleman. But please recall a few of Mr. Allen’s answers/comments:

Mr. Allen: “Beautification of the area and making people happy” is a higher priority than police and fire.

WHAT??? I am sorry, sir, but public safety and infrastructure are the two VERY FIRST priorities of municipal government, and absolutely far and above either “beautification” or “making people happy”!!! The People’s right to pursue happiness is often severely impeded by the government’s confiscation of the People’s money to pursue what only a few see as beautiful!!!

Mr. Allen: “Make sure that non-profits and foundations are driving the community”?

Sorry, Mr. Allen (and City Council), but it should be exactly the other way around!!! The non-profits and foundations should be driven by those members of the community that support them financially. Unfortunately, in many cases here in Middletown, they are not.  Certain groups here in town just see them as another source of funds to finance the wants of a very few.

Mr. Allen spoke of “developing an increasing passion for being on council SINCE IT WAS FIRST PRESENTED TO ME.”!!!

Hmmm…so, no one was “recruited”, eh???

For those three answers alone, it appears obvious to me that Mr. Allen was a poor choice for any council seat, especially the First Ward seat. (The First Ward includes some of the very poorest areas of our city. Does Mr. Allen, or even the other six council members even realize this???)

A few other items worthy of note:

Mr. Picard: Land downtown vs. land on east end: not apples to apples; same amount of land is not equal to the same amount of money. One may be worth 200 jobs while the other may not. Land downtown cannot be given away, while land near I-75 is still valuable (or at least it would be, if Kohler would stop trying to force his personal preferences on that land)! In his reply, Mr. Allen failed to address ROI (Return on Investment) and how long the “payback” would take.

Good follow-up by A.J. to Mr. Allen re: priorities of city government.

I said that I would “comment further” on this, and here it is:

I’ve pondered this situation a lot, and tried to look at it from every viewpoint that I can imagine. I have been of two minds on my response from the start, and continue to be of two minds on the matter.

Can I put myself in Mr. Walkin’s situation? I’m not sure, but I certainly believe that I can. On the other hand, how sure can he be that he can put himself into mine, when sometimes I, myself, am unsure of my own situation? For those reasons, I have decided not to “engage” him in an adversarial manner, but I will try to address the points that he has raised. I will try my best to do this without being confrontational. This is not because I fear confrontation--I think that those of you who have come to know me realize that I do not--but because not only do I really believe that I can understand his position, but also I believe that there is nothing to be gained from he and I engaging in some sort of open warfare when we both appear to have the same goals in mind and be like-minded in much of our thinking.

Am I “to blame” if or when I do not study the semi-monthly city council workbook for errors, omissions, or possible attempts to “slip one (or more) over” on the public? I think not! I do admit that I try my best to do this, and I realize that there may even be some individuals who have come to depend it. However, it is the responsibility of every good citizen to stay to as fully informed of civic affairs as possible. I even realize that I have more time for such things than most, but there are still occasions when I do have priorities that prevent me from doing so, just as others do. My attempts to be of help do NOT, at least in my view, make it my job. There are times when I just cannot perform this review in the timeframe allowed, especially on occasions such as the Friday before Memorial day, when the workbook was NOT put on-line as soon as is the norm. I know it was not--I checked for it several times that Friday, since I knew I had some other plans and I also was (and still am) having cable problems. I can't really say when the workbook hit the city's website, but I am fairly certain that it was AFTER Friday.

As far as my not having applied for the vacant First Ward council seat, well, we can play “should’ve, could’ve, would’ve…” all year:

It should’ve only been for seven months instead of a year and seven months…

If we could’ve had a “real” legal opinion or two…

If they would’ve let us know sooner that Gary Barge had withdrawn…

Well, it isn’t, and we couldn’t, and they didn’t…and it’s too late now unless we sue the b*st*rds, but who has the money to do that? (Especially when they’d probably just use our money to pay the new councilman’s law firm to represent the City and drive us even farther towards bankruptcy!) Besides, I’ve already admitted I made a mistake, so somebody shoot me, if it will make you feel better. (But then I will NEVER be able to go over the workbook!!!)

[For ease in typing, I have intended the masculine to include both genders throughout the above discourse. Suffice it to say that I mean no disrespect to any of the ladies (or to females who may not be ladies) who may read it. I do NOT claim an advanced degree in journalism, or in English composition, nor any special expertise in spelling or in political correctness.]