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Bronston and Bohannon

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=6367
Printed Date: Mar 28 2024 at 6:18pm


Topic: Bronston and Bohannon
Posted By: middielover
Subject: Bronston and Bohannon
Date Posted: Sep 08 2016 at 6:56am
Bronston and Bohannon lack a spine.
They just blow in the wind.
They say one thing and do another.

If we loose Doug Adkins as city manager it is their fault.
Maybe they would like to bring back Gilligan.



Replies:
Posted By: middielover
Date Posted: Sep 08 2016 at 8:30am
Lived in Middletown my entire life. We finally get a city manager moving in the right direction and Bronston and Bohannon choke.


Posted By: Vivian Moon
Date Posted: Sep 08 2016 at 11:13am
I found this to be a very informative council meeting and would suggest that all MUSA members watch this meeting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmqOzr9osOo" rel="nofollow - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmqOzr9osOo



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Posted By: VietVet
Date Posted: Sep 08 2016 at 11:32am
Certainly don't want Gilleland back as city manager. She retired and moved on, spreading her town destruction now to Germantown before she is completely done working. She (and previous councils) are one of the main reasons Middletown is in the pathetic shape it is in today. She (they) are the ones who brought the city down to ghetto status and sucked the life right out of this town. Adkins seems to be attempting to change things for the better here (although he was part of the problem as "revitalization director" (HUD) in the past) He has an insurmountable task at hand I'm afraid. It will take him a long time to correct the Gilleland fiasco. It may be too late when considering all the damage that has been done here.

Council? What words can be used to describe this group of people.....rubber stampers? clowns? puppets controlled by the MMF/city strings? non-dissenters? yes people? worthless? ineffective? non-thinkers? money wasters? clueless? all of the above?

No, Bronston and Bohannon have a lot of company in Club Ineptness. Most of the time, the lights are on but no one is at home as one watches council operate. Seriously, have we had any independent thinkers or questions asked on council since Laubach left? (or was forced out)



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I'm so proud of my hometown and what it has become. Recall 'em all. Let's start over.


Posted By: swohio75
Date Posted: Sep 08 2016 at 1:06pm
Originally posted by middielover middielover wrote:

Lived in Middletown my entire life. We finally get a city manager moving in the right direction and Bronston and Bohannon choke.

Not trying to start an argument and maybe I missed something, but in what way(s) have they choked?

Never been a fan of Bronston. Being on council seems to be a very "social" thing for her, and she never seems to have anything enlightening to say. 


Posted By: over the hill
Date Posted: Sep 08 2016 at 5:30pm
I guess I missed something also.i thought the people of Middletown thought Adkins should fulfill his contract as written instead of holding councils feet to the fire for a change in the original contract. In my humble opinion I don't think he's going anywhere unless he wants to lose half the value of his home he bought here. He got a nice arrangement for moving expenses when he came here. So everyone should be happy, it passed at council. I thought Bohannon and Bronston showed some moxy going against the grain JMO



Posted By: middielover
Date Posted: Sep 09 2016 at 7:03am
B and B say one thing privately and do a 180 in public.
Weak, weak leaders.


Posted By: Douglas Adkins
Date Posted: Sep 09 2016 at 8:13am
I'm not going to get into the details of our discussion, but my contract was for two years and now was the correct time to discuss my salary.


Posted By: VietVet
Date Posted: Sep 09 2016 at 9:06am
The problem, overwhelming negative comments and upheaval with the 25 grand salary increase in just two years as a city manager is a result of seeing private and public sector managers receiving high percentage increases while the worker bees in each sector receive 1-2% on a salary that is 25% of what a typical manager makes resulting in thousands more for the manager versus ten bucks a week for the worker. Helps the manager a lot while not having much of an effect on the worker's budget at all. Perhaps a half a tank of gas per week at best. Do you realize how long it would take one of us to earn the percentage raise that your 25 grand will provide you? Some won't experience that much in a lifetime of work. The likelihood of someone making 40 grand now and going to 65 grand in their entire working career is little to none. You are receiving it in one raise. Hard to accept for most.

Couple that with occasional news where a company downsizes and cuts worker bees and gives them 10 grand as a separation package while giving golden parachutes to executives in the millions to leave. Kinda leaves a bad taste toward the inequities seen.

For many years now, there has been such a huge disparity in separation packages that most workers can't comprehend why so much is given to some while so little is given to others within the same company or public sector organization. Some managers (CEO's) have screwed up a company and lost money for the company, are asked to leave and rewarded in the millions to do so. Rewards for failure. Worker bees aren't rewarded for failure, they are fired with no package and start from ground zero again.

Bob McDonald, the current VA Director was the CEO of P&G. He made some bad decisions and under his guidance the stocks were stagnant. He was "asked to leave" by P&G and replaced. He was rewarded with another high salary position in Obama's administration at the VA. Why was he rewarded after failing?

Seeing all of these events transpire only cements the animosity toward the idea of rewarding high level executives (city managers, school superintendents, CEO's etc.) for the general working public. Why is a superintendent rewarded for getting a levy passed and building new school complexes but is not penalized for failing to raise the academic rankings within a school district? Perhaps we should ask Ison and the school board that question.

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I'm so proud of my hometown and what it has become. Recall 'em all. Let's start over.


Posted By: Douglas Adkins
Date Posted: Sep 09 2016 at 9:31am
I hope that as we move forward and you see progress that you come to believe the money was well spent. Vivian was right. You should watch Tuesday's council meeting if you haven't. I gave a preview of the 2017 budget. It's going to take years of doing the right thing every day to dig back out of the hole we are in.

In 2017 we're restoring the animal control officer, opening the Health Dept back up to the public all day, five days a week, and we have scheduled over $12 million in capital projects including local street paving. We're projecting the highest income tax revenues in the last 25 years.

We're only 5-10% of where we need to be eventually, but I really feel as though we are heading in the right direction for long term sustainable success as a city. I told Council that I thought we could turn the city in the right direction in five years. Not two years, but five years. I think that goal is aggressive but achievable.

A lot of the first two years was laying groundwork to be more successful. You don't become business friendly and ready to do business with the private sector on Tuesday. It takes changes in staff and changes in policy and then execution over time to change opinions inside city hall, then in the public, and eventually in the region. We have years of hard work ahead.


Posted By: VietVet
Date Posted: Sep 09 2016 at 9:55am
Your post is very interesting to me. Some of us regulars here have been posting our thoughts for years concerning the very thing you are suggesting here......ie, that the city was being run incorrectly, with many mistakes and incompetent decisions being made from time to time. Some, like Vivian and Mike Presta, presented supporting data to re-enforce those thoughts.

Along the way, we were crucified by some who always took the city stance. no matter how much information was provided to support our postion. We did battle with many who sang the city doctrine, which, according to your post, you suggest that doctrine may have not been correct.

Your comment about replacing people and your plan to operate in a different manner now, with the goal of turning the city around in 5 years, suggests that, perhaps, we here on MUSA weren't the "negative, never satisfied" old farts that the city supporters called us but rather quite concerned and cared about the city very much while offering another perspective.

We may disagree on many subjects and you are guaranteed to hear some adverse comments about council and other aspects of the city, but we all want the city to be a better place. We may just disagree on how to achieve that goal at times.

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I'm so proud of my hometown and what it has become. Recall 'em all. Let's start over.


Posted By: over the hill
Date Posted: Sep 09 2016 at 10:04am
"Years of hard work ahead" So what is wrong with salary commencing and moving in the direction of the success as it comes? I'm inclined to agree with VV on the effect and morale of the "worker bees" . This is a raise not characteristic with "small town USA". We're not a fortune 500 company. I see too many of the younger generation saying I want it all and I want it now. Sometimes you have to earn it first. Adkins has shown great improvement so far. JMO


Posted By: Analytical
Date Posted: Sep 09 2016 at 10:42am
We can only hope that the next five years under Mr. Adkins will not see a continuation of the waste and lack of housing plus commercial betterment of the past 7.5 years of the Gilleland-Adkins team.  How many hours of staff time and consultant fees were expended on the unsuccessful confrontation with HUD over Section 8?  Other than massive residential demolition, it appears that the former Ward 2 and adjoining areas have gotten worse.  How come the promises of reutilizing former Thatcher properties for C-State and Mr. Robinette have not panned out for the most part?  Will there be future debacles such as the waste of NSP funds on extravagant money losing purchase-rehab-resale housing gambits?  Now that Mr. Adkins has garnered $25,000 to his annual salary, it is high time for programs and projects to make sense from a cost/benefit consideration.


Posted By: VietVet
Date Posted: Sep 09 2016 at 10:45am
Originally posted by Douglas Adkins Douglas Adkins wrote:

I'm not going to get into the details of our discussion, but my contract was for two years and now was the correct time to discuss my salary.


And this statement allows me to make another comparison between the way the public sector works and the private sector.

In the private sector, you are given a performance appraisal every year and it differs when it is given based on the company operation. The performance appraisal, and any subsequent raise, is given based on your contributions in the PAST YEAR.....ie., what did you do in the past.

Your situation reveals a request and discussion among council to consider a salary increase based on WHAT YOU WILL DO IN THE FUTURE, which means you are getting paid more for what you may/may not eventually do to earn that money. It is the way unions negotiate three years into the future in determining the salary increases. This, to me, kills the incentive to produce if the money is already in the wallet. The old "why should I try to achieve a goal if I am already being paid as having achieved it already" thinking. What happens if you don't meet the goals set for you by council? Do they take the money back?

OF COURSE NOT. Monetary contracts, like in professional sports, and in your case, should NOT be made in advance of having achieved the goals agreed upon at negotiation time. It could set up a scenario of being counter-productive for some. No initiative for some. No effort no reward, but wait, in this case, the reward has already been given sight unseen as to results.

IMO, there is no correct time to discuss any salary for future work produced. You earn the additional salary on work that has already been done. That makes sense to me.

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I'm so proud of my hometown and what it has become. Recall 'em all. Let's start over.


Posted By: Douglas Adkins
Date Posted: Sep 09 2016 at 10:56am
How long do we want to be small town USA?

I'll offer two thoughts. First, the comparable salary range for cities of about this size is $180-220,000 per year. We are still far behind that. I thoroughly like living here, but in the private market, that you all aspire to, I can give myself a large raise by simply moving to another community. I don't want to do that and I asked Council to start moving me up more quickly towards a more competitive salary. It was my ask, not Council's generous offer.

Second, I'd call this a turnaround situation. If you are running an affluent community with newer infrastructure and plenty of money for capital, quality of life and public safety services, then this is a much easier job day to day. That isn't us. We're trying to design, in effect, a profitable government that can turn around decades of deferred maintenance while limiting increases in taxes, fees and other costs to our citizens in the process. Not an easy task. In the private market, you would normally pay a premium for a turnaround, not a discount.

We are where we are. I got the keys to the City two years ago in the condition it was in at the time. I'm trying to build you a city that is sustainable long after I retire. It's going to require changing decades of doing it the same way and rethinking everything.

I have my business degree, my law degree, 15 years of operations management in the private sector before I went to law school, and have been a former City Council member and Vice Mayor of a city. I've worked hard for what I have and I will never apologize for being successful or for utilizing the opportunities that were placed in front of me. I have been blessed with a lot of opportunities in my life. Not everyone has been so lucky.


Posted By: spiderjohn
Date Posted: Sep 09 2016 at 11:01am
agree with middielover
disappointed and somewhat surprised
Picard should go

not an issue with the paycheck
if we get better as planned, well worth it + after the past 20+ years efforts
hope that a few of you meet with Mr.A--I expect most to feel better about him and direction
will it play out?--I don't know--I hope a lot of it does
schools are still a major anchor, and that improvement process is "moving" much too slow imo

haven't watched the meeting--probably won't

i wish that the admin was as aggressive with heroin as they are with medical marijuana, though all drugs are less than helpful---staying away from all of them is the best advice--alcohol and tobacco included--make middletown the last place where junkies want to be

just make us whole as a community instead of fragmented into special interest groups and areas--spread it around
new local faces are making things work slowly---that is the answer--all city has to do is keep out of their way

keep it going Mr.A--thick skin--always listen and be inclusive --people aren't out to get you, they just want change for the better

the MUSA followers are some of the most caring, consistent community activists that I know


Posted By: Analytical
Date Posted: Sep 09 2016 at 11:07am
So Mr. Adkins, what can you tell us about your five-house new housing project?  Where are the building sites located and are they currently city or privately-owned.  What is the price range of these homes?  In addition to your downpayment and closing cost assistance subsidies, will other city funds be required to address almost certain appraisal gaps?  In other words, what additional city subsidies will be required?  Have you already selected a home builder or will your staff solicit requests from contractors?  How do you propose to market these five properties?  Will local REALTORS be invited to list these properties?  How will you select prospective buyers?  What are the local mortgage lenders to provide permanent financing?  These are questions that any reasonable, informed City Council would want to know before approving such a project.


Posted By: swohio75
Date Posted: Sep 09 2016 at 1:42pm
Analytical = Nelson Self-(interest) - don't both engaging with this troll. 


Posted By: Douglas Adkins
Date Posted: Sep 09 2016 at 2:55pm
I don't mind answering. I'm not terribly adept at changing the fonts to make it easier to read, so be patient with how the responses get formatted.

Where are the building sites located and are they currently city or privately-owned.

None have been identified. Any new construction site could qualify that meets zoning regulations. If it happened to be a city lot, we normally sell vacant residential lots for $500 each.

What is the price range of these homes?
To be determined by the market and the builder.

In addition to your downpayment and closing cost assistance subsidies, will other city funds be required to address almost certain appraisal gaps? In other words, what additional city subsidies will be required?
This is a stand alone program. No other subsidies are contemplated.

Have you already selected a home builder or will your staff solicit requests from contractors?
Home builders can contact us to utilize the program. A development agreement will be drafted that will require the builder to return the waived fees back to the end homeowner either in a reduced cost for the home or additional amenities for the same costs.

How do you propose to market these five properties?
We are not marketing anything. The builder is responsible for selling their new construction homes in whatever manner they normally utilize to market their services.

Will local REALTORS be invited to list these properties? N/A. Not our properties. The City will not be involved.

How will you select prospective buyers? N/A. Not our buyers. The city will not be involved.

What are the local mortgage lenders to provide permanent financing? N/A. Not our business deal. The city will not be involved.

These are questions that any reasonable, informed City Council would want to know before approving such a project.


Posted By: Douglas Adkins
Date Posted: Sep 09 2016 at 3:01pm
It's always challenging to read context into written statements. I want to clarify what I meant in my earlier statement. I asked City Council for the raise I got. I was and am grateful that the majority agreed. My intention in the earlier post was to put the blame for the amount of my raise, if any needs to be distributed, on me and not on City Council. The majority was kind enough to approve my request.

If you are mad about this one, blame me and not them.


Posted By: Analytical
Date Posted: Sep 09 2016 at 5:19pm
I have two further questions that I'd like for you to address.  First, do you still plan to waive normal city sewer/water tap and building permit fees for the five dwellings constructed by participating home builders?  Second, since residential property values in the city continue to be seriously impacted, and given prevailing likely single-family housing costs, do you not foresee appraisal gap issues for the proposed construction?  It will be interesting to see how this venture unfolds.


Posted By: Analytical
Date Posted: Sep 09 2016 at 5:28pm
swohio75 or Marty Kohler or Sam Ashworth or whomever................my identity is secondary to the community revitalization accomplishments of the past 7.5 years insofar as Mr. Adkins is concerned.  In any performance evaluation scenario, what matters most is the success or lack thereof regarding said city-funded activities.  There's a treasure trove of documented information on this blog that underscores my point.  In too many cases federal and other funds were squandered, projects still as yet incomplete or not started, the Section 8 fiasco, Thatcher estate properties, etc., etc.




Posted By: Analytical
Date Posted: Sep 09 2016 at 6:01pm
We should all be grateful to Vivian Moon for her relentless quest in obtaining financial and other city data that exposes the waste of funds and multiple missed opportunities to better Middletown.  You are an unsung heroine.


Posted By: Vivian Moon
Date Posted: Sep 09 2016 at 8:13pm

Updated: 4:48 p.m. Friday, Sept. 9, 2016 | Posted: 4:48 p.m. Friday, Sept. 9, 2016

GOVERNMENT SPENDING MIDDLETOWN

2 Middletown council members explain vote against $25,000 raise

City manager Adkins gets support from all members, but two said increase was too much at one time.

By Mike Rutledge

Staff Writer

 

MIDDLETOWN 

http://www.journal-news.com/news/news/middletown-city-manager-getting-25000-raise/nsDpb/" rel="nofollow -  from Middletown City Council on Tuesday, but two of Adkins’ five bosses believed the raise was too large, given he has been a city manager only two years.

The 20-percent pay increase, to $150,000 from $125,000, is to be followed by raises of $5,000 each of the next three Julys, unless his employment agreement is terminated. During the term of its agreement, the city also will pay an amount equal to 2 percent of Adkins’ base salary into the Ohio Public Employees Deferred Compensation Program.

Vice Mayor Dora Bronston and Councilman Steve Bohannon said they are pleased with Adkins’ performance in his first two years — Bohannon took office this year — but they voted against the $25,000 raise. Mayor Larry Mulligan Jr. and council members Dan Picard and Talbott Moon voted for the increase.

“We feel he’s doing a fantastic job,” Bohannon said. “We love Doug; we think he’s the best thing that’s happened in Middletown. This strictly came down to a dollars-and-cents thing for us.”

Adkins declined to comment.

Bohannon said he heard from 27 people about Adkins’ proposed raise: 23 of them were against, four favored it.

Bronston, who has worked as a purchasing agent, said she didn’t feel the council had enough time to evaluate Adkins before the decision was made on the raise.

“When I negotiate, there’s time. You get the facts, you get the figures, you look at the requirements. Does he do his job? Yes, he’s doing his job, according to the charter,” Bronston said. “Is his job so extra-exceptional after two years to warrant $25,000…? No, it’s not.”

Both Bronston and Bohannon said they were willing to pay Adkins the same additional $40,000 in raises he is to receive over the next four years — but more gradually, with more of the raises toward the end of that period.

Bohannon and Bronston declined to discuss publicly the amounts they would have been agreeable to paying year by year.

Before Tuesday’s vote, Mulligan said, “I’d just like to commend Mr. Adkins on the work he’s done. I appreciate his dedication to the city and certainly wish him well as we move forward.”

“We don’t want to lose Doug, but this is a business,” Bohannon said. “And in business, you lose people. We are the boss, we are the one that sets the rules for Doug and a couple other people….. Once we got feedback from the citizens of Middletown, I came up with another scenario.”

Bohannon said when he looked at pay of city managers between Cincinnati and Dayton, including both those cities, the average pay was about $157,000, including the pay rates in Cincinnati and Dayton.

“Mr. Adkins wanted to feel he was part of the middle of the crowd,” Bohannon said. “That’s I think where the $25,000 came in because that put him right in that pack where he wanted to be.”

Bronston said quality of life, city finances and Middletown’s downtown are improving, but that’s partly because of a better economy and the work of a variety of people.

“I still want to be a good steward for the money,” Bronston said. “With a person who’s worked here for two years’ experience as a city manager — and I know he wants to be comparable to the other city managers, salary-wise — but in comparison, he has two years’ experience, and you can’t compare that to someone with seven years, 10 years, five years.”

 



Posted By: Analytical
Date Posted: Sep 10 2016 at 10:17am
Community Revitalization Memories for swohio75........

Five or six years ago the city received a special allocation of $160,000+ in CDBG funds via Obama's so-called Stimulus Fund.  Mr. Adkins decided the best use of this money was to pave alleys next to Vivian Moon's and Jim Armbruster's mothers houses.  He also saw the high priority need to add a few items to the S. Main Street Park which is so close to the homes of Larry Mulligan and Marty Kohler.

swohio75, please justify this total waste of HUD funds?  Call me a troll all that you want.  My only goal has been for the city to have efficient, real world prioritized and cost effective governance.  Maybe yours is the continuance of the status quo?  Miss Vivian, you might elaborate on this.


Posted By: Analytical
Date Posted: Sep 10 2016 at 4:47pm
Community Revitalization Memories (Part 2) for swohio75...................

About seven years ago the City received $2.1 million in HUD Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds.  This endeavor was principally to address the negative consequences of home foreclosures in neighborhoods.  My proposal, as reviewed and endorsed by several local mortgage  bankers and REALTORS, called for:  1) down payment/closing cost assistance for the purchasers of 80 foreclosed homes ($400,000); 2) rehabilitation and code compliance gap funding for 80 buyers of foreclosed homes ($1,200,000); 3) funding to demolish 40 homes ($300,000); 4) administrative funding ($210,000).

Instead, city staff wasted money as I was being forced out by hiring a consultant to prepare a different plan.  This one called for only 20 housing projects, significantly more subsidy to cover the cost of rehabilitation, down payment/closing cost assistance, a quantum leap in the number of residential demolitions and program administration.  By the end of the program, only 10 or 11 foreclosed homes were purchased/rehabbed and rehabbed.  AS MUCH AS $75,000 was lost on one of these projects.  In several other instances $25,000 to $50,000 was squandered.  And, many more than 40 homes were demolished.  The frosting on the cake was the use of these funds to acquire properties in the 1300 block of Central Avenue.  Then, more funds were spent demolishing buildings thereon.

The above described Central Avenue activity plus the former woodworking shop on Vail were part of a major subsidy given to Mr. Robinette for $1.00 to develop his distillery project.  What a sweet, sweet deal for him?

How's this for getting a 'bang for your buck" swohio75?  I think no!


Posted By: Analytical
Date Posted: Sep 10 2016 at 8:03pm
My plan DID NOT call for the city to purchase foreclosed homes, next rehabilitate them and finally sell the upgraded dwellings to bankable homeowners.  Instead, it specified that purchasers would utilize FHA 203k or similar residential mortgage products to directly assist the purchasers in the buy/rehab process.  Mr. Adkins decision added significantly to the administrative process and costs.  And, instead of remedying 80 foreclosed homes, it only produced 10 or 11.  His decision to divert several hundred thousand dollars to acquire and demolish commercial properties in the 1300 block of Central Avenue eventually contributed mightily to the FINANCIAL WINDFALL for Mr. Robinette's distillery project.  Lastly, the leveling of so many dwellings in what was Ward 2 has left an indelible mark on the landscape.  What has been his record in constructing new or substantially rehabilitating existing properties there.  Note:  I am not talking about minimal exterior painting, etc. that's undertaken by non-profit groups. 


Posted By: middielover
Date Posted: Sep 11 2016 at 7:48am
So Bohannon gets 27 calls. 23 are calls from people who are against the raise for Akins. Bohannon uses call's as rational to vote no on Adkin''s raise.

So basically we do not need Bohannon on Council. We replace him with Survey Monkey on each vote taken by Council.

What an idiot!


Posted By: middielover
Date Posted: Sep 11 2016 at 7:50am
I need 23 volunteers to call Bohannon each time we want him to vote a certain way.


Posted By: Analytical
Date Posted: Sep 11 2016 at 9:10am
MiddieLover, et. al. ..............................................

Poorly conceived and financially extravagant Community Revitalization activities undertaken over the past 7.5 years has contributed mightily to the decline/stagnation in Middletown.  Oh, to only have those millions of dollars back and to have had competent city administrators to analyze prominent problems, develop and implement productive and cost-efficient remedies, which resulted in stabilizing an embattled housing market and substandard image throughout S.W. Ohio.  There's so much that's gone on behind the scenes that the electorate is unaware of. 


Posted By: over the hill
Date Posted: Sep 11 2016 at 5:12pm
I really can't see any reason to call one of our council members an idiot just because they may have a different view on things.. JMO


Posted By: middielover
Date Posted: Sep 12 2016 at 7:13am
Calling him an idiot because he rationalize or justifies his vote based on 23 phone calls.

We have something like 50,000 people in our town and he bases his vote on 23 people.

Like I said, he is an idiot.


Posted By: Douglas Adkins
Date Posted: Sep 12 2016 at 8:01am
Nelson,

I've never understood your vitriol towards me. I only met you once or twice and I had nothing to do with your separation from the city. The people who did are long gone.

At some point you will have to make peace with the fact that Council and Admin had different policy views than you did. We spent the NSP money exactly as HUD showed us in training on how they wanted the money spent. They've audited the program year after year without a finding of questionable spending or violation of the regulations.

I do agree that the program wasn't terribly productive for Middletown. I think we had too much Section 8 and too many not well maintained properties in many of those neighborhoods that kept the program from working well here.

I sincerely hope that you find peace and let this go. It was years ago that all of this took place. Enjoy your life and move on.


Posted By: over the hill
Date Posted: Sep 12 2016 at 8:02am
Well, I guess you better get busy because you have a tuff job a head of you trying to pole every American in the USA before you vote in Nov. Good luck with that.


Posted By: middielover
Date Posted: Sep 12 2016 at 8:17am
Over the hill

Tell that to your friend Bohannon.

Are you one of the several slum lords that funded Bohannon's campaign?


Posted By: over the hill
Date Posted: Sep 12 2016 at 9:05am
Wow sounds like the landlords have a large and effective voting block


Posted By: VietVet
Date Posted: Sep 12 2016 at 10:20am
I won't speak for Nelson and his thoughts on the city separation. He has made his feelings known about how he was treated.

I will respond to this statement from Mr. Adkins......

"I sincerely hope that you find peace and let this go. It was years ago that all of this took place. Enjoy your life and move on"

Mr. Adkins, sometimes that is easier said than done. I know exactly how Nelson feels concerning the feelings of being wronged by people. I was downsized in 1994 by P&G. They gave no reason for the separation. I had been there 10 years, went to work everyday, did what they asked of me. Some companies have their favorites and most companies expect you to play to game even though the employee thinks the game is phony, political, sucking up and a joke. Some must compromise their principles if they don't fit in to stay employed with that company. I was in a wheel chair with a torn achilles tendon at the time I went to the Director's office to receive my separation package. They even let me decide a time to choose to separate. That was in 1994 and it still leaves a bitterness toward P&G to this day as I was never given a reason but I suspect it was incompatibility on their part to accept me. In 1999, I was downsized a second time at General Cable after only 8 months there. Happened to be the low man in seniority and they got rid of 340 that day due to a money savings move to lessen the blow of poor sales for the quarter as the CEO overpriced some products and they sat in trailers (Romex wire) and stockpiled. Not our fault the CEO screwed up but he remained and we all paid the price for his incompetence. Downsized a third time at Black Clawson's tech center when they closed it down due to inactivity and when they moved out of Middletown and to Mason-Montgomery Rd for a more professional image. That was in 2002. I go into detail on my downsizings to illustrate that I feel I was wronged in a number of ways and still hold some bitter feelings toward my former employers. I will venture to guess that Nelson can identify with me on the topic of resentment toward people who have wronged us. The undertow of bitterness may leave on the surface most of the time but it is easily revived when certain topics show up.

Bottom line for me......it is not as easy as "finding peace and letting it go". Even though it will never happen, you still feel like getting revenge on those who have done you wrong. Human nature to defend oneself from injustice I guess. None of these episodes did anything to heal my distrust in authority figures. I just don't trust the people at the top. I guess I never did.

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I'm so proud of my hometown and what it has become. Recall 'em all. Let's start over.


Posted By: Analytical
Date Posted: Sep 12 2016 at 10:46am
Thank you, VietVet.  I continue to keep you, your dear wife and son in my thoughts and prayers.

I remain a staunch advocate of well-planned, cost-effective community revitalization activities in Middletown and elsewhere.  The people of the city deserve so much more than promises and multiple master plans.  The next few years will tell the story of community advancement, stagnation or decline.

Other than eight years when I was a home builder, I've witnessed so much waste and lost opportunities involving HUD funds over a 30+ year timespan.  Having worked/administered programs in Rhode Island, Michigan, Connecticut, Oklahoma and Arkansas, I've seen it all.  Throughout my career I always endeavored to be a good, productive steward of the people's tax dollars.  The people of Middletown deserve the best and so does your family.


Posted By: Vivian Moon
Date Posted: Sep 12 2016 at 11:37am

Middielover

I believe we should be able to disagree and discuss important issues without personal insults and name calling.
Voters have a right to call or email council members and express their concerns and or views on any issue to be voted on by City Council. In fact I believe that voters should stand up more often and express their views.

It seems that you have forgotten that what the city manager places before council members for a vote today may take five, ten or even fifteen years before we see the full effect of their action or inaction.

Drive around Middletown today and you will see the results of their votes and leadership over the past 30 years. How’s that been working out for us?

Take a look at the numbers, debt load, credit rating, rainy day fund, police, fire and major improvement that will be needed within the next five years. Yep, we are in a big black hole. And again I ask…Where did all the tax money go?

City Hall and the Board of Education need to find a much better plan to solve these important issues in the near future. 






Posted By: middielover
Date Posted: Sep 12 2016 at 7:52pm
Vivian

So you agree that if 27 people call a member of Council about an issue the Council member should vote based on the results of 27 calls?


Posted By: spiderjohn
Date Posted: Sep 13 2016 at 10:42am
Hey analytical---were you around for any of the Duncan Oil dealings?


Posted By: Analytical
Date Posted: Sep 13 2016 at 11:52am
No.  And, I'm glad that I wasn't a part of yet another city money-losing gambit.


Posted By: Analytical
Date Posted: Sep 13 2016 at 11:24pm
 I've always respected former President Harry S. Truman as he frequently would say, "the buck stops here."  He was always accountable for his actions.


Posted By: middielover
Date Posted: Sep 14 2016 at 6:24am
Truman also said, "Whenever you have an efficient government you have a dictatorship."


Posted By: Analytical
Date Posted: Sep 14 2016 at 8:00am
HUD made him do it???  Baloney!!!


Posted By: over the hill
Date Posted: Sep 14 2016 at 10:09am
With all the money formerly being siphoned to the downtown area has anyone actually connected the dots as to how that keeps happening. The arrows seem to point to our illustrious mayor as the common denominator. When he is replaced maybe the rest of the city may stand a change for moving forward. JMO


Posted By: VietVet
Date Posted: Sep 14 2016 at 10:43am
Originally posted by over the hill over the hill wrote:

With all the money formerly being siphoned to the downtown area has anyone actually connected the dots as to how that keeps happening. The arrows seem to point to our illustrious mayor as the common denominator. When he is replaced maybe the rest of the city may stand a change for moving forward. JMO


Ya know, I don't know if we will ever get rid of Mulligan. He has enough of a supporting voting block with the MMF sponsorship (he's on their board of directors) each time he runs for re-election and wins, and I don't see him gone, unfortunately, particularly when you factor in that most who would vote against the man either don't care enough to register to vote or stay home on election day. Like a fly at the picnic, he just keeps hanging around pestering people in this city supporting his town destroying plans and protecting his home turf on S Main St. What is so incredible to me is that he is a product of the 60's good times and the man has lived here and has seen what I have seen and we couldn't be any further apart on how we both view this city. How in the hell can two people live in the same town, during the same years and have such drastically different viewpoints as to it's future? He seems to be an egotist and a control freak to the lengths he has gone to protect his little world while helping bring the city to it's knees. Shameful IMO.

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I'm so proud of my hometown and what it has become. Recall 'em all. Let's start over.


Posted By: over the hill
Date Posted: Sep 14 2016 at 1:39pm
Well I guess if people have had enough they may realize what needs to be none. Get off your Duff and vote your Conscience. Mulligan has been setting in that seat all through the Gilland years and singing her praises the whole time. She was their puppet and they liked it that way. Time to make the change. JMO


Posted By: middielover
Date Posted: Sep 15 2016 at 7:55pm
One of the newest additions Bohannon should be a one termer.

We need people on. Council able to think for themselves.


Posted By: middielover
Date Posted: Sep 26 2016 at 7:35pm
Heard Bohannon owns run down rental property.
Anyone know the company name he uses for his rentals?
I would like to check them out.


Posted By: Vivian Moon
Date Posted: Sep 27 2016 at 5:24pm
middielover
Did you do a search under his surname?
I don't think he owns any run down rental property. He does however own rental property..
Or better yet give him a call and ask for addresses.


Posted By: over the hill
Date Posted: Sep 28 2016 at 1:56pm
Sounds like Middielover needs to cut back on the caffeine


Posted By: middielover
Date Posted: Sep 30 2016 at 2:00am
Sounds like over the hill could be one of our section 8 slum lords.



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