Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

Community Authority Needed

Here's what is working in Granville & New Albany - both areas have experienced high growth & have chosen to recognize it & manage it.

They have established ''Community Authorities'' - separate from City or Township Governments. Each are run a little differently based on the communities needs. BOTH are doing good for the Communities that they serve.

New Albany has (for the last 10 years) imposed a fee on new building. These mils go to the community authority. They have used these funds to build a Fire Station, a Library, a $2M Health & Wellness Center, Roads & Sewer projects & given $26M to their schools. It seems the needs of the new development are funded in part by the new development. People still build & buy homes in the New Albany community. This has not made the new housing less desirable. And it allows the community to ease some growing pains & grow equally on all fronts not just new housing.

Nope, wish I did

Dear Anonymous,

I wish I knew James Garner. He?’s pretty cool.

Compliments huh? OK, My police protection is good. My fire protection is very good. The conditions of the streets I travel in the City are mostly OK. Snow removal is OK, not the worst I?’ve seen. I have clean water every time I open a tap. My commodes appear to discharge normally. I appreciate the trees that are added occasionally. I think Olde Downtown looks better than it has in a while, although a bit cramped. I?’m glad they haven?’t entertained the lowering of the speed limit on 256 any more. Is that a good start?

My biggest problem with the City is the perception of underhandedness they don?’t try to correct and their blatant lack of interest in the citizens?’ voices. I am happy to pay taxes when I see quantifiable results. I am not sure what you mean by frustrated public policy wannabees, but I don?’t think I?’m that either. I can?’t speak for the compadres, as I don?’t see I have many on here.

I think there are some real positive suggestions made here occasionally. I just don?’t believe the right people are listening. I read in some of the older postings that the hosts of this website have asked for input from various elected officials but few have replied. I even read that other organizations with contrary views of this one have been asked to start their own websites so ideas could be shared and debated there, but that hasn?’t happened either. All we have left is what you see here and most of it is against the status quo.

Anonymous, can you offer some fruitful discourse and positive suggestions and real ideas?


By Maverick

Merger - no thanks

While I consider everyone in this area (the township, the city, the school district) to belong to the Community of Pickerington, I see no reason or advantage to merger between the township and city.

Currently, we're both served by the same fire dept. and having had a house fire, I'd say they are the best. I'm quite pleased with the service provided by the sheriff and have no desire to be served by a police force that let a drunk driver go free because he was a friend of the then mayor AND defended their actions as reasonable. My development and township roads are always well plowed. I get to choose my trash collection service and my water service (now county, previously well) is perfectly acceptable.

The only advantage I see to being a city resident is the ability to vote in city elections. However, until the good old boy network leaves town, even that seems fruitless. David Shaver is making strides but it'll be a long time before the tide turns from the current philosophy of doing favors for builders to doing what is right for the community. We need a land use plan with real commercial development. Giving away freebies for annexation, to gain the 1% income tax that doesn't pay for all the services, has got to stop. Commercial development that consists of moving dentists, gyms, ice cream places, etc., from one location in the city to another, doesn't count.

On the bright side, I did see something positive at the last council meeting - Mr. Mapes was wording ordinances more descriptively so that the need for passage as an emergency was better explained. I think that's a step in the right direction. I didn't care for Mr. Wright's chastisement of Mr. Shaver for asking a question that he (and I thought) was pertinent at the time he asked it. And why Mr. Fox thought he needed to defend the personal integrity of the city engineer, when no one attacked it, is beyond me. And then there's Mr. Parker who thought Mrs. Brobst (for weeks now?)was representing Laidlaw in her concern on an issue and criticized her for her methods only to learn that she was speaking as an independent citizen. Why these guys get so defensive is beyond me. This behavior would never survive in a business environment. I hope the initiative petitions make it to the ballot and then the council would hear one way or another whether voters are pleased with the current way of conducting city business.

And, please note that I would certainly speak out against township actions if I felt they were inappropriate. I for one applaud the township's CEDA with Canal Winchester as a step in the right direction. I only wish Pickerington would become part of this movement.

ANSWER

MAVERICK,
ONE REASON MORE PEOPLE DONT WRITE IN OR TAKE THIS SITE SERIOUS IS THAT A LOT OF THE PEOPLE DONT SIGN THEIR NAMES.IN REAL EDITORIORALS, IN THE PAPERS THEY WONT EVEN PUBLISH THEM UNLESS THEY ARE SIGNED AND HAVE A PHONE NUMBER AND ADDRESS. ALSO THIS SITE IS CENSORED, AND I HAVE A VERY GOOD EXAMPLE IF YOU ARE INTERESTED, I REALLY WISH PEOPLE WOULD SIGN THEIR NAMES, MAYBE THE WEBMASTER(BY THE WAY WHO IS THE WEBMASTER NOW HOW DO I FIND OUT DOES ANYBODY KNOW) MIGHT CONSIDER THIS SUGGESTION AND ONLY PRINT LETTERS FROM PEOPLE WHO SIGN THEIR NAMES----JUST A SUGGESTION.
THANKS
BRUCE ROOKSTOOL