ANYBODY WANT TO BUY AN HISTORIC BUILDING?

No this is not a crack at the Mayor. I think it is a great idea that the city wants to unload these properties that cannot be used.

I do hope that restrictions are placed on the sale so the buildings will keep their integrity under new ownership.

Any thoughts?

POLICE CARS AND THE "TAKE HOME" POLICY

Councilman Price took a lot of heat about his decision to table the ordinance concerning the appropriation of funds to purchase new police cars.



I must agree with him on this one. If some of the police officers did not drive their squad cars out of New Albany the cars might last longer. I understand the reasoning about having the cars in plain sight at all times and having their equipment handy in case of emergency. But if an officer lives outside of New Albany, much less Floyd County, it makes no sense to take the car home since the officer will be out of his/her jurisdiction.



I was told by a retired fire official that several years ago it was mandatory that an applicant be a New Albany resident to be hired by the New Albany Police or Fire Department. While that policy might not be practical today, it would make sense for this rule to apply to take home cars.

COUNCIL MEETING 5/4/09

I must apologize for missing last night's council meeting. I had minor surgery last Thursday and was not up to going. This is especially true since I returned to work this morning, at 6:00AM no less.

So if anyone wants to report, please feel free to do so.

thanks,

Shirley

"LET'S PAVE SOME ROADS"

Tonight's street paving work session was interesting to say the least. The attendees were ( in no particular order) Dan Coffey, Kevin Zurschmeide, Bob Caesar, Carl Malysz and John Rosenbarger. With Daniel Suddeath from the Tribune and Randy Smith and myself from no place in particular.

The meeting started innocently enough with John Rosenbarger explaining how T.I.F. (tax incremental funding) areas work. The laws have changed making it harder to use these funds outside of the exact area where they originated. The funds must be used either directly in the T.I.F. area or an area directly adjacent to it. So in simpler terms the streets to be paved must be in the T.I.F. area where the funds come from.

Dan Coffey went on to explain the origination of EDIT funds. The original purpose was to pay for the jail and to be dissolved after that. But as we all know, that did not happen. He added that EDIT funds are taxpayer money and should be used to benefit all of the taxpayers. Can't argue with that.

The actual argument was not that the streets need to be paved but how and where the needed funds are to be obtained. Carl Malysz wants a draw bond for $10,000,000 to be used at the administration's discretion for street paving and improvements to the sidewalks, traffic lights, etc. Kevin Zurschmeide and Dan Coffey want the administration to obtain bids for specific areas to be paved and bring the bids to the council for approval. Additionally, they want to use available T.I.F. and EDIT funds to cut down on the amount of debt incurred. This plan was echoed by Bob Caesar who added that he disliked the idea of borrowing.

So we have two plans to go before the next council meeting. There will be at least one other work session before the next council meeting.

We have a choice, citizens of New Albany.

Plan A: Pay as you go, use available T.I.F. and EDIT funds (not completely drain these funds) to cut down on debt and pave the streets over time, approximately 3 years.
or
Plan B: Obtain a draw bond (similar to a line of credit) and pave as many streets as possible in as short of time as possible.

Either way, the streets need to be paved as we all know. Additionally lower fuel prices mean lower prices to blacktop the streets so time is of the essence.

Readers, please weigh in on these plans and attend the next work session and council meeting. A decision needs to be made and our council members need to know how the majority of citizens feel about this. It is after all our money they are talking about spending.

THE GREAT CLEANUP

Our second clean up of the West End was a great success. I want to thank the Padgett Co. for the use of their dumpsters, Matt Denison for coordinating everything along with Becky Roy and Pat Salisbury.

This time we had many kind people help us with our efforts. In addition to Becky and David Roy, Jimmy Graham, and Tim Goodwin who helped before, several residents from other parts of New Albany came and helped. They included Lloyd Wimp, Ted Fulmore, Councilman John Gonder, Pat Harrison, John Baird, Tyler Bottoms and Catie Hodges.

Everyone worked very hard, especially the men. I hate to say it but I was really outdone by the guys.

Even with the massive clean up going on downtown, these kind people came down to West 7th

We also appreciate Building Commissioner Ron Hartman and Street Dept. Commissioner Micky Thompson, and Councilman Jack Messer for stopping by to make sure everything was going OK.

Thanks again for the great effort, see you in the fall. and Market to lend a hand.

PAY YOUR FINES AND SHUT UP

There was an article in the "Tribune" yesterday concerning overdue parking tickets. It said that the city is owed over $221,000 in fines!

This is outrageous. These people saw the signs when they decided to park where they did. Why should anyone get by without paying their fines? I know the city is trying to encourage more people to live and work downtown but this is sending the wrong message.

Everyone complains about special treatment for some people. This is special treatment to the max.

CORRECTION

The city council meeting is tonight, not April 23, as I had previously reported. The agenda is pretty crowded so it looks like a long night. Sorry about the mis-information.