Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

At the recent Home Rule meeting, Trustee Dunlap eluded to an agreement with the City of Pickerington on the North 362 acre annexation. How can the Violet Twp. Trustees reach an agreement of such magnatude without public input and discussion from the very residents who elect them? This kind of back room deal reeks of good old boy politics reminicent of the previous City of Pickerington administration. With growth remaining rampant and uncontrolled, and a deal giving up 362 acres of township land seemingly agreed upon, perhaps it is time to consider electing two new trustees this November to replace Trustees Dunlap and Myers. It appears that Gary Weltlich remains the only trustee concerned with explosive growth and the will of Violet Twp. residents.

Patience is always called for

Ain't the suspense jus killin ya? Here we have asked the township and the city to talk and work together for years now and someone who probably didn't vote is calling for Terry and Harry to be removed from office because they didn't bother to check with them prior to negotiating an agreement with the city.

First if you all remember that in 2000 there was the ''Great Growth Summits'' between the city, township and school district. Exactly what became of those talks? It provided a stage for Mayor Hughes to promote his get out of the way speech about merging the city and the township. I think the image of Hughes being in charge over the township residents sent them all for cover.

This time it appears there have been some back room negotiations and they are all legal as I understand them to be. Once the differences are worked out between the two parties then those agreements must come before the city council and the trustees must also pass them in public. Clearly if the city council has three readings everyone in the community will get to see what is on these agreement prior to them becoming law. If the problems on these agreements are that great then we will all have the right to circulate a referendum on them prior to them going in to affect.

I am not sure what the agreement will be myself but it appears there is talk of a JEDD from the paper and they are talking about the annexation of 362 acres that has been in the court on appeals for a couple of years now. Do we want to see the township and city continue to fight it out in court or do we allow them to work in private to settle these agreements then bring them forward to satisfy the public prior to passage? I think the agreements of what ever they will look like needs to be given a chance because the old way just wasn't gettin it.



By City taxpayer

Limited home rule

You have all read the comments of the trustees and some of the area residents have about home rule. If the citizens of Violet Township and the City of Pickerington really want to control the growth and impose controls on the builders then maybe more land that might developed soon should be in the city to have some actual growth controls placed on them because there appears to be a great reluctance on the part of the majority of township trustees to go down that path.

I support seeing housing moved to the city where they can enact some real controls that will hold up in court.

By Retired in the country

Two possible problems

In the matter of the JEDD, we will hope any ordinance approving the ''deal'' will not be passed as an emergency by City Council.

On the matter of the Home Rule, it would seem that there should be a vote of the people as to whether they believe Home Rule would accomplish what is portrayed by two of the trustees as providing.