Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

Cont. to fight or do something

Now to the last point. Our school system. There is a growing disparity between the different areas of this district and within the school system. As we can see there appears to be strong growth in the city in regard to the lower grades. This will someday hit home in the High Schools. To keep the system solvent it will need to pass a continuing number of school levies almost yearly. As this disparity between the two factions grows the district will be split. As a city resident, I feel that disparity every time there is a levy on the ballot. The problem we all face today comes from years of neglect from both the Township residents and the City residents. Some of the zoning decisions out in the Township are just as dumb as some of the recent zoning decisions in the City. Why did we place all of those homes along I-70 in Haff Farms and Glenshire? Today the existing homes can?’t be given away because they are too close to the freeway and crime is a factor.

The high density zoning of 700 homes, currently in the city, but it was zoned in the Township at the Villages Sycamore Creek. The very people giving the City government grief about the Pickerington Elementary being over crowed are blaming the City.

Someday the city will need to protect itself. It can no longer carry the well to do residents of the township.

The city could cut the Township off and form their own school district and form their own fire department. It could make the areas under Pickerington a paper Township and this cut even more funding from the Township.

If this comes down to survival and the Township residents want to continue their blame game then the city will proceed with out them. I think Dr. Rigelman is correct now is the time. We have new government in the City and we have financial problems in the schools and the county.

In any event all of these services cost money. A new city must have a tax base to support not only the City but the schools. Currently the City must try to develop a road system that everyone (including the Township resident must use) uses but only the City pays for. If we want that ?“BALANCED?” tax base for our schools it is time we all got on the same page and stop the blame game. There is certainly enough to go around to all parts of this community.

Do we continue to Fight and end up with a community divided and one that is never able to pass a school levy or one that joins together and develops a plan to address all of the issues for one common goal?

WHOA!!!

Dam son, You said a mouthful. You gave me more to think about than I thought I needed for one day.

You are aware that there are 4 council seats up for election this year right? We need big picture people like you on council. Give it some thought - PLEASE.

By Bug-eyed

You raise good points

You raise some good points.

I am a 15-year twp resident who voted against home rule. I did not believe the supposed benefits outweighed the negatives.

A few years ago I would have been strongly opposed to a merger. Much of that was down to the people in power at the time in the city. There have been positive changes at city hall, and I am willing to consider the merger idea again. Granted, the ones that were swept out of power in the city could all come back, or their supporters could reign in the future, but since everyone in a merged Pickerington would have the same chance to voice their thoughts in city hall, there might be a benefit to doing the merger. It seemed for years that people in the twp who spoke up at council meetings in the past were often ignored by the powers that used to be, as if their ideas or opinions weren't allowed because they were not city residents.

Pickerington Funded what?

Hey now, let us look at a few facts. You say that Pickerington has paid for widening 256 to five lanes, will pay for Diley Road widening and that the Township folks did not help at all. It seems that the greater portion of the upgrades, except some engineering and some small contribution, that it was State and Federal monies used. It would seem to me that the Township folks probably helped provide those State/Federal monies.

As for planning the Diley Road upgrade, it appears to me that the new entrance at the Drug Mark is a boondoggle, only put there to benfit a few landowners, Don McAuliffe for one.