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I think what many in the community have done for so long is raise the expectations of the city council actions with little or no information and then ignore the majority of our futrue land development out in the township. Clearly this gives the Doug Parker's in this world some real meat in their argument about the school district and its future. So what is VIolet Township going to do in controlling growth if someday the City puts in real growth controls?
Below is a cut and paste of the Mike Maurer editorial. Why did our recent poster skip over this section of Mike's article and go directly for the throat of council?
''The BIA had argued that cities had no power to do so because cities and schools are different governing bodies. The schools, they argued, were on their own.
In May, the BIA tried again, arguing that moratoriums violated the very Constitution and could never be adopted by a municipality to control growth.
No dice, Connor said.
Meanwhile, Violet Township, an urbanized township that is a de facto part of the community that sees itself as Pickerington, looked at all this turmoil and wanted no part of it.
''We have no authority to put on a moratorium now, nor would we with home rule,'' the trustees said, doubtless to the BIA's relief.
Not content to rely on their own view of the law, the township sought additional refuge in a formal legal opinion from Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro. What they received, instead, was a relearning of the lesson, ''Be careful what you ask for.''
''A temporary moratorium on the construction of residential units for the purpose of allowing the township to develop and maintain an infrastructure sufficient for the township's population would meet (legal standards for health, safety and morals),'' Petro wrote.''
Michael J. Maurer is a public affairs reporter for ThisWeek.
By Complete reading
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Township Does Manage Growth
The reason that the Township isn't the target of resident anger is that the Township is able to manage its growth. It doesn't want a moratorium to attract attention to the fact that they make developers jump through hoops before approving any new development.
The reason Pickerington City Council is now under fire is because members did a lot of grandstanding about being for the community and against rampant growth before they were elected, and we have yet to see the fruits of this.
This is just like when Shaver negotiated for a Community Authority that he subsequently opposed. We feel like we're dealing with Council Members with split personalities.
By Just The Facts
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How's that?
Please explain how you're dealing with council members with split personalities? What have any of them done to make you think this? Are you basing this all on the recent article in the paper?
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Are you willing to help?
I have to wonder, wise old Just the Facts (may I call you JTF?), if you are really considering all the facts, just what you read or just what you hear. Have you considered for just one minute what those new members of council have had to deal with? Better yet, have you considered what was handed to them when they entered office?
For over the last 10 years, this city has been dominated by developer-friendly administrations. Those administrations have been greatly rewarded by the developers for their planning and efforts. We have all read the stories about motorcycles, houses, bachelor parties in Las Vegas, golf outings at Pinehurst, lucrative land speculation deals, high paying low responsibility positions after they left office (often in disgrace), and so on.
The key to this is the planning. The past administrations were so confident and arrogant that they never thought they would be beaten. They convinced themselves they were invincible. They had so much money at their disposal from the developers that each election was a cakewalk. Suddenly their world was rocked. Suddenly they were out of power. Suddenly their gravy train was derailed. One thing from all their efforts remained. They had developed and signed contracts with landowners and developers giving away millions of dollars in order to annex them into the city. These contracts are binding. They had given the BIA free reign to do whatever they wished completely unchallenged.
JTF, have you ever entered into a contract before? I mean have you ever bought a house, a car, or made any other commitments using a contract as a vehicle? Of course you have. Like all of us, we enter into contracts frequently. Do you have a cell phone? Did you have to sign a two-year agreement? What will it cost you to get out of it if you chose to? If you give your phone to your next door neighbor and you move away, what responsibility is there under your contract if the neighbor calls and cancels the service. You still pay.
Look at what this administration inherited when they took their oaths. Hundreds upon hundreds of acres of annexations, many of which are in court. Millions upon millions of dollars of contractual agreements that must be met or negotiated. Thousands upon thousands of dollars invested in attorneys sent to defend the city in the numerous lawsuits facing them. There is literally only one suit that I have heard of that is charged solely to this council based on their decisions, but it is still a ?“deal?” gone awry form the old guard.
For all of those of you out there that are beginning to doubt the new administration, be sure you have all the information you need before you speak. Get out from behind your keyboard, off the lazy boy or off the couch and get involved. Go and find out what is going on at city hall. Go and find out what you can do to help. If you voted your trust in the new administration, put your efforts behind your vote. Go to council meetings, go to committee meetings, volunteer for a board or commission or just talk to the city manager and see what you can do to help. You can be part of the problem or part of the solution.
You want things to get better faster? Join in and help. Many hands make light work. The staff that works for the city is grossly undermanned and in some cases under-experienced. Some are simply yes men that Joyce hired to do her bidding. She didn?’t hire them to think or act. She hired them to carry out her orders. You want court cases to get settled faster? Tell the judges that. Tell them that you are personally affected by the fact that when they postpone a date that it adds months to the case and your personal wait. How long did it take McAuliffe to get put away, or De Mastry? Some things take time.
Did any of those now in office promise to solve all the problems in the first year? Not that I remember. You want things better and faster JTF? Quit talking and start walking.
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