The parking study draft is very interesting. It says we have a couple pinch points during the day, but overall we aren't bursting at the seams. We have work to do for sure. Here are some thoughts on how to improve
-awareness campaign for parking south of the pike. Maybe some nice signage for wayfinding.
-great crosswalk upgrade maybe w led lighting (i know it's expensive)
-paint spots on M'ville (20+), E bound Wooster E of Square (10ish), squeeze additional spots near the fountain (5ish)
-look at parallel parking on West if we must put any there(10+)
(sum total is 50ish!)
-if we still need more, it's time to revisit a garage. With no geothermal at the Elem Parking lot, why not buy it and double its yield with a low, attractive garage?
My takeaway before Council takes it up (I admit this is premature). From the data I've seen so far: We DON'T need to blow up West Street and spend $200K+ on this project. This study shows it's NOT NEEDED for a couple hours a day difficulty (which we absolutely must solve for). We need to invest in parking, yes. We don't need this radical solution.
Related, I think some of the Griewe condo spot estimates are incorrect. He needs 0 for Nolen, and only a handful for Emery (or vice versa). I'll follow up on this. We should make sure all the assumptions are correct, and we should NOT allow the "light day" comment to derail the DATABASED STUDY that we have paid for.
Cortney
Monday, October 24, 2011
10/18 Pub Works
I attended the PW meeting and here's what I saw.
Rumpke is coming in at +2% for 2011. This is better thank I expected (+3%). However, I would like to see us hold that increase down even further considering the reduction in residential units (mainly MVille road) this year.
Compliance education is really important. Residents need to know the rules, so do the Trash guys. We can solve this (at least improve this) by working together.
Cortney
Rumpke is coming in at +2% for 2011. This is better thank I expected (+3%). However, I would like to see us hold that increase down even further considering the reduction in residential units (mainly MVille road) this year.
Compliance education is really important. Residents need to know the rules, so do the Trash guys. We can solve this (at least improve this) by working together.
Cortney
Health & Rec & Pub Works Comm Meeting 10/3
I attended both Committee Meetings and heres what I saw
Tennis Courts upgrade. I support repaving the practice court since it's an eyesore, and since the membership makes an attempt to pay for the upkeep. It's kind of an expectation in my opinion.
Renting facilities. I'd like us to reserve and charge for these facilities for non residents. I also would like to explore allowing open container in a safe, controlled way. We do it at the pool and it's been well received from what I can tell. A superbowl party, for instance, could happen in the village, keeping our residents here. If liability is in anyway unmanageable, then it would not make sense to proceed.
Trash. We need very consistent, deliberate standards for what's trash, what's yard waste, what's recycling, what's allowed vs not, etc. Inconsistent enforcement by the Rumpke guys is causing cost to the Village and frustration by residents. We should get really clear on what's allowed. I don't think this should be a point of contention for the Service renewal for 2012. But I do think it's an ongoing need for education and awareness on both sides....
Cortney
Tennis Courts upgrade. I support repaving the practice court since it's an eyesore, and since the membership makes an attempt to pay for the upkeep. It's kind of an expectation in my opinion.
Renting facilities. I'd like us to reserve and charge for these facilities for non residents. I also would like to explore allowing open container in a safe, controlled way. We do it at the pool and it's been well received from what I can tell. A superbowl party, for instance, could happen in the village, keeping our residents here. If liability is in anyway unmanageable, then it would not make sense to proceed.
Trash. We need very consistent, deliberate standards for what's trash, what's yard waste, what's recycling, what's allowed vs not, etc. Inconsistent enforcement by the Rumpke guys is causing cost to the Village and frustration by residents. We should get really clear on what's allowed. I don't think this should be a point of contention for the Service renewal for 2012. But I do think it's an ongoing need for education and awareness on both sides....
Cortney
Council Meeting 10/10
I attended Council on 10/10 and here's what I saw
Police Cruiser. I think our severe deficits in the General Fund and continued surpluses in the Perm Improvement Fund mandate efficiency choices at every turn. Recall the device cost is Perm Improvement, the energy cost is General Fund. Rick pulled me aside after the meeting and shared the new Charger's improved efficiency due to disengaged cylinders. This is great news, however we're not really improving upon the inefficient Crown Vic (same is still better than worse though). I will support the Charger since it's not efficiency decretive, but I'd like other options too.
As an aside, I wish we would consider alternatives to big cars like the Charger/Crown Vic. This car makes/made sense in highway situations, but I think (no data) it's over engineered and unncessary for a 1 square mile village with a speed limit no greater than 35mph. Why couldn't we maintain a fleet of Ford Fusion Hybrids? Or maybe Hybrid Escapes? (this assumes safety is ensured, it assumes vehicles can do the job) A Hybrid would get amazing mileage, probably 2-3x vs today and would easily pay us back over its lifetime. What would meet our need?
IT Plan. I wish the Mayor had come to Council with his suggestion for Village webmaster sooner. The IT Plan is baked, we're PAYING an IT consulting firm. I love resident input and volunteering, but we'd have been better off designing around this talent/resource earlier. Communication continues to lack between the Mayor and Council.
Signage on Wooster Pike Ordinance. I'm concerned about this. In retrospect I really appreciate Rex Bevis' efforts to minimize signage. What are we approving? What will it look like? Where do we maintain/lose control here?
Voting: I voted in the affirmative on all. With the following exceptions, all were procedural in nature:
-bids for Street Repair. I voted yes since we need to continue to invest here
-Levy - I voted yes since we have no plan to retire them. On a personal note I will vote yes for this renewal. We need in the income now more than ever. I believe one of these could be reduced, though, if we make different choices and agree to a different level of service
Cortney
icrctv.com
Police Cruiser. I think our severe deficits in the General Fund and continued surpluses in the Perm Improvement Fund mandate efficiency choices at every turn. Recall the device cost is Perm Improvement, the energy cost is General Fund. Rick pulled me aside after the meeting and shared the new Charger's improved efficiency due to disengaged cylinders. This is great news, however we're not really improving upon the inefficient Crown Vic (same is still better than worse though). I will support the Charger since it's not efficiency decretive, but I'd like other options too.
As an aside, I wish we would consider alternatives to big cars like the Charger/Crown Vic. This car makes/made sense in highway situations, but I think (no data) it's over engineered and unncessary for a 1 square mile village with a speed limit no greater than 35mph. Why couldn't we maintain a fleet of Ford Fusion Hybrids? Or maybe Hybrid Escapes? (this assumes safety is ensured, it assumes vehicles can do the job) A Hybrid would get amazing mileage, probably 2-3x vs today and would easily pay us back over its lifetime. What would meet our need?
IT Plan. I wish the Mayor had come to Council with his suggestion for Village webmaster sooner. The IT Plan is baked, we're PAYING an IT consulting firm. I love resident input and volunteering, but we'd have been better off designing around this talent/resource earlier. Communication continues to lack between the Mayor and Council.
Signage on Wooster Pike Ordinance. I'm concerned about this. In retrospect I really appreciate Rex Bevis' efforts to minimize signage. What are we approving? What will it look like? Where do we maintain/lose control here?
Voting: I voted in the affirmative on all. With the following exceptions, all were procedural in nature:
-bids for Street Repair. I voted yes since we need to continue to invest here
-Levy - I voted yes since we have no plan to retire them. On a personal note I will vote yes for this renewal. We need in the income now more than ever. I believe one of these could be reduced, though, if we make different choices and agree to a different level of service
Cortney
icrctv.com
Monday, October 3, 2011
O-17-11 Clarification
I made a mistake on the 1st Sep Council meeting recap. O-17-11 is excluding Condo associations from the annual trash fee, as long as they follow a series of rules. I was mistaken on my recollection of this ordinance. I did vote in favor of this ordinance as it is reasonable to avoid paying 2x for service.
Cortney
Cortney
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Walked Warrior Mile with Dennis Wolter 9/27
I walked the proposed pedestrian path between MM Elem and FF Jr High with Dennis. We agreed it is a direct, safe, appealing route. Dennis will take this up in Safety and I look fwd to helping him.
Cortney
Cortney
Council 9/26
I attended Council on 9/26 and here's what I saw
Lighting. I like the idea of investing however the cost seems severe. I would like us to revisit during annual Permanent Improvement appropriation.
Recycling award. We are awesome as a Village. Our recycling rate is something we can be proud of.
MPF Vision Plan. This work is outstanding. We lack planning on Council, and MPF delivered just that. I think we should use as a lens next year during Perm Improvement appropriation: If it's not in the doc, we don't do it. Case in point - a wasteful addition to the Admin bldg. This does nothing but give us more room for boxes to pile up. The challenge will be to activate this doc. It can very easily collect dust (in a box in the Admin bldg). We must will it into being.
Employee uniforms. I was surprised to learn we pay for uniforms for the Service Dpt. No disrepect to this hard working group, but why don't we mandate a uniform, pay a $75/year to every employee and provide a fluorescent vest only? We have lots of 1940's norms still in place. We should look at these types of expenses and make an intentional decision (either way is fine). But we should be talking about these kinds of things.
Warrior Mile. I am glad for Dennis' support and believe Fairfax's concerns are reasonable. We need to plan for the long term, not next year. I believe in this idea.
I voted in the affirmative on all votes. All were procedural except insurance premiums. I voted yes as it seemed reasonable.
Cortney
ICRCTV.COM
Lighting. I like the idea of investing however the cost seems severe. I would like us to revisit during annual Permanent Improvement appropriation.
Recycling award. We are awesome as a Village. Our recycling rate is something we can be proud of.
MPF Vision Plan. This work is outstanding. We lack planning on Council, and MPF delivered just that. I think we should use as a lens next year during Perm Improvement appropriation: If it's not in the doc, we don't do it. Case in point - a wasteful addition to the Admin bldg. This does nothing but give us more room for boxes to pile up. The challenge will be to activate this doc. It can very easily collect dust (in a box in the Admin bldg). We must will it into being.
Employee uniforms. I was surprised to learn we pay for uniforms for the Service Dpt. No disrepect to this hard working group, but why don't we mandate a uniform, pay a $75/year to every employee and provide a fluorescent vest only? We have lots of 1940's norms still in place. We should look at these types of expenses and make an intentional decision (either way is fine). But we should be talking about these kinds of things.
Warrior Mile. I am glad for Dennis' support and believe Fairfax's concerns are reasonable. We need to plan for the long term, not next year. I believe in this idea.
I voted in the affirmative on all votes. All were procedural except insurance premiums. I voted yes as it seemed reasonable.
Cortney
ICRCTV.COM
Committe of Whole 9/26
I attended Committee of Whole on 9/26 and here's what I saw.
Process. Andy did a fine job forcing this decision into the light. As I've mentiond before, too many budding ideas are aborted too soon due to lack of process. We are better when we evaluate as a body.
The "Other" side. We don't see this often enough. I am glad folks showed up in favor. It shows who diverse our Village is.
Survey. There was some contentious back and forth on this. I didn't bring up, but I recall Dan saying he would survey the residents (which I support). This didn't happen, so I'll take some of the blame on it. I think we should survey residents when big, crazy ideas surface. Survey + Meeting Comments + ALL Correspondence is a good thing.
Event. If this event were a road race, I would fight to get it in Mariemont. All of the non-course issues/headaches called out are manageable. However, I have been swayed by many who brought up valid concerns about severe damage to landscaped surfaces. I think this is too aggressive/risky for our Village. I am disappointed I can't support the plan and voted no.
Cortney
Process. Andy did a fine job forcing this decision into the light. As I've mentiond before, too many budding ideas are aborted too soon due to lack of process. We are better when we evaluate as a body.
The "Other" side. We don't see this often enough. I am glad folks showed up in favor. It shows who diverse our Village is.
Survey. There was some contentious back and forth on this. I didn't bring up, but I recall Dan saying he would survey the residents (which I support). This didn't happen, so I'll take some of the blame on it. I think we should survey residents when big, crazy ideas surface. Survey + Meeting Comments + ALL Correspondence is a good thing.
Event. If this event were a road race, I would fight to get it in Mariemont. All of the non-course issues/headaches called out are manageable. However, I have been swayed by many who brought up valid concerns about severe damage to landscaped surfaces. I think this is too aggressive/risky for our Village. I am disappointed I can't support the plan and voted no.
Cortney
Council 9/12
This recap is later than normal due in part to the passing of my mother on 9/21. I'm sorry about the delay.
I attended Council on 9/12 and here's what I saw.
Chili Event. Hats off to Andy for seeing this through. I like the idea and appreciate the efforts above and beyond "paying the light bill". Too often we get caught up in the day to day and never look forward or work on programming events. Nice job Andy.
Committee of Whole Bike Race. Again, really appreciated Andy's efforts. We do not follow a process as a body. Too often ideas are aborted before they can evaluated, due to the Mayor's stifling what he doesn't like. Andy pushed for transparency and due process, and I think it's awesome. I have concerns about this race, but dragging the discussion into the light is right!
"Warrior Mile" Concept. I'm excited about Fairfax + Mariemont + Mariemont City Schools working on a dedicated, safe route between the 2 Villages. It's something I hope develops over time, modest to start, more robust in the out years. More to come on this.
Parking Study. I look forward to the results, however my serious concerns remain.
I voted in the affirmative on all votes, as all were procedural in nature. One exception was O-17-11 which I voted yes. This I believe was street repairs on Miami. I will confirm this.
Cortney
ICRCTV.COM
I attended Council on 9/12 and here's what I saw.
Chili Event. Hats off to Andy for seeing this through. I like the idea and appreciate the efforts above and beyond "paying the light bill". Too often we get caught up in the day to day and never look forward or work on programming events. Nice job Andy.
Committee of Whole Bike Race. Again, really appreciated Andy's efforts. We do not follow a process as a body. Too often ideas are aborted before they can evaluated, due to the Mayor's stifling what he doesn't like. Andy pushed for transparency and due process, and I think it's awesome. I have concerns about this race, but dragging the discussion into the light is right!
"Warrior Mile" Concept. I'm excited about Fairfax + Mariemont + Mariemont City Schools working on a dedicated, safe route between the 2 Villages. It's something I hope develops over time, modest to start, more robust in the out years. More to come on this.
Parking Study. I look forward to the results, however my serious concerns remain.
I voted in the affirmative on all votes, as all were procedural in nature. One exception was O-17-11 which I voted yes. This I believe was street repairs on Miami. I will confirm this.
Cortney
ICRCTV.COM
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