Council Meeting 3/12

I attended Council on 3/12 and here's what I saw.

Police Car replacement. I would like to minimize total net cost of our police fleet without sacrificing safety, and if we can do it be selling cars when residual value is still high, I would support it. It will come down to net-net costs for vehicle + repair. Someone like Tony or Andy K could do this side by side analysis.

Murray one way. I don't care for the non-intuitive one way proposal on Murray, however as a test and learn, I am ok to proceed. I think this will need to be revisitied if the Roundabout advances, but again for test & learn, I'm ok.

Opportunistic Square Parking. I have a rough doc that can produce 200 incremental spots within walking distance of the Square. I'm glad we painted Wooster in front of the Admin bldg, but we should go further, ahead of the new restaurant opening. I hope to publish my do to the blog soon. Procedurally, I'm not sure how to will these spaces into reality.

Recycling award. Well done, I'm proud to live in a Village where we are so committed. I would like to explore even larger containers so we can exceed 40%. Chairing Public Works this year gives me a chance to work on this.

Annexation. While I'll happily take opportunistic revenue (taxes), I don't understand the timing of this action. Why now? If it's the right thing to do, why are we acting only now? What is so bad about having Newtown as a neighbor at the Eastern boundary of the current Village footprint (they hope to annex all the way to the library ish). How is this different than us "meeting" Newtown down by Froggy's? What is goodwill with Columbia Twp worth? We share more border than anyone else (I think). They don't want us to do this. Further, police and fire will have to flex in more. Flex = cost, regardless of what the Mayor claims. Who will support these new businesses? I think there are many critical questions that need to answered first.

Roundabout - this idea has been improved to benefit Mariemont more vs 18 mo ago. It is right for many reasons. Intersection is dangerous (as measured by frustration and near misses), it's terribly unsightly, it's backed up during rush hour. My 2 concerns, which can be managed are encouraging pedestrianism and cost.

I voted in the affirmative on all votes since all were procedural in nature except:
Police cruiser - I am supportive of retiring the 8+ year old car
Stop sign ordinance on Joan - I think we're putting in too many, but this is a blind curve and I'm supportive.
Benefits pool - this will save the Village over the long term
Street Repairs - maintaining our roadways is right for the Village


Cortney
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