Council 8/8

I attended Council on 8/8 and here's what I saw:

I was 1 min late according to the clock in the Admin Building, so I abstained from the 1st vote (Didn't know what we were voting on). I'm very sorry to have been late.

3M leaving Mariemont. I am very frustrated to hear about this after it was official, and by a Resident no less. This decision, even if not change-able, should have been communicated months ago. And we should have been working on plans to fill in this Real estate and Income tax hole (one example). Could we have offered them incentive to stay? (another example) I understand the Mayor knew of this months ago, yet he infomed no-one. This is yet another example of failed communication. This year alone, Council has been surprised by 1)West Street No Parking, 2)E Center Street No Parking, and now 3)3M leaving. Council MUST be brought into the discussion. 1-off singular actions are not Democratic, and are not in the spirit of Representative Government. I would prefer a seat at the table for ALL decisions. Further, it's not fair for one person to have to brunt the responsibility for running the Village. It's a Council + a Mayor for a reason.

New I74. Many believe that Eastern Corridor will slowly morph into I74, from I71 eastward out past Clermont County, ultimately to the East Coast. I believe this to be a likely end state if we allow a limited access highway to be built along Red Bank Road, aka Phase 1. While the Eastern Corridor will ease Wooster Pike Traffic (a very good thing for the quality of life in the Village), its subtle consequence is an INTERSTATE running <1/2 mile from Miami Bluff and surrounding streets, arguably the most affluent portion of the Village. It would be about 1/4 mile from Village property. This will spoil the view, the air quality, the quiet, and it will ultimately impact property values (I'm not an expert-this is personal experience/study/opinion at this point). This needs to be taken VERY seriously. Mariemont needs to go on record and declare its opinion (whichever it is). I personally believe a pedestrian-sensitive slow-speed phase 1 will impede the likelihood of a big highway running along the Little Miami. And this is in the best interest of the Village.

I voted in the affirmate on everything except for the Minutes Abstain. I also support the deer signage test along Wooster/West Street as it was a simple, free (Stat paid for them) solution to test.

After Council, I had a very productive 45min conversation with Rick Hines re last meetings comments. I very much appreciated his willingness to chat and "clear the air". I like and respect Rick and was glad to have had the chance to work through our differences.

Cortney

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