Nixon in China?

On Thursday evening, we opted for the East Spring Street Neighborhood Association holiday gathering at a neighbor’s home rather than attend the City Council meeting.

The Courier-Journal’s Ben Hershberg’s account of the meeting is here:
http://www.courier-journal.com/localnews/2004/12/17in/B1-alb1217-4443.html

The ordinance enforcement position was approved, but not without the usual entertaining theatrics between Mayor Garner and his antagonists on the City Council. A meeting without such exchanges would be akin to a NASCAR race without crashes, and certainly would result in a loss of paying customers.

For New Albanians, the year 2004 will be remembered for Garner’s bungled handling of the city’s Building Department, which makes his response to last night’s council session even more remarkable: "It was a very contentious meeting … I don't know why."

The importance of mirrors in politics simply cannot be overstated.

While at the holiday gathering, I was approached by Tony Toran, director of City Operations, who invited NA Confidential to a sit-down with himself and Mayor Garner for the stated purpose of providing the “right information” on the Scribner Place project. According to Tony, both he and the Mayor Garner had read my most recent letter to the Tribune.

Once home, I was sent scrambling to re-read what I’d written in the letter, yielding only this paragraph in reference to Scribner Place:

The current administration’s sliced ‘n’ diced first phase of the Scribner Place/YMCA project, while attainable by New Albany’s standards of foot-dragging, itself springs from the same ingrained habit of community pillar-led conventional thinking with respect to development that resulted in a previous generation not having “known better” as it joyfully bulldozed the old quarter.

I wonder what portion of this isn’t right?

Or, perhaps it’s more cumulative than any specific reference. In any event, I am happy to oblige Tony’s request, and have asked that the meeting take place next week.

And, if possible, on my turf. If not, then Rocco goes with me.

For now, NA Confidential’s thesis remains unrefuted: Downtown New Albany stands little chance of reclamation if the task is not approached with a spirit of boundary-defying conceptual thinking and explicit activism. The Mayor of New Albany, in his or her administrative capacity, is in the position of guiding this effort through public leadership as well as private persuasion. The inclination and willingness to undertake these responsibilities have yet to be revealed during the current Mayor’s administration.

As for the holiday gathering itself, we were charmed and delighted to meet so many wonderful people. In fact, as the circle widens, it is increasingly revealed that numerous New Albanians are interested in the sort of city espoused here at NA Confidential, and many are working toward worthy goals. It is gratifying to know this. The coming year should provide many more opportunities to improve the quality of life in New Albany - with or without the assistance of the political apparatus.