I can't say it better, so why try?Bass Ackward, by New Alb Annie at Diggin in the Dirt.
Maybe one day our elected officials will try to take all the needs of a community into account, but it didn't happen last night at the Floyd County Commissioners meeting.
Instead of engaging local preservationists at the outset, when talks about demolishing the historically significant North Annex began, the Commissioners and County Council chose to ignore expressed concerns by failing to respond to letters addressing the matter.
Oh, well. I suppose we get what we vote for.
Here's C-J coverage last night's Philistine confab. Props to my old teammate Charles Freiberger for at least grasping the utility of amassing as much information as possible before making a key decision. That counts for something, I suppose.
Leveling of Floyd annex is approved
Leveling of Floyd annex is approved
Rejecting a request from preservationists to study whether the county's 130-year-old North Annex building can be renovated, the Floyd County commissioners voted 2-1 last night to proceed with plans that include tearing it down.
(Photo credit: Floyd County Historical Society)
14 comments:
It's worth noting that Dana Fendley and Chuck Freiberger were the only two officials willing to look at the possibility of saving the building.
It is also worth noting that it was on Chuck Freiberger's watch when he had the majority that the original letters were ignored.
Sure now that he is in the minority and is up for re-election he now panders to this group and acts as if he is interested.
He is the one responsible for not having looked at the issue several years ago.
HB,
I am not a mental health professional but it would seem unhealthy to hold a grudge this long.
HB has a point, and I considered it prior to posting. If you know two votes are cemented, you might as well use yours as a gesture toward the good guys.
I consider Chuck a friend even if I rarely see him, but it's true that during the course of his political career, it's hard to get a reading on what, if anything, he genuinely "stands for." That's nothing I wouldn't say to him, either.
The letter from Greg Sekula went to then County Commission President John Reisert. It's possible it was never presented to the other commissioners--everyone's been claiming they never saw it.
Commissioners Seabrook and Bush are leaders who do what is best fiscally for the county rather than do what feels good, a quality currently lacking with the city administration. Perhaps its time to put unigov on the table to spare the taxpayers of New Albany from the irresponsible spending we have witnessed in the first 30 days of the new and improved Doug England.
Speaking of holding grudges...
Perhaps Tim can provide documentation from historic rehabilitation professionals showing the cost of reuse in comparison to new construction to back up his claim of fiscal responsibility.
speaking of grudges, perhaps Bluegill can explain why IUS should get a break on sewer tap fees and I thought your ESNA was all in favor of merger of city and county govt's, has that changed now that Doug is Mayor?
I sure hope Eco Warrior did not fill up the landfill or a storm drain with his "Hubbard for Mayor" t-shirts.
ESNA has never taken a position on city/county merger to my knowledge. That's just another attempt to turn everything back to Mayor England.
It's the exact same crap you pulled during the first years of the Garner administration until you could figure out a way to gain personal benefit from them. Once you could, your tune then changed.
The good news for you is that don't have to worry about damaging your credibility any further. You have to have some before you can lose it.
As an organization, ESNA doesn't support any particular office holder or candidate. Several individual members supported Mayor England's bid for mayor as he promised to address concerns of code enforcement, traffic calming, and downtown redevelopment. To the extent that he honors those promises, I would expect that support to continue.
Thus far, Mayor England's proposal for a code enforcement inspector and the sewer board's approval of tap in waivers for CHDO have provided evidence of his intent to honor the code enforcement and downtown redevelopment promises, respectively.
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Higher education and workforce training is the cornerstone of economic development. You've said so yourself.
Our economic competitiveness is tied directly to the intellectual achievement of our citizens and their capacity for creativity and innovation. Encouraging the expansion of educational opportunities strengthens New Albany and the region, helping to expand, attract, and retain business and fight against the brain drain that has characterized our area for decades.
Per those conditions, the city should do all it can to support IU Southeast and Purdue. In turn, more should be asked of the universities, not in terms of cash payment that comes from taxpayers anyway, but in community involvement and active engagement in collective problem solving.
serving as an unpaid chair of a board was a personal benefit, give me a break bigmouth i mean bluegill.
tell you what, when you put as many unpaid hours of community service into the city that I have, maybe then you can talk
ecology warrior: Chill!
Life (and politics) is a bell curve. bluegill was, admittedly, harsh, and I'll admit to being baffled by your inconsistency myself, but don't burn bridges east, west, north, and south!
This ain't a poetry slam.
Don't dismiss the value of our friend bluegill. He is no one's patsy. Nor anyone's tool.
YOU have a contribution to make to this city. Whatever skepticism you may have, don't isolate yourself from the conversation.
To the extent that you define those in contention as fools or tools, you eviscerate your own ability to manufacture consensus around agreed principles.
I, for one, do not dismiss you. But you edge closer to the abyss by exoriating, however tenuous, potential allies.
No one is asking you to drink any Kool-aid.
But, please, do CHILL!
One need not sell one's soul to work toward a common objective.
And don't dismiss bg's "contribution" of time and effort. The man has been a New Albanian for less than four years, but no rational person can denigrate his contribution to the common good during that time.
You may champion Mr. A. Bluegill may champion Mr. B. But policy ought to trump all, and I don't, frankly, believe that, in the end, that you and BG differ all that much in your end-goals.
Maybe I'm wrong. But even so, what gaineth you to designate BG as a tool or a fool? That makes you look silly. BG is, perhaps, THE most difficult member of the blogarati when it comes to fooling.
Don't dismiss him. You may never be bosom buddies, but you could reasonably be occasional allies.
So, let me ask you, ecology warrior, and you, bluegill: Is it right for the county to demolish the poor farm building without considering the benefits of preserving the architectural heritage?
Talk amongst yourselves. I'm growing verklempt!
The blog owner speaks:
EW, that's twice so far in 2008 that you've crossed the line with reference to personal attacks, first with Ceece, now with Bluegill.
You are skating on thin ice. You showed yourself capable of having intelligent discussions over the past few years sans excess, and what is transpiring recently concerns me.
Over and out.
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