Tribune reporter Daniel Suddeath previews tonight's council meeting: Withdrawal from Riverboat Fund up for vote in New Albany City Council.
It's a light agenda, barring unlikely but always conceivable additional smoking ordinance pyrotechnics, although it should be noted that arson by novelty lighter is strictly prohibited.
Enforcement? Don't ask.
With non-smoking civic issues queued outside the council chamber like Indiana cars in front of West End liquor stores at 12:57 p.m. on Sunday, 2nd and 3rd readings of the appropriation described above are the only items of new business for the council, which -- if you're just tuning in -- spent the past month wasting everyone's time on an issue entirely off the city's radar screen.
However, tonight the council is being asked to approve an appointment to the Historical Preservation Commission, and this should provide the likes of Dan Coffey the opportunity to pontificate, grandstand and entertain the somnolent gallery with his trademark nonsensical banter. I'll be disapointed if he doesn't flash his Bazooka Joe degree in vinyl siding installation (permit, schermit ... cash is fine, ma'am).
Merriment like that keeps me coming back for more – that is, whenever I’m permitted to remain. Soon there may be an ordinance against me, and until there is, the council president presumably is soaking his ejection thumb in IcyHot.
After all, the only other choice tonight is to watch the geriatric John McCain on television, and contemplate the levels of theocratic fascist torture that former political "mavericks" are able to withstand before breaking down and crying "Uncle".
Nope. I'll take my chances wth Steve's nickels and dimes.
I've got an idea - see if you can get thrown out pretending to be against the new HPC appointment (he's an imminently-qualified architect, from what I gather, but what does that matter). That should confuse Coffey and Co. into voting for approval.
ReplyDelete[disclosure- I'm no longer on the commission]
That's a marvelous idea.
ReplyDeleteHoly Box-gutters Bat-man - we've got some pro-fessional like a "imminently -qualified architect" here - in river city?! But then I can't think of any imminently qualified piece of architecture that has gone up here in my life-time... Can anyone name the best or only good recent architecture here? This sets my head a-wonderin'
ReplyDelete(This comment is in no way meant as a disparagement of the architect B.W.smith referenced above)
Historic Landmarks said the new fire hall was the top public building architecturally a couple of years age.
ReplyDeleteGiven the recent discussions about who to believe, I think I'll go ahead and give the nod to Ms. Coyle on this one.
ReplyDeleteThat's not to suggest Landmarks was wrong, would that they probably had to compare the fire house to a pole barn.
Well, we have plenty of empty lots downtown for innovative architecture - many of them near churches.
ReplyDeletePerhaps we could take one those empty lots and build a historically correct, beautifully designed and "code correct" building that houses a pawn shop, tobacco store(also selling novelty lighters), smoking room and Council Chambers(with a special corner for Roger to go sit in when he is a bad boy).
ReplyDeleteHow do we become like Columbus and entice cool cutting edge architects to build in our numerous vacant lots?
ReplyDeleteGina:
ReplyDeleteFind a Sugar Daddy like J. Irwin Miller with a commitment to the future of New Albany who will pay those cutting edge architects.
Who'll pick up that ball and run with it?
Yep, it's all right here:
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Irwin_Miller
"In 1954, he established the Cummins Foundation and in 1957 made an offer to Columbus that the foundation would pay all the architects fees for new public buildings in Columbus. Thus this small Midwestern city has buildings by Eero Saarinen, Eliel Saarinen, I.M. Pei, Kevin Roche, Richard Meier, Harry Weese, César Pelli, and Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill among others."
Columbus gets J Irwin Miller. We get Steve Price LLC rental properties (not a business, though) and warehoused furniture downtown.
I can only imagine the twists and turns the city council would take if, god forbid, some benefactor did offer a deal ala Columbus and J. Erwin Miller. Bauhaus meets chow-wagon...
ReplyDeleteFrom what I heard of tonight's meeting, Roger is a prophet. Not that the calls are very difficult in the open-air museum.
ReplyDeleteDear Roger,
ReplyDeleteGiven a choice between McCain and Price, I rather hear Price.
Priceless.
Maury