Saturday, June 28, 2014

Why is a political party chairman serving on a local government commission in the first place?


It's always nice to see the local Democratic party chairman wearing his "non-politicized" redevelopment cap whilst eschewing localism and espousing principled internationalism, as compared to his role with the party -- which involves fixing as many outcomes as possible in accordance with the elderly ruling grandees and their special, longstanding needs.

Trouble is, both hats appear somewhat politicized from this distance, but then again, I'm merely a neutral observer. Meanwhile, another couple hundred thousand dollars gets shifted to parks and recreation, as other mundane considerations (i.e., those that require some level of thought) languish.

Am I the only guy in town who cannot remember when the mayor declared parks and recreation his top priority during the campaign? Might that be because he didn't?

Argument over hiring local contractor delays bid for Ekin Center project in New Albany; Commission to meet Monday with deadline looming, by Daniel Suddeath (N and T)

 ... The New Albany Redevelopment Commission received two bids for repairs to the Ekin Avenue Recreation Center. Upton Pry Inc., of New Albany, submitted a base bid of $254,000, while Louisville-based Myers-White Inc. offered a $263,000 contract for the work.

However, the commission requested estimates for several alternates to the project, and when those were figured, Upton Pry’s bid totaled $302,000, or $26,000 more than the proposal of Myers-White.

Despite the $26,000 difference, New Albany City Councilman Dan Coffey, who is also a member of the redevelopment commission, said the contract should be rewarded to the local firm.

“I believe in taking care of the people from home,” Coffey said.

When it can be avoided, local taxpayer dollars shouldn’t be spent to hire nonlocal contractors, he continued ...

 ... Commission President Irving Joshua and commission member Adam Dickey disagreed strongly with Coffey’s proposal. Joshua accused Coffey of holding the commission “hostage” by refusing to vote to accept the low bid.

“I think this is an inappropriate precedent,” Joshua said.

The community isn’t just New Albany, as the city can’t isolate itself from the rest of the region, Dickey added.

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