Today's Tribune column: "Yes, we can; in fact, we are."

I'm wondering whether to bring a growler with me. Does it say anywhere that no alcohol is allowed?

BAYLOR: Yes, we can; in fact, we are

The bread crumbs were right there where King Larry left them, and they guided me past the spot where Gene and Tom used to enjoy their daily cigarettes with Duck. Across the weirdly fresh pavement and up two flights of stairs, and finally, exhausted, I spied the crayon-encrusted welcome mat. Lurching through doors reminiscent of 1960s interior design theory in Sofia, Bulgaria (damn Commies!), I landed in a crowded room, providentially locating a seat near the bar, and scanning my immediate surroundings with an eye toward strong drink.

Meanwhile, I may have solved the issue of jamming -- not musically, but in terms of the WiFi signal at the city county building. Thanks, R.

The agenda for this evening's city council meeting has yet to be posted. If it is, you can view it here. We know that CM John Gonder's building permit moratorium is on the agenda, and that it is likely to generate much discussion.

As stated here earlier in the week, I believe it is a well intentioned but potentially harmful measure that threatens to throw the economic baby out with the storm water unless drastically revised to reflect specific geography, and should be carefully phrased in such a manner as to keep "emergency" dictatorial powers for planning and zoning out of the hands of a council that has yet to show it is professionally qualified to review procedures for boiling water to make tea, much less to judge those that require genuine knowledge beyond the head honcho's Bazooka Joe university degree programs.

Why do I say this? Because the current council's intellectual laziness is ongoing and flagrant, and also because Dan Coffey's chosen grandstanding wedge in recent months has been the populist viewpoint that final decisions on all planning and zoning matters should come within range of his power-hungry fingerprints.

If I'm permitted to remain in the room, I'll deploy my suggested WiFi solution and blog live from the chamber. If not allowed to remain there, I'll drink beer elsewhere.

Think of it as a lose/win situation for me.

More on the building permit moratorium, with a demolition chaser.

Don't forget: Develop New Albany's "First Tuesday" at Dzine Communications, September 1, starting at 5:00 p.m.

---

The discussion continues: Is John Gonder's proposed moratorium on building permits the best way to address drainage problems, or in this effort to mollify flooded homeowners, is he unwittingly providing Dan Coffey and Coffey's obstructionist council faction the opportunity to usurp the roles of the various boards and commissions, and try to bring all economic development decision-making "into" an underachieving council woefully unequipped to make such judgments?

I encourage readers to visit CM Gonder's blog and read the comments made yesterday, including one excerpted here by Dan Chandler that addresses a different, but similar ongoing issue:

Dry Out Time Out (comments section)

I’m not taking a position on whether a moratorium is the best way to address permitting issues. I do want to note that problems with permits are not limited to sewer issues.

For example, two weeks ago the city issued a demolition permit for a building on E. Market St. The problem is that the building is a contributing structure in a local historic district, or was, until it was demolished several days later. The Historic Preservation Commission neither received an application for, nor approved a Certificate of Appropriateness to demolish the century-old structure.

Gonder: "Dry Out Time Out" moratorium on building permits?

It is gratifying to see that CM John Gonder has returned to local issues. My recommendation is to join the discussion at his blog, via the link below.

Dry Out Time Out

The City Council will meet this Thursday, out of sync because of the Labor Day weekend.

One of the ordinances on the agenda is a moratorium on building permits. This is not intended as a punitive measure against builders or developers. It is, rather, an attempt to let the City catch up with the issues it faces as a result of damages caused by storm water and sewer problems.