ASK THE BORED: This week they're being more secretive than usual. Wonder why?

Read the 10:00 a.m. update here.

I'm so old that I used to watch for the postman.

Wait, oh yes wait a minute mister postman

Wait, wait mister postman

Mister postman look and see

Is there a letter in your bag for me

I been waiting a long long time

Since I heard from that girl of mine

E-mail isn't quite the same; nonetheless, when Mondays roll around the anticipatory spinal tingling begins, because there'll be a Board of Public Works and Safety agenda and meeting minutes package right there, in my inbox, ready to peruse in case I decide to risk my rapidly evaporating sanity and attend the gathering in person at 10:00 a.m, on Tuesday morning, when most folks are at work.

Except this week, as of 7:00 a.m. on Tuesday, there has been no mailing, an omission that has me scratching my head, as this morning's meeting supposedly will be about ... ya know, something really important ... say what?

Oh, right.

They probably don't want me telling you what the meeting will be about, assuming that's actually what it's about, although all such hints have been conveyed by nods and winks, which as we know are equal in the eyes of a blind horse.

Whatever. It's probably just a coincidental oversight, because the clerk's usually right on top of these things, and so instead of a Bored of Works meeting agenda, enjoy these two photos posted to Facebook by former city councilman Kevin Zurschmiede. Apparently the derelict property is near our re-emerging White Castle.

What interests me about this post is the active participation of councilman Al Knable, both here and during other social media threads. The post hadn't been up for very long before CM Knable began asking and answering questions, concluding with this comment:

Neither owner occupied nor rental properties should exist in this manner. I notified code enforcement officers of the issue earlier today immediately after it was brought to my attention. Let's give the officers time to do their work.

This pro-active style seems fitting and proper for a city official, either elected or appointed, and points to a genuinely productive use of social media. It's almost a two-way street, in terms of communication.

However, I'm compelled to contrast Knable's helpful tone with that of another city official, at an entirely different yet similar thread elsewhere on social media, in which the Upper Spring Street road diet was being vigorously debated, both pro and con.

I tagged the official in the hope that he'd appreciate viewing some of the concerns being discussed by citizens, seeing as some of them might be voters (gasp), and while he provided a good answer, it was prefaced with this:

I typically don't get involved or even pay attention to threads.

Dude: Excuse me, but why not?

Aren't you being paid to be involved with legitimate questions about a city project in your bailiwick?

In a nutshell, isn't a grudging attitude like this the single biggest issue with Team Gahan as a whole? The "communications" director isn't available on social media platforms, and the city's content is generated by a contractor.

Just imagine using social media to inform and educate -- to display a quality remotely approximating responsiveness to rate payers -- rather than posting rote testimonials to the Dear Leader's unerring genius?

Verily, an institutionalized and ongoing absence of transparency remains Jeff Gahan's biggest problem as mayor. Now it's 7:30 a.m., and still no agenda, which means I'll have to attend the meeting. Fortunately, being unemployed, I can do that, and report back later today.

Council meeting recap 1: State's a trashy chain-ridden asphalt nightmare, and this sole derelict Hardee's must go!

I went to last evening's city council meeting solely because the word on the street was that Scott Blair wanted to talk about demolishing eyesore commercial properties.

In the end, the discussion about these properties was mercifully brief, and the bulk of the evening was given over to discussing storm water issues, and how we're probably never going to do what we should to begin resolving them.

Twelve years of do-nothing 8-1, 8-1 and 7-1-1 Democratic council majorities have calloused my demeanor, but Blair is a nominal "independent," and I came close to being rendered speechless last night at the notion that in a place like this where there is no rental property registration, zero rental property inspection, zoning codes in desperate need of updating (Shane Gibson said so himself), storm water problems, one-way streets -- a lengthy, seemingly endless list for a passive, leashed council with precious little on its twice monthly agenda throughout the Gahan term -- all this, and the boarded-up Hardee's on State Street inspires an immediate need for action!

Yes, it's been sitting there for a long time. But have you ever stood in the middle of the New Albany Plaza parking lot, dodging speeding Kentuckians and their cigarette butts, and looked around?

It is a depressing, soul-crushing, exurban tableau of chain stores, rutted asphalt, clamorous traffic, trash and auto-centric ugliness. There's almost nothing human about it. We slayed the fascist dragon in WWII for this?

Again: We live in what amounts to a city-wide slumlord empowerment zone, and the city council has not done anything about it -- EVER.

EVER.

And the banker's offended by an empty fast-food building surrounded by acres of impermeable surfaces that -- wait for it -- bear prime responsibility for the drainage problems the council members all want to look concerned about because, yes, THIS IS AN ELECTION YEAR.

Rant over.

As you were ... as we ARE, which may be the ultimate problem.

Louisville's revolutionary conclusion: "Vacant buildings cost taxpayers by reducing the value of properties nearby."

The following article from the Courier-Journal has been making the rounds by e-mail. Those members of ROCK who embrace the concept of "property values" in the argument against free speech might glance at a few of the statistics below.

Meanwhile, have you ever wondered why matters like this elude the platforms of local political parties?

That's easy. They fear platforms the way that vampires fear daylight.

---

Louisville targets owners of blighted buildings; Owners may be hit with triple tax bills, by Dan Klepal

The Louisville Metro Department of Housing referred 2,400 dilapidated homes and vacant lots in Jefferson County to the property valuation administrator's
office -- starting a process that could result in owners having to pay triple their normal property tax bills.

The referrals were made under a law intended to make it more expensive for people to neglect derelict buildings or unkempt lawns.

PVA officials say the reason for the law is simple: Vacant buildings cost taxpayers by reducing the value of properties nearby. They also cause more fire runs, according to a study by the nonprofit National Vacant Properties Campaign.

Under department rules, a building or property is considered blighted if it's been unoccupied at least one year, is unsanitary, not properly boarded, vermin-infested, unfit for human habitation or been tax-delinquent three years.

"It's a good program because it really helps neighborhoods, and the city's tax roll," said Tony Lindauer, Jefferson County property valuation administrator. "This gives the owners the incentive to get off the stick."

The department referred about the same number of properties in 2007. But Lindauer suspended the program last year because he did not think there was enough research on the properties to ensure they met the blight definition. There also was no appeals process for people whose property was wrongly cited, he said.

This year Louisville Metro Housing Director Bob French said the city is checking water and electric records for each building referral to ensure they've been unoccupied for a year. He also established an appeal process, which the city's Vacant Property Review Commission will handle.

"This program means it is not inexpensive for (owners) to do nothing with their properties," he said.

Property owners will get letters stating their properties are blighted, and their tax bills will be tripled. The letters go out March 1; the appeal deadline is May 31.

French said blighted buildings have a dramatic impact on their surroundings. Consider the findings of the National Vacant Properties Campaign, which used government grants to study the cost of vacant buildings and lots:

• Houses within 150 feet of a vacant or abandoned property experienced an average net loss of $7,627 in value.

• Blocks with unsecured buildings had 3.2 times as many calls to police, 1.8 times as many thefts and twice the number of reported violent crimes as blocks with no vacant buildings.

• More than 12,000 fires erupt in vacant buildings each year, resulting in $73 million in property damage.

French said property owners who get letters can also call the department if they think their properties were cited in error.

The list of properties is still in draft form -- and French would not release it. However, he did review the list and reported that none of the targeted properties are owned by Louisville metro government.

"Blight affects the property of the guy next door," he said. "For the owners of these properties, this should get their attention."