Magical Mystery Tour: CM Turner, New Albany, and Origin Park.

From 5th district councilman Josh Turner's monthly newsletter, this statement about Turner's support for Origin Park, which I recently described here: Beginnings: Origin Park plans are revealed.

A Southern Indiana "Origin" Story

An iconic park is coming to Southern Indiana and has been in the works for quite a while now. The master plan was released at the end of August and according to the News and Tribune "The plans for Origin Park include 35 acres of new park lawns, 22 miles of trails, 4.5 miles of "blueways" to paddle Silver Creek, seven new community gathering shelters and a new public event center. The park will also feature 75,000 new trees over 50 acres, 250 acres of a protected urban forest and 150 acres of naturalized meadows and an oak/hickory savanna."

I cannot be more excited about this opportunity for our great city. A park of this size will bring new life and new people into our region from all over the country. Unfortunately, the Mayor has not shown any interest in working with the River Heritage Conservancy to make this national treasure a reality in our city. We are actually the only city that has not bought into this plan. Jeffersonville and Clarksville are all in. You can see for yourself the New Albany portion of the Origin Park is on the River Side of the Flood wall and mostly on land that cannot be developed. We need everyone reaching out to your city officials to let them know how important this is. Our city should commit to this private/public partnership for two simple reasons.

1. The park will have continuity across the region and will be designed with respect to the natural lay of the land.

2. It will save the taxpayers money because a large portion of funding is coming from private donations.

I must admit I do not understand how we can commit to a trail all of the way to Bedford when we are not willing to commit to upholding our responsibilities here at home. It would be a shame for New Albany to be left behind on such a great project. Being a river city it should be a priority to develop our land in such a way that helps us connect with our neighboring communities.

Let's focus on this one section: "Unfortunately, the Mayor has not shown any interest in working with the River Heritage Conservancy to make this national treasure a reality in our city. We are actually the only city that has not bought into this plan. Jeffersonville and Clarksville are all in."

Can we find public evidence to support CM Turner's claim?

By extension, what exactly is the city of New Albany's position on Origin Park?

These are important questions of the sort that journalists might ask, correct?

Beginnings: Origin Park plans are revealed.

The build-out of Origin Park is beginning in earnest. Last Thursday the plans were revealed.

The presentation by Guillermo (Gil) Penalosa, who began his career designing and developing parks in Bogotá, Colombia, is especially impressive. Watch the video and beware of the CAVE people.

Is it just me, or is a certain locale missing? We're included, but we're not inclusive.

Please don't tell me that our grand old Irritability City isn't playing ball on this laudable project.

Learn more here.

$130 million master plan unveiled for 600-acre Ohio River Park, by Marty Finley (Louisville Business First)

A 600-acre park planned along the Ohio River in Southern Indiana has been named Origin Park.

A new park that would transform part of the Ohio Riverfront in Southern Indiana is slated to cost $130 million and feature a series of high-quality amenities for the Louisville region.

The River Heritage Conservancy on Thursday evening unveiled a detailed plan for Origin Park, a 600-acre project that is expected to be noticeably larger than Louisville's Cherokee Park once completed. The site is near the Falls of the Ohio, where the Ohio River, Silver Creek and the Ohio River Greenway intersect.

It's good for special interest campaign donors, but "Is a Top-Down Approach the Best Way to Revitalize Downtown?"

From the top, down -- you know, the same way water and debris washes down the side of the Summit Springs development whenever it rains.

Is a Top-Down Approach the Best Way to Revitalize Downtown? by Daniel Herriges (Strong Towns)

The scars of 1950s urban renewal still haunt many American cities. Among them is Richmond, Virginia, where a section of downtown called Navy Hill, at one time a thriving African-American community, was decimated to facilitate the construction of Interstate 95 and, eventually, make way for the Richmond Coliseum.

Now, Richmond is weighing a controversial project to reinvent Navy Hill in one fell swoop yet again, this time through a partnership with a private developer to do a billion-dollar redevelopment of 10 blocks of city-owned land. The resulting master-planned entertainment district would contain a brand-new stadium and event venue, hotel, food hall, and some 2,500 housing units—funded in large part through tax increment financing (TIF) that would commit a major portion of future property taxes not just from Navy Hill but from a surrounding area eight times as large. Local critics have questioned the expansiveness of the TIF district, and whether Richmond is mortgaging too much of its future on this project.

Strong Towns was invited to submit an op-ed to Richmond Magazine explaining why we think this is a huge gamble with a high opportunity cost—and the city should consider more incremental approaches to achieving the same ends of revitalization and increased wealth. Here it is. The below article was originally published in Richmond Magazine, and is reprinted here with permission.

There are incremental, neighborhood-oriented alternatives. They don't generate the same volume of cash for incumbent mayors; then again, maybe people living in neighborhoods should be the first objective and not fat cat donors living in Carmel.

The Incremental Alternative

A city like Richmond can do a lot to support and accelerate more organic forms of growth. At Strong Towns, a national advocacy organization that supports a model of development that allows cities to become financially strong and resilient, we call this model “Neighborhoods First.” There are hundreds of small investments in quality of life, vitality and public safety that the city could make right now, and we’ve found that it’s often these projects that deliver the highest return on investment for a local government’s scarce resources. A humble crosswalk, some street trees and a facade grant can bring up property values and begin virtuous cycles of private reinvestment. Technical assistance and workforce development efforts can give homegrown entrepreneurs a boost.

These investments are modest individually, but transformative in aggregate, because they respond to immediate needs.

You can learn more here: Neighborhoods First: A low risk, high return strategy for building a strong town. Note that Brainerd, Minnesota is the home town of Strong Towns founder Charles Marohn.

Cities across the country are starting to realize that the “big project” approach takes up too much staff time, wastes too much political energy and distracts too much from the basic needs of existing neighborhoods. Risky, low returning projects too often become expensive boondoggles that haunt a community for decades. Public officials everywhere are desperately seeking an alternative.

Neighborhoods First; A low risk, high return strategy for a better Brainerd is an example of how a community can grow stronger by making small, incremental investments over time. By observing how neighbors live their lives, by asking them where their daily struggles are, by getting out on the street and discovering what is actually going on, any local government can discern what their community’s pressing needs are. These projects are the high return investments and they are all around us.

As an example, think back to Mayor Jeff Gahan's secession from the NA-FC Parks Department, and our subsequent TIF-impelled expenditure of somewhere between $18 and $25 million to construct bright, shiny, big-ticket, park-like objects. At the time many of us offered the alternative of using half (or less) of the money to scatter smaller park areas throughout the city's neighborhoods, in places where potential users could walk and ride bikes and not be compelled to rely on their cars to reach centralized facilities.

But the parks boondoggle obviously had been pre-planned, even if there was no discussion of it during Gahan's first campaign for mayor. A better way would have been to involve the community in the plan.

But Gahan's not a listener, is he?

Few autocrats are.

UNDERSTANDING PARKS

Too much is expected of city parks. Far from transforming any essential quality in their surroundings, far from automatically uplifting their neighborhoods, neighborhood parks themselves are directly and drastically affected by the way the neighborhood acts upon them.
- Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities

There is a common belief that a city park is necessary to compensate for the lack of open space urban residents have when compared to those that live on the outskirts of town. This tragic misunderstanding of the role of an urban park has caused us to overlook a prime asset in Northeast Brainerd.

A good park radiates value to the surrounding neighborhood in the same way the sun radiates heat; the closer you are, the more value the park should add. While New York City’s Central Park would be extremely valuable if it were developed, the immense value of Manhattan and the other boroughs adjacent to it would suffer if the park become a housing subdivision. The location and design of the park makes the city valuable.

At the same time, it is the city that makes the parkland valuable. If we took a piece of land in rural Iowa and re-created Central Park, it would not have any real value.

It takes people using the park to build and create the value that is then reflected back to the neighborhood. A lifeless park is the sign of a lifeless neighborhood. Fixing what is wrong with Mill Park is critical, but doing so will not restore Northeast Brainerd to prosperity. The two need to happen together.

An urban park is not compensation for a neighborhood’s shortcomings. It is a reflection of a neighborhood’s value and worth and, as such, is the most revealing barometer of success or failure the city has.

*Recomended reading: The quote from Jane Jacobs above is Chapter 5 of the book, which is all about urban parks.

Group planning Indiana riverfront park terrified that Gahan will find a way to landscape his face on it.

And if Gahan doesn't get his way, he'll furlough Barksdale and build a wall in Silver Creek.

Group plans ‘world-class’ Indiana riverfront park near Falls of the Ohio, by Marcus Green (WDRB)

At a bend on the Indiana banks of the Ohio River, hardscrabble river camps give way to flood-prone woods. Stacks of crushed cars line a dead-end road. A landfill borders Silver Creek.

But to the nonprofit River Heritage Conservancy, the roughly 400-acre area near the Falls of the Ohio in Clarksville is the ideal spot for a park that would dwarf Louisville’s Waterfront Park and take in more land than Grant Park in Chicago ...

"The mere existence of a park does not ensure that a community benefits from it."

Imagine having public discussion and community input before city government borrows millions of dollars, to be repaid by your grandchildren, to construct a parks system via the same old network of special interests.

Not here in New Albany, mind you.

Just imagine.

Are public parks an unalloyed good? Not always, by Thaisa Way (Fast Company)

Cities need parks, but not just any parks will do. How they’re designed plays a crucial role in determining whether they benefit surrounding communities.

In cities, access to parks is strongly linked with better health for both people and neighborhoods.

Children suffer higher rates of obesity when they grow up in urban areas without a park in easy reach. Because low-income neighborhoods have fewer green spaces, poorer children are most likely to face other health problems, too, including asthma due to poor air quality.

But access to green space is not the only ingredient in creating healthy communities, my research on urban landscapes shows. Parks are good for people only if people use them.

And that’s a question of design.

Silver Creek bridge on nearly completed Ohio River Greenway hailed by area politicians as the solution to our affordable housing dilemma.

No, not at all, but it's the long-awaited conclusion to a 25-year-long project that Germans would have completed in 1998, and a very good thing that took way too long to build. So it goes. Meanwhile ...

Harvest Homelessness in New Albany: Who do you believe, Mayor Gahan or your own two eyes?

The next step will be eliminating the homeless encampments that insist on reappearing within eyesight of recreational cyclists. Unsightliness? it simply won't do with a municipal election year approaching.

Pathway between New Albany, Clarksville now open to pedestrians and new possibilities, by Melissa Goforth (Picayune de la Tom May)

CLARKSVILLE – The completion of a newly constructed pedestrian bridge spanning Silver Creek has opened up a much-anticipated path for foot and bike traffic between New Albany and Clarksville – and it has local leaders dreaming big about the opportunities it brings.

The new bridge, which replaced an old railroad bridge, is the last major phase of a bigger Ohio River Greenway project called the Lewis and Clark Trail.

When completed in the spring, this seven-mile trail will link those two communities together with Jeffersonville along the Ohio River Greenway.

This is a significant milestone for the development because, for the first time ever, it is possible for pedestrians and cyclists alike to travel between all three communities, with access to and from Louisville.

While people have already begun utilizing the bridge, Clarksville’s Parks and Recreation Superintendent Brian Kaluzny is quick to note the overall project is not complete nor does the town have oversight of the bridge or trail at this point.

“It’s not ours yet,” he said. “It will remain under the contractor until next May or so” ...

Bait and switch: Empathy on empty as Jeff Gahan asks you to think about an embryonic rails-to-trails fantasy rather than the resident killed by a driver while riding his bicycle downtown.

Rest assured, it remains my goal to phase out the strident polemics -- I am, and I will, but as H. L. Mencken is my witness, I simply refuse to allow both City Hall and the News and Tribune to cooperate on shameless diversions when people literally are dying on city streets owing to Jeff Gahan's casual indifference. 

Progressives, where are you? "What you permit, you promote. What you allow, you encourage. What you condone, you own." 

Article Synopsis: Mayor Jeff Gahan's announcement of a future rails-to-trails pathway from New Albany to Bedford is all hat, no cattle. For one thing, when's the last time he's been spotted walking? Most of the right-of-way lies outside of New Albany; the path should be multi-modal and not only for walkers; and all of the work (if any occurs) will take place over a period of decades. This breathless announcement is another politically-motivated diversion, intended to impress casual observers with surface sheen, even as the mayor refuses to undertake common-sense traffic-calming measures to render his own city's street grid safe for non-automotive users. 

Grade: D ... partial credit awarded for artfully stealing ideas from others

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A guy riding a bicycle is struck by another guy driving a truck. The bicyclist dies, the driver says it wasn't his fault, civil authorities breathe a sigh of relief because they needn't give a damn (yet again), and life goes on.

Except, of course, for the bicyclist -- who never once had the chance to tell his side of the story.

How many bicyclists, skateboarders and pedestrians have to die before Jeff Gahan gives a flying fuck?

The News and Tribune scarcely notices any of it, burying news of the bicyclist's death beneath a sculpture installation and Democratic Party chairman Adam Dickey's most recent petty, formal complaint about behavior on the part of the opposing political party, to whom Dickey routinely loses elections but somehow manages to retain his position.

And, in a marvel of poor timing, Jeff Gahan chooses to occasion of another death on his city's streets to take full credit for seizing an opportunity to create a rails-to-trails project that doesn't yet exist in any tangible form, will require decades for construction and untold millions of dollars to achieve, the bulk of responsibility to be shouldered by entities other than Gahan's own TIFFed-out New Albany municipal government.

It gets even worse. Bob Caesar, himself a slobbering mayoral aspirant, gets downright servile.

“I think it’s an exciting thing,” New Albany City Councilman Bob Caesar said at Monday’s council meeting. “It’s a big deal for New Albany. This can be a big shot in the arm.”

In short, it's another day in Jeff Gahan's luxury-driven, quality-of-life (for people with money) paradise, and instead of asking myriad questions about why normal folks who haven't taken the precaution of arming themselves with automobiles keep losing their lives in downtown New Albany, the newspaper goes all in on adoration for Gahan's pastoral fantasies about building this rails-to-trails connection to Bedford, a city that the mayor tells Chris Morris might as well be Bloomington, even though a whole 25 miles separate the two cities.

The city's triumphant video about a non-existent trail system that apparently won't even touch downtown New Albany or link with the Greenway (itself 30 years in the making) was released on the same day that our car-centric street grid claimed another victim, and also at roughly the same hour as David White announced his candidacy for mayor in opposition to Gahan.

Think there might have been a connection?

As we've observed so many times in the past, whenever the cognitive dissonance becomes too much for Bud Light to handle, the mayor pops up to hoist a pleasant artist's rendition of the latest bright shiny object:

No, not that one. Maybe this one:

As for the video itself, Gahan wants us to believe he's in possession of critical knowledge of the sort that only he knows and can deploy for health and recreational benefits.

Little-known? Maybe to Gahan, until someone like Scott Wood told him.

Of course, there have been hundreds of Rails to Trails projects in America over the past 30-odd years.

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy is a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating a nationwide network of trails from former rail lines and connecting corridors to build healthier places for healthier people.

The single best way to prove that "rails-to-trails" is a familiar concept nationwide is that lawyers often litigate it.

People Love (to Sue) Rails-to-Trails Projects, by Eric Jaffe (CityLab)

The federal government has paid $49 million in claims in the past year alone.

Rails-to-trails projects — old railroad corridors re-purposed for hiking and biking — have exploded in popularity in recent years. Many of the 1,800 rail-trails that now exist across the United States run through remote areas, but there are lots that go through cities, too. The Elliot Bay Trail reaches downtown Seattle; the Katy Trail winds through cities in Texas, Oklahoma, and Missouri; and a whole bunch of rail-trails pepper the D.C. Beltway.

Lately, these projects have come under heavy assault from adjacent landowners. Jenna Greene of the National Law Journal recently reported that the federal government has paid $49 million to property owners who filed just compensation claims against rail-trails this year alone. With 8,000 claims pending, according to Greene, the ultimate taxpayer liability could top half a billion dollars.

What went wrong? The answer goes back to a 1983 law that made it easier to convert old rail corridors into recreational trails. Before that time, potential trail managers often backed out of projects for fear of being drawn into a legal morass of land-ownership disputes.

A few of the questions the faithful stenographer Morris might have asked, but of course didn't, include these.

Given that these negotiations with CSX date back at least to February 2018, why the timing, and why wait until now to let us know?

How much of the trail actually will be located inside city limits -- a few hundred yards?

Considering the fact that almost all of the heavy lifting will be borne by governmental entities outside New Albany, who can the mayor express confidence in success when he won't speak publicly about making his own city safe for non-automotive users of the street grid?

Isn't it just as important for this proposed trail to link with the Greenway by extending south as well as north?

Why isn’t Gahan equally "fascinated" by making downtown safe for walkers?

Wait -- is this trail intended for walkers only?

That's insane. What about bicycles -- why isn't it a multi-modal trail connecting Bedford to the Ohio River Greenway?

If the trail covers only a small portion of New Albany and Floyd County, isn't it true that our actual role in building it is equally small?

Really, $40 million?

Isn't this announcement just another in a long series of feel-good diversions from real issues like Gahan's captive NAHA's neglect of human beings in Riverview Towers?

Why use Gahan’s photo at all when the article ostensibly is about a walking trail?

Doesn't the use of Gahan's photo amount to a free campaign ad?

As for the later, we already know the answer, as George Monbiot surveys in The Guardian. For heaven's sake, News and Tribune, can you please do your damn job?

Our cult of personality is leaving real life in the shade

... The task of all journalists is to turn off the spotlight, roll up the blinds and see what’s lurking at the back of the room. There are some magnificent examples of how this can be done, such as the Windrush scandal reporting, by the Guardian’s Amelia Gentleman and others. This told the story of people who live far from where the spotlight falls. The articles were accompanied by pictures of victims rather than of the politicians who had treated them so badly: their tragedies were not supplanted by someone else’s drama. Yet these stories were told with such power that they forced even those within the spotlight to respond.

The task of all citizens is to understand what we are seeing. The world as portrayed is not the world as it is. The personification of complex issues confuses and misdirects us, ensuring that we struggle to comprehend and respond to our predicaments. This, it seems, is often the point.

GREEN MOUSE SAYS: All these unresolved issues, and there goes the mayor -- pouring cash into the Valley View golf course "partnership."

The Green Mouse no longer is surprised by anything. As it turns out, Donald Trump isn't the only one wasting time (and your money) at the golf course.

Hearing that City Hall has taken over operations of Valley View Golf Course. Zach Johnson has been hired as head pro. From what I understand, he is a city employee and not an employee of the golf course. Also, Valley View Golf Club LLC still owns the land where the clubhouse, restaurant and bar is located, so I assume it is operating independently of the golf course.

Ah, but it's all about "quality of life," eh?

It's a bit strange that Mayor Gahan wouldn't annex the hospitality portion, too, given his team's constant claims to have revitalized New Albany's food and dining scene all by themselves.

On second thought, Develop New Albany did that.

Back on September 29, 2015, the Green Mouse brought to light the extent of the city's ongoing "partnership" with Valley View. For those just tuning in, quirks of local history have resulted in county government owning the Sam Peden Community Park enclave within the city, and the city owning Valley View in the county.

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Green Mouse asks: Who knew the city "abated" almost $1 million in lease payments for Valley View Golf Course? (2015)

The Green Mouse isn't much of a golfer, but recently he came across documents that suggest a disturbing absence of transparency on the part of city officials during last year's Valley View Golf Course reconstruction.

In a "Status of Reconstruction Project" memorandum dated May 25, 2014, written by club president John Kraft and addressed to the golf club membership, two conditions for the reconstruction project are identified (underlined passage is ours).

Your Board of Directors met on May 22, 2014. As stated during the opening day activities, this memo is written to provide an update on the reconstruction project and additional information you may find interesting.

The Board unanimously approved a loan proposal from Your Community Bank to finance the construction of 19 new greens and 18 new bunkers. This loan remains contingent on two items: 1) that the city of New Albany signing a revised Agreement, now an Operating Agreement, that essentially abates our payment obligations during the life of the loan (16 years), and 2) the commercial appraisal of our facility and assets that will be used as collateral for the loan. The city currently has a final draft of the Operating Agreement and we remain confident this will be executed soon.

The lease payments in question are $60,000 per year, totaling a $960,000 abatement over the 16-year term.

The minutes of the June 24, 2014 Board of Public Works and Safety meeting document the city's official explanation of the new operating Agreement.

Mr. Gibson presented an operating agreement between the city of New Albany and Valley View Golf Club, Inc. He explained that this deals with the quality of life projects that they have been doing over the last couple of years which include the aquatic center, the sports complex, and improvements to the parks. He stated that this goes along with those other improvements and explained that the paving of cart paths have been approved for Cherry Valley Golf Course and this is another intiative dealing with Valley View and the land out in that area. He explained that the golf course is owned by the City of New Albany and there has been a lease agreement with Valley View since that time and this will modify and replace the old long term lease with an operating agreement which basically says that the land will continue to be used as a golf course and Valley View will continue to maintain and operate it on behalf of the city.

A question from Warren Nash followed: Is the club making the improvements?

Mr. Gibson stated that they are and they are assuming all of the debt that goes along with the improvements.

The $960,000 abatement is not mentioned in the minutes. BOW unanimously approved the agreement, and on July 28, another memorandum to club membership from Kraft confirms it.

... making a true partnership in the spirit of the cooperation between the Club and the City when I-64 forced the Club to move from New Albany to Floyds Knobs.

That, and now $960,000 more.

On June 24, 2014, following the choreographed Board of Works rubber stamp, the News and Tribune reported details of the city of New Albany's new operating agreement with Valley View.

The New Albany Board of Public Works and Safety agreed to a 16-year operating agreement Tuesday that will see more than $700,000 in improvements made to the course.

The best part, from the city’s standpoint, is that Valley View will be paying for the upgrades, which will feature 19 new greens at the golf course.

City residents will also receive a 10 percent reduction in green fees when they play a round at Valley View ...

... Shane Gibson, an attorney with the city’s legal department, said the city will also receive 5 percent of gross sales

“This will be a good, positive step for land the city of New Albany owns,” Gibson said.

The mayor was ready with a press release.

“These long-overdue investments will benefit the people of New Albany now and for many years to come,” Mayor Jeff Gahan stated in a news release issued following the board of works meeting.

From start to finish, either in BOW minutes or the newspaper's coverage, is there any mention of the $960,000 abatement.

And by the way, city council knew nothing until the deal was done.

For those of you keeping score, it looks as though another cool million should be added to the bill ... and deducted from a neglected list of opportunities.

Strong Towns Week: "In an urban neighbourhood it is important ... that everyone has a park within a few minutes walk."

In New Albany, we've opted for the "grand park" approach. Millions in TIF borrowing have produced several mini-Disneys, but not the sort of neighborhood approach being advocated in yet another thoughtful posting at Strong Towns.

GRAND PARKS VS. NEIGHBORHOOD PARKS, by Andrew Price

When we talk about parks in cities, I think it helps if we can classify parks into two types: Grand Parks and Neighbourhood Parks (Like a lot of things, I am making up terminology here, but I feel that it is often relevant to have terms to distinguish between things.) When I am talking about parks, I do not mean greenspace, which is unnecessary filler. You can often tell the difference between a park and greenspace, because somebody loves a park enough, no matter how small it is, to give it a name.

Grand Parks are places like Central Park, Prospect Park, national parks, Chapultepec, etc. They can range from day trip destinations, or sometimes far-flung destinations in other states.

Neighbourhood Parks are sort of places you expect to find up the street - kids can play there after school, people walk their dog there, you can stroll down there with a book ...

One significant problem with New Albany's mini-Disney approach apart from the misuse of TIF is it being predicated on people driving their cars to the parks, while the notion of neighborhood parks supports walking or biking there.

We have relocated to the NYC area, and are now renting a 3 bedroom townhouse in Hoboken, NJ. It's a very nice family-oriented area, but it is highly urban and virtually the entire city of Hoboken consists of either townhouses or mid-rise apartments. People here either just do not have yard, or it is a tiny communal courtyard.

So, if you have children, or you want to read a book, or lay among the trees, or throw a ball with your dog, you need Neighbourhood Parks. Central Park, as beautiful as it is, is useless for this purpose if you live 50 minutes away - you are not walking there with your book after work everyday.

That is why I think in an urban neighbourhood it is important that if you do not have a private yard that everyone has a park within a few minutes walk.

Even if you have a private yard, Neighbourhood Parks can still serve a purpose. They can be the living room of the community. If I am reading a book or doing work, I find it more relaxing to be among the light flutter of activity found in a public park than to be in absolute solitude. This is probably also why I prefer working from my office, even if I have the ability to telecommute on occasion - it is nice just to be in the presence of others.

Shared points of value: "Taking Sides? With Walkability, There’s No Need."

Given our own perennially miserable Rosenbargerian experience locally, it's an almost revolutionary idea.

To get walkable places, advocates of good urbanism have to answer “What’s the value to me?” for both developers and the public.

The author's three-part format identifies the topic and provides points of value for developers and the public alike.

Walkability
Quality Building Fabric
Open Space and Trails
Frontages
Variety of Housing Types

It is clear and concise, and accordingly, there's almost no chance Deaf Gahan can hear it.

Taking Sides? With Walkability, There’s No Need, by Arti Harchekar (Opticos Design)

As advocates of walkable, livable places, we’ve been involved in urban design discussions around the country and worldwide, observing, learning and understanding firsthand the key steps to successfully creating walkable places—and supporting existing ones.

Form-Based Coding is a key tool to unlocking walkability, but we’ve found simply having empathy for all parties at the table can be paramount. While almost always interested in building the long-term value of a community, administrative staff may be facing certain political pressures in the present. At the other end of the room, developers are often focused more on a near-term gain than long-term assets. Working through design alternatives that positively impact both of these interests can be challenging.

A rule of thumb? To get walkable places, advocates of good urbanism have to answer “What’s the value to me?” for both developers and the public. Here are some of the top discussion points we’ve seen gain traction with both “sides” of the urban design discussion.

Walkability

What Is It? Having amenities and jobs close to housing; building activity geared to the public realm; a physical environment that’s nice to be in, not just pass through

Developer Value: Walkability adds long-term value by catering to the 50% of the population that considers being able to walk to daily goods and services a high priority. Near-term value is gained through narrower streets in well-connected networks by generating better access to the lot and adjacent lots, reducing traffic speeds, reducing stormwater runoff and reducing cost for construction and maintenance. Reductions in traffic speed can potentially increase adjacent residential property values. Long-term value is gained through the ability of such a network to be able to adapt more easily to unexpected market shifts.

Public Value: An interconnected network of streets with pedestrian-oriented characteristics adds long-term value by creating a better balance of land uses and economic generators. Narrower streets in well-connected networks decrease accident rates, facilitate mobility choice, and enable the reduction of vehicular miles traveled.

Our NA: Parks and Recreation Department does its job. Are the plaques ready yet?

City Hall sounded the trumpets. That's always an ominous sign.

Last year, with the help of community input, the New Albany Parks and Recreation Department finalized their 5 year master plan for 2017-2021. In a letter to the New Albany Parks and Recreation Board, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources stated that they have reviewed the plan, and have certified that it meets all of the department's requirements. Additionally, Indiana DNR has validated that New Albany is now eligible to apply for Land and Water Conservation Fund grants. The letter stated that Indiana DNR supports New Albany Parks and Recreation planning efforts and encouraged participation in the grants programs administrated by the Division of Outdoor Recreation.

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources has a web site. In the section titled Land & Water Conservation Fund, rules for eligibility are stated.

Who is eligible?

Only park and recreation boards established under Indiana law are eligible. The park and recreation board must also have a current 5-year master plan for parks and recreation on file, approved at the Division of Outdoor Recreation.

Note the city's self-laudatory press release, contrasted with eligibility requirements. Had the county and city park boards remained as one, and had it pursued the default strategy of writing a master plan (something public and private entities do much of the time), then the outcome could have been the same.

In short, propaganda is propaganda. Team Gahan did its job, shuffled the paper and met minimum eligibility requirements for matching grants. Doing its job is what Team Gahan (or an other governmental unit) is supposed to do. The question to ask is this: Given that these DNR grants are 50/50 matches, what projects does City Hall have in mind ... and from which account will the match be drawn?

Do we all get "just do your job" trophies yet?

Park demographics: "Many public spaces like parks are currently lacking age-friendly infrastructure."

"No seniors on the artificial turf, please."

Warren, as City Hall's token senior ... would you like to weigh on on this one?

ARE PARKS ALIENATING THE AGING POPULATION? by Emily Matlovich (Strong Towns)

If you stroll through a park you’re likely to find a dog fetching a frisbee, children playing on the equipment, teenagers jogging with headphones, and families having picnics. What you're less likely to find is senior citizens.

For the first time in human history the amount of individuals aged 65 and older will surpass the population under the age of 5. To put this into further perspective, by the year 2050, a third of the U.S. population will be 65+. Despite urban planners' best efforts to accommodate this demographic phenomenon, many public spaces like parks are currently lacking age-friendly infrastructure. This means that seniors miss out on the physical and social benefits that parks can provide.

Vaughn, Within City Limits: Episode I, The Phantom Menace.

Vaughn, Within City Limits: Episode I, The Phantom Menace.

By Nick Vaughn, Guest Columnist

This is where it begins. The first installment of my new weekly column you, the lovely reader, will be able to find every Friday here on NA Confidential. Luckily, I was able to steal the title of the worst Star Wars movie ever made, although I fear coming up with future titles will become the hardest part of this new hobby.

The title is very fitting for this topic that hits close to home. As many of you know, I have begun the process of starting a nonprofit venture that will, hopefully, begin to curb poverty in our city (although, possibly in my naivety, I have found the process to be very tedious). The title is fitting, however, because poverty in New Albany really is the Phantom Menace of our city.

It is one of the few things that I think is really holding us back from major successes. Poverty is nearly never talked about by our Mayor; he seldom if at all mentions it. In fact, I think the only time in the entire campaign he even was aware of the immense poverty issue in New Albany was at the New Albany Housing Authority Forum, where I filled in for Kevin Zurschmiede and brought the issue up.

The past four years of Gahan saw immense spending: spending on a water park, spending on numerous other parks (some susceptible to flooding), and a very large sports complex. All these projects look nice, but what do they do for the 22.5% of New Albanians who are in deep, dire poverty?

How can spending millions on a water park that 22.5% of New Albanians can’t afford to play at be justified? In the low income housing area by the Floyd Memorial Hospital, the average income per year is a little over $8,000. $8,000 in one year to live off of! I challenge the Mayor to try living off of that instead of the $84,000 he makes in a year (which I might add is a little much, but that is an article for another day).

The reason poverty is the Phantom Menace of New Albany is because you would never think it is as big of a problem as it actually is if you ask our Mayor. If you look at his actions as Mayor, this either shows he doesn’t care about the high rate of poverty, or else he just doesn’t know about it. I’m not sure of the dynamics in his administration, but I find it very hard to believe he doesn’t know nearly a quarter of the population he represents can’t afford to use his shiny new water park, let alone pay their bills on time.

I don’t want to accuse the Mayor of not caring about the impoverished. I don’t think that is the case. However, I do think that his actions and blatant disregard for even talking about the issue makes it tough to debunk, whether he cares or not. I just hope that in these next four years the Mayor begins to address this very pressing issue.

I have already extended my hand for support, if he needs it, and I am very willing to help him tackle this. This issue crosses party line; I just hope everyone realizes that.

So, what is there to do? How about we first start caring and become compassionate people who care about our fellow men, women, and children. I have several ideas that I cannot fully explain in this medium, mainly because I want to keep my articles fairly short and focused, however, I am hoping to share my ideas in coming articles and I do hope our elected officials reach out to me.

Until the next article, I will leave you with this first of many weekly quotes:

“We must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” ­
-- John F. Kennedy.

Baylor for Mayor's second campaign video: "Parks is Parks."

"Incumbent Democratic mayoral candidate Jeff Gahan talks a lot about parks ... now."

Previously: "A Question of Health and Safety."

Roger Baylor, Independent candidate for New Albany mayor, answers a question about public health and safety during a League of Women Voters debate. Incumbent Democratic candidate Jeff Gahan attempts to rebut.

Green Mouse asks: Who knew the city "abated" almost $1 million in lease payments for Valley View Golf Course?

The Green Mouse isn't much of a golfer, but recently he came across documents that suggest a disturbing absence of transparency on the part of city officials during last year's Valley View Golf Course reconstruction.

In a "Status of Reconstruction Project" memorandum dated May 25, 2014, written by club president John Kraft and addressed to the golf club membership, two conditions for the reconstruction project are identified (underlined passage is ours).

Your Board of Directors met on May 22, 2014. As stated during the opening day activities, this memo is written to provide an update on the reconstruction project and additional information you may find interesting.

The Board unanimously approved a loan proposal from Your Community Bank to finance the construction of 19 new greens and 18 new bunkers. This loan remains contingent on two items: 1) that the city of New Albany signing a revised Agreement, now an Operating Agreement, that essentially abates our payment obligations during the life of the loan (16 years), and 2) the commercial appraisal of our facility and assets that will be used as collateral for the loan. The city currently has a final draft of the Operating Agreement and we remain confident this will be executed soon.

The lease payments in question are $60,000 per year, totaling a $960,000 abatement over the 16-year term.

The minutes of the June 24, 2014 Board of Public Works and Safety meeting document the city's official explanation of the new operating Agreement.

Mr. Gibson presented an operating agreement between the city of New Albany and Valley View Golf Club, Inc. He explained that this deals with the quality of life projects that they have been doing over the last couple of years which include the aquatic center, the sports complex, and improvements to the parks. He stated that this goes along with those other improvements and explained that the paving of cart paths have been approved for Cherry Valley Golf Course and this is another intiative dealing with Valley View and the land out in that area. He explained that the golf course is owned by the City of New Albany and there has been a lease agreement with Valley View since that time and this will modify and replace the old long term lease with an operating agreement which basically says that the land will continue to be used as a golf course and Valley View will continue to maintain and operate it on behalf of the city.

A question from Warren Nash followed: Is the club making the improvements?

Mr. Gibson stated that they are and they are assuming all of the debt that goes along with the improvements.

The $960,000 abatement is not mentioned in the minutes. BOW unanimously approved the agreement, and on July 28, another memorandum to club membership from Kraft confirms it.

... making a true partnership in the spirit of the cooperation between the Club and the City when I-64 forced the Club to move from New Albany to Floyds Knobs.

That, and now $960,000 more.

On June 24, 2014, following the choreographed Board of Works rubber stamp, the News and Tribune reported details of the city of New Albany's new operating agreement with Valley View.

The New Albany Board of Public Works and Safety agreed to a 16-year operating agreement Tuesday that will see more than $700,000 in improvements made to the course.

The best part, from the city’s standpoint, is that Valley View will be paying for the upgrades, which will feature 19 new greens at the golf course.

City residents will also receive a 10 percent reduction in green fees when they play a round at Valley View ...

... Shane Gibson, an attorney with the city’s legal department, said the city will also receive 5 percent of gross sales

“This will be a good, positive step for land the city of New Albany owns,” Gibson said.

The mayor was ready with a press release.

“These long-overdue investments will benefit the people of New Albany now and for many years to come,” Mayor Jeff Gahan stated in a news release issued following the board of works meeting.

From start to finish, either in BOW minutes or the newspaper's coverage, is there any mention of the $960,000 abatement.

And by the way, city council knew nothing until the deal was done.

For those of you keeping score, it looks as though another cool million should be added to the bill ... and deducted from a neglected list of opportunities.

WATCH THIS VIDEO: Baylor for Mayor ... A question of health and safety.

"Roger Baylor, Independent candidate for New Albany mayor, answers a question about public health and safety during a League of Women Voters debate. Incumbent Democratic candidate Jeff Gahan attempts to rebut."

It's our first video release, riffing off a point made by Jeff Gillenwater at the debate's conclusion:

Baylor: The Gahan administration has spent and spent and yet the lives of most New Albany citizens remain unchanged. I'm perennially disappointed when local Democrats aim all our money and projects at the wants of upper and middle class suburban white people while real fundamentals like transportation and a level playing field go unaddressed. They never seem to talk about the local independent businesses who employ most people, affordable housing, income inequality, a living wage, or anything of the sort.

Gahan: I resent that suggestion. Anyone who can manage to get a ride to this multi-million dollar indoor soccer facility I financed against tax revenue for the next 20 years is welcome to use it.

Parks are nice, but "poverty negatively affects Americans’ health over the long term."

Meme courtesy of a campaign supporter.

Artificial turf in a civic vacuum might as well have remained a brown field. We'll have more to say about this in the coming week, but for now, just think about the ways that poverty isn't healthy -- no matter how many parks you build.

Four Ways That Poverty Hurts Americans’ Long-Term Health, by Sy Mukherjee (Think Progress)

 ... Poverty cuts off vital resources to the poor and places them in an environment of ongoing stress — and that has long-lasting effects on Americans’ general wellness that can be difficult to reverse. Here’s how poverty negatively affects Americans’ health over the long term.

Falling Run 2: A look back at 2006, and "West End Woes."

On a few past occasions, we've taken a look at the unfulfilled potential of Falling Run Creek, as here.

From Yonkers to Falling Run.

Also, earlier today.

The first mention of Falling Run at NAC seems to be April 3, 2006, and this essay by the Bookseller.

As an aside, isn't it ironic how often "West End Woes" and "Dan Coffey" appear in a sentence together? It's almost like cause 'n' effect.

Here is the entire piece from 2006.

---

West End Woes

In most cities, you won't find the congenitally disaffected even bothering to cast a vote, but in New Albany, Indiana, right here on the river, members of that class seem to have found an outlet for their green-eyed resentfulness - warming a seat on the Common Council of the City of New Albany for Districts 1, 2, 3, and 4.

As a public service, NA Confidential is pleased to be able to prepare this brief for 1st District Council Member Dan Coffey to use at tomorrow's Board of Public Works and Safety meeting. (That's the same room you'll be seated in Monday night, since you haven't often been able to find the elusive BoW in session.)

But first, a digression. The missus and I went out last p.m. to gig some trogs, er, frogs, dodging raindrops along the way. It was an educational trip. We ranged across various trouble spots previously highlighted and found a few new ones that will need the attention of our public servants.

Spring is a time to blossom, and the showers came just in time for the city to begin its weekly street cleaning meanders (Don't ignore those red no parking notices, sports fans. NAC readers will have no excuse for getting caught parked on the wrong side of the street on the wrong day).

The early rains did little more than wash a lot of seasonal grime away, but by 5 p.m. the storms had become real gullywashers. My bride escorted me to inspect some of the flood plains and roadways that typically suffer hardest from strong rains.

We were pleased to see great progress being made on the Vance Avenue church pastored by the Rev. Anthony B. Toran. It looks like it's going to be a spacious, yet economical, house of worship before too long. And it is without doubt an enhancement to the neighborhood.

We then proceeded to the Beechwood/Grant Line/Daisy Lane "triplesection," which remains in limbo until the Daisy Lane widening (lane-widening?) project moves further along. I understand that Mr. McCartin owns that plot once used for a gas station/market, and one would assume we can divine just who The Gary is backing this election season from the campaign signs on display there (No, I won't tell you. Go look for yourself!).

A quick hop northwestward to the top of the hill illuminated some of the research we had done earlier in the day with GoogleEarth (go download it to your machine now - it can't find our house, but it will get you close enough to see what detritus is stored behind CM Larry Kochert's back fence).

By satellite, the proposed development across from the Daisy Lane/Schell Road intersection seems like a no-brainer. That is, until you walk the ground. Nearby is the biggest of the city's doughnut holes, the tower farm and flood plain that separates State Streeters from Grant Liners. The site straddles the turn that brings westbound drivers on a true western heading after the three-way stop.

I can't blame the residents along Schell for using this occasion to lobby for improvements to their street. But I'm not sure how traffic on Daisy Lane will affect the flow or volume on Schell. It looks as if someone would really have to go out of their way to use Schell to bypass the aforementioned Beechwood "triplesection," and if they so desired, they would be doing it now.

The Plan Commission and staff, as well as the developer, seem to think that even Daisy Lane won't be overwhelmed by the daily addition of 300 or so vehicles, at least after the road improvements are completed.

This project qualifies as infill development, if not in a "blighted" area, and I'm hard-pressed to argue against it. We sure would like to hear more from its opponents than has been publicly reported.

The northwest corner of Daisy Lane and Green Valley Road is bare of any "Coming Soon" signs courtesy of The McCartin Companies. No word yet on whether that company is still determined to expand the commercial boundaries northward into the residential enclaves. Can it be that a line of demarcation has been drawn?

One sign of spring is the blossoming of candidate political signs. Someone should give a prize to the candidates with the best sign designs. Wonder if that would count as a campaign donation?

Taking a stroll in your own precinct, or a drive across town, may be one of the best ways to figure out who the players are in the May 2 primaries, at least until The Tribune issues its much-awaited thumbnails of the races. If voters start paying attention now, we'll have made better choices in May - and in November.

Though each is unopposed, both Mark Seabrook (currently a Republican city council member) and Randy Stumler (currently a Democratic county council member) have their signs out. I still have to check again to see if there are any contested races in the Republican primary. They do seem to be disciplined when it comes to winnowing the candidates.

I've enjoyed watching these signs sprout, although I'm dying of curiosity to know who Ms. Ali is supporting via yard-sign placement. And I'm making it a point to examine those candidates who've forsworn this particular form of electioneering.

We also climbed the hill to New Beginnings Church. I've been curious about this church since I arrived here. It sure looks nice. But wasn't one of the conditions for building there, particularly on that slope, that the church would put in sidewalks as part of the development permission from the Plan Commission? Why then are there still no sidewalks? Surely the neighbors in the adjacent subdivision are going to be ticked off if that doesn't happen soon.

But back to our stated mission. Despite the frog-strangler, we came up empty on trog, er, frog-sightings, and had to settle on store-bought tilapia for dinner, seasoned with Steak Dance brand meat seasoning and tenderizer. Pretty good stuff. They claim it's "Great for All Meats," and "our family" can attest to that. [THIS SPACE FOR RENT ;)]

We followed the easiest course (downhill) to see if the much-ballyhooed exploding sewer caps were dancing. Nope, at least not on our trip, and we ranged fairly widely around town. Nor did we see any anal-retentives out ruining their shoes - which makes me wonder just how hard for it is for them to leave the house prepared with rubbers - the footwear kind, I mean).

But we did take note of an abominable situation in the West End. The construction of Interstate 64 did much damage to community and commerce in the underpopulated 1st District, but I understand that happened quite a few years ago.

The New Albanian received an anonymous missive recently from those precincts, and perhaps what we saw just two short blocks from CM Coffey's abode is one of the horrors spoken of by his putative constituent.

Falling Run Creek was once a significant waterway, and navigable instead of being merely a watershed tributary. I'm told that riverboats were floated down Falling Run to the Ohio. The "park" alongside it would make a wonderful interpretive center for the history of boat building in New Albany. Even though it is subject to frequent flooding, there are terracing solutions that would make it a vital attraction no matter the water level. Memphis, Tennessee's Mud Island comes to mind as a model for a mini-park that would serve the community while drawing tourists.

But what we spotted on the bank opposite Joe Kraft Park is one of the ugliest abominations I've seen in any urban area. The north bank of Falling Run Creek is derelict. It is nothing less than a dump. You can't tell me the creek waters washed that assortment of goods 30 feet up the bank.

This is clearly the city's responsibility. Joe Kraft Park is clearly the responsibility of the city/county Parks Department, and both need to be cleaned up pronto.

We had no camera handy, and no picture would do this scene justice. Go there and see for yourself. 612 West Seventh Street is the nearest home, but this simply isn't a homeowner's or tenant's problem. It is ours.

So, here's your brief, Dan. You live two blocks from the scene. You told the public you considered Joe Kraft Park to be your own responsibility. You've shown remarkable restraint so far in not demanding that this eyesore in your neighborhood be cleaned up.

We're with you, Dan. Let's get this fixed now. If the city can't afford to put the resources into it because you've obstructed things for so long and tried to offer a government on the cheap, tried to destroy every progressive idea that ever came up, then organize a community clean-up day. Get your pet non-profit improvement association involved. Stream cleanup and anti-dumping legislation are, of course, progressive ideas, but with an election near at hand, surely even you can "break bread" with the progressives for a good cause. 'Cause your volunteers will be, by definition, progressives furthering a progressive cause.

Progressive is as progressive does, as a kind lady told me today. That is correct, ma'am - that is correct.

Falling Run 1: An example at Beargrass Creek?

Read "Beargrass Creek," and think "Falling Run."

Beargrass Creek and the road to revitalization, by Kevin Gibson (LEO Weekly)

 ... He sees the project as having a three-fold benefit: First and foremost, it will stabilize the areas adjacent to the creek, many of which have been used as illegal dumps. Secondly, it will “put more eyes on the creek.” And by doing that, the third benefit will be that with that newfound focus on Beargrass Creek, it will motivate the community to restore it and keep it clean and accessible.

“People do believe in clean water,” Wicks says. “People do believe in healthy streams.”

Whither "Jeff Gahan Presents: Aquatic Center and Jiffy Lube"?

The Green Mouse was chatting with an insider who's been eyeing the possibilities on the outside.

What's up with the aquatics center?

First off, we delayed the opening to June 15th or 18th. Right now the pool is just concrete, still needs to be sealed and painted, and then electrical and plumbing finished -- not to mention finishing all of the building-out around it, like parking lots and concession stands being finished. I don't see it hitting anywhere close to the revised dates.

But then what?

Well, now we're staying away from advertising any opening day at all. We don't want to advertise something that can't be predicted.

I've heard that the pool manager's salary is $70,000 per annum. What's happening with that?

(strange ... but the connection went dead)