Challenge on Distributing Website Flyer

Today I received the following email from Sara Schumacher, Planning and Zoning Clerk of Minerva Park. This involes me passing out flyers concerning a website (www.minervapark.net) I run to provide news and informaiton about our Village. I am posting here as a resident and believe it is important to share these emails with the community.

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From: mp-schumacher@minervapark.org
Sent: Monday, March 18, 2013 11:04 AM
To: Legg Charles
Subject: Website Flyer

Good Morning,

It has been brought to our attention that you are distributing a flyer promoting your website. We need to determine per our Village code if you need to secure a solicitation permit. Please let me know the nature of your flyer: Personal, Professional or Political.

There is an exception in Chapter 860.03 that allows for: "(2) Peddlers or solicitors on behalf of various associations of school systems, as defined in Section 860.01, the Minerva Park Community Association, or the Village of Minerva Park."

While you do sit on the Council and Planning & Zoning Commission your flyer stipulates that it is not endorsed by the Village therefore this exception would not apply.

Please let me know the nature of this flyer and I will assist you with the permit process and associated fee(s).

Thank you,

Sara Schumacher
Planning & Zoning Clerk
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Below is my reply to Sara concernting this email:

Good Morning Sara,

The nature of my flyer is to inform the residents of the Village of Minerva Park that a website exists that they can use as each resident sees fit, including to converse and express their opinions concerning the Village's government and activities within the Village. It also provides a means to allow me to express my opinions as both a Councilman and a resident of our Village.

The distribution of this flyer is an exercise of my First Amendment Right as provided by the United States Constitution. In addition, this position is supported by the American Civil Liberties Union as expressed in this guideline as published by one of their chapters:

Does the First Amendment protect my right to leaflet door-to-door to private residences?

Yes. Several important Supreme Court cases involving Jehovah’s Witnesses – whose faith mandates the door-to-door distribution of religious materials; have established that the First Amendment protects leafleting at private residences and prohibits restrictions against this right.

In 1938 in Lovell v. Griffin (303 U.S. 444), the Supreme Court overturned a Georgia ordinance (challenged by Jehovah’s Witnesses) that prohibited the distribution of any kind of literature without a permit from the city manager.

More recently, in Watchtower Bible and Tract Society v. Village of Stratton (240 F.3d 553, 2002), the Court overturned a local Ohio ordinance requiring door-to-door canvassers to register with the mayor before engaging in such activities. The Court found that door-to-door leafleting was an essential element of free speech, not only for religious speech, but also for anonymous political speech and the distribution of other types of handbills.

http://www.aclu-tn.org/pdfs/your_right_to_protest.pdf

In addition, local no-solicitation ordinances are being challenged and struck-down all over Ohio, including Riverlea, which no longer requires a solicitation permit. Please read this post by the Ohio Citizen Organization:

http://ohiocitizen.org/tag/canvassing/

In response to Jennifer's comments concerning the disclaimer on my flyer, I clearly state that the website has no connection with the Minerva Park Administration, Government, or MPCA, however under the First Amendment I have the right to express my opinion as both a Councilman and a resident of the community.

My rights are not diminished just because I am a public servant, however I will clearly declare in my comments or blog that I am speaking either as a resident or as a Councilman, much the same way as Councilman McCreary did recently concerning the budget-cut letter he distributed to Council members.

I am not sure why this has become such a major issue all of a sudden, but I will stand by my First Amendment right and continue to operate the MinervaPark.Net website and continue distributing flyers as needed.

 

Charles Legg

City of Columbus to Annex the Village of Minerva Park

What does it take to get the residents of a community, village, or city involved in their local government? The answer in most cases is a crisis that enrages the residents. A crisis that is of such enormous proportions that no resident can ignore the consequences regardless of their political affiliation or like or dislike of the current elected administration. The disassembly of the Village of Minerva Park’s autonomous government and its residents being annexed within the surrounding City of Columbus could be such a crisis. While a few Minerva Park residents would perhaps embrace such an action, I believe the vast majority would object

Now that I have your attention, let me assure you that, as far as I know, there have been no such actions considered for our Village. However, would any of you idly stand by as such actions are discussed and set into motion? I doubt it. Then why is it that month after month, the residents of our Village have no interest in what our Village government is doing? What policies the Planning and Zoning Commission are considering, what legislation our Village Council is considering or passing, or the economic state of our Village? The last Budget Committee meeting held had only one resident show up. Where are the other 99.9 percent of residents? Do you really trust your government with that much power in that they will spend your tax dollars wisely? Normally only one or two residents come to Council meetings. What about legislation that your Village Council is passing on a monthly basis? Do you at least read the Villager? Statistics would indicate no, and that most residents toss the Villager into the forgotten mail pile.

I created this website a little more than a year ago as a communication medium for the residents. Over the past year I have had 9 residents (out of over 1200+) who have registered with the website so they can read and make comments in the forums. Of those 9 residents, only one Council member has registered (excluding myself), and no registered resident has posted to the forum section of the website. Just recently one resident did post a comment to my blog. I have no idea who visits this website but I do know this website contains up to date listings of legislation before Council, current financial reports, and other important documents involving the Village government that cannot be found anywhere else at this time.

One real crisis our Village is facing is a fiscal deficit of over $142,000 for fiscal year 2013. Despite several meetings, this large amount, 13 percent of the current budget, still looms over our Village. There have been suggestions as to what to cut, but it seems the administration does not want to seriously give up anything that would significantly reduce or eliminate this deficit. If you have any interest in the fiscal health of our Village, I ask, no beg you to come to the next Budget Committee meeting to be held at 7:00 p.m. on February 27, 2013. Council rules state that all residents are welcome to committee meetings, but residents comments are normally not permitted, so keep that in mind if you attend. All residents have the opportunity to deliver comments at the conclusion of the monthly Council meetings.

Our Village Lakes and Ravine

The lakes and ravine are a natural resource treasure for the Village of Minerva Park. They significantly add to property values and charm of our Village. In fact, the ravine drew my wife and me to our current home on Lakewood. This value is not just limited to properties in close proximity to the resources, but contributes towards all properties within the Village. However, as with assets such as a car or home, they can also be very demanding when it comes to care and maintenance. They form a very complex and interwoven environment that constantly changes, and as nature has a tendency to do, that change is always toward chaos and disorganization. As any gardener knows, planting the garden is only the first step. Constant care must follow with weeding and watering.

Unfortunately, the lakes and ravine have not received much care over the past years and this has led to the multitude of issues that the Village and its residents now face. If you spend time or live by the lakes, you surely are aware of the unhealthy condition of the north lake. The rock dam area is another poor and smelly area due to debris, silt, and trash that washes down the ravine with each heavy rain; and with each downpour, thousands of cubic feet of soil is stripped from the ravine’s banks. The earthen dam is another concern and has recently been a point of safety focus by State government authorities. Most of the storm water that cascades down the ravine and into the lakes, causing many of the problems above, comes from the surrounding area of the City of Columbus. This includes Northland Plaza, the Meijer parking lot and surrounding surfaces, and the Forest Park development streets. This water shed is extensive, yet the City of Columbus accepts no responsibility for the water.

In the 1970’s the Village and many of its residents took the surrounding commercial property owners and the City of Columbus to court concerning this issue, however due to a poor legal representation, the Village and residents lost on all counts. In addition, the City of Columbus received a stay from the courts against the Village suing over the same issue. The simple argument the City of Columbus won on: water had flown down the ravine for hundreds of years, so they are not responsible! Yet engineers know that creating large asphalt parking lots connected by storm drains significantly increases flow rates of rainwater since there is no absorption by grass and soil. However, the Village’s legal representatives did not present this challenge with engineering studies.

When viewed as a whole, these issues are certainly overwhelming, especially considering the costs involved to resolve them. Several times in the past a proposal to remove the dam, replacing the drained lakes with large pipe, and filling in the area with dirt to create a green space has been entertained. I cannot image anyone being serious about such a proposal. The effect this would have on lake property alone would be catastrophic. However, I believe these challenges can be undertaken, and over time, the restoration of the lakes and ravine can take place. There have been many successful ravine and lake reclamation projects in Ohio that can lead the way.

I am proposing to create a comprehensive plan that will outline the steps needed to begin reversing the negative environmental impacts that are affecting the ravine and lakes. This plan will also identify financial assistance from Federal, State, County, and local resources. I also propose to revisit the City of Columbus’ legal shared responsibility in the large quantities of water that transverse Village property. Much has changed since the 1970’s concerning environmental law, and soil and water conservation liabilities. In time, working together we can restore our valuable natural resources to their once healthy and grand beauty. Learn more at http://www.minervapark.net.

Three Issues Facing Our Village

The Village of Minerva Park faces three main issues in the next four years: the Village budget, the continued maintenance of a highly visible and effective safety services, and the bolstering of the Village’s image through code enforcement, zoning ordinances, and infrastructure improvements.

Without a doubt, the number one issue of the Village is the budget. Minerva Park’s revenues are decreasing due to the continued unemployment, poor housing market, and turbulent economic times which not only affect the income of residents, but also lower Franklin County real-estate evaluations, which also decrease Village tax revenues. On top of these dilemmas, Federal and State government cutbacks are drying-up grants the Village has depended upon for years. In addition, services and the cost of goods continue to escalate, especially those associated with gasoline and health insurance, two major components of safety services. I will address the third and second issues first.

When surrounded by the same environment, it is human nature to become accustomed to that environment. The current homeowners look at their property differently than a prospective buyer. You may be used to the water stain on the basement wall, but to a prospective buyer, it might as well have a bulls-eye around it. The next time you drive or walk through the Village, I want you to pay close attention to the number of faded and rusted no parking and stop signs, deterioration of paint on fire hydrants, and the condition of curbs. Check the condition of the crumbling concrete walls at the dam spillway, the broken stone walkway walls, the missing fountains in the south lake, and the condition of the playground equipment. These are all small observations individually, but as a whole, they speak volumes to visitors and prospective residents, and they do see these things differently than we residents. Many long time residents of the Village remember a time when such things were not true. When voluntarism of Village residents was greater in the past, which helped maintain much of the infrastructure, which now require paying a contractor or vendor..

As far as the second issue, the one and only thing that keeps the surrounding deterioration and plunging property values out of our Village is the thin blue line our police officers draw around our Village. Without this instrument of law enforcement, our Village would be just like the surrounding area with high crime rates and plunging property values. However, that protection costs money just as the infrastructure maintenance mentioned above.

That brings us back to issue number one, financing the Village. Undoubtedly, you will hear from the other candidates that the resolution of this issue simply means cutting bloated expenses and keeping the budget balanced with revenues already in place. While it may be true that new eyes on the revenues and expenses may resolve some constraints, it is highly unlikely cuts alone can balance our budget, which is required by State of Ohio law, while keeping services at the same or better level. Safety services takes up well over one half of the general budget.

If elected this fall, I propose to investigate the drafting of a safety levy to be put on the ballot in the coming year. A safety levy could alleviate some of the burden on the general fund and thus free funding for the repairs and maintenance of the infrastructure mentioned earlier. No one wants to pay more taxes, especially me, but such a levy, in my opinion, would cost far less than the proposed “gated community” idea and could reach the same goal of making our Village safer and raising our property values as a whole. The amount of such a levy would need to be determined after a careful examination of projected budgets. But remember, as residents you will have the authority to approve or disapprove any levy at the voting booth. Learn more at http://www.minervapark.net.