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.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
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.
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.
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