Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

I see the Flinched? author started on the council tabling motions and you wound up on sexual predators. Please try your best to stay on topic or start another string. Thanks.

I see that council passed a MOU with the 5 way governmental coalition. Granted, it doesn't have any real substance, but it doesn't leave Pickerington City in the dark like they don't want to cooperate. Was that the intent of the first Fix version?

My questions are why was this not done first? Walk before you run.
Was the other agreement to put Pickerington City in a box?
If we would have gone this way first, would we have had to endure this fighting and petition carrying?
Now we have an election to pay for. Don't miss understand, I'm happy we do and council cannot trade property owners rights and city rights for the appearance of cooperation.
Why is there no discussion at service committee or council meeting regarding the township's response to the first economic agreement between the city and township only? I find this disturbingly odd. I think it gives the appearance of more closed door, people being left out of meetings, where we wind up with the same back and forth again.

Folks, I see nothing but confusion headed our way. 2 agreements. Initiatives. 5 government entities involved. I remember hearing something like if you want a design a horse, do it. Put a group of people togethet to design a horse and you'll wind up with a camel. Is that going to apply here?

By One track mind

Voters involved for the truth

I think what you are seeing here with the Pickerington City Council is some experience over riding the blind belief that the Township Trustee were negotiating in good faith. Clearly the deal they offered Canal and Lancaster is much different than what they offered Pickerington and 40% of their own constituency. Each new JEDD now will pass or fail on its own merits not some predetermined set of numbers worked out in the most simplistic terms by Fix before seeing any numbers or needs of the project.

In light of the fact that before the voters is an initiative for May 8th and a referendum for this November?’s election I think the Council majority wants to see if those issues like a pre-annexation agreement and a development agreement go away before they reach the voters. I think the Mayor and his council majority is trying to gracefully back out of the deal and not speak too much publicly about their collective change of heart. I think the Minority of Council is saving its ammo to fight another day. The majority controls the committees and they control the discussion to a point. The minority members are still free to talk with the press and I believe some have voiced their concerns.

I think the logic from the majority here is they don?’t want to offend the Trustees. I think the logic from the minority is that they don?’t want to rub the majority?’s nose in it. I think minority doesn?’t care about offending the trustees because they see them for what they are.

Clearly Fix has lead the council majority down the path on this one. I heard he even had two Township residents at the Service committee the other night posing as a City residents. They were trying to bring up the paper township issue. The trustees are clearly concerned about the City going its own way and forming a paper township and creating its own Fire Department. I personally don?’t think the city will create its own paper township and fire department without careful study and financial justification. However the very fact that the city could do it and by the fact that if the voters amend the Charter to protect the city from giving that right away it provides leverage in any future negotiations with the Township. Councilman Fix may think he is a great negotiator (Runs a $75 Million Company) but he screwed up big time giving away every bargaining chip the City had. If for no other reason the Citizens of Pickerington need to amend the charter to protect themselves from elected officials Like Mayor Shaver and Councilman Fix. Both of whom have higher aspirations affecting their judgment.

So to answer the question at hand is why no talk. Just speculation on my part but is there a shift in the make up of the council majority? Is new leadership slowly taking over the cause? Is political support weaning away from the current movers and shakers of Council? Clearly 900 plus signatures says something.


By Signer

What's with Harry?

I read today that Harry Meyers seems to approve of this new five way MOU. So the question now is was FIx out on his own and not really getting support from the trustee like he claimed in his emails to HIS FOUR VOTES?

Entangled at best

I see to the left of this posting is the Violet Township response to the development agreement that seems to be dead on arrival in many ways. The terms demanded by the trustees are way out of line for what they are demanding from other municipalities that they are currently negotiating with. As was pointed out earlier this agreement has not been discussed by anyone on council in an open meeting. The fact that this response was to a proposed agreement that is under review by the voters and actually has never become effective or will it until the voters make that decision in November.

The question now is who is running the asylum? With the development agreement passed by council in early January under review and then the council passes unanimously the five party MOU this week which to me appears to be much more flexible and much more desirable to Pickerington then what happens to the development agreement? Clearly the limitations of the development agreement will contradict provisions of the five party MOU. Will Pickerington be restricted in what areas it is allowed to enter into JEDDs? Will these new JEDD areas include portions of the current CEDA areas? The CEDA area was excluded from the development agreement to the left.

It appears that there is disarray in running the city and the documents they causally passed in the name of progress only to entangle themselves later trying to cover their tracks from earlier mistakes. Oh!! what a tangled web we weave. What happens if the voters turn down the referendum in November and it makes the Fix development agreement effective in late November.

Maybe in the future all resolutions and ordinances should have the disclaimer that these kinds of negotiations and legal workings should only be tried by professionals not rookie council members trying to pad a weak resume.