Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

Some good ?– let?’s make it better

Now folks, there are some good things that come from the Violet Festival. The kids get to play, the whole community gets another show of fireworks, it can be family and community time.

Like you I think that the real message behind the festival is the self-promotion of the few, rather than a celebration of the many. The lack of more corporate sponsors and the inclusion of homebuilding industry?’s ?“muscle?” are very apparent.

I propose some changes in the Violet Festival.

1. Hold the Festival during the Labor Day weekend, along with other Labor Day events. Family vacations will have ended, kids will be back in school ?– getting in a last fling of fun, parents will have more time off as that holiday coincides with more work time off. After all Pickerington is about living here and working there. So let everyone have a better shot at enjoying the Festival.
2. Get the City Council off that stupid float that makes them look like Violet Festival beauty queen wan-a-be?’s. Elevate the young ladies that are the Violet Festival pageant participants to the float level. Elected officials should be at eye level with their constituents ?– better yet they should be greeting ?‘n meeting with their constituents. You too, Trustees.
3. If you?’re going to have horses have a clean up crew RIGHT behind them. Maybe this could be the Council member?’s role. It?’d sure beat seeing them with a stick shoved up their a_ _ on the float. However, maybe that stick is more of a symbol of the developers giving these Good Ol?’ Boys the backbone they illustrate in their performance.
4. To get more corporate sponsors you need to have more corporate neighbors. It?’s time we get moving on this. Maybe then we can make a move to the ?“work here, play here?” ideology that will make for a better community.

No Parking

I didn?’t stay for the fireworks. If they were good then the City Administration didn?’t have anything to do with them.

I agree the Violet Queen and her court should have been front and center. The PHS band should have been up near the front also. The 6 dwarfs should have either not been in the parade or at the very least trailing far behind where they belonged. If the City Council wants the parade to be about them then let them pay it with their own money not mine.

I think what is so irritating to me is the late of parking at these events. If you go to Canal Winchester for their Labor Day festivities you can park on the Huntington bank parking lot, the South Central Power parking lot and the Bank one Parking lot. In Pickerington, they post TOW AWAY SIGNS. Then the parking lot behind the Chamber of Commerce that we as taxpayers just paid for they block the road off so you can?’t even get to the lot. I even saw no parking signs on Columbus Street that was not being used for the Cruise In.

Yet when you got down over the hill they had all this space with the tents and displays spread out everywhere with no people. One should go to Circleville in October and observe their celebration of the Pumpkin. Folks it is about the harvest time and the Pumpkin. They also have parking everywhere no matter which direction you come into town from. Canal is the same way.

I think you boost the image of the Violet Festival, by moving the stage back to almost Lockville Road. Use the blacktop area of the O?’Brien Shelter house to set up chairs for the audience of the shows. I would also blacktop the gravel parking lot for additional seating. On the west edge of this newly paved parking I would allow the vendors to set up their stands. I would pack them in. Very small gaps between each stand. Behind the first of stands, I would set up another row of stands with room for service trucks to drive down between them. By the counting the number there the other night I can see that it would only take these two rows of vendor stands. Now we are left with this large empty field that we could use for parking. The city might consider building another shelter house at the north end of the blacktop in Victory Park. My last comment about the parking is that damn VIP parking in the Victory Park paved lot. First the city should enlarge that lot even more. They should build a safe path from the Sycamore Park parking over to the Victory Park and they should also build a path down from the Junior High Parking and along with the High School Parking lot. Keep the alley that goes behind the New City Parking lot behind the PACC OPEN.

Leave the no parking signs at home and make people coming into our city feel welcome. I understand that there were some people collecting signatures from festival goers. I understand they were noticing a large percentage of the people attending the Festival were from outside the City. The city leaders come off as snobs, isolationist, and down right rude. Very similar behavior at the council meetings. If we want the Violet Festival to be a success we will need to be much friendlier than we currently are.




By Martha Stewart

I am for the PEOPLE

Dear Bored,

Last Friday evening was the first Violet Festival that my wife and I had ever been to. She and I were there not only to enjoy the fine display of the great people of Pickerington but also to introduce myself as a candidate for Fairfield County Commissioner. I have read many letters and comments from the citizens of Pickerington concerning wrong doing. My main concern is that I believe that Pickerington is one of the finest communities in Ohio and why does its council feel forced to give concessions to developers to build there. In my opinion, with the beauty of your community, the developers should pay you to build there!!! Although the infamous ''IMPACT FEE'' on developers is illegal in Ohio, it is legal in most other states. Why must we all pay to allow the developer build and not finish what he started. The developer should contribute to the schools, fire department and the police de- partment. Vote for Michael Noll Nov 5, 02

Eyes of the beholder

Mike,

Our beauty here in Pickerington is only skin deep. Under the surface is corruption and intimidation. I hope you can succeed in getting elected and change the general direction of the entire county.