Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

To say the least there has been a whole lot of venting going here on this web site. I have read words of recall, poor planning, overcrowded schools, corruption and scandal. Many of these problems can be solved and should be solved by the citizens of this City, Township and The School District.

We can all solve the problems by getting out, to vote, this coming Tuesday, November 5th. I won?’t tell you how to vote but your vote will make a difference. There are issues on the City ballots as well as the Township/School District ballots. If this is a very close election on these three issues then the politicians will read that as ?“business as usual.?” If the vote is overwhelming in one direction or the other then they (elected officials) for their own survival MUST listen.

Last year Pickerington turned out less than 20% of their registered voters to actually vote. This will be your opportunity as a taxpayer, as a citizen, and as a voter to tell our leaders what direction you want them to take. I urge you all to set your alarms clocks now to be able to make it to the polls between the hours of 6:30 A.M. and 7:30 P.M. on Tuesday November 5th.

For the city voters this will be the very first time in a long time that you will have an opportunity to vote on an issue placed on the ballot. Up until now the current elected officials have said everyone loves, ?“what they (City Hall) are doing!?” See Joyce Bushman?’s quote in the ?“OUR?” pages to the left. The Mayor stated some time ago that, ?“the people that love what we are doing won?’t come down to council and tell them so.?” Up until now it has all been conjecture by City Hall.

The City Manager is on record of opposing the three issues on the ballot, issues 17, 18 & 19. Mayor Randall Hughes is on record of opposing these three issues. They have stated why they oppose these three issues. If you agree with the Mayor and the City Manager then please vote against the three issues.

We all must understand that trying to place issues on the ballot from an initiative is a long and tedious process. It requires a lot of hard work form many people. It is slow and while we are circulating the petition, council can under cut your efforts by both legal means and by their ability to pass new laws. We do have three issues on the ballot. They are an effort to control our residential growth. I am sure, if they pass, they can be challenged in court just like every other law that has ever passed.


The elected leaders in our community have, for a long time, tried to hide behind the Ohio Revised Code. They make statements like, ?“Show me a section of the Ohio Revised Code that allows the Township to limit growth.?” It is not the responsibility of the citizens to find and recommend laws to our leaders. It is the responsibility of the elected leaders to find legal ways to ensure a desirable community for all of us. There are legal ways that other Townships and Cities in Ohio have found to control their residential growth and improve their tax base.

Maybe it is time for those leaders to start looking for ways to make this community more desirable for us all.

Wear your sticker

When you vote they give you a round sticker that says, ''I VOTED'' We should all show up at the November 5th Pickerington City Council Meeting proudly wearing our ''I VOTED'' stickers. If going you are gong to complain then VOTE. We should have a lot voters judging by this web site.

Why we are where we are. ..

The beginning-of-the-end must start Tuesday!

Cut&Paste from SNP-Online (10/02/02)

Council plans to bypass bid at referendum

By JENNIFER WRAY

A referendum effort by area residents to repeal the final platting for The Reserve at Pickerington Ponds might have met a quick end.

At Tuesday night's Pickerington City Council meeting, council was expected to rescind the approval of the final plat, passed at the Sept. 17 council meeting, and then pass a similar ordinance and declare it an ''emergency.''

Giving the new legislation emergency designation would prohibit residents from seeking a referendum on council's action.

The housing development, formerly known as the Kohler-Painter property, is located south of Wright Road and between Diley and Schoolhouse Roads.

Violet Township resident Lisa Reade said council is trying to circumvent the petitioners' attempt to put the final platting on the November 2003 ballot for residents to vote on.

Pickerington City Attorney Robert Mapes said the new emergency ordinance was created to ensure the final plat was approved.

Councilman Doug Parker, who is bringing the new version of the ordinance before council, said council members are doing what voters have asked of them.

''We were elected to handle things the way we want to handle them,'' he said.

Mapes said it was a mistake for petitioners to single out The Reserve at Pickerington Ponds because the project will offer residents 21 acres for a park and $102,000 for the schools.

Pickerington city councilman
''It seems like a winner for everybody,'' Mapes said.

Mapes said there is nothing wrong with council's actions.

''The (Ohio) Supreme Court has said that passing something in order to defeat a referendum can be done,'' he said.

Mapes said he cannot understand why residents object to the final platting of a subdivision which he said is modeled on similar subdivisions in Violet Township.

''We do it and then we get slammed for it ... it doesn't make sense,'' he said.

Reade said she wants to slow, not stop development, but council needs to be better prepared in handling residential growth.

''I think people should have every opportunity to (develop), I just think we need a plan to accommodate the children,'' she said.

Reade, a mother of two children at Pickerington Elementary School, said she spearheaded the referendum effort because she was concerned about The Reserve -- and other new subdivisions -- adding more children to an already overburdened and overcrowded school district.

Parker said Reade was being ''extremely selfish'' and that overcrowding in the schools has been an issue for decades.

''There's been overcrowding in these schools since 1977'' when the district was in split-sessions, Parker said.

''It disgusts me ... that (Reade) thinks now that she's here no one else can be here,'' Parker said.

Reade said wanting to ensure proper education for the district's students now and in the future is a selfless act -- not a selfish one.

If The Reserve at Pickerington Ponds is delayed, there will still be enough homes for families who want to live within the district, Reade said.

Parker said Monday he planned to speak at last night's council meeting about the reality of residential development in the city.

''I hope people stand up and look at themselves ... somebody has got to stand up to those anti-Pickerington zealots and tell them they're wrong,'' Parker said.

''So many of these people want to work from emotions rather than facts,'' he said.

Reade said Monday that she, too, planned to speak at the council meeting.

''What message do they want to send? I guess that's going to be my question for them,'' Reade said.