Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

CAUSE WHAT WAS IN ?“THEORY?” THEN HAS BECOME TRUE NOW!

Written and printed in the fall of 1999
To the Editor: (This Week in Pickerington)

The Upcoming November City of Pickerington election may be the most important in the history of the city. Pickerington citizens will have the opportunity to reclaim the city from the strangle hold currently held by developers. The good news is Mayor Lee
Gray will not run for re-election. The bad news is he has anointed Councilman Randy Hughes as his successor.

Hughes has been little more than a rubber stamp for Gray?’s failed growth and development policy. It should surprise no one that a local developer who has benefited from uncontrolled growth circulated an election petition in support of Hughes for mayor.

If elected, Hughes would be little more than a puppet for Gray and developers.

In terms of city council elections, I recommend voters vote for the challengers, not the incumbents. Incumbents Fox and Postage offer little hope for change. Fox ix more interested in running for state representative in the spring. He will continue to support Gray and developers if it means more contributions for his political coffers.

The other incumbent Lou Postage should have retired several campaigns ago. Postage has been in the back pocket of developers for years and has no vision for Pickerington other than high density residential growth.

Any serious candidate for mayor will run on a platform of hiring a new city manager. Pickerington needs a city manager capable of fulfilling the duties of the positions.

If voters are tired of rising taxes, overcrowded schools, uncontrolled residential growth, and a substandard transportation system, they should vote for change.

Vote for the future of Pickerington.


By Archiv?’er

1999 letter to the editor

This is another letter to the editor which appeared in several local papers in 1999.

To the editor:

Let?’s look at the situation our current leaders have gotten us into. Our schools are bursting at the seams and we need more money to expand and run them. Yes, TAXES. New developments are zoned and built at a furious pace loading our schools even more. The best we can do for commercial is Grocery stores, a theater and fast food joints that provide local employment for our teens. This is a real Norman Rockwell painting.

We say it is time for a big change. We are not preaching radical rhetoric. But we are tired of local government leaders who claim ?“It?’s not us?…It?’s them.?” We are exasperated by those who say ?“We want to manage growth but they won?’t let us.?” We are sick of those who won?’t lift a finger to build a classroom, but fall all over themselves in the rush to rezone more bedrooms. We are positively livid at the hired help who wail that the developers are all over them to build more water and sewer lines.

Our problems are not national. They are not statewide. They?’re right here. We all got on the Pickerington community elevator early. Look around. We don?’t have anyone in elected office who?’s willing to say ?“Whoa! No more!?” Although everyone wants to ride the elevator, common sense says it won?’t be pretty once one too many get on. The actions of our current leaders if unchecked are certain to destroy the community that we want to preserve.

Let?’s make a change now. Let?’s start saying ?“NO!?” Let?’s elect someone who understands the meaning of the word.

Let?’s elect council members who will develop plans to limit residential housing starts, like Ted Hackworth. How about Paul Woodruff to question the city manager?’s push for excessive water and sewer expansion when other infrastructure deteriorates. Let?’s remove council members whose long terms have loaded the elevator time after time These council members and Mayor candidate who are now calling themselves great communicators did not go out and ask you, their neighbors how you felt about more homes behind Kroger. They sat inside their homes while we got your signatures on referendum petitions. They would not let you vote then, so you have a chance to now.

It?’s all in your hands with your vote.




By Closet Philosopher

Why recall II

History guessed again.

CAUSE WHAT WAS IN ?“THEORY?” THEN HAS BECOME TRUE NOW number 2!
From a May ?’99 This Week in Pickerington

It is encouraging that a few Pickerington residents are beginning to speak out against the undue influence developers have over city hall. The mayor, city manager, and City Council continue to maximize developer profits with taxpayer dollars.

The Pickerington bypass is a prime example.

?… insert for clarification ?….(also known as the $700,000.00 road to nowhere) just North of the railroad tracks off Hill Road leading to Berry & Miller?’s Vila Condo?’s.

This developer claims he will develop commercial buildings in the area, but at the same time he has asked and received from City Council a rezoning from commercial to residential on his property near the intersection of state Route 256 and Refugee Road.

He claims there is not enough demand for commercial development. It is becoming quite evident the only reason the bypass is moving forward is because the developer wants it for his project, which will probably end up as a residential development.

?…. insert for REALITY?…That?’s what has happened so far 4 YEARS LATER !!

The city manager and the chairman of the service committee recently conceded in the local weekly newspaper that the bypass project is cost prohibitive at the conservative estimate of $3 million dollars and will probably never be fully completed. Despite these admissions, the mayor and City Council intend to commit millions of dollars to an ill-conceived project merely to satisfy the greed of a developer.

This is wrong.

If the developer wants the road, he should build it with private funds, not public monies.

?… insert for funding influences ?…

Use a copy & paste to your web browser

http://www.neighborhoodlink.com/org/clubextraPhoto.html?nid=800927166&nclubid=68303919&nsupercity=437534213

?…?… were these less costly uses of developer funds? --- but got results !

The bypass project has been on the planning books for years, but it was abandoned several years ago by City Council when it was realized it no longer had merit. Downtown Pickerington is no longer the center of Pickerington.

The intersection of Refugee Road and state Route 256 is the new commercial hub of the community. If the city plans to use public monies, they should commit to upgrading Refugee and Diley Roads. Road improvements in this area would greatly improve the traffic flow and would further stimulate commercial development, something th school district desperately needs.

This last week, the city planning and zonig director, Fred Lappert, said the proposed downtown bypass is now planned as a dead-end road, which will only benefit the developer. The public is quickly becoming aware that the bypass was never intended to be a complete bypass.

On top of all this, the developer ?….. (and also Platinum Member ) is now seeking an endorsement from the Pickerington Area Chamber of Commerce for the bypass project. I sincerely hope the chamber board realizes the folly of endorsing a dead-end bypass. If we are going to spend $3 million in public monies then lets spend them where they will benefit the whole community, including our schools.



By Archi?’ver