Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

Now we?’ve got Councilman Doug Parker and City Manager Joyce Bushman crowing about commercial development on Refugee Road and Route 256 needing sewer plant expansion in the latest SE Messenger. Get Real ?– I see business closings ?– DRUG EMPORIUM. I see a CAR WASH. And I see APARTMENTS, and CONDO?’S. They?’re right there Doug. Open your eyes.

You narrowly won an election 2 years ago jabbering talking about all the commercial space ?“thousand percent increase?” and we?’ve got NOTHING to show for it except the apartments and condo?’s.

Thanks for the traffic they?’ve given us. Thanks for the money that you?’ve saved these rotten developments from having to pay while we get to absorb the costs of the traffic lights so that you can move more people into your high density developments. Thanks for the TIF?’s so that those that financed you into office don?’t have to front development costs ?– it?’s just tax dollars robbed from our schools.

Yes, it?’s election time again and all you want to do is crow about empty promises, lost land development opportunities for TRUE commercial development and cover the peoples eyes so that you get a sewer plant expansion to keep delivering more undesirable high density junk and they get to flush their toilets while you and Joyce flush OUR quality of life down the drain.



By Doug serving the developers

Plenty of sewer there already

Fairfild County Utilities has lines at Refugee and 256, serving the Big Bear Plaza. They have stated that they have the capacity to serve the area behind Big Bear, and they had the capacity to serve areas on the West Side of 256, North of Big Bear, like Cross Creeks, the Cover properties, the Centex Condo areas etc. Too bad the city WASTED its precious sewer capacity to serve this area by constructing the Cross Creeks Force main at a cost of nearly one million dollars, duplicating the services already available there from Fairfield County. (The County would gladly serve this area regardless of municipal borders) Now they are TIFing part of that sewer project, diverting future revenue from the schools and fire department to pay for this waste to serve the Cover property, behind Big Bear. Why do they do this??? Well Daryl Berry has had property or has property in this area, of course the city is acting as his agent by developing his land via TIFs, and he sells for big profit!The infrastructure costs to improve the land normally borne by the developer, in these cases, Daryl,are paid for from revenue that should go to the schools and fire department.