Here are some of the notes I took from the Administration Committee yesterday 20 Aug 2013

The Music Center project manager started the meeting showing council some renderings (pictures) of some of the architectural features.  I missed the absolute beginning of the presentation so I wasn't in the meeting when it was stated definitively but I gather from subsequent comments that the plan is to…

You can now download the Music Center Validation Study Report. 

I've been campaigning for 8 months to get any of the council members to request city staff post the reports done in preparation of building the Music Center on the city's website either as news or better yet as part of a meetings agenda or minutes.  I've asked them to make the original report done by the city finance and…

Council voted to authorize the $12 million contract for the Music Center Building Package on Monday.  To date there has been no public discussion that shows council members have seen or understand the financial impact to the city.  The Music Center Validation study available here at HuberResidents.org has not be published by the city and the content raises concerns about the operation and revenue expectation.
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While I was mayor, I would not have allowed Mr. Schommer to try and avoid the hard discussion that a responsible public servant would have with residents of a community.  But this council allowed him to sell them on raising the water main assessment for residents on Chambersburg Road from nothing to $5,000 without notifying residents council intended to authorize the impending change.  

This 29…

The City Manager and Mayor made references to two of my earlier posts (Rose Music Center Financial Reports & Deceitful Spin - hiding a $5,000 fee increase) during the Feb 5th discussion on the Rose Music Center update.  You should watch that discussion not only because it will help you understand why I addressed council on Monday, but also because there are some other points made during that discussion…

  
Some Ideas for imporving traffic flow you might suggest once your council decides it is important enough to start the planning:

How about connecting the access road that runs in front of Gander Mtn over to Bridgewater Rd.  This is only about 1/2 mile.  A half mile of road cost about $1.25 million dollars.  This would allow some Huber and Vandalia residents to access businesses in the North Heights Plaza while avioding the area around the interstate interchange.






It would not be impossible to improve Wildcat road to include a bridge over the interstate.  The bridge would be expensive but the I-70 TIF is a big fundraiser and with more development there is the possibility of more funds. 



 

This Monday Council will vote themselves a pay raise.  Though I believe these council members are grossly overpaid for the quality of work they perform, I argue that they are not raising it enough to pay for the quality we need. 

In what range should we set pay for a city council member?  First, I will address my friend and city podcaster, Matt Truman’s contention that dedicated public servants…