News archive
Mayor's Vision - Part .2
Introduction:
A couple of the council members recently challenged me to provide a vision for the city. I used the word “challenged” in the first sentence on purpose because, admittedly, initially I internally scoffed at the request as being insincere. From my personal view my vision and goals have never changed and they should be obvious to anyone that has…
At least one of the proposed amendments should be rejected.
Last year a member of council resigned. In the table below you can see how many council meetings Ward 5 residents went without representation under the 1983 version of the City Charter. The table also identifies who was responsible for Council Member attendance / appointment at each of the missed meetings.
Responsible party | Council Meetings without Representation | Total |
Council Member |
Salary increases and Campaign reform; Could this bring in better c…
Do half the job now. Do half later. Costs 2 times as much.
If council messes up your water pressure will you pay to fix it?
Monday, council will vote to get started on the water pressure project (this is NOT the water softening project). After the project is complete the average water pressure in this new pressure zone will be 80 psi [1]. The typical water pressure for a home…
Christmas Tree Lighting - Historical Society Nov 28th
The Wayne Township Christmas Tree Lighting will be 6 pm Monday November 28th at the Huber Center. The Monticello and Rushmore Schools will provide music. There will be Free Horse Drawn Wagon Rides and Mr. and Mrs Santa will be there. See the brochure below for more of the program.
Should Brandt Pike be reduced to a two lane road?
The Brandt Pike Revitalization project is being documented on http://www.discoverbrandtpike.com
On November 17, 2016 there was a role-up briefing given. You can find the Power Point Slides here. I found the slides to be very useful in creating ideas. I obviously will be advocating that the next time a brief like this is given that a video to be made so those that do not get to go to the original…
Should Thomas Cloud be baseball only?
There are those that hope to claim Huber Heights Thomas Cloud park as a Baseball facility. Currently the park is used for multiple sports, including baseball. Soccer is the biggest and most successful user of the park. Our two major soccer organizations work together as well as two organizations competing for talent can. One of these organizations puts on two nationally recognized tournaments a year drawing hundreds of thousands of dollars to the area.…
Charter Amendments other than Issue 29
I have not posted about the Charter Amendments other than Issue 29, until now, because of the importance of making sure Issue 29 is defeated. I have always judge the current charter as being very well written with only Section 5 needing a re-write. It is a shame that I have to actively campaign against Issue 29 and the proposed changes to Section 5.
Mayor's Thoughts:
Issue 28 - Currently…
Help Wanted - Defeat Issue 29
Vote no on Issue 29 yard signs are now available. Send me an email if you will put one in your yard. issue29@huberresidents.org Also read the article Vote No on Issue 29
Help me make sure all Huber Heights residents know of Issue 29 before they go to vote…
Don't trust politicians - But don't shoot them either!
Even though Council and I will be in a political battle the next couple months over Issue 29 where they will be trying to convince you that politicians should be trusted and I hope you can see we need a system with checks and balances, that doesn’t mean that you should get frustrated or turn to extreme measures. Unless that extreme measure is to go out and make sure your neighbors are aware there is a political battle and they should be engaged (by the way Vote…
Great time at Stuff the Bus
I had a great time again at the stuff the bus event. Looking forward to next year.
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I will be the last person in the dunk tank tonight (Tuesday August 23) for the Every Warrior Plays "Back to School Bash". A…
Energy Aggregation - An important lesson on gathering and documenti…
----------------- Update - 4 Sept, 2016---------------------
The resolution passed on a 5 to 3 vote. I vetod the resolution. Part of that process requires I let council know the reason(s). The read ahead on the work session agenda contains the required written objections.
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The discussion on Energy Aggregation continues with the second reading of…
Vote No on Issue 29 - Fix the Emergency Legislation Problem, Don't…
The problem with Issue 29 is simple. Politician's judgement can't always be trusted so the City Charter needs to be written to make sure resolutions are on the agenda for more than one meeting before they become law. I ask you to vote No on this amendment to the City Charter because it reduces the number of required public readings from 3 to 1. This significantly reduces your opportunity to learn…
City Property For Sale - Possible Recreational Facility?
Update Aug 2, 2016 - See below the ------------ line for the original post
The City acquired the 80 acres pictured below for about $12,500 a year or so ago because the owner was more than $350,000 behind in taxes. Yesterday, it made the news that the Fair Board was interested in this piece of property. Here are my thoughts on making sure the city gets a good value for that piece of property.…
Pokemon Go, Tennis and Volleyball at Thomas Cloud
Thomas and I went over to play tennis tonight. Even though it was nearly 90 degrees, I was happy to see others using the park. There were quiet a few trying to play Pokemon Go. A couple of the players stopped for pictures. You can see it is a game for all ages. There were others playing tennis and volleyball too.
Are there any tennis players out there that have organized a tennis ladder or other group method for getting a game?
…
Community Dialogue: Judicial Reform Thursday, July 14, 2016, 7 -…
Here is an event that I look forward to attending this Thursday here in Huber Heights. As part of my Congressional Campaign I've been meaning to write about some changes in the Ohio Judicial system I would be willing to work to achieve. Since Lawyer logic is nonsensical, my proposal would be to eliminate the requirement that judges have a law degree. In fact, my proposal would limit the number…
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Mayor's Mailbox; IHop, Outdoor Instruments and Arrive Safe this 4th…
I thought I would share some of the items I pulled out of the Mayor's Mailbox this evening.
First I was looking at "The Prosecutor" the newsletter from the Montgomery County Prosecuting Attorney Mat Heck Jr. and found this announcement about free cab rides from July 1st at 6:00 pm until July 5th at 6:00 am. The program is meant for those that drink too much to drive and the phone number is…
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City issues or Summer Fun?
Anybody else thrilled they have tomatoes and peppers in their garden? Marylin took me out golfing for Father’s day and it turns out I’ve developed a hook. The parts for the go cart are in the mail. Wouldn’t it be nice to clean the garage? With all the summer activities it would be easy to forget your city representatives are making decisions that affect your lives. Thankfully, we live in a…
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How is the City Code on Out Buildings interpreted and enforced?
Recently the pictures below were shared on Facebook. I’m sure I’m not the only member of council that hears questions and discussions about out buildings. In my couple years as mayor I've heard discussion by residents who believed they were only allowed one shed and that it had to be 8 foot high or less. This conclusion is very understandable if a resident used the Search Feature found within…
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Water Pressure North of Rt 70
Quick Thoughts on the proposal to Increase the Water Pressure North of 70:
- I don't know how most members of council decided they have enough understanding of the issue to say that it definitely is needed and they are willing to spend more than $2 million dollars to fix it.
- I believe council needs a complete report on the scope of the problem for residents
- I believe council needs a complete analysis on how it effects possible development and current businesses
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Thoughts on Signing of the 18th Amendment
Last Monday Council passed another supplement for the developer of Carriage Trails. There are two points that could be made if I decided not to sign that legislation. The first is that I’m still looking for staff to provide more information about the economic input this development provides for the City. The second would be to address some deceptive information people keep bringing up whenever they want to say the mayor is wrong.…
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First Reading of the Ballot Measures for November: Chickens, Water…
Monday evening will be the first readings of 3 possible ballot measures for November's election. Read the chicken ballot measure. Look and see if this covers everything you think a chicken measure should cover. No, we won't take your suggestion to allow roosters. We already know this will ensure the measure is voted down.
The water pressure measure is the one I think will get the most discussion…
Missing page that recently made the news
Below is the email message that I sent regarding the missing page that made the news yesterday. The original email was composed by Councilmember Lyons. There is quite a long email trail that I did not copy and paste but would be available as a public records request. In the email below the date referenced in this sentence "Without checking the record, I believe that meeting was the May 3, 2016…
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Huber Heights Mayoral Recall of Thomas McMasters
I've read through the first posting of the recall team and pasted it below. My initial read is they won't actually ever give any specific examples of the allegations they make. This is because if they do it will allow debate within the community about; the facts on how items actually made the news, the circumstances that cause the conflict, and the progress we made in the city these past few years. …
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Vice Mayor Starline missed the point in his opinion
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Council needs to strengthen my authority to enforce the requirement…
Take a look at the agenda for the March 3, 2011 Huber Heights Administration Meeting. Now take a look at the agenda for the March 14, 2011 Huber Heights Administration Meeting. These are the work sessions that just preceded the Council Meeting that first revealed Council had finished making all the major decisions about the building of an Aquatic Center and the one that authorized Council to spend…
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Music Center Financials
We have new financials for the music center posted on the City Website:
Look for the new numbers on the bottom of this page.
Or go to it directly here
It is much more complete than anything we've seen assemble previously. Look it over and start a discussion in the comments below.
Update - April 16, 2016
How is everyone coming along with their review of the Financials? When I started to…
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Where do TIF dollars come from?
We had a very good discussion about the Carriage Trails Investment/Subsidies at the Council Work session last night. Looking at the social media discussions I see there are still a lot of questions. I'll start with one of the basics: Where do TIF dollars come from?
Then I'll talk about some of the other items I've been asking staff to provide for more than 6 months.
1. Is using the TIF dollars…
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