Laying Low Until The Election?

Council as a whole seemed quiet and subdued on Tuesday night. Now that Labor Day is over, the focus has perhaps switched to election day, November 3rd.....

Community Calendar of Events

Household Hazardous Waste Roundup. The service department will be collecting oil-based paint and other environmentally hazardous products September 21st to October 3rd.

Community Shredding Event. The paper shredding truck will return to Highland Heghts on Saturday October 3rd.

Recycling Bins. The nifty blue plastic recycling bins, embossed with the city's logo, are still available for purchase for $ 7.50 at the service department. I have one. It's great--and so much easier to use than those blue plastic bags.

Business Rumblings

A Japanese Hibachi Restaurant has applied for a liquor permit, using the address of the current Wellington's Restaurant on Alpha Drive (in the Shoppes at Alpha).

It could be an error, or could it be that Wellington's is planning to give up its restaurant business and pursue only its catering/party center business?

Drill, Baby, Drill

Bass Energy began drilling a gas well in Alpha Park for Kerry Klotzman this week. The well is called Alpha Park # 1--reflecting, I suppose, Mr. Klotzman's stated intention to put more gas wells on his Alpha Drive property, if he can.

Even the mayor noticed the foul smell coming from the area of the wellhead. Acting Building Department head Jim Austin told council on Tuesday night that the smell was because of brackish water used in the drilling process.

Maybe, but it's not unusual for hydrogen sufide to be released during the drilling process, as it is a naturally-occurring impurity in natural gas.

I guess if it makes the mayor and the rest of the community feel better to think that the smell is simply brackish water, rather than hydrogen sulfide (which, if concentrated enough, can be hazardous to your health)---well, be my guest.

Thanks for Saying NO to Gas Wells

A big tip of my hat to the members of the 6th Presbyterian Church on Wilson Mills Road (next to Catalano's) who voted this week to cancel an upcoming meeting with Bass Energy (the company that is suing the city) who was hoping to drill a gas well at the rear end of the church property.

Bass Energy apparently has been trying to put together a drilling field including the church, the Catalano's property and Millridge School. Let's hope the Mayfield School Board jumps on the JUST SAY NO bandwagon as well.

I heartily thank and applaud the members of the 6th Presbyterian Church for their decision.

Strumbly Road Sidewalks

Strumbly Road is a residential street with a great deal of traffic. Drivers use it to bypass Bishop and to travel between Highland Road and Wilson Mills Road.

Strumbly Road is also one of the few remaining streets in Highland Heights without sidewalks. That means that pedestrians have to share the road with cars--cars that often are traveling faster than the posted 25 mph speed limit.

With the assistance of Councilwoman Cathy Murphy, a number of concerned Strumbly Road neighbors met with council, the mayor, and the city engineer to discuss the possibility (and cost) of installing either a sidewalk or a pedestrian pathway on at least one side of Strumbly Road.

The dialogue is just beginning, but at least it has begun. Let's keep our kids safe, shall we?

Hide and Seek in Time for the Election? Not This year.

At the last Committee of the Whole meeting, council discussed the possibility of eliminating one voting location (at Wellington's Restaurant) and moving a second voting place from Millridge School to the Sixth Presbyterian Church next to Catalano's----in time for the November 3rd election.

Council seemed pretty mixed on the idea last week. The issue was dead last night.

Neither Wellington's nor the school superintendent, Dr. Phil Price, expressed any desire to have the voting locations moved, and there was a general feeling on the part of most council members (with the exception of Council President Scott Mills and Councilman Frank Legan) that there was no reason to make a change right before the upcoming election.

(Postscript. I've got to say, after reading the Sun Messenger this morning, I'm a bit confused about what Mr. Legan's position really is. He's quoted in the paper as saying last week that he didn't think a change should be made at what he considered to be such a late date---"I think there should be more notice before we do anything"--and my own notes from that meeting reflect that he mentioned the timing and said, "it would be confusing to change now." But he took the exact opposite position on Tuesday night. After Councilwoman Cathy Murphy's said, "I don't think there is any reason to rush into this," Mr. Legan responded: "I disagree with Mrs. Murphy regarding the timing." He indicated, in fact, that his sole reservation about moving the polling place from Millridge School to the church was whether there was enough parking at the church. )

Although he seemed a bit disappointed, Mr. Mills succeeded in getting the issue on council's radar screen. It will be interesting to see how many residents vote by mail on November 3rd. Who knows, if enough people choose to vote by mail, it could be that the city will need only one voting place (instead of the current 3) the next time around.

Coincidence---Why not?

Two seemingly unrelated items were communicated to council last night:

1. The state auditor has arrived and, over the next few months, will be conducting an audit of the city's finances and books. While the city files regular reports with the auditor's office, state auditors come in every few years, to conduct a more thorough review.

2. Council President Scott Mills announced that effective last night, the clerk of council, Jean Buchak, would be working only part-time.

The announcement caused a bit of confusion, at least on the part of Councilwoman Cathy Murphy, who pointed out that Ms. Buchak had always worked just part-time for council.

It turns out that for the last several years, the hard-working part-time clerk of council has also been paid for working part-time in the city's finance department---which is a bit puzzling because she has never been listed as a finance department employee on the city's website.

Whatever her former work arrangement, Mr. Mills announced that Ms. Buchak "is not working for the finance department any more."

I'm sure that council is pleased that she will continue to serve them--something she does so well.

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