COUNCIL PREZ LOSES HER COOL

The Setting
October 10^th Council meeting.
Immediately after adjournment.

Council President Cathy Murphy to those nearby:

“We never get into conversation. It’s in my rules. I’ll find it. I’ll have to send it to Mr Hargate."

Murphy then storms over to Councilman Ed Hargate, sitting at the Council table.

Murphy:

"Don’t ever be disrespectful like that again."

Hargate: 

"You are dead wrong and you know it. You try to control everything."

Murphy: 

"Enough, enough, enough! I get the last word."

The Backstory

Half an hour earlier, during the public speaking portion of the Council meeting, 3 residents who live along newly renovated Miner Road raised safety concerns about the 20” deep, front yard open swales installed by the city and their proximity to the widened un-curbed road surface.

Kevin Bailey told Council he has 3 large pipes in his yard along with a swale, and because he lives across from a Miner Road business, he’s seen accidents and had more than his fair share of trucks backing up into his yard.
 Bailey told Council that he thought curbs were going to be installed as part of the Miner Road project.
Council President Cathy Murphy told him no.
Bailey explained:

 “My property has had car accidents in it and trucks gouging my yard.
With the way the swales are, and with 3 large pipes…if there are any accidents..the damages could be very impactful.
To leave it in the state it’s in is pretty unacceptable in my mind.”

Bailey wondered what the city was planning to do to address his safety concerns.
Murphy told Bailey:

"I recommend you contact the engineer (Brian Mader) and follow up with him."

Hargate interjected:

"Doesn’t the city have a responsibility to answer his question?"

Murphy responded:

"No, this is just a commentary period. Also I don’t think Mr. Mader (who has been overseeing the Miner Road reconstruction project) is familiar with this particular situation."

Hargate pushed back:

"This isn’t commentary.
This is an opportunity for residents to ask questions. Residents have a right to get a response."

He got no further. Murphy cut him off.
Bailey then asked whether, with regard to whatever follow-up took place:

Will it be placed on the record for other citizens to see it. A lot of (Miner Road) residents will be interested in seeing it.

A pretty sensible request in my opinion…and with the city’s newly updated website, a pretty easy thing to accomplish.

Murphy replied:

It will be in the (Council) Minutes. It will all be made part of this record.

Mayor Scott Coleman then chimed in:

We can ask the engineer to summarize his responses in a memo to Council.

A memo to Council….not to impacted residents.

Two other Miner Road residents spoke after Bailey….and got similar treatment.

Pat Hopkins, a Highland Heights police officer, told Council that many Miner Road residents thought that the old swales would be piped and that they’d end up with tree lawns instead of reconstructed 20" deep open drainage swales in their front yards.  He said:

"Telling us to call the city engineer is unacceptable.
Council needs to take it into their hands….
I don’t think the drainage issue is a money issue. It’s money the city can afford.
We have a proposal we’d like to present.

We have some options that we want to present to council.

It’s not an engineering decision anymore. It’s up to council. It’s up to council to say yes were going to do it or no weren’t not going to do it.”

Minor Road resident Mike Tyne told Council:

"I know we don’t have much of a tree lawn, so we have a big ditch instead.
 One concern I have is my public sidewalk.
Right now there is 8” of dirt before it goes down to the ditch.
I’m thinking what happens when a snowplow goes down street. There is no cushion to hold the sidewalk up.

Does Council have plans to replace the sidewalk because it’s no longer supported by dirt?
That’s the question I have.”

Murphy announced she was moving on with the Agenda once Tyne finished his comments.
At that point Hargate again went to bat for the Miner Road residents:

"I am trying to speak. A point of order.
When do we intend to discuss the Miner Road problem?"

Murphy responded:

We will talk to (engineer) Mr. Mader.

Hargate retorted:

"This is a public Council meeting.
I don’t know why you don’t want to discuss it at a public council meeting.”

Murphy:

"We will follow up. Mr Mader needs to go onsite. We don’t have enough information."

Hargate:

"But you don’t let the engineer answer those questions.
I’m asking when you intend to discuss this issue."

Slamming the door shut, Murphy told Hargate:

"We don’t know. We are moving on."

And move on they did….except for Murphy...leading to the post-meeting dressing-down of Councilman Ed Hargate described above.

WHAT’S THE HARM IN LISTENING?
I was pretty impressed that the Miner Road residents didn’t come to the Council meeting just to complain.
They had come up with ideas and some possible solutions.
All they wanted was an opportunity to discuss them with Council.

A pretty reasonable request in my opinion….but one that, for whatever reason, Murphy was disinclined to grant.

Maybe the Miner Road residents’ suggestions are impractical or impossible.

But it certainly wouldn’t hurt Council to listen to them.
Which leads to the question:

Why was Council President Murphy so against engaging in a discussion and dialogue with the Miner Road residents?

HELLO/GOODBYE BUSINESSES

The new Chipotle on Wilson Mills Road (in front of Kohl’s) is now open.
Too bad they weren’t able to open a month ago.

Residents will have to wait until next spring to dine al fresco on the new Chipotle patio.

There’s been a large “for rent” sign in front of the small business strip near the Bishop/Wilson Mills intersection.
Apparently the beauty salon is moving to another location.
The ice cream shop in the same strip is still there---it just has a new name.

The new signage on the business strip looks great, as does the landscaping.
Nice to see members of the city’s business community investing in their properties and making them look nice.

The Birds!

The warm fall weather brought of flock of what looked like turkey vultures to my street this week.

Here's a beauty shot of two of them, strutting their stuff.