I would like to respond to the letter written by Cal Wasserstrass (Dec. 22) about the city sidewalks.
He criticizes some council people for their views and their votes on the city sidewalks. He also goes so far as to call them two-faced because of their stand against school busing when the school district was trying to pass the referendum. I will tell everyone that he is probably writing about me because of my stands.
First, I would like to clarify some things with Mr. Wasserstrass about the city sidewalks. I have always taken the position from day one that sidewalks should not be put in where they are not needed. There are sidewalks that go to nowhere and always will go to nowhere because previous City Council members felt that sidewalks should be installed whether there was a need or not. When there is a need because of increased foot traffic and safety, then by all means they should be installed.
I have always felt that sidewalks are shared by everyone in town, and as long as I consider them part of the infrastructure of the city, much like city streets, then the expense should be shared equally by everyone. Also, if the City mandates that a sidewalk be put in even when the need is not shown, then the property owner should not bear the brunt of the expense.
Now, regarding Fourth Avenue West. There is an existing sidewalk already on the east side of that street that is used regularly and it's necessary because of the apartment buildings on that side of the street. The west side of the street has businesses that are not normally used by pedestrians. Those businesses have drive-in traffic. So, I do not feel the need for the west side of that street to have sidewalks. I do agree, with Mr. Wasserstrass, and have said so in past meetings, that there definitely needs to be a crosswalk at the entrance of Honey Creek Park and I will always vote to support that.
I was the council person who questioned the need for busing in-town pupils, when there was a budget crisis requiring a referendum. This is not being two-faced. It's being reasonable in asking whether this was a necessary when looking at ways to conserve money to keep taxpayers from having to pay higher taxes. As a matter of fact, I questioned the need for other things, as well, when searching for answers to try to stay within a budget. The parents who have their children walk to school don't seem to have a problem with sidewalks, or they would not allow their children to walk to school. Many parents also drive their children to school in good weather and bad weather.
Maybe, Mr. Wasserstrass, the reason you see the same city officials voting against the sidewalks over and over again is because they feel deep down that the current policy is flawed and needs to be changed.
He criticizes some council people for their views and their votes on the city sidewalks. He also goes so far as to call them two-faced because of their stand against school busing when the school district was trying to pass the referendum. I will tell everyone that he is probably writing about me because of my stands.
First, I would like to clarify some things with Mr. Wasserstrass about the city sidewalks. I have always taken the position from day one that sidewalks should not be put in where they are not needed. There are sidewalks that go to nowhere and always will go to nowhere because previous City Council members felt that sidewalks should be installed whether there was a need or not. When there is a need because of increased foot traffic and safety, then by all means they should be installed.
I have always felt that sidewalks are shared by everyone in town, and as long as I consider them part of the infrastructure of the city, much like city streets, then the expense should be shared equally by everyone. Also, if the City mandates that a sidewalk be put in even when the need is not shown, then the property owner should not bear the brunt of the expense.
Now, regarding Fourth Avenue West. There is an existing sidewalk already on the east side of that street that is used regularly and it's necessary because of the apartment buildings on that side of the street. The west side of the street has businesses that are not normally used by pedestrians. Those businesses have drive-in traffic. So, I do not feel the need for the west side of that street to have sidewalks. I do agree, with Mr. Wasserstrass, and have said so in past meetings, that there definitely needs to be a crosswalk at the entrance of Honey Creek Park and I will always vote to support that.
I was the council person who questioned the need for busing in-town pupils, when there was a budget crisis requiring a referendum. This is not being two-faced. It's being reasonable in asking whether this was a necessary when looking at ways to conserve money to keep taxpayers from having to pay higher taxes. As a matter of fact, I questioned the need for other things, as well, when searching for answers to try to stay within a budget. The parents who have their children walk to school don't seem to have a problem with sidewalks, or they would not allow their children to walk to school. Many parents also drive their children to school in good weather and bad weather.
Maybe, Mr. Wasserstrass, the reason you see the same city officials voting against the sidewalks over and over again is because they feel deep down that the current policy is flawed and needs to be changed.
