CITY MANAGER ESPLIN ADMONISHES COUNCIL ON GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT

 “YOU HAVE LOST SIGHT OF WHAT THIS HEARING IS ALL ABOUT”

IS IT BETTER FOR RESIDENTIAL OR BETTER FOR COMMERCIAL BELONGS IN THE FUTURE

“NOT THIS HEARING”

As I left the May 7^th City Council Meeting the declaration made by City Mgr. Esplin, hounded my expectation of fair play…Knowing all the while, that legally and technically this Public Hearing was restricted to discussion of a General Plan Amendment…Not Development Of The River Road Shopping Center. Yet everyone in the room, including Esplin knew it was all about moving forward the Sheffield Shopping Center Plans on River Road.  As I walked away from City Hall I could not escape comparing the actions of this City Council with the words written in The Charge of the Light Brigade. “Someone had blunder’d: Theirs not to make reply, theirs not to reason why, theirs but to do and die: Into the Valley of Death, rode the six hundred.” By Lord Alfred Tennyson, Victorian Poet.

In their haste to change the General Plan from Low Density Residential to Commercial I believe the City and the Developer may have BLUNDERED… They should have read and discussed the TRAFFIC STUDY that according to Mike Sheffield was only received this date and neither the Developer, City nor the RESIDENTS… had been given the opportunity to study and discuss the impact of traffic upon the community as a whole. It had been agreed that they would do so…it was summarily dismissed. “Theirs, not to make reply, not to reason why, theirs, but to do and die”.

The City, knowing the specifics of the original agreement between Developer and Residents (Planning Commission heard details with Councilman Bowcutt in attendance.)  made no effort to have terms of agreement  complied with… the City in effect ignored the “CANNONS” surrounding the battlefield and charged forward to the Death of a portion of Residential Life cherished by those contesting change to the General Plan Amendment.

My heart reached out to the many residents whom I believe saw the final stake being driven into the heart of their residential community…ending a way of life they were powerless to save. And so it is when you believe a person has the right to do whatever he/she wants with their own property come hell or high water. When you live by the sword, you die by the sword. (Matthew 26:52)

ASIDE ISSUE: Residential values are dying everyday with the continued delay of Code Enforcement Reform. A transformation is taking place in the zeal of some to line their pocketbooks with the monies obtained by holding on to the old…small town approach, that a person has the right to do whatever they want with their property…even if it means taking away from your neighbors enjoyment of his/her property. Yes, leadership is required by our city council…however it should be tempered with Public Input… and this means taking the time to dot the I’s and cross the T’s…as in the case of paying attention to a Traffic Study…before the fact, not after. The ship has sailed and Residential Passengers are left standing on the dock, and we all know it. Residential/Cultural Values will continue to CHANGE until such time as the Public stands up and says…ENOUGH!

As to the issue of leadership what stood out in this council meeting was the bravery displayed by the Iron Lady, Councilwoman Arial… supported by Councilwoman Randall. They dared to put families and residential values first…daring to challenge the Knight who I saw charging into the City Chamber to save the day for Developer’s such as Mr. Sheffield…Councilman Almquist.

I fully expected Gil, to acknowledge the appearance of a potential conflict of interest…being that his Landscape Company has a stake in continued development. (Almquits Landscaped Jiffy Lube) So it would not be wrong to expect that Almquist Landscaping Co. will pursue other work at this development site.  I have been informed that Almquist Landscape Co. has been employed by Steve Sheffield and provided Landscape Services in the development south of the Summit Athletic Club mentioned by Mike Sheffield in his presentation of accomplishments by the Sheffield’s. This can best be made clear by Councilman Almquist himself. The encumbered display of how this particular General Plan Amendment was moved through the city system cannot but reflect on the entire city council and city manager, with one possible exception. Councilman Hughes appeared to have dodged a Political Bullet…he was absent and therefore his position and thoughts were not revealed to the voters. This being a reelection year for Jimmie…his absence may have inoculated him from criticism or voter backlash come reelection time. Whether this was a calculated strategy or merely Jimmie having to attend a more meaningful event is a decision to be made by residents who may have expected his support.   The consequences of Jimmie’s absence, for whatever reason resulted in a tie vote this night and, Mayor Pike was thus empowered to break the tie…and he did so voting with Almquist and Bowcutt in favor of Sheffield and against the residents.

Looking to the future as City Mgr. Esplin suggested I believe it is safe to say that residents expect to see the area north of Bundy Lane become a Commercial Development…something they are conditioned to accept as an essential element of a property owner being able to do what he/she wants with their property. (Council also approved installation of Traffic Signal Lights at River Road & St. James.) Discussing tonight’s vote and results with one of the residents opposed to GPA on 1.4 acres next to homes on Bundy Lane…I was told that that while not surprised with outcome…something good did come out of it. Residents have now established a more open and positive line of communication with City and Developer.

IMPORTANCE OF HAVING AN EDUCATED AND INFORMED SOCIETY: Folks, the majority of my time and efforts are spent monitoring and reporting on SG City Municipal Government. To effectively do this I endeavor to attend each and every city council meeting and have done so for 12 plus years. I document and collect material on every aspect of city government that is made accessible to me. I have developed personal contacts and have become well acquainted with elected officials and city and county employees. I receive letters, phone calls and entertain visitors who come to my home to talk and leave material associated with the workings of city government. I do not consider myself to be a skilled proficient writer. I do not practice grammatically correct methods. I attempt to write in simple direct TERMS believing that the goal is simply to communicate…to give you a clear picture and keep you informed. I not only report on what I hear and see, I describe mannerisms and body language to give you a word picture of noteworthy officials. I even try my hand at humor to describe what I am hearing and feeling. But, as I said, I am not a highly skilled/trained writer. I merely try and do the best I can with what I have. I subscribe to the theory that actions and words of public officials are rightfully subject to public scrutiny. They may not like it but they went into public service knowing this. In some places those who practice freedom of speech are killed. In our city those that choose to be offended merely ask those placing ads in your paper not to do so preferring a slow financial death over out and out murder. Freedom doesn’t come cheap and neither do First Amendment Rights.       ED BACA