Joint Meeting: Visioning, on Wednesday, and roundup of May emails, with apologies...

Dear People: On Wednesday June 2, at 7 pm in Council Chambers (second floor John Bryan) Village Council and the Miami Township Trustees will be hearing a presentation by the steering committee and consultants on the Visioning Process:

• status of the overall project,
  
• results of the third public meeting on May 19-20, and
• review of the next steps: implementation and the final report.

Please come! And now a poem about visions, of politicians and poets.

As I Walk These Broad Majestic Days
by Walt Whitman
As I walk these broad majestic days of peace, (For the war, the struggle of blood finish'd, wherein, O terrific Ideal, Against vast odds erewhile having gloriously won, Now thou stridest on, yet perhaps in time toward denser wars, Perhaps to engage in time in still more dreadful contests, dangers, Longer campaigns and crises, labors beyond all others,) Around me I hear that eclat of the world, politics, produce, The announcements of recognized things, science, The approved growth of cities and the spread of inventions. I see the ships, (they will last a few years,) The vast factories with their foremen and workmen, And hear the indorsement of all, and do not object to it. But I too announce solid things, Science, ships, politics, cities, factories, are not nothing, Like a grand procession to music of distant bugles pouring, triumphantly moving, and grander heaving in sight, They stand for realities—all is as it should be. Then my realities; What else is so real as mine? Libertad and the divine average, freedom to every slave on the face of the earth, The rapt promises and luminé of seers, the spiritual world, these centuries-lasting songs, And our visions, the visions of poets, the most solid announcements of any.

Lori

PS: I just noticed that I neglected to post a few recent emails to constituents--negligence, not malicious intent. I will post them now:

VC from Monday May 24 (5 minutes before the meeting!):

Dear People, I'm really getting slow, but the biggest things tonight are going to be

1) Roof replacement on the Bryan Center
2) Energy purchasing agreement with AMP (our electricity co-op)
3) Franklin Foundation (a non-profit organization from I believe Columbus) on affordable senior housing construction
4) Council Retreat plans (for June 8th): discussing process for difficult community issues, manager/clerk reviews and workloads, technology issues (electronic packet--next steps?)
5) Levy Timeline: we need to renew the levy, probably at this fall's election
6) Housing needs assesment: discussion with
7) ICMA Performance Measurement program: a practical way to determine if we are keeping our basic costs/performance in line with other municipalities and ideas for improvement

Lori is out the door...

-----

PC from Monday May 17:
Dear People: On Monday at 7 pm the Planning Commission will meet. The agenda includes:

1) Discussion of the historic preservation ordinance we've been looking at. Our goal is to give us a mechanism to intervene in instances of neglect or demolition of a historic building; we don't want to make life much harder for responsible property owners who are making creative use of historic buildings.

2) We're continuing examining the PUD (planned unit development) rules--trying to make the process useful and fair for the community, and to include some density perks for affordability, useable open space, and best management practices for storm water.

3) Mark will be presenting an overview of his 5-year capital improvement plan, which he presented to Council during our Budget process in February. This is an important step for us as a village--when Mark came, we really had no plan in place for maintaining and replacing the infrastructure of our Village.

That's the main plan--let me know if you have questions.

Ok, someone complained that I haven't included a poem since my inclusion of Whitman somehow created an EXPLOSION of poetry at the end of one of my last emails. (I blame my malfunctioning work PC--I don't seem to have these problems on my trusty Mac.)

Here's a poem for busy, passionate people. (I feel a little mocked by its lovely decadence, which is good):

First Fig by Edna St. Vincent Millay

My candle burns at both ends;

It will not last the night;

But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends—

It gives a lovely light!

------

VC on May 3:

Dear People: I should have mentioned in my last email that I would also urge everyone to support our schools in tomorrow's election, which includes a vote on a levy request from the schools. We'll be voting as Council on a resolution of support tonight.

It's our last week of school and I'm swamped, so I'm just going to give a quick update and include, below, our agenda (all documents from the packet can be found at yso.com).

1. We're voting tonight on:

• Ordinance for Pool rates--including a small increase for seniors and students daily rates and a $5 across-the-boards increase for season passes, to cover picture id's. (Please be aware that help is available for low income residents, so don't be afraid to ask for assistance from the village office. We want all residents to have use of this valuable recreation resource!)
  
• Ordinance for AMP energy purchases 2012-13: Most of you are probably aware that we are a part of an energy co-op called "AMP" (formerly AMP-Ohio). We co-own many production facilities with other cities and towns, and we are a collective purchaser of energy through AMP. Tonight we'll be considering, to quote from Mark, "Ordinance #2010-09, which would authorize the Village Manager to execute a non-pool power sales schedule with American Municipal Power (AMP) for calendar years 2012 and 2013. ....

  The 2012 and 2013 needs are necessitated by the expiration of other power agreements (Cinergy and landfill gas) and the closing of the Gorsuch plant. We have new sources coming on line in 2013, but this will allow us to avoid purchasing of power on the open market. AMP has made a recommendation as to the amount of power we need to purchase in 2012 and 2013 and this is reflected in the ordinance and the sales schedule."

• A resolution Supporting the school levy. I will be voting to support the levy, as I mentioned

2. We'll be hearing special reports on the neighborhood gardens and the library.

3. And then we'll be discussing:

• The great fluoridation debate. We will not be voting on this issue this evening; we're planning next steps and thinking about a panel discussion.
• Northern Gateway: this time with clearer pictures, we hope.
  
• Council Retreat: currently scheduled for June 8.
  
• Street closings for bike races May 21 & 22.
  

Peace!

Lori