'COLD RAIN AND SNOW" grateful dead
"Yes it's coming"
Have seen a newspaper article as well as council people wanting Painesville residents input on if the city should spend $160,000 for new sidewalk plows?
I guess one question I have is what is the life cycle of one of these plows? Twenty years that breaks down to an $8,000 dollar a year investment.
Call me paranoid, call me suspicious but what if residents as well as council turndown the purchase? First off we have ordinances on the books that resident's are responsible for the snow removal in front of there homes. which carry a fine. Good luck if you live on a corner. You don't even own the sidewalk. But I do see an ambitious way to collect revenue through fines from people not keeping them shoveled. Just something to consider. What about school children walking to school? Well first off all students in the Riverside district ride a bus as well as most PCLS children. Maybe limited plowing. How many times this past year was the city out plowing sidewalks just to have school called off?
Painesville has an older resident base are they expected to clean their sidewalks? Who amongst you wants to shovel a sidewalk before heading out into traffic to get to work?
Where does the $160,000 arrive from? The road levy, general fund? How do other communities in our general area deal with this issue? Could this service be privatized?
Sounds like a simple question from the beginning but is it.
Four other questions for the people
* Should the city fund a new Senior Center through a levy?
* Your thoughts on renewing the street levy when it comes up for renewal?
* Do many of you in town believe the city police department should spend time writing tickets for yard sign, car in front yards and other small nuisances ?
* Do you believe the city's unoccupied home fines are warranted and legal?
posted by terminator1 @ 4:59 PM
23 Comments
23 Comments:
When I read that $160,000 price tag, I wondered how many were needed and just how much each one would cost, because that just seems outrageous to me. What...?...are they buying them from AMP? I do think the sidewalks should have city help. Get a group of citizens together to find and price the equipment. I sincerely doubt the price tag should be anywhere near that amount.
I also think the unoccupied homes fines should be illegal if they are not, and they are certainly not warranted. I think it's horrifying they do that, but they nothing this city does surprises me anymore.
Just my two cents on two issues.
I think the city should go ahead and get the the sidewalk plows, we get so little for our tax dollars this is a wonderful service for us, I wish it was done even more, you are wrong about most students riding buses, I think more walk than ride, dou you want to see kids walking in the street (more than they already do) to go to school, especially the ones walking on Jackson St. or North state, alot of people walk to Laketran busstops as many can't afford a car, alot of people have to walk their dogs to go potty, belive me its kind of dangerous when you have to walk a small dog on a busy street because your yard is full and the sidewalks are full because we had a storm with 2+ feet, the dog isn;t going to wait for you to shovel, alot of people on my street are elderly and some are empty houses, those won't be done, and I wouldn't even concider fining an elderly person for not shoveling they can barely afford to stay in their homes, as far as other small things I say fine the cars in front yards, the offenders are repeaters most everyone else obeys this rule. signs, just have city workers tear them down and throw them out, other small things case by case depending on what it is and if they are constantly repeated, especially the loud music ones after 9pm
Let me understand this, they want voter input on a $160K purchase of equipment but they resist input on the purchase of power and power plants amounting to millions of dollars??
Don't worry too much about fines, the police won't enforce it unless someone under the Golden Dome gets a burr under their saddle.
Your other questions:
1) Why not? The worst that could happen is that if fails.
2) Absolutely. What other vehicle do we have to improve the streets? They didn't get this bad overnight. Thanks Rita!
3) Not at all, this are civil, not criminal, issues. The police should have more to do than that.
4) No I do not.
1) No chance, let the county handle something like that.
2) These streets are a joke, I don't know the finances behind it, but I'm afraid I'm going to lose a tire every time I drive down State St.
3) I don't think this is a job for the police. I don't get why that pitbull Noelle isn't on top of it. I would get notices if I had a small pile of leaves in my yard for more than a day.
4) These are a joke. Why can't I have an unoccupied home? What if you were just buying it to hold it for a while? Would the city rather you tear down the house, so the property taxes are lower?
Yes to sidewalk plowing! We've got almost 100 feet of frontage and we're getting older - I can't shovel snow anymore, my back won't tolerate it.
And yes to citing people for "small nuisances." Well, maybe not yard signs. But in my observation, houses with cars parked on the lawn all the time are usually sources of other nuisances like loud music, too many people in one house, and other obnoxious behavior. If we could clean up the 'smaller nuisances' and get the word out that this stuff won't be tolerated, maybe Painesville will stop attracting so much trash.
TERM, where have you been? All Riverside district students do not have busing. They haven't for several years now.
Please remind me, what is an unoccupied home fine.
On buying a sidewalk plow...... I would think with all the creative thinking going on these days they could figure out how to use the electric fund on this one.
I would vote for a community center and a city pool. The Seniors could also use a portion of the community center. Also a place for community gardens. I believe the seniors are a vital part of any community .......
Why would we give up a great benefit such as sidewalk plowing? I know I don't want a heart attack trying to shovel 180 ft. ! On senior citizen's center: I don't want any more levies, and I, though a SC, don't hang out at these centers. As for the road levy; I say we have to wait and see what we get for our buck now. On nuisance laws: I don't want my neighborhood looking like Painesville TWP. Park, but I don't want militants enforcement either! Prefer police give residents a warning or two before any citations.That's my two cents, now off to Party in the Park!
My gut reaction is that the city should invest in at least one sidewalk plow, but I concur with the questions you raised about such things as the plow's life cycle, enforcement of snow removal ordinances regarding elderly home owners, etc. The life cycle question is especially important, given that council doesn't exactly have a stellar track record in recent years when it comes to major equipment purchases (see: Fire Truck, Previously-Owned).
As for the four questions you raise:
Senior Center: Sure, the city can try a levy, but before they do, they should gauge how much of a demand there is for one, and whether enough people want to pay for it. Granted, it's a very small sample, but I know three senior citizens who are residents here; all three prefer the Fairport Senior Center, more because of how it's run and who runs it, than its nice facility. In other words, a new structure may not be enough to win over enough voters who would have a vested interest in this.
Street levy renewal: I believe that hearts and minds can be won by fixing roads that matter to the most people in town. As an example, I didn't vote for the levy, but resurfacing Erie Street is tempting me to reconsider come renewal time. If the city repairs at least one major street next year (such as St. Clair or Liberty), I'd be more tempted.
Nuisance ticket writing: No for yard signs (unless they are large enough to impede drivers' vision), yes for cars in front yards. I don't know if this is merely a nuisance, but I hope the police crack down on kids playing or riding bikes in the street at night. Several kids on the street where I live have almost gotten hit this summer by drivers. I went to the police station Thursday to ask for their help with this; we'll see what happens.
Unoccupied home fines: I didn't even know this was a thing. I need to know more, such as how long can the house remain unoccupied before a fine is levied?
Somewhere in that budget for snow plowing should be found a line for the expense of repairing private property that the snow plow damages. These damages include fencing, grass tear out etc. I wonder how much is spent on that. I haven't made a claim yet, but I have made the repairs.
5:12 Riverside students who live in Painesville City are not bussed?
Your question about Vacant Property Registration.
The purpose of the ordinance is to establish a program to identify and register vacant residential and commercial building to determine the responsibilities of the owner.
Residential fees the owner of a vacant house shall pay an annual fee of $200.00 for the first year the building is vacant and it doubles every year up to $3,200
A building that is listed for sale shall be exempt for 12 months.
See the whole ordinance at the city web site City Ordinance 1377
Thank-You for many comments.
Now they're charging people for vacant properties AND wondering why nobody wants to come to Painesville? And up to 3,200/year?! Soon they'll be charging us for breathing here.
4:42 has the right idea.
The police should not be involved with "small" issues like signs in the yard or cars on the grass.
Let the City building inspectors do that.
As well RHS students living in Painesville shouldn't be bussed to township schools. That's a part of buying in annexed land. You know full well when you buy your house in the city and your kids go to a different district you will need to get them there on your own. Still too bad the schools cant annex too.
1. Buy a sidewalk plow?, absolutely this is a great service.
2.Pay for a senior center, NO Way, they owned the senior center, last I heard the Senior Center is selling the old Sears building on the square and it will be torn down for a parking lot. And after they do that they want me to vote and pay for a levy to build them a new one, not happening?
3. Absolutely charge for vacant properties, those who are against this either don't live by any or own some of their own. The problem in this city is so many families have stayed here that properties are paid for and passed down in the family so there is only property tax to pay and no need to have to work to rent the property out or keep it up.
Signs Signs Everywhere Signs AND they should equal FINES - FINES. How long should Brad & Kate (?)wedding signs be posted through town and township. Either they wed and relatives forgot to take the signs down or maybe the gal became a runaway bride, wedding didn't take place and too painful to take the signs down. For cripe sake you cant tell me no cop saw these "directional" signs for the past several days? A good start would be for PPD to do their jobs. In more ways than signs also - crack down on law breakers.
10:24 Now how much time should PPD spend trying to find Brad & Kate? and then being told we didn't put up those signs.
Then take the signs down - throw them away. If PPD is too busy avoiding illegals, ignoring the bus at redi go, not wanting to learn and practice first aid, avoiding ticketing violators, then they should have time to pull and throw away the signs.
6:10 Many of you seem to want Barney Fiffe? I am going to be pro-active If I see a sign up past a reasonable time I will stop and dispose of it.
I know some PPD officers and am really disappointed in how so many view the. It was also expressed that the police levy failed because of poor service? Remember they follow orders and we are responsible for those giving the orders.
so many things to address. First as for the Senior Center, they have signed a long term lease to rent a facility in the city. So why should be pass a levy now to build them a center. They are locked in for several years with a rental. Second, I certainly hope we are not bussing city kids to Riverside. If Riverside kids can't get bussed and many of them live far north by the lake and are not bussed, then city kids should not be bussed. Third, the "pit bull" Noelle is a joke. We all know that. She will not deal with a valid complaint. She'll cite the complainer for something, anything. As for the sidewalk plows, I will not vote a levy until they actually plow my sidewalk. They either don't do my street at all, or sometimes will go part way down and then cross over and do the other side. Why should I pay for a service I don't receive?
Who's orders do they follow? The new chief? City Manager? Secretaries? Whomever is in command needs to take off the blinders. Barney Fyffe? I'm sorry but if the ordinance states NO Signs, why not follow through. With that thought, why should I store my boat because I'd violate an ordinance as it sticks out past the front of my house? Why should I stop a stop sign? Lets just make it a free for all.
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