Communication in the Park

One of the issues discussed at last night's special council meeting was the lack of communication within the Village and between Council and the residents. 

Although personally I don't think twitter is the way to go, we need better communication. 

Council could start by keeping village affairs in the purview of those who are paying for it; the residents. 

Council has a pattern of waiting until the last minute to divulge information to get residents involved and informed. And them they complain that no one gets involved. 

We don't find out about meetings unless we A. Attend all the meetings to hear the plans for next week B. know people who attend all the meetings and pass on the message or C. Well I can't come up with anything for item c because there is no item c that I'm aware of. 

Also, we don't have any knowledge of what really happens with legislation until after its passed. 

It seems everything is discussed behind closed doors or discussed in passing in the village meetings and not shared with the entire village until its irreversible. 

Example: the trash contract. It was being discussed in 2011 that residents might have to start paying for trash out of pocket. Residents had little clue about this until 14 days before the bill came in April 2013. By then it was too late to do anything about it. 

So, now that I've given you some examples of the problem, lets discuss some possible resolutions. 

Twitter is not going to go far in my opinion but *something* is better than nothing that's for sure. 

Ideally we need something either free or very cheap and with the ability to cross generations. We have residents with varying degrees of technology and should not exclude that population that doesn't use Facebook or twitter or blogger or the World Wide Web. 

The MPCA has a phone tree system but the community association should not be held responsible for disseminating the messages of council. They already are in that the villager is the only way to get hard copy information about the goings on. 

The signs for the special council meeting were taken somewhat positively. If we could get a sign for each entrance and make the changes as needed for the dates or info that would be a great start. New ones are expensive but I would bet the mayor has a few extra she could donate to the cause. She did plaster the village with them last election whether asked to or not. 

If the village would make use of the resources we have here in our residents, we could resolve many issues that we have. So, please offer your thoughts whether realistic or completely hopeful. A thought cannot hurt. 

-Jessica Rhoads 

Rhoadsformp@gmail.com

Special Council Meeting June 27th Outcome

The motion to confirm the intent to buy the 52 acres of the golf course was voted down four votes to five at tonight's council meeting. The village will not be buying any part of the golf course based on this vote as of tonight.

Details might follow. I'm exhausted by the chaos that is Minerva Park Council.

Thanks for reading.

-Jessica Rhoads
rhoadsformp@gmail.com

Golf Course- Special Council Meeting

Word on the street (or blog) is that there is a Special Council Meeting to be held June 27 at 7 pm to discuss the golf course situation. 

This is highly likely to go into executive session but in the off chance that citizens are given an opportunity to listen or be involved, it would be great to have some attendance. 

Personally I have plans as of now but would like to know the outcome. 

Chickens?

How do you feel about neighbors having chickens in Minerva Park?

The village has allegedly "ok'd" them citing Franklin County's policy on them. 

But what if the chickens are in plain sight for all to see? 

How is this better than a vegetable garden in the front yard? MP tried to legislate those out of the park a while back. I don't think anything came of it. 

Bottom line is this; whenever something irritates the right person (be they in the hen house with council or the rooster that never stops crowing) there is discussion of creating an ordinance to satisfy that one person. But if you're not in that club, you're not going to get far with your concern from what I've witnessed. 

I'm all for the country way of life, myself, and I'd love to have chickens and grow a vegetable garden again. But I don't because of my locality. I have a dog. We now have foxes in the park. My interest in pursuing these dreams takes me out of mp and into a less legislated way of life. 

So, as residents or even observers, how do you feel about chickens in the park? Is there a need to create setbacks and rules as to where and how they're kept? 

This hen house looks well built and  perhaps you might say cute, but what's good for one has to be good for the other. What if it wasn't as well built? What If you find it ugly? What can be done to uphold both the freedoms we Americans are entitled to and the quality of the neighborhood?

Oh and what if someone starts selling eggs? Are they going to be required to have a home occupancy permit too, like all other businesses in the park are required to have?

Food for thought. 

Garage Sale This Weekend

The annual Minerva Park Community Association Garage Sale is this Saturday, June 15th.

Be safe out there, have a good time and hopefully a good sale if you're having one, and watch for pedestrian traffic if you're going out.

Hopefully we'll have a large crowd this year; I've noticed in past years Wildwood we haven't had as much traffic as we did years ago.

Wildlife in Minerva Park

While the wildlife is sometimes an asset in our village, many of you may already be aware of the predatory wildlife also calling this place home.

For years, there have been reports of Coyotes in the Hawthorne wildlife area. It is always a possibility.

Now, there are reports of foxes in Minerva Park. There was a sighting of a mother and baby fox on Wildwood within the last month. There are also the remains of something wildlife-like at the end of Wildwood, by the Cleveland Ave. intersection.

Two nights ago, there was a skunk about the area as well. I didn't see it; it had other ways of making itself known.

Although I have a 50 pound dog that is happy to chase off these critters, he's not always out and apparently he was in long enough for a fox and skunk to disregard his scent.

It's advisable to keep small pets in at night (cats, small dogs, etc.) if possible. If you have a rabbit, (or chickens....perhaps?...don't know what happened with that issue, myself) it is probably wise to keep their living quarters raised off the ground enough that a fox won't torment them too much. And obviously, keep their enclosures secure.

Word on the block is the Mayor has contacted ODNR for advise on how to handle the predatory wildlife we have living here. In the meantime, keep your pets-and small children-safe and watched.

The following link may provide useful information (ODNR Division of Wildlife Nuissance Species information):
http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/Home/wild_resourcessubhomepage/dealing_with_wildlifeplaceholder/NuisanceSpecieslandingpage/terrestrialnuisancewildlife/tabid/5674/Default.aspx

Unfortunately, we can't tax the wildlife too. Though someone around here may try.