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.

Car break-ins reported.

Per a message from the Minerva Park Community Association, three cars on Jordan Rd were broken into recently and valuables were stolen. 

Another reminder to keep your cars locked and free of anything a thief might be interested in. 

It is advisable to keep your home doors locked as well and valuables out of sight. 

Word has it the vehicle break-ins were forced entry, so be extra cautious about what you leave in your car-locked or not. 

Be safe and well. 

Vote no this Tuesday! We're running out of money as a village. Why put this mismanagement into a business as well.