Blogger Forward: First of all, I am going to forego the usual brackets indicating my comments or opinion. Everything in this post that is not a long excerpt from the Friday, July 22, Record Courier is my commentary.
Second, this post contains two parts: the above mentioned article, and the letter that I mailed to the trustees. It was confirmed that it arrived on Monday, August 1.
The trustees' response to the letter and to the anticipated public comment at the meeting for this evening, August 4, will be posted ASAP, possibly a sentence or two tonight after the meeting or in the morning, and then the usual more detailed post subsequently.
The Record Courier:
Kasic calls for GOP, Ohio unity
SAYS HE REGRETS SB FIGHT, DOESN'T REGRET NOT JOINING CONVENTION
CLEVELAND--Calling himself the "father of Ohio," Gov. John Kasich said Thursday that pushing a Republican-backed public employee collective bargaining reform package shortly after he took office without working o find common ground with critics was a mistake. [Underlining here and subsequently added by blogger.]
Speaking to Ohio delegates to the Republican National Convention during a breakfast session in Cleveland, Kasich said 2011's Senate Bill 5 and his failed presidential campaign changed his approach, and he has a greater desire to unify those on opposite sides of issues.
"(When) we came into office in 2011, we had a very rocky time," the governor said. "I was a congressman when I was elected governor. We went through a very tough time on SB 5. Why? We overreached, didn't listen, didn't unify. It was really tough."
The Republican-controlled legislature passed SB 5, and the governor signed it into law. But a subsequent referendum placed it before voters, who soundly rejected it later in the year. Kasich said he didn't find much support during the SB 5 campaign from those who pushed the law changes.
"I traveled all over Ohio, and I took a beating," he said. "And I never backed down, and when we lost, I said we lost. I've learned. From that day forward, I figured out I needed to be the Father of Ohio."
"You've got to bring people together," Kasich said. "You have to unify the family. (In Ohio today) people believe that no one is being cut out, no one is being demonized and no one, at least in our efforts, is being left behind. This state has come back."
He added, "That's what I think we need to do in America. We need to unify. We don't need to divide. We can stand on our principles, we can still get it right."
But Kasich also said he would continue to buck the party and others if they push for policies and issues he opposes. He mentioned Medicaid expansion among other examples.
"I remember in 1980 when the Republicans asked me to vote for tax increases," he said. "I wasn't doing it. They tried to tell me I needed to do it because I owed them something. I didn't vote for tax increases."
[The article continued for another short column, but what has been posted here is what is relevant to the township. Why did I underline that last sentence? Because I believe two of the trustees have been convinced to believe that they owe something to someone off screen, in spite of their comments about working for all of the residents.]
My letter to the trustees:
July 29, 2016
From: Carole Pollard, Resident
To: Mantua Township Trustees
Subject: "Park" in bullpen
The accompanying article from the Friday, July 22, 2016, Ravenna Record Courier is particularly applicable to the question of the proposed park in Mantua Township's bullpen.
If discussing an issue from all sided is good for Governor Kasich, that approach should be good for the Mantua Township trustees.
At present, there has been no real discussion about the "park" idea. Requests to do so have been presented but have received no response. Those who have raised legitimate questions about usefulness due to the size of the area as well as its safety and noisiness have been labeled "naysayers"--without discussion, but just an instant reaction.
No one has said "Don't do it." The aim of the questions has been "Do it right." (And take the time to make sure it will be done right.)
"Inclusiveness" has been invoked, but once the camera has been turned off, no action to ensure inclusiveness has been taken by the trustees or required by them.
Governor Kasich has vouched for the wisdom of discussing issues with critics. The township held large, special public meetings to discuss who hauls our trash. It seems reasonable that a park intended for use by all should be discussed by more than just the five or so people who have been listened to so far. The other voices have met clear resistance by the trustees.
This letter's purpose is to make a formal request, on record, that the trustees advertise and hold at least two meetings to discuss every aspect of a proposed park with residents and then make their decision on those community meetings.
If the trustees are not going to do that, then I believe it is reasonable to ask why you are not--and to expect a real answer, not just words.
Yours truly,
Carole Pollard
5359 Allyn Road
About This Blog
The purpose of this blog is to give an accurate account of what is said during Public Comment at Mantua Township Trustees meetings.
Trustees' decisions are in the official minutes, available on request from the Mantua Township Fiscal Officer, Jodi Thompson, at 330-274-8443. The Township charges 10 cents per page. FAX, 330-274-8447. E-mail, fiscalofficer@mantuatownshipohio.gov. The minutes are also posted on the website after they have been approved. That means that there is usually a two-week lag between a given meeting and the minutes being available to read on the website.
Since meetings are the first and third Thursdays of the month, there is a three-week wait during months with five Thursdays.
Other items of interest or the writer's opinions will be included from time to time, clearly identified.
This is not a forum or chat room, but a source of information, so it is closed to outside input.
During the time I have been doing the blog, the posts have expanded to become very detailed accounts of the meetings. Doing that is time consuming, to say the least, and I am going to try to return to the public comment focus, with background and perspective (and the occasional pointed editorial comment). Such additions are usually enclosed in brackets. However, since some extended accounts of the meetings reveal significant things--and character--better than I could by commenting, there will probably still be a fair amount of semi-transcript. (Sigh.)
My thanks to the readers who have found the blog, and to the ones who from time to time tell me that they value it. You have encouraged me when the tedious work of keyboarding has made me wonder why I am doing this. Then you have reminded me, and I am grateful.
Trustees' decisions are in the official minutes, available on request from the Mantua Township Fiscal Officer, Jodi Thompson, at 330-274-8443. The Township charges 10 cents per page. FAX, 330-274-8447. E-mail, fiscalofficer@mantuatownshipohio.gov. The minutes are also posted on the website after they have been approved. That means that there is usually a two-week lag between a given meeting and the minutes being available to read on the website.
Since meetings are the first and third Thursdays of the month, there is a three-week wait during months with five Thursdays.
Other items of interest or the writer's opinions will be included from time to time, clearly identified.
This is not a forum or chat room, but a source of information, so it is closed to outside input.
During the time I have been doing the blog, the posts have expanded to become very detailed accounts of the meetings. Doing that is time consuming, to say the least, and I am going to try to return to the public comment focus, with background and perspective (and the occasional pointed editorial comment). Such additions are usually enclosed in brackets. However, since some extended accounts of the meetings reveal significant things--and character--better than I could by commenting, there will probably still be a fair amount of semi-transcript. (Sigh.)
My thanks to the readers who have found the blog, and to the ones who from time to time tell me that they value it. You have encouraged me when the tedious work of keyboarding has made me wonder why I am doing this. Then you have reminded me, and I am grateful.
Principles
Two ideas guide and support me:
The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.
______Attributed to Edmund Burke
GOOD PREVAILS.
Those ideas are also the reason I have been doing the blog since late February 2011.
I have discovered that a transcript is almost impossible to do and that verbatim accounts are usually not absolutely necessary. When in doubt, I check against a recording.
The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.
______Attributed to Edmund Burke
GOOD PREVAILS.
Those ideas are also the reason I have been doing the blog since late February 2011.
I have discovered that a transcript is almost impossible to do and that verbatim accounts are usually not absolutely necessary. When in doubt, I check against a recording.
