the commission passed an ordinance last night, but it wasn't exactly what we were expecting.
the ordinance will require that windows be secured - meaning you cant just hang up tin so that birds and other pests can get in.
it requires that windows that are replaced must be replaced with glass. so it addresses going forward, but not so much going backwards.
the curve ball was the taking the downtown historical area out of the ordinance. this will eventually be seen as a bright move - though it may take some time.
instead of putting that in the ordinance, they are making it a zoning issue. they can re-zone it to require glass - or transparent - material in window openings.
they wont say it publicly, but they thought the ordinance might get a legal challenge, so city attorney Tamara Niles believes this is the best way to circumvent a lawsuit. this is a case of the best defense being a good offense.
it puts it under state statutes governing zoning, which will give it more power and make it harder to get around.
they say it will take a couple months to get it going. it has to go through some hearings and such before it comes back to the commission to be enacted.
there are still some questions i need to ask, but at the meeting the commissioners seemed pleased with it.
they had a private meeting (executive session) for 20 minutes in the middle of the meeting to make the final decision.
it will be interesting to see what happens now.
but lets give it some time people. its taken arkansas city 50 years to get to a certain state, it may take some time to get it turned around.
at least they are trying to do something.
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So let me get this right. It requires windows in all buildings "except" those in the central business district?
I figured they would screw it up, but I never figured they would apply the rules to everybody "but" the downtown building owners.
wait thats not exactly right.
they are going to impose the same rules on the downtown, just going to use zoning instead of prop. maintenance rules.
just taking a different vehicle to get there.
But the zoning is not in place.
And it won't be for a long time, after meetings and hearings.
It may never be in place.
Why not just apply zoning to downtown and leave the rest of the town alone?
You know what Ark City needs that other towns have?
A second reading.
Proposed City Commission actions are read publicly and then read again at the next meeting and acted upon, where there is no foolishness like this.
A second reading.
Proposed City Commission actions are read publicly and then read again at the next meeting and acted upon, where there is no foolishness like this.
>>>
In South Carolina they had THREE readings for every ordinance. Takes three meetings to pass anything. First reading announces it, second reading is the public hearing and then it can pass on the third reading.
After further review....
The new law says that if a window is broken or comes out anywhere in town, regardless of what material it was made of, it must be replaced with glass. This would not be retroactive, but only on future incidents.
Completely separate is the issue of zoning the downtown historic district. Once passed through the planning department and the commission all windows in the zone would have to be made of glass or be walled up to look like the rest of the building.
Thank you to Mr. Russell (city manager) for explaining it properly.
I love the first moron who posted at 9:19am who jumped to a false conclusion off the bat. Youare what is wrong with this town.
I don't think that is fair to the poster. The newspaper story did read that way. It just wasn't clear.
You might look a little deeper into the smoke and mirrors and be able to see that at this point absolutely nothing has been done to make any changes to the boarded up windows downtown.
You have been sidetracked and BS'ed.
We have to wait to see what type of zoning plan comes out to know if anything is going to be done. There is still a possibility (maybe probability) that the buildings will be grandfathered and that AC will have to put up with this crap for the next 40 years.
or, instead of reading the normally wrong information in the newspaper someone could ask the city manager or a commissioner (though I'm not sure I trust them all) what the low down is.
Or, as is usually the case, we can speculate just how negative we can make this out to be.
Personally I'd like to know the truth, but that takes all the fun out of it for most.
Broken windows have to be replaced with glass city wide or blended into the wall around them.
A zoning reg is pending to do something about the downtown boarded up windows, but nothing has been done yet.
What's so hard about that?
There is no secret message that only the Commission or manager knows. It is a matter of public record.
The only person speculating here is you speculating that nobody knows the "truth", and that anybody with an opinion other than yours is "negative".
It is a fact that there is no regulation in place to remove the boarded up windows downtown. If you don't get it, then let me quote Jack Nicholson: "you can't handle the truth".
Some people just like to criticize and will find fault with anything.
for the poster who thinks the paper is normally wrong ... you may come up any morning starting at 6 a.m. and ill let you take a turn at it.
you have to be done by 11.
:)
to the traveler editor:
I'm sure your job is as difficult as anyone elses. It's just that most of us would be unemployed if we didn't do a good job.
It's not the number of hours, or how rushed. it's the quality of work. Maybe nobody could do it better, but I suspect it is done all the time.
I'm not pointing fingers, I just know that if I didn't meet the standards for my job, they would find someone else to do it.
I'm not pointing fingers, I just know that if I didn't meet the standards for my job, they would find someone else to do it.
>>>
there's the point.
youre calling me incompetent for ... not even for anything really ... just for fun i guess.
its just the same old negativity.
people love to criticize the local paper, the cops, the city commission and the schools.
but dont have the guts to put their name on a post, let alone actually do anything for the betterment of the community.
but here is the thing.
we won 5 state press association awards this year. every year since i have been here we have won 5 or more. one year we won nine and were third in general excellence - which means we were third in our size overall for the whole state
last year we were second in general writing - meaning we were second in writing news period. in the state.
this year we were second in overall design - which means second best in the state in our design.
we also won a prestigious university of kansas award this year that only two papers in the state - regardless of size - receive.
we do a good job.
i do a good job.
its just that my work is very public. its easy to see an error and its there forever.
i get lots of stuff right.
one mistake - and were not even talking about an actual mistake here that im aware of - and some people say that proves we never get anything right.
it doesnt matter what we do, some people are going to criticize.
we have been criticized at public meetings - city commission - for things we didnt even write.
i have won state press association awards in four states. won regional writing and photography awards for the southeast united states.
its just part of the negativity that is around here so much.
people love to criticize, whether the facts warrant it or not.
im not pointing fingers either.
but id like to see some people have their work out on public display.
or to at least have the intestinal fortitude to put your name on a blog post.
:)
I once made a mistake on my job which cost the company somewhere in the 5 digits (I was told). I will put my name on that! We all make mistakes. I've always said I'd hate to be a doctor for just that reason. I do not think I could live with myself if my mistake robbed someone of their life.
If a newspaper makes a mistake, it is easily corrected. Right? Nobody dies, and no one looses thousands of dollars. On an issue as heated as this, foggy or inacurate points could stir some people up, though. James, I for one will admit that some articles in the Traveler are confusing to me (granted, I only read the on-line version). I believe that they do not tell the whole story, or are worded in a way which are confusing. Almost as if the writer assumes we know as much as they do about the subject. Anyway, I am sometimes scratching my head with more questions to be answered. Perhaps the print copy tells more of the story?
Now, I will be the first to tell you that I am not a highly intelligent person. I received good marks in school, though some of my education seems to have evaporated into thin air. I'm sure that is evident somewhere in this post. However, not everyone who reads the paper was a straight A student or bagged a language arts degree. I'm not knocking you or the Traveler staff. I know I could not do a better job! Just giving you some criticism. Hope it is not taken as negative. Constructive, maybe?
Hang in there James, you do a good job! It is tuff to have to dumb yourself down and write news articles on a third grade level for the general population to understand. Everytime I go to a drive through or Wallmart, I feel myself getting stupider. Very few ever look at the positives, the negative is what we motivates our minds, the fight, the drama! I guess you could start writing articles at the level you are capable and see what happens. I'm sure it will still breed negativity to those capable of reading and comprehending.
Thanks Keeli
I thought your comments were presented well.
There is a good way and a bad way to "criticize."
I was just tired yesterday and felt like fighting back a bit.
I could tell you some horror stories about huge mistakes at newspapers.
some people are just negative. Im trying to combat that. It has nothing to do with freedom of speech, it's about ... trying to get people to have some manners. :)
You know who they are:)
Thanks Keeli
I thought your comments were presented well.
There is a good way and a bad way to "criticize."
I was just tired yesterday and felt like fighting back a bit.
I could tell you some horror stories about huge mistakes at newspapers.
some people are just negative. Im trying to combat that. It has nothing to do with freedom of speech, it's about ... trying to get people to have some manners. :)
You know who they are:)
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