government

Complete Streets II

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In the previous entry on Complete Streets, I was discussing development in Culver.  Marshall County is in the process of constructing Pioneer Drive (Pine Road Extension, VanVactor Parkway or Holm Highway depending on what you hear) on the west side of Plymouth.  Theo and I took a walk along it from Lincoln Highway to State Road 17 and back the other evening before the weather turned and before the asphalt was placed.  It was a pretty night for it, though the buzzing, cracking and popping from the high voltage towers was a little disconcerting… 

It appears that Marshall County may have missed several opportunities on this project for implementing some Complete Street ideas.  (Disclaimer:  I have not reviewed the final plans and I’m only going by my observations of the construction as it stands.)  Since this road comes out in the middle of several subdivisions on the southwest side of Plymouth, there could have been better provisions made for cyclists and pedestrians.  Instead it appears that the road has standard shoulders with large deep ditches on either side.  I initially thought that it was probably too far out to really have too much pedestrian traffic, but when I actually walked it the other night, I was surprised to find that I wasn’t the only one out there walking.  Since this road leads to the Lifeplex it would seem only natural that it should include some recreational/physical fitness provisions.  While I doubt sidewalks would have been cost effective for the potential foot traffic, adding a wider shoulder on one side with bike/pedestrian accommodations could have made sense.

The intersection with State Road 17 appears to have some sight distance issues that will make it difficult for both motor vehicles and especially cyclists.  Not to defend their flagrant disregard for road rules and etiquette; it’s pretty common to see bicycles ignore stop signs and lights at intersections.  They seem to do this regardless of the safety hazards involved.

I was disappointed in the implementation of erosion control on this project.  In many of the areas silt fence has been installed merely as window dressing running parallel to the slope rather than perpendicular to the slope where it would be effective.   There were areas where silt fence was installed at the top of the slope rather than at the bottom and was/is having no effect at all on erosion control.  Rip rap was missing from spillways and detention pond structures were left unprotected.

The deep ditches all along the road are disappointing on several levels.  They limit the opportunities for landscaping and the option of making this road into a tree-lined parkway.  They do little to slow stormwater runoff and the detention ponds appeared inadequate to account for the new impervious surface created by this road.  Development expenses will be high since if the ditch dimensions are appropriate then equivalently large culverts will be needed at any driveway accesses.  The ditches will also make it difficult to add lanes in the future if this road should need to be expanded to four lanes (as Oak Road was.).  And finally, since this road is to act as a bypass, then any new drive connections should include accel/decel lanes, which will be difficult and expensive to construct – another thing that is not conducive to development.

Sycamore Road/Rose Road Bypass

There’s no doubt that I was a little jaded on this project from the beginning.  I was involved with the Culver Chamber’s effort to spearhead a true Plymouth by-pass, from where S.R. 17 turns at West High, north to S.R. 30.  My personal feeling is that this would have served as a more effective by-pass and would have furthered the interests of Culver and Ancilla College in the process.  It would have allowed for an aerial railroad crossing due to the natural terrain; something lacking on Pioneer Drive.  (Water under the bridge, since additional residential development has occurred making this bypass route more difficult than it would have been 10 years ago.)  Pioneer Drive does not seem particularly effective as a by-pass or as a means of opening new land for development.  It seems to have missed a lot of its potential.

December 7th, 2010

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Yesterday was December 7th.  As always there were rememberances of Pearl Harbor, though it seems that these are less every year.  I even heard a disturbing historical report about how we knew about the proposed attack ahead of time, but through a series of bureaucratic mistakes, the warning got there late. (Wikipedia version)

Philip Frederick Rising

The rememberance was a little more poignant for me due to attending a memorial service for a retired naval officer last week.  My mother-in-law (Sara) married Philip Frederick Rising last January.  I honestly did not know him well as they lived in Texas.  (His obituary and additional pictures can be found here.)  Becky and I attended the memorial service to support her mother.

Towards the end of the service, three naval officers displayed a U.S. Flag, ceremonially unfolding and folding it.  Taps was played.  The flag was presented to Sara by a naval officer in a formal dress white uniform.  After presenting the flag, he removed his glove and quietly gave his condolences while holding her hand.  I don’t know that anyone can observe the reverence with which this ceremony is performed without feeling the weight of the generations that have served and often died in the task of defending our Country.  After completing their duty, they slipped quietly from the Church.  I specifically went looking for them to thank them, but they had already left before the family was out of the Sanctuary.

I did not know Phil well, but he will be missed.  Hearing his family and friends share remembrances reinforced my impression that he was a good man.  But as with all things in life, there are constant new beginnings to counter the endings.  I have a new great nephew, Charles Eli Marquis, who was born yesterday weighing in at 9lb, 11oz!  Life goes on with all its highs and lows.

Marshall County Innkeeper’s Tax

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The Marshall County Council chose to increase the Innkeeper’s Tax from 3 to 5 percent.  [Pilot News Article]  I’ve had a disagreement with this tax since it first went into effect over a decade ago. 

My first issue is the same as Dr. Watson’s.  (See his letter to the editor here.)  It is taxation without representation.  It was originally passed “because we could” rather than because there was a need.  Now it appears that it has been raised using the same rational.  From the Pilot News Article:  “Woolfington [Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director] pointed out that Marshall County was one of just a handful of counties in the state of Indiana that has held the tax at 3 percent. Adjacent counties have raised their tax to the 5 percent level and St. Joseph County is at 6 percent.”  Mr. Woolfington then goes on to talk about our loss of a major hotel chain.  Somehow I doubt that this was because they suffered a decline in business because they weren’t charging enough!  How is raising our tax rate to match surrounding counties going to attract people to stay here?

My second issue with this has always been the Marshall County Visitor’s Guide.  Despite the Innkeeper’s Tax, the first thing the newly formed Visitor’s and Convention Bureau did was to start shaking down local businesses and Chambers of Commerce for ads in their new visitor’s guide.  Currently more than that 10% of the Culver Chamber of Commerce’s annual budget goes toward an ad in this guide.  I was on the Culver Chamber Board when this went into effect and I voted against that budget item and the passing of the budget including that item until I left the board and I continued to vote against it as a Chamber member for several years after.  (I now generally skip that meeting as my meal doesn’t sit well after that vote…)  I considered it then and now a phenomenal waste of precious dollars…dollars requested by a tax funded entity of a volunteer organization.  Dollars which wouldn’t need them if MCCVB was effective in it’s mission!

LaPaz Garden Court Inc. Open House

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LaPaz Garden Court Inc. Open House announcement from the Pilot News November 6, 2010

Friday was the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for the LaPaz Garden Court.  It’s always a great thing to go back and see how the facilities have been decorated, see the residents that have taken rooms and hear from all of those involved.  Dr. Ronald Liechty served as Master of Ceremony and as always, made everyone feel good about the work that it took to bring the project to completion.

We completed work on LaPaz Garden Court in mid-October and it is already 2/3rds full.  There was actually another resident signing up while the open house was in progress!

We were pleased that the H.U.D. representative for this job attended the ceremony.  This is the first time this has happened.  We were all pleased that she also had the opportunity to see the good that Garden Court has been able to do.  This would not be possible with out the grants from H.U.D.

LaPaz Garden Court is the 6th Garden Court project that Easterday Construction Co., Inc. has partnered with Garden Court, Inc. to complete.  While we have also worked on several of their other projects, we have completed six projects from start to finish in Argos, Bourbon, Knox, Plymouth, Mentone and now LaPaz.  We hope to be starting out 7th project with them, Culver Garden Court, within the next few weeks.

All of us at Easterday Construction are proud of our association with Garden Court, Inc. and we hope to continue our partnership into the future.

Last Word on Walorski/Donnelly

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The Walorski/DonnellyCongressional Race for the Indiana 2nd District was a pretty bitter fight.  It was a pretty tight race up to and including the final days of the race.  Interestingly, there was a Libertarian, Mark Vogel, in the race.  I consider myself fairly politically savy, but I was unaware the third candidate until the weekend before the election when I received a glossy mailer touting Mr. Vogel as the “true conservative” in the race.

Mark Vogel Campaign Flyer Front

Mark Vogel Campaign Flyer Back

Despite serious campaign fatigue it caught my eye because of some of the positions being proclaimed, such as abolishing the IRS and the income tax.  All of them were conservative to the extreme.

Looking at it a little further, another thing caught my eye… The return address:  The Indiana Democratic Party!

Whether you want to call it dirty pool or extremely smart politics, apparently the Indiana Democratic Party didn’t think Joe Donnelly could beat Jackie Walorski in a head to head battle, so chose to spend precious dollars on promoting the third candidate.  Also, it appears they were right since the majority of those voting did not vote for Mr. Donnelly.   According to Mr. Vogel’s website, the ad was sent without his knowledge or consent, nor was it sent with the consent of the Libertarian Party.  A complaint has been filed with the FEC for violations of Federal election laws.