Tag:Rants
App Anxiety
Like almost everyone I know, I’ve become a cell phone junkie. That said, I hate to talk on the damn thing. I’ve considered stealing a voice mail message I heard once: “Hello. This is Kevin’s phone. If this could be a text, hang up and text me. if you absolutely must leave a message, I’ll listen to it… eventually… and maybe decide to reply. if it’s still relevant by then…” To paraphrase Gary Gulman, the phone is just a seldom used app on my phone and if you call me on it, I’m immediately mad. How dare you!?!
I use the camera on my phone… though not for the selfies that most people do. I generally am using it for work. I’m a big fan of Twitter. I’m currently managing 6 twitter accounts and I strive to change the voice of each. I use Instagram… and Facebook… but mainly because I think I need to for work. If I know it’s your Birthday, I’ll probably send you a text. I don’t do the smarmy, self-congratulatory Facebook wall posts. Facebook is way to saccharin for me. I prefer the sarcasm of Twitter and I’ve recently found Reddit which I like as well. Reddit can be REALLY harsh… And those people are darkly funny!
Despite my love of the technology and the wild west of Twitter and Reddit, I’ve always had concerns. All the stories of scams and phishing concern me. Some are overblown, but when you’re offered a “flashlight” app that requests access to your contacts… well, that just doesn’t seem right.
So when our government tells me that TikTok is full of spyware, I don’t have a lot of trouble believing that. They have banned it on all Federal government devices. Even Indiana has banned it on State devices. While I’ve watched more than a few TikTok videos sent to me by friends, I have no desire to add that app to my phone. Yes, I’m pretty boring, but I still value at least a little bit of my privacy. As attested above, I rarely give out my cell phone number because I don’t want calls on it, but I’m starting to get more and more calls on it and a lot of spam calls on it. Is that because people I know are downloading TicTok and “Flashlight” apps and giving access to their contacts? Is that how my number is getting out there?
Even with all the warnings, use doesn’t seem to be going down. TikTok remains the trendy thing. I am disappointed that institutions that should know better continue to push it. We attend the Notre Dame Women’s Basketball games and they do a TikTok challenge. Often they’re bringing little girls out to watch videos made by the players and asking them to emulate them. You know that those kids immediately want to have the app and be like the big girls they idolize… I was at a local town meeting and a young (20’s) participant said that Culver needs to expand their social media presence to include TikTok. She said that she was embarrassed to admit that she, like many in her generation, is on the app 2 or more hours a day. This is someone I consider smart and with her drive, she has a bright future. Is she at risk because she has things on TikTok that could come back to stymie a future political career or job opportunity? Not that there isn’t a risk of that with any social media, but we’ve been told that this TikTok is specifically harvesting information for a hostile foreign government. If reports are correct, Chinese children on the app are bombarded with STEM encouragement. American children are bombarded with mindless drivel and worse, things that are causing body dysmorphia and the resultant depression. That’s problematic.
I guess this isn’t too surprising when millions of Americans are sending off DNA samples to trace their ancestry, despite the accompanying sign-offs that say the company can do what they want with the DNA information provided. How much more personal can you get? At what point will that information be available to employers, insurance companies, divorce lawyers and others that may use it to harm us? At what point will it become common place enough that it’s required? Will the history questionnaire at the Doctor be replaced by a tube to spit into, at which point they’ll know anything they want about you and your ancestors?
As with anything, it is the camel’s nose under the tent… And doesn’t that metaphor really shows this has gone on forever!?! Bad things would be stopped if they happened all at once, but work up to them bit by bit and most people will go along.
En Garde! Corrections in Fencing…
I ranted a bit in a previous post here about the lack of action on the fence at 404 Lake Shore Drive. This has been an ongoing issue since pre-pandemic. While I was recently told nothing could be done about it, things changed when the property owner at 404 Lake Shore Drive applied to combine their two parcels in to one lot at the 1/17/23 Plan Commission meeting.
I attended the meeting with the intention of asking that bringing the fence into compliance be a condition of the replat, but before it got to Public Input, one of the commissioners brought it up on their own. That in itself was gratifying after all this time and hassle. At that time the owner’s representative asked what I wanted done. I requested it be brought into compliance and that there be a date set for compliance. In an abundance of consideration for the homeowner, the date was set for 8/31/23. If for some reason this has not been remedied by that time, daily fines can be requested until it is resolved.
On a somewhat amusing note, the date was pushed to the end of summer due to potential problems in finding a contractor to make the change. One commissioner suggested there was a contractor in the room that could probably do it expeditiously, pointing to me. Somehow I don’t think I will receive that call! Ha! I’m still pleased that this is moving towards resolution. Thank you Culver Plan Commission!
Thoughts on the 12/13 Culver TC Meeting
I’ve had hand surgery, so I’m behind on completing my blog entries. Sorry Lurkers! 🙂 I did have a few thoughts on the last Culver Town Council meeting. I’m not going to get into the controversial things, but I am disappointed in some of the procedural things and thought I would comment on those here.
The first one I found odd involved the approval of a PUD request. The request was approved without issue, but later in the meeting, Culver Fire Chief, Terry Wakefield, circled back to it. All of the buildings included in this PUD are going to have fire sprinkler systems, so due to the location, this will require a fire pump. The designers have been in discussions with Chief Wakefield regarding this and he had requested a hydrant be placed on the property. This would have improved the fire rating at this site and the surrounding area. He said the request was denied. A couple of questions I would pose regarding this:
- Was this part of the Technical Review Committee (TRC) discussion? Is the Fire Chief consulted in the TRC review?
- On the PUD for The Paddocks, tens of thousands of dollars in additional requirements were added, including infrastructure and easements. Why wasn’t Chief Wakefield’s request made a requirement? This seems like a minor request, considering the infrastructure already being placed. Any liability concerns could have been handled.
This seems like a missed opportunity here, but maybe one that can be corrected in the future…
The second issue involved the rescinding of matching dollars for Blue Zones. That match was contingent on other funding which hasn’t come through, so the use of the dollars is pretty much moot at this point, but my concern now is the methodology employed here.
Blue Zones was discussed at multiple meetings before the funding was approved. Presentations were made, public input was allowed and the allocation was passed. Then it was added to the 2023 budget. Once again there were opportunities for discussion and input. Throughout the past year, the Town Manager, Ginny Munroe, has promoted the project with the Council’s blessing. Reports on it were intermittently included in her Town Manager’s reports to the Council.
On the 13th, at the end of the meeting, after all of the agenda items were finished, including Citizen Input, it was brought up under Council Members Issues. The rescinding of support was voted on with minimal supporting information, a split 3:2 vote, and no public input. Was there anything illegal about it? Not that I know of… Was it completely out of line with Culver’s stated values for open communication? Undoubtedly. In my opinion, anything that has gone through as much preliminary discussion and input before being voted in should at least be an agenda item before being voted out.
Culver has done this in the past and I believe there should be some kind of resolution to change this. Projects that are supported and fostered by the Council shouldn’t get dropped without at least minimal conversations with those affected. I don’t think this usurps the Council’s prerogative to change their mind, but citizens that invest time and money into projects with the Council’s support shouldn’t be cast aside without due respect and consideration.
Both of these items are “water under the bridge” at this point. But they should be opportunities for reflection and, hopefully, opportunities for new rules and procedures to do better in the future.
Culver needs an Infrastructure Czar
I had lamented about this in the past, but decided to put my thoughts together here for a post as I see this happening over and over again. Culver is doing a great job at obtaining grants and adding improvements to the Town. Unfortunately, these projects seem to continually suffer from a two step forward, one step back syndrome. We have “plans” for what will come in the future, but we continually use different consultants for different projects with no one tasked with seeing the big picture.
This is not the job of the Town Manager. While the Town Manager is generally aware of all the projects and project plans, we have yet to hire one that is a Urban Planner or Landscape Architect. We hire them for the management skills, administration skills, grant writing skills, public relations skills, etc. Some towns choose to go with a “Clerk of the Works” in lieu of a Town Manager. That person has a different skill set and in my opinion, what a Town Manager brings, is what is best for Culver.
But…
The best example of the problem I think needs to be addressed is the various improvements that have been completed over the last couple decades in the area of State Street, Lake Shore Drive and the Town Park. This occurred over the tenure of multiple Town Managers and again, I don’t think this is on them.
- The brick street that was State Street was deteriorating in front of the fire station. The Town decided to pull the brick and redo the street in concrete. Once construction started, the deteriorating condition of the storm water inlets was pointed out. It was also suggested that the other infrastructure (water and sewer lines) should be examined. The decision was made not to do this, patch the storm water inlets (and sewer manhole) the best they could and move on.
- The storm water lines continued to deteriorate and eventually the lines on Lake Shore Drive needed to be replace. These connected to the State Street storm lines, so the new concrete street in #1 was cut (reducing the integrity of the soil compaction, concrete and reinforcing steel) to replace those inlets. As part of this work, the sidewalk from the Park parking lot to the public pier was removed and replaced.
- The Town moved forward with the trail project that runs through the Park. This ran from the end of Washington Street, through the Park and up past the Beach Lodge. The newly placed concrete in #2 above had to be removed and reworked in order to make the trail ADA accessible.
- The Town reroofed the Beach Lodge. This while planning for the Beach Lodge renovation was underway. Approximately 20% of the new roof had to be removed in order to complete the addition to the Beach Lodge.
- The Town moved forward with the Beach Lodge project the year after the Trail was completed. Additional costs were incurred protecting the new trail in #3 as it passed through the construction area.
Okay. While there is not a infrastructure Master Plan and there is no guarantee when or how much grant money comes in for projects, these issues were unforced errors. All of these projects were on the overall to-do list, just without a master plan or time frame. #1 was a Town Manager/Street Department project. #2 was contracted to the Town’s Engineering firm. #3 was contracted to the Town’s Landscape Architecture firm. #4 was a Town Manager project. #5 was contracted to an Architecture firm. Again, not faulting any of them, as they can only work with the information provided, but no one had the overall vision. They were each working in their own silos as directed.
The past several Town Managers have depended heavily on Culver’s Utilities Superintendent. Again, it would be unfair to blame any of the above on that person. They are tasked with keeping things working, not having a vision for the future. They often are not called in until the grant has been obtained and the architect or engineer have been hired. They can help oversee the current project per the plans, but at that point it’s often too late to adjust for the connections.
There are other examples, such as Cavalier Drive, where the sewer line was not extended to either end of the street & the street does not serve all of The Paddock on the north end and the South Main Street Trail, where once the trail leaves Davis Street, where there was a curb, it drops down to road level without planning for future South Main Street improvements. (South Main Street is currently hard to traverse due to sunken inlets in the street in the travel path of car tires. Improvements including curb and gutter and curb inlets would be a prudent consideration.)
Now there are four significant projects planned for Culver. None of these are particularly objectionable. The Plan Commission and their subcommittee, the Technical Review Committee, have reviewed and approved the multi-family development at 415 Lake Shore Drive. While it does not follow the Comprehensive Plan completely, it does transition from Commercial to Residential, which was a Comp Plan goal for this parcel. But how does this increased density change the vision for this area? Why was it not required to follow current detention requirements? (Yes, the existing site was fulling impervious, but there are existing drainage problems in this area and this was an opportunity to alleviate some of them.) What should be done as part of this project to prepare for the next project? Maybe there’s not much that can be done because of the state of development in that area, but has it been considered?
The second one is municipal projects at the intersections of South Main Street, Davis Street and Ohio Street. The town is expanding their well field. They are considering a new facility on Davis Street where the restaurant was torn down. How will these new uses affect development? Will they increase traffic? Is there anything that can be done to improve the poor intersection traffic at this location?
The third one is a storage facility on Tamerack Road, south of the cemetery. Again, this does not quite follow the Comp Plan, but it’s been reviewed and found to be reasonable by the Plan Commission. How will this affect future projects? This facility is designed to house recreational vehicles, so it will increase traffic from large vehicles, trucks and trailers. Does this lend to an upgrade in South Main Street? Remember the trail that just went in, mentioned above? Will it make sense to widen South Main Street? Add curbs? How will that affect the trail? Does this put more need for the extension of West Shore Drive to S.R. 17 as discussed as a goal in the current Comp Plan (page 89 shows new connections to S.R. 17 via extensions of Academy Road and West Shore Drive)?
The fourth project is The Dunes. There’s been talk in town that residents were blind-sided with this, but in reality, that property was annexed and rezoned “R-2” years ago with the goal of denser residential development. There were advertised public meetings at the Plan Commission and Town Council. Again, the trail project should have anticipated this, but didn’t. What other things have been missed along here? What else should be considered? As with the storage facility, does this suggest upgrades to South Main Street and the West Shore Drive extension to S.R. 17?
This is where an Infrastructure Czar would come in. (Call them what you want, but this was a starting point for me.) This is someone charged to see the big picture and how all the new projects interrelate with the existing facilities. Someone trained to see this. Trained to have the vision. I’m not really advocating a new position as I don’t think it’s warranted, but the Town hires consultants all of the time. Whether this is a single person or a firm, the consultant fees would be minimal and money well spent and paid for by saving the reworking of things as pointed out in the Lake Shore Drive list of 4 above.
A prime example of a current issue most probably being increased by the last three on this list is the unsafe intersections involving South Main Street, Davis Street and Ohio Street. Some of the money being dedicated to these projects by the Redevelopment Commission could be channeled towards improvements here. (Really should have been considered with the trail project.) This could be low end, utilizing better signage and more traffic control or higher end with widening of streets and adding turn lanes, etc. There is also the really radical and progressive option of turning this intersection into a round-about! Wouldn’t that blow some minds!
The point is, once these developments are complete, there will be no options for asking for additional land or other concessions and an opportunity will be lost. We need someone with vision who can think outside the box on these things. Someone to challenge the status quo so improvements can be considered. Infrastructure Czar, Master Planner, The Vision… Call them what you want. Someone needs to be in-charge of monitoring the big picture.
DST: Marco Rubio for President?
March 13, 2023
Kevin Berger
Commentary, Rants
Community, DST, government, Rants
It’s another grumpy Time Change Monday. I guess on the positive side, I beat the DST Heart Attack spike. (24% on the Monday after the Spring time change.) I think I beat the 8% spike in strokes, but since I’m a bit groggy today, I’m not as confident about that one!
My lurkers know that I’ve written (bitched) about DST here before. My stance against it hasn’t changed. Some of my past posts have exonerated Ben Franklin’s culpability in this, Exonerated Cows in this, shown that DST is not universal and celebrated Marco Rubio’s championing of ending this.
I have read that the Sunshine Protection Act passed the Senate unanimously last year and then stalled in the House. I understand it passed the Senate again this year and is now in the House. If Senator Rubio declared his candidacy for President and promised to ditch the DST time change, he’d rocket to the top of the heap in my estimation. I know, as much as I liked Governor Mitch Daniels, I still curse him for his part in pushing DST for Indiana.
Not much to do at this point, but suck it up and muddle on. It will be better in a week or so. Doesn’t mean I have to like it though…
If you want some history on DST, Accuweather has a nice write up here.
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