Democracy on the Front Lines
City Administrator’s Blog
Walter Denton
November 20, 2007
There is now only one referendum on the February 5 election. At last night’s meeting, the City Council voted to rescind the resolutions on the Water and Sewer Lateral Repair Programs. There was some confusion at the November 5 City Council meeting regarding whether the resolutions had been approved, so the items were reconsidered last night and taken off the ballot (click here for details on the Nov. 5 meeting.)
As a result, the only item on the February 5 election will be the Stormwater Utility. Staff is preparing informational materials on the referendum that will be distributed to residents so they will be able to make an informed decision. In addition, we will post loads of stormwater information on our web site for those who want details. I will also provide updates on the referendum on my blog.
The information campaign will be tight. With the holidays approaching, we really will not be able to begin making presentations to residents until January and then there are only four weeks until the election. According to state law, we are not allowed to advocate for the passage of the referendum but we will provide information on why it is on the ballot.
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In other news, the old Plaza Liquor Store has been demolished on Hwy. 50 across from Community Park. We knew they were planning to demolish the building, but it was a bit of a surprise to see it go down so quickly. It is a relief to have the ugly building gone, particularly the unsightly “LIQUOR” billboards.
The City Council has already approved plans to build a new McDonalds restaurant at the site, which will be a significant upgrade to the old Conoco site and Plaza Liquor building. We have not heard what will happen to the current McDonalds.
Over the past few years, we have been relatively successful at removing our derelict buildings. The old vacant KFC and Texaco buildings were demolished about three years old, the vacant Conoco gas station was demolished two years ago, the vacant Clark Station was demolished about six months ago, and the Plaza Liquor was demolished on Monday. Only the vacant Huck’s convenience store remains at State and Smiley.
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