At long last, spring is finally here and the weather seems to help boost the resolve needed to do all the things that I have been putting off. Procrastination is a trait that is easy to endorse and adopt. Fortunately, I do not have to worry about the upcoming primary election on May 20. On that date, we citizens of the 5th District get to choose who will appear on the fall ballot as our councilman or councilwoman. The three candidates in the primary are Cheryl Feigel, Richard Marrs and Ed Norton.
Therefore, on May 14 at 7 p.m. in the Henry Clay High School cafeteria, the three candidates will have time to present themselves and their thoughts for all who wish to attend. Each candidate will have an opening statement followed by questions from the gathering, and all will follow up with a closing statement. I presume the three have differing philosophies about local governments, and this will be a chance to learn about those differences.
Dollars and Sense
The major activity at city hall is the consideration of the Fiscal Year '09 budget (July 1, 2008-June 30, 2009). Since my report to you last month, nothing has changed and we are still looking at a deficit for FY '08 of $5 million, and a projected deficit for FY '09 of $25 million. Mayor Newberry presented his solutions for the financial problems in his budget address to the council on April 8. It is now up to the council to change it as we see fit and vote on it before July 1.
There is a structured process with many meetings, all of which are open to the public, and for which notices are posted. Your input is welcomed, and I would be pleased to speak to anyone interested. No new taxes were recommended by Mayor Newberry. The Sewer User Fee was increased and a new Storm Water Fee based on impervious surface will be imposed during the coming year. Both of these were mandated by the Consent Degree to settle the suit by the Environmental Protection Agency and both will apply to all properties whether exempt from regular taxes or not.
I am also reviewing with interested parties some changes to the Clean Air Ordinance, or 'smoking ban,' as some call it. There are problems with enforcement and prosecution, which could be lessened by some changes in the ordinance. This will ultimately be up to the council. I am also co-chair of the Infill and Redevelopment Steering Committee, which has just completed an exhaustive analysis of Lexington. This analysis was based on the assumption that the Urban Service Boundary will remain static, and that desirable growth in Lexington needs to occur within the existing Urban Service Boundary. The next step will be implementation and this will require the public and private sectors to work out the solutions.
Neighborhood Notes
In the district, at least Louisiana Ave., and portions of Montavesta, will be resurfaced this year. Johnson Heights will get a pedestrian entrance from Liberty Road with parking in the evenings and weekends in the North Base Park headquarters lot. ND-1 overlay proposals for the Chevy Chase neighborhood are moving along. The traffic concerns around Christ the King campus await studies by traffic engineering.
Chinoe Road from Lakewood to the New Circle Road overpass is turning into a new Indianapolis 500 with speeding unchecked by police enforcement. A citizen has requested stop signs on Chinoe at Pepperhill to permit ingress and egress safely at times when school traffic is present. Also the intersection at Coltneck and Chinoe is a problem with vehicles making the turn into Coltneck so quickly that the curb is jumped, yards are traversed, and mailboxes are destroyed. I will continue dialogue with the police to try to get some control over the situation on Chinoe.
Please contact me, or Mary Tackett if we can help.