Wednesday, August 05, 2009

HAVE YOU SEEN THE LIGHT?

I almost can't believe the issue of the uptown intersection of Wall & N Front could be the catalyst that divides the council for the months to come.

At the last Council meeting, the eight of us passed legislation that moved hundreds of thousands of dollars without sparking even a peep in discussion, and yet a simple traffic modification at a street corner consumed the chamber for almost an hour.

You would think the City of Kingston was some sunny little hamlet on the Cape with
nothing but flowerbeds to worry about. I got news for ya...We've got plenty to worry about. This was embarrassing.
If I can find one thing that proved useful throughout the exchange, was the exercise in Robert's Rules of Order. Always a fascinating process.

I had expressed, during the heated discussion, that had the proposal been submitted through the clerks office and "fast tracked" by President Noble, we would have had the same result. But NOOO!

With insufficient homework done to prepare
the request, most Aldermen didn't realize that the legislation that changed the traffic flow of the intersection in question, was enacted through three separate legislative acts. They were visiting just one. What a mess!

I have since, contacted Charlie Schaller from the County Traffic Safety Board. He, his crew and I will
be visiting the location during the next few weeks to get measurements, study plans and simply review what is permitted, what follows DOT rules and whether the current controlling unit serves the purpose intended.

The city's police Department no-longer has a traffic safety officer with the training we need, but there will be consultation with the department as this develops.

What gets me, is now we have a verbal volley in the papers, where now the "Good Ol Boys" are ganging up on AnnMarie and the word Sexist has even come up. What a summer!

We have a budget ahead of us that is going to test our abilities to manage this city and this is what my collegues are fighting about!

13 comments:

Alisha said...

seriously.

i'm sick of reading about it on my feed all the time..

if they've run out of problems to fix, i've got a few suggestions..

Anonymous said...

When the light was damaged by a storm,stop signs were put in place and they worked,why did they work then and not now,well,i'm gonna tell ya,last time stop signs were placed in tires,set in the road a little ways from the curb so that they were visable long before you came up on them,and it worked.How about when a semi took out the light pole at washington and n.front st.,signs were placed in the road,traffic flowed smooth,and i don't recall hearing about any accidents

Anonymous said...

Did the City put in an insurance claim for the damage - do they ever?

Anonymous said...

The light has been there for how long? Years and years, I believe. Why even mess (already done) with this now, with the local economy and the City budget in the "hurting state" that it is in? My view? Put the light back as quickly, safely and efficiently (at the lowest cost possible) - and move on to other (more urgent?) issues... I am with Anne Marie on this one - and it is a shame that the process of undoing something is apparently just as complicated and convoluted as doing something...

N.S.

Anonymous said...

Let me guess - it was Fireman overtime.

Anonymous said...

Hope Hoyt campaigns and takes Hoffay out along with Reynolds.

Unknown said...

Personally I like the stop signs. That intersection finally moves at a reasonable pace.

Now if we could only do something about the people that illegally park and double park uptown.

Anonymous said...

Mike you are absolutely right. You guys look foolish. Fiddling while Kingston burns. It does however take your mind off the millions of dollars were short in next years budget. The multi million dollar sexual harrassment lawsuit. The Wilber Ave sewer break lawsuit (remember that).

Anonymous said...

It was not the Council's finest hour, that's for sure.
There are larger problems looming, so much effort should go into finding solutions to issues such as budgets, lawsuits, aging infrastructure.....perhaps you can sell Nero's fiddle on Ebay to make up the fund balance.

Anonymous said...

Funny DiBella calls these two "Good ol Boys". Has anyone followed her years of supporting the Spada regime? Talk about "Good ol Boys"
She's one to talk.

Anonymous said...

I think now if we could only do something about the people that illegally park and double park uptown.
thanks for this information

___________________
victor
Cash in your hand in 24Hours with payday loan

Way out of town said...

I want to know what is wrong with Richard Cahill? He is like the Wizard of Oz, a little man hiding behind the curtain with his toes all curled up.

He continually attacks people's integrity. Now he is attacking Jean Jacobs. I have known Ms. Jacobs for almost ten years, and I can assure the public that her ONLY intention was to serve the public, not to deceive anyone!! If he wants to get personal....let's go. How about the fact that his wife threw a tantrum at the court house the other day when the security officer tried to look through her purse. She had a fit and refused to let them do so. The officer told her to "lose the attitude" or she'd be outside.

She had a camera that he confiscated. Who did SHE think she was? Kingston Royalty? Little Cahill just stood there, stammering. An unfortunate urchin like Richie Cahill should look in the mirror before he starts attacking other people's character.

Let me ask the public this...what has Richard Cahill Jr. done for this community of note? That's right. NOTHING. NOT ONE THING....except to sit on his blog and call people names.

He had better know one thing...what goes around, eventually does come around. Wait till the law firm he works for realizes that he is losing them business...then maybe he will wake up. Until then, he needs to know that people are watching and making sure he doesn't buy any guns. His personality is the type who will shoot up a place when he finally snaps. There, Richie...how do YOU like it??

Anonymous said...

What about the illegal steps still at the old parking garage site?