Marty-Own-the-Town & Then There’s the Rest of Us

The state had a public hearing yesterday on the development needs of the City. Wouldn’t you know, our favorite Jay Stallard was there all primed for Marty-Own-the-Town Roenigk, while trying to shut off a speaker who wanted to voice her objections about tax payers having to front for an all-too-controlling hold of wealth wanting moneys from the state for water lines up there on Crescent hill.

Stallard knew, for example, that the Roenigk’s engineering firm would be there to speak to the sewer pipe issue. Stallard introduced him as such, so the guy could explain what we all knew anyway, that there wasn’t a problem with water pressure on Linwood– unless there were to be a big fire and the water drain would be pretty hard on the system. Ain’t that true everywhere, Linwood as well as big towns and small?

I’d talked to Jay Wilson, head of Public Works, before the meeting. He said no one on Linwood had filed one single complaint about lack of water pressure; and he certainly believed that Linwood didn’t need more of whatever the new Roenigk sewer installations weren’t going to give anyone anyway.

Mr. Scheunemann’s previous fluid mechanics explanation seemed more geared to please Roenigk than assess possible needs that might possibly (and even then, that’s just a baby possibly) be needed.

At any rate, Stallard clearly favored Marty-Own-the-Town folks, just as Own-the-Town had previously been favored before the Planning Commission, the Historic District Commission, the Parks Commission, and for at least one City Council meeting on his condo development project.

Phooey! I am so tired of Marty-Own-the-Town.

Oh! phooey in a bucket! There I am, I’ve gone and neglected the reason for the public hearing. You see, I’ve done just like everybody else, letting Own-the_Town take over my mind and my words. Blast it! No more time for you, Own-the-Town, banished you are from this post.

And so to the hearing. It went along smoothly. We voted on priorities. First priority was for low-income housing– with a special statement that it should be low income, not low-and-moderate income.

Second was for sewers; third for water systems, both for the west side, where some of the folks are still on septic.

Then here’s the mystery. Stallard kept referring to #4, which wasn’t. Honest, there was no #4 on his pad. But all the rest are still in the ball park, Stallard said, and the state will let us know if anything comes through on them. They included transportation, particularly since the astronomical and unjustified increase in the cost of riding the trolley is going to negatively impact those in low-income housing.

There was also something broad called “tourism;” and another one on “economic development.”

Sidewalks were mentioned, as were trails, springs and parks. And my favorite in the second tier: funding for Eureka Underground as part of a tourist initiative. Seattle has made bundles off tours through their underground. As local trail guy Jeff Danos has mentioned more than once on a local bulletin board, we should try to do that here.

All in all, the section of the hearing on Eureka’s needs was, at least at this point, productive. There was still something of the mumble-mouth in the state trying to explain why we had not received moneys before. But this is now, and forward is the name of the game.