Elliott_Davis's Blog

Oppresive Government...Gotta Love it....

Oh wait...no we don't..GO GET'EM!

Maybe Olivette Should use that money to get more Police Officers to help with the "unwanted" behavior...instead of a Pav and restrooms...

Nah that would make too much sense!

I'm on the fence here...... People deserve a nice park and a safe park..... If undesirables are hanging out in the park then they need to police the area....... After a few are arrested they will steer clear of that area..... Yes it sounds like they need more police..... There are lots of cops looking for work..... HIRE SOME..... And yes a nice pavillion and clean bathrooms would be great for the other 98 percent of the taxpayers that are decent hardworking people that deserve something nice in their neighborhood......

How could the majority of folks in Olivette want a pavillion in this tiny neighborhood park in Indian Meadows when their are three other parks in other neighborhoods in Olivette and people can just go to those.
You really have to consider the wishes of the folks who'd be most directly effected not those who live blocks away who'd never go to the park in Indian Meadows anyway.
If these people don't want it, spend the money in another area where people do want it.
Consider the logic of pressing to spend tax dollars on a project where people in the neighborhood say no..and not spend it in a area where the people do want the improvements.
We don't have to live next to this park.
Folks in Indian Meadows do.
Certainly their wishes should be considered..And as I've said they've already collected 200 petition signatures opposed the project..The majority of the folks living there.
The problem is the city didn't get all the people in the area on board when they came up with this idea and now they want to push on regardless.
That's not democracy in action.

In this day and age, and with the amount of pedaphiles around, I would think a lot of cops are required at ANY pavillion/park for the safety of the people that want to go and enjoy the place. However, it would appear that sometimes politial influences enter into the picture, and these are built by people that the politicians owe a favor to - could this be the case in Indian Meadows? Particulary if the population don't seem interested in a park/pavillion!!! A lot of people are assaulted, raped, robbed, held up, etc. in parks just such as this when they are not protected by the police or a security system that can actually enforce the law. Me, I'd think twice before I'd agree to any such entity, especially in leiu of the 'undesirables' that are apparaently already there! Do these people sit on their brains????

Now how does a city who says they can't afford to keep their police dispatchers, and then lets them go, find money to build things they don't need....Yeah, that's right, they had the money for the dispatchers, but didn't want to spend it on them anymore, now they want to be irresponsible and spend it on unnecessary things. Time for Olivette to boot out the city council and their mayor.

I would want to see the police force being added to before I'd agree to help pay for a park/pav., that no one wants. It's mighty easy to say I'll hire extra cops, but do they really do it? Or, like most politicians, they go back on what they've promised and cry no budget!! I'll bet they have the budget to give themselves raises each year, and a nice bonus at year-end..I work in Granite City, IL. Those city government people spent money to build these 'middle of the road' planters, have city employees maintaining the plants by pulling the weeds, planting new flowers (the mayors wife did some planting), putting planters up and down the city streets, yet the buildings are delapidated, vacant, boarded up, and the whole area/city has a lot of really depressed areas. It seems to be such a waste of the tax payers money and I understand that the real estate taxes are so high that lots of people are moving out! Just because someone got elected does NOT guarantee good common sense!!!

It's one thing to take property for a park and take it off the tax rolls. Then after doing this you have the extra cost of caring for that piece of property, and then you want to increase the cost by adding extra police to solve a problem you didn't have before?

Sounds more like wasteful spending to me.

I think most would agree that if something is to be built next to my house I'd want some say. The fact that residents have organized a citizens initiative to opposed this deal is significant..
Instead of pushing forward with this deal..the city needs put put this whole thing on hold.
It's not being sensitive to the needs of Taxpayers..
They could have just built this pavillion elsewhere.

Elliott, it is unfair of you to vilify the mayor who, along
with the city council, want only to give Indian Meadows
"amenities" that will improve the neighborhood
park. Pavilions and bathrooms don't cause crime; they
are upgrades that provide shelter and plumbling! Who are these fearsome "undesirables" you mention? Are they not the very same children and citizens that inhabit the neighborhood? Perhaps the problem lies within the community and social structure of the neighborhood, not in the equipment on a playground!

Furthermore, where were the complaints in the last few
YEARS when these park plans were being decided in countless open public meetings? It is the heart and soul of democracy that every citizen is responsible to be informed, get involved and participate. Any one of these over-200 residents whose names are on the petition were welcome to attend these meetings and voice their concerns, but amazingly, there was not a single complaint until just now. Of course every vote counts...just not two years after the election. The people had the power, they just chose not to use it until it was too late. Is that the mayor's fault?

This is not a case of taxpayers being forced to pay for
something they don't want. This is case of public officials giving taxpayers what they in good faith thought was a popular idea, only to be accused at the last minute of terrible wrongdoing by angry consituents.

Elliot, how many people live in Indian Meadows. I don't think 200 is a majority?