Published: January 19, 2007 09:18 am      

Was anyone else concerned?

Does the last Clinton City Council meeting raise concern with others beside myself?

The seemingly blatant lack of communication between the City Planning Department and the mayor’s office as well as council members I see as cause for alarm.

The proposed vacating of Clinton’s South Fourth Street, a main corridor for the South Clinton area, should be of grave concern to all city residents and not just those “down there.” The proposal in and of itself is really not the problem, as the street can be vacated.

However the problem of importance is the expected rubber stamp approval of this acquisition by Archer Daniels Midland, and subsequent ho-hum, no concern for city residents who deserve much more than what is being provided to replace this main corridor.

As a result this City Council should require of ADM as a prerequisite for any negotiation for vacation of the minimum of a 300-foot green space buffer zone, from the easternmost property line of this acquisition continuous in a north-south direction the entire length of line. At the eastern edge of this buffer zone a complete through street should be installed to provide a replacement for the lost South Fourth Street main corridor, rejecting the mish-mashed roundabout street proposal in its entirety.

Speaking of streets, perhaps the time has also come for residents to consider alternative ways of funding new city street projects such as South 18th Street and others in the future. As much as I do not like new taxes, perhaps a modest wheel tax would be a fairer way to fund these projects rather than special assessments.

If one could be written in such a way to provide caps, and strict use only for city street repair and replacement (not going into the general fund) such as is the case with the city’s 1 percent sales tax for sewers of which very little of this tax ever sees a sewer payment or project for which it was implemented for, I would be inclined to support such a measure.

Regardless of what transpires, I urge the Clinton city residents to contact their respective ward council members and voice your concerns on these two very important measures.