There is also another article in the Journal about Les Landen retiring as Law Director in 2017. They are rotating the law department employees to gain knowledge to take over when Landen retires. More in the article states that the city building will have some major turnovers of people. Is this major turnover from people leaving to work elsewhere, major numbers who will be retiring, or is Adkins wanting to change the culture in city hall by developing a new workforce and thinking philosophy for his administration in the coming years?

As for Landen, there is discussion on this forum as to his various "wandering" interpretations of the law from time to time apparently based on the given situation at the time of decision. Goodbye Les. I hope we can do better next time in finding your replacement if this is the case.

But what I will miss most is the high pitched singing of old Les on the "My Town" videos. Comical.

Mr. Adkins:

Mr. Adkins:

"You can't put all of the blame on council and admin. I respectfully submit that a largely apathetic public stood on the sidelines while all of those decisions were made and implemented."

Oh but we can place all the blame on past councils and admin. Mr. Adkins. Some of us told council and admin people exactly how we felt in the past. When we placed Letters to the Editor in the Journal announcing our thoughts on various decisions by city leaders. When we went to council meetings and stood behind the podium giving our three minutes of disappointment with city leadership only to be cut short if they didn't like what we were saying. When we participated in the Public Forums that Fred Sennet, Josh Laubach, Anita Scott-Jones, Tony Marconi and other council members had at the Senior's Center, the Library meetings held by some concerned citizens with Tony Marconi/Scott-Jones participation, at the Wildwood Country Club in the Laubach sessions and the biggest insult of all.....when we have not been taken seriously by city leaders in the last three decades. Some were not apathetic at all but rather frustrated when we were not taken seriously and in knowing council/admin. had it already planned despite any opposition or a show of the will of the people. Exclusion in one's city government is not the way it is suppose to work. You know that. They know that. Yet, it has been the way of operation in this city long before you arrived, trust me. They only listen to their friends and inner circle Mr. Adkins. Mr. Mulligan is a classic example of whom I am talking about. He plays the game of exclusion very well and he should know better. He is the face of the MMF inner circle of city direction guided influence The rest of the citizens are excluded. Hardly an open dialogue approach, wouldn't you say?

The anger is there for a lot of us older residents. We are smart enough not to blame you directly for the current condition of the city based on actions of past councils and admin. The past is not your fault and we realize you are trying to mend fences with some of us, and, to your credit, are trying to use logic and common sense to fix this cluster of a city now. That is commendable and, quite frankly, a surprise to see coming from the city manager's position. Your responses here are a positive in itself. Much more receptive than Gilleland ever was.

Mr. Adkins:
"Here's one other thought to contemplate. I met with the Chamber last week and Atrium Medical Center staff yesterday.   Every one of our manufacturer's have multiple open positions that they can't fill right now. Atrium has over 300 open positions unfilled at the hospital. Bringing new companies to the city is the right answer, but if there isn't a work force available to fill the jobs, I really haven't accomplished anything. It's a complicated puzzle that we work on every day"

Then if an untrained, uneducated workforce is leading to unfilled jobs and is a major stumbling block, tell me why the city leaders decided to open the city doors to all the unqualified low income, government seeking individuals they could find just to reap the almighty fed dollars for revenue for the city?

Do you mean to tell me that a city half way between two major cities, Dayton and Cincinnati, can't fill Atrium or other technical manufacturing jobs? Certainly job commuting isn't a factor in today's working world. Most commute if the job is worth it. How about all the soon-to-be college grads to select from? How about all the technical/medical school graduates in Dayton and Cincy? The colleges aren't turning out RN/LPN candidates anymore? No takers from those sources for these jobs? Then I have another question on a reason the jobs aren't being filled having worked for over 48 years in manufacturing and a technical center environment for some major corporations in the area..........What are these jobs offering money-wise, benefits-wise, working hours-wise, upper mobility-wise and in job longevity? All are considered by the new job applicant on selection and acceptance of the position. How well are the jobs being marketed by Atrium or the manufacturers? Are the jobs published in several known informational sources or by word of mouth? Gotta know about them to apply for them.

Mr. Adkins:
"Doesn't matter at this point. I hope that you're happy that they are being done now to move the city forward into the future."

I appreciate what you are trying to accomplish. Just wish the hole wasn't dug so deep for you at the outset. You seem to have some common sense and a sense of "correct direction" for the city. Much more than many in the city manager's slot have had in the past. It is too early to evaluate you at this point but I suspect you will make strides in a positive direction to breath life into this once very prosperous city. The people will notice, Mr. Adkins, if you do well. Particularly stubborn, difficult to please people like me that have lived through the good times of the 50's and 60's. The amount of good you do for the city in your tenure will result in the amount of accolades you will receive from the people. I do hope you are appreciated when success is realized and we see some real improvement. It will be a pleasure to shake you hand when that happens.   

      

Yes – we offer deduct meters for $222.20. A brief summary of the process to do so is as follows:

Go to Building Inspection to take out the required permits and pay for the meter. All plumbing piping work would completed by the homeowner’s plumber. You would schedule the meter set by calling the water dept. and our Water Maintenance crew will set the meter and then it will be inspected by Building Inspection for approval of use.

That's probably not a great short term plan, but if you are going to water year to year, it probably is a good investment. If you get to a place where you'd like to do something like that, we could look at your water usage and try to give you a rough idea what the breakeven point would be in putting in the meter vs. the savings in sewer charges for lawn watering.

I hope this helps.

Douglas Adkins wrote: Yes – we offer deduct meters for $222.20. A brief summary of the process to do so is as follows: Go to Building Inspection to take out the required permits and pay for the meter. All plumbing piping work would completed by the homeowner’s plumber. You would schedule the meter set by calling the water dept. and our Water Maintenance crew will set the meter and then it will be inspected by Building Inspection for approval of use. That's probably not a great short term plan, but if you are going to water year to year, it probably is a good investment. If you get to a place where you'd like to do something like that, we could look at your water usage and try to give you a rough idea what the breakeven point would be in putting in the meter vs. the savings in sewer charges for lawn watering. I hope this helps.