Roosevelt School Lot Activity

Oil has been discovered under private property East of Roosevelt.  In essence, Katie McNeil is going to "drink their milkshake"...

409 wrote: Stopped & talked to the fencing guys today. They are putting up the fence to keep people from driving down the old driveway and dumping trash Trash was being dumped mostly in the old track area. There will still be pedestrian access. Unbelieveable!

VietVet wrote: Some people in Middletown have alot of class don't they 409? Was this going on with the school building there? Is it really better with the empty lot there now? If this is any indication of what is in store for this property, perhaps we don't need as much "green space" as the city leaders think we do.

I took pix as the demo progressed and didn't notice any mess in the track area last fall.

AMAZING photo, 409!!! It is practically perfect!!! I can picture it now.

All that is needed is to pipe in some purified water for the pampered puppies to slake their parched throats as they proudly prance about this pastoral park. Oh, and perhaps an air-conditioned gallery where the aristocratic owners can share tea and scones while discussing the latest plans to tax the poor to finance their gentrified schemes, between compliments on each other’s courtly canines.

Why, I doubt that a pooch park or two could cost the taxpayers of Middletown more than, say, $20,000 or so per year.  A pitifully puny pittance for the poor to pay to keep the local aristocracy happy.

Chris Fiora wrote: The fence was requested by the neighbors.  There was some unsavory activity going on and the neighbors requested the fence in hope of reducing this issue.  The school district is trying very hard to be a good neighbor and to be responsive to requests.

That fence is very unattractive. Pretty tacky in an otherwise pleasant neighborhood.

I just question the position of it along the property frontage. Could have been done closer to the sidewalk or on the other side of the hill in front. The materials isn't really an issue because the rest of the property has a similar fencing around it already so it matches (in material type).

chmoore, if you'd spend a few minutes looking around at the state of our once-fair city, it would appear that your idea of letting the decision makers do it on their own has been an epic failure.

As a resident who lives on the same block as the school property, I don't mind that fence. It doesn't look bad and it isn't too noticeable from my standpoint as I drive by several times a day. I was merely wondering why put it in the middle of the property instead of near the front where the whole property is enclosed.

chmoore states "There have been a lot of good things happening here".

AND WHAT WOULD THOSE GOOD THINGS BE MOORE? WE HAVE ANOTHER EMPTY LOT SITTING IN THE MIDDLE OF A ONCE-PROMINENT RESIDENTIAL AREA. WE HAVE A NEW ACTIVITY THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE BEFORE THE SCHOOL WAS LEVELED......ILLEGAL DUMPING. WE HAVE THE COST TO THE SCHOOL BOARD WITH THE INSTALLATION OF THE FENCE TO SOLVE A PROBLEM THAT WASN'T THERE BEFORE. WE HAVE A LARGE BARREN LOT WITH NO APPARENT FUTURE, NEEDING MOWING MAINTENANCE IN SEASON. THIS IS ANOTHER IN A LONG LINE OF ONCE OCCUPIED PROPERTIES THAT HAVE GONE THE WAY OF THE WRECKING BALL RESULTING IN ANOTHER VACANT LOT WITH NO DEVELOPMENTAL VALUE IN THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE. ANOTHER "GREENSPACE" IN A LONG LINE OF "GREENSPACES" CREATED BY THE CITY FOR WHAT PURPOSE? "PROPOSED BUILDING SITES? GIVE ME A BREAK. WHAT BULL----. JUST LIKE MOST OF THE DOWNTOWN AREA....JUST LIKE EVERYTHING THE CITY TOUCHES. GO AHEAD AND DEFEND THE CITY. YOU CAN JOIN THEIR RANKS OF DEFENDERS. YOU ARE IN THE MINORITY IN NUMBER IN THAT REGARD. WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO SANCTION INEPTNESS IN YOUR CITY GOVERNMENT BY YOUR DEFENSE OF THEM? NOT LOGICAL.

chmoore wrote: Mr. Vet: I once saw the postings about making good use of district buildings. Roosevelt was vacant. This was known to be the case when the voters approved the building program. It sat empty for a couple of years---costing the taxpayers money! The grass needed to be mowed.. the cupola was starting to rot! It's costing us money! It's an eyesore! What to do--what to do??? Nobody wanted the building. So, it was demolished, and now the vacant lot needs to be mowed. I don't recall hearing any thing about the old hospital site---must be because we can't see the hillside from Central Avenue. Why don't we sell the Roosevelt lot?? Maybe because nobody wants it. It's costing me money!!!! Oh, no, what will we do? It's becoming a dumping ground for old mattresses. What will I do?

What will we/you do?

We'll ask our friends at city hall to help us.

The city is friends with the feds and HUD, right? Probably a direct line to the HUD bigwigs.

I say contact them, offer them the land, build more Section 8 housing on these empty lots, including the old Roosevelt school/old hospital site (across the street from the prestigious Highlands historical area) and really "ghetto-up" the city. I'm sure those high rollers in the Highlands area and in the former Roosevelt school neighborhood would go along with that. I know Gilleland and crew would welcome the additional HUD fed money revenue to re-direct in running the city. Let's really go all out on those voucher numbers!