Know- good news ...Middletown

Two suspects have been charged with dumping a dead body discovered in a decomposed condition (suspected overdose). On the WCPO 9 NEWS I think the people who were responsible for dumping the body across the street from their home stated that they didn’t report the death because they feared the city would declare their property a nuisance (and possibly tear it down.)

A small downtown business was robbed two nights in a row. Both Lebanon and Mason have offered to welcome the business owner to their community … and he will likely be moving soon.

Channel 19 reported extreme cruelty to, and torture of cats (probably by children in the neighborhood according to witnesses).

It’s all probably due to the housing situation!!! Mr Adkins says that’s Middletown’s big problem.

According to Mr Adkins and Chief Mutterspaw, these same things happen everywhere all the time.

Let’s ask Mason or Lebanon how many dead bodies they found recently.

 Buddha,

Again, you are in the wrong forum and topic … but here you are … so

Reference to your claimed personal encounters with “the top” (as you describe Mr Adkins) looks suspiciously like a ploy to defend his failed policies.

Contrary to your opinion, Mr Adkins and council actually do have all the power and control over all the issues. That’s the problem! Their focus on housing (a non-issue) calls attention away from the fact that they are ignoring all the real problems, most of which they, themselves, have created. Specifically, what has Mr Adkins done during his tenure as Director of Revitalization or City Manager to improve Middletown? The exact opposite comes to mind as follows: Failure of PAC, Cincinnati State etc., to revitalize downtown; Failure to maintain infrastructure; Losing our best amenities – Weatherwax Golf Course, Sebald Park etc.; Losing value of and revenue from major real estate give aways or $1 sales to favored insiders … ad nauseum. And the current administration seems to care less about our protests and is hoping that we will tire of repeating the same old criticism of the same old mistakes.

Admission of failure is a bitter pill. It’s not an easy thing to do. But learning from your mistakes is much better than continuing to make the same mistakes over and over. The current administration’s denial of our condition is another major fault.

Spider and VietVet, … you have hit the nail on the head with your comment! Sadly, those of us who share your views have failed to effect any changes through the ballot box. Few potential candidates are thick skinned enough to withstand being attacked by the powers that be. The few who have succeeded in being elected to council were publicly, unmercifully and unjustly criticized into submission and finally quit their council seat in the next election. Hope for change in the current administration is very thin. We should be organizing to file recall petitions and also present new candidates for the next election. If we don’t start NOW the next election will have the same old results.

Agreed Buddha … Mr Adkins has not revealed the contents or goal of his five year plan. We are almost three years into this unknown plan wih NO POSITIVE RESULTS. Dougie can leave Middletown high, dry and bankrupt to pursue greener pastures and use his “experience” as City Manager on his resume.  

There is some new “buzz” about solar energy. Lots of technical advancement/improvements are being made. Government grant money is still available for solar energy installation.

Some old news:

Did you know that the city of Middletown received grant money for construction of a new solar energy powered city garage years ago? The state of the art system was installed but was never used – never even tried out!!! Excuse: Maybe no one in the city knew how to use it! What a farce!! Isn’t that committing fraud on the Federal Government? – accepting grant money and then not following through with the intended purpose of the funding? Middletown could have been on the cutting edge – an example of a forward looking, savvy city.

In addition to that, the entire system has disappeared!!! That’s a lot of expensive equipment! Did Council authorize its removal? Was it trashed? Or did it “go somewhere”? Somebody must know. Removal of that size system could not go unnoticed. If it did go unnoticed that certainly demonstrates some fancy behind the scenes shenanigan.

Thanks to Analytical we are better informed about the misuse of government funds. Quote from his last post:

“Because of major changes in CDBG and HOME Programs funding allocation priorities since my departure, not only has the Down Payment/Closing Cost activity been restructured, but, the Owner-Occupied Housing Rehabilitation Program was terminated outright.  These actions were necessary to provide for much costlier housing code enforcement administrative staffing, etc.”

Maybe all the funds went to administrative costs to pay inspectors to abuse owner-occupants who are seniors having difficulty keeping their property up to city requirements. Owner-occupancy is admittedly at an all time low. But Council seems determined to stay the course of paying for “administration” and “inspectors” of a program which will no longer benefit the intended people or may cease to exist due to lack insufficient funds (drained by administrative cost). Leave no doubt, misuse of funds has worsened the conditions they were intended to help.

From the Journal News August 31, 2017 Section B State and Local

PUBLIC SAFETY

Another suspicious fire at ‘eye sore’

Middletown firefighters called to fire in abandoned building.

Contact this reporter at 513-705-2841 or email Lauren. Pack@coxinc.com.

When the fire department arrived at 3310 Tytus Avenue, the location of a “suspicious fire”, the front of the building was totally secured and boarded up. The gate through the 8 foot fence surrounding the property had been secured with a heavy chain and padlock until June 20 when the fire dept informed the owner, Nick Kidd, that they had cut the chain earlier that day to check on smoke coming from behind the building.

 The owner has had to secure the fence repeatedly, due to vandals and thieves who continue to operate in the area. This time, the fire department was responsible for leaving the fence, and therefore the rear of the building, unsecured. In the article, fire chief, Lolli admits that upon arrival they were aware that the gate was unsecured and there was easy access to the rear of the building. So, why did they completely demolish all the boarded-up, intact heavy aluminum and half-inch thick plate glass doors on the front of the building for a small fire, easily accessible in one end of the back of building?

The building became an eyesore because the city tagged it to be torn down nearly four years ago, Nov 5, 2013. At that time, Kidd was having serious heart surgery, but his business was still in operation there. Reason for condemning the building was various and unclear according to the notice placed on the building. Then later, the city claimed not to have the money to pay for the demolition. Kidd’s attorneys consulted the city about making any required repairs and saving the building, but the city would not agree. The condition of the building did, then, deteriorate because repairing a condemned building is a senseless expense. Again the city is responsible for that.

Because the city had placed demolition notice on the front of the building, Middletown’s booming population of section 8 housing, drug addicts and thieves went to work on vandalizing or taking the equipment and supplies and anything else of value that they could haul away. This resulted in the total loss of Kidd’s business and commercial property. At that time the police dispatch phone number was answered with a recording … and even if you stayed on the phone all day long you never got an answer to a call about the thievery and vandalism. So police did not respond to Kidd’s numerous problems with break-ins. In today’s article the fire chief, Lolli, said this fire was suspicious. There was no indication of how the small interior fire was discovered.

Isn’t it interesting that according to the article, the city doesn’t want to reveal to the Journal News the true status of the building? It might also reveal that the city condemned the building, then failed to carry through on the intention to tear it down, leaving it vulnerable over a period of years to vandals and thieves. The owner has not had commercial use of the building for years but all along has been billed for full commercial property taxes and out of his own pocket, paid to keep the building secured. The city turned off the water to the building but billed him for storm water sewer charges when no storm sewer ever existed there. When $1000 of charges were not paid, the city illegally transferred those charges to Kidd’s home address next door. When he did not pay that bogus bill, the city shut off the water to his home. If that is not abuse, what is? The owner ceased to pay the exorbitant property taxes on his building which was scheduled to be torn down. He was notified approximately a year ago that the property would go up for sheriff’s sale for non-payment of taxes.

I sent a copy of this post to Lauren Pack’s email address offering her the opportunity to report the rest of the story … an opposing view point … but she required more information instead of verifying the presented facts on her own. Perhaps she was instructed to do so. She is only a staff writer. Haven’t heard anything more from her. So much for unbiased reporting.