MiddletownUSA Subscribers:
I've been reading the Forum for several months now, but this is the
first time I've Posted. In any organization, it is always easier to
get on paths-to-success once the Leaders are willing to admit
past short-comings and demonstrate a genuine interest in
problem resolution.
At some point, City Leadership will need to accept and respond
to their responsibilities for proper management of the
City's Historical Cemetery.
Here is EMAIL Correspondence sent to City Council and Manager
to encourage them to address this chronic problem, change
the stone-walling paradigm, and begin a geniune pro-active
approach to meet their responsibiltiies for proper care and
maintenance of the City's Historic Pioneer Cemetery.
From: mailto:sjdhthomp@cinci.rr.com - sjdhthomp@cinci.rr.com
To: mailto:jima@cityofmiddletown.org - Armbruster, Jim ; mailto:billb@cityofmiddletown.org - Becker, Bill ; mailto:asjones@cityofmiddletown.org - Jones, Anita Scott ; mailto:joshual@cityofmiddletown.org - Laubach, Josh ; mailto:larrym@cityofmiddletown.org - Mulligan, Larry Jr. ; mailto:danp@cityofmiddletown.org - Picard, Dan ; mailto:asmith@cityofmiddletown.org - Smith, A.J.
Cc: mailto:judyg@cityofmiddletown.org - Gilleland, Judith
Sent: Wednesday, January 27, 2010 5:02 PM
Subject: Fresh Opportunities To Suceed !
Greetings, All !
It is refreshing to see some of the line-of-inquiry-and-comment from newer members of Council.
As a new year - and a new decade - begins with some new folks now serving on the City Council,
fresh opportunities exist for some positive shifts in paradigms to be attained in City Government.
Of course, one such topic would be the City's Inaction on addressing the problems and issues related
to the City's Historic Pioneer Cemetery.
At your up-coming Council Retreat, it would seem that you could easily take a positive step forward
by formulating and embracing a YR2010 Goal to Restore the Cemetery's Vault Building and to
Establish a Clear Oversight Structure to ensure that the City's fundamental responsibilities are achieved
for the proper management, maintenance, and preservation of the City's Historical Cemetery Grounds and Gravesites.
It is really rather silly that the City Council and Adminstration appear to be avoiding 'speaking out' on the
Cemetery Issues under the guise of 'pending litigation'.
It is really rather silly that the City Council and Administration appear to be avoiding taking leadership
steps to pro-actively address the Cemetery Issues to quickly bring the City into compliance with Ohio's
Regulations for professional Cemetery Operations.
It is really rather silly that the City views the Complaint filed by Vivian Moon with the Ohio Cemetery
Dispute Resolution Commission as a major 'lawsuit' that requires some sort of major written agreement
to be negotiated in a long, drawn-out fashion.
The Cemetery Issues will only be resolved when the City Council and Administration make the decision
that the City has responsibilities for the Cemetery that have not been adequately managed for many
years, determines the best way to effectively manage the Cemetery Operations, and leads the way for
the City's Historic Cemetery to become a fine Source-Of-Pride for the Citizens throughout the Community.
The City's Cemetery Issues are rather small issues for which the City certainly has the capacity,
the expertise, and the responsibility to resolve.
Citizens want to have faith that their City Leaders will pro-actively tackle problems and work earnestly
toward effective resolution - rather than give them disingenuous lip service.
Citizens can clearly see the distinction in the behavior of their City Leaders.
If the City Leadership can't seem to achieve an effective resolution to such a small problem as
the Cemetery Issues, one should not be puzzled as to why folks have difficulty feeling confident
that City Leaders will be achieving successes on the larger issues to be addressed.
As you participate in the 01-30-2010 Goal-Setting Council Retreat, please be mindful that there will only
be 121 days until Memorial Day-2010, and there will only be 276 days until Election Day - 2010.
I urge you to seize the fresh opportunity to break through the City's Entrenched Governmental Bureaucracies
and take some giant steps forward to build back Citizen Trust in City Leadership.
Everyone desires for you to succeed and all citizens need you to succeed.
Don H. Thompson 4400 Graydon Drive Middletown, Ohio 45042-3810 Phone: 513-420-1729
------------- DHThompson
Middletown, Ohio
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