Miffed on the Matter

Note: These thoughts are from one of my neighbors who also resides on my city block. Her name is Mary.

I liked the small town atmosphere when I moved here 10 years ago tomorrow (May 28). This is the first home of my very own. I have lived the longest in this city (and this house) than any other place I have stayed.

Now I'm expected to move because the city wants to put in a bigger park. However, I have noticed that the city doesn't seem to be able to maintain the parks that it currently has. I have observed incomplete mowing and edging along fences and around trees. What kind of upkeep problems will come from a larger park (not to mention the amenities that are planned)?

I don't think city government needs to make people move when the fire station and civic center can be rebuilt where they now stand. In addition, I say move the City of Fun Carnival to the new rec center on Locust Avenue and upgrade the stores and buildings on Main Street.

Where is the money coming from to follow through with the existing proposal to buy up homes and properties? It would cost less to fix up what we currently have and in that way continue to be "Pleasant" Grove.   

We're Not Against Progress and Change, Just the Removal of Our House

Daneen and I do not oppose city government's desire to improve and modernize an aging downtown. We do not begrudge the city new and better facilities for law enforcement, public safety and aid, and other services.

However, we feel that it is simply not necessary for the city to take our home and our neighbors' homes in order to accomplish its goals. Other avenues for change and progress must exist.

We and other concerned residents may not fully understand all the factors and considerations involved in revitalizing our city, but we do know that the current designs lack an essential compassion.

In conversations between the two of us and with others in our community, we wonder if undeveloped land to the west and south could be purchased and used for the city's purposes. Or, we wonder if the land and properties that the city currently owns could be put to better use, without the requirement for significant expansion into existing residential blocks.

Daneen and I, and we presume many of our neighbors, have now been relegated to a sort of limbo, an aggravating and frustrating state of uncertainty.

At this point in time, we envision various undesirable scenarios for the immediate future.

Over the years we have lived in our house, we have made what we consider to be improvements, whether practical or aesthetic. We want to make further improvements, but why spend the money and go through the effort if the house is slated for demolition? Why upgrade more windows and install central air conditioning, for example, if we can't enjoy their benefits for a good long while (or realize the added value to our home in its purchase price if we were to sell and move some day)?

If we were to decide to preemptively sell our house and move because of the looming -- though by no means inevitable -- threat of an eminent domain action by the city, would we be able to find a buyer? And if yes, would we take a considerable hit on the actual selling price (because full disclosure dictates notifying a buyer of the city's intentions for our block)?

For now, we are resigned to waiting and observing how the next step or two in the planning process will play out. If public opinion is strongly in favor of one or the other proposed options, then our family seems fated to endure a long(?) grind that concludes with our forced relocation. However, if the opposite occurs, if public opinion is against the proposed options or in favor of some less-invasive alternative, then hope and the promise of reprieve are operative.


Daneen and I desire that latter possibility with all our heart.

As one final reminder, the city is accepting public input through the end of the day today. You can submit your opinion via the city's website. Simply click the link at the center of the main webpage and follow the instructions from there. Thank you.

Providing Context to an "Older Home"

Daneen and I are keenly interested in helping our city government, and the residents of our city, to understand what comprises our particular "older home."

We as a family and the house we occupy share a now six-year history. We share a longstanding connection. Doesn't that count for something? For some serious consideration?

I installed this coat rack in our kitchen not too long after we moved in. It was Daneen's idea.

  

These back steps have required some repairing over the years.

I helped a family friend install this bathroom fan after a few years of roasting in the summer post-shower.

I braved vertigo and the risk of personal injury in order to replace
missing mortar and to repair existing mortar on our chimney.

I helped my brother-in-law, John D., to install a
stainless steel sink in our kitchen a few years back.

The old cast iron sink is, naturally, now part of a flower bed.

Home, sweet home.

This appropriate message was scrawled by
one of the children on a wall of our garage.

Not a Pleasant Position to Be In

Daneen and I purchased and moved into our current residence in June 2006. We chose our house based on various factors -- among them appearance, affordability, and location -- that are common to many first-time homeowners. Although the house was relatively old (having been constructed in 1942), it had been well kept by previous owners and was both roomy enough and cozy enough for our family of six. The price of the house was within our means financially. Daneen's mother and a brother resided (and continue to reside) nearby, and the commute to my work was manageable.

It did not take long for us as a family to settle into the neighborhood and "send out roots." We've been here now for almost six years.

We are part of a church congregation and the children are thriving in the local public schools. Within or near our city we shop at stores, we play at parks, and we eat at restaurants.


A line item within both of the options for a new downtown civic center that the city has presented to its residents for their consideration is this: "Buy and remove several older homes."


That simple bit of text encapsulates a truly unpleasant situation that Daneen and I (and our children) and many neighbors now face. We as a family are in a potentially ruinous domestic and economic position that we resent and that we feel is unfair. And this is a position that we hope will change for the better if enough of the residents of our city share the same feeling and give voice to it for city government to hear.

Unfortunately, the deadline that the city has set for accepting and including public opinion in the current decision-making stage is May 18. Time constraints and other considerations have delayed the creation of this blog with our request for action until now, so the window of opportunity is extremely limited.


If you are of an empathetic mindset, please go to the city's website (to the center of the main page) and follow the links and instructions for downloading the comment card (in PDF format), filling it out, and sending it in. We wholeheartedly thank you.

Is the Boy Crying "Wolf!"?

My name is Mark, and I hope I'm not playing the part of the shepherd boy foolishly crying "Wolf!"


However, in case a beast truly approaches through the darkening forest . . .


The city my family and I reside in has plans. Big plans. Plans for revitalizing the city's downtown. Plans for drawing more and better businesses to the historic main street and surrounding areas.


Basically, plans for community renewal, cultural enrichment, and economic prosperity.


But most critical to my family and me, the city's plans do not include us. In fact, those plans involve razing our house -- and the houses of most of our neighbors on our city block -- to the ground.


Daneen (my wife) and I learned of these plans, designated Option 1 and Option 2, on April 24, 2012, at an open house arranged by city government.


Several large and impressively designed displays provided open house visitors with the important details of Option 1 and Option 2. Common to both options are a revamped city library, a revamped city hall, and a revamped (and potentially relocated) city park; a new police, courts, and dispatch building; a new fire station; and last of all, a brand-new, never-before-have-eyes-feasted-on performing arts center.


Also common to both options is the complete nonexistence of the house my family and I currently reside in. The same is true for the majority of the houses on our city block (indicated as "4th block" on the handout provided at the open house, which is available for view on the city's website).


Daneen and I had heard rumors over the past year to two years about city government's gradual steps toward improving downtown, among those steps the rezoning of our city block and other surrounding blocks from residential to commercial and the purchasing (or attempted purchasing) of some properties on the city block directly to the north of ours. Seeing the result of those gradual steps was sobering and saddening. Indeed, for me personally, my emotional state over the intervening weeks has at times been something akin to the grieving process at the death of a loved one -- a melodramatic comparison, one could claim, but that's the course my feelings have followed.