Bloggin’ on the Edge

Posted by Scott Spielman at 3:00 AM | Comments

I think I’m the voter that officials in Wayne are trying to get to the polls on May 8.

I live on a relatively good street in Wayne, one that probably won’t see any work for awhile. My sidewalks are a bit iffy—but if they do, in fact, need to be replaced, I’m looking at four slabs.

I am unhappy with the tax rate here. I think the city government can do a little more to cut back on their budget, too. I don’t want my taxes to go up any more than absolutely necessary, given the economic situation, either, and considering how financially tight things can be in my household.

But I’m still going to vote ‘yes’ despite those things, and I’ll tell you why. First of all, the work needs to be done and it’ll be cheaper to do it now rather than later. Costs will go up and the work will be more extensive.

Second, I think the quality of the roads is more important to the image of a community than most. There are things we, as residents, have no control over. There are vacant buildings. Some of our neighbors don’t take care of their property. There are always some chuckleheads going out, doing stupid things, and attracting the attention of law enforcement. If you factor miserable road conditions in on top of that, well, the whole community suffers.

Finally, even though the city can probably cut things from the budget, there’s no way to nickel and dime $20 million out of it. The only way this work will get done—properly and in a timely fashion—is if we pony up the $5 or $10 a month to do it.

That’s why I’m voting yes, but here’s what some other people had to say about it:

To the editor:

Our roads are dying. You can see it everywhere in the city of Wayne. And if they aren’t dying now, they soon will be.

We have the opportunity to turn this around. If we don’t, we all will suffer. If your street is in bad shape, it will be replaced. Your street may be fine, but what about the city streets on which you travel that are not in good shape? You may be faced with car repairs. Without your yes vote on the road millage, the condition of our roads can only decline.

Our roads are bad enough, but have you walked the sidewalks in our neighborhoods lately? If you have, you must have noticed how many pads are in bad shape. Or maybe you have tripped on those that have been pushed up by tree roots. With your yes vote on the road millage, all these bad sidewalk pads will be replaced.

You say your street and your sidewalk is in good shape, so why should you support this millage? Consider that this millage will continue for 25 years. The likelihood of your street or sidewalk needing replacement in that time is great. Your yes vote on this road millage will assure the integrity of our roads and sidewalks for many years to come.

Join with me and Vote Yes on Proposal 1, it will save our roads and sidewalks.

Skip Monit

To the editor:

I’ve lived in Wayne since 1943, so I’ve seen it go through lots of changes. Most of them have been good; however some of them haven’t worked out as well as hoped.

Since the 1980s, the city has been steadily improving public facilities. We have a great library, community center, aquatic area, police building, fire station, historical museum, State Wayne Theater, public works facility, court and senior activity center. Now we must turn our attention to improving our streets and local sidewalks.

I feel the city proposal of 1 mill for 25 years is a good one. I particularly like the idea that if it passes, the responsibility for replacing deficient sidewalks will become the city’s during the next 25 years, rather than the homeowner’s or business owner’s. That’s why I’m voting yes on Proposal 1 and I would encourage you to do the same.

Robert Boyles,
Wayne

To the editor:

On May 8, the electorate in the City of Wayne will have the
opportunity to take a proactive approach on the issue of the maintenance and repair of our city’s streets and sidewalks.

I believe this initiative to be the most cost effective method of financing the specific, detailed plan put together by the city. With more than 30 years experience in the road maintenance field, I can assure you that this will cost far less than ignoring the ongoing maintenance problems, until the only solution is full scale repaving or replacement.

I urge the voters to pass Proposal 1.

Gilbert J. Cox,
Wayne

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