My notes from last week’s meeting

Here are my notes from Thursday’s city council meeting:

Fox Den Rezoning – Sindi Harrison (Ward 2) and I have proposed that we rezone Fox Den Golf Course. Currently, it’s designated as R-1 Residential. I feel it should fall under the Conservation district, so that neighboring households (and prospective buyers) can feel comfort that greenspace will be permanent. … But I also feel like the Conservation designation should be narrowed so it is truly a greenspace zoning; currently, it’s not. In my opinion, a true Conservation district should not allow housing or commercial development, except those uses that are tangential to greenspace (i.e., a clubhouse for a golf course). Council agreed with Sindi and me, and the proposal is headed now for the Planning Commission who (by law) must be the entity that initiates a zoning change. It will then come back to city council for our final approval.

Stow’s Credit Rating – Finance Director John Baranek announced that Stow’s credit rating with Moody’s remains “very good.” It’s reflective of Stow’s “extremely small debt burden,” he said. Truth is, Stow’s debt burden was a HUGE problem when I was first elected. But we got aggressive in paying down debt, and we have given the city great flexibility for the next decade. (Let’s hope we don’t elect any of the socialists who are thinking about running for council, so we can maintain this healthy balance sheet.)

Internet bullies – Speaking of socialists, there is a small squad of leftist bullies who are keyboard warriors on Facebook. They also insist that they should have the right to bully people on my campaign’s Facebook page. That’s not OK with me. But I am OK with giving people a second chance. So if you’d like to participate without bullying, please use the Contact button on this page … Include a pledge that you will not engage in cyber-bullying, that you will treat people with respect, and that you consent to being banned for any future bullying. Applications will be considered in due course. … People who engage in bullying, of all political persuasions, have turned Facebook into a cesspool. And they’re setting an awful example for our kids. If we normal people don’t stand up to them, our level of public discourse will never improve.

Next meeting – Council will meet next on August 8.