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Long-range
street plan proposed at Dearborn
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by Ivan
Foley
Landmark editor
On the road to better things.
That's where Dearborn Mayor Josh Linville hopes his town
is headed, now that a state audit that divided some of
the community has been completed and a public report has
been issued.
As previously reported in The Landmark,
the audit suggested better oversight was needed in several
areas of the city, especially in the areas of long-range
planning and budgeting. Linville says he has a process
in mind that should help accomplish that goal.
Linville has asked city employee Tim Otto
to develop a list of streets that need to be repaired
within the next two years, another list of streets to
be included in a five year plan, and others in a 10 or
20 year plan.
"We'll do this with streets, sewers,
everything," Linville said. "We need to get
a master plan so we can start budgeting for this stuff
in advance.”
Linville said he will be checking the
budget to determine how much money is available for street
projects each year of the plan.
Another sign of progress in the mayor's
eyes is the continuing effort to, through a city ordinance,
encourage homeowners and businesses to keep their property
in respectable condition.
The city recently updated its unkept property
ordinance to the point it now will withstand a court challenge.
"There's a lot of stuff going to
(municipal) court. We're just waiting for the judge to
do something with it," Linville remarked.
"This is not a head hunt," the
mayor said, explaining no property owner is being targeted
for personal reasons.
"We just don't want eyesores or dangerous
structures. It's up to the property owners to either make
repairs for demolish the (structures)," he added.
Another improvement being made at the
city deals with the water billing system. City fathers
Monday night approved the purchase of roughly $3,600 for
a new water billing software system.
The successful bidder will transfer information
from the city's old computer onto its new one. The bills
will be easier to read and will also "tag" potential
billing mistakes that can be easily reviewed by staff.
"We hope to have the new system in
place by the next billing, so we don't have to handwrite
all the bills," Linville said. A new laser printer
will be used with the new software.
In other matters at a regular board meeting
Monday night:
•Residents were reminded not to bring
their complaints of loose dogs and other police matters
to the board meetings. They were encouraged to immediately
call the police (sheriff's department) when they spot
laws being broken. "Quit coming to the meetings thinking
we're (aldermen) going to do something about it,"
Linville said.
•It was announced that Cynthia Atkison
has been hired as new city clerk. "She lives just
north of town, she has a lot of skills. She'll start later
this week," the mayor said.
•It was reported the city park project
is coming along. Bids are being taken for the shelter
house, the infield is "looking good," gravel
is being placed where the parking lot is going to be,
and grass seed has been planted in the outfield and around
the ball field. In the near future, fencing will be installed
and around 400 stadium-style bleacher seats will eventually
be installed.
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