About: Scott Spaulding
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Posts by Scott Spaulding:
The Marx-ist Struggle
7/22/08 @ 10:45 am
Phil Marx, of the blog My HUD House, has been featured in the most recent edition of Fort Wayne Reader:
Inner city blues
Blogger Phil Marx of My H.U.D. House chronicles his day-to-day struggles with drug dealers and his frustrations with the F.W.P.D.
Link (Fort Wayne Reader)
“Late one October night in 2006, a Molotov cocktail exploded on the back porch of Phil Marx’s house. Another burst in the back yard, while a third smoldered in the front.
Marx doesn’t live in Baghdad or Mogadishu or Kabul. He lives in Fort Wayne, in a house on East Suttenfield just a few blocks from the headquarters of the Fort Wayne Police Department. For almost 13 years, Marx has been waging a war with the drug dealers in his neighborhood who use his corner — and sometimes his front yard — as a place to do business”
Be sure to check out the full article!
Related FWP posts:
Marx Is Still The Best (2008-05-09)
Are You Reading The Best Blog In Town? (2008-03-11)
Filed Under Featured, Local Politics | 5 Comments
Formal Complaint Filed Regarding Canyon Cliffs Ethics
7/16/08 @ 11:39 am
Planners’ conflicts alleged
Ethics commission will look at Bodenhafer, Neumeister
(
News-Sentinel)
“Sixteen opponents of a controversial housing development have filed formal complaints against two Allen County Plan Commission members, alleging a conflict of interest has influenced their actions in the past – and possibly in the future.
The Allen County Ethics Commission could consider the complaints as soon as next week, but not before the plan commission’s expected vote Thursday on developer Mike Thomas’ Canyon Cliffs project, which would build 28 homes on 139 acres near Cedar Creek, one of Indiana’s three designated natural scenic and recreational rivers.
Critics allege that Commission President Chuck Bodenhafer has a conflict of interest because he helped approve new development guidelines used in the project and because he owns the land on which the homes would be built. They say board member Ken Neumeister, a friend of Bodenhafer, has a conflict because as owner of Liberty Construction Co. he could profit from any future building activity.
Both men could be removed from their appointed, unpaid appointments on the plan commission if the ethics commission rules they violated the county’s conflict-of-interest policy.”
Filed Under Local Politics | 3 Comments
Boondoggle Road Slips In Before Referendum
6/24/08 @ 3:39 pm
$55 million Maplecrest extension approved ( News-Sentinel)
“Less than a week after a majority of members expressed serious doubts about the project, Allen County Council on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved the extension of Maplecrest Road from Lake Avenue south to Adams Center Road
The 6-1 vote in favor of a $25 million construction bond should allow work on the 1.5-mile, $55 million project to begin next year, said County Commissioner Nelson Peters, acknowledging that “we worked hard to sell the project.””
Filed Under Featured, Local Politics | 27 Comments
Canyon Cliffs Moves To July 10
6/20/08 @ 9:10 am
Subdivison goes to full panel
July 10 hearing for Canyon Cliffs (
Journal Gazette)
Supporters and opponents will have another chance to debate the merits of a northern Allen County luxury home development proposed on the Allen County Plan Commission president’s property.
The plan commission’s executive committee could not come to a unanimous decision Thursday, so the project will be sent back to the full plan commission for another public hearing July 10.
Allen County Commissioner Bill Brown cast the lone vote against the 28-home subdivision proposed northeast of Coldwater and Chapman roads. Brown said he wanted the entire plan commission to review plans for the Canyon Cliffs subdivision.
Filed Under Local Politics | Leave a Comment
Boondoggle Road Lacks County Council Support
6/18/08 @ 11:46 am
Council skeptical about Maplecrest
4 of 7 members lean against voting for $50 million project (News-Sentinel)
“With less than a week to go before the anticipated vote, it appears a sales job will be needed to persuade Allen County Council to support one of the largest and most-debated road projects in local history.
Although three Council members are solidly in favor of extending Maplecrest Road from Lake Avenue 1.5 miles south to Adams Center Road, the four remaining members said Tuesday they are leaning against the $50 million project, and will need to be persuaded with realistic financial data if they are to support it.”
Filed Under Local Politics | Leave a Comment
A High Performance Explanation
6/17/08 @ 10:25 pm
Note: See John B. Kalb’s post on the HPGN contract here
The Common Council heard “testimony”, in Councilman Mitch Harper’s words, about the High Performance Government Contract that was agreed to in the waning days of the Graham Richard administration.
The basic gist of the High Performance Government Network’s formation is that the City of Fort Wayne had reportedly honed its processes, procedures and altered its modus operandi into a lean, mean, green/black (belt) fighting machine over the 8 years of the Richard administration, reportedly saving about $3 million per year in that span. Two employees in particular, Ryan Chasey and Kate Love-Jacobson, were said to be particularly instrumental.
The rub, however, is that the two would be leaving the city. As the sensei of Sigma, Chasey and Kate-Jacobson were contracted through the HPGN to provide the City of Fort Wayne with $80,000 worth of specialized Network services for the City of Fort Wayne solely and with another $15,000 Fort Wayne would become a member of the Network.
Filed Under City Council, Featured, Local Politics | 6 Comments
ACRES May Have A Chance
6/17/08 @ 1:39 pm
Deciding the fate of Canyon Cliffs (News-Sentinel)
Developer Mike Thomas is scheduled to meet with ACRES land trust staff Wednesday to discuss selling 139 acres to the group instead of dividing the land into 28 high-end residential building lots.
ACRES, which manages 40 nature preserves in northeast Indiana, often receives donations of land or buys them for a fraction of their likely sale value. In this case, ACRES isn’t anticipating any price breaks.
“We’re thinking it’s going to be a fair-market-value price,” said Executive Director Jason Kissel.
The meeting between ACRES and Thomas is scheduled the day before the Allen County Plan Commission is supposed to decide on two key questions. The answers would advance or hinder development plans for the controversial Canyon Cliffs project, which resulted in 7 1/2 hours of public hearings last week.
Filed Under Local Politics | 3 Comments
Chronological Commission
6/12/08 @ 10:34 pm
A chronological ordering of posts related to the Allen County Plan Commission’s meeting of June 12, 2008, for easier reading:
Plan Commission Meeting - Live Blogging
Plan Commission - Live Blogging 2
Plan Commission - Live Blogging 3
ACRES Says They Will Purchase Canyon Cliffs Property
Canyon Cliffs Developer Has Previously Been Fined For Sewage Violations
Plan Commission - Live Blogging 4
Plan Commission Vote Delayed One Week
Plan Commission - Live Blogging 5
Filed Under Featured, Local Politics | 2 Comments
Plan Commission - Live Blogging 5
6/12/08 @ 5:34 pm
Jeff Pruitt: Just so readers understand the breakpoints, the issue of the minor plat ordinance was heard by the executive committee of the plan commission and that ended in the Live Blogging 4 thread. The full Plan commission then came into the room and the issue of the restrictive covenants was discussed - that discussion is covered in this thread
5:40PM - The Allen County Plan Commission is now taking on the issue of the restrictive covenant for the Canyon Cliffs area.
Oakmont Development is requested the termination of the entire restrictive covenant agreement that was established in the year 2000 for tap ins to the Canyon Run sewer facility in Perry Township.
The attorney for Oakmont is arguing that the covenant is only to minimize development and not to restrict it. He also points out that the covenant was established in 2000 under an older county plan. The county plan is now Plan-It Allen.
Attorney says by repealing the covenant the Commission will need to “trust” the Sewer District to “do its job.”
5:47PM - Attorney states that the Canyon Cliffs project is likely the lowest density project to come before the Commission. His line is that since it is such a low density the development is minimal.
The attorney states that the projection is for the build out of the development to occur over 5 to 7 years.
“The lots may be sold, but the houses won’t be built right away.”
Filed Under Featured, Local Politics | 11 Comments
“Canyon Cliffs” Irresponsible, Unsustainable
6/5/08 @ 9:38 pm
The News-Sentinel recently ran a story about a proposed new housing development on the northern edge of Allen County.
That’s right, Canyon Cliffs. In Indiana.
Anyway, from the Sentinel:
“A county board on Wednesday opened the door to a massive new housing development near Cedar Creek in northern Allen County and, in doing so, to a potential conflict of interest.
The owner of the land, which covers almost a quarter-square-mile in a part of Perry Township renowned for preserved natural areas, is Charles Bodenhafer, president of the Allen County Plan Commission. The commission is set to review the proposal next month.”
[…]
“Originally, Oakmont envisioned building septic systems for each of the homes, Mike Thomas, a registered agent for Oakmont, told the sewer board Wednesday. The development would include 28 homes, none located on a lot smaller than about 2 1/2 acres.”
[…]
“But the Canyon Cliffs development isn’t a sure thing. On June 12 the plan commission is scheduled to consider a request to approve development of six “minor plats” that together would form the 139-acre addition.
Beyond that, in order to approve the development, the plan commission would have to revoke restrictive covenants on land that otherwise remain in effect through at least 2015.”
So far we have a conflict of interest for selling land that isn’t to be touched until 2015 and the extension of sewer service from the City of Fort Wayne to the top of Allen County.
It gets better. Larry Yoder, an opponent of the project and nearby land owner, provides more after the jump:
Read more
