Things to Consider for the Future of Mariemont

Things to Consider for the Future of Mariemont

If you are progressive in your views about the future of Mariemont, I believe that you would support many of the following initiatives during the next four years.

  1. Cooperative agreements with adjoining communities to share police and fire services to reduce redundancy and cut taxes.
  2. Development of the South 80 into a more complete recreational destination.
  3. A long term solution to the chronic parking shortage in Mariemont.
  4. See new agencies emerge like 3CDC in OTR in Cincinnati to spur economic development and the rejuvenation of Old Town.
  5. Electric aggregation for Village residents.
  6. The hiring of a City Manager/ Village Administrator.
  7. New Village Ordinances that imposes term limits, reinstitutes the elected position of Village Treasurer, and increases the number of Council Members.
  8. A balanced budget without erosion of the Capital Improvement fund.
  9. Renovation of the Municipal Building
  10. A comprehensive tree management program
  11. Continued trash collection in the back.
  12. Revision of the Murray Intersection and support for Columbia Township to improve the Southern gateway to Mariemont.
  13. A revisiting of Mariemont Preservation’s Vision 2021 plan.
  14. The demolition of the Steam Plant with condo development. (Work in progress?)
  15. A better rating for Mariemont in Cincy Magazines’ Best Burbs.
  16. Measures to decrease the polarization of the electorate in Mariemont with a more democratic and participatory Village Government.

Best Regards.

Dick Wendel MD, MBA

Comments

  1. 17. Mariemont politicians: Stop the mindless devotion to the Spinneweber clan and greedheads like Rick Greiwe.

    18. Re: #15 Stop obssessing about non-scientific “ratings” in Cincy magazine, a periodocal that hardly anyone reads.

    19. Stop censoring comments from your dozen or so readers because they might offend your delicate sensibilities. It’s a blog, not the Ladies Home Journal, so stop being such an editorial bluenose.

    20. Stop the proposed – and totally unncecessary – roundabout at Plainville and Bramble. Yes, it’s not in Mariemont, but it will make traffic worse on Plainville Road for everyone. Thus, it deserves our immediate attention.

    21. Seek legal protection from the village of Mariemont and state of Ohio for the “serpent mound” and newly-discovered Native American village site in the South 80. This effort would also prevent any future attempts at an Eastern Corridor-type project through the South 80 land.

    • #1- ” Cooperative agreements with adjoining communities to share police to reduce redundancy and cut taxes.” I must take issue with item 1, as far as the police departments are concerned, The so called cooperative agreements between police departments in Hamilton County have been in existence for years and are called “Mutual Aid Packts”. Upon the request of any department in need of assistance from neighboring departments, officers may immediately be sent as neighboring departments request help. For example under the Mutual Aid Pact, if Fairfax needs assistance, departments from Mariemont, the HCSO, CPD, Maderia, etc. are sent. Assisting officers have full police powers under the pact. Study, upon study have proved that during everyday operations, each Village ,
      City and Township police departments operate far more efficiently when operated by their local governments. Cooperative Agreements are not the same as our current Mutual Pact agreement, and are the first step toward large “Metro” Departments in which local residents never get the chance to get to know the officers who are working their neighborhoods. Bigger isn’t always better !

      • When the Village of Mariemont enters the fiscal emergency zone in 3-4 years, you will consider the $500,000 per year savings by sharing services a necessity and will regret the excess spending on police protection.

        • I won’t regret a thing. There is no creditable evidence that Mariemont will be entering the “fiscal emergency zone in 3-4 years”. And where in the world did you come up with a savings of 1/2 million dollars for the Village (if we eliminate our police department, or “share” our police resources with Fairfax or depend on a Sheriff’s Patrol that’s already spread thin ?

          We pay plenty of taxes to live in Mariemont, and the Police Department is very important to us, so is our low crime rate. Our average police response time to an emergency call is just 3 minutes or less ! We’d lose that if we “merged” with other departments.

          In short, no thanks, we’ll keep what we have because it works very well thank you.

  2. Do Mariemont and Fairfax need 10+ police officers on the payroll for each village? What a waste of taxpayers’ dollars! Having our own police force has no measurable effect on keeping crime in check: just ask the folks on Fieldhouse who have had their cars broken into, with no arrests made of the culprits.

    King Policastro, chief Hines, council members: put your alpha male egos aside, combine the 2 police forces of Mariemont and Fairfax, and pass the savings onto the citizens.

    By the way, none of the Mariemont cops actually live in Mariemont. Most live in Clermont County. So please don’t say that the cops are part of our community, because they’re not. They do a good job for the most part, but they are not true members of our community.

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