Saturday, July 11, 2015

Further Word on the Wall

There's an article in the Register-Star today celebrating the reactivation, after decades of disuse, of the sprinkler at Promenade Hill: "Cool water returns to Promenade Hill, dry for decades." The article also provides an update on the partially completed mural on the retaining wall behind the sprinkler.

It seems the plan to ask the Common Council to pass a resolution permitting the mural and the Historic Preservation Commission to grant it a certificate of appropriateness has been abandoned. Now the mayor, who allegedly started out by ordering that the wall be pressure-washed, has had another change of heart. He now maintains that all that's required to sanction slapping paint on public property is an OK from the commissioner of public works. According to the Register-Star, he hasn't "reached out" to the commissioner yet but is confident he will "be in favor of the idea."

The commissioner of public works is James Folz, who has served in that position since 2007 but is rarely seen in Hudson. He doesn't live in Hudson, he doesn't work in Hudson, he doesn't attend Common Council Public Works Committee meetings. Folz was appointed in the summer of 2007 by Dick Tracy, after Michael O'Hara, who had been public works commissioner, was forced to resign after declaring his intention to run for mayor. Soon after Folz took the position, Mike Sassi, the well-qualified superintendent of public works who had been hired by O'Hara, resigned, raising a cloud of unanswered questions about what had precipitated his resignation. (To understand what was going on during this period, access the minutes of the Common Council for July 17, 2007. The relevant discussion begins on page 212 and continues to page 222.) 

So, it's up to Folz to decide if a mural with "symbols of the different organizations that serve youth in our city, such as Operation Unite, the Youth Department, Promise Neighborhood and Staley B. Keith" should grace the entrance to Hudson's most historic park.
COPYRIGHT 2015 CAROLE OSTERINK

11 comments:

  1. The answer to a single question clears up the matter instantly:

    Who actually OWNS the Promenade Park?

    This is a perfect example of why the identity of the true owners matters (though this sprinkler area may be outside the original land grant.)

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  2. Pottersville is alive and well !

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  3. Next up plastic swings and slides in front of the mural. No Civic pride. Out of control decisions as usual. Very sad state of affairs.

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    1. Because the Common Council owns the park and not "The City," as the mayor would have us believe, this confusion of the roles of executive and legislative branches is the epitome of "out of control."

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  4. I am confused as to whether this area is officially part of Promenade Park? What are the property markers?

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    1. This isn't part of the park that was "granted to the Common Council" by the Proprietors. It couldn't have been. Up until the 1970s and Urban Renewal, this was West Warren Street, and there were buildings on either side. It is, however, part of a National Register and locally designated historic district, so the idea that anything goes so long as the public works commissioner approves it is preposterous.

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    2. Thanks Chad for asking, and thanks Carole for clarifying.

      This represents the first time that someone other than myself has acknowledged that the Promenade was in fact granted to "the Common Council" by the Proprietors.

      Progress most gratifying.

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  5. Hmmmm. "...symbols of the different organizations that serve youth" Just look at the booklet showing summer youth programs published by the Udells and two of our Aldermen. I count 18 organizations serving our youth.. That's a lot of logos!

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  6. So what is this area officially called?

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    1. I don't believe it is "officially" called anything, Chad, except maybe the entrance to Promenade Hill.

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