Today's Feature
Mayor's
Statement On Building Maintenance Code.
Mayor Kenneth Johnson points to
the 1995 Housing Needs Assessment report for the
City of Carthage in a memo to the Chair of the
Council Public Works committee. The report, says
the memo, concludes that "the condition of
the Carthage housing stock could be expected to
decline further without several years of
significantly expanded rehabilitation programs
and/or increased efforts to demolish dilapidated
housing."
The report is said to show that
employment in Carthage since 1990 has grown at
twice the rate of new housing development.
"Based on population and
household projections," the memo stated,
"it was estimated that the City of Carthage
had a need for as many as 449 new housing units
over a five-year period from 1995 to 2000 to
satisfy the area’s household and employment
growth and restore a normal balance of housing
supply and demand.
"Given these circumstances
and this growing inventory, a strong case still
exists for either major new rehabilitation
initiatives and/or significantly tougher code
enforcement leading to either increased owner
compliance or unit demolition of substandard
and/or dilapidated housing no longer economically
or historically suitable for rehabilitation and
ultimately new construction."
The three page document also
speaks to the recent questions about enforcement
of the City Building Maintenance Code.
"I propose that the City
Administrator and I," wrote the Mayor,
"review the file information regarding the
property management cases and report back to the
Committee and the Council. Our goal would be to
determine if there is any indication supporting
the claim that there is selective enforcement or
targeting of our citizens......"
"In closing I would like
to clearly state that the City’s position is
to look to the overall betterment of the
community in total. It is not, and has never been
the intent of the City to selectively target any
individual or group. The City has been following
recommendations made by our independent
consultants through our Comprehensive Plan and
Housing Assessment Needs. It is our hope to
continue to progress as a city and not fall
behind in the development, growth, or quality of
life issues compared to other comparable
citiesWehe have a special and unique quality of
life in Carthage and we intend to keep and
enhance it."
Commentary
Martin
"Bubs" Hohulin
State Representative, District 126
I believe in giving credit
where credit is due. Not all dumb ideas come from
the other side of the aisle. Apparently neither
side has a monopoly on wanting to regulate every
human (and some non human) endeavors.
There has been a bill
introduced in the Senate to regulate hayrides. I
am not making this up. The bill is in response to
an accident that happened over in St. Louis.
There was an accident and one girl was killed and
several were injured. While there is no question
that it is always a horrible tragedy to lose a
child and that my sympathies are with the
families, the answer is not to regulate
everything. We simply cannot and should not try
to protect everybody from everything. There are
risks in every aspect of life, from taking a
shower to riding bulls.
The legislation has been
proposed by a St. Louis republican Senator. In
all fairness, her bill only affects commercial
hayride operators, but I have been here long
enough to realize that sooner or later, (usually
sooner rather than later) regulations that start
off only affecting one specific area end up
covering everyone.
The bill contains penalty
provisions up to a misdemeanor and would put the
Dept. of Public Safety in charge of the
regulations. I am sure that many of you reading
this column have been on hay rides. I imagine
that most of you remember them with fond
memories. What eventually happens when we try to
regulate something is that we eventually change
the product so much that it is unrecognizable, or
we eliminate it altogether. We have become such a
sue happy society and one where we perpetuate the
victim mentality, that we have either seen many
activities changed, or due to the liability
insurance premiums, have priced the activities
out of reach. Look at what has happened to the
price of ski lift the last few years.
As I have said before, losing a
family member or friend is a terrible tragedy and
one that wouldn’t be wished on anyone. A
knee jerk reaction looking for a solution from
Jefferson City or Washington D.C. will only
serves to make matters worse.
As usual, I can be reached at
House Post Office, State Capitol, Jefferson City,
MO 65101, or 1-800-878-7126, or mhohulin@services.state.mo.us
for your questions, comments, or advice.
Powers Musuem
Opens March 6th.
news release
A new seasonal schedule for the
Powers Museum has been announced by its Board of
Trustees. The museum which opens March 6 for its
thirteenth season, will be open to the public
Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
during the months of March, April, November and
December. During the months of May through
October, the museum will be open additional hours
on the above days, but the precise schedule will
not be announced until mid-April. Admission to
the museum remains free.
The board also has announced a
series of free lectures focusing on portions of
the museum’s collections that will be held
this spring. The first of these programs, being
provided by the Missouri Humanities Council, will
take place at 7 p.m. on March 22, and will look
at kitchen collectibles. The public may bring
utensils they wish to be identified by the
speaker, Rick Ulman, whose presentation is
entitled, "If I Wanted to Cook, Why Would I
Have a Wife?"
The Powers Museum will also
have a temporary display of historic kitchen
items on display that evening and remaining
through April 10.
Other programs in the series
will feature needlework and historic textiles on
the afternoon of April 26 and Ozark tourism and
Harold Bell Wright memorbilia on the evening of
May 10. All three programs are open to the public
and free. Anyone wishing more information should
contact the Powers Museum at 417-358-2667.
The focus of the museum’s
main gallery this spring and summer will be
Carthage in the new twentieth century during the
years 1900 to 1909. The exhibit is expected to
open March 20 and continue through the end of
August. Other exhibits later in the year will
feature Route 66 and other historic highways
across America, "Bears Paw" quilts from
the Museum of the American Quilters’ Society
and a look at historic Christmas celebrations in
Carthage.
A complete schedule of events
and other information can be reviewed at the
museum’s website www.powersmuseum.com.
|
