Candidate for
Member Council; Village of Evendale

Vision

My main objective is to manage Evendale so that the decisions we make and the policies we implement are good for the community now and over the long-term. We need to have a vision for what we want Evendale to be 20, 50, and even 100 years from now so that the steps we take now are consistent with that vision.

Evendale does not have a master plan. We should have a plan that details the mix of land uses that we desire. We should plan how much land we want to be dsignated as industrial, commercial and residential, as well as how much land we want to retain as parks, greenspace, agricultural land, and public space. Currently we only have a zoning map which doesn't include a specific designation for greenspace and parks or agricultural land. I want to make sure that we are planning our land uses so that future generations will have greenspace and parks.

Evendale does not have a very positive public image within our region. I want to change that. Because we are aquiring land along Reading Road, we will have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to completely change the appearance of Reading Road. We need creative, fresh thinking about the possibilities, and a long-range plan to accomplish it. We will be having visioning sessions with the residents to brainstorm about ideas and I look forward to that. I have a few ideas of my own to put on the table, and at this point, the more ideas, the better.

First, I would like to create a Village Park and Town Center along South Reading Road. It would include a paved, winding path basically connecting Cooper and Glendale-Milford Roads. It would include benches, landscaping and features such as sculptures or a small fountain to create a village focus and a pleasant place to meet, walk and talk. Creating a ribbon of greenspace along Reading Road would do more to enhance our image than anything we could build there. It would also provide a safe place to walk and ride bicycles, something that we don't have in our neighborhoods.

A second idea is to add a small number of nice town homes near the shopping center and back against the wooded hills to create an upscale alternative to single family homes. Many older residents have found they have outgrown the need or desire for a large home and yard, but would like to stay in Evendale. This would allow them to remain in the Village. A location near the shopping center and integrated with the town square and park would be a lovely setting and would provide places to walk and meet with other residents.

A third idea is to create and educational corridor. We already have a branch of Cincinnati State Technical Collage, as well as the Gorman Heritage Farm, which is an educational facility for the Cincinnati Nature Center. The Schilling School for the Gifted and a high-end pre-school learning center have approached us to ask about locating on Reading Road. An education corridor could be a good resource for our residents and could attract technical businesses to our area.

Balancing Priorities for Sustainability

We need to rebalance our priorities to become and then remain a sustainable community. We need to balance economic, environmental, and community needs so that all are adequately addressed. The recent council and mayor have focused almost exclusively on economic development, with inadequate attention to environmental impact. Specifically, we have been heavily developing the floodplain of the Mill Creek, resulting in a significant increase in the frequency and severity of flash floods. We have had 4 floods in the last 5 years that met or exceeded the former 100-year floodplain. The 1996 and 1998 floods were 10 and 17-year rain events; they reached the 100-year floodplain because of the amount of land we have covered due to development. The soil covered with streets, parking lots and buildings is no longer available to hold and retain water, so the rain quickly runs into the Mill Creek, resulting in flash floods. We need to rebalance our priorities and address the need for additional water retention in our Village and work with Sharonville and Butler County to increase their water retention as well. I am concerned that we are developing in the floodplain to increase tax revenue, while creating a business district with repeated flooding. Thus we are trading short term tax revenue for long-term problems with a future blighted business district that will result from businesses leaving Evendale due to flooding. This will cost us far more to remedy in the future than the tax revenue that we are seeing now.

Similarly, there are community needs that have not gotten adequate attention due to our focus on economic development. I want to improve the quality of life in Evendale and enhance our public image as a desirable place to live. Issues such as town homes as an alternative to single family homes, and safe places to walk and ride bicycles directly impact our quality of life and need to be addressed. I want Evendale to be a nice place to live for my children and grandchildren and I want to be a part of making sure that happens.