The stop sign is up. Too little too late?

Monday February 27 the following email was sent from a resident of Summerlake at 12:54pm;

Good news, a stop sign is now up!!!!!

At 2:34pm Mayor Rachford finally decided to send an email to the group.

Dear Summerlake residents, city council members, etc,

I am pleased to report that a stop sign was installed on the Dollar General parking lot early this morning.  This should alleviate any concerns for safety issues for customers leaving the store.  The retaining wall will be finished soon.  The lighting situation has been corrected.

The Dollar General folks have been easy to work with on every issue and I am confident they will continue to be good corporate citizens for our community.

Thank you,

Bill Rachford       


-Did he apologize for not letting residents have their say at the planning and zoning meeting? NO
-Did he say that he would fix the way things were done so future residents wouldn't have to face the issues that we did?  NO
-Did he give any good reasons for not being a good leader during this whole process?  NO
-Did he thank anyone for their involvement in their community and for keeping the city up to date on issues that needed to be addressed?  NO
-Did he thank the residents of Summerlake for being as patient as we were with this process?  NO
-Did he apologize for the blatant arrogance and complete lack of concern the police chief showed in his email response that it wasn't the city's problem?  NO
-Did he thank Dollar General for being good corporate citizens?  YES


Am I the only one who sees a problem here?

If the mayor was looking forward to all kinds of heart-felt thank you's from the residents of Summerlake for getting a stop sign put in place, he was sadly mistaken.  As a matter of fact, as of 9:10pm on Monday night, no one had even responded to the mayor.  Why?  Too little to late if you ask me.  You can't screw something up from the get go and then try to be the hero and get everyone to love you just because you accomplished something that should have been done before the store opened.  

Mr Mayor, you still have a little over two years left in office, I can only hope that you will learn from these experiences and become a better leader for this community.  Otherwise, it is going to be a very long two years.





  

More emails from Friday 2/24/12

From council member Barbara Weber;

I agree with Stacey, these back and forth e mails are not going to solve all the issues at Summerlake Subdivision. I know that Carol Hofstetter and Bill Stith have been in contact with Andy Schabell to solve some of the issues presented. I agree, this matter should be added to the agenda for Thursday's Council meeting. Let's come together, talk about the problems and try to come to some sort of acceptable conclusion. No one wants to see a safety issue not corrected! Barbara Weber

My response;

Thank you Barbara.

For the record, Mrs Weber has hands down been the best city council member to work with since the very beginning.  She is not afraid to stand up to anyone if she feels it is right for the people she was elected to represent.  She will tackle any issue she believes in head on and will not quit until she makes things right.  I respect what she has to say tremendously.

I will be at the city council meeting on Thursday.  Hopefully we can have a turnout better than we did the night of the planning and zoning meeting and they will need to relocate the meeting to accommodate everyone.  If anyone cannot make it, but would like to have their voice and opinion heard, simply forward me your letter and I will present it to city council.

Another letter from a resident of Summerlake

The following letter was sent Friday night, February 24th to the mayor, city council members, planning and zoning members the police chief and residents of Summerlake.  There are some very good points in this email.

To Whom It May Concern:

My take is that those who were elected, appointed or hired to act in the best interest of and protect the the citizens of Summerlake have failed to do so and have failed miserably.

1. Planning and Zoning failed years ago when they allowed the rezoning of the property that ultimately led up to "administrative rubber stamping" hearing where our voices were silenced. It is unfortunate that 90+ families have to deal with the ramifications of a decision and a hearing that took place before any of us even thought about buying a home back here. Maybe I am wrong but I thought it was the responsibility of Planning and Zoning to make sure land is properly zoned so that these kind of conflicts do not happen in the past, present or future.
2. The Mayor failed to step in and try to negotiate with the "INVESTOR" to move her store across the street where it made more sense. I personally spoke with the mayor imploring him to step in and his response was that this was something he would not normally do. We needed his leadership and he could not even request a meeting with the "INVESTOR" to discuss potential other options.
3. Mr. Ward failed to take Mr. Wolff's e-mail below seriously since the consideration he showed required a one sentence response sent from his mobile device.
4. Our elected, appointed and hired officials have failed to stand by what they said they would do at the "rubber stamping" administrative hearing by making sure that the Dollar General would follow the rules or else they would step in. I know that there have been many complaints filed during the build because rules were broken with limited action taken.

Now you are being called to act and it is clear you are on the verge of failing again. Step in and do the right thing for your citizens, those that you are here to protect and serve. I could be wrong but I think this "INVESTOR" lives in Tennessee or Florida but definitely not back here in Summerlake or Alexandria. Do not wait until it is too late.

My wife was also almost t-boned by an aggressive driver leaving the Dollar General parking lot. Although I am very concerned about this, I know that she would most likely survive the accident, my question to you is what if the next time the driver does not stop and it is one of our community kids on a bike.  Is this one of those rules written in blood that you so often hear about? Mr. Mayor, what will you say to the mother and father of the child who is hit...I hope it isn't "that is the responsibility of the property owner not the city." I don't care what you have to do, make the Dollar General put speed bumps on the exit lane and put a stop sign in as well. A stop sign is a good step but unless a police officer is posted there when the Dollar General is open, it will get ran but speed bumps will definitely be a deterrent.

Last, I want you to know that the perception is that you think we will go away. You think that we just had to let off a little steam and that time will heal these wounds. Know that it is clear that the residents of Summerlake are vocal and we vote. You can hide behind statements that you had no choice but to approve the site plan and that you were powerless to stop this from happening. This may or may not be true but know that you are being judged and graded on what you do and do not do going forward .

Respectfully Submitted,
Bryan C.

Residents concerned, Chief of police is not, Mayor and City Council members MIA

Things turned sour late on the afternoon of Friday February 24th, 2012 when a resident sent an email to members of the Alexandria City council, planning and zoning commission, city police chief, and other residents of the Summerlake subdivsion.

The gentleman who sent the email asked simply, "Does anyone know if there are any plans for dollar general or the city to put a stop sign at the exit of the store?"  He proceeded to say that he was almost hit by a vehicle pulling out of the store that did not slow down or look up Summerlake drive to see if anyone was coming.  He said that the issued "needs to be addressed immediately."

Within minutes police chief Ward responded to the question with the following email "That is the responsibility of the property owner, not the city."

Chief Ward didn't say he would send extra cruisers to patrol, he didn't say he would erect a temporary stop sign until a permanent one could be placed, he didn't say he would do a study or even look into the potential safety issue.  No, he simply said, it's not the city's responsibility. 

Another resident was quick to respond "With all due respect Mr. Ward, your response is neither "protecting" nor "serving."  A citizen brings to your attention that he was nearly involved in an accident as he was driving along a residential street (clearly having the right of way) and the best you have is it's not the city's problem?  That may very well be true, but your cavalier attitude and lack of concern will certainly not go unnoticed.  Have a wonderful weekend."

But police chief Ward didn't respond to that.  

Who did respond was city councilman Stacey Graus who should at least get some credit for being the only city employee except chief Ward to respond.  Mr Graus' email was as follows;  "Ladies and gentlemen, let’s not get into an email war again. I would simply request that the Mayor and City Clerk add the request to the Agenda for Thursday’s Meeting. We can then talk about the options, perhaps approaching the owner to advise as to potential liability. I can assure everyone that no one from the City wants to see anyone injured because a traffic safety option was not pursued. The Chief simply pointed out that we cannot dictate that a stop sign be placed there or that the City can put one there."

 The gentleman who sent the email reply to chief Ward was quick to respond; "Excellent damage control, Mr. Graus.  What the Chief pointed out was that it's not the city's responsibility.  That is all.  Had he indicated that he would help to resolve the problem, I wouldn't be wasting my time sending emails.

Perhaps we could also involve the P&Z commission so that any future commercial developments that are built off of residential streets be required to install a stop sign prior to the store opening?  Clearly no one has thought that necessary up to this point.  I'm floored that a stop sign there could be considered a "traffic safety option" and not a requirement!"

I did send a follow up email to Mr Graus' email.  My email said   " We need to have the P&Z procedures put on the agenda for Thursday night.  One thing I had on my list of things to discuss the night the Dollar General was approved was will there be a stop sign at the entrance/exit, and can we put speed bumps in the store's parking lot to keep people from firing out of the lot like they did to Dustin.  But Mr Jewell told us we were not allowed to talk, because surely his committee had already thought of everything.  Well Mr Jewell you were wrong.  What needs to happen is a major overhaul of the P&Z system.  Since more people are on this email than I included on my email to the mayor and John Jewell head of P&Z commision, I will copy what I sent to them that they have never bothered to reply to. "  I then copied the part of my email that was posted on the blog dated February 21st, 2012 where I explained my reasoning of why the P&Z system needs a major overhaul. 

It is easy to see that the people of Summerlake are fed up with the way they have been treated by most of the city's officials.  Only 3 city council members, Barbara Weber, Dave Hart, and Stacey Graus, have taken time to be involved with emails that were sent to them. (Barbara Weber has taken by far the most interest in our plight and has been a tremendous help through the whole thing)  Council members, Scott Fleckinger, Bob Simon and Joseph Anderson have not responded at all.  The planning and zoning chairman John Jewell, who brought a lot of animosity on all by himself by refusing to let anyone speak at the final hearing on the Dollar General store has not been heard from since that meeting even though he has been copied on many of the emails.  Mayor Rachford doesn't respond to emails until his name starts getting drug into the mud, and only then will he respond with the shortest of replies stating merely he has people working on things.   Zoning administrator Carol Hofstetter has been very helpful and has answered all emails sent to her.  

In my opinion, it is time for the mayor to become a leader and take control of what is going on around him.  I understand that delegating some of the work of mayor is a necessity most of the time because one man can't do everything.  But when major problems are brought up, i.e. the store opening without all of the exterior brick on, or this stop sign incident, the Mayor is no where to be found.  He should be the one standing up and saying he will get things handled and assuring the residents of his city that things will be done the right way, but unfortunately that is not the case.   Residents are left to wonder if he even received their emails and if he thinks they are worthy of attention or not.  This must change.  In the world we live in a mayor of a city of over 8,000 residents must be in touch with the people living in his town at all times.  He cannot keep his communications limited to coffee with the mayor on the 1st Saturday of the month and the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of the month at city council meetings.  He needs to be responding to EVERY email addressed to him within hours of receiving them.  He needs to be a leader, not a delegator.  

.

John Jewell refused to let the people of Summerlake speak at the planning and zoning board meeting and has had to deal with the backlash ever since.  Even on the night of the vote, 3 out of the 7 board members voted against the store, and went against John Jewell's instructions because they knew what Mr Jewell was doing was wrong.  It is time for an overhaul of the system that refuses to let the people have a voice during new construction of commercial properties that are zoned properly.  The city has learned the hard way once when the Speedway gas station sued them for the right to build on property that was not and still is not suitable for a gas station.  They didn't learn then, and they haven't learned yet, how to write exemptions and opt out clauses into their highway commercial zoning.  Planning and zoning needs to stop recklessly designating areas as highway commercial as favors to developers like Brandon Bray. 

Thank you for your time.

Andy Schabell

My response to Mrs Hofstetter and disapproval of the P&Z system and Mayor Rachford's job performance

This is my email response sent to Carol Hofstetter, Mayor Rachford, city council members Dave Hart and Barbara Weber, as well as P&Z chairman John Jewell and Alexandria Recorder reporter Chris Mayhew.   This email was sent at 8:26pm on Tuesday February 21, 2012.  See the previous post for the email from Mrs Hofstetter that this was in response to.



Carol,

Thank you for your hard work on this matter.

But I still have concerns.  I will address my concerns by number corresponding with the number in your email.

1.  Yes the building is completely bricked now, but the fact remains the business was opened all day Saturday and Sunday without the brick being done.   A.  How did that happen?  B.  Will the city work on ways to keep that from happening again on future new construction projects?  C.  Since the business was opened without outside construction being complete were they in violation of any statues at that time, and does the city have any recourse for those violations now?  D.  I realize now that the state of Kentucky has to issue the certificate of occupancy for the building.  Was the certificate of occupancy signed on or before Saturday?  If so can you please tell me where can I find out who it was that signed it so I can send them my complaint?

2.  I understand that one of the lights did not have a proper cover on it, and it has not been turned back on since the problem was "brought to light" (sorry bad pun.)  But the light shining on the 1st residence, specifically 1068 Summerlake Drive, that was pictured in the email was not from the back light, but instead from the 3 lights in front of the store.  Someone needs to stop out after dark and look at just how lit up the first house is from these lights.  The front lights shine over top of the store and directly on to the house, this is unacceptable and needs to be fixed ASAP.

3.  I don't understand how they can say they need to wait for warmer weather for the fence to be put up.  I understand the shrubs and trees, but they should be forced to put the fence up by the end of next week.

4.  What is the time frame that is reasonable for them to have the dumpster completely enclosed?

I do not have any issues with the other statements.

Whats done is done, and we must go forward and not dwell in the past.  But one of my main concerns from the onset of this Dollar General fiasco has been for the future residents of Alexandria, and how to keep them from dealing with some of the issues that we have faced.  I can only hope that everyone involved has learned valuable lessons from this and that those lessons will move forward to prevent issues in the future.  Particularly, the city of Alexandria's Planning and Zoning commission under the direction of John Jewell is in need of a major overhaul.  Doing things solely because "that's the way they have always been done" shouldn't happen any longer.  When we requested the plans for the Dollar General store before the final P&Z meeting we were denied access to them because they weren't public record.  But they don't become public record until after they are approved.  How can a resident look over any plans and ask questions that might be overlooked by the P&Z board, if they can't even see the plans.  Residents MUST be allowed in the future to address the P&Z board with specific questions pertaining directly to the proposed development.  Not allowing residents to speak is undemocratic and not in the best interest of anyone.  I agree with Mr Jewell that a large amount of people standing up and addressing the P&Z board and telling them that they don't want a particular development in their back yard based only on the fact that they don't want it there would do no good at all.  But I strongly disagree that legitimate questions not be allowed.  The P&Z board is not perfect and should be allowed to hear input from the residents that actually live around a development that may be able to give some information not previously known.  I have thought a great deal about ways to improve the P&Z commercial development procedure that would not only allow the residents to ask questions, but still move things along in a timely manner.  I strongly encourage Mr Jewell or any member of city council or the P& Z board to contact me to discuss this matter in greater detail.  

One last thing, has the Mayor been involved at all with the issues I addressed in my Sunday evening email?  We are now approaching 48 hours since the initial email was sent and he hasn't bothered to so much as acknowledge receiving it.  For the record I find that an insult and a reflection on him that he is not properly doing the job he was elected to do.   Communication with the mayor cannot be limited to the 1st Saturday of the month between 10am and 12pm and city council meetings twice a month.  With a city of over 8,000 residents the lines of communication must be opened 365 days a year. 

Thank you for your time, and I look forward to your response on my questions 1-4.

Andy Schabell
1176 Summerlake Drive
Alexandria, KY

859-###-####

Response from Mrs Hofstetter regarding Dollar General opening prematurely

The following email was sent to myself, Mayor Rachford, John Jewell P&Z chairman, city council women Barbara Weber and Chris Mayhew of the Alexandria Recorder in response to the email in the previous posting.  I received this email at 6:55pm on the evening of Tuesday February 21, 2012.



Andy,

Upon the start of the business day on Tuesday, I received your email as
well as a response from Council person Barbara Weber and would like to
clarify a couple of issues on the procedures for the City of Alexandria
that has you concerned.

First I would like to say that I apologize for not returning your email
more promptly, but all government offices were closed on Monday in honor
of Presidents Day and Tuesday was my first day back in the office and my
first chance to view my emails.

I am addressing some complaints made regarding the opening of the Dollar
General at Summerlake Dr:

1) The building is completely bricked; there is still a bobcat in the
parking lot being used to clean up the area.
2) There was a problem with one of the lights; the issue being it did
not have a cover to redirect the light. The Manager turned it off and
assured us it will not be turned back on until the problem is addressed.
3) Planting of the remaining landscaping items, shrubs and other trees,
wil be completed upon warmer weather.
4) The dumpster will be in a completely enclosed corral; Due to changes
by Duke for the transformers, a new plan will
  require a retaining wall, which they have been given additional time
for completion. Rest assured it will be enclosed.
5) The monument sign at the entrance does require it be bricked; work on
that started today.
6) They were unaware there are no outside sales or displays; upon
notification, management rectified the problem.
7) Due to the size of the building, it requires inspection by the State
of Kentucky and their approval prior to them issuing a certificate of
Occupancy. Our building inspector would not be able to sign off on this
job; However, he has been onsite to oversee possible issues and to date,
had received total cooperation from everyone associated with this job.

I hope I have addressed all of your issues and concerns, but please do
not hesitate to contact me directly to have answers to your concerns. If
I cannot answer them for you, I will make sure I follow up and find an
answer for you.

Dollar General store opens even without being completed.

The following email was sent to Mayor Rachford, council members Weber and Hart, John Jewell, P&Z board chairman, Chris Mayhew with the Alexandria Recorder, and some residents of the Summerlake Subdivision Sunday evening February 19th at 9:20pm.

The Dollar General store at US27 and Summerlake drive is now open for business. 

I am concerned about several issues;

1.      The building is not completely bricked, and equipment is still in the parking lot, posing a hazard to customers.

2.      The lighting is not set correctly in violation of section 4.18 subsection F #3 of the 2009 City of Alexandria zoning ordinances. 

3.      Trees, shrubbery and fencing promised to shield the store from the neighborhood are not in place in violation of section 3.18 of the 2009 City of Alexandria zoning ordinances. 

4.      The dumpster is not in a corral or screened from adjacent property in violation of section 4.18 subsection F #2 of the 2009 City of Alexandria zoning ordinances. 

5.      The monument sign at the entrance is not bricked as promised it would be.

6.      They have outside sales without a permit in violation of section 3.29 of the 2009 City of Alexandria zoning ordinances. 

In regards to number 2, light from the south side of the building shines directly onto Summerlake Drive.  Lights from in front of the building and behind the building shine directly on the first 2 houses in the Summerlake Subdvision.  (see attached photos)

I believe that they will get the building completed and everything else taken care of eventually, but my question is how long will they be permitted to operate without these violations being enforced? 

Isn’t there someone appointed by the city who inspects new construction of businesses to deem them safe and up to code before they can be opened for business?  Someone dropped the ball on this one.  If we don’t have rules set forth to inspect buildings before they are opened to the public, then our system needs a major overhaul.

In my opinion they should not be permitted to be open for business until they are in compliance with all ordinances, all landscaping is complete, the building exterior is finished, and all heavy machinery is gone from the property.

I have attached photos depicting the issues discussed in this email, and copies of the ordinances cited above.

Please respond as soon as possible.

Thank you for your time and attention with this matter.

Respectfully,

Andy Schabell

1176 Summerlake Drive

Alexandria, KY 41001

859-###-####

Photos, 

 Here is the side of the store without side finished and heavy equipment.

Another view, dumpster not in a corral and landscape not even started.

Items for sale outside without the required permit.

No landscaping done at back of store.

Sign not finished, no landscaping done.

Lights from front of building shining over building onto Summerlake drive.

Glare on bedroom window and half of the house lit up from Dollar General lighting.

Ordinances cited;

Section 4.18 subsection F;

2. No outdoor storage of any objectionable material (useable or waste) shall be permitted in this zone, except within enclosed containers, and all dumpsters, etc. shall be screened from adjacent property.

3. No lighting shall be permitted which would glare from this zone onto any street, road, highway, deeded right-of-way or into any adjacent property.

Section 3.18;

Screening areas shall be provided for the purpose of minimizing the friction between

incompatible land uses and improving the aesthetic and functional quality of new development. All screening areas shall be approved and inspected by the Zoning Administrator (or Planning Commission, where required by this ordinances) for compliance with a submitted development or site plan as regulated by the applicable requirements of SECTIONS 3.20 and 3.21 of this ordinance.

A. Screening areas shall be designed, provided, and maintained according to the

following:

1. Where natural vegetation and/or topographical conditions exist prior to

development, every effort shall be made to retain said condition, particularly where it provides a natural screening or buffer from adjacent properties. In such cases, additional screening may not be required, provided that provision is made

for maintenance of such condition to the satisfaction of the City of Alexandria.

SECTION 3.29 PERMIT REQUIRED FOR SIDEWALK SALES AND DISPLAYS

All Sidewalk Sales and displays shall require a permit to be issued by the Zoning

Administrator, and only if the application indicates compliance with all of the following

requirements:

A. Sidewalk sales and displays shall be operated as a use which is at least incidental to

the principal business of the applicant, and the merchandise offered for sale at the sidewalk sale shall be such that is ordinarily offered for sale at the business premises

of the applicant;

B. Sidewalk sales and displays shall be conducted only during normal business hours of

the applicant.

C. All sidewalk sales and displays shall be conducted on the sidewalk associated with

the business applicant; no sidewalk sale or display shall be permitted on any parking lot, parking area, drive or roadway; and no displays, merchandise or equipment to be used in the sidewalk sale and display shall block access to doorways, walkways,

ramps and driveways;

D. Minimum ADA and Fire Department requirements for access, ingress, egress and

walkways shall be maintained at all time

E. Each applicant for a sidewalk sales and displays permit shall complete an application

provided by the Zoning Administrator at least one week in advance of the day the proposed sidewalk sale will begin. The Zoning Administrator may require the Applicant to prepare a plan to illustrate the location of the displays, merchandise and equipment to be used in the sidewalk sale and display, and to demonstrate compliance with this ordinance.

F. No merchandise, displays, equipment or other material used in conjunction with the

sidewalk sales and displays shall be stacked up higher than the Zoning Administrator

deems safe under all of the circumstances;

G. Each business shall be entitled to participate in a maximum of Four (4) sidewalk sales

and displays per calendar year;

H. Each sidewalk sale and display permit shall be issued for a period not to exceed three

(3) days. Each permit shall be issued for a period of up to three (3) consecutive days. However, if inclement weather interrupts one or more of those days, the Zoning Administrator may exercise his discretion and extend the permit for a period of time

equal to the weather interruption;

I. No merchandise, displays or other materials or equipment shall be left or stored on

the sidewalk prior to the first day of the sidewalk sale and display permit period, nor

after the expiration of the sidewalk sale and display permit;

J. The permit fee shall be set by the City of Alexandria