The Last Hurrah!

      ...or why rude Commissioners seldom get re-elected.

  Thank you, Commissioners, for the opportunity to speak. I'm Tom....

   --Interrupted by Commissioner Heimlich--

   My name is Tom Pfahler.

   --Interrupted by Commissioner Heimlich--

   Okay, thank you for your time.

   I'm a resident of the southeast corner of the township.  I'm also a home owner...and, within three miles of my residence, we have three retail complexes.  We've got Del Fair Shopping Center, Western Hills Shopping Center, and Glen Crossing.  Now, based on total retail square footage availability/vacancy:  for Del Fair, it's 10 to 15 percent;  for Western Hills Shopping Center, it's 20-25 percent;  and, finally, for Glen Crossing--I made a count in February--initially, it had 18 commercial storefronts out there...11 of them are gone.  So, that's a sixty percent vacancy over at Glen Crossing.  What's more!  Across the street, there's a 25,000 square foot retail space that was formerly taken up by Sears...and they've been gone 2-3 years.

   So, I really don't see where the interests of residents in my portion of the township are being served by another retail complex seven miles away. Rather, I think that this is more of a benefit to the real estate developers and the construction companies & contractors.  And it's going to put a further burden on the availability of civil services to the residents of the township...especially over on the southeastern side where I live.

   Finally...you know...the Eastern Townships can have a bike path. They've taken the old Pennsylvania Railway right-of-way, and they've got a 15-20-mile bike path/roller blade path.  I don't know why we can't do that with the remaining "Highline", the old C&O right-of-way.  I'd like to see that.  And I would make that argument as the bike path along the C&O right-of-way would be a de facto boundary that would limit further commercialization out from Harrison Avenue.

   That's what I'd like to see.  And, several years ago, I was hoping that would be the plan that the township adopted.

   Thank you, Commissioners.

Transcript of an extemporaneous speech, given at the June 7th, 2006, Hamilton County Commissioners Meeting, Cincinnati, Ohio.