Mayor Hotline Oct 27 to Nov 2

Boise Guardian A different slant on the news.

City Government

Mayor Hotline Oct 27 to Nov 2

November 13, 2007 ⋅

CLOSED BRIDGES, PARKING AT AIRPORT, CODE ENFORCEMENT

11/1/07
Stuart Cooper
2609 Woody Dr.
Boise, ID
Greenbelt Closure: I’m calling to comment on all the bridges that access the Greenbelt between Veterans Park and the Greenbelt have been closed with fencing. No explanation, no signs, nothing to tell you which way to go, who did it, who to call. I, like many people, ride my bike to work to help improve our environment here, and not drive one of those cars that fill up the roads. We would appreciate a little notice if you’re going to close up our access to the Greenbelt; it would be really nice. There was nothing out there to tell me about this. I don’t know, are you still arguing with the Farmer’s Canal people or what? I have no idea why those are closed over there, but I wish somebody would find out. Somebody needs to notify the public that we can’t access the Greenbelt that way; it would be very nice. Thank you.

BPR
Action Taken: BPR contacted

10/28/07
Lynn Lockhart
Morris Hill Neighborhood Assoc.
Code Enforcement: I am calling to express my concerns regarding the green Code Enforcement door hangers that the city is now encouraging neighborhood associations to use and to distribute throughout their neighborhoods. In my opinion, distributing these door hangers without properly educating people with regards to city code most likely will cause more harm than good. As far as I’m concerned the entire process lends itself to destroying the sense of neighborhood community. What kind of education has the city provided to the people who will be distributing these door hangers, or even better yet, what kind of education has the city provided to the citizens of Boise in general with regards to city codes. I do not recall receiving any kind of mailings, seeing any kind of public announcement, television commercials, or hearing any kind of public announcement or radio ads regarding city codes. Very few of the general population have a thorough enough understanding of city codes to be able to successfully implement a program such as this. Additionally, I would like to know what kind of control mechanism the city plans to put in place to make sure that the door hanger project does not become abused. As I’ve said previously, a program such as this will most likely create a conflict situation between neighbors, and since Code Enforcement has the legal authority and expertise in this area, it simply seems more appropriate for Code Enforcement to be charged with contacting the accused violators. Neighborhood associations should not be encouraged to act as homeowner associations; and as a neighborhood association leader, I do not appreciate being encouraged to utilize these door hangers, and I am extremely disappointed that the city would support this kind of program. Thank you.
PDS

10/29/06
Karen Weinberg
Climate: I teach at Adams School, and we were talking about solar energy and I was telling the kids that there was a TV show on PBS on NOVA called, “Saved by the Sun”. It’s about solar energy and how there are cities where solar energy is affordable and doable right now. I was curious whether the Mayor was interested in pursuing that, and perhaps spearheading something for Boise, Idaho. Thank you.
Action Taken: contacted

Anonymous
Parking: I have a suggestion. I received a parking ticket at the Airport and I wanted to contest the ticket. I called the Parking Services at City Hall and they said I had to come in to pick up a form which I have to fill out then I would be given a court date. I asked if that form is available on line or if they would mail it to me, and they said they couldn’t. I think this is obviously not convenient for citizens, so I suggest a more convenient procedure be set up. I think it’s even more time consuming for city workers because they have to deal with somebody who comes to the desk, which takes time; whereas, if they just mailed the forms, they could do that at their convenience as work allows and certainly it’s more convenient for citizens since they don’t have to come in to downtown, park, and go in just to fill out a form. That’s fairly 20th Century, and we’re in the 21st Century.
Airport F&A

10/29/07
Anonymous
Mayoral Debate: A really superb performance today at Borah High School; I thought you won the debate pretty soundly against Jim Tibbs. Hey, what do you say you push back last call to like six in the morning for your people; boy they would really love it.

10/30/07
Anonymous
Misc: So in other words, to try to talk to the Mayor face to face or phone to phone is impossible. Sounds about like government. Thanks. Good government; keep it going.

10/30/07
Anne Toothaker
2719 N. 24th St.
Boise, ID
Development: I am calling because of the incredible amount of building that is occurring within my neighborhood. I’m wondering if anybody from City Council, the Mayor, or Planning & Zoning ever thinks of the impact of when they okay one small subdivision as an entity, rather than looking at all of it. My concern is that on Sunset between 28th and 26th there’s a subdivision going in next to the old Northwest Sewer District building that will have 11 homes or buildings, I don’t know whether they’re going to be duplexes or what. Sunset Nursery, which is between 26th and Flume, is now being subdivided into 14 buildings which will be duplexes, which means there will be 28 individualized apartments. These are extremely small roads; I know there’s an emphasis for rooftops and infill, but these two subdivisions are going to impact our neighborhood beyond belief, then across the street David Hale is going to improve Hillside Nursery with even more rooftops. I want to know if anybody from Planning & Zoning that’s in a position of authority ever does field trips to look at what they’re approving in isolation. I know in isolation these are really good concepts, but when you put them together, it really is a mess. The neighborhood that I already live in has been nicely in filled; I don’t have an axe to grind on that, but I have a big axe about what’s going on right now. Thank you very much.
PDS

11/1/07
Mrs. Dowling
Boston Stolen Vehicle?? I’m calling on behalf of Mr. & Mrs. Dowling. On Tuesday, October 27th, a car was parked in our driveway at 27 Gaspen St. in Dorchester, Mass., 02121 (that’s where we reside) and it was stolen. It has been parked there for two years. My neighbors reported seeing a blue tow truck with red or white stripes around 2:00 p.m. towing my car from my driveway. I have reported this incident to the Boston Police Department, but after speaking with several neighbors in the area, it appears that most have had similar experiences as well. Two reported having stolen cars from their yard or driveway, even when they were secured behind a locked gate. It appears that this activity is quite frequent and isn’t being addressed by local authorities or officials. I have seen a blue tow truck prior to this incident in the area on numerous occasions, as have others. The name of the towing company is Metro Towing located 1550 River St. in Hyde Park. My car that was stolen is a 1991 burgundy red Cadillac which we have owned for over seven years. I am quite disturbed about the nature of this bold crime that happened during the day on private property. I am quite sure that these are not isolated incidents but part of a larger scheme, and that there are probably numerous reports about similar incidents in this area. I feel strongly that this matter warrants an investigation and should be treated with high priority. We are more than happy to assist in any way with this matter. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Action Taken: left msj

11/1/07
Diane Shallack

Boise, ID
Whole Foods: I have a question regarding the natural foods store; I understood that it was supposed to go on Park Avenue in Boise in the East End. I haven’t seen any construction and I was just wondering if those plans have been put on hold or if it’s not going to happen. If you could just let me know, I would really appreciate that. Thanks.
Action Taken: contacted w/ info

11/2/07
James Otradosky
365 N. Morningside Way
Boise, ID 83712

Airport Parking: In today’s Statesman, the Mayor says that he’s expanded facilities, but he forgot one little facility, the parking garage out at the airport. The idea of expanding off-site parking is an absolute utter joke. People do not like to leave their cars out in the open to the elements and minimal security at the best. If I was to leave my car at the Boise airport, I would want to put it inside the parking garage, and the last two times that I have had to pick up family members at the airport I could barely find a short-term parking spot due to the fact that there were multiple planes arriving at the same time. Parking at the airport is an absolute supreme joke. Mr. Mayor, you have plans and the space to build another multi-level parking facility there and I don’t know why in the Sam Hill you aren’t doing something about it. The excuse people have been coming up with is the economic situation and all that stuff, but the Boise airport is the gateway to the City of Boise and the facilities need to be kept up and expanded on a proper basis, and there’s no way in hell you can come up with another excuse not to add another multi-level parking facility. It’s a supreme joke when it comes to parking at the airport; in fact one time when I went to pick up a family member there, I made a comment to an employee inside the airport, and the comment I got back was, “well the people coming in should be taking taxis.” That is a very poor excuse given out by an airport employee. There’s a situation where the people do not have the means or whatever to take a taxi, and the situation out there is an absolute joke. You cannot justify not doing anything about it. I want to hear from you or a city councilman personally, not the city airport manager, which you did the last time. There is no excuse for him doing it instead of you; you’re just passing the buck and if there was any person better to vote for at this point in time, I sure as Sam Hill would do it. Thank you.
MZ for direction

Comments & Discussion

Comments are closed for this post.

Comments are closed.

City Government