"COMMUNICATION IS THE LANGUAGE OF LEADERSHIP.” James Humes
In the May newsletter, I shared 4 specific examples of Gahanna being newsworthy for all the wrong reasons. Anyone who's visited my website or heard me speak knows that "my why?" centers around wanting to help Gahanna become:
(1) thoughtful in its business recruitment and retention strategy,
(2) proactive and transparent in communicating with its residents,
(3) respectful and inclusive towards ALL of its citizens, and
(4) committed to meeting residents' affordable housing needs.
Those 4 issues (i.e., lack of notice for Sheetz development, senseless $75K primary, Academy Ridge lawsuit, and politicization of GJPS student art) demonstrate that, despite her words, the incumbent mayor's actions speak much louder.
Sadly, Gahanna was featured in the news again this week for more of the same: https://www.nbc4i.com/news/local-news/gahanna/residents-gahanna-neighborhood-not-given-notice-of-road-work/
There are two problems here. First, Issue 12 dollars were approved by Gahanna voters in May of 2019 for the express purpose of "enabling the City to address long-deferred capital projects." So now, inquiring minds want to know why the current administration sat on these tax dollars for 3 years? The inexplicable delay in addressing "deferred" maintenance allowed inflation, material costs and labor scarcities to erode the scope of work that can now be performed. In other words, 3-years of inaction cost Gahanna taxpayers that bang for their buck!
Second, residents are angry with the ongoing lack of transparency, the inadequate notice and the unexplained work being performed. For example, the City's May 12th letter doesn't mention sidewalks at all. Yet, I have walked the street depicted below and witnessed sidewalks being replaced. This begs the question: Are certain residents being provided free sidewalks via Issue 12 dollars or are they going to receive surprise invoices for these sidewalk repairs?
