It's Great 'n Dayton

What Would You Do With An Empty Building?

Ten local architectural firms have agreed to study 10 vacant or under-used downtown buildings to determine how best to reuse them.

The Downtown Dayton Partnership is spearheading the project, along with the Dayton Chapter of the American Institute for Architects.

"I think this is a big deal for downtown," partnership President Sandy Gudorf said.

The partnership will meet with reporters at 2 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 9, at 112 E. Third St., to announce which buildings will be studied and name the architectural firms that will do the work.

The buildings are all located in the core business district downtown, but do not include landmarks such as the Historic Dayton Arcade or the Mead Tower.

Volunteers from the Dayton Chapter of the AIA, in 2007, also worked with residents of the Historic South Park Neighborhood.

The group brainstormed solutions to adapt and restore vacant homes to create a vision for that community.

Do you  have your own ideas? What would you like to see? Boutique hotel? Mixed use office, retail, restaurants, housing? Apartments? Condos?

Feedback doesn't need to be about the same 10 buildings. If you think it would be cool to have something downtown (perhaps something you've seen in other downtowns or other cities) please comment!!

DP&L Exerts its Power

As if people in Dayton hadn't already been kicked in the teeth enough an article in today's DDN says DP&L wants to charge customers to make up for all the costs associated with the wind storm.

Doesn't being a utility comes with certain risks? Didn't they have an emergency fund, or savings, or investments they could draw upon? Didn't they have insurance?

I've heard multiple times that utility workers that came in from outside the community were amazed to find that DP&L's equipment was old, not well maintained, wires were brittle and aged, trees hadn't been cut back properly.

Isn't routine maintenance and periodic upgrades part of the cost of doing business!?! The windstorm wasn't the only problem here. It was a catalyst that exposed all of DP&L's inefficiency....which I can assume reflects on years of poor leadership.

Some of you may recall DP&L's own scandal a few years back questioning inappropriate relationships between certain executive employees, questionable compensation packages and golden parachute clauses. Maybe if execs weren't so busy padding their own pockets they could have paid attention to the company they were supposed to be running.

As far as I'm concerned the windstorm did some damage but there's no way in my mind that DP&L can justify transfering their cost burdens onto the consumer when they're just as much at fault for their own poor performance.

Vote Early

Montgomery County voters can vote prior to November 4th. Avoid long lines by voting now at the county administration building at 451 West Third Street. The parking garage is on 2nd street (which is a one-way street going west).

For times: Download Extended_Hours_for_Voting.pdf

For a breakdown of the Issues for Ohio (and wording on the Ballot): Download OHIO_VOTER_ISSUES_SUMMARIES.pdf
This does not include schools levies, recalls, or other local issues or candidates

Dayton Community Kicks Off Campaign to Support Schools

You're Invited! (We're all invited)

Come to the Issue 52 Kick-off at Riverscape on Monday, October 3, from 4-5 p.m.

Join public officials, leaders in labor, higher education, and the faith-based community as they join parents, students and other citizens concerned about education in our schools as they share their support for Dayton's Future.

Entertainment will be provided by students from Stivers School for the Arts.

Dayton's Future

I'm sure it's no coincidence that Dayton Public Schools chose to use Dayton's Future as the theme for its levy campaign. Dayton HAS a future and there are lots of us who believe it's a good future...for neighborhoods, for business, and for our children. And yes, the proverbial phrase "children are our future" is certainly applicable here.

Children are our future and they need to have the appropriate tools and resources available to them that Issue 52 will provide. (This doesn't discount the role parents need to play being involved in their child's life and in holding their children accountable for their learning).

The levy is 4.9 mills which is steeply different from the 15.17 mills that was proposed in 2007. I have no idea how to calculate the figures (maybe someone can post a reply on how to do the math) but according to the Dayton Daily News the levy will raise $9.3 million (which pales in comparison to the $30 million it needs) and will cost homeowners of an average $59,000 home an additional $96 a year.

I know people who spend that much in one night for food and drinks. Hopefully people realize the value of that money and what it means to the schools. I know I could do without a few nights out.

According to the Dayton's Future website Dayton has not passed a school levy in 16 years. Many people are critical of the schools but don't know the context of how resources have dwindled over the years while expenses have risen. I'm flabbergasted. I don't have children and it's only been in recent years that I've been civicly active. I had no idea things were as bad as they were, other than to hear things about being on academic emergency, etc. People point fingers and say what a bad job administrators and teachers are doing. The schools have suffered and are suffering from the disinvestment of the community at large and it's time for us all to wake up and realize we ALL have a stake in Dayton's future...the future of the city and the future of the schools and our children. One way we can improve the schools is to support the schools.

Learn more at the Dayton's Future website. Make sure to click on the link for Issue Info.