One of the reasons South Park works as a neighborhood is that we know and trust our neighbors. When my mother wanted recommendations for a tree service to cut down the almost dead tree behind their house we asked our neighborhood webmaster, Robert, to send a request for referrals to our neighborhood mail list.

We got back 9 responses almost automatically- and Mom had about 6 of them out for quotes.

They ended up picking Dan Fugate on the recommendation of Michael Di Flora (who is one of the prime investors in the neighborhood).

This is what my Mother wrote back to the neighborhood:

David – please thank Bob for posting all the recommendations for help with the tree.  You were right – it was amazing. Shows how much we care about our trees in South Park.  We called several people and decided on Dan Fugate who owns D&F Tree Service, tel: 937-256-5178.  Michael Di Flora recommended him.

In addition to being a top-notch pro, Mr. Fugate gets points for personality and price.  He says that word of mouth is always helpful so anyone who would like to hear more about him should feel free to call us: (You can e-mail me- david at elect esrati dot com if you want to chat about this)

By the way, he spotted the empty cottage next door and expressed an interest.  Said he would like to come back and live in South Park. We’d love to have him as a neighbor.

A few things- people do business with people they like. My Mom went on about how my Dad liked him instantly. Another thing is that in this day of info overload- and especially marketing overload, nothing beats a personal recommendation or “word of mouth” as we call it in the business. You have to also understand that for a small business like D&F Tree Service, a community like South Park can be a great base to build on. All it takes is a level of confidence built up by consistent solid work and next thing you know- you don’t run out of work.

The same thing applies to our city. If everyone in the city talks confidently about our community, and says good things about it- we build.

When we constantly speak poorly of our community- we destroy. Dayton has been in self-destruct mode for a long time. No, waving a magic wand and singing “Kumbayah” all day won’t fix the problem- but, if only our citizens had some strong leadership that was singing our praises at the top of their lungs day in, day out, maybe we’d be coming out of our slump.

If there is anything about Mayor Leitzell I would criticize, it’s that he’s not been as visible as a cheer leader as he could be. However, it wouldn’t hurt if our true CEO of the city- City Manager Tim Riordan was using his voice a lot louder – after all- we could have picked anyone for his job- and we had only two choices for Mayor.

So, next time you sit and read the crapfest that goes on in the Dayton Daily News comments sections- consider posting as “It’s Great In Dayton” and say something super positive. We don’t have to take this lying down.

Those who don’t learn from history are bound to repeat it. While making cuts to essential safety services- our local government has time and money to hand out “Economic Development” money to hand-picked corporate entities to “encourage business growth and retention.” This just days after UltraCell, a prior recipient of these types of funds closed up shop and went home.

Here is the press release as reprinted in the Dayton Daily News:

DAYTON — The cities of Dayton, Vandalia, Riverside and Miami Twp. will share $575,000 in Opportunity Reserve Funds from the Montgomery County Economic Development/Government Equity Program to encourage business growth and retention.

The Montgomery County Commission, on Tuesday, Aug. 24, approved two grants for Vandalia totaling $175,000; Dayton got $50,000; Riverside $150,000; and Miami Twp., $200,000. Several of the businesses are looking at multiple locations. If a company locates outside of Montgomery County, it doesn’t get the award.

• The city of Vandalia got awards of $125,000 for Project Crossroads and $50,000 for Projects Unlimited. Project Crossroads is working with property owners to occupy a vacant building at 707 Crossroads Court. The property owner, Construction Managers of Ohio, proposes spending $775,357 to upgrade electric service and install a new transformer to increase electric power to accommodate equipment used by a potential tenant, auto parts manufacturer Inteva Products.

Projects Unlimited, 6300 Sand Lake Road, wants to establish a cable and harnessing division within the company’s aerospace business. The project includes additions to an existing building at a cost of $1.26 million.

• Dayton’s $50,000 award would go to home builder NVR Inc., 2094 Northwest Parkway. The company’s $3.5 million project involves development of a new truss factory in Dayton creating 60 jobs over three years with an annual payroll of $1.74 million.

• Riverside will get $150,000 to assist InfoCision Marketing Corporation. The building InfoCision leases at 101 Woodman Drive is under foreclosure and the company wants to purchase and renovate it at a cost of $3 million. InfoCision will retain a minimum of 250 jobs for the next three years with estimated annual payroll of $4 million.

• The largest award, $200,000, goes to Miami Twp. for VRI, 9111 Springboro Pike, Miamisburg. VRI’s corporate headquarters, call center and customer support center are in West Carrollton, but the company needs to move to a larger facility.

The company expects to increase its 100 employees to nearly 300 within five years. ED/GE funds will go toward design, building and leasehold improvements.

via Cities get money to stimulate business.

The first warning sign post on Esrati.com about UltraCell was on Dec. 12, 2008, look to a post within 2 years of one of these companies falling apart- or not delivering what was promised.

If our politicians would work on consolidating government, thereby reducing the tax overhead required, we would be able to attract a lot more business to the area. Ohio has too many taxing jurisdictions and one of the highest costs of government in the country. Let’s spend our money eliminating duplication of services- starting with unifying our police forces into one department with one well paid chief who is accountable for reducing crime and shortening response times.

There- that wasn’t too hard to re-direct tax dollars to their intended purpose.

I love garlic and “Armando” tomatoes from Mike Malone and Hungry Toad Farm- I see him every Saturday at the 2nd Street Market, outside near the main steps. Mike’s got the real deal farmer’s tan- and can tell you everything you need to know about growing vegetables organically.

This e-mail went out over the “liberal list” – and I’m posting it because I’m a big believer that organic, sustainable, local food is part of the answer for America- not just in cutting down on our foreign energy dependency, but as part of getting American’s health again- moving away from processed crap that we have come to call food. Those of you have known me- and noticed that I’m 20 pounds lighter- and have a new bounce in my step- have heard the story of how my significant other read an amazing book- “The 7 principles of  fat burning” by Dr. Berg. I’ve changed the way I eat- and it’s been amazing.

So- here is the e-mail from farmer Mike:

My main worker is off to the Army Reserves for 3 weeks, and my other full time worker has suddenly decided to cease farming work. It looks like the cheese stands alone, and I don’t think the cheese can do it all by himself – especially with a 40 member CSA. 689-5910

Farm Workers/Volunteers needed at Hungry Toad Farm

Hungry Toad Farm is an Organic farm in Washington Twp.

I need help harvesting and weeding and planting and preparing boxes for the CSA, and harvesting and preparing for two farmers markets.

Help for pay, or help for experience, or help in trade/part trade for housing in a 4 BR farmhouse.

The season lasts until early November. Continued housing through the winter and beyond is an option.

Write to me here and check out Hungry Toad Farm on facebook.

Michael Malone

We live in the “bread basket of America” (although after you read Dr. Berg’s book you won’t be eating much bread)- this is some of the most fertile growing land in the world. Instead of building more pop-up offices with parking lot seas on prime farm land (Austin Road) we should be looking to grow as much of our own food within a half-day’s drive or less.

With the latest egg recall- and other recent food scares, it’s reassuring to know where our food comes from- and who actually grew it. Farmer Mike isn’t a big agri-business, he’s a small guy in a tough business- with the best tomatoes and garlic you can buy.

This is good for all of us.

When Marvin Olinsky retired, his deputy- Charlie Shoemaker took over Five Rivers MetroParks. When Charlie Shoemaker retired, we’re hearing that the organization is doing a national search.

The Dayton Daily News weighs in with its typical “Let the community in” BS- of course, they don’t let the community sit in when they pick their endorsements for office (and get pissed when I publish a podcast of the actual interview)- and they talk about regionalism- but when push comes to shove- they endorse the same old BS.

Here is a snippet from Ellen Belcher’s editorial:

Mr. Shoemaker’s successor has to have thoughts on all these issues and more. And the park district’s three commissioners need to make sure that the public hears the applicants’ pitches. Specifically, the commissioners need to create a committee of stakeholders to help vet candidates. And there need to be opportunities for the public to put questions to the finalists.

via Vet Metro Parks’ new chief publicly | A Matter of Opinion.

Now, let’s see- the board is three people, Irv Bieser, Alan Pippenger and Karen Davis. All three were picked from the community- not from a “National Search.”

For the last four years- the Deputy Director Carrie Scarff has been working as the second in command. If she’s not prepared to step into Charlie’s shoes, why is she still the deputy director?

There are other superstars in this organization, including Nate Arnett- the director of Adventure Central. Surely- someone inside this large and diverse organization is capable of leadership? If not, we should be replacing the board first.

There are very few regional park systems as diverse in programming as Five Rivers Metroparks. Anyone stepping in from out of town would face a steep learning curve. Then there is also the local politics- remember what happened to Bill Estabrook- and how fast did Valerie Lemmie run out of town once her sugar daddy’s days were over? National searches bring opportunists and carpetbaggers- and a steep learning curve. One estimate from someone connected to the organization who is well respected said five years. Can we really afford that?

Five Rivers Metroparks has grown with locally grown talent, into one of the ONLY regional cooperation success stories. Listening to the Dayton Daily News editorial board- or wasting time and money on a national search would be a step backward as well as a slap in the face to the people who have worked hard to grow MetroParks into the success it is.

When can we, the community, vote on the qualifications of Ellen Belcher and the rest of the Editorial Board? Remember, these are the people who endorsed Rhine McLin and Joe Roberts. And, when they’ve hired people after a national search- what happened? Eddie Roth, Leigh Allan, hello? Hypocrites.

Imagine if you could wave a wand and travel back to the year 2000- and have $600 million of public money to invest- in the things public money was supposed to be used for? Or, even give it back to the taxpayers?

A Dayton Daily News investigation found more than $1.5 billion in public and private money since 2000 has been spent on development in and on the fringes of downtown.

Roughly 60 percent of that investment has come from the private sector.

via Dayton sees most downtown projects in nearly 50 years.

Suppose we had spent it on several large parking garages downtown- with subsidized parking for downtown office workers- no more than $40 a month per car, a huge recreation center on the Parkside homes location- open to all city residents and workers – including an Olympic pool, ice rinks, a velo-drome and indoor soccer and football fields.

How about if we offered subsidized, high quality day-care for Dayton workers- round the clock- so we could be filling up the inexpensive office spaces downtown with call centers?

What if we’d spent it on making public transit free- to make Dayton a low-cost, livable, walkable community? Added a bike share system? Opened up foreclosed properties headed for demolition to urban pioneers with squatters’ rights? Even providing a small scale micro-loan program for repairs?

Suppose we had gotten out of the corporate welfare business- and hadn’t spent millions moving Reynolds and Reynolds and their spin-offs around, subsidizing CareSource’s new office building, created Tech Town in some of the low-cost office space we already had- and not “invested” in UltraCell?

How about if we’d not wasted time fighting the residency rule, or maintained our rules about forcing all police and fire to go through our own training programs- and used standardized programs that are certified across the state- and allowed lateral hires from other departments?

Well- all of that might have happened had we not kept electing the same people who have brought us the corrupt “Monarchy of Montgomery County” and the Dayton Daily News crapfest that passes for “news” daily.

$600 million could have changed our community dramatically- instead, it was squandered on “me too” projects- that now, look like money pissed away, as our population continues to shrink and our tax base gets even smaller.

Progress?

The UK just had its last conventional census, from now on they are going to do data mining to get their answers instead of the 210+ year old traditional door-knocking every ten years. Don’t expect the U.S. to follow suit anytime soon- we officially ditched the insane British measuring system back in 1975 but when was the last time you bought gas by the liter?

Someone told me last night that they were listed in the phone book- I almost had to laugh, we had been looking for their number as their old neighbors were coming back to town and the thought of looking in the white pages never entered anyone’s mind.

The first rule in computing is garbage in, garbage out. Yet so many of our metrics are based on census data as are much of our decisions by government. The data that we need is often there- but not readily available, or it’s overwhelming and the tools don’t exist to analyze it easily. The Internet has given us a treasure trove of data, but it’s not always in the right formats. The whole issue is very similar to the issues that “Esperanto” tried to conquer with the world’s many languages (which have much smaller data sets and should be easier to standardize)- and if you’ve heard of the “Semantic Web” and understand it at all- you know how complex this all is.

IBM, the company whose founder once thought there might be a market for a total of 5 computers worldwide, before going on to give us the PC jr and legitimize Microsoft’s MS-DOS OS, has been making major moves into the “smarter city” as they call it- (I wrote about it last Oct.). Smart political campaigns run on databases- which slice and dice voters for targeted Get Out The Vote and personalized issue tailoring. There is a whole industry of site-selection analytics that counts rooftops vs. retail- and still depends on data that’s up to 10 years old.

The number of databases that every one of us show up in is mind-boggling. From our utility and phone bills, to our health records, DMV, tax records, employment records, banking, and then what Google collects, you have ceased to be a human being- just a sum of all data points.

Credit rating agencies have been instrumental in the financial collapse of the global economy, yet their business is based on analyzing this imperfect data too. It’s amazing anyone survived before the invention of the binary counting device that now rules over us from birth to death and beyond. Look at what’s in front of you- you aren’t reading this on paper, delivered by a human to your doorstep.

One of the people I’ve met via this site is a semantic data consultant who shared an interesting Open Source project in development that could give us all a better way to analyze our data and develop new strategies of opportunity. We’ve already got some prime players in this field in Dayton with LexisNexis as one of the pioneers in data-gathering and mining, Teradata in storage in retrieval, even the much smaller Woolpert is a leader in GIS systems. Citizen Dan is in the pre-beta stage of pulling data from multiple data sources and making it available to us.

From their site:

Citizen Dan is a free, open source system available to any community and its citizens to measure and track indicators of local well being (see further about). It is available for use now, but is also undergoing active development with support from a number of innovative cities.

Citizen Dan is an exemplar instance of Structured Dynamic’s; open semantic framework (OSF), a generalized framework for deploying semantic platforms for any domain. By changing its guiding ontologies and source content and data, what appears for Citizen Dan can be adopted for virtually any subject area.

Go to the Concept ExplorerAs configured, the Citizen Dan OSF instance is a:

• Appliance for filtering and analyzing data specific to local community indicators
• Means to visualize local data over time or by neighborhood
• Meeting place for the public to upload and share local data and information
• Web data portal that can be individually tailored by any local community
• Potential node in a global network of communities across which to compare indicators of community well-being.

via Citizen Dan | A Community Instance of theOpen Semantic Framework.

And while the Dayton Development Coalition talks about being a leader in “Sensor Technology”- sensors just gather more data that fills databases which will later need data dissection.

With the latest census winding down, and the political redistricting battle seemingly in stasis, maybe it’s time to re-assess all we think we know from our data- and decide what we really gain from being omnipotent? The more data we gather, the more we know, for all its technological wow-factor- is it really improving our quality of life?

When the founding fathers talked about “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”- did they have metrics in mind to quantify what would make us happy? Was it enough to have representation when it came to taxation (the root issue of our first revolution)- have we better representation now with our arcane finance reporting laws and auctions that get passed off as elections? What is the “standard of living” and who should it apply to? Are all animals equal, but some more equal than others thanks to our imperfect data used as a foundation of governing? Or are we using the numbers for the right reasons?

The Luddite movement in England was a reaction to the mechanization of the textile industry. In calling someone a Luddite you are writing them off as an obsolete cog in society, yet, maybe, as it proves with many great thinkers- they were just ahead of their time? Maybe the metric we’ll discover when we have the grand unification database is that happiness is the direct opposite state of data overload- ignorance truly is bliss, and for all the wants of man to marshal over our humanity- the true indicators of a successful civilization are much more basic: food, shelter, safety, health- all without an abundance of government trying to solve our problems.

Maximus Minimus of Seattle BBQ truck

I listen to APM Marketplace when I run in the mornings. This morning they had a story about the LA Food truck biz- and it got the gears spinning.

First- I suggest you go take a look and listen to the story- and then I’ll tell you my Dayton idea:

The food truck fad is sweeping the nation. View photos of some LA food trucks and add to our collection by submitting photos of your favorite neighborhood food truck.

A row of food trucks in LA get ready to feed the hungry lunchtime masses. (Jolie Myers/Marketplace)

A row of food trucks in LA get ready to feed the hungry lunchtime masses. (Jolie Myers/Marketplace)

Today on Marketplace, Kai Ryssdal takes us out to lunch for a story on the food truck economy in Los Angeles.

LISTEN TO THE STORY: Food Truck Economy

But LA isn't the only city known for its mobile food. Cities like San Francisco and New York are inventing new ways to deliver good food to your street corner. In Chicago, an effort is underway to make mobile eateries legal on city streets.

via Marketplace Photo Gallery: Food Truck Nation: Photo Gallery.

What does this have to do with Dayton? And why should UD consider this?

Besides having an abundance of unemployed truck builders in the community- and a plant that makes the Sprinter van, we could have a great synergy project.

• Location: You need a central depot for a region, where the vans can be stored indoors overnight, restocked, cleaned, maintained- etc. the former Trolley barn which became Frank Z Chevy would be perfect.
• Business plan: UD has a strong history of student business development programs incorporating real world experience. Considering food trucks are primarily a summer business- the students could begin designing a business model, a brand, at the beginning of the year- and by summer- be out working in the trucks testing their business skills.
• Culinary skills: Sinclair has a culinary program- what better model to test your skills- than a mobile kitchen?
• Vehicle maintenance, conversion: Sinclair has an automotive program- students could work on an actual fleet- both in maintaining the vehicles and in the conversion process.

The trucks could also be leased to local chefs- who could share in the buying power of all the food trucks buying local produce etc. to create a gastro-economy in Dayton. I’m sure restaurant owners might initially resist the idea of competing with lower overhead kitchens on wheels- however, they could also run their own- taking their cuisine mobile.

Hopefully- this could be pulled off without public money- and we could also see a great building saved. And maybe we can jump start a cottage industry of converting trucks into high class kitchens on wheels right here in Dayton.

Over 20 years ago I was sitting on a dive boat with some people from NYC. I was telling them about my house I bought for $14,500-

“$14,500? That’s what I pay a year for my parking spot” said one.

“Did it come on a trailer” asked another.

I went on to describe my 2-story, 1,700 sq ft, frame Victorian half-cross, with a 2-car garage and a parking pad- and a fenced yard.”

You could almost see the steam rising out of their ears as the gears computed what they were getting in NYC- for a hell of a lot more.

But, it’s Dayton Ohio- was their final verdict- not knowing anything about Dayton- other than maybe they’d done business with NCR, Reynolds and Reynolds, GM, Mead or fed their dog Iams. They might know about WPAFB- but have no clue about our bountiful water supply, our amazing 5 Rivers Metroparks, top notch schools like Oakwood HS or Stivers. Or our orchestra, ballet or DCDC (that sells out in NYC all the time).

So, when they read about Dayton in today’s New York Times- they’ll still think we’re a broken down shanty town, falling apart as we try to save ourselves a $2 million lawn care bill- clearing the empty lots as the last few souls leave town.

Around the nation, cities and towns facing grim budget circumstances are grasping at unlikely — some would say desperate — means to bolster their shrunken tax bases. Like Beatrice, places like Dayton, Ohio, and Grafton, Ill., are giving away land for nominal fees or for nothing in the hope that it will boost the tax rolls and cut the lawn-mowing bills.

via Homesteads and Other Sources of Tax Income – NYTimes.com.

Of course, we’re also still on a tear down kick- taking down homes as fast as possible, to make sure that suburban home builders and demolition companies that back our local politicians keep busy.

Instead- we could be offering homes to homesteaders- with a $5K signing bonus. Move into these homes that we’re seeing as nuisances, start rehabbing them- live in them for 2 years- and they are yours. We’ll even give you a $5k credit at the Deconstruction Depot for building materials.

We have things people want- we’re just doing a horrible job letting people know that Dayton is a place of opportunity- a great place to raise a family- and an affordable place to live.

Thanks to our short-sighted local leadership the wrong message gets into the New York Times. Time to fix it.

And, all of you people in New York- for what you pay for a parking space- you can still buy a home in Dayton- and have money left over for a car to park in it.

Tim Riordan is a man without a future. He’s already receiving his pension- and drawing a nice salary for his City Manager position. He’s holding down the fort, in a defensive position praying for an economic turnaround that’s going to save his, or his successor’s behind.

As a good faith measure, he’s taking a tiny pay cut:

Dayton City Manager Tim Riordan is volunteering to take a pay cut worth three days of his salary — $1,700 — in addition to the three-day unpaid furlough he and other management employees took earlier this year.The Dayton City Commission approved the pay cut at its meeting Wednesday, July 21.“We are asking people to make sacrifices,” Riordan said. “Before I do that, I want to use myself as an example.”

via Dayton City Manager volunteers to take pay cut.

Of course, he’s preparing to ask the city staff who got their “step increase” last year- without approval from the commission- to give it back.

Fighting a rear-guard war is never how you win a war.

The problem is, Dayton hasn’t identified and capitalized on what can make it a winner. We’ve been doing the Hail Mary “economic development” incentive initiative for over 15 years and seen a huge FAIL as employment has shrunk and companies have left town. We never seemed to have enough chips in our stack to play with the big boys. NCR went to Georgia for over $100 m, and the executive suite went to NYC because the Schuster Center isn’t Broadway, and the Dragons aren’t the Yankees.

Suppose we announced to the world that our days of diverting tax dollars to corporate welfare are over. We guarantee not to tax you anymore than we need to pay our infrastructure and public safety bills. We’d also set some goals for public lifestyle improvements- a plan of what we hope to achieve in the next 5 years in terms of parks, recreation, schools, neighborhoods. We’d have set goals, with set price tags and set completion points. We’d get out of the development by reaction to private whim ( a local company wants a handout to build wind turbines) and get into the proactive planned strategy mode.

Plus, it’s time to use our loss leader.

Dayton actually hiked its water costs a few years back, not listening to its biggest customers that the new prices were out of reach. The first reaction by Cargill- “we’ll just drill our own wells” which they did. Delphi ended up leaving town. We’re now running at less than 50% capacity- we also pushed everyone’s water bill up (mine tripled over the last 10 years- did yours?). This was how we gave the people “no new taxes” as politician-speak loves to go- but, unfortunately, it also took away taxes as businesses left due to the killing off of our one really competitive weapon: cheap, great water.

Suppose we started giving away our water so cheaply that the county couldn’t compete? We’d gain more water customers of course, but in exchange for it- we ask for some things like an end to incentives there as well. No more financing Teradata moving a half-mile on the taxpayers, or more money into building new subdivisions when we already have a glut of homes. Would we start to have a fighting chance? How about a single regional income tax rate- a uniform 1.5% that’s shared based on a formula calculated on population density. All of a sudden, we’re sounding like a fighter, instead of a punching bag.

Tim Riordan is probably the best person for his job- only because he knows how to play the game here and knows the players. The problem is the game we’ve been playing has been Russian Roulette with more than one bullet.

It’s time to change the game. But, we need a man with a plan.

There are two people in Dayton who have my respect right now. Brian Higgins over at the Sidebar in the Oregon District and John Drake of Drake’s Gym. Both have decided to color outside the lines and create their dreams in Dayton- without asking permission first.

John Drake making a white tux look good

Tonight- John Drake closed off the worthless section of Fourth Street between Patterson and St. Clair and threw a boxing match up in the middle of the street- and said “come one, come all, we’re having a party and you’re invited.” I’d say close to 2,000 people showed up and watched the bouts under the lights- and had a good time. No alcohol, no slutty strippers in bikinis- he had ring kids walking the cards, and the people came downtown and joined in his party.Fight Night was a huge success.

The city did provide some police, a firetruck- and a few barricades- but, what we had going on was economic development by a party of one. For one night, people were downtown- buying food from the food cart, t-shirts from the Gym, and later- heading over to the Oregon District. There isn’t any reason this kind of thing can’t be happening all over the city- making it a fun place to live, instead of the “economically developed creative class high tech” mecca they keep aiming for.

Over on Fifth Street you have another former paratrooper, Brian Higgins mixing up exotic drinks along with small plate meals at the Sidebar and attracting the most diverse audience in Dayton- night after night. We sat last on the sidewalk patio last night and I watched the master at work. Calling people by name as they walked by, inviting them in, buying drinks and food for his regulars and sharing his idea of what a nightclub in a big city is supposed to feel like. It’s making the Pacchia grand opening–way back 12 or so years ago–look like a junior high dance, compared to Studio 54 in its prime- and Pacchia was considered the most successful independent restaurant launch in town.

What makes this stuff work? What’s the magic mojo that’s creeping into downtown slowly? I think it’s that both men have a passion about what they are doing- and an attitude of gratitude. They want to share their passion with the people- and they don’t loathe Dayton. Where others are always seeing what we need to fix- they see what we need to do- and are doing it.

Empty houses aren’t a liability- they are an opportunity. Empty produce company turns into low budget boxing gym. Restaurant that’s hit the skids- gets an instant makeover and is now pulling in the stacks of cash. Dayton isn’t dead in either of these men’s eyes- or hearts, and that’s what makes them stand out.

It doesn’t take a master plan, with community input. It doesn’t take a ton of money. It just takes passion and coloring outside the lines that the man keeps telling us are there for our own good.

So, if you want to get in shape, or you want to have a good time- go see John or Brian- and thank them and support them for doing what they’re doing. I will be.

Nothing wrong with stealing good ideas. From Boston.com and writer Scott Kirsner:

1. Attract, educate, and retain the smartest people in the world.

2. Support them in solving important problems, developing innovative products, and building successful businesses.

3. Share what we’re doing with the rest of the world.

4. Keep getting better at Items #1-#3.

via My proposed mission statement for New England – Innovation Economy – Boston.com.

Since, I’m obviously not ready to represent you- I’m asking you if you have a better idea than the four above?

Since the traditional media doesn’t work the way it used to- many voters (who were even mailed a notice from the BOE) aren’t going to remember the special election next Tuesday, July 13- with the centralized voting locations in Montgomery, Highland and Clinton Counties.

So- I’m printing up some postcards for delivery drivers to take with food orders between Friday and Monday night. Delivering food for thought with the pizza, subs, Chinese, etc. It has the details of the election, the three candidates with their mug shots- (Joe and Guy- I’d like higher rez versions please)- links to their websites and a link to  the YouTube video of the League of Women Voters forum.

Now- I just need to know who wants to deliver these? We’ll be calling establishments over the next two days- but, if you want to help- just put the info in the comments. I’ll do a post with links to all the restaurants that helped with this effort on the weekend. Pizza Bill was the first to volunteer- from Dayton’s Original Pizza Factory. Thanks Bill.

Here is a low rez pdf for you to check before it goes to the printer: Delivering democracy small pdf

Still have time for suggestions and corrections. Thanks

My day typically begins with reading the news, then going for a run. When I run, I listen to APM Marketplace- at 2x speed on my iPhone (or iPod) and get smarter faster. This morning- I listened to a few shows- including the one from June 30- which was like a great album- every story was great.

If you’ve never listened- this would be a great one to start- it included this amazing story about how Congress wrote in a few lines of law that made sure their friends in banking could still afford a bigger boat:

AIG waived right to sue big banks?

Kai Ryssdal talks to the New York Times’s Louise Story about the piece she wrote with Gretchen Morgenson on AIG and how the company waived its right to sue the banks that underwrote the mortgage securities it was insuring.

via Marketplace for June 30, 2010 | Marketplace From American Public Media.

If you don’t get the “bigger boat” joke- it’s from something else I heard on Marketplace, “Ask a hedge fund manager” by the Upright Citizens Brigade theater.

And if you are still wondering about Afghanistan- they had a story on the 28th:

Afghani officials smuggling U.S. money?
According to the Wall Street Journal, billions of dollars — allegedly taxpayers’ money — are being air lifted out of Afghanistan, in the latest of a string of corruption reports from the country. Nancy Marshall Genzer reports.

No guarantees if the WSJ will leave this story up in the open- but it certainly is eye-opening:

More than $3 billion in cash has been openly flown out of Kabul International Airport in the past three years, a sum so large that U.S. investigators believe top Afghan officials and their associates are sending billions of diverted U.S. aid and logistics dollars and drug money to financial safe havens abroad.

via Afghan Hawalas Transfer Billions Out of Country – WSJ.com.

The parts about Hamid Karzai’s wealth are unbelievable. I’m sure the Special Forces Team who saved his butt while getting hit with our own bombs isn’t sitting on millions. (I read the book: The Only Thing Worth Dying For: How Eleven Green Berets Forged a New Afghanistan).

All these ideas and conversation starters- just by taking a morning run.

Being the story beats being the ad next to it.

Gotta love the “Ohio Department of Development” touting the “Third Frontier” program in ads- on Fast Company’s website.

We’re paying to advertise that we’re forward thinking and supporting science and tech- while Denver is actually deploying the future of green alternative transportation: B-Cycle.

If there is one rule about advertising- it’s that PR is cheaper and more effective than any ad campaign. So instead of buying ads talking- why aren’t we putting money into programs like B-Cycle?

One month after the Denver debut of B-cycle, the first large-scale bike sharing program in the U.S., over 3,000 Denver residents have burned over 1.3 million calories by pedaling away at the 400 bikes docked at 42 stations around the city.

via The Technology Driving Denver’s B-cycle Bike Sharing System | Fast Company.

We talk about being an RFID center- and yet, here is B-Cycle using RFID. We could have launched B-Cycle in Dayton around July 1, had the powers that be had any brains. We’d be mentioned in this good press- and Ohio would like leaders instead of followers.
Instead, we’re buying banner ads. Brilliant.

Last time I ran for Congress I made a commercial that showed you the houses of my opponents- which don’t look like, or have the kind of mortgage that most of the citizens in Ohio 3 have. I called it “Represent” and it’s very important to me.

It’s important because the whole concept of the House- with its short 2-year terms- was for real people to take leave of their “day job” and go “represent” the people. The founding fathers would be disgusted if they now knew it cost a million dollars to run for Congress- and that it had become a cesspool of career politicians. The idea that there were barriers to entry- like fund-raising and non-stop campaigning- would be abhorrent. The idea that political districts would be gerrymandered to give preference to one party or another would be unthinkable. Yet, that’s the world we live in.

I believe in a return of the House to the people. I won’t, and never have, accepted money from special interest groups. And although I welcome endorsements, my positions are absolutely clear- they appear on this site- over the last four plus years- in black and white, for all to discuss. There is no dodging of the hard “hot button questions”- just my thoughts on what has interested me. I believe in smaller government, that provides and supports equal opportunity to all in this country- especially for small businesses in government contracting (it’s time to come up with a GSA schedule EZ- and cut the average response to a proposal from hundreds of pages of boilerplate to a few meaningful pages of a contract). I believe in closing the Wall Street Casino and opening back a real financial market- where true investors- not gamblers, make real choices about a companies’ bottom line- and buy a true stake in the company (Apple – and every other business on the exchange- didn’t change the way it did business yesterday- but its stock price fell like it got hit with a recall or something).

I believe in a public option- and single payer. I don’t believe we could do health care without doctors- but I know for sure we could do it without the “mob”- the insurance companies- who’ve inserted themselves like crooks asking for a “scrape” of your health care costs- to pay for million dollar paychecks. It’s posts like this- that separate me from every other politician- and let me tell you- it’s not good for business either in this small-town minded city.

I’m not going to recap every position or idea. But, I am going to promise you a new kind of representation- one where you really know what’s going on with your Congressman- every step of the way. So, join me as I walk to collect my signatures- and hear my own mother, Nina- age 82, call me nuts for doing this. These are the people who are recommending me to represent you- not the special interests, not the big money political action committees and they are the reason I do this- although the handicappers wouldn’t give me (or anyone else) a 100-to-1 shot at beating Mike Turner this fall.

But, isn’t that what a democracy is about- having choices?

If you’d like to sign your name on video- please call me at 937-228-4433 to set up a time to stop by the office. Thank you for your support. Remember, you must be a Dem or undeclared- you must be a resident of Ohio 3, and you must believe that I belong in the “House of Representatives.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

The video rocked. The presenters- not so much.

I started a round of applause when Gene Krebs of Greater Ohio in his intro said “We don’t have too much economic development. We have too much economic development bureaucracy” – to a room filled with “economic development” types. The room was literally- standing room only- and the spread looked delicious, but for an hour, as local comedian Sherif Hedayet tweeted: “Attn Downtown Dayton Plan could we have someone under 60 talk about change. I have yet to hear anything interesting. Kayaking really…” For a group that’s looking to attract young professionals, the language of the young professional- or the freshness that comes with youth- was missing- except in the video. 19 May update: NOTE: The Plan now has it’s own website: http://www.downtown-dayton.com/plan/

Even the presentation printouts- which were attached to the windows- were type heavy, and missing “action verbs.” The plan is still going to be carried out by yet another “Community council” – because we’re afraid to put someone in charge and hold their feet to the fire. The obvious choice for this is Sandy Gudorf, the head of the Downtown Dayton Partnership- but, since we’ve finally expanded our definition of “Downtown” to include more than what’s North of the railroad tracks and South of the River- her area of responsibility doesn’t cover it all.

The only concrete “we’re doing this” things that I came out with is- five new gateways, and an experiment with “end in parking” by the Cannery. Never mind that every mall would be empty too if everyone had to parallel park.

It was great to hear Dayton City Manager Tim Riordan mention the HUBzone status of Downtown being an incentive for gaining government contracts- but, the utilization of that preferred status (which I’ve talked about forever here) isn’t enough to fill buildings (you have to have 35% of your employees live in the zone- as well as be located in the zone). Riordan also mentioned student housing- which makes me wonder if we may finally see a relaxation on Single Room Occupancy regs (another theme from this site).

The upside of the whole shooting match- is that the discussion is front and center- and we at least have a great video to show, which makes the city look hip.

I’ve been trying to find time to write a post about Urban Nights- so I’ll mention it here- over in Wright Dunbar- which NEVER has any people walking around most days, the closed off street with bands and booze being sold in multiple locations, was jumping. We can bring people downtown- if we’d stop making it so hard to have fun. Permits and codes and parking restrictions are all hassle and no happiness for new businesses to navigate. How much different things could be if we just tossed the old rule books out the windows and went wild west open space.

Riordan did talk about 1 price rents- including parking costs- to try to price competitively with suburban space, but this is just the tip of the problems.

For all the talk about luring the creative young entrepreneurs- there were only a handful of people tweeting- the rest of the people in the room- just don’t seem plugged in. There should always be a back channel going in events like this- and there should always be invitations for questions, but, then again, we still can’t get right down to the main problems that Gene Krebs opened up with: We’re saddling tax payers with paying for way too much bureaucratic overhead in Ohio. We need to jettison a ton of bureaucratic baggage if we want this plan to be able to get off the ground.

Now, please return your tray table and seat back to the full upright and locked position, and prepare for….

After a writing a blog for long enough, some things just start to write themselves for you. This post is based on comments on the site and a discussion I had with a senior city staff person- and both come back to a recurring theme of my trials and tribulations with Dayton City Hall going back to Inspector Gotcha and vinyl clad garage doors in a historic district.

First from comments on the site:

Bruce Kettelle May 15, 2010 at 9:18 am

There are customized performance based measurement plans in effect in many cities across the country. For example in Pittsburgh they have developed a model that allows the Mayor (and public) to monitor the city by department by setting specific goals (such as the number of graffiti abatements) which are reported monthly. What I find lacking in most of these systems are ways to monitor longer range broad ROI monitoring. Let’s say for instance Austin Road costs x to build, add y for additional studies, marketing, and incentives then compare that total to the amount of new property, payroll and sales taxes (et al) generated by the businesses attracted. Is it beneficial for the project? Is it beneficial for the County? Is it beneficial for the region or state? Those would be great questions to answer.

Pittsburgh’s Pitt Maps reports are here

http://www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/mayor/html/pittmaps.html

Dayton has also done budget goal setting, here is one recent online report.

www.cityofdayton.org/cco/Documents/Focus2010book.pdf

What I do not see on line is any regular reporting on how they are doing, or how they are measuring their success. Does anyone else know where to find those reports?

via Before raising taxes, Dayton needs a plan.

What Bruce is talking about is the metrics of managing a city. What are our goals. When you asked Rhine McLin or Nan Whaley or Civil Servants are People Too- you hear about our bond rating (as if the bond rating agencies got it right on Main Street any better than they got it on Wall Street)- our “balanced budget” (which is required by law), and maybe even “satisfaction scores” from surveys on the Fire Department (as if we have any comparison- you don’t typically have your house burn down twice- and compare departments). What has been missing is metrics on vision.

For all the smoke and mirrors Mike Turner used- the one thing he did better than the other mayors since Paul Leonard- is talk about accomplishments. It used to make me sick listening to him on the campaign trail talking about his “300 hours of community service”- as if he were using a lawyer’s time sheet to tally his value- but, the reality is- he had a metric and Dixon didn’t. He was a master at taking credit for things like Riverscape- or the Dragons’ stadium- which gave him an air of confidence that’s been sorely missing since. But the reality is that the only metrics that are measured in Dayton are those that we seemingly have no control over: DPS test scores, foreclosures, job losses, population losses, crime.

Whoa. Did I just say we don’t have control over crime? Yep. And here’s why- because we don’t measure anything internally at all. We have no metrics of our own- except a balanced budget and what we spent our money on- like Nan yapping about the 7 bridges- without any metric on how they add value to our population. This is something that reader Jesse has mentioned as well- what’s the value of what we’re buying with our taxes? To whom? Austin Road has been grand for some developers- but, to say it’s “adding value” for a majority of Montgomery County taxpayers would be a stretch- as it just has added more infrastructure for us to support- and more unneeded office space to make the existing space even more worthless.

Which brings me to the City Staffer- with whom I began the conversation by asking if they were in the running to replace Tim Riordan once he’s ready to go. Unfortunately, our current commission is so obsessed with its current predicament little has been done to plan for the future. They hadn’t been asked it- and that’s sending a message to start sending out resumes. This is the last thing an organization needs in a time of crisis. They did weigh in on our lack of a department of customer/citizen service – and pointed out that City Hall still exists as if they have no competition- and no need to “out-perform” and razzle-dazzle the citizenry. It’s been my major complaint since the first time I stepped into city hall- and received blank stares from an elected commission when asking help on my garage doors.

I don’t agree with a “department of customer service” – or a director of it- I believe in TQM- total quality management- where everyone in an organization is committed to delivering maximum value with EVERY transaction. That said, I’d say a majority of government employees don’t have a clue what their job really is- and they just go about it without a single thought about delivering quality.

If you search this site on just the word “Metric” you’ll find I’ve used the term a few times- for various posts. The most important is in the “Esrati plan”- which is there every time you look at the site (unless you are reading it all through RSS). In it is a short part about customer service metrics:

Customer service- Metrics

I’ve advocated this for a long time- before it was an ombudsman who would take complaints, and track resolutions- and report to the Commission. Now, I’d like to install a “Help Desk” to track cases through city hall. The City Manager would be evaluated based on the resolution ratio and qualitative scores generated by the software. We’ll also adopt technology to do some of the reporting, see the post: Data, Dayton and developing our City 2.0

It’s time to put checks and balances on our bureaucrats who are perceived as inflexible and unresponsive. Every city employee must feel as if they are responsible for the perception of our city.

The City Manager would have targets for increased income tax revenues, increased population, higher average home sales, lower commercial property vacancy rates- etc. By placing real metrics in place we can track performance. Currently, we do not seem to have goals and objectives in place.

via Esrati Plan.

In talking with Mayor Leitzell last night as we walked from 3rd and Main to Wright Dunbar (more frequent shuttle trolleys next time DDP) he told me there was talk of a five-year plan- but, that the current commission was worried about getting over the current crisis- before setting goals and objectives. I said I was entirely in favor of a plan- and doing it now- because what we have now is lacking all indications of doing anything except balancing a budget. We don’t know what our objectives are- and we have no way of telling if what we are doing is moving us in the right direction.

I often use the example of American football- the game is so complex- with so many rules- that unless you’ve played or watched the game for years- you’d have no idea what’s going on. In order to win- to score points- there are very important rules to follow- and understanding the objectives- even down to what player is supposed to do what- on EVERY single play- is key to winning. It’s the same with government- although we have no idea in Dayton what the rules are, or what we’re supposed to be doing every day- nor, do we know how we’ll be able to tell if we’re winning or losing.

And, that my friends- is why we’ve been floundering about for the last 20 years as the world has seemingly dealt us bad cards. We don’t know if we’re playing poker or blackjack- and we keep yelling 21 at the roulette wheel thinking that wins.

It’s time to define our metrics and start measuring the things we can control, and learn to live with those we don’t- and have the wisdom to know the difference.

Oh yeah- it’s time to start figuring out who the next City Manager will be- just in case something happens to Mr. Riordan- because that’s the way good leadership ensures continuous delivery of quality service.

Generally, when you raise prices on a product, you offer something extra. Bigger, better, new and improved. Yet, Dayton is seriously considering raising income taxes as a solution to years of mismanagement.

As the population has shrunk, they’ve added employees in all the wrong places- to slap Band-Aids on the bullet wound that busing inflicted on our city. We tried like crazy to ignore the elephant in the living room. And now, nearly 40 years later- we’re just starting to make serious efforts at fixing the problems (without straight up admitting what they were- yes, our schools sucked, we’re fixing it).

Our divisions of jurisdictions make it too easy to pick and choose, and release anyone from responsibility. Who do you blame- school boards, superintendents, parents of poor kids, the judge, the “white flight,” the unions- or the Mayor and the Commission, the City Manager, the police chief, the unions? Or, do you just get fed up and move away?

There is zero accountability here. There is also zero leadership. All we do is form committees, task forces and ask for a plan. Then again- we have no leader to own the plan, and no action ever gets taken.

Then we get subjected to banal babbling by an editor at a “newspaper” that can barely write a story worth reading- (except when you let your top sports writer take on something like a sailor’s recollection of a kamikaze attack)

In talking about the proposed tax increase, Ellen Belcher says:

Though the city certainly has its advantages, it struggles mightily to recruit new businesses and new residents. Exactly how much the income tax figures into prospects’ considerations is hard to quantify. But it certainly isn’t irrelevant; and having the distinction of a tax rate that’s higher than almost every other community in the region can’t be a good thing….

Citizens aren’t public administrators. Many can’t point to specific ways of doing business that will markedly change Dayton’s costs, even though they’re sure that there must be some.

via Editorial: Tax increase is hard sell in Dayton | A Matter of Opinion.

Really, Ellen- what are the “advantages”? And, what makes you qualified to judge candidates? You never asked what strategies each candidate would use to “markedly change Dayton’s costs” in your endorsement interviews?

Asking to raise taxes to maintain the same services, the ones that haven’t been working so far, is just another nail in an already well constructed coffin. In fact, there aren’t any additional services or promises the current crew running our city could make that would give any voter hope that raising the taxes will somehow change the direction the City is headed. That makes this discussion moot.

So, how should they ask for more taxes? Get ready for a real alternative to discuss:

Shrink the city

We’ll raise taxes, and bring in some large cash payments to consolidate and improve our core:  by promising to either sell off assets- say, offer to hand over the parts of Dayton that are in Huber Heights, Riverside or Harrison Twp. school districts to those communities- in exchange for those communities passing bonds to pay us a part of the future income tax revenue that is generated- giving us cash now- and a smaller footprint to manage. Sell off the non-contiguous parts of Dayton as well- like the airports- and the “enterprise zones” to either regional entities like the county or the “booming” burbs, in exchange for cash now.

Sitting with cash in the hand- we have to make a decision- consolidate some more- by using this money to re-balance our city, moving people from sparsely populated or run down neighborhoods into strong ones- then cut services and our service area to these old areas- until we’ve got our core neighborhoods as healthy as possible.

Change the way we do business in the city

Or we can take the blighted communities and create free-for-all zoning, and offer every single piece of property that the city already owns, on the market at bargain rates, as long as the buyer makes a commitment to occupy the property and pay at least a set income tax with new residents only. The property values for the taxing purposes are the purchase price- however the income tax requirement must be met- or the property is taken back and resold. If it isn’t new residents moving in- the property tax is set normally.

The object is to bring in additional income tax payers, plain and simple. All increases in tax revenue would be used to provide the highest quality government services: ie police, fire, water, sewer, trash- at the lowest price. There will be a guarantee of zero expense on marketing, “economic development” or other non-essential government services.

Grow the city

The gutsy move is to somehow grow the city. First would be to look at adjoining townships. Harrison, Jefferson (and there probably is another one or two) and try to acquire them. While the residents may not want to pay a higher income tax- we’re already providing some of their services. The question is- how are we going to propose our change in the way we do business that they’d be willing to give up their current small government for something bigger? This is where the city has failed. Had we been doing things right- this shouldn’t be a hard sell. Ask the average person in Jefferson Township if they’d like to be a part of Kettering- and they’d probably say yes. Say Dayton- and they’d think you were crazy. Operationally- we’d need to clean house and rebuild the way Dayton works- to instill and inspire confidence enough that this would be an option. Unfortunately- we don’t elect the kinds of leadership that can think like this. Typically in a bad market- is when great companies grow the most. Their value increases as they snatch up the weak. In a bad market- the weak- typically do what Dayton is thinking of doing- delaying bankruptcy as long as possible.

Are these fully fleshed out ideas- no. I’m sharing them with you as discussion points to give direction to the people “in charge.” The one thing that is for sure- with business as usual there is no point in accepting a tax hike, unless they are ready to give up.

If anything, we need to lower the tax rate and offer more opportunity for investment- but without confidence in a plan on where we’re headed, investment won’t come- no matter how much money you throw at potential investors.

Your thoughts?

I’ve been talking about how zoning has rendered some buildings worthless- like the tall beautiful building to the left of Newcomes in the Oregon District – for years. You can’t use the building if you don’t have parking within 250′- and you can’t get parking at a reasonable price- because of the historic overlay which means no tearing down anything.

Result: deadlock.

I only have a conditional use in my building- because I don’t have 4 private parking spaces for my 1,500 sq feet. Everyone will tell you that my office is a boon to South Park- and the parking spaces on the street aren’t an issue. (The vacant shell that I bought was an issue though).

Reader Brian, sent a note that Columbus changed its rules about parking requirements (imagine that) for downtown:

legislation approved last night to reduce the number of spaces required at shopping centers, restaurants and office buildings. And for the first time, the city will require developers to include bicycle racks outside nearly every type of business.”It’s a significant change,” said City Councilwoman Priscilla R. Tyson, who sponsored the plan. City Council members passed the plan unanimously.

via City eases rule for parking lots | Columbus Dispatch Politics.

We’re still not even having a discussion. And while parking downtown is often cited as an obstacle to businesses- we’ve done nothing to work with parking lot owners to standardize signage- rates- as they’ve done in Cincy. This is also an issue I’ve talked about for years.

If you wonder why things don’t change downtown- maybe it’s because we don’t have people thinking about change, unless you call moving to 2 way streets a big idea.

I’m working on a piece about changes in an East Dayton community. It’s been ignored by the city and the public for too long- virtually written off. It’s where I’m finding signs of the strongest thinking about how to solve problems within “the system” that we’ve created- and lauded (rightly or wrongly) as the greatest country in the world.

We’ve been having a long ongoing discussion on this site about the reach and responsibility of government: what is appropriate for the government to get involved in, and what isn’t. That discussion hinges on if you think of government as something that’s good or bad, with very little gray area. It’s been helping me crystallize my thinking- which comes down to the lack of responsibility of government employees and politicians for taking risks: there is almost zero personal risk involved in failure- which is the same reason our gilded CEO class has failed so many shareholders and stakeholders.

The idea I woke up with this morning is a pretty fundamental strategy decision that should apply to programs for “urban renewal” and “economic development” (which as practiced by government is almost farcical since they’re almost always “the answer” to solving the problems postmortem). How does one revive a dead neighborhood, city, urban core?

There are two basic approaches- the reactive attempt to “save” the community- to somehow regain the life that was sucked out, to revive the dead, to somehow shock the system to restart the heart, which has been the practice in Dayton.

Then there is the more proactive attempt- to make your community more desirable, accommodating, attractive and marketable by making a community- not focused on the physical assets but on providing service and support to people.

It comes down to what’s the most important asset a community has? It’s not bricks and mortar- it’s the social capital and community that’s sharing a vision on how to live. I believe that the best example of a community that gets it is Kettering- with its parks and recreation programs, the Rosewood arts center, revolutionary skate park, a bmx track, the Fraze pavilion and good schools. None of these is a “silver bullet”- but combined they form a strong antidote to American’s ungodly quest for more, newer, bigger and more homogenized.

With all the “plans” we’ve had for “Saving” Dayton- few have really identified serving our citizens as our prime solution to our problems. As we’re about to engage in yet another round of budget cuts, we still are talking about “saving” Dayton instead of setting bold new strategies to make it attractive to people again.

It’s clear as can be to me, after a few hours interviewing someone about their plan to remake a community that if we want to make things work, it all starts with our most basic raw materials in a community: our children. Because if they don’t have a future worth looking forward to, neither will your community, neighborhood, city etc. Create a realistic future of a life better than the one you have now- and make the kids have dreams- and yours may come true.

That’s how we save a city.