Issues in Kankakee

Planning the City . . .

2012-01-24T21:13:00.001-08:00

K3 Planning Board "Thank You"

TO: Cliff Cross, Kankakee City Planner
Loretto Cowhig, Kankakee Planning Board President
Kankakee Planning Board Members
FROM: Ronda Claire (frequent audience member)
SUBJECT: Professionalism
DATE: Thursday, February 24, 2011

Hello,

Most of you may not know my name, but you have seen me frequently at Planning Board meetings.

I enjoy attending your meetings because they are so interesting. They are a snapshot of a court case and I love "law" TV programs.

I find it very interesting to listen to the "plaintiffs" and sometimes their attorneys, present their "case" while the "jury" listens. You do not talk to one another (at any disturbing length anyway), you listen to the presentation, you ask questions, you comment as such "I drove past the property," "I stopped at the property," "I read your description and have a couple of questions" and the questions are so intelligently worded!

I just feel the need to write, and should have long ago, about how professional each and every one of you is . . . are! The cases sometimes fascinate me, the comments and questions chosen to draw a conclusion, the wording to approve or deny the request, the packets that inform you of meeting items . . . (I also appreciate the packets|minutes on the City's website now. THANKS for that!)

I have much respect for most members of our City Council, but I would strongly recommend their attending a few of the Planning Board meetings to actually learn what they also should be doing.

Every one of your members clearly have been chosen after a lot of thought and research. I applaud all of you and am happy to see that you will all be with us for your new terms (well, not new now, but still).

It is dedication such as you all (from Cliff|City Planner to Loretto|Planning Board President to all members) that can make Kankakee an even better place and move forward as we all want it to.

I truly appreciate your effort and time and look forward to attending future meetings.

Thank you again for ALL you do!

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Unless otherwise accredited, ALL text, images and the like on this site c2011 by Ronda Claire

More important to the City than credited for . . .

2012-01-24T21:12:00.000-08:00

"Department Heads"

Just observing from the outside, it seems as though the heads of Kankakee's City departments have just about - or can have, I should say - just about the nastiest jobs in the City. And before I hear about "but they have $$$ salaries and City cars and benefits . . . " let me tell you from what I have observed - because I do pay attention - the work that most of them do on a daily basis, hell just putting up with the "general public" (including me) they earn every penny they are paid and then some.

O and by the way to those of you who wish to think so - you are wrong! this is about all of them, not one or two or three in particular.

What started this particular rant is an e-mail I sent, a note regarding a violation. As I wrote it I thought, "should I bother or not? Am I a tattletale or is this ethics?" I never know whether to say something or shut up and as a result I choose to say and then end up sending too much e-mail. (At least it can be deleted :-) unlike being caught by a phone call or tagged at a meeting!)

Seriously though, I got to thinking about how many e-mails (and phone calls and being nailed at meetings) and such these people have to put up with on a daily basis. How many naggers (I hope I am not one) who are on the phone or in the e-mail box daily - or several times daily - with petty crap like "so and so doesn't have curtains up" or "this house has curtains but didn't before and no one lives there" and "that car has been parked at the neighbor's house for three days and it's from out of state . . ." (well, folks do have company now and again ??!)

And I got to thinking, aside from how much e-mail actually gets to these people and how many answered e-mails are delivered in response, between meetings, dealing with staff, dealing with people who walk in with legitimate concerns, dealing with people who are in the wrong department and refuse to believe they are, working with the budget, filing reports . . . I am guessing at most of this but I wonder how close I am coming to the truth.

And then there are the comments in the local daily about how Code is so unfair and chooses who and what business to hassle and pick on. And how the City cars are so abused and need to be parked. And how this department head and that department head "need to go!" because (OMg!) they are actually doing their job and only asking the folks who reside here to comply with the rules.

Ah, but there is the problem: what it really comes down to is the "parents" who have been maybe a bit too lenient here and there are getting a little tougher with the "teens" and now they are "laying down the law" so to speak. Going to the "if you are going to live in my house you're going to follow my rules" theory.

HA! That's it, isn't it?! THAT's why the "children" are rebelling, mouthing off outloud (when you represent the City but publicly work against it w/o shame), in the paper behind "corrupt" and "whistleblower" screen names, and call Speak Out and vent. Nothing wrong with anonymity for the most part, but if you want to smack these people, why not have the . . . well anyway, say something to them in person?

I can only imagine how tiresome it must be, at times, day after day getting the same complaints, answering the same questions (though the crafty ones will reword them like those being asked cannot tell that), looking up the same ordinances and directing the questioners to them . . .even for $70,000 a year I am not sure I would be willing to put up with that stress. Reading the comments in the daily and not responding as I would love to is enough stress for me :-)

I would expect that each of these people, at one time or another, has thought "what did I let myself in for? why on earth am I in this job?" which actually probably every American worker has thought as well. But let me tell you this, I, for one truly appreciate the work and effort and extra hours when necessary that you all put in. And if I am accused of "kissing . . ." so be it. I am not. I want nothing from these people (except maybe they read this post) I just want to express some long overdue appreciation for a "job well done!" and please keep at it no matter how unappreciated "the kids" make you feel.

You know there are those of us out here (picked on or not, lol) who do appreciate your efforts and hope you continue what you are doing for a long time to come! Said outloud or not, "the City needs you!" So, hang in there!

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Unless otherwise accredited, ALL text, images and the like on this site c2011 by Ronda Claire

"Why we payin' him?" well . . .

2012-01-24T21:09:00.001-08:00

The City Planner

During Thursday's Kankakee Mayoral debate, candidate Robert Ellington-Snipes made several comments about Kankakee's City Planner.

One was in "answer" to a question as to whether Code Enforcement is too tough, or not tough enough:

"I cannot understand the economics, why we payin' him?"

-- ummm . . . because he works his ass off for us and *earns* it;

-- because he is on the phone, sending e-mail and faxing information to and from Kankakee regarding Planning and Zoning issues;

-- because he speaks with people sometimes working out their issues without them having to attend the Planning meetings; and sometimes after 9 o'clock at night because, if you don't know, Georgia is one hour ahead of us on Eastern time;

-- because he writes the meeting agenda and some of the information that goes into the meeting packets, then gets a packet to each of up to 13 board members;

-- because he spends time on GIS to get accurate photos of properties to be discussed, and gets that into the packets;

-- because he flies up here for the meetings, at his own expense, then goes back to work another full day at his full-time job;

-- because he takes responsibility for the Legal notices in the Journal that are respective to his position as City Planner;

-- because he writes ordinances, and informational packets distributed to the City Council so that items on the agenda can be brought before the Council for approval or not;

-- because he attends the Planning meetings, mostly in person, sometimes by phone, takes roll, tallies the votes on issues, and compiles follow up information;

-- because at times, he attends City Council meetings on Planning issues;

-- because he knows the Planning and Code issues inside out and I've heard him quote chapter and verse without so much as looking at the written information in front of him.

THAT is "WHY WE PAYIN' HIM"!

I've been to the Planning meetings so often that at the last one two people asked if I was part of the Board. Where were you?

And my big secret knowing all this? I ATTEND THE MEETINGS. You don't! If you did, you wouldn't ask "why we payin' him?"

I think for what the City pays him, with NO BENEFITS, he's doing one HELL of a job. Kankakee is lucky to have him and we are fortunate that Duluth allows him to work part-time for us.

Not to mention that he has to have a respect for this City that those of us who live here should have, to go through what he does, pay his own expenses to get here, and get no benefits to work part-time for us.

If you want respect, you need to earn respect. And "the City Planner" is still one of the people who is continuing to help move this City forward. Even from Georgia. Can many of you who are here full-time say the same thing?

(Original blog date: Monday, March 23, 2009)

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Unless otherwise accredited, ALL text, images and the like on this site c2011 by Ronda Claire

to the City of Kankakee

2012-01-24T10:17:00.001-08:00

"Department Heads"

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Issues in Kankakee

Planning the City . . .