Annual Report: We need an accounting of what has happened in this town from year to year. We need a mission statement, achievable goals, budgets, expenditures, including salaries of all city employees. We need a compilation of births, deaths, and other demographic changes. How can we, the taxpayers, know whether we are making progress as a town or regressing? We have no metrics with which to measure whether we are on the correct path or treading water. Perhaps all of this exists somewhere in one, comprehensible volume. I moved back here four years ago and I haven’t seen it.

City Officials: As mentioned in the first paragraph, they need to be accessible, visible, accommodating, and receptive. They need to be candid about what they can and cannot do and be able to explain why or why not.

Of course if we lived in the days of the Greek city states we could all go to the Acropolis and practice pure democracy. That’s obviously impossible and the officials need to reach out to the citizenry. It’s not good enough to sit by the phone and wait for a citizen to call and report a pot hole or an obvious health hazard. We need proactive city officials not reactive ones to work in concert with proactive citizens. I volunteer to be a proactive citizen.

Code Enforcement: On the face of it, woefully inadequate. If anyone thinks the town looks good, they need to make an appointment with Dr. Lu. (Does the entire town look shop worn? Of course not.)

Unfortunately, the major gateways into Bradford are sprinkled with blighted properties. And while we are on the subject of blighted properties, I took a 20 minute ride around the town on Saturday and here are a few more among many:

Store Fronts - Do we know who owns the former Ash Shoe store? How have they been allowed to leave that front looking that way for this long? Wouldn’t the duct taped broken window be considered a safety issue? If one is interested in selling this building, why would they think it looks appealing to a prospective owner? Or perhaps renting or selling it is not the top priority. Could it be more lucrative this way as a tax benefit?

And then one more prize is 429 E. Main next to the Ferndock Wood store.

Where is the code enforcement officer? In addition to being unsightly to the extreme, this has to be a fire hazard. Quite frankly - it’s a dump.

We need some sort of regulation which mandates windows must be covered, preferably with some sort of mural of Bradford or the area. High school project? At least the store front next to the theater has brown paper covering. Not attractive, but we don’t all have to see what might be a potential mess in side. What’s that saying, "a rising tide raises all boats"? Empty store fronts should look as attractive as occupied ones.

Although I know the name of the code/health enforcement officer, I don’t know him personally and, therefore, I will not impugn his competency.

Perhaps it is the weight of the bureaucracy which prevents him from achieving more tangible results. If that’s the case, what can we do to cut some of the layers of red tape? I don’t have the answer but am willing to work toward it. Let me offer one suggestion:

Health Officer: We need to change the qualifications and scope of this official. This person must have medical or veterinarian background and be empowered to shut down a business establishment or condemn properties which are unsanitary. We have enough physicians in this town that they could do this collateral job on a rotating, pro-bono basis. At most, if properly orchestrated, we are talking a few hours a month. Alternatively,

We could have a part time, paying position for one of the area veterinarians.  In fact, they may be even better at determining risks associated with vermin and pestilence. Failing these two possibilities, why not a nurse practitioner, physician assistance, or RN? Let’s give some credibility to the position. Of course, everyone who is cited during these round robin tours will be given appropriate notoriety in The Bradford Era.

And there is one other potential resource in the area of unacceptable health conditions affecting residents of blighted properties: the VNA and Community Nurses organizations. I personally know nurses and therapists who have waded through these houses to treat patients. In the interest of the entire community, should they not be required to report obviously unsanitary conditions? If not, why not?

I am certain there are multiple steps which have to be taken when trying to clean up blight. But when it comes to this town, it seems extraordinarily difficult to make progress. There was an in-depth article in the Era a couple of years ago and by the time I finished reading it, my head was spinning.

Just last week (Era 9/26/07) in reading about the FOE building impending demolition, the Sixth Ward school issue remerged. I thought that had been resolved. Why had it taken 20 years to demolish this eyesore (and I have fond memories of it - it was my grade school)? We have all read about the Sullivan Road property - 20 years to get resolved? Think about this in another way - that’s a generation!! Something is wrong. My question is how do we streamline the process?

I’ve noticed there are many groups all working to improve Bradford: Elm St. Project, Tuna Valley Trail Assoc., Downtown Strategy and Regional Business Committee, Chamber of Commerce, Main St. Manager, HARB, OECD, Bradford Mall Merchants Assoc., E. Main Street Business (Alliance?). And I suppose others. Is there a synopsis of each association’s mission and functions in one document? Is there active communication between and among the groups? Is there understandable overlap but also unnecessary duplication? What authority do groups have to implement change?

A pet peeve of mine. This also goes to "making a first good impression".

We all remember Anthony’s Restaurant (Caesar’s Cove). It’s been closed for years. Yet, there stands the sign - well, part of the sign. It’s a sign to nowhere, to nothing. There is another one next to Denise’s Sharper Image, East Main Street, by Edmunds Cheve and Russell Blvd. It’s a sign frame with nothing in it. And then there is the Bradford Laundry sign on Langmaid Lane. It’s an unsightly mess of broken glass. Potentially dangerous if some young kids decided to have some fun with it. It’s up to the Laundry if they want a new sign; it’s not up to them to have a broken glass one, which is hazardous. And there are more.

This is a disgrace. The paint is peeling, the awning is ripped, and the windows are filthy. It’s not open on weekends, it’s off the beaten track (I know it’s in the old Herbig Bakery, but so what if it’s off the beaten track). We should pursue a much more accessible location and a wall for the Herbig Bakery sign.

I respect the dangers and demands of firefighters but it does not give them a pass on maintaining the station. Members of the Sylvester family were firefighters and they are not looking down favorably on the condition of the Station and, specifically the doors. Similar to Landmark, they are peeling and need painting - particularly the Corydon Street side. This presents a negative image for a city department. Is it that the employees don’t have time to scrape and paint? I’ll wager that their contract doesn’t allow it. Who is responsible for the upkeep?

What does it take for them to maintain their rail bed of excessively high grass in the summer and to paint their bridges, particularly the one at the Forman Street ramp? An Act of Congress, probably. But they contribute some zits to the overall complexion of the town.

Is there an ordinance on the number of yard/garage sales you can have during the year? Should you be required to get a permit from City Hall and sign a conditions statement? For the past 2 weeks, there has been a huge yard sale at 179 Jackson Ave (high side). They don’t even bother to take items in at night. They just cover it with blue tarp. They’re not just cleaning out the cellar; they’re running a business.

Do we have something on this order which we could use to reward business owners and landlords who have made significant improvements to their property during the course of the year? How do we challenge them with an incentive? I’ve always like the novel approach of : if you have significantly improved your property during the tax year, we lower your rate. On the other hand, if you have allowed your property to manifestly deteriorate, you receive a tax increase. I know it would encourage some to work harder.

What sort of recognition is there for those who have valiantly tried to maintain a business, but have been caught up in the changing times and are forced to close the doors? Jack Shatara comes to mind. I don’t know him personally but after 45 years of opening that wonderful store every day, next month he will close it forever. So is that it as far as the town is concerned? Why not some sort of recognition presented by the Mayor, and written up in The Era? I seem to recall a very nice piece when Gene DeFrank closed the shoe repair shop. Perhaps we could standardize it.

The refurbished City Hall looks beautiful. Is there any chance we can have the equally beautiful clock tell the same time on all four sides? Once again - not much in the scheme of the big picture. But you add this to the list of above and much more to come and you begin to see a pattern - and not a good one.

"The errant shopping cart capital of the country." Probably not the slogan you want for your town. But we have all seen them. A popular dumping ground is at the Choice Mini Mart across from Family Video. Why, I even have a photo of one parked in front of my house on Jackson Ave. That’s quite a push either up Davis or Kennedy. But they are undaunted in their efforts.

Now I take a little different approach on who is ultimately responsible for this daily theft that goes on. Obviously, the people taking the carts are pushing around stolen property and certainly the police have a responsibility to recognize that and stop them. I’ll bet if we look on their blotter, we won’t find too many entries. Ultimately, it is the store’s responsibility - mainly, Tops, Parkview, and Shop and Save. They can stop this entire thievery by implementing what other major supermarkets (Giant, Safeway, and Farm Fresh, to name a few) do. They have a pipe barrier in front of the store with openings for people but not carts. There is a special pickup lane next to the barriers for you to drive up to and collect your bags. If you don’t have a car, then the ATA stops in front of these stores. Live close enough to the store to walk? Then buy an inexpensive 2-wheel grocery cart or have someone help you carry the bags.

Wal-Mart:

We heard much at the last strategy meeting about the impact of Wal-Mart on the community. I moved back to Bradford from a small town (Littleton) in northern New Hampshire. It bordered Vermont much the same way Bradford borders NY. Vermont had a 7% sales tax; NH had none and, consequently, a large number of VT cars at Wal-Mart. Same situation we see here in Bradford with many NY cars.

Littleton Main Street businesses insisted and won the decision to mandate Wal-Mart to put up a large sign at the exit to the main road which marketed downtown Littleton. I don’t remember the exact wording but along the lines of: "Before you go home, please visit historic downtown Littleton for more shops and restaurants". Why not a similar sign at our Wal-Mart, and in fact, list some of the downtown features: Tin Ceiling, Brausers, Grocery Stretcher , Coffee Shop, Mercantile, etc.?

I would assume that there are plenty of organizations which need volunteers, e.g. Friendship Table, Meals on Wheels, BRMC, etc. So who might the "etc" be? Is there a ‘clearing house’ of volunteer needs? Is this in one central location? If not, wouldn’t it be sensible to have a central registry?

Prior to known events i.e. Zippo Swap Days, Pitt Homecoming, Italian Festival, etc., Why not a citywide clean up/pick up day prior to the event. Perhaps we could have bright colored tee shirts for the volunteers.

In the spirit of pick up/clean up, who is responsible for collecting the junk on the sidewalk after an eviction? (Saw such a mess on Saturday on East Main). Obviously, those being evicted have probably melted into the scenery and can’t do it. Does the city pick it up? What’s the landlord’s responsibility?

Let me borrow another feature which was very successful in Littleton, NH. Once a year, the town contracted a specialized Hazardous Waste Material company to come to town and collect the enormous amounts of dangerous, poisonous, flammable, explosive (you get the picture) material which we all have stored in our garages and cellars. We are told not to put them in the trash by Public Works, but I suspect most of it ends up at landfills.

Would not such a program benefit Bradford? We could get some PR mileage out of it also.

I have spoken previously about the whole notion of the townships being separate from the city, and he explained the long, drawn out process to have that changed. I probably don’t have enough time on this planet to slay that dragon. But not to recognize it as a deterrent to gaining more recognition from Harrisburg is to ignore reality. A small town of 9,000 with competing contiguous townships involved in internecine struggles I maintain is not looked upon as favorably as a small city of 30-35,000.

Over the course of a few months and on two of my many visits to Value Home Center, (incidentally, this is one of my favorite stores because of the politeness and helpfulness of the staff) I heard something very interesting. A customer asked for a particular item and one of the staff and one occasion, the Manager, said, I’m sorry we don’t carry that brand, "you’ll have to go to Bradford for that?!" I think the point is made.