A Pre-Election Note from OHNO60

That would add a lot of vibrancy to the village.

Have you submitted this plan to Kings yet? Because it sounds like a smaller trailer might be easier and less expensive than adding real estate costs.

Why not adaptively convert the P.O. building into an indoor, year-round skating rink? King's could adaptively reuse some of the space for cold storage. We could also sponsor a youth hockey team or two and this could be their home arena.

DaveSchmidt said:

ml1 said:
maybe I'm being unfair, but why call the diagram a "web?" Why not a "schematic" or a "diagram" or a "matrix?" To me, "web" carries a negative (and frankly sinister) connotation.

In the movie, Boris Karloff will play the drawing.

steveweb said:

ml1 meant no offense.

I know you think I'm being unfair in assigning motivation to the ohno60 people. but I've talked to them, and I've read some of their emails, read their petitions and FB page, and I get a clear sense that they think the TC acts in a shadowy manner. they're entitled to their opinions. but personally, I don't think they're being fair.

maybe I'm naive and the ohno people are right. maybe the TC is out to pull a fast one on the people of Maplewood. I just don't see it.

author said:
There are a lot of possibilities for reuse for the old PO. It could be used as long term storage for Kings.
Fill it one time to the rafters with non perishable goods and eliminate deliveries directly to the store for a month at a time.

I somehow doubt that Kings would want to pay that rent for non revenue-generating space.

As it is now, delivery to the alley is not a straight line and a lot of trucks park on the avenue in the morning.

I wonder how many votes Lembrich gets today will be attributed to concern about a truck's turning radius.

Honest question for those who might actually know and not speculate, but which came first, the supermarket or the tractor-trailers?

Kings: 1936

Semi-trailers: 1914

ice said:
"No deliveries, no groceries. No groceries, no Kings."..... juist when you think it couldn't get any more ridiculous. JERRY WANTS TO TAKE AWAY YOUR GROCERY STORE!!!...I'm starting to feel really embarrassed for these OhNo60 folks. It's like watching someone go slowly insane.

insane like foxes.

(@ml1: No larger point intended. Just an irresistible impulse to bring a line back from the dead.)

I think something that is being overlooked in the "keep the village a village" issue is the Women's Club. Preserving it as The Woodland did a lot to "keep the village a village" when the possibility existed that the club would be turned into a medical building or Alzheimer's facility. And DeLuca and Ryan were very public about the township's efforts to acquire the building. Of course, not everyone agreed with that course of action. But IMHO it was certainly consistent with "keeping the village a village."

as I've written before, I find it very strange that many of the same people who suggest that the township should hold on to the PO, renovate it and rent it out don't seem to have cared too much what could have happened to the Women's Club. And arguably the Women's Club has been far more important to the history and charm of Maplewood village than the post office has been. And it is exactly what many of them want at the PO site -- a township owned community space that benefits many many Maplewoodians.

For me, it's been actions like the saving of the Women's Club that are the reasons I still support DeLuca and Ryan. Greg Lembrich seems like a good candidate and in another year maybe he'd have my vote. But I personally don't have any reason not to re-elect Jerry Ryan.

Kings is in negotiations with the developer and the mayor regarding the delivery situation. The town and the developer definitely dropped the ball on this - the act hat this came up at the 11th hour is ridiculous. But we cannot blame the MVA as they were told this is not an issue. At an MVA meeting a few months ago, when this question ws raised by members of OhNo60, the mayor stated that the trucks are no problem, that there was an agreement with Kings already in place. But as was determined subsequent, that was not so - there was no such agreement. Per Kings corporate, they cannot just have smaller trucks. These are not their trucks, rather they are vendors trucks on cyclical delivery routines. They also cannot guarantee delivery time.

The mayor thought this issue could be ignored, would just go away, and Kings would merely acquiesce. And in a public forum, the mayor stated something that was not true. So that is why, at this late date, we are still discussing trucks.

And that is why, among many other reasons, I will vote today for Greg Lembrich - time for new management and new ideas

the reason it is "at this late date" is because the township and the developer revised the plans again after public input.

dave23 said:

As it is now, delivery to the alley is not a straight line and a lot of trucks park on the avenue in the morning.

Thank you. I walked up MW Ave last week at around 7 am and there was a semi in front of Kings and one in the Ricalton lot. There were also two bakery trucks in Ricalton. Notably, there was not a truck in the alley.

Somehow, Kings has managed to remain open.

dave said:
Kings: 1936
Semi-trailers: 1914

Everybody knows that. I want to know when the term adaptive reuse came into wide use.

davidfrazer said:

dave23 said:

As it is now, delivery to the alley is not a straight line and a lot of trucks park on the avenue in the morning.

Thank you. I walked up MW Ave last week at around 7 am and there was a semi in front of Kings and one in the Ricalton lot. There were also two bakery trucks in Ricalton. Notably, there was not a truck in the alley.
Somehow, Kings has managed to remain open.

This^^^^

Kings deliveries is a non-issue.

can't we install a turn table in Maplewood Ave so that trucks can rotate 90 degrees and be perfectly aligned with the alley?

dave said:
Kings: 1936
Semi-trailers: 1914

There's been a Kings in that spot on MA since 1936?

I think that was when their first store in Summit opened.

IndaSechzer said:
Kings is in negotiations with the developer and the mayor regarding the delivery situation. The town and the developer definitely dropped the ball on this - the act hat this came up at the 11th hour is ridiculous. But we cannot blame the MVA as they were told this is not an issue. At an MVA meeting a few months ago, when this question ws raised by members of OhNo60, the mayor stated that the trucks are no problem, that there was an agreement with Kings already in place. But as was determined subsequent, that was not so - there was no such agreement. Per Kings corporate, they cannot just have smaller trucks. These are not their trucks, rather they are vendors trucks on cyclical delivery routines. They also cannot guarantee delivery time.
The mayor thought this issue could be ignored, would just go away, and Kings would merely acquiesce. And in a public forum, the mayor stated something that was not true. So that is why, at this late date, we are still discussing trucks.
And that is why, among many other reasons, I will vote today for Greg Lembrich - time for new management and new ideas

Sorry, but this isn't the 11th hour. Not even close.

The following was posted on Facebook by Daniel Goldstein a Maplewood Resident who, as those who know him will attest, is one of the most intelligent, and thoughtful people in Town as well as being an involved and civic minded citizen and who has been independent in his political views:

You know, I've been thinking a lot about this TC primary election on Tuesday and the one conclusion I keep coming to it this: there are a lot of people out there who seem to be using the Post Office issue as the key point in deciding which candidate(s) should get their vote.

And to be honest, I don't necessarily agree with the direction that the TC is taking there. Sure I respect the process, and sure there have been a lot of people pointing out that there has been ample opportunity for the opponents to stop it long before the 11th hour.

I agree. And at the same time I don't personally think there is anything wrong with the late attempts to change the direction. The opponents are rightfully voicing their opinions and should have every opportunity to do that until the very end - without being castigated for it.

Nevertheless, even if I don't agree with the direction, one thing is surely clear to me: Jerry Ryan is getting my vote. I haven't always agreed with Jerry on every issue. But I sure as heck respect him for the time he's put into the TC over the years, and he's done it in a manner that has put Maplewood first even at his own personal expense. Back in 2000/01 when all the fun was going on related to the first Reval, Jerry cast the deciding vote. He could have easily voted against it and it would have made a lot of people happy. But Jerry voted for it because he thought it was the right thing to do for the town (and it was) despite the fact that it resulted in his own taxes being raised very significantly. Jerry has always voted his conscience and as far as I am concerned, the Post Office is a pimple on an elephant's ass when it comes to looking at the big picture here. Jerry has been a stellar performed on the TC for a very long time. He is a walking encyclopedia of knowledge regarding our town and our town's government and he has consistently worked for the betterment of Maplewood.

So Jerry gets my vote. Without question.

Of course nothing posted here will change opinion of any one posting but I can hope that some who check out MOL but do not post (lurkers ?) may be influenced.

It has been stated twice, that I know of, the the problem with the Kings delivery trucks was created due to a revision in the plans for the proposed building. Not so. The revision called for a reduction in height.

The original original plan called for the building to be built to the edge of Ricalton Square. Add the proposed Patio for coffee etc and you are now competing with the trucks from Kings.

Simple , on the surface, solution would be to simply move the entire building about 20 feet to the right as you face it from Maplewood ave which would place everything in a doable location.

However that would impede on the parking lot between the new building and Village Coffee. This would probably mean the loss of about 12 parking spaces. Whether this is acceptable or not I don't know.

And of course placing the building closer to me makes it an easier target for my tennis ball fusilade.

You know if the building were slid over 20 feet they could just move those 12 parking spaces over to the Ricalton side right where the trucks need to maneuver...but that has an affect on other things, like reducing the nicer connection that has been made from the tunnel, increasing the height of the retail plinth, unless the parking were reduced further, etc.

Everyone thinks this site has simple solutions, but it's quite complex for such a small piece of land. And somehow it will all be worked out, with small compromises all around.

Since you raise the issue of the reveal in 2000 let's go there. Interestingly I just had a discussion with a friend about this and we decided not to raise it since it is sort of ancient history.

But here we are. You wrote that Jerry Ryan cast the deciding vote because he thought it was the right thing for the town even tho it meant his own taxes would get a large increase.

Well why don't you ask Jerry Ryan how long he waited after that deciding reveal vote was cast to run to the County Court to file an appeal on his own propertytaxes cause they were raised so high.

Vote for GREG LEMBRICH 5B

Solomon said:
The following was posted on Facebook by Daniel Goldstein a Maplewood Resident who, as those who know him will attest, is one of the most intelligent, and thoughtful people in Town as well as being an involved and civic minded citizen and who has been independent in his political views:


You know, I've been thinking a lot about this TC primary election on Tuesday and the one conclusion I keep coming to it this: there are a lot of people out there who seem to be using the Post Office issue as the key point in deciding which candidate(s) should get their vote.
And to be honest, I don't necessarily agree with the direction that the TC is taking there. Sure I respect the process, and sure there have been a lot of people pointing out that there has been ample opportunity for the opponents to stop it long before the 11th hour.
I agree. And at the same time I don't personally think there is anything wrong with the late attempts to change the direction. The opponents are rightfully voicing their opinions and should have every opportunity to do that until the very end - without being castigated for it.
Nevertheless, even if I don't agree with the direction, one thing is surely clear to me: Jerry Ryan is getting my vote. I haven't always agreed with Jerry on every issue. But I sure as heck respect him for the time he's put into the TC over the years, and he's done it in a manner that has put Maplewood first even at his own personal expense. Back in 2000/01 when all the fun was going on related to the first Reval, Jerry cast the deciding vote. He could have easily voted against it and it would have made a lot of people happy. But Jerry voted for it because he thought it was the right thing to do for the town (and it was) despite the fact that it resulted in his own taxes being raised very significantly. Jerry has always voted his conscience and as far as I am concerned, the Post Office is a pimple on an elephant's ass when it comes to looking at the big picture here. Jerry has been a stellar performed on the TC for a very long time. He is a walking encyclopedia of knowledge regarding our town and our town's government and he has consistently worked for the betterment of Maplewood.
So Jerry gets my vote. Without question.

Are you asking us because you don't know?

Well why don't you ask Jerry Ryan how long he waited after that deciding reveal vote was cast to run to the County Court to file an appeal on his own property taxes cause they were raised so high.

What is your point? As long as he availed of remedies available to all of us, why shouldn't he do this?

The reval was painful. It was also the right thing to do.

Personally, I would REALLY like to get rid of the 18-wheelers and have them use smaller trucks. I'm sure that they can do it, just as happens in many other urban areas. Why are all you "save the village" folks so in love with giant trucks? I would think you would welcome the chance to ban them.