For everyone that is interested, the Chief of Police will provide an update on the progress of our 287g agreement with the ICE folks Monday night. I don’t know what he’s going to say but I hope that we have had a response from ICE to our request for participation in the program. If you are interested, the meeting starts at 5:30 and he is early on the agenda – probaly about 5:45 or so.
I also believe that we are due a report from the zoning people at the first meeting in June on the progress of our proactive zoning efforts. As reported in the WaPo, there have been 300-odd violations found to date and more are sure to come. There are two schools of thought about what our response to this should be. The first is that we should simply do a “seasonal surge” to help clean up the City and the second is we need more people to enforce the law. The surge idea would make use of existing resources and is cheaper. I am leaning towards hiring another zoning inspector. Yes, it may not be the most fiscally conservative path as it will make the City spend more of your money but, in my view, saving money while we let our neighborhoods decend into blight is no savings at all. All the laws in the world do no good if nobody enforces them. We’ll look at different ways to pay for it, maybe there are other open positions that we can re-task but I think I’m prepared to spend the money. If you’re mad at me because of it, I’m open for suggestions.
May 19, 2007 at 1:10 pm
Not sure if this is the appropriate thread, but I am curious if I am the only one that has noticed the GTS Shopping center? Is this meance being addressed? It sickens me to drive by it which I have to do daily. Food is being sold out of campers, the parking lot is heavily congested with both pedestrian and vehicular traffic. There is a tremendous amount of loitering, trash, children wondering around Grant Ave. while parents are talking or waiting in line for the pay phones. This is a disgrace to the City’s vision not to mention a terrible eyesore. I am fearful that if not addressed sooner than later there will be an increase in vehicular/pedistrian collisions. Just the other the day the parking lot was being used as a soccer field…it looks painstakingly like a festival of sorts at any given time. Will anything be done to clean up this mess?
May 19, 2007 at 9:46 pm
dear concerned,
Why is this such a problem for you? There isn’t food being sold out of campers. These are legal businesses with the appropriate city licenses. The parking lot being congested with vehicular and pedestrian traffic should be a good problem. Dosen’t this mean lots of money being spent at the businesses in the center which in turn means tax revenue for the city. Aren’t pay phones at this location so they can be used? I will agree, childrn shouldn’t be running in the street and the trash should be picked up. But the front of the lot is not trashed. I think I see through your real motive here. I believe your problem here is there are thriving hispanic businesses here and that is not good for your agenda of making sure the hispanics are pushed out of the city.
May 19, 2007 at 10:22 pm
Concerned, I also want to clarify, I am not a liberal who supports amnesty for illegal aliens. I am for sending them back where they came from. I will never supprt a presidential candidate that supports amnesty. But your post just sounds so stupid. I mean really, go back and read it. Oh my god, we actually have people shopping at city businesses. Just say it, you don’t want people spending money at hispanic owned businesses. Right?
May 20, 2007 at 7:58 am
The post was not an attack on any certain culture. You put that out there! I could care less whether you are a liberal or not…this has nothing to do with illegal aliens. It has everything to do with the eyesore that this shopping center has become. My guess is you do not have to get through the congestion at 4 or 5 in the evening and dodge children playing on the side of a busy 4 lane narrow highway. The shopping center needs to be cleaned up. New signage, parking spaces clearly defined maybe move the payphones away from the street so children/pedestrians are so removed from the traffic. Maybe strictly enforce loitering. Futhermore, I never said anything about people shopping at hispanic businesses. Good, great, revenue for the City! I am all for it! I am not all for the disgrace that shopping center has become and as a taxpaying city resident I do believe I have a right to address it! Get over yourself citizensam…you probably don’t even come on the “other side of the tracks.” It is a tragedy waiting to happen. One day venture out from behind your computer and take a look and pick up some trash for the good of the city.
May 20, 2007 at 5:55 pm
FYI – Manassas City Council Meeting – 5-21-2007
Special meeting starts at 5:30 P.M. in City Hall second floor
conference room – two items of general interest:
1) Progress Report on Neighborhood Services, Proactive Property
Code Enforcement and Neighborhood Policing as requested
by the City Council. (Councilman Harrover has been the point
person on this.) – Possible the shopping center in question may
come up in the discussion.
2)Consideration of a resolution to convene a special performance
evaluation session of Comcast Cablevision for performance
of its Manassas City franchise. (Councilman Way has taken
leadership with this issue).
At 7:30 the Council will move to the chambers to hold a public
hearing on rezoning the area slated to hold the new VRE parking
structure in Old Town.
These are public meetings.
May 20, 2007 at 6:40 pm
I ride through there many times a day during my work, and I have NEVER seen anyone playing in the street. Why do you care if they are playing soccer in the parking lot? I agree the center does look bad, but not any worse than Manassas Shopping Center. It was built in the 1960 or 70’s, what do you want? By the way I do come out from behind the computer and I help save people’s lives very day. How many times have you went out and picked up trash? Loitering, they are only loitering if the owner does not wich tem to be there. Telephones next to the street, call the phone company, that is not the fault of the people using the phones, in fact it is more the fault of the City than anyone because they widened the road without taking that into consideration. Parking spaces clearly defined, maybe if you stopped in and took a look, THEY ARE DEFINED, clearly! New signage, what new signage are you talking about because just about every shopping center in Manassas is missin some sort of signage such as fire lane, handicap or other signs. Why don’t you get off the GTS Center and take a look around at the other shopping centers. Some are very nice and others need as much work as this one.
May 20, 2007 at 7:37 pm
What is your problem? I was posing a question about that shopping center…do you just enjoy controversey? This is not about your saving lives…actually this is not about you at all…this is about my concerns, and those concerns are being addressed to Mr. Harrover…this is his blog site eh? I won’t get off the GTS Center mark my word!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And if others need as much work as this one maybe you should adopt a shopping center and clean it up before I start on that one too….
May 20, 2007 at 9:48 pm
concerned, are we angry or what?! It is very obvious what your agenda is. Why don’t you just put a bumper sticker on your car that reads “NO HISPANICS”. I tell you what, you adopt the GTS center and I will adopt the Manassas Shopping Center, Deal?
May 21, 2007 at 4:00 pm
I don’t have an agenda trust me. I am not targeting the hispanic community either…if I were it certainly would not be about the conditions of the GTS shopping center as there are much bigger issues for the City to contend with. It appears we have a deal…
May 21, 2007 at 4:04 pm
Big Dog thanks for the info, unfortunately I have adopted the GTS shopping center and will be picking up trash. All joking aside I do have a committment but plan to get as involved with this issue as much as possible.
May 30, 2007 at 5:25 pm
At times the shopping center can be an eye sore. There has also been a number of high profile crimes that have taken place on the grounds of the center. There is nothing wrong with pointing out the center could use a makeover.