Oh noes!! RAID writes a letter...

Looking at the calendar and I realize that it has been some time since I last had to offer something up on my favorite community group known as RAID. There's been some back and forth discussion at the KDMiner's web-site on the subject of... "who died and made RAID King of Kingman". Even one of the reporters for said publication wrote a column (and a blog post) defending RAID's good name.

Well a newly released letter to editor appeared a couple of days ago... and I found it worth retorting to... just for old times sake. The letter to the editor was authored by former city council candidate Harley Pettit. In keeping with my own self imposed rules... the following retort is not a personal attack in any way shape or form. It is merely a disagreement... and couple that with my sense of sarcasm... I can see how others may infer that I am picking on a RAID member in a personal way, but I tell you now that the following is NOT personal... it is just business. (Besides, the times I spent with Mr. Pettit on the campaign trail I came to respect the person known as Harley Pettit... yet I just found myself in disagreement at times)

Here goes...

Letter: Get your facts straight on RAID

Sunday, June 01, 2008

You just don't seem to get it, do you? RAID has nothing to do with detouring development. RAID deals with zoning issues; what fits, what doesn't.

Actually I do think I get it and have got it all along... I just can't seem to remember who or what gave RAID the authority to decide what fits and what doesn't. I won't speak for the rest of the community, but RAID's anti-tattoo parlor stance is well understood. In fact, it is comical at this point.

In the case of Short/Bowers Investments, their request doesn't fit. Even though the General Plan designates the area as industrial, the fact is that the Airway Avenue underpass was not in place when the plan was voted on.

I think it was Johnny Cochrane that first used the 'it doesn't fit' routine and no doubt that it worked out well for his client... but who are you kidding here??

My question is what does a newer underpass (built after the initial city General Plan was voted on) have to do with the General Plan?? I wonder if this RAID member thinks that perhaps the General Plan needs to be changed?? If so... wouldn't that be grand irony given the fact that RAID used the "people voted on the General Plan" as a reason to defeat a different land use designation on community owned property.

My... how those goalposts move around.

Now there is more access and several housing developments in that area. It simply doesn't fit to change the existing zoning from residential to anything else.

So let it be written... so let it be done. RAID hath spoken.

Also, remember that there is two miles of commercial frontage on Bank Street about a mile away. As far as industrial needs, the airport is the industrial corridor. Who wants a truck repair shop in their neighborhood? There are also inherent dangers with industries such as hazardous spills, fires with toxic smoke, etc.

Wow, Mr. Pettit... you are right. What were we thinking when we passed the General Plan?? Put the hazardous spilling industries on Bank Street. There are no homes around there or anything.

As far as shopping centers, RAID has never spoke against them. The fact is these companies look at demographics such as population and income, for example, and Kingman just comes up short. The city is constantly seeking companies to do business here, but it's hard to ask them to invest millions for returns in the thousands.

Again, another funny. Mr. Pettit spoke out against more shopping centers a little over a year ago. He said that Kingman did not need 75 more Wal-Marts or something like that. He also stated that retail giants like Target wouldn't be coming to places like Mohave County.

Anyway, Mr. Kielsmeier, you may need RAID's help when someone wants to put a slaughterhouse in your neighborhood next door to your house.

I'd be the last to argue with a recent column by a reporter at the Miner, but if I could ask him one question it might be if the above is not-not a scare tactic (or something along those lines).

I bet Mr. Kielsmeier will have no problem asking for RAID's help... only after he kisses the ring first of course... if someone wants to put in a slaughterhouse right in the neighborhood. Wake us up when that happens. I mean come on... we've seen how great RAID has been in thwarting all the many hundreds (if not thousands) of tattoo parlors that were scheduled to pop up all around Kingman, no doubt that RAID can be useful when 'slaughterhouses attack' this great community.

At the May 5 City Council meeting, it was Tom Spear who challenged Ordinance No. 1615 for a restaurant on Bank Street.

Now who's holding up development?

Harley Pettit

That is funny (again). Once upon a time, former councilman Tom Spear voted to change the land use designation on the General Plan. A move that could have helped led to a sale of Kingman resident owned property (and an influx of capital to the city treasury), which would have no doubt led to development, and then to a very real possibility of a new area for commerce to take place (somewhere else than Stockton Hill Road for instance).

RAID challenged councilman Spear's (and the majority of the rest of the council's) decision via referendum. RAID used propaganda such as using the resident owned property for a drainage ditch, to use the property as Kingman's version of Central Park, and needed senior citizen centers. All of course is baloney and forgotten now.

Now Mr. Spear's challenge to the property owner on Bank Street was likely politically motivated (although I can't say for certain). I'm only guessing, but with less than one month to go in his term of service to Kingman, Mr. Spear gummed up the works against a property owner that called Mr. Spear and the rest of the council a bunch of monkey's (among other disagreements over the past few years).

Last night, the newly elected council voted to approve the zoning change request... just one month after Mr. Spear challenged the zoning request. Wow... one month... for one restaurant. Meanwhile... thanks in part to RAID... the community waits for a solution to Stockton Hill traffic, the creation of commercial property fronting the Interstate, alternative access routes through the city (via the underutilized Interstate that splits this city), and a woeful economy.

But we will all rest easy tonight because we all know that RAID is protecting us from tattoo parlors and slaughterhouses. Carry on I say, carry on!!