Notes on First Ward Town Hall Meeting

Attendance was sparse but the issues were many at Monday's First Ward Town Hall Meeting. Council members Diane Toliver, Vera Greaves, Tracey Brown and Council President Bridget Rivers heard residents' concerns about development, dangerous intersections, a controversial bar, police handling of loitering and council bickering, among others.

As per guidelines for the town hall meetings, residents from any of the city's four wards could speak at any of the meetings.

Resident Alan Goldstein expressed concern about Mayor Adrian O. Mapp and council both hiring attorneys in a dispute over a nominee to the Plainfield Area Regional Sewerage Authority.

"I hate to see the either the mayor's office or the council spend money on this kind of bickering," he said.

The council approved spending up to $20,000 on legal representation, with the mayor presumably allocating a like amount. Goldstein also raised concerns about the Plainfield Municipal Utilities Authority and costs of a North Avenue building demolition, among other topics.

Rivers said the mayor "launched the suit," although the action sought is seeking a judge's opinion on the rights of the parties in a dispute, not initiating a lawsuit.

Resident Sherice Koonce asked Toliver about her vote in favor of a liquor license for a controversial Richmond Street bar. Toliver said it had been a go-go bar but was now a sports bar.

"It's supposed to be a decent kind of place," she said. "If the city did not want it, they should have rezoned it."

Councilwomen Diane Toliver, Vera Greaves, Bridget Rivers, Tracey Brown

Toliver said her vote was based on fairness. Rivers also supported granting the liquor license renewal and said she spoke to every nearby resident, hearing no objections. Goldstein said police had recommended denial and said the council could have held a hearing, but rejected it. Rivers said the hearing was only discussed in closed session and challenged Goldstein on how he knew about it. (Actually, the hearing was discussed in public but was rejected.).

Norman X. Johnson raised the issue of police telling African-American men to move off a certain First Ward corner and asserted that police do not make men of different ethnicities disperse in other parts of the city. He questioned whether there is a "phantom law" on loitering. or one that should be enforced citywide.

Reid said Johnson was correct, there is no loitering law, but there is a "failure to disperse" law. He said police respond to residents' calls about people even sitting on porches where they don't reside.

But in another turn at the microphone, Johnson said although he respects the job the Police Division does, "quality of life enforcement is not being done fairly in the city of Plainfield."

Several speakers talked about Monday's tragic collision at Arlington Avenue and West Ninth Street that resulted in the death of a 10-year-old girl and injuries to several others. (See separate post.)

Speakers disapproved of using "payment in lieu of taxes" deals to entice developers, but resident Maria Pellum contrasted the adversarial behavior of city leaders with that of officials in other towns who work together to attract investors.

"People say, did you see what happened at the last council meeting? We need the council to take the lead - do the homework."

Pellum said, "We're stuck because we focus too much on race."

She warned that many large companies are moving out of the area and tax abatements can be the "hook" to bring investment.

Pellum also saw the city's "Abbott district" status as a detriment. The school district receives about 80 percent of its revenues from the state and around 20 percent from taxpayers, based on poverty levels. She said investors are not going to come to a poor district.

Though only about a dozen residents attended, the meeting was recorded for broadcast on local cable channels. The Third Ward Town Hall Meeting is the last and is scheduled for Nov. 12 at Hubbard School.

--Bernice