Who Is the Aesthete at HPD?

 

Factors contributing to the city's recent very concerning budgetary woes can be seen all over town and on the pages of HUDseen and Gossips of Rivertown, though perhaps nowhere as glaring as on and near the six new $10,0000 parking kiosks which appeared outside city parking lots a few months ago.  The numerous issues with the kiosk project, particularly the amount of time and money being spent on the kiosks, is so stark and concerning that it requires attention.  Serious attention. These concerns do not seem to be shared by any of the members of the Hudson Common Council, but they certainly should be.  The city is running short on funds, and the parking kiosks -- meant to increase revenue -- are part of the problem, not the solution.  The kiosks also serve as a symbol of how generally dysfunctional things have gotten at our City Hall.  Take the kiosk along the sidewalk for the city parking lot located at 313 Warren.

I'm fairly certain that the painted circle on the pavement behind that kiosk indicates where a sign on a sign pole for the kiosk is -- or was -- supposed to be installed.  In the meantime, it is blue painter's tape and fluorescent orange tape securing plastic laminated "signs" to the few UP AND RUNNING kiosks!  The city's parking kiosk implementation project is happening!

Actually, while the "sign" near the bottom (and very near the dog pee stains) indicates that this kiosk is operating, according to the message on the kiosk's screen that I read on Wednesday afternoon, it was "not in service."  A quick call to the Parking Bureau to inform them of this problem got this response:  "We know.  We've made the call, and someone is going to be fixing it tomorrow." 

Notice the water-stained paper inside the
 plastic laminate.  Or is that dog urine?

Yesterday afternoon, up the street in the parking lot closest to 4th Street, I noticed two plastic laminated "signs" flapping around in the wind near the front of the lot, one attached to the metal badge on an old wooden light pole and the other to a metal pole displaying a NO PARKING sign. (Is that cognitive dissonance in action?)  Each sign was "secured" with just one disposable plastic zip tie!  (It's a good thing that sign pole came with so many holes already in it!  And had it not been for the wind and the single zip ties, I likely would not have noticed the "signs.")  As you can imagine, it was pretty difficult to read the "signs," even impossible most of the time.  Of course, anyone wanting to read them would have to walk up close to them, likely having to contend with two parked vehicles.  Strangely, or perhaps not, there were no similarly poorly posted "signs" toward the back of the lot, perhaps because there was nothing convenient to attach a "sign" to.  

You have to wonder who the heck did this and whose idea it was, don't you? You can't help thinking that they have no idea what they are doing, can you? You have to think that they are not completely focusing their attention on the ambitious kiosk project, don't you? You can't help but assume that the person or persons behind the "signs" and the zip ties had no idea how windy it has been lately and is forecast to continue to be, can you? You have to ask: Wind or no wind, they only used one zip tie for 8x11 paper signs covered in plastic? Wait one minute! Has former chairperson of the Parking Study Committee, Jen Belton, resumed her involvement with the kiosk project?!

P as in PATHETIC

Also yesterday, there were none of these "signs" to found flapping in the wind in the 313 Warren parking lot, but the kiosk for that lot was in service.  Progeress!

Indications of desperation, amateurism, rushed and poorly planned (or unplanned) work, bad ideas and wa$te are popping up all over the place with the kiosk program that is now in the hands of a HPD Captain who has been assuming the roles of Acting Police Chief and Acting Police Commissioner of late.  (I give you permission to laugh as much as you like.)  It must be made clear: the new Parking Bureau, now located at the police station on Union Street, was not created to implement the kiosk program.  The new bureau isn't really new; it still primarily handles the collection of parking ticket fines and it still has just one employee. 

Perfect location, great execution! 
5 STARS, NOT JUST ONE!

Consider this: the person or persons who have been posting "signs" in city parking lots and on the kiosks -- either using disposable 15-cent zip ties (just one per "sign," please, we have to conserve funds!) or tape -- just might be a uniformed police officer.   The question is, when is Captain/Chief/Commissioner David Miller going to announce to the Common Council what his plans are to have DPW install actual permanent metal signs in the ground in the parking lots and near the five UP & RUNNING parking kiosks that do not accept paper money?  (Will the signs make that unfortunate fact clear to all people parking in lots?)  And will this happen this year?  How is anyone to know that the purchase and installation of actual signs to be read by people hoping to pay for parking (and not be ticketed) -- signs that don't require tape or zip ties and are not made of plastic -- are still part of HPD's parking kiosk implementation project, if it ever was?  No one knows but HPD and perhaps the Parking Bureau because no one on the Common Council asks David Miller what the heck is going on with the parking kiosk program.  It is as if the council doesn't care what HPD does with taxpayer money, who is involved with the kiosks, who is making the decisions, what the schedule is (if there even is one) to get this all completed properly, what type and amount of painter's tape or zip ties they use for "signs," or how the kiosk project is generally being implemented.  It is as if every single Common Council member is fine with HPD (including the Acting Chief and the actual Chief, that is if she ever returns to duty) spending less time on actual law enforcement and keeping our streets safe and more time on figuring out how the six $10,000 kiosks that don't accept paper money will be best put to use and serve the taxpayers of Hudson who paid $140,000 for 16 of them.

Something is wrong at City Hall, and no one should be surprised that the City Treasurer (and CFO) is having serious difficulty balancing our checking account.  It seems like the current administration (including the council) is driving the wrong way down a one way city street, headed for the truck route.  Blindly, and blabbering the whole way, with Kamal Johnson behind the wheel tapping on his phone.  A scenario like that typically doesn't end well.  

Once again, I give you permission to laugh as much as you need to keep from crying!

A SIGN OF THINGS TO COME:
Outside the Union Street lot, adjacent to the 
UP & RUNNING $10,000 parking kiosk.