James Mehaffie
Village Administrator
Village of Bluffton

Dear Mr. Mehaffie:

I have been to your office and I have talked to you on the phone. I am afraid that I have not communicated effectively. I often have difficulty in face to face conversations. I do not know if I am ill prepared or that it just takes too much time for me to consider the other's response.

I intend to share this letter publicly because this is a matter of public safety. I am going to assume that I am correct that there is less than ten feet between the painted lines and fire hydrant in front of the Post Office on Main Street.

The reason I am going to assume this is because if a representative of the Village was not sure, someone would have already measured the distance and would have informed me of my error. Therefore, there are two questions I would like answered. The first is, when is the problem going to be corrected? The second is who is responsible?

The answer to the first question so far appears to be never. You have told me that you talked with the solicitor about changing local law. This is misdirection. The solicitor should know that state law supersedes local. You would need to change state law and I believe that is unlikely. You said you talked to the fire chief and the chief told you that the fire department had keys and could move any vehicle in the way.

The hydrant is in front of the Post Office. How much mail will burn while the vehicle is being moved? Is the chief willing to state publicly that he wishes to change the law regarding the space?

The second question is about just how serious is this mistake. If a junior engineer at the firm that drew up the plans made the error, they should be reprimanded. However if it is a Senior or high level village administration (zoning, council, for example) then serious discussion regarding dismissal should follow.

I believe this because this person knowingly disregarded a law regarding public safety for an extra parking space in front of a Post Office which is immediately adjacent to a parking lot. This person should have no place in government. They certainly do not serve the best interest of the public.

In the past when I picked a fight with "city hall", my character was attacked. I have had petty officials manipulate information to discredit my concerns. I have found that the simplest way to limit character assassination is state that I am willing to take any test to prove my veracity. I have asked officials and others before if they too, are willing to do so. The best test I have found is the polygraph.

Mr. Mehaffie, I hope I have expressed my position better in this letter. As stated I believe this is a matter of public safety and the public should be made aware of it. I do not know if there is any news interest in this or not. I am giving a copy of this to the editor of the Bluffton News and I am going to try to email (or submit electronically) to The Bluffton Icon.

This one other matter that may be related, I have been told that it is a Village project digging trenches out on South Main. Why does it extend pass the sign of Village limits and only on one side?

Kevin Wagner
503 S. Main St.