Other Things

 Back in 2014 through 2016 I wrote a series of posts about “Helen’s House” which was built in 1900 by Leonard Volkenand. We turned it into a short term rental and market it through the AirBnB platform. It has been very successful being so close to the University of Dayton and we offer a unique experience because the house is not your typical Ikea furnished, grey wall, minimalistic AirBnB listing. The link is here. https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/13246834?federated_search_id=64134272-c9bd-461a-ab86-a3d0f5843328&source_impression_id=p3_1615434075_9wO3hKBYfMQIfkQ3

So if you need a place to stay while visiting Dayton, Ohio or live here, have family visiting and don’t want to tidy your place. This may be a good choice.

Back in December 2005  we bought an old farm bell. It had been sitting in my basement for 15 years. I finally put it to use last spring. I built this in the back yard.

When I rebuilt the bulk head I was smart enough to equip it for a future electric socket and line out to the yard. So there is an outdoor socket box attached to one of the legs. When we ring the bell, our friends can hear it 4 blocks (1/2 mile) away.

One of the joys of this place has been anticipating future needs years in advance. 

Other than this I got another room in the basement re plastered over winter and spent most of last year renovating my old residence that got trashed several years ago so that I can sell it this year. I will post pictures later this year of that renovation.

And .... I’m running for mayor again. 

 

Bad City Services Rant 1

I'm not one to complain. I am pretty tolerant of most things but the time has come to expose the City of Dayton's Building Inspection Department for their total lack of professionalism and their disrespect for the citizens of this city that contribute to their salaries. I have two stories to tell. This one happened today and is absolutely pathetic.

Helen's House had no water pressure. The problem was the service line BEFORE the water meter in the house. After all it was installed around 100 years go. In the old days this was the City's responsibility to fix but they changed codes years ago making the line under your property YOUR responsibility. I bring this up because it is what most people would complain about. My story has nothing to do with this issue. I accept responsibility for what is mine. So, we hired a local plumber. John's Plumbing Service a minority owned small business here in Dayton to replace the line. He has done an excellent job by the way. Here is what the yard looked like yesterday.

Now this is not an inexpensive job. The total bill is over $2500 and included in that are permit fees to the City for an inspection of the service line and the placement of the external water meter.
Today the inspector showed up. Now he could of pulled up on the adjacent vacant lot off of the main road like the contractor and the gentleman from the water department did who had to sever an old lead pipe off of the shut off valve. He could have pulled up next to the garage at the alley in this open space and walked to the front of the house.

What did he actually do? A picture paints a thousand words and mine were not so pretty. I just bit my tongue, waved at the inspector and started taking photographs of all the damage.
He drove across my garden! Just follow the tire tracks .....

First hitting the raspberry bushes I planted this year.

Then across my fall crop of arugula.

Next he crushed a row of carrots.

Then hit the Brussel sprouts and red cabbage.

And finally a row of onions.

Obviously doing his job as lazily as possible is more important than the work I put in to maintaining my properties and trying my hand at the urban agricultural thing that the mayor thinks is the best thing since sliced bread. This is not acceptable in so many ways. First it is unprofessional. It is also disrespectful of my property. If I did this to someones yard I would be charged with vandalism. I paid for this service with my permit fees. The city leaders boast about how they are working to improve customer service. Well I will tell you where it starts. By treating people and their property with respect. If this guy worked for me I would fire him on the spot. He disrespected a customer while performing his job. If this guy was one of the contractors employees I would expect him to be sent home or have his pay docked to compensate the customer. In Dayton though, since he works for the City, he will probably get promoted.