SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
August 2, 2018
Sullivan’s Salvos 8/7/18
In this edition:
*Goodbye Kingsley!
*RIP Sherry Stowe
*Covenants
*Did You Know?
*Goodbye Kingsley!
Kingsley Botchway secured a nice job with the Waterloo Community School District, and will be leaving Iowa City. While I am happy for Kingsley personally and professionally, I am sad for our city, county, and school district. He worked very hard on many important issues, including affordable housing, and his voice will be missed.
Congratulations, Kingsley, on your new job, and thank you for your service to Iowa City, Johnson County, and the ICCSD.
*RIP Sherry Stowe
I lost a good friend a couple weeks ago. The death of Cheryl Stowe, 66, of Castana, Iowa is still being investigated.
I met Sherry Stowe in the early 1990s when we both went to work for the State of Iowa. Our job was to implement Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) through Medicaid Waivers. It was a great opportunity – we got to make important changes to Iowa’s system of services for people with disabilities.
Most of the people hired to do this lived in and around Polk County. Sherry and I, along with Third Musketeer Gary Herrig, were the “City Folks” – Sioux City, Iowa City, and Mason City. Because we lived some distance away, we spent many evenings in hotel rooms.
It didn’t take long to get to know Sherry. She was bold and brash. I remember distinctly the first night we went out to eat. I asked where she wanted to go, and she said, “Do the strip bars here serve food?”
As we were training in Des Moines, and later as we went around the state for meetings and assignments, the three of us would spend every evening hanging out and doing silly things. We made potluck dinners in our hotel rooms. We went out dancing at a Country and Western bar. We wrote and rehearsed skits for the rest of the staff. Whatever we did, Sherry was always at the center of it, and always having fun.
Through it all, we became great friends. We didn’t just have fun; we laughed together, yes – but we cried together, too. As I grew to know Sherry, I learned how compassionate she was. Sherry dedicated her life to helping the poorest and weakest among us. She was whip smart, and her rough exterior scared some people. But she was kind, caring, thoughtful, and a great friend.
Sherry helped me through some big moments in my life. We sat up late one night in Red Oak, Iowa as I debated whether or not I should ask Melissa to marry me. (Sherry thought I should, and she was right.) Sherry was wise, and I knew that.
In fairness, I had not seen much of Sherry over the past decade. We lived over four and a half hours away from each other, and between family and work, I was not good at making time to visit. She made it to Iowa City a few times. We met up in Des Moines a few times. My family went camping near her home in the Loess Hills, and loved catching up with her. I thought of her often – always bringing a smile to my face.
I hope no one will mistake my physical absence as an absence of love for Sherry. Because I loved her very much. Goodbye, my friend. See you on the other side.
*Covenants
I have deep concerns about what I believe to be the overuse of covenants, particularly in our cities. A bit of background:
Covenants are legally binding agreements that impose duties and restrictions upon a property regardless of the owner. These are typically used in connection with homeowners associations.
In the rural areas, where municipal services do not exist, homeowners associations often cover road maintenance, garbage collection, wells, and septic systems. The associations elect a Board, and the Board manages the day-to-day operations of the subdivision.
Homeowners associations and covenants make sense in this context, as there is a great deal of communal property to manage. Members typically pay membership dues, and these dues cover the cost of the services. The covenants create the legal authority for these groups to act.
There are many cases, however, where covenants stray far from the goal of managing communal property. Many homeowners associations use covenants to restrict what color a home may be painted, what construction materials can be used, and whether or not cars may be parked on the street. These “aesthetic” concerns begin to worry me. I understand why a homeowners association would include such rules, as they may well protect home values.
But how far is too far? As subdivisions spread in the early part of the 20thcentury, several subdivisions attempted to use covenants to keep African Americans from moving to the area. The US Supreme Court invalidated this practice in 1948, by which time much damage had already been done.
While racial discrimination is not overtly allowed, discrimination often occurs on economic grounds. Covenants are virtually unlimited in scope, and can cover any number of areas: whether or not home businesses are allowed; the length of time guests are allowed; the length of your grass; the type of holiday decorations you can display; whether or not you can park a boat in your shed; or whether you can have a shed at all!
The idea that “a man’s home is his castle” is not really the case when covenants are involved. I happen to believe that many covenants are unnecessarily broad, and range into areas of free speech, freedom of religion, etc.
This is particularly concerning in our cities. As I explained earlier, homeowners associations are often necessary in rural areas to manage communal resources. I see no such need in cities, where basic services are provided by the municipality. In cities, covenants seem to serve no real purpose but to discriminate against certain ideas or behaviors. Cities already have ordinances on the books; homeowners associations and their restrictive covenants are not necessary.
Another important issue is that of enforcement. When municipalities pass ordinances, a taxpayer-supported law enforcement officer and a taxpayer-supported attorney enforce the provisions of the law. Public dollars, public services.
But what about private covenants? There is no private police – thank goodness! This could be on the horizon, however, as some fancy gated communities in the US do utilize private security. So how do you feel about being pulled over by a private law enforcement officer? I don’t want my civil rights infringed upon EVER, but when it happens, it had better be a real cop!
And what about situations where publicly funded law enforcement officers are asked to respond to perceived violations of private covenants? Do you want your Sheriff’s Deputies responding to a complaint that a garbage can has not been put away properly? We are beginning to get more and more calls of this nature. Personally, I do not want to see public dollars used to police private issues.
I simply do not like the privatization of all these public functions. Counties are already pretty far down this road – out of necessity, I’m afraid. But cities? Stop this nonsense! End covenants within your city limits!
*DID YOU KNOW? The FIFA World Cup has attracted an average of 3.2 billion viewers in 2010 and 2014, making it the most watched overall live event by average on television worldwide in the 21st century.
Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
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---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 12:54 PM
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