A flurry of special council meetings followed. And on April 12 the council voted 5-3 (with Edwards, Worth and Fields dissenting) to hold a special fall election to determine the will of the people regarding West 38th Avenue. As a result, the widening project was once again postponed indefinitely.
Edwards was furious. "They're gutless and don't have enough spine or background to make a decision," he says today, still fuming. "That's why they're elected to council--to make a decision."
On May 23 Edwards spotted an opportunity to reverse what he saw as a betrayal by his colleagues and made a seat-of-the pants decision to act. When three of his opponents didn't show up for that night's council meeting, Edwards found himself as part of the majority. In a move Hall termed "underhanded politicking" and "an attempt to thwart the democratic process," Edwards proposed that the West 38th Avenue matter be dropped from the fall ballot. The motion passed, meaning--in theory, anyway--that construction on a 36-foot alignment could proceed.
But following rulings by a parliamentarian and the city attorney, Edwards's actions were declared illegal and were reversed at the next council meeting. They also were the reason for his public censure. "He knew what he did would get undone," Hall says of Edwards's attempt to stymie a public vote, "and I told him so. But it got him headlines. In the end, it accomplished absolutely nothing but get his picture in the paper and stir everyone up again."
So it now appears that the issue will go to a public vote in November after all. The Thirty-Sixers and the Forty-Fours are gearing up for the election, holding garage sales and fundraising drives in an effort to drum up enough money to get their points across with yard signs and newspaper ads. Each side claims the other is proceeding illegally or trying to hoodwink residents.
Meanwhile, many of the residents along West 38th Avenue are demanding that their signed construction easements be returned by the city, essentially rescinding the right to use their land during street construction. They say city officials will have to sue them or condemn their land if they plan to go forward with a four-lane road. "My guess," says city administrator Middaugh, "is that we could end up doing a significant amount of condemnation and paying a significant amount for that"--a process that would drive the cost of a 44-foot street even higher.
No one seems to know which way the vote will go in November. No matter what happens, many residents doubt anything will ever actually be done to the street. And, notes Winger, when and if the issue is ever decided, there's always the matter of whether or not to widen West 38th Avenue from Kipling to Youngfield.
"But I'm not going to push that one," he says. "I've had enough trouble.
