Last Blast of 2010

I was out of town for more than a week, but made it back in time for the last 2010 council meeting...


Progress Report
City Policies

Council had a first reading of an ordinance adopting a policy governing the use and marking of city-owned vehicles. That ordinance will be voted on—and I assume approved—in mid-January, after it’s had three readings.

Labor Contracts

The city finally reached an agreement with the members of the city’s Service Department---months after labor contracts covering other city employees were approved. Councilman Ed Hargate cast the sole “Nay” vote. As is typical with Hargate, he voted no without stating, on the record, what his objections and concerns were. He did not bother to explain, to his peers or members of the public, why he chose to vote no on this particular labor contract after approving all of the other ones.


Economic Development Committee

Last month Council passed an ordinance restoring resident participation in the city’s Economic Development Committee. Selected residents will serve along with Mayor Coleman’s picks for that Committee---Police Chief Cook, Fire Chief Turner and Finance Director Anthony Ianiro. Council hoped to wrap up the interview process last week, but the last three interested candidates were unavailable. The new Committee should be in place by early January.

Speaking of economic development....

Giant Eagle’s Proposal for the Catalano’s property

After successfully blocking a plan to lease the current Catalano’s building for use as a Marc’s store, Giant Eagle came to council on December 14t with its own proposal for the property.

Although the building looks quite large to many of us, the Catalano’s building and property is actually undersized compared to most modern-day grocery stores. Giant Eagle proposes to demolish the current building and treat the property as if it were two different parcels. The front parcel, along Wilson Mills Road, would have 8 “Get-Go” gas pumps, an attended car wash, and a large combination convenience store/cafe. The cafe would offer food items (to eat on premises and “to go”) and free wireless internet access. A small building housing several small retail businesses will be constructed in the rear portion (south end) of the parcel.
The uses proposed by Giant Eagle are consistent with what has historically existed at the Bishop/Wilson Mills intersection area: gas stations; grocery stores; and business offices.
I saw the preliminary drawing of the proposed Giant Eagle Convenience Store/Cafe and was frankly quite surprised at how nice it looked---it is not your typical shabby looking, garish gas station store. It looks like an upscale grocery store, only in miniature.
Obviously a lot more talking and thinking will be required, but I sure am tired (after 4 years) of seeing the empty Catalano’s lot. Giant Eagle is a well-established and reputable company, they have already successfully test-marketed their proposed convenience store-cafe concept in Pittsburgh, and it would be a total crap shoot as to what kind of business would move in if Giant Eagle decided to sell the property to someone else. Since Giant Eagle needs a zoning change (to put the gas pumps in), the city will have some say over how the property is developed. That won’t be the case if a business comes in that meets general business zoning requirements.

Here are a couple of comments relating to Giant Eagle’s proposal:

• “To have a gas station across the street (from my home) is unthinkable.” Spoken by a homeowner who lives on the north side of Wilson Mills, next to the Brown-Flynn office, close to where the former Ron’s Shell gas station stood.
• “This is not the kind of development I’d like to see in this area. The proposal is uninspiring. “ Councilman Ed Hargate.
• “I think they (Giant Eagle) brought us a Christmas present. It’s got to be better than what we have now. Do it right and everybody will be proud of it.” Former Mayor Tom Hughes

The Gas Well Committee

The Gas Well Committee (GWC) met for the first time after walking through the park. Most of the members seemed to already have selected some potential drilling sites---all except Kennelwood Drive resident David Lees. Lees asked, “Are we not going to address safety issues at all? The whole reason the mayor and council changed their mind (about drilling in the park) was the accident in Bainbridge."
Former Mayor Fran Hogg, who personally wrote the successful ODNR grant application that resulted in the city being able to add over 10 acres to the park in 1997, shared her institutional knowledge with the GWC.
Hogg told the GWC that that not only could the ODNR land not be disturbed as a matter of law, but the protection given to that land also applied to an additional 19 acres added to the west side of the park in 1995. She explained:
    (1) the ODNR grant application stated that the reason the city sought grant money from the state was was not only to purchase the additional 10 acres of land but to protect and preserve 19 pristine wooded acres and wetlands that had been added to the west side of the park in 1995;
    (2) those 19 acres were purchased using city-assessed "impact fees" paid by developers;
    (3) the impact fees were challenged by a building industry group in court, with the result that the money could only be used for park purposes and to expand the park; and
    (4) the city could be liable to refund the "impact fee" money used to buy the 19 acres if that land was used for commercial purposes---i.e., to drill revenue-generating gas wells.


One thing that I found a bit disconcerting---It became apparent during the meeting that the schematic map of the park provided by Brian Mader of the City Engineer’s Office was not to scale and did not show the location of the many county-identified wetlands in the park. Why the GWC was not provided with a more useful and informative map is beyond me.The GWC will meet again in early January. Council President Scott Mills promised to invite NEOGAP (the North east Ohio Gas Accountability Project) to come and discuss safety issues with the Committee. He also promised that the GWC would receive a more detailed map (to scale) before the next meeting.

Truth-Telling and (Sun Messenger) Editorial Comment

These are from this week’s Sun Messenger:
Sun Messenger Letter to the Editor

Council president sets the record straight regarding Highland Heights gas wells


I wanted to correct the record and provide some background information regarding gas wells and the Highland Heights Park. The Sun Messenger reported Nov. 25 that Mayor Scott Coleman signed a drilling lease with Bass Energy “as council had directed him to do.” That is not correct.



Mayor Coleman approached council in 2006 with the idea of using gas wells to generate revenue for the city. Council did not want to commit to drilling any wells on city property unless suitable drilling sites were agreed upon first.


The January 2007 resolution authorizing the mayor to sign drilling leases specifically states that it is “contingent upon the approval of . . . three well sites by the City of Highland Heights and the commitment of Bass Energy to drill the wells on all three sites.” It was council’s understanding that it would participate in the site selection process and even that suitable sites might not be found.


Unfortunately, Mayor Coleman ignored the restrictions placed upon his legal authority and he signed a drilling lease for the park before any well sites were selected, discussed or approved by council. Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Gallagher later held that Mayor Coleman had “no power” to sign the gas drilling lease.


Mayor Coleman intentionally kept council in the dark the entire time. For example, council was unaware Bass Energy hired City Engineer Andy Blackley and his firm to select drilling sites and to prepare a site map, which led to the issuance of drilling permits for the park. After it learned the truth, council acted to rescind Mayor Coleman’s authority to enter into drilling leases. Bass then sued the city for breaching the drilling lease that the mayor had so hastily signed.


Although this situation was created by Mayor Coleman, council is now trying to figure out a solution for the legal situation the city now faces. The Gas Well Committee is an attempt to do just that.

Scott A. Mills
President, Highland Heights City Council

http://blog.cleveland.com/sunmessenger/2010/12/council_president_sets_the_rec.html

Sun Messenger Editorial

Hope for an amicable resolution


News that Highland Heights City Council is naming a committee to recommend potential sites on city-owned park land to allow gas drilling is a strong signal that the lawsuit between the city and Bass Energy is nearing an end. According to Council President Scott Mills, two park sites would be potentially used to drill gas wells, but not a site at City Hall.


We are glad to see that a resolution in this legal matter appears imminent and we hope this becomes a win-win situation for everyone involved, especially the residents. In 2008, voters overwhelmingly approved a charter amendment issue that would prevent the city from selling park land or properties contiguous to city parks without voter approval and would prohibit drilling from taking place on those properties. This must be kept in mind as the lawsuit settlement is ironed out between both sides.


There has been a lot of public outcry against the drilling of gas wells, especially since the house explosion in Bainbridge three years ago this month that was caused by gas from a newly-drilled well seeping into the water supply. There are a lot of concerns about the safety of these wells and the sheer volume of wells being drilled in this region. In the wake of the Bainbridge house explosion, there are a lot of fears about a similar incident happening again.


Officials from the gas industry are trying to soothe those fears. Members of the Ohio Oil & Gas Energy Education Program admit the Bainbridge incident was the result of an error on the part of the driller, but are quit to point out the well inspection process has become more thorough as a result and new safeguards are in place to make sure nothing like what happened in Bainbridge happens again. We would suggest these officials hold a town hall meeting in Highland Heights to assure residents the drilling process is safe. They should also work with officials from the Northeast Ohio Gas Accountability Project, who have done a good job of bringing these safety concerns to light and working with state officials to try and make the drilling industry safer.


We are still hesitant to see gas wells sprout up in a city park and we want complete assurance for the residents that any drilling would not harm the environment in any way. We hope the new committee which City Council is forming will be mindful of that when choosing potential well sites and will also hold Bass Energy’s feet to the fire to ensure any wills that would be drilled will be safe and unobtrusive in every way.

Opinion, December 2, 2010.

The next meeting of the gas well committee will be on Wednesday, December 8th at City Hall.

Updates and Reader Comments

Updates
Gas Well Committee
As previously discussed, it appears that a majority of Council members prefer drilling in the park over arbitrating Bass Energy's breach of contract claim.
To that end, a Gas Well Committee (GWC) has been formed. Their charge? To select drilling sites in the park.
In an interesting twist, except for Councilman Scott Mills (who appears to be serving in his capacity as Council President), the rest of Council---including the majority who would rather drill than arbitrate---are steering clear of any direct personal involvement in the GWC.  I call this an "interesting twist" because, after all, Council members were elected for the express purpose of representing Highland Heights residents in making important city decisions--not to pass the job off to an honorable but hand-selected, unelected group of delegates instead.
Clearly Council members are hoping to use the GWC to provide them with a layer of political insulation---protection they need in light of residents' previously clearly expressed opinion (through their overwhelming approval of Charter § 14.07) that gas wells should be kept out of the park.

Which makes me wonder: If they are that afraid of taking the flak for participating in the CWC and selecting drilling sites for Bass Energy, maybe its time for the majority of Council that favors drilling to rethink their position. It surely would give me pause, if I was in their shoes.

As announced at the November 23rd Committee of the Whole meeting, here is the list of the GWC members:

• Mayor Scott Coleman
• Council President Scott Mills
• Park & Recreation Committee rep Tony Valentino (selected by Mayor Scott Coleman)
• Paul Byrne (selected by Ward 1 Council rep. Cathy Murphy)
• Edward Dlugos (selected by Ward 2 Council rep. Leo Lombardo)
• John Graves (selected by Ward 3 rep Bob Mastrangelo)
• David Less (selected by Ward 4 rep Lisa Stickan)

Financial Disclosure/Conflict of Interest Policy

In response to my discussion of the woefully inadequate Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form recently developed and distributed by Finance Director Anthony Ianiro, I received some thoughtful and interesting comments from a reader of this blog. I reprint some of those comments here, with that reader's permission:

"Your most recent post about the Disclosure form is spot on.    It really is disturbing that it is taking so long for this to “get done” when the fact remains that this level of transparency is pretty much commonplace today...   I think it would be in the best interest of the City to not only have this form that discloses said information related to ones business interest, but there should also be a NOTICE that goes out to all City Officials and employees that makes it POLICY that any conflict of interest needs to be disclosed immediately.     Furthermore, it is also common for organizations to send such NOTICE to their VENDORS that indicates they too must disclose such interests or potential conflicts both now or in any future business dealings. I will be passing along my comments and frustration with this outstanding matter..."

You just did.
Thanks reader! And to all my readers I say: keep your thoughts and comments coming...
The Catalano's Property
One of the reasons Council President Scott Mills has been pushing so hard to reenergize the city's Economic Development Committee (EDC) is his concern and frustration---shared by many residents---over commercial properties that have sat empty and vacant for so long in the city. One of those properties is the former Catalano's grocery store property.

I had heard that a group of investors was hoping to obtain the site for use as a Marc's store---but the corporation that owns the Giant Eagle grocery story chain nixed that deal. If you've shopped at Marc's recently you are aware of their expanded grocery and produce sections, which compete with Giant Eagle grocery stores.

Apparently there finally is some movement on the Catalano's front.
According to Mills and Mayor Coleman, Giant Eagle's corporate owner has decided not to sell the property after all. Its tentative plan---which would require voter-approved zoning changes---is to put a "Get-Go" gas station and some sort of small accessory  retail store (with a dining area) on part of the property and to subdivide the remaining space in the Catalano's building into smaller storefronts, which would be rented out to other retail businesses.
With the addition of the new Council-appointed residents and business owners, maybe the EDC will be able to shepard along development of the Catalano property--at long last.

Council Waves White Flag: Gas Wells To Be Drilled In Park By Early Spring

    The legal rulings in the Bass Energy suit basically just gave Bass Energy the right to arbitrate its claim that the city breached the drilling lease (the one that Mayor Scott Coleman rushed to sign) when Council declared that there were no safe drilling sites in the park.
The courts did not rule that a breach of contract had occurred or that the city was in any way legally liable to Bass Energy.
    Bass Energy's breach of contract claim is pretty interesting. The drilling lease explicitly gives the city the unfettered right to choose drilling sites---and Bass Energy is required to accept those choices if it wants to drill. The lease also requires the city to give its prior written approval before any drilling can begin.
    Bass's president admitted during his deposition that those conditions were highly unusual--they aren't part of the leases that Bass Energy customarily uses. Although Bass agreed to those conditions, it appears to be  trying to get around them, by asserting a breach of contract claim.
    Following the courts' rulings, Council had four choices: 1) file a legal appeal; 2) offer a cash settlement to end the litigation; 3) invest a little more time and money by going to arbitration; or 4) roll over, wave the white flag, and take orders from Bass Energy with regard to drilling in the park..

Unfortunately, residents discovered at last night's Committee of the Whole meeting, that Council (or at least a majority of Council members) have chosen option # 4: roll over, wave the white flag, and take orders from Bass Energy with regard to drilling in the park.

    The majority of Council made that decision even though residents have very clearly indicated that they do not want gas wells in the park ( 73 % of Highland Heights voters approved a Charter Amendment to protect the park in November 2008).

    Certainly the idea of going to arbitration using the same attorney who litigated in court would not be appealing.  He  gave up significant legal ground at the outset by conceding that the drilling lease was valid and binding on the city---even though, as Judge Gallagher stated in her ruling, Mayor Coleman had "no power" to do so when he signed the lease.  And the attorney apparently also never argued the doctrine that those who do business with cities do so at their own risk, with the understanding that the transaction might not be legally binding if all proper procedures are not followed.
    The good thing is that you start fresh in an arbitration. The city could assert all those arguments. And there are also lots of other attorneys out there. Council has the right to change attorneys at will.
   But it seems that a majority of Council would rather cut and run.   
   So folks, it now looks like we'll all be hearing the sound of drilling rigs--- 24/7---early in the spring. A committee, hand-selected by Mayor Coleman and Council, will apparently decide where those rigs will go.

    Why the rush? Bass Energy, apparently, has decided that it wants to drill before the baseball season begins. And what Bass Energy wants, a majority of Council is willing to give. I hate to think what other demands Bass Energy has made...or about the toxic fracking fluids that are going to be unleashed underground where our children play.

I acutally know a perfect place for the gas wells: Mayor Scott Coleman's backyard.

Since he's responsible for them, he should have to live next to them.
That makes perfect sense, don't you think?

Updates

The Old Church Building is gone.
It is amazing how great the property looks---even with a pile of rubble still sitting on the ground.
I get really excited when I think of the potential that now exists for making a beautiful gateway to our lovely municipal complex area.

My last blog posting.I heard from a long-time reader that my discussion in my last blog about Finance Director Anthony Ianiro’s “Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form” was a bit confusing.
I always appreciate getting feed-back like that. Thank-you!
Let me try again:


Item Four: Ethics/Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form
Status: Quiet Rebellion?


Financial disclosure is a critical part of state and local ethics law. As explained by the Ohio Ethics Commission (OEC):

"The purposes of the financial disclosure requirement are to remind public officials of financial interests that may conflict with their duties and to assist citizens and the three ethics agencies in monitoring the areas of potential conflict of interest of public officials. Public disclosure serves as a deterrent to public officials considering activity that may result in a conflict."


"In an era of rapid communication and broader awareness of use of tax dollars, it is useful for taxpayers, and all citizens, to be aware of safeguards Ohio's Law affords the public. It is also important to know that differences may exist between a variety of permissible private sector practices (like exchanges of gifts or business incentives or family favoritism) in contrast to the expectation of Ohio Law that there be no personal conflict when public monies are expended."

According to the OEC, financial disclosure requirements serve several specific purposes:

1. Remind public officials of those financial interests that might impair their judgment on behalf of the public;
2.  Inform the public of those interests; and
3. Assist in instilling confidence in the actions of public officials.

http://www.ethics.ohio.gov/

Council has been anxious to address the issue of financial Disclosure since being blind-sided and learning that former Park & Recreation Commission Chair Tony Valentino’s company acted as the city’s exclusive HVAC service provider for three years beginning in May 2006---an arrangement that Mayor Scott Coleman approved of, but that council was unaware of.


Not only did Valentino’s doing business with the city raise serious ethical questions, it also violated city financial laws.


HHts Ordinance § 117.04(b) requires that Council officially approve business dealings between the city and any elected or appointed city official before any business transactions take place.  That law was violated in Tony Valentino's case. Not only did Council not pre-approve the hiring of W.F. Hann & Sons, as required by § 117.04(b), it didn’t even know that Valentino had a business interest in that company or that the company was doing business with the city.


The Valentino situation raised a huge red flag with regard to the city’s financial controls. In addition to referring the Valentino matter to the OEC, Council responded by asking Finance Director Tony Ianiro to come up with a public disclosure of financial interests form, to be filled out by everyone covered by state ethics laws.


L&F has been waiting since July to receive a draft of that disclosure form from Ianiro,  for discussion and review.

For whatever reason, the idea of financial disclosure seems to make the Finance Director nervous.

Rather than providing L&F with a draft form to discuss, Ianiro apparently decided to end-run Council on the issue. Displaying his trademark prickliness, Ianiro informed an astonished L&F on Tuesday night that he had already begun distributing what he titled a “Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form”---a Form that he chose not to share or discuss with L&F beforehand and which he insisted should be returned directly to him, rather than to the Clerk of Council---thereby keeping the disclosed information from Council.


Ianiro’s decision to bypass Council is disturbing enough, but his supposed disclosure Form is even more troubling. L&F members expressed several significant concerns about the Form. Among them:

• Issue One. Ianiro decided that only elected and appointed city officials should be required to fill out his disclosure Form---even though state and local ethics laws apply to both city employees and city officials.
• Issue Two. Ianiro’s Form is extremely limited in scope—much too limit to serve its intended purpose.
  Inairo does not require city officials to disclose all of their significant business interests upfront. He only requires them (as of the date the Form is filled out) to disclose business interests and/or affiliations with persons or entities that are “currently transacting or may enter into a transaction with the city.”
  Basically no financial information has to be disclosed unless: 1)  an official is already doing business with the city;  or 2) the official thinks, at the time he or she signs the form, that they “may” do business with the city at some time in the future.
  How is an official supposed to know if they “may” do business with the city? Who knows. That disclosure requirement is based entirely upon an official’s self-prediction about the future. There is no requirement that the prediction be right. Obviously this amounts to a huge loophole. All an official has to say--to justify nondisclosure--is that they didn’t think that they might be doing business with the city when they filled out the form--and they are off the hook.
  It is clear that Ianiro’s Form simply doesn’t do the job Council intended it to do. Still not convinced? Think of the Valentino situation.
  W.F. Hann & Sons’ first invoice was processed by the city on May 31, 2006. That means that Valentino’s business dealings with the city began in or around May 2006.
  If he had received Ianiro’s Form to fill out in January 2006, after P&R Commission appointments were made, Valentino would have stated that he had absolutely nothing to disclose—he would not have been required to disclose his business interests in W.F. Hann & Sons because the company had not yet begun doing business with the city, and Valentino could claim that he did not anticipate that his company would start doing business with the city five months later.Valentino’s first disclosure of his business interest, therefore, would not have occurred until January 2007, when he filled out Ianiro’s disclosure Form again, for the next year. By that time the disclosure of his business interests would come too late---W.F. Hann & Sons would already have been doing business with the city (without the required pre-approval by Council) for seven months.
• Issue Three. Ianiro’s Form does not require that officials make additional disclosures each time their financial situation changes. The cover letter that Ianiro wrote to accompany his Form states: “Should any situation change for you, you may of course complete another form.”
  Anyone with an ounce of common sense knows there’s a huge difference between “may” and “must.” The “may of course” language takes the disclosure obligation even further away from a requirement.

The whole idea of disclosure is to require employees and officials to list all of their business interests: 1) so that any potential conflicts can be discovered and avoided before they occur; and 2) to make sure that HHts. Ordinance § 117.04(b) is complied with. Ianiro’s disclosure Form won’t necessarily accomplish either of those things.


Mayor Scott Coleman, who attended the L&F meeting, kept quiet and expressed no concerns about or dissatisfaction with Ianiro’s disclosure Form.

Finance Director Tony Ianiro’s “Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form” has nothing to do with real disclosure, transparency or honest and open government. It amounts to little more than a false show of concern for our city’s ethics and finance laws. It certainly doesn’t reflect any real commitment on the part of either Mayor Coleman or Finance Director Ianiro to improve the city’s financial controls. It appears to be nothing more than a smoke and mirrors cover for conducting business as usual.

And so it goes. ...

Quietly Rebelling AND Conducting Business As Usual

There is so much going on in the city, it can be easy to let things slip through the cracks.

One group that has done a good job of staying on top of things is Council’s Legislative & Finance Committee (L&F), composed of Councilman Leo Lombardo (chair) and Councilwomen Cathy Murphy and Lisa Stickan.
Unfortunately, L&F doesn’t always receive the cooperation from city administrators that it deserves.
That’s a real shame because the city—and city residents---are best served when there is good communication and collaboration between Council and the administration.
More on that below.


City Watch

Item One: Old Church Building (OCB) Demolition
Status: Asbestos Abated. Knock-down scheduled for Nov. 11thCity Engineer Steve Hovancsek reported that all of the asbestos materials had been removed and that Ace Demolition would start demolishing the building on Thursday November 11th. Now you see it, now you don’t…

 Item Two: Legislation Covering the Use/Marking of City-Owned Vehicles
Status: L&F is still waiting to receive a copy of the proposed legislation.
Although L&F didn’t have a draft ordinance to review, it agreed that the ordinance (and city policy) should be guided by, and follow, IRS rules.
That means Police Chief Cook, Fire Chief Turner, and the top executive officer in both the police and fire departments will be allowed to take their city-owned vehicles home, without any restrictions on use, because their vehicles qualify as safety service command vehicles.
Service Director Thom Evans will also be allowed to continue to drive his city-owned vehicle home (as he has done for many years), but he will have to pay tax on his commuter-related use of the car and only “de minimus” personal use of the vehicle will be allowed.
Other employees, such as Building Commissioner Dale Grabfelder, will have access to city-owned vehicles while at work, but generally will not drive those vehicles home.



Item Three: Legislation Reconfiguring the City’s Economic Development Committee
Status: Still undergoing some final revisions, but council gave it a second reading. It will be ready for passage once Law Director Tim Paluf finishes tweaking it.
Two final changes were discussed. The number of citizen members has been increased to a maximum of five (from the original three) and the term will be for two years.
Council President Scott Mills reported that he’s had “lots of good interest” expressed by residents interested in serving on the Committee.



Item Four: Ethics/Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form
Status: Quiet Rebellion?

L&F has been waiting since July to receive a draft disclosure form from Finance Director Anthony Ianiro.
Council has been anxious to address the issue since being blind-sided and learning that former Park & Recreation Commission Chair Tony Valentino’s company acted as the city’s exclusive HVAC service provider for three years---an arrangement that Mayor Scott Coleman approved of, but that council was unaware of.
It’s not just ethics laws that are at issue. A city financial ordinance, HHts Ordinance § 117.04(b), requires Council's formal approval before any goods or services are purchased from, or supplied by, any elected or appointed city official. That didn’t happen in Tony Valentino's case. In fact, Council was apparently unaware that Valentino had a business interest in W.F. Hann & Sons or that the company was doing business with the city.
That’s where the disclosure form is supposed to come in. The best and most practical way to make sure that the ethics and financial laws are followed---and to avoid a repeat of the Valentino situation---is simply to require that city officials and employees annually disclose any business interests and affiliations that they (or their family members) have. That way everyone---Mayor Coleman, Finance Director Tony Ianiro, and Council----will be put on notice as to whether the special pre-approval requirements of § 117.04(b) apply.


A draft of that kind of disclosure form was what L&F expected to receive from Finance Director Tony Ianiro. Unfortunately, that is not what L&F got.


Ianiro apparently decided to completely bypass (i.e. end-run) Council. Displaying his trademark prickliness, Ianiro informed an astonished L&F on Tuesday night that he had already begun distributing what he titled a “Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form”---a Form that he chose not to share or discuss with L&F beforehand and which he insisted should be returned directly to him, rather than to the Clerk of Council.


Ianiro’s decision to bypass Council is disturbing enough, but his supposed disclosure Form is even more troubling. L&F members expressed several significant concerns about the Form. Among them:

• Ianiro decided that only elected and appointed officials should be required to fill out the disclosure Form, even though state and local ethics laws apply to both city employees and city officials.
• Ianiro’s Form is extremely limited in scope---so limited, in fact, it will not prevent a repeat of the Valentino situation. Rather than requiring employees and officials to list all of their business interests, so that any potential conflicts can be discovered and avoided before they occur, Ianiro’s Form only requires disclosure of business interests and/or affiliations with persons or entities that are “currently transacting or may enter into a transaction with the city” on the date that the Form is filled out. It is too late---way too late---for disclosure if an official is already doing business with the city.
  And it is patently absurd to base the duty of disclosure on an official’s self-prediction as to whether they “may enter into a transaction with the city.” Whoops! Wrong guess? Never mind.
• Ianiro’s Form also does not require additional disclosures as new business interests are acquired.
  The cover letter that accompanies the Form states: “Should any situation change for you, you may of course complete another form.” Anyone with an ounce of common sense knows there’s a huge difference between “may” and “must” . The “may of course” language takes the disclosure obligation even further away from a requirement.

Mayor Scott Coleman, who was present during the discussion, keep pretty quiet and expressed no dissatisfaction with Ianiro’s disclosure Form.

The “Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form” distributed by Finance Director Tony Ianiro has nothing to do with real disclosure, transparency or honest and open government. It amounts to little more than a false show of concern for our city’s ethics and finance laws. It certainly doesn’t reflect any real commitment on the part of either Mayor Coleman or Finance Director Ianiro to improve the city’s financial controls. It appears to be  nothing more than a smoke and mirrors cover for conducting business as usual.

And so it goes. ...

Quiet Rebellion or Quietly Humming Along?

City Watch


Item One: Contract to Demolish Old Church Building (OCB)
Status: Signed.

City Engineer Steve Hovancsek reported that the demolition contract was finally signed (by Mayor Coleman) , clearing the way (so to speak) for Ace Demolition to begin its work on Monday November 1st.


Fire Chief Bill Turner told me on Tuesday night that his department would continue to use the OCB for training until the demolition work began. In the past, the fire department apparently constructed prototype roofs to practice on, but Turner said nothing beat practicing on a real roof that was more than a story above the ground.

Item Two: Ethics/Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form
Status: Council’s Legislative & Finance Committee (L&F) is still waiting to receive a draft disclosure form from Finance Director Anthony Ianiro.

What’s the holdup? Who knows. During the review of the auditor’s management letter last July 13th, Ianiro indicated that it would not be difficult to come up with an ethics/disclosure form for city officials (elected and appointed) to use. The recommendation to require officials to publicly disclose their business ties was made after the city’s business dealings with Park & Recreation (P&R) official Tony Valentino’s HVAC company came to light last spring.


Tick, tick, tick. The next round of mayoral appointments will take place in January.

Item Three: Draft Legislation Covering the Use/Marking of City-Owned Vehicles
Status: L&F is still waiting to receive a copy of proposed legislation setting out the proper use and required marking of city-owned vehicles.

It is not clear who is doing the foot-dragging on this one: Mayor Coleman, Finance Director Tony Ianiro, or Law Director Tim Paluf.


The auditor recommended that the city enact legislation setting out the legal parameters for the marking and use of city-owned vehicles. While the mayor has apparently drafted a written “policy” addressing these issues, an ordinance is still necessary. Why? Policies are changeable at whim, and they aren’t published , so no one really knows whether they exist or what they say. More fundamentally, policies should flow out of, and follow, the law.


Therefore, it’s critical to have an ordinance in place that sets out the legal rules for the marking and using these vehicles. That way everyone--residents and city employees alike--will know what the rules are.

Item Four: Draft Legislation Reconfiguring the City’s Economic Development Committee
Status: Still Waiting to Receive Draft Legislation from Law Director Tim Paluf

Council President Scott Mills has been pushing to reinvigorate the city’s Economic Development Committee by once again adding citizen representatives to the mix.


In the past, citizens always served on the Committee. Mayor Scott Coleman changed that. He eliminated all citizen participation and put his appointees---the finance director, the police chief, and the fire chief---in their place. Unfortunately the Committee, as currently configured, has had no visible impact.


With the support of council, Mills has proposed adding several citizens, appointed by council, to the Committee, in an attempt to get economic development kick-started in the city.


Although Paluf was present in the building and had been asked to attend the L&F meeting to discuss the legislation needed to implement Mills’ plan, Paluf was a L&F no-show.


Did Tim Paluf’s absence reflect Mayor Coleman's displeasure with Mills’ proposal? I don't know for sure, but one thing I do know: the mayor likes control things going on at City Hall, and it certainly is much easier for him to control the Economic Development Committee in its current form, populated as it is with his own appointees....

Financial Matters

L&F attempted to address the surprise park lighting repair bill (the lighting contractor presented a bill almost 3 times as large as the pre-approved amount, after Service Director Thom Evans verbally ok’d performance of “additional” work. Apparently Evans never imposed a maximum dollar limit on the additional work, nor did he require Monaco Lighting to provide a list (with cost) of the additional work it wanted to do).


Although L&F chair Councilman Leo Lombardo attempted to discuss what steps would be taken to avoid such financial surprises in the future, he had little success. Finance Director Tony Ianiro had no direct involvement with the repair contract, and Evans (who was present in the building) failed to attend the meeting. Therefore, at this point, there is no guarantee that such “loosey goosey” financial transactions won’t keep occurring.
Since Evans gave his ok and the work was performed, L&F had no option but to approve paying the invoice.

L&F also reviewed the budget. As revealed by Councilwoman Cathy Murphy at the last council meeting, it looks like P&R was able to rein in its spending while maintaining its programming. The final figures still are not in, but it looks like P&R will end up in the black this year. That shouldn’t have been that difficult, really. After all, P&R receives 1 mil in property taxes each year for its own exclusive use. The budget projected that P&R would have at least $ 630,000 in revenue to spend this year.


The city’s general fund also looks to be in good shape. Although spending is higher than projected, the city has collected more in property and income tax than it expected to receive this year. Finance Director Tony Ianiro declared, “We’re looking real good at this point. Operatively, we’re all towing the line.”

Internet Cafes

You may not have noticed, but the region is getting peppered with businesses called “Internet Cafes” (One opened in Hilltop Plaza, Richmond Heights, in August). Basically these cafes operate either 24 hours a day or into the early morning hours. They have darkened windows and a bank of computers---resembling a Las Vegas casino, only with computers instead of slot machines (and no booze). They sell “phone cards” that are part of a pre-determined “sweepstakes.”  Apparently the phone cards are used to access online websites. Bottom line, people end up spending/losing alot of money trying to win sweepstake prizes using computers at these cafes.


The state has yet to weigh in on the legality of these operations.


Law Director Tim Paluf told council on Tuesday that he gets a call a day from individuals hoping to open Internet Cafes in Highland Heights. The property owner of the Miner-Highland Road business area (where Mulligan’s is located) also has been approached about putting an Internet Cafe there. He told council that he has turned all those proposals down.


At Paluf’s recommendation, council enacted a 9 month moratorium on the “acceptance and processing of applications for zoning, occupancy and/or building permit approvals for sweepstakes/internet cafes”. Hopefully, the state Attorney General will rule on the legality of these businesses once the election is over. In the meantime, the 9 month moratorium will give council time to adopt appropriate licensing fees and zoning/occupancy/building regulations, should these businesses be declared legal.


We may not want this kind of business in our city, but if they are declared legal, we will have no choice but to deal with them. Council needs to make sure they are properly regulated---and that the city derives an appropriate amount of income from them.


OCB “Treasure”

Mayor Coleman announced that the city had found “treasure” at the OCB.


Apparently the city was alerted to the existence of a time capsule that had been installed behind the corner stone that displayed the date that the OCB was constructed (1961).


According to the mayor, a trove of “moldy” papers was in the time capsule---mostly “church papers,” along with copies of Highland Heights and Richmond Heights city newsletters . The mayor told council that he took the capsule home with him, but he promised to bring it back to city hall later in the week.


If the city didn’t build the OCB or install the time capsule, and the capsule contains mostly “church papers,” shouldn’t it be given to the church organization whose affiliates built the OCB in the first place? It still exists and would be easy to find.


Does “ finders keepers, losers weepers” really apply (as the mayor seems to assume)? Should it?


Jefferson Drive Relining Project

According to Service Director Thom Evans, the county was legally required to reject all bids after they came in twice as high ($1.5 million) as the county engineer projected. At this point, the Jefferson Drive relining project is a no-go.


New Sign Ordinance

Okay, all of you folks who had new roofs and/or siding installed as a result of the May 7th hail storm, this pertains to you. LISTEN UP.


Under the city’s amended sign ordinance, contractors are allowed to post signs advertising their businesses only while they are actually working at the property where the sign is posted.


When they leave, the sign comes down.


Got it?


So if you are reading this while sitting under a new roof, your lawn should be full of leaves, but nothing else.


Pull up those roofing signs and put them in the garbage.  Now.

Quick Monday Musings (October 25)

I took my dog for a long walk in North Chagrin Reservation yesterday. I felt very lucky to be able to spend part of my day walking through the woods with a very, very happy pooch at my side.

I drove down Highland Road, to get to the park.

It appears that the demolition of the Old Church Building  (OCB) on the City Hall property is finally getting underway.

I had heard that the Highland Heights Fire Department wanted to use the building for fire training, before the serious demolition work began. It looks like that took place. The OCB had holes in the roof and holes in the front wall---where entry had clearly been made.

I applaud Fire Chief Turner for seizing the moment and making the most of the opportunity sitting in his own back yard. As the daughter-in-law of a retired firefighter (who fell through the roof of a burning building at one point in his career) I think it's terrific that Chief Turner wanted to use the OCB to give our city firefighters a chance to practice and hone their firefighting skills, in a safer and more controlled environment than a burning building provides.

Maybe that will be enough to satisfy those who demanded that the city find a "use" for the OCB.

Use found.

Updates

No Committee of the Whole Meeting This Week
The last I heard, Council had decided not to hold a council committee meeting on October 19th.
I guess they don't have any new business to talk about, with the Old Church Building controversy finally out of the way.

Speaking of the Old Church Building
City Engineer Steve Hovancsek reported that a pre-demolition meeting was held with Ace Demolition on October 12th.
The city is waiting for Ace to post a construction bond, which is required before it begins work. 
Ace is scheduled to begin work on November 1st and to have the demolition project completed in three weeks, before Thanksgiving.

Followup: Cleveland Water Department's Proposal To Take Title to City Water Mains
The Plain Dealer has a front page story today(Oct. 16th), detailing the Cleveland Water Department's (CWD) latest billing fiasco.
Although the CWD claimed to have addressed some of its billing/customer service issues by installing a new computerized billing system, that system apparently overbilled customers, by miscalculating the summer sprinkler credit they were supposed to receive.
This is my favorite quote from the story:

"Alan Seifullah, a spokesman for the water department, said it is not unusual for customers to be overbilled or underbilled.

If the system is working correctly, over the course of a few bills it should even out," he said.

I guess we aren't supposed to care whether our water bills from CWD are accurate or not. According to the spokesperson, we should just assume that it will all even out "in the wash," so to speak---eventually.
I'm convinced, aren't you?

It was clear from CWD's recent presentation to Council that, should Council approve Mayor Scott Coleman's recommendation to sign over the city's water main assets to CWD, Highland Heights residents will be expected to help pay for replacing and maintaining all of the municipal water mains covered by the CWD's proposed Revised Water Service Agreement (RWSA). 
The PD story raises several questions:

1. What assurance do we have that Highland Heights residents will be billed fairly--and correctly--by CWD for the additional cost of maintaining and replacing the water mains of all RWSA members, if Highland Heights signs the RWSA?
2. And, given their track record, does Council really think it's a good idea to place critical city infrastructure--valuable city assets-- into CWD's hands?

Read the Plain Dealer story:

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/10/thousands_of_cleveland-area_re.html

Knock. Knock. Is Anyone Home?

Question For the Day: Is A Meeting “Public” If The Front Doors Are Locked?



Councilman Frank Legan scheduled a Safety Service Committee (SSC) meeting for 7 p.m. at City Hall, right before the regular council meeting.
I was running a bit late and didn’t arrive until 7:20. There were cars in the parking lot, and the inside lights were shining brightly, but the doors to City Hall were locked. Tight.
The SSC meeting went on, but the public was kept out.


Does holding a public meeting behind locked doors violate state Sunshine Laws? You bet it does.


Council President Scott Mills, who arrived early for the 8 pm council meeting, was quite unhappy when he discovered the situation. Fortunately, he had a key. He promptly unlocked the doors for me--- and made sure that they stayed unlocked until after the council meeting ended.


Jefferson Drive Sewer Relining Project a No-Go?


City Engineer Steve Hovancsek reported that the bids for the Jefferson Drive relining project came in much higher than the county expected and that the county is now “re-evaluating” the project. “There could be a significant delay,” according to Hovancsek.
From the sound of it, the delay could be more than “significant”---it could be indefinite.


Hovancsek advised the city to wait until next week to decide whether to cancel the scheduled Nov. 10th meeting with impacted homeowners.


I Want This One...And, Oh Yeah, I Want That One Too.


I managed to catch the tail end of the SSC meeting. I arrived in time to hear Service Director Thom Evans say that he wanted to lease/purchase a specialized sidewalk snow plow machine. The cost? Between $130,000 to $140,000.


I am a regular council meeting attendee, and I remember the discussion when Evans announced two years ago that the city’s old sidewalk plow needed to be replaced.
At that time, Evans told council that he didn’t want to buy a specialized sidewalk plow to replace the city’s old machine. He recommended purchasing a more versatile machine instead—a Bobcat 5600 Turbo Toolcat.
Council authorized that purchase on June 10, 2008.


 Evans told SSC on Tuesday night that now he wants a specialized sidewalk plow too.


According to Evans, there’s nothing wrong with the Turbo Toolcat. It’s a bit slow in clearing sidewalks during heavy snowfalls, and it doesn’t do quite as good a job as a specialized sidewalk plow. But other than that, it works fine. And, with extra attachments, it performs other jobs, like drilling holes.


I have to wonder what Police Chief Cook and Fire Chief Turner think about Evans’ request. They’ve been waiting patiently for approval of several of their own big ticket items--a new city ambulance and an updated fire alarm system come to mind...and there’s only so much (taxpayer) money to go around.

http://www.highlandhts.com/docs/city_council/minutes/2008/05-27-08_city_council_minutes.htm
http://www.highlandhts.com/docs/city_council/minutes/2008/06-10-08_city_council_minutes.htm


Labor Strife?


Speaking of the Service Department...for the first time ever, the city’s Service Department workers voted this year to be represented by a union. They had been non-union, up until then.And while Council approved a number of labor contracts last July, those contracts apparently did not cover Service Department workers.


It's almost fall and still no contract? Clearly there must be some serious issues up for discussion (and yet unresolved) in the building near the salt dome...


The Pool Leak


It Continues.
The pool’s been caulked (twice) and painted.
The company that built the 18 year old pool is re-welding some of the stainless steel wall seams.
Some of the concrete decking has been ripped up and supply lines repaired.
And still she leaks.


According to Service Director Thom Evans, there is no end in sight.


What A Difference A Year Makes.


A year ago, Council was lambasted by Mayor Scott Coleman, Park & Recreation Committee (P&R) members and P&R supporters for questioning P&R’s unbridled deficit spending.
According to a 12/10/2009 Sun Messenger story, Mayor Coleman went so far as to declare that he was “distressed” by council’s criticism of P&R and its profligate spending.
Others accused Council of “harming” the city by bringing the subject to light and discussing it in public.


In reality, council was simply doing its duty as city fiduciaries and as watchdogs of the public budget.
A year later, I think we should all say: Thank you, Council, for doing your job.


Although Council is still waiting to receive the final report from the brothers Ianiro (David Ianiro, the city’s Rec Director, and Anthony Ianiro, the city’s Finance Director), apparently the preliminary figures regarding the 2010 P&R budget are encouraging.


According to Councilwoman Cathy Murphy (the P&R council rep), the 2010 summer camp program (a previous perpetual P&R money-loser) appears to have run in the black this year, and pool wages were down appreciably from last year’s high of $ 155,000. Unlike last year, P&R did not hire any additional pool workers beyond the budgeted amount, which kept the total pool wage figure down.
Murhphy called it a "major turnaround" and praised Dave Inairo and P&R for their hard work.


Still A Long Way To Go.


While its runaway budget may be under control, there are other significant issues that P&R needs to address--and I’m not just talking about the pool leak. There are, I hear, major problems with regard to management of the pool and some pool personnel.


As I mentioned previously in this blog, a newly hired assistant swimming coach left abruptly during the swim season after concerns about his communications with a young swimmer surfaced. P&R needs to look at how this non-resident swim coach was hired, why he was hired, and whether any sort of pre-employment screening was conducted.


But it's not just the swim coach. One parent/resident in the know told me that quite a number of pool employees, along with several parents , signed a petition expressing concern about the pool’s management and some pool supervisory personnel.
It’s not a good thing when parents have to jump in the pool to rescue their children during swim lessons, but apparently that happened at least once last summer.
It’s time---more than time---for P&R to develop hiring policies--hopefully good ones.

The current “It’s not who you are, it's who you know” P&R hiring policy clearly doesn’t cut it.