Jefferson Drive Relining Project
Storm water infiltration into Jefferson Drive sewer lines has caused significant flooding problems to residents who live further west along Highland Road. The county has finally decided to tackle the problem. It has solicited bids for relining piping along Jefferson Drive. The bid opening is scheduled for October 12th.
Law Director Tim Paluf, Service Director Thom Evans and representatives from the City Engineer’s office are working together to send out informational letters to impacted residents. A public meeting will be held on Wednesday, November 10th to discuss the project.
Page 9 of the Fall 2010 Highland Highlights newsletter contains additional information. I’d provide the link to that article here, but as usual the city’s website is out of date and the Fall newsletter has yet to be posted online.
Energy Inefficiency
Service Director Thom Evans informed council of several energy-related grant opportunities available to the city, one of which is available because of federal government stimulus money and one of which is the result of the NOPEC energy consortium’s electricity deal with First Energy Corp.
The city has big energy bills. According to Councilwoman Cathy Murphy, the heating and electricity bills for the municipal complex topped $ 130,000 in 2009.
The federal government provided $ 5.7 million in stimulus money to Cuyahoga County this year. The County is willing to share some of that money with cities and towns within its borders. Evans recommended that the city apply for a stimulus money grant to pay for an energy audit of municipal center buildings. That audit would identify areas of energy inefficiency and recommend cost-effective projects that could save the city money over the long term.
With regard to the NOPEC grant, while some communities are seeking grants to pursue alternate energy solutions for their cities (for example, Mayfield Village has applied for a grant to install solar panels), Evans recommended applying for a grant to replace the municipal center’s outdoor lighting.
Highland Road Water Main
Right after the Bishop Road-Highland Road intersection reconstruction project was completed, Service Director Thom Evans notified council that the major water main under Highland Road---which the city owns—needed to be replaced. Yep, that water main runs under the newly reconstructed Bishop Road-Highland Road intersection.
The city engineer’s office has recommended reusing the existing trench, which would mean installing a temporary above-ground water line while a new water main is constructed. The existing trench sits on the north side of Highland Road, near the newly constructed pedestrian pathway.
Two weeks ago, Mayor Scott Coleman resurrected an old idea for getting the water main replaced---an idea which council considered and rejected several years ago. That idea: give the water main to the City of Cleveland Water Department (CWD).
The City of Cleveland would love to own all of the piping that connects to the CWD water system. That would give the CWD a complete monopoly (some say stranglehold) over all of the cities (and residents) that it serves.
Five CWD representatives came to the COW to pitch a new “Regional Water Service Agreement” to the city. Basically, the agreement has two parts. First, CWD would assume responsibility for fixing the Highland Road water main (at some undetermined time in the future)---provided the city agrees to give CWD title to all of its municipally owned water mains. Second, the city has to agree to share income tax (50/50) with the City of Cleveland if any company relocates from Cleveland to HHts.
If the offer sounds too good to be true, that may be the case. The “strings” attached to the deal have serious potential consequences for the city.
- Our water mains are counted as “assets” for purposes of determining the city’s net worth. The amount of assets that the city owns directly impacts the city’s ability to borrow money---how much money and at what (favorable or unfavorable) rate.
- The income tax sharing could be a significant loss of revenue for the city---and it would apply, even if the business involved made the decision to relocate on their own, without any involvement or enticement on the city’s part.
- There are other issues, of course. As a story in today’s Plain Dealer illustrates, there are significant problems with how CWD operates: its billing practices, its customer service, and its ability to take care of the capital assets that it already currently owns.
- It is also important to remember that all of CWD’s money comes directly from CWD customers. It is a matter of common sense that CWD will have to begin charging higher and higher rates and fees as it takes ownership of municipal water mains. The question is: will those higher fees be paid for by everyone, by every CWD customer, or just by the residents whose communities have turned over their water mains to CWD?
I hope council gets some kind of commitment from CWD on that issue, before it makes any decision on Mayor Coleman’s recommendation to give away city assets.
Update: Old Church Demolition Resolution
According to the Sun Messenger, Mayor Scott Coleman decided against vetoing the resolution accepting Ace Demolition's bid to take down the Old Church Building that sits on the city hall property. Instead, the mayor let the resolution take affect by operation of law. The story says:
“Coleman believed City Council should have considered other uses for the building, which would need extensive repairs. He also said council did not give residents the proper opportunity to comment on the demolition ordinance."It’s ironic that Mayor Coleman would take pot shots at council for not considering “other uses” for the building, given that he publicly supported doing only one thing with the building--- allowing a private club to convert it into a bocce hall---in disregard of Law Director Tim Paluf’s oral declaration that the city could not enter into the proposed “private/public partnership” with the club.
http://blog.cleveland.com/sunmessenger/2010/10/mayor_does_not_sign_highland_h.html
As for not providing residents with a “proper opportunity to comment”?
What a bunch of whoee!
Council ‘s public discussions about what to do with the building went on for more than two years. The city newsletter and website were both used to solicit residents’ comments and ideas. Quite a few interested individuals came and spoke on the topic during council meetings. And the Sun Messenger published a number of stories detailing council’s discussions about the building, including the fact that council agreed to solicit demolition bids back on May 25th.
No “proper opportunity” for public comment? Mayor Coleman must be confused. He must be thinking about his decision to put gas wells in the park....
