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