Should We Shoot The Deer?

Resident Lisa Benedetti spoke during the April 12th Council meeting. Her topic: deer and their appetite for residential plantings.

Council followed up by discussing the matter at last night’s Committee of the Whole meeting.


Benedetti and her sister Anita own a one acre parcel of land on the north side of Wilson Mills Road, between Lander and Miner Roads. As reported in the press, Benedetti said on April 12th:

“The deer are out of control, they need to be culled. …there's ample room for marksmen to cull the deer.”

“But this isn’t about plants and safety, it’s the whole balance of nature.”

http://blog.cleveland.com/sunmessenger/2011/04/highland_heights_will_consider.html
http://hillcrest.patch.com/articles/highland-heights-officials-to-discuss-deer-problem

I found the last comment to be really ironic because as it turns out, Benedetti and several of her family members signed drilling leases with Cutter Oil a couple of years ago.

They are part of the “Sovchen Drilling Unit No. 1,” a frac drilling well that Cutter Oil drilled in 2009 near the intersection of Miner and Wilson Mills Roads in Highland Heights.


It’s kind of hard believe that someone who has actively participated in bringing frac drilling to one of our residential neighborhoods is really that concerned about the “balance of nature”. According to one recent story:

“…(a frac) well can produce over a million gallons of wastewater that is often laced with highly corrosive salts, carcinogens like benzene and radioactive elements like radium, all of which can occur naturally thousands of feet underground. Other carcinogenic materials can be added to the wastewater by the chemicals used in the hydrofracking itself. …Gas has seeped into underground drinking-water supplies in at least five states, including Colorado, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and West Virginia...Air pollution caused by natural-gas drilling is a growing threat, too." Regulation Lax as Gas Wells' Tainted Water Hits Rivers, The New York Times, February 27, 2011

Actually, when I think about it, Benedetti’s position on deer is totally consistent with her overall environmental sensibility as a frac drilling leasee---a sensibility that is (obviously) quite different than mine.

That being said, Benedetti is absolutely correct in her description of the impact that deer have on our residential neighborhoods. Basically her beef is that the deer eat stuff that she plants, they “poop” in her yard, and they scare her elderly father by standing close to her house.

I see a lot of deer because my house backs up to a wooded area that is adjacent to the Municipal Park. The deer come and stand in my yard (they know just how long my dog’s tie out line is, and they love to stand just out of reach, staring at my dog). The deer also poop in my yard---although it’s sometime hard to see because deer poop looks like tiny tic-tacs (it is similar to rabbit droppings--- and is miniscule compared to dog droppings). And yes, the deer have also eaten flowers, fruits and vegetables that I plant in my yard.


It’s frustrating---but, heh, they were here first.


I’ll pass along one tip that’s worked for me: Every year I go to the store and buy the cheapest, smelliest bar soap I can find. I then hang pieces of the soap on my rhododendrons and other plants that the deer seem to love. I also hang soap near my garden. Apparently the scent throws the deer off and makes the vegetation much less attractive to them. (Plus, as an added benefit, I’ve got the cleanest bushes in town.)

What was Council’s response to Benedetti’s concerns? After discussing the issue at the April 19th COW meeting, they decided to follow the advice of Police Chief Jim Cook.

Cook provided statistics about the cost of deer culling (Solon spent $700,000 on its last deer culling effort) and the relatively few deer-related accidents that have occurred in the city over the last few years (far, far fewer than other cities, such as Mentor and Solon).
Bottom line, the Police Chief stated:  

“I am not in favor of deer hunters in our city…(With hunting) we could have a severe injury, where we haven’t had that with the deer.”

Sensible advice from the city’s top cop---but probably not what Benedetti wanted to hear.

 
Greenspace Update


Under Council President Scott Mills’ direction, Council is steadily moving forward with a plan to install a Gazebo in the city's new green space. The Highland Heights Lions Club has offered to help pay for the Gazebo, as a way to celebrate its 50th anniversary . That’s a wonderful gift, and Council hopes to take advantage of the Club’s generosity by getting a gazebo in place this summer.


It also looks like some sort of informal community gardens may become a reality, thanks to the Highland Heights Garden Club. The Club does wonderful work beautifying our city, and it won state honors as the 2010 Garden Club of the Year for Ohio (it’s currently in the running for national honors as well). As explained by Noreen Paradise, whatever future plans there might be for a more formal community garden in the greenspace, there is no reason not to start with some type of garden this year. All it will take is tilling the soil and laying out plots using string and wooden stakes.


I’ve got my shovel and seeds all ready.


 One interesting sidelight OR How’s this for non-verbal communication?

Councilman Ed Hargate—who usually goes to great lengths to avoid taking public stands—was quite vocal in opposing Council’s plan to tear down the Old Church Building and to develop the area where the OCB stood as a new city greenspace.
During every discussion about the new city greenspace so far, Hargate has physically pulled himself away from the Council table and sat there without saying a word. He doesn’t even pretend to look interested.

 

Park Snack Bar


For the past several years, the city has struck a deal with a small, locally owned company to run the concession stands at the Municipal Park. It’s been a very good arrangement for the city. The city receives a guaranteed profit each year, while the concessionaire takes all the financial risk and has the headache of staffing and running the snack bars.


During the last several years, the concessionaire paid the city $3,000 for the right to sell snacks in the park. This year, however, the concessionaire proposes to drop her payment to $1,700.

Why the decrease?

One reason is this: in the past, the city actively discouraged picnicking in the pool area---mostly for sanitary reasons, but the policy protected the concessionaire’s turf too. Last year, however, Recreation Director Dave Ianiro sat by and said nothing after the pool staff starting bringing takeout food from surrounding restaurants into the pool area and dining poolside. It’s no surprise that residents quickly followed their lead---and the concessionaire took it in the shorts.


So the city faces a real choice this year: either go back to its former policy of restricting food in the pool area or, like the concessionaire, accept reduced profits from the park’s concession stands.



Council has left it up to Mayor Coleman to strike a deal with the concessionaire.
We should find out pretty soon just how much those poolside pizza parties have cost the city, in terms of lost revenue.

Quick Updates

Things have been crazy busy for me lately, but I wanted to give an update on things going on the city. But first...



Promises Made/Promises Kept?
Promise Made
At the February 8th Council Meeting, Mayor Scott Coleman told council that after discussing things by itself, the Charter Review Commission (CRC) would extend invitations to “members of Council, Department Heads and the public to attend future meetings.”
http://www.highlandhts.com/docs/city_council/minutes/2011/02-08-11_council_minutes.htm
The mayor quite clearly promised Council that the public would be invited to come and speak to the CRC before the CRC made its final recommendations regarding what Charter language changes (if any) should be placed on the November 2011 ballot.


You can imagine my surprise, then, when CRC Chair Dan Dombeck announced at the April 13th CRC meeting that the public would NOT be invited to speak to the CRC. While acknowledging that CRC meetings are open to the public, Dombeck declared that “the public doesn’t participate” in the meetings. He said that if residents wanted to provide any feedback they could talk to individual CRC members---that was it.
After the meeting, I shared the mayor's February 8th comments with Dombeck. Dombeck was totally surprised.

It seemed pretty clear to me, after speaking with Dombeck, that despite what he told Council,  Mayor Coleman led Dombeck to believe the opposite---namely that it would be  inappropriate or inadvisable to invite residents to come to a CRC meeting to share their thoughts and ideas about the Charter with the CRC.
That's typical Mayor Coleman: exclusive rather than inclusive.

So the question becomes: Will Mayor Coleman keep his promise to Council? Will he make sure that the public is invited to share their thoughts and ideas about Charter changes with the CRC, or will residents be--once again, as with the CRC selection process itself--frozen out of the process?
One postcript: In case there is any question about whether the CRC is acting as the truly independent body (as it is supposed to be)---and, more importantly, who is really directing the CRC and its activities---I add this one additional tidbit of information. Pam Hawkins, an attorney and CRC member, has been doing an absolutely terrific job taking minutes for the CRC. She uses email to send copies of the minutes to the CRC members. Although Hawkins initially agreed to add me to her email list, she informed me at last week's CRC meeting that she could not send the minutes to me. According to Hawkins, residents wanting copies of the CRC minutes must submit a formal request for them--- not to CRC Chair Dan Dombeck, but to Mayor Coleman's office.

Free Stuff

• The Fire Department still has some smoke detectors available for senior citizens. If you are a senior citizen and need a smoke detector for your home, give the fire department a call using the non-emergency number ( 442-7406).

• The Fire Department is also offering a free CPR class on Saturday April 30th. Call 442-7406 for more information and/or to register.

• Start planning ahead for the next shredding day: Saturday October 1st. Council President Scott Mills reported that participation in the free program continues to grow. Over 5 tons of paper was shredded at the semi-annual shredding event held earlier this month.

The Old Pool House Renovation/Replacement Project
Apparently residents are less than enthused about Mayor Scott Coleman’s plan to spend $220,000 renovating the Old Pool House (OPH) in the park (the mayor has set aside only $252,000 for road repairs this year).
Engaging in a bit of back-peddling, the mayor announced at the April 12th Council meeting that he met with Park & Rec Director Dave Ianiro to discuss “scaling back” the OPH project, with the goal of spending less than the budgeted amount.


Let’s think about this. Road repair is a “need”. The OPH project is a “want”.

Despite the negative feedback, Mayor Coleman still wants the OPH project.
Forget what residents need. What the mayor wants, the mayor gets--even if he has to drop the price tag to get it.


The City’s New Greenspace
Residents have been quite vocal about their vision for the city’s new green pace. They see it, first and foremost as a community gathering place. Among the specific features residents have expressed interest in are: a gazebo, community gardens, a small children’s play area, and an area that can be flooded and used for informal ice skating in the winter.


So Did the two proposals presented by the city’s landscape architect, Doug Nemecky, hit the mark? Nope.
Both of Nemeckay’s proposal included: 1) removing 70 % of the trees currently in the greenspace; 2) installing bocce courts as a prominent feature; and 3) putting some community gardens as far in the back and out of sight as possible, in a shaded area that gets only 8-9 hours of sun a day.
There clearly is a huge disconnect between the architect’s plans and residents’ visions for the greenspace.


I’ve since heard from a couple of different sources that Service Director Thom Evans worked directly with Nemeckay on his proposals.
Based on Nemeckay’s plans, residents can guess what the administration’s preferences are for the space.
Bocce ball ---yes. Beans and brussel sprouts---not so much.




FEMA/ODNR Flood Plain Update
Brian Mader from the city engineer’s office reported that ODNR finally admitted that the outside contractor that ODNR hired to prepare the newest set of flood maps used old, outdated maps. ODNR has agreed that the Williamsburg neighborhood (which has no open streams) was improperly designated as a 100 year flood zone. That’s great news---except for the fact that the remapping comes too late for residents, who have already been forced by their mortgage lenders to buy flood insurance for this year.


Mader’s crew have already begun working on delineating the actual flood boundaries of the streams that run parallel to Bishop Road. If you see people tromping around and see stakes in the ground near any streams, don’t panic. It’s just the city engineering crew at work.


Bass Energy Arbitration
Last Tuesday, Council held an executive session with John O’Neil, the outside attorney representing the city in the Bass Energy suit/arbitration. Law Director Tim Paluf recently indicated that Bass had rejected the two sites recommended by Mayor Scott Coleman and two other members of the Gas Well Committee and that an arbitration schedule has been set.


The drilling lease does not give Bass the right to choose drilling sites in the park---in fact, it states that the city has to give written approval of any drilling sites---something that never occurred.
Presumably during arbitration Bass will fall back to an argument it made earlier---namely that it got around the lease’s written approval requirement by hiring former City Engineer Andy Blackley to select drilling sites and draw up the map that Bass used as part of its drilling permit application.


Of course the problem with that argument is that Blackley was operating under a huge conflict of interest when he agreed to work for Bass because he was already working on the city’s behalf, as city engineer. As a public official, Blackely was subject to state conflict of interest and ethic laws--which should have prevented him from simultaneously working for both the City and Bass. In any case, since Bass paid him for his drilling site selection work, Bass can hardly claim that Blackley was working for the city---rather than Bass---when he did that work.


New Day Care Facility
The city has issued a conditional use permit, which will allow a “language immersion” day care program to operate out of a church school building behind the Abundant Life Church. (The church is located on Wilson Mills Road, across and down from the entrance to the Municipal Park.) Next up: the operator will have to get a license from the state to operate a day care program at that site.

New Summer Park & Recreation Season Is At Hand: Change or More of the Same?

Sunday’s Plain Dealer reported a major shift in hiring for Cuyahoga County summer jobs and internships. The County is ditching its backroom “it’s who you know” hiring process and adopting an open, competitive hiring process instead.

County Executive Ed Fitzgerald is quoted saying that, in the past, the County’s summer jobs program:

“...was used as a hiring hall for students who knew the right person or were related to the right person..”

Former Parma Mayor Martin Zanotti, who helped in the county reform effort, commented:

“You’ve got to run the county like a business....In some cases, jobs were created not based on need but   based on the need to hire someone’s child, friend or nephew. They were hired based on political favors, rather than actual need.

http://www.cleveland.com/cuyahoga-county/index.ssf/2011/04/cuyahoga_county_offers_public_policy_internships.html

The Plain Dealer story immediately brought Highland Heights’ own summer hiring process to mind. The majority of the city's summer workers work for the Park & Recreation Commission (P&R).

No doubt you’ll recall the financial debacle of 2009 (the last municipal election year). P&R engaged in massive deficit spending that year. One of the big pieces of that deficit spending----a piece that (to this day) has never been fully or adequately explained---was Recreation Director David Ianiro’s decision to hire 15 more pool employees than allowed by the budget. What made that decision even more puzzling was the fact that 2009 was a cold and rainy summer, which meant that the pool was frequently closed due to low temperatures and/or weather. The pool should have required less staffing that year, not more. Yet pool hiring increased exponentially.

While P&R reined in its spending for 2010 in response to the public outcry over its 2009 fiscal mismanagement (it managed to finish the year in the black), the lesson was apparently short lived. The 2011 P&R budget once again shows P&R operating in the red. Interestingly, the budget includes a significant increase in spending on pool wages---an 11.7% increase over the actual wages paid in 2010---even though summer recreation wages have supposedly been frozen at 2010 levels.

Why the increase in summer hiring? Well consider these facts.

• Mayor Scott Coleman publicly acknowledged at a January 11, 2010 Council meeting that David Ianiro---whom Coleman appointed as the city’s Recreation Director--is a very close personal friend.
  
• Unlike other cities, Highland Heights does not use an open hiring process to fill summer recreation jobs. (Think about it. Have you ever seen an ad in the Sun Messenger soliciting applications for city summer jobs?). The jobs are mostly filled the way Cuyahoga County used to do it---using a backroom “it’s who you know” process.
  
• Under Highland Heights Ordinance § 139.06(b), P&R is tasked with hiring “qualified personnel to operate the City’s recreation program within the limits of the budget”. That includes hiring all of the city’s summer park and recreation workers. Yet P&R has never bothered to develop or implement any hiring policies governing the hiring of summer workers. None. Nada.
  
• Instead, P&R leaves all of the hiring decisions up to Recreation Director Dave Ianiro—even though according to Highland Hts Ordinance § 139.06(a) the Rec Director is supposed to work for THEM and is supposed to implement THEIR policies and programs. With regard to summer hiring, P&R has turned the Ordinances on end, letting the cart lead their horse.
  
  
• P&R has the legal authority to adopt policies requiring Recreation Director Dave Ianiro: 1) to advertise summer jobs and solicit job applications from the community at large; 2) to give hiring preferences to residents over non-residents; and 3) to perform background checks on adult workers before they are hired. But P&R has instead chosen to turn a blind eye and walk away, leaving Ianiro to his own devices.

What is the result of this lack of oversight and good business management?
Deficit spending, over-hiring, and the hiring of non-residents whose only connection to the community is who they know---namely Mayor Scott Coleman, Recreation Director David Ianiro, or one of their buddies.

Election season has arrived. The mayor has announced he is running for re-election, and P&R has presented a budget that includes plumped-up pool hiring again this year.

Could there be a connection? Think not? Why not? Haven’t politicians always used political patronage to solidify their political support and power—particularly during election years?

Changing the city’s summer hiring process would be relatively easy to do. All P&R has to do is put hiring policies in place and insist that Recreation Director Dave Ianiro follow them. The barrier, of course, is that except for the Council rep (Councilwoman Cathy Murphy), all of the rest of P&R is composed of mayoral appointees. In other words, P&R won’t act unless Mayor Scott Coleman gives the okay.

So, once again, it all boils down to leadership.The question is:

Will Mayor Scott Coleman follow the County’s lead and give up his patronage power over city summer jobs?
Will he work with P&R to develop fair and open summer hiring policies--or will he keep his current (more politically lucrative) backroom "it's who you know" hiring policies in place?

  
Some relevant laws:

• Charter. § 11.01(b). (requires that 1 mil of property taxes be given to P&R each year)."The taxes which may be annually levied without a vote of the people for all the purposes of the Municipality of Highland Heights upon the tax list and duplicate of property assessed and listed for taxation according to value for the tax year 1967 and each year thereafter shall not exceed the maximum of the following: ...1.0 mill per dollar of assessed (real property) valuation for the purpose of paying costs of acquiring, constructing, improving, operating and maintaining recreational facilities of the Municipality but the authority granted in this subsection (b) shall not limit the right of the Municipality also to pay costs of acquiring, constructing, improving, operating and maintaining such recreational facilities from the levy authorized by subsection (a) hereof.."
• HHts Ordinance § 139.06(a).
  "…The Director (of Recreation) shall administer the recreation program promulgated by the (Park and Recreation) Commission…The Director shall perform such other duties consistent with the position or as directed by the Commission or as may be required by ordinance of Council or as directed by the Mayor."
• HHts Ordinance § 139.06(b)."The Park and Recreation Commission shall hire other qualified personnel to operate the City's recreation program within the limits of the budget."