CITY WINS EMINENT
DOMAIN CASE—SO FAR
In my January 31st blog I described a St. Charles
Place resident’s frustration with the city due to its inaction with regard to
the Glen Eden water detention basin and pump station.
The pump station---which became obsolete shortly after it was built---was supposed to have been removed years ago.
The city never followed through to make sure that happened.
Meanwhile property taxes were (inexplicably) assessed---but not paid---on the storm water facilities.
The city could have gotten involved when the pump station and basin appeared on the delinquent tax sale list---but it didn't.
The pump house and detention basin fetched $400 at the tax sale a couple of years ago.
The buyer promptly put them on the market for $5,000, hilariously advertising them as :
"1.2 acres wooded with ravine. Stable house on land."
The pump station---which became obsolete shortly after it was built---was supposed to have been removed years ago.
The city never followed through to make sure that happened.
Meanwhile property taxes were (inexplicably) assessed---but not paid---on the storm water facilities.
The city could have gotten involved when the pump station and basin appeared on the delinquent tax sale list---but it didn't.
The pump house and detention basin fetched $400 at the tax sale a couple of years ago.
The buyer promptly put them on the market for $5,000, hilariously advertising them as :
"1.2 acres wooded with ravine. Stable house on land."
That got the city's (brief) attention.
Council discussed acquiring the property, for cheap, then---but since everyone wasn’t on board
Council didn’t take any action.
And Mayor Scott Coleman didn't push them to do so.
Awhile later the pump house and basin changed hands again.
The new owners threatened to fill in the detention basin and rented out the pump house for commercial use…the unsightly result of which is very visible from Highland Road.
The city finally bit the bullet and decided to acquire the storm water facilities using eminent domain.
And Mayor Scott Coleman didn't push them to do so.
Awhile later the pump house and basin changed hands again.
The new owners threatened to fill in the detention basin and rented out the pump house for commercial use…the unsightly result of which is very visible from Highland Road.
The city finally bit the bullet and decided to acquire the storm water facilities using eminent domain.
The wheels of justice have turned slowly…very slowly… since then.
Law Director Tim Paluf announced at the March 25th
Council meeting that the suit's presiding magistrate finally issued a preliminary ruling.
The magistrate declared that the city can use its eminent powers to get title to the pump station and detention basin.
No duh. We had to wait 18 months for that?
Paluf explained that the battle is far from over.
The current owners can appeal the magistrate’s ruling, and there will be more litigation to determine how much the city---i.e. Highland Heights residents---have to pay.
The current owners can appeal the magistrate’s ruling, and there will be more litigation to determine how much the city---i.e. Highland Heights residents---have to pay.
If the current owners have their way, it will be a heck of alot more than $400.
The St. Charles resident’s frustration is understandable.
This all could have been avoided---the delays, the lawsuit, and
the hefty legal fees---if city leaders had taken action much earlier.
But they didn’t….
So residents will continue to wait, and Paluf will continue to rack up legal fees, until the situation is resolved.
VOTE FOR ISSUE ONE
The May primary ballot contains two money issues.
Issue 7 asks voters to extend Cuyahoga County’s sports-related “sin tax” on tobacco and alcohol.
Issue 7 asks voters to extend Cuyahoga County’s sports-related “sin tax” on tobacco and alcohol.
The other issue (Issue 1) asks voters to extend a state
bond program, the proceeds of which are used to help pay for local
infrastructure projects (like road
reconstruction).
Estate taxes were an important source of revenue for
Ohio towns and cities.
Highland Heights used them to pay for capital improvement projects.
Highland Heights used them to pay for capital improvement projects.
The Ohio legislature's decision to repeal estate taxes has changed all that…and made the
Issue 1 program more important than ever.
If you aren't sure how to vote on Issue 1, think of it this way:
If you aren't sure how to vote on Issue 1, think of it this way:
A yes vote is a vote for Highland Heights and other Ohio local communities.
PARK & REC 5 YEAR PLAN:
HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF
HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF
A few years ago Recreation Director Dave Ianiro presented
Council with the Park & Recreation Committee’s (P&R) five year plan for
the Community Park.
It wasn’t a prioritized list.
In fact it seemed to be structured so P&R could avoid making any hard choices about its wish list items.
Council members asked Ianiro for a prioritized list….and never got it.
History has just repeated itself.
Mayor Scott Coleman mentioned during recent budget
discussions that he had P&R’s newest 5 year plan in hand---a surprising
comment given that Council had been waiting since last fall to see the plan...and was still waiting to get copies of it at budget time.
And just what did P&R's Five Year Plan look like?
And just what did P&R's Five Year Plan look like?
Same old, same old.
It's a long list of wish list items prioritized within groupings but not prioritized overall.
You might ask:
You might ask:
What does P&R think is the absolute, most urgent and highest priority item to get done?
They apparently don’t have just one.... they have lots and lots of them.
P&R’s latest 5 year plans lists all of the below as “High Priority” items for 2014:
P&R’s latest 5 year plans lists all of the below as “High Priority” items for 2014:
Item Estimated Cost
Sidewalk Extension $27,000
Lighting 2 BB fields $170,000
Backlighting 2 BB fields ?
1 BB Diamond Renovation $95,000
Repair BB warmup areas $4,000
Pool Attractions 2 B Determined(TBD)
Pool Concession area TBD
Pool Concession area TBD
Motor for
pool slide $6,000
Motor for
pool mushroom
$3,000
Tractor $36,000
Walking
paths $40,000
Poison
Ivy
TBD
General
Park Maintenance
TBD
BB & Property line fencing $83,018
You might wonder what P&R's“Low Priority” items
are.
They include things like: “Parking lot resurfacing and sealing,” and “Pool lighting".
They include things like: “Parking lot resurfacing and sealing,” and “Pool lighting".
The“High Priority” items above---at least the ones P&R has
provided estimates for----total $464,018.
Which raises the question:?
Where will P&R get the money to pay for everything it deems “High Priority” in 2014?
That’s not clear.
The 2014 budget shows P&R with $591,300 in revenue and
$723,453 in expenditures---a deficit of $228,093.
Whoops, there goes P&R deficit spending again.
You might think that the deficit comes from paying for all of the “High Priority” projects
on P&R's Five Year Plan----right?
Wrong.
The P&R budget includes these two items: $15,000 in “equipment capital outlay and $0 in “pool capital outlay (new).”
The P&R budget includes these two items: $15,000 in “equipment capital outlay and $0 in “pool capital outlay (new).”
That’s it.
Am I missing something here….or…
Is there (once again) a major disconnect between P&R and financial reality?
