Last fall residents living along
Miner Road began voicing their concerns about enlarged, 24” deep open swales that
were part of the Miner Road reconstruction project.
They worried about both the maintenance challenges and safety concerns that the swales presented, given their size, depth and location adjacent to the uncurbed edge of the newly-widened road.
The residents also mentioned past promises that the city made, that the swales would be enclosed
They worried about both the maintenance challenges and safety concerns that the swales presented, given their size, depth and location adjacent to the uncurbed edge of the newly-widened road.
The residents also mentioned past promises that the city made, that the swales would be enclosed
A commitment not reflected in the City-approved Miner Road reconstruction plan.
As described in my October 25th blog posting, Council President
Cathy Murphy initially put the residents off….and was pretty testy with
Councilman Ed Hargate who was trying to push the discussion forward.
Fortunately the atmosphere changed pretty quickly.
Council ended up asking Engineer Brian Mader to come up with a plan (and price
tag) for enclosing the swales in front of all the residential (only) properties
along Miner Road.
Mader reported back to Council at the January 26th Committee of the Whole meeting.
Mader reported back to Council at the January 26th Committee of the Whole meeting.
“We can enclose everything off using 12” pipe going driveway to driveway.
There will be very shallow swales along the road (to handle road water runoff).
The pipe will be less than 2 feet deep. There is no room for basins. There will be “T” connections with fitted drains placed on top of them.”
There is one important downside to enclosing the swales, however.
The piping will end up resting above basement-level, and because it’s a closed system with less capacity than the current, large open swales, the piping system won’t be able to handle runoff from roofs or sump pumps.
That could be a significant issue for many homeowners, who currently discharge roof and basement water into the open swales.
Mader warned:
The piping will end up resting above basement-level, and because it’s a closed system with less capacity than the current, large open swales, the piping system won’t be able to handle runoff from roofs or sump pumps.
That could be a significant issue for many homeowners, who currently discharge roof and basement water into the open swales.
Mader warned:
“I would recommend that they (Miner Road homeowners)…. discharge sump pumps to their back yard. In a storm, the pipes will be full.
Since basements are lower than the pipes, homeowners could be facing a water backup or burning out their sump pump motors if they try to discharge into the enclosed swales.”
And in a large storm, residents could see water backing up next to the road and
washing over their driveways.
The really good news is financial.
Mader estimated the cost for enclosing the swales at $183,090, which includes a $10,000 contingency fund to cover unforeseen additional expenses.
The multi-million dollar Miner Road improvement project has a $200,000 contingency fund….none of which has been spent to-date.
So regardless of whatever Mayor Coleman and Council may have initially intended, it appears that the Miner Road reconstruction project will include enclosing residential swales after all.
Miner Road residents will finally get to enjoy full front yards and tree lawns….like
most (but not all) Highland Heights residents do.
DO YOU LIKE TO BE (DATA) MINED?
A word of advice to residents who care about
privacy online.
Obviously that doesn’t include all you social media junkies out there.
The company behind cleveland.com has changed its name.
It no longer goes by the unwieldy name of “North East Ohio Media Group”
“N.E.O.M.G.” or as some say, with a twinkle in their eye, “OMG” for short.
President Timothy P. Knight recently sent out a letter to businesses announcing the company’s new name: Advance Ohio. He wrote:
It no longer goes by the unwieldy name of “North East Ohio Media Group”
“N.E.O.M.G.” or as some say, with a twinkle in their eye, “OMG” for short.
President Timothy P. Knight recently sent out a letter to businesses announcing the company’s new name: Advance Ohio. He wrote:
“Advance Ohio is a digital company that provides cutting-edge solutions that help a wide range of businesses achieve their marketing goals. “
According to Knight there are a couple of things that sets Advance Ohio apart.
The first one on the list:
The first one on the list:
“Proprietary data that we collect on cleveland.com…. Through our owned media sites, we are able to gain deep insights into audience behaviors such as the type of content they consume, interests, geographical location and more.”
Advance Ohio also “responsibly gather(s) first-party, non-personally
identifiable data from our customers” and are “strategic partners” with “ Microsoft,
Google, Lotame, Acxiom and Nativo”.
Just a word to the wise.
Just a word to the wise.
They are watching (and data mining) you.
There is an alternative, of course: read the newspaper.
With a newspaper, you can read whatever stories you want, in privacy…
With a newspaper, you can read whatever stories you want, in privacy…
Without someone looking over your shoulder, trying to make a buck off your personal “data”
OLD HOME WEEK: COUNCIL MEMBER RETREADS
As I was looking through the most recent list of mayoral appointees, a thought struck me:
Apparently, in this city, there is no such thing as Council members being put out to pasture.
There’s a pretty impressive list of former Council members who still receive paychecks
from the City, thanks to Mayor Coleman.
All of these names should sound quite familiar.
All of these names should sound quite familiar.
- Ted Anderson is (the last time I looked) a Community Center staff member.
- Frank Legan just finished up his term as a member of the City’s Board of Building & Zoning Appeals (BBZA).
- Tony Valentino’s term on the BBZA continues.
- The mayor just appointed Jamie Pilla to a 6 year term on the City’s Civil Service Commission.
- And last, but not least, Rocco Dolciato just received a 2 year appointment to the Park & Recreation Commission.
Those who love “same old, same old” and familiar faces (like the mayor,
apparently) can rest easy.
There’s a lot of that going around in the City these days
PLEASE DON’T FEED THE DEER...... WE MEAN IT!
Police Chief Jim Cook reported at the January 26th Council meeting that he and Building Commissioner Dale Grabfelder recently talked to a resident in the Canterbury neighborhood about not feeding deer.
Bambi fans and other soft-hearted folks think they are doing a good deed , but the reality is that feeding draws deer from all over the area into neighborhoods and allows for unnatural population explosions… neither of which is a good thing.
But it’s not just that.
Police Chief Jim Cook reported at the January 26th Council meeting that he and Building Commissioner Dale Grabfelder recently talked to a resident in the Canterbury neighborhood about not feeding deer.
Bambi fans and other soft-hearted folks think they are doing a good deed , but the reality is that feeding draws deer from all over the area into neighborhoods and allows for unnatural population explosions… neither of which is a good thing.
But it’s not just that.
It’s also illegal.
The City has an ordinance prohibiting the practice, the violation of which can
lead to the issuance of citations and maybe even an appointment with a judge.
The message from the City:
The message from the City:
Enjoy the deer, just don’t feed them.
POSTCARD OF THE WEEK
I am fortunate to have relatives who live in Florida.
Here's a souvenir from a recent trip.
I am fortunate to have relatives who live in Florida.
Here's a souvenir from a recent trip.
