Happy Anniversary and Other Items

This blog was launched on March 2009. It’s been a great 4 years so far…with more to come.

SPRING FEVER!

Noreen Paradise (of the Highland Heights Garden Club) appeared at Council’s Feb 26^th Committee of the Whole meeting to report on the Highland Heights Community Garden.

Paradise told Council that the Garden’s inaugural season was a huge success, so much so that all of the plots are already spoken for. She has a waiting list for the 2013 season.

“Everything was great. We had hundreds of pounds of produce. By the end we couldn’t collect it all.”

Mayor Coleman and Council were receptive to Paradise’s suggestions to build on the Garden’s success this year---by expanding the garden and installing a more permanent (and groundhog-resistant) fence.

‘’’…(We could) potentially expand the garden to the west. Perhaps put in 2 more rows…. Put in 12 more beds. It would allow residents late to party to rent space.”

Councilman Leo Lombardo, who had an abundant Garden plot last year, shared his concern about berry bushes that a fellow gardener planted, which apparently brought on a Japanese beetle infestation. Paradise promised to address the issue, humorously commenting,

“The groundhog ate a whole lot more than the beetles, but unfortunately we couldn’t get them in the soapy waters.”

THE CITY’S 2013 BUDGET: “TIGHT” WITH DEFICIT SPENDING

The City of Highland Heights spends more than $17 million every year.

That’s a lot of money.

Deciding how to spend that money is the single most important policy decision that the mayor and Council make.

Last week, they met to discuss the budget.

The meeting lasted just 18 minutes---making it an almost $1 million a minute conversation.

Mayor Scott Coleman, Finance Director Joe Filippo and Legislative & Finance Chair Councilman Leo Lombardo parroted each other, describing the budget as “tight”.

Here are a couple of highlights from the 2013 budget:

---The city projects that overall it will take in $17,549,104 as revenue and spend $ 17,697,181 this year. That adds up to a $148,077 deficit.

The budget figures will undoubtedly change as the year progresses---they usually do. Significantly, the city is still negotiating new labor contracts, which could really impact the city’s final revenue and expenditure figures.

Fortunately the city has a $7million+ reserve to fall back on, should the deficit-spending projection hold firm.

---One big contributor to the city’s projected 2013 deficit spending is (no shock) the Park & Recreation Commission (P&R).

After towing the line for a couple of years, P&R is apparently back to its old deficit-spending ways.
The budget shows P&R overspending its revenue by almost $80,000 this year.

It’s troubling to see, especially given the generous support that P&R receives from Highland Heights taxpayers each year.
Pursuant to our charter, 1 mil of the property taxes collected by the city are put into P&R’s coffers. Those taxes and program fees make up P&R’s revenue---projected to exceed $600,000 this year.

A few years ago P&R got into big trouble with its deficit-spending.  Things improved for awhile after that.
Unfortunately, however, it seems that living within its means has turned out to be a very short-lived P&R practice indeed.

---Another item of interest: increased spending for Community Day.

The city used to sponsor a 3 day community festival, known as “Home Days”.

In 2010 Mayor Scott Coleman cut the festival back to a one day event. It is now known as “Community Day”.
While fireworks were retained, the well-attended city parade got the boot.

Councilman Chuck Brunello---who also serves on P&R --- has headed the Community Day Committee since 2010.  He and the other committee members spend a lot of time planning the one day event.

The city spent $20,301 on Community Day in 2010.

The budget shows that this year the city is planning to spend $30,000.
For those of you who hate doing the math, that amounts to a 50% increase in 3 years.

AIRPORT ROAD RELOCATION: NOT OFF THE TABLE?

A couple of years ago, the county floated the idea of relocating Richmond and/or Bishop Roads to allow for a major expansion of the Cuyahoga County Airport.

Residents hit the roof.

Local opposition and the Cuyahoga County corruption scandal seemed to put an end to that scheme.

“Seemed” is the operative word.

 According to a recent Plain Dealer story, the county is still hoping to expand the runway. The story led readers to believe that any expansion would stay within the airport’s current boundaries.

President of Council Cathy Murphy---who is a member of the airport’s Noise Abatement Council---took issue with that spin.
In a letter to the editor Murphy wrote:

“…I'm not as confident … that the idea of relocating Richmond and Bishop roads to allow for airport runway expansion has been taken off the table...Seven "alternatives" are being studied. Six out of them entail expanding the airport footprint by relocating Bishop and/or Richmond Roads.”

Murphy urged interested residents to weigh in on the issue while an environmental study is underway, to ensure that their comments would be included in the study. According to Murphy:

“Residents can express opinions by going to www.cuyahoga-airportea.com and sending an email or by mailing a letter to the Cuyahoga County Airport/Environmental Assessment Study, 26300 Curtiss Wright Pkwy., Richmond Heights 44143.”

You can read Murphy's letter at:

http://blog.cleveland.com/letters/2013/02/cuyahoga_county_airport_runway.html

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE WATER MAIN?

During his most recent reelection campaign Mayor Scott Coleman promised that he would come up with a plan for replacing the Highland Road water main within 100 days after returning to office.

That was an important commitment.
The water main supplies water to a large portion of the city---and to communities to our east as well.
The Cleveland Water Department identified it for replacement several years ago, due to increasing instances of failure of the water main’s joint flanges/rings. 

Replacing the water main will take a lot of thoughtful planning, given the cost and extent of work required.
Having to do it on an emergency basis would cost a whole lot more.

Residents are still waiting for Mayor Coleman to make good on his campaign pledge, and based on the conversation at last week’s council meeting, I’m guessing they’re going to have to wait a whole lot longer.

The mayor appears to be backing away from tackling the water main project, focusing on something else instead: renovating Miner Road.

The mayor is quite familiar with Miner Road. It’s the road he uses to access his home and neighborhood.

Service Director Thom Evans recently reported that the county is willing to reimburse the city for repaving Miner Road---a nice offer for sure.
But the mayor wants to do more than repave the road. He wants to spend several million dollars renovating it.
Replacing the Highland Road water main would cost more.

 

After listening to the discussion at last week’s Council meeting I got the distinct impression that the county repaving offer was driving the mayor’s selection of the city’s next infrastructure project.
That’s unfortunate.

Deciding how to spend public money is the biggest and most important policy decision that the mayor and Council make each year.

The decision about which infrastructure project to tackle next shouldn’t be based on which is the easiest or cheapest to get done.
It should be based on which project is more urgent and more vital to preserving city assets (like water mains) and ensuring the provision of necessary services (like water) to residents.

Money is a tool.
Interest rates are at historic lows.
As a friend of mine (with an advanced degree in economics) pointed out, that means that cities have a unique opportunity right now to borrow money very cheaply. In his opinion, any city would be crazy not to take advantage of that opportunity to pay for big-ticket items, like infrastructure needs.

That got me thinking.

Instead of draining the general fund to pay to renovate one road, as the mayor seems inclined to do, should the city consider borrowing money (at low cost) to do both the Highland Road water main and Miner Road project, preserving capital by repaying for that work over time?

Mayor Coleman is familiar with borrowing money to get municipal needs addressed.
He was part of a team that successfully pursued bond money during former Mayor Fran Hogg’s tenure.
Those bonds financed major infrastructure work, including installation of the city’s new pool.

Deciding to take on debt to get needed work done would take leadership---real leadership---on the part of any mayor.
I’m not sure we can expect to see that kind of leadership from Mayor Scott Coleman.

That’s really a shame.

Residents have to wonder about the mayor’s priorities.

  

Is he really willing to risk a city-wide water main failure so that he can have a smoother commute to work?

GETGO REDUX?

Highland Heights residents anxiously await developer Lance Osborne’s next move after the mega GetGo rezoning issue failed. Will he negotiate or litigate?

Happy New Year!

I was traveling and busy tending to family matters, which distracted me from many normal activities last fall---including writing this blog.

But it’s a new year and I’m back in the saddle.

I have to say that I felt very lucky to be out of Ohio during the last few weeks before the November election----and not just because I missed Hurricane Sandy’s nasty weather.
It was delightful to be able to watch television without being assaulted by torrents of political advertising, and equally wonderful to escape the muck propagated by all those ideologically-driven super PACs.

Although I was out of town, I kept close tabs on the GetGo rezoning issue.

For those of you who missed the results, 5205 Highland residents voted on election day.
Issue 58, the GetGo rezoning issue, passed citywide by 552 votes, however voters in 3 precincts (Wards 1-B, 4-A and 4-B) rejected it outright.
Pursuant to our city Charter, the Ward 4 vote decided the issue. 
Out of a total 1255 votes counted, 775 Ward 4 voters turned thumbs down on developer Lance Osborne’s plan to install a gasoline and diesel dispensing,16 pump mega GetGo gas station and convenience store, huge plastic overhead canopy and 6-by-18 foot LED display ground signs on the former Catalano’s grocery store property.
View the election results: http://boe.cuyahogacounty.us/pdf_boe/en-US/ElectionResults2012/Nov2012/11062012officialResultsbyPrecinctTotals.HTM

There’s been a lot of speculation about what Osborne’s next move will be.
Osborne stood to make a ton of money from the purchase/lease back deal he had worked out with Giant Eagle for the Catalano’s property, but that deal hinged on the mega GetGo gas station.
With so much money on the table, residents wonder:

Will Osborne do the right thing and respect the will of Highland Heights voters---or will he engage in a sour-grapes attempt to force a mega GetGo gas station down their throats?

A December 11^th Council executive session---held to discuss unspecified “pending imminent litigation”---could be one clue as to Osborne’s intentions.
Months before the November election, a city insider voiced their belief that Osborne would sue the city if the GetGo zoning issue failed.
Rumors are flying that he’s threatened to do just that.

How ironic.
When pitching his mega GetGo development plan to residents at public meetings before the election, Osborne always made sure to mention that he, himself, was a Highland Heights resident.
I was never quite sure what message Osborne was trying to send. Maybe:

Trust me, I’m one of you?

If the rumors are true, residents will have to wonder whether Osborne’s residency claims were actually a veiled threat. Was his real message:  

Give me what I want or, trust me, I’ll sue you?

I sincerely hope that’s not the case.

How disappointing for the city to be sued by the very person who used his Highland Heights residency status to sell himself to the residents.

At a post-election, November 11^th Council meeting, Former Councilman Sam Paternite spoke for many residents when he told Council:

“Now that the GetGo issue has been settled, I think it is time for Council to be pro-active on the Catalano’s property.

The Supreme Court has given the city the ability to do that---to take the property by eminent domain. The city should make Giant Eagle offer they can’t refuse: either sell the property with restrictions or the city will take it without restrictions…

We can’t let Giant Eagle hold the city hostage just because it wants a GetGo there.

If we just sit they will come at us, suing us trying to overrule the Ward 4 veto.

We can’t go another 7 years letting the (Catalano’s) property sit there…”

In last week’s Sun Messenger, Council President Cathy Murphy agreed with Paternite’s call for the city to be proactive. She said:

 “…we have to seize the opportunity to get something done this year to develop that corner. …I want to pursue development there without a gas station…
It is a vital corner…What’s important now is that we continue the dialogue because there is an opportunity there.”

http://www.cleveland.com/hillcrest/index.ssf/2013/01/highland_heights_officials_loo.html#incart_river

Council is a legislative body. It is not Council’s role to negotiate with commercial property owners and developers.
That role belongs to someone else----the city’s chief executive officer---the mayor.

I think it’s high time for Mayor Coleman---who has been remarkably quiet---to step forward and assume leadership on the issue.
The first thing he needs to do: sit down with Giant Eagle representatives and find out whether Giant Eagle intends to sell the Catalano’s property---as they told Council, a year ago, Giant Eagle would do if it a mega GetGo gas station wasn’t installed there.
If Giant Eagle has changed its mind, the mayor owes it to residents to work with Giant Eagle (and maybe developer Osborne as well) to come up with a new “development plan B” for Catalano’s--one that doesn’t involve rezoning it for gas station use.

The city has offered economic incentives in the past, to foster business growth and expansion in the city.
Maybe it’s time for Mayor Coleman to take that tool out of the shed, sharpen it up, and use it once again.

Whatever he does, he needs to do something---something other than sitting on the sidelines.