Now You See It..... Now You Don't

Just In Case You Missed It.

From Judge Gallagher's Opinion in the Bass Energy Suit:

"Section 2 of Resolution 63-2006 (authorizing Mayor Coleman to sign a drilling lease ) states that (it) is contingent upon the approval of... three (well) sites by the City of Highalnd Heights and the commitment of Bass Energy to drill the wells on all three sites. Pursuant to Resolution 63-2006, Defendant's mayor (Mayor Coleman) had no power to enter into the Lease until three locations were selected. Despite the fact that three locations were not selected or approved (of) in writing, the parties (Mayor Coleman and Bass) signed the Lease agreement."

No power, but Mayor Coleman signed the lease anyway---- OH MY.

Did You Notice What Was Missing From the Parade Route on Sunday?

The Home Days parade is a wonderful event. It's lots of fun to watch and to be part of (I've had the privilege to participate the last two years, as a member of the LOGS contingent). The parade travels from the Catalano's parking lot along Wilson Mills up to the Community Park.

One eagle eye participant noticed something missing from the parade route this year.

What was it?

The Cutter Oil sign that is posted at the end of Jim Dasher's Wilson Mills driveway--and the accompanying sign that warns against trespassing and the danger of having open flames in the area. (But heh, gas never escapes from those wells, does it? Oh yes, just ask our neighbors in Bainbridge, if you dont know the answer to that question.)

Both signs were gone on Sunday, when the parade passed by. But they were up again, by Monday.

Now you see it, now you don't.

Wonder why Cutter Oil was so anxious to be anonymous all of a sudden, after sinking wells in two Highland Heights residential neighborhoods....

Highland Road Pedestrian Pathway Cost Overruns. Yikes.

The final tally is in, and the cost overruns for that project--overseen by former city engineer Andy Blackley of Stephen Hovanscek & Associates, was approximately $ 150,000. I have heard that two other projects that Mr. Blackley oversaw in the last few years had similar, substantial cost overruns.

Mayor Coleman, with the support of Councilmen Anderson, Legan, Hargate, and Pilla, rehired Mr. Blackley's firm to serve as the city's engineering firm for the next two years...

At least some members of council showed some common and financial sense on that issue---councilwoman Murphy and councilmen Mills and Lombardo voted no.

Council Finally Took a Stand on the Gas Well Issue...but the Mayor was Silent (again)

On Tuesday, Council unanimously passed a resolution endorsing state Sen. Grendell's proposal to change the state's drilling laws, which seeks to better protect our residential neighborhoods from gas wells.

A copy of the resolutionwill be sent to the Governor and state legislative leaders in Columbus. Highland Heights has now joined Gates Mills, Mayfield Village, and other surrounding communities, all of whom have gone on the record in favor of changing the law to protect residential neighborhoods, restore some measure of local control, and stop "mandatory pooling," which drilling companies use to force property owners into drilling leaseholds.

I thanked council and commended them for their action.

Mayor Coleman sat in silence the entire time. He expressed no support for the resolution-- let alone personally endorse it.

Which brings me back to Judge Gallagher's finding:

Mayor Coleman inked the drilling deal with Bass Energy--allowing them to drill gas wells in the park---even though he did not have the legal power to do so. If he hadn't done that, there would be no $ 7 million suit against the city. But he did, and the suit continues on...

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Cause for Concern?

Councilwoman Cathy Murphy on the Case

Cathy Murphy reported at last week's council meeting that an empty and foreclosed home in her neighborhood had been targeted by individuals, who entered the home and over a period of time began stripping it of sinks, toilets, carpeting, and other saleable items. The group was aslo so bold as to remove the wood from the home's outdoor deck and fence.

Although the rest of council seemed initially uninterested, Mrs. Murphy pressed to discuss the issue further at last night's committee of the whole meeting. Her concern, she said, was in preserving not only the foreclosed properties, but the values of surrounding properties, as the foreclosure process went forward.


I was quite impressed with the amount of homework Cathy Murphy did to prepare for the meeting. She talked to officials in both South Euclid and Lyndhurst, which already have procedures in place to ensure that foreclosed homes are properly secured, monitored, and maintained. She also brought copies of ordinances and forms used by those cities.

After hearing her presentation, the remaining council members agreed with the approach she suggested, and the Law Director, Tim Paluf, was directed to begin working on appropriate legislation.


Kudos to Cathy Murphy for her proactive initiative.

More carts put before horses...

It is getting a bit discouraging watching how things get done in the city. The latest example is street striping (repainting the lines on streets) and street paving.

The 2009 budget included money for both paving and striping. Commonsense and logic would dictate that you'd repave streets first, and then have them striped.

But this is Highland Heights.

City council awarded the striping contract last month. Striping is well underway. Meanwhile, the bids for the repaving work are due to be open at the end of this week. Guess what will have to be done after the streets are repaved? You're right! They'll have to be restriped...

Whiteford Park

The renovation work for Whiteford Park (in the Highland Woods neighborhood) was to include new street lighting.

Highland Woods residents worked very hard to get the old and deteriorating playground equipment replaced, which was no easy feat given that Mayor Coleman and some city officials initially refused to acknowledge that Whiteford Park was a city park. At the same time, the residents also expressed concern about the after-hours congregation of teenagers in the park. Therefore, it was decided that additional street lighting should be added as part of the park renovation.

While the equipment has gone in, along with a sign that Councilman Ted Anderson proclaimed was the "most attractive in the city," no additional lighting has been added.

I was stunned to hear Mr. Anderson announce last night that City Service Director, Tom Evans, had looked into the lighting issue and decided that it could not be done, because it required adding a new electrical line from Miner Road.

Mr. Evans never reported to council that there was any issue with getting more lighting for the park. Like the residents of Highland Woods, council--except, apparently, for Mr. Anderson-- was once again kept in the dark.

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Updates: Bass Energy Suit, Drive-throughs, Construction Projects, And More

1. Bass Energy suit
Judge Gallagher issued a ruling on July 2nd, dismissing the suit filed by Bass Energy against the city. She directed the city and Bass to continue trying to find spots for, count 'em, three gas wells in the park, although she also noted that the lease could expire without an agreement of well sites having been reached.

The judge made a couple of significant findings. Here's an explosive one:

"Section 2 of Resolution 63-2006 (authorizing the mayor to sign a drilling lease ) states that (it) is contingent upon the approval of... three (well) sites by the City of Highalnd Heights and the commitment of Bass Energy to drill the wells on all three sites. Pursuant to Resolution 63-2006, Defendant's mayor (Mayor Coleman) had no power to enter into the Lease until three locations were selected. Despite the fact that three locations were not selected or approved (of) in writing, the parties (Mayor Coleman and Bass) signed the Lease agreement."

This confirms what then-council president Cathy Murphy has said in the past: council passed the resolution with the understanding that they would decide whether or not there were acceptable drilling sites in the park--before a lease was signed.

The meeting minutes and the deposition testimony given in the Bass suit establish that :

1) council was kept in the dark while Mayor Coleman, Law Director Tim Paluf, Service Director Tom Evans, and City Engineer Andy Blackley met with Bass for more than six months, as Bass moved forward with its drilling plan;

2) Bass was hoping to drill the wells while the park parking lot was being constructed, to mask its drilling activity;

3) Blackley was paid by Bass to choose well sites for it (he placed one gas well in a wetlands area, on constitutionally-protected greenspace) and to furnish plat maps so that it could obtain drilling permits; and

4) Blackley did not tell council about his activity---or disclose the locations of the well sites that he had chosen-- until months after the drilling permits were issued.

An overwhelming percentage of residents stated clearly, last November, that they do not want gas wells drilled in Highland Heights park. I hope the mayor and council keep that in mind, as they make decisions about what to do next.

2. Do we drive-through?

Readers of this blog will remember that the property owner of the old Ron's Shell gas station property---at the corner of Wilson Mills and Bishop Road----with the support of several council members--has expressed interest in putting a drive-through on that parcel.

City ordinances and zoning laws do not allow any drive-through restaurants in the city.

Cathy Murphy suggested that the city should have an expert traffic study done, to give council better information about whether a drive-through would be feasible at the Ron's Shell site.

The traffic study is in. According to the city engineer, a drive-through is not feasible at that corner. You can't have a drive-in there because of the traffic flow at the intersection and the size and location of the lot.

The council members who supported the idea seemed less than pleased at the news.

3. Construction project update

Two weeks ago, Mayor Coleman announced plans to move forward with rebuilding the intersection of Highland and Miner Roads, and Service Director Tom Evans indicated that the water main on Highland Road might have to be replaced too.

What a difference a couple of weeks make.

It turns out that all the federal stimulus money that the mayor anticipated receiving won't be arriving as a check in the mail anytime soon. This week, therefore, the mayor recommended to council that the city turn down the interest-free loan from the state, which was going to be used to help finance the Miner Road project, with the idea of reapplying for the loan in another year.

And council was told by the service director that the discussion about the water main was something that they needed to be aware of, which might have to be addressed down the road.

4. The old pool house renovation project

Mayor Coleman went ahead and asked council to put the old pool house renovation project out to bid---even after being told that the project was likely to cost upwards of $ 265,000 (way above the $ 75,000 price tag that the Park & Recreation Committee attached to the project).

I'm still struggling to understand why the Park & Rec Committee thinks renovating the old pool house is a much more important priority than, say, improving the safety of the park entrance, adding lighting to the tennis courts, or adding walking paths/trails, so that residents can actually enjoy the 70 + acres of parkland that the city is very blessed to own.

5. Debate over meeting times and frequency

Council holds two formal meetings a month, at 8 pm. They vote and transact city business at those meetings.

On alternate Tuesdays, council holds Committee of the Whole meetings at 7:30 pm, where thoughts, information, and ideas about pending issues and areas of concern are shared and discussed---prior to council taking any formal action on them.

Based on the discussion last Tuesday, it appears that Mayor Coleman and a few council members are looking to cut out half of the meetings. Same pay, half the attendance requirement.

Sweet deal, eh?

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