From the Editor: The Observer has received questions from Cleveland Heights residents about staffing levels of the city's fire department and the city's rejection of federal stimulus funding for the fire department – questions raised, in part, by recent information distributed by the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 402/Cleveland Heights. The union's perspective is presented separately in this issue as a letter to the editor. The Observer asked the City of Cleveland Heights to explain its position on current staffing and on the federal grant. The city's response follows:

JULY 19, 2010

• Council receives a thank you
• Runnymede water line replacement
• Community Center lighting renovation costs
• City’s strategic development plan
• Nelaview homes declared nuisances
• Fall/Winter recreation fees
• 2011 tax budget
• Heights Parent Center merger
• Municipal court upgrade

AUGUST 2, 2010

• Parent concerns with RTA cuts affecting students
• Canterbury road condition
• Street assessments
• Emergency clause votes
• Firefighter staffing
• Bid advertisements
• Board of Zoning appeals
• Flood zones
• First suburbs advanced energy SID
• Euclid Heights Blvd. property.
• Landlord training
• City commissions have openings
• Recreation fees
• Community Improvement and Tender Loving Care awards
• Water division purchases
• Storm water management at Denison Park

The City of Cleveland Heights has posted a draft Strategic Development Plan 2010 on its website, www.clevelandheights.com. The strategic plan, designed as a framework for action by city government, is the first strategic plan put forth by the city since 1993.

It promises to be an exciting voting season: more than 90 candidates have filed to run in the elections for Cuyahoga County Executive and County Council.

JULY 6, 2010

• Assessment notices
• Bonds to purchase equipment
• 2011 tax budget
• Water line repairs
• Street repairs
• Cumberland Parking Lot project
• Ice rinks maintenance
• Green zoning

JUNE 21, 2010

• “Independents Week”
• Hydrant bids; new truck
• Focus summer 2010
• Bonds to fund projects
• Block grant funds to non-profits
• Soccer field project
• Energy efficiency project
• Additional bond-funded projects
• Coventry fair incident

The City of Cleveland Heights’ Community Improvement Awards Committee and the Cleveland Heights Landmark Commission are accepting nominations for their annual awards programs.

Patricia Pavlovitch was presented with the 2010 Legacy Award by The-ClevelandHOST, Heights Old School Tigers, an alumni group that represents Heights High's first black students. The award ceremony took place on June 24 at The Alcazar, and was a complete surprise to Pavlovitch. 

JUNE 7, 2010

• Purchase of homes
• Reallocation of block grant funds
• Funds to Home Repair Resource Center
• Funds to Open Doors
• Purchase of trucks
• Taylor Road Rehabilitation
• Norfolk project monies
• Extension of electric power agreement
• Design services for Denison Park
• New city plans
• Lead remediation monies

All council members present.

MAY 17, 2010

• High school scholars honored
• Speeding concern
• Bids to be advertised
• Secondhand dealers legislation amended
• Ambulance billing modified
• CDBG funds allocated
• Trucks purchased for public works
• Home to be renovated and resold 

Council Member Bonnie Caplan was excused.

The City of Cleveland Heights is planning a major update to its strategic plan, a framework document for the longer-term initiatives of city government. The first such plan was drafted in 1988, with the most recent update being put into place in 1993. 

The strategic plan addresses many of the same topics considered during the city’s visioning process of several years ago, but the two initiatives are not directly related. The recommendations that emerged from the 18-month-long visioning process, carried out with significant citizen participation beginning in 1999, are summarized on the city’s Web site, at www.clevelandheights.com.

REGULAR MEETING—Monday, May 3, 2010

• Bicycle Friendly Community
• Spangler Road house purchase
• Vacant property donated to community garden
• Traffic codes changed to conform to state laws
• Recycling consortium
• Parking meter refurbishing
• EfficientGovNow

Sharon Cole—an engineer with nearly 20 years of experience in the private, nonprofit and public sectors, and who has worked at the local, state and federal levels of government—has entered the race for Cuyahoga County Council in District 10. District 10 consists of Cleveland Wards 10 and 11, Bratenahl, East Cleveland and Cleveland Heights.   

“I am anxious to devote my energy and skills toward putting Cuyahoga County on a path to economic growth, and restoring the faith and confidence of residents in their elected representatives,” said Cole.

APRIL 19, 2010 

• Heights Arts announcements
• Bids authorized
• Contract awards
• City house purchase
• Construction process changes
• Solar bus shelters
• Community shredding day
• Housing funding assistance
• Tax abatement
• East Derbyshire Neighborhood Improvement Program
• High beam ticketing

Did you know that Cleveland Heights has seven districts listed in the National Register of Historic Places? Learn about them as Chris Roy, president of the Cleveland Heights Historical Society,  presents a slide lecture on the districts on Thursday, May 20, at 7 p.m.

Most Clevelanders are aware that, of all the area’s suburbs, Cleveland Heights has one of the richest and most interesting histories. The city has a many neighborhoods recognized by the National Register of Historic Places. Armed with scores of old photographs and historic tidbits, Chris Roy leads a virtual tour of Cleveland Heights’ most interesting historical areas, all of which are now—or are slated to soon become—part of the National Register.

 

MARCH 15, 2010

·     Monticello Boulevard project

·     Solar RTA shelters

·     Noble Road gas station declared nuisance

·     Street assessments

·     Fair housing audits

·     New city cars

·     Website changes

·     County agreement on foreclosed properties

APRIL 5, 2010

·     City salaries set

·     Fire department grant

·     Census forms missed some homes

·     Ohio Bell Easements

·     Brush chipper purchase

·     Spring lawn refuse pickup

·     Parking permit fees raised

MARCH 15, 2010

All council members present.

Mourning Police Officer Patton

Mayor Edward Kelley expressed his condolences to the family, friends, and fellow police officers of Officer Thomas F. Patton II who died in the line of duty on Saturday, March 13.

House purchased

City Manager Robert Downey reported that 850 Hampstead Road had been purchased for $10,000 plus costs.

City manager granted authority for bidding and contracts

Council passed three pieces of legislation, authorizing the city manager to:

- Advertise for bids for catch basin cleaning and the televising of sewers;

- Contract with CT Consultants, Inc. for work on the city’s 2010 street resurfacing program;

Former Cleveland Heights Mayor Alan Rapoport is running for a seat on the new Cuyahoga County Council in the Democratic primary, to be held Tuesday, Sept. 7. "This is an exciting opportunity to form a new government for the County and I want to make a positive difference again," he said.

JANUARY 19, 2010

Vice Mayor Phyllis Evans excused.

Designations sought

Mary Dunbar of Fairfax Road said that she was working with city officials on the designation of the Fairfax neighborhood as an historic district on the National Register of Historic Places and of Cleveland Heights as a bike-friendly community by the League of American Bicyclists.

The City of Cleveland Heights will host a “Countdown to the Census” meeting on Thursday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. at the Cleveland Heights Community Center, located at Monticello Boulevard and Mayfield Road.

DECEMBER 21, 2009

Vice Mayor Phyllis Evans excused

Cedar-Lee businesses worried about crime

Speaking on behalf of the owners and operators of businesses in the Cedar-Lee business district, many of whom were present, John Zagara, owner of Zagara’s Marketplace, expressed frustration with drug activity and related crimes at Quinn’s and other locations in the neighborhood and the insufficient action being taken. Declan Synnott of Cleveland Heights Boulevard and owner of Parnell’s Pub stated his displeasure with drug activity near CVS and the high school and hoped that the city would not let it get out of control. Mayor Kelley responded that business people should call the police readily about any type of questionable activity. He stated that five police officers would be reinstated early next year.

The Cleveland Heights Municipal Court has started the fourth year of its mediation partnership with Case Western Reserve University School of Law.

The program makes mediators available twice a week for small claims, evictions, rent deposit cases and other civil cases. Yuri Linetsky and Andrew Pollis, visiting assistant professors of law, currently run the Civil Litigation and Mediation Clinic at the law school. Law students volunteer through the clinic to work with litigants, under their professors’ supervision, in a meeting room located in the same building as the court.

Cleveland Heights Mayor Ed Kelley gave the following speech at the Jan. 4, 2010 Cleveland Heights City Council Meeting. The Heights Observer prints it here with his permission.

I would like to thank the voters of Cleveland Heights for re-electing me. Thank you.

I would like to thank my family for all their support during the last campaign and the last sixteen years on Cleveland Heights City Council. Without your love and support I could not serve on this City Council.

To my wife Mary Beth, thank you for your continued support and guidance on my journey. To my friend and lifetime supporter Brendan Ring, thank you for swearing me in tonight. But more importantly, thank you for your sage advice and the use of Nighttown Restaurant as my office and my home away from home. Thank you to Dennis Wilcox and Cheryl Stephens for your nominations.

To my colleagues in City Council, specifically Bonnie Caplan, Mark Tumeo,  and Cheryl Stephens. Congratulations on your outstanding election victory in a crowded field of ten. To Vice Mayor Phyllis Evans, Councilman Ken Montlack  and Councilman Dennis Wilcox, I look forward to working with you again for at least another two years.

These two years that are ahead will set the course for Cleveland Heights for many years into the future.

NOVEMBER 16, 2009

All council members present.

School-neighbor-city communications

Melvin Russell of 3432 Euclid Heights Boulevard related progress on agreements with Mosdos Ohr Ha Torah School, which is razing the house next door to his, and requested more space between the school’s planned playground and his property line. Law Director John Gibbon pointed out that the school had received a conditional use certificate to place the playground equipment and suggested that the Russells talk to the school and then again with the planning commission. Russell thanked Planning Director Richard Wong for facilitating communication and expressed appreciation for the planting of a natural fence. Later in the meeting council approved amendments to the complex resolution involving variance requests in setback and drive aisle specifications by the school and then voted for continuance for 30 days with the consent of the school principal so that further progress could be made on this unusual situation.

What would you do if you noticed something strange going on in your neighborhood? Would you call the police or let your neighbors know?

A Coventry neighborhood couple did just that the other week when they noticed a strange man going up and down drive ways in their neighborhood. One of them began calling neighbors to alert them, while the other went outside to investigate. The neighbor followed the man as he got into his car and wrote down his license plate number. 

Cleveland Heights has added a valuable new resource for emergency preparedness with the completion of training for its first Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). Nineteen volunteers completed the eight-week, 18-hour training program.

“Cleveland Heights, like most cities, is staffed and equipped to handle their average daily emergency load,” assured Fire Chief Kevin Mohr. “If something really bad happens, we have ready access to backup from neighboring cities. But a large-scale emergency may create the need to employ additional resources. That is where a properly trained CERT team is of great value.”

CERT volunteers can provide first aid and other assistance—anything to help bring order to a chaotic situation. Even simple tasks, such as taking names of people as they are evacuated from a disaster scene, can free up professional responders for other jobs.

The Cleveland Heights CERT is part of a nationwide network of volunteers trained to assist in emergencies. More than 1,100 communities have CERTs, including about 30 in the Cleveland area. Part of the program’s mission is to teach volunteers to help their neighbors without putting themselves at risk.

Employee health care plans approved

Council authorized two agreements related to health care for city employees and their families. The first was with Medical Mutual of Ohio for the provision of insured medical, hospital and prescription drug services; the second was with Employee Benefits Consultants for the provision of services as a third-party administrator for the city’s self-funded dental program.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2009

Council Member Bonnie Caplan excused.

Citizen concern about police response

Kendra Reddick of Cummings Road complained about inadequate responses by city police to two calls concerning individuals disturbing the peace in her neighborhood. City Manager Robert Downey said that he and Police Chief Lentz would look into the matter. Ms. Reddick was thanked for her concern and asked to stay and speak with the city manager after the meeting.

Ten candidates are running for four spots on Cleveland Heights City Council. The position is a four-year term and pays $9,270 annually. Cleveland Heights Mayor is elected by city council. This position pays $11,480 annually.

The candidates are:

Gary Benjamin

Bonnie Caplan (incumbent)

Mary Dunbar

Edward J. Kelley (incumbent)

Fran Mentch

Toby Rittner

Jason S. Stein

Cheryl Stephens

Keba Sylla

Mark A. Tumeo (incumbent)

FutureHeights and the Heights Observer asked the candidates to respond to a questionniare. Follow the links above to read their answers and find out more information.

Biographical Information

Neighborhood: Boulevard/Forest Hill

Tell us about yourself.
A life long resident for 52 years , born and raised here
Status: Married, 5 children (Eddie 19, Erin 17, Ryan 14, Sean 12 and Patrick 8 1/2)
Groups: Serve on the RTA Board, the Senior Transportation Connection, County Planning Commission, Mayors and Managers, Coach Youth Sports, Eucharistic Minister St. Ann and St. Louis)
 

Biographical information

Tell us about yourself. 

My husband, Mace, and I and our two girls moved to our home on Lynn Park Drive in 1989. While the girls attended public school I was active as a school volunteer, as an officer in the Noble Elementary PTA, and I was the Noble School liaison for the school levy campaign. After our older daughter graduated from Noble, we sent both girls to Laurel School; one graduated from there and the other graduated from Hawken School. Currently our younger daughter is a senior at Case and our older daughter lives in California.

I have a Masters in Social Work from the University of Pittsburgh, and I am licensed as an LISW-S. My social work career includes employment in hospitals, mental health centers, nursing homes, adult protective services, and the psychiatric emergency room at St. Vincent Charity Hospital; I was a program manager for eight years for the psychiatric emergency service, the Cuyahoga County Mobile Crisis Team.

Biographical Information

What neighborhood or area of the city do you live in? Fairfax

How long have you lived in Cleveland Heights? What brought you here? 

Lived in Cleveland Heights since 1970 - 39 years. My husband came to be a professor in the Chemistry Department at Case Western Reserve University. You might say I came because of love.

Biographical information

What neighborhood or area of the city do you live in?

2885 Coleridge Road, Fairfax Neighborhood

How long have you lived in Cleveland Heights? What brought you here?

My wife and I moved to Cleveland Heights 4 years ago. As President & CEO, I relocated a national non-profit organization, the Council of Development Finance Agencies (CDFA), to downtown Cleveland from Washington, DC.

Biographical information

What neighborhood or area of the city do you live in? I live in the Forest Hill neighborhood.

How long have you lived in Cleveland Heights? What brought you here?

I have lived in Cleveland Heights for 20 years. I moved into Cleveland Heights because I was hired by the city of Cleveland Heights to manage economic development programs.

Biographical Information

Neighborhood:  Milikin Neighborhood, near South Taylor and Severance Circle.

Has lived in the Heights all his life.

Biographical information

What neighborhood or area of the city do you live in? I live in the Coventry Neighborhood.

How long have you lived in Cleveland Heights? What brought you here?

I have lived in Cleveland Heights for almost 13 years. I moved here from Alaska to be closer to my family and to take a position at Cleveland State University.

2008 city audit accepted

Thomas Malone, director of finance, announced that the State Auditor’s review of the city’s 2008 audit was found to be acceptable with no modifications.

Police chiefs and juvenile judge meet

Council member Kenneth Montlack reported that police chiefs from the First Suburbs Consortium met several times with Administrative Judge Thomas O’Malley of the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court regarding youthful misconduct. 

More than 115 Cleveland Heights residents “stepped up” their involvement in shaping their city’s future by attending a public forum featuring candidates for the Cleveland Heights City Council.

The Sept. 16 meeting at Forest Hill Church was sponsored by Step It Up, an informal group of Cleveland Heights residents who came together last spring to energize citizen involvement in the fall election as a way to shape the City’s future. Bonnie Caplan, who was out of the country, was the only candidate unable to participate.

Biographical information

What neighborhood or area of the city do you live in? I live in Cedar-Fairmount.

How long have you lived in Cleveland Heights? What brought you here? 

I have lived here 4 years and came because my fiancée, now my wife, took a job in Akron. We had a lot of friends in Cleveland and Shaker Heights so moving here was a natural for us.

Biographical information

What neighborhood or area of the city do you live in? I live in Overlook/ Boulevard area.

How long have you lived in Cleveland Heights? What brought you here?

I have been living in the city for the past 10 years since I came to a Conference at Case Western University.

Biographical information

What neighborhood or area of the city do you live in?

I live in the Noble School Neighborhood, north of Mayfield.

How long have you lived in Cleveland Heights? What brought you here?

We have lived in this same neighborhood for 40 years, we moved here from Boston. My husband was offered a job at CWRU and is still there

As I gathered signatures to get on the ballot for City Council of Cleveland Heights I was surprised at how many people complained about potholes. I know Taylor road is bad, and some of the residential streets around me have a few holes, but residents are telling me - "We have potholes; we've called the City; and the potholes are not repaired even from last Spring!"

As the home foreclosure crisis continues to shake communities nationwide, the City of Cleveland Heights, like many other small cities, is left with the burden of vacant or foreclosed homes.

"As the economy started to turn, and because of the unscrupulous lending practices, like every other community we started to see that things were just not in balance for homeowners here in Cleveland Heights," said Susanna Niermann O’Neil, the vice manager and director of community relations for Cleveland Heights.

Starting five or six years ago, the city began seeing sharp rises in foreclosures, even as they mailed pamphlets warning renters and homeowners to beware of predatory lending practices, including the now notorious subprime loans.

July 20, 2009

Council member Bonita Caplan excused.

Citizen communications

David Bergstein of Council Gardens on North Taylor Road spoke about the need to fix potholes on Severance Circle and Taylor Road and asked whether the City might consider making a path to reduce the distance that Council Gardens residents have to walk to get to Severance Center. Cheryl Zellner of Cumberland Road expressed concern about overcrowding and security at Cumberland Park. Sheree Harris of Noble Road spoke about young people congregating on Yellowstone Road near Noble and the unsightliness of abandoned homes with uncut lawns.

A drive around any of the 12 commercial districts in Cleveland Heights will reveal a growing inventory of vacant storefronts and office space above them.

All of the busiest districts in the Heights have vacancies (see box at right). Coventry Road, for example, is home to a variety of stores and restaurants and still has about six notable vacant storefronts. The same goes for the Severance Town Center, which has 10 vacant units.

There is no entity that tracks vacancy rates at this level, so reliable percentages of commercial occupancy don't exist. But for anyone who knows the area well, it's apparent that the number of empty storefronts and available space has been rising rather than falling.

Step It Up Cleveland Heights will continue to promote public discussion of its Citizen Agenda at a public forum to be held on Sept. 16 at Forest Hill Church. The 7:00 p.m. event will engage candidates for Cleveland Heights City Council in a discussion of key issues affecting the city’s future and how prospective city council members see themselves working for the community.

A five-issue Citizen Agenda is available at www.heightsobserver.org.

Susie Kaeser is a community volunteer and advocate for public education.

MONDAY JUNE 15, 2009

All council members present.

Parking variance concerns in Kenilworth

Elliot Posner of Kenilworth Road thanked council for delaying their decision, made at a June 1 meeting, on a parking variance request by the Benjamin Rose Institute located at 2373 Euclid Heights Boulevard. Neighbors who had quickly organized into an association were concerned about the possibility of the narrow Kenilworth Lane turning into a “parking lot” due to the institute’s planned increase in residents. Kathy Browning also of Kenilworth Road brought up the same concerns and thanked the city for its quick response to neighborhood concerns. Mr. Posner suggested that council include the new Kenilworth Road Association in future discussions about the neighborhood.

What does it take to be an effective leader in Heights government?

A group of concerned citizens calling itself Step It Up Cleveland Heights has some ideas. The group, formed in early spring, is setting goals for city council candidates with an eye toward the election coming up in November.

At a July 16 public meeting, citizens were encouraged to come and share their thoughts on what candidates need to address in the upcoming election. “We did not want to be passive about this election,” said Sheldon Glave, a member of Step It Up. The group plans to use ideas presented at the meeting to create questions for a team formed to interview candidates and report back to the public. Step It Up members Russell Berusch and Mark Chupp led most of the discussion as candidates in attendance were asked to refrain from input and merely observe. 

Cleveland Heights Public Works employees spruced up the new green space on Lee Road between Meadowbrook and Tullamore Roads on Wed. July 30.

A work crew planted several trees and shrubs, spread mulch and painted a wall that runs along the back of the lot.

The empty lot was originally designated for Terraces on Lee, a mixed-use condominium and retail development, by Al Neyer, Inc. The project was abandoned when not enough condominiums were presold.

In anticipation of the upcoming Cleveland Heights City Council election, a group of concerned citizens came together this spring to promote strong leadership and citizen involvement. There are four seats up for election with three incumbents seeking reelection. The goal of the group, Step It Up Cleveland Heights, is to attract a wide range of candidates—young and old, new and long-term residents, and people from across the rich ethnic and racial diversity of our community.

Over a period of weeks the group, which included Mazie Adams, Russell Berusch, Gina Cheverine, Mark Chupp, Rev. Tricia Dykers Koenig, Sheldon Glave, Susie Kaeser, Jeff Smith, and Diana Woodbridge, wrote a position statement for voters to sign. It calls for candidates with new ideas wo will promote positive growth and change in Cleveland Heights. Based on conversations with many citizens, the group identified five pressing issues that City Council members must address. Step It Up has not endorsed any candidate and is inviting all those seeking office to respond to the statement and its content in a public forum to be held in September.

Three local politicians from different municipalities got together on June 17, at the invitation of FutureHeights and the League of Women Voters, to discuss with residents how Cleveland’s suburban governments can work together — or possibly merge — to share resources and revenues.



The panelists — South Euclid Mayor Georgine Welo, University Heights Councilman Kevin Patrick Murphy and Cleveland Heights Councilman Mark Tumeo — brought different perspectives to the table, though all agreed there was a need for further collaboration among their governments.



The City of Cleveland Heights prepares for everyday emergencies but during a disaster the community needs all the help it can get. Residents may initially be on their own when disaster strikes, but being prepared can make a difference. The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program is designed to teach residents to protect themselves, their family and neighbors in an emergency.

MONDAY MAY 18, 2009

Mayor Edward J. Kelley excused.

*Heights Youth Club

Irene Smith, of Chatfield Road and Secretary for the Heights Youth Club, thanked the council for its part in the club’s success. The club has received permission to begin including all kids in the school district and Executive Director Roscoe Morgan is meeting with the schools to coordinate plans for next year.

Cheryl Stephens, a long-time resident of Cleveland Heights will hold a press conference and fundraiser on June 17 to announce and kick off her run for Cleveland Heights City Council. The event will be held at 2596 Fairmount Blvd is from 6-8pm.  Contributions are $50 and up.  Please RSVP to Erin at 216.650.6340.

Stephens, an economic development professional currently serving on the Cleveland Heights Planning Commission, previously served as the city’s director of planning and development and as director of the Cuyahoga County Department of Development; she currently sits on the Cuyahoga County Board of Revision. Her expertise in economic development also extends to projects that utilize funding such as state and federal historic tax credits.

Thinking about buying a home or refinancing your current one? You may wonder: How do I get ready financially? Can a realtor help me find the house? Will I qualify for a mortgage? Is my home equity safe if I refinance? Should I consider a reverse mortgage? What must I know to buy a foreclosed or bank-owned home or rent-to-own?

Despite our troubled economy, or maybe because of it, this might be the right time to buy a home. Interest rates are low, inventory is high and there are great bargains to be had. The City of Cleveland Heights and the Home Repair Resource Center will sponsor a free information fair for anyone considering these questions from 8:30 a.m. to noon on Saturday, June 13, at Cleveland Heights City Hall, 40 Severance Circle.

The design of a new Red Line rail station at University Circle will be the topic of a community meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, June 9 at the Cleveland Heights Community Center.

In October 2007, the RTA board of trustees awarded a contract to URS Corp. to design a new rapid transit station. The design process includes a detailed traffic study; land use and development plan; new design of the bus loop area; and a station entrance building and platform. RTA staff and the architectural design team have been working through the complicated tasks of building a rail station in a confined space, along a busy city street adjacent to active rail tracks.

Monday, APRIL 20, 2009

All council members present.

New Poet Laureate

The fourth Poet Laureate of Cleveland Heights is Gail Bellamy. Bellamy, who was introduced by her predecessor Mary E. Weems, read a poem in praise of Cleveland Heights, titled “The Meat in a History Sandwich.”

Cleveland Heights Council Member Nancy Dietrich has announced that she will not run for re-election this fall.

“I think it would be good for the group to have somebody new,” she said. “I love the group of people we have. We have the benefit of long-term relationships with each other and with staff. We get a lot done. But we are less challenging to each other than we were. We question less.”