City Hall Kool Aid

[Amy Martin]

Just got this from our Block Club Captain, though you all might find it interesting . . .especially all of those fancy statistics that Colin is presenting:





Lakewood recently got a lot of attention when Thrillist named us one of the “coolest suburbs” in America’s biggest metro areas. What are they saying?



“Everyone in Lakewood already knows that Lakewood has been the place to live in Cleveland….It’s a prime location that's undergone incredible development that's legitimately good for the community. Everything you could ever want is now on Detroit Ave.”



What’s all the buzz about?



Let’s look at all that development that’s “legitimately good for the community.” Here’s a summary that every Lakewood resident can be proud of (some you can see and others are in the works):

More than 120 small businesses have either opened or undergone major renovation in the last five years (we have more than 4,000 small businesses in our city).
The former Christian Science Church on Detroit Avenue was purchased by Roundstone Insurance; the 45-person firm will move into the historic property within a year.
Premier Physicians bought the former Berger Village building (formerly Busch Funeral Home) on Detroit and is bringing more healthcare options to our city.
The vacant 19,000-square-foot former Spitzer auto dealership property on Detroit Avenue is the Wingstar Corporation’s new headquarters—they said they chose Lakewood because of the location and high quality local workforce.
Virginia Marti School of Design is expanding into the vacant Vedda commercial building on Detroit’s east end.
The vacant Payless shoe store was purchased to be retrofitted as an urgent care center, with physical therapy — more healthcare choices in Lakewood.
Clifton Pointe provides 24 new housing units in a townhouse development that has rejuvenated Sloane Avenue.
Forest City Development and Ryan Homes are building 50 new townhomes on the east end of Detroit Avenue. Estimated value: $12 million.
Liberty Development is building 40 McKinley Place townhomes on Lakewood’s west end, including many with first-floor master bedrooms in demand in our city. Estimated value: $14 million.
Nearly 6 acres on the old Lakewood Hospital site are being readied for redevelopment in the next 5 years. Estimated value: $60 million to $100 million.
The Cleveland Clinic is investing upwards of $50 million in a new family health center and emergency department.
The Solstice Steps in Lakewood Park have become a beloved attraction for residents and visitors alike. Next up in the plan is an overhaul of Kid’s Cove playground.
Dozens of repaving and resurfacing projects are making our streets easier to navigate and water and sewer improvements are ensuring our future. (Take a look at an interactive map at onelakewood.com to see where it’s all happening.)

So, what does all this exciting news mean for you and your city?

​​Small businesses keep opening here, joining the 4,000+ small businesses that are the foundation for our thriving economy (75% of the 12,000 workers in Lakewood work for small businesses).
Unemployment rates here are below county, state and national averages.
Income tax collections are up, more than 5% every year for the last three years. In 2016, that means an additional $557,000 to reinvest in our city’s growth.
Your house is worth more: Lakewood saw an average 8% growth in housing value in the 2015 reappraisal, one of only three communities in Cuyahoga County to see such improvement. That means an additional $1 million in revenues to reinvest in our city’s growth.

Congratulations, Lakewood! There is much to celebrate and much more to look forward to and appreciate! Join us in celebrating Lakewood—its growth and its future—for the Summer Solstice on Tuesday, June 21. The future looks as bright as we hope the sun will be on that special day.



Summer Solstice Celebration: As mentioned above, the Solstice Steps Celebration is slated to take place at 6 p.m. June 21, at the Solstice Steps. Live music is slated and food trucks will be on hand for the free event. In addition, a number of activities are scheduled. Bring a blanket — and perhaps a picnic basket — and enjoy the sunset. The Summer Solstice Celebration is weather-dependent, and will be canceled in the event of rain. For more information, visit the event Facebook page or onelakewood.com.



Summer street construction: Got the orange barrel blues? Well, the various infrastructure improvements will make our streets a little smoother. Please have a look at this new interactive map showing the projects, as well as real-time updates highlighting the progress. Not a bad idea to bookmark it on your web browser.



Autism Safety Roster: Officers from the Lakewood Police Department may now have a crucial advantage when responding to a call of a resident with autism who has wandered from home or experiencing a crisis situation. The police department has unveiled its innovative Autism Safety Roster to promote communication and enable the police to have quick and relevant access to information about a person with autism. “The Roster is for any person who either resides in, or attends school in, the city of Lakewood, who is affected with autism or any other related autism spectrum disorder,” said Lakewood Police Lt. Roger Warner, noting that the roster is for residents of any age.



Public Art Task Force: Public art has the ability to provide aesthetic beauty; educate and inspire; stimulate commerce and increase real estate values; build better citizens; provide for cultural interpretation; and to increase tourism and provide other benefits. With this in mind, the city of Lakewood sought to further explore the development of a public art plan for the city by establishing the resident-driven, seven-member Public Art Task Force in late-2015. The Task Force has already begun its work. The seven-member group’s main objective is to research and develop a citywide public art strategy and process and present their findings to council. There is a large artist community in Lakewood from which the Public Art Task Force would like to engage as part of their process. Look for the Public Art Survey to be available soon through the website and social media.



Hens in Lakewood: Lakewood City Council approved an ordinance allowing a limited-number of Lakewood families the opportunity raise backyard hens. Applications for backyard hen-raising permits will be available on July 15, and will be accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis on Aug. 1. If you are interested in raising hens be sure to review the Hen Ordinance for all requirements.



Lakewood is the “Best Place to Buy a Home” By Scene Magazine: Lakewood received some high honors in Cleveland Scene’s 2016 Best of Cleveland Awards. The magazine named the city the “Best Place to Buy a Home” in its April 27, 2016, edition. “It’s not for nothing that Lakewood considers itself ‘the city of beautiful homes,”’ the magazine noted. “If you get involved around here long enough, you’ll hear Mayor Mike Summers laud the city’s 100-year-old housing stock as one of its greatest assets. There’s good variety here too, from starter digs to ‘forever’ homes to some palaces near that big old beautiful lake of ours that will leave you breathless. In fact, Lakewood is a world unto itself, so it’s just a great place to plant some roots and, if you’re so inclined, start a family.”



As always, feel free to pass the information contained in this newsletter along to fellow block club members. We appreciate your continued leadership and valuable work in our community, and hope that we continue to keep these important lines of communication strong.





Colin McEwen

Public Information Officer, City of Lakewood

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[Bridget Conant]

Everything you could ever want is now on Detroit Ave.”

Except a full service hospital.

Or a place to buy a pair of pants.

[Michael Deneen]

Colin McEwen

Public Information Officer, City of Lakewood

Wait, I'm confused.....doesn't propaganda ministry fall under the "Finance Director" job description?

[Lori Allen _]

More than 120 small businesses have either opened or undergone major renovation in the last five years (we have more than 4,000 small businesses in our city).

I would be interested in seeing a list of these 120 small businesses. Do bars count? Anyone care to guess how many would be bars?

Forest City Development and Ryan Homes are building 50 new townhomes on the east end of Detroit Avenue. Estimated value: $12 million.

Notice it was not mentioned that these are funded by the Cleveland Clinic, in a roundabout way.

Liberty Development is building 40 McKinley Place townhomes on Lakewood’s west end, including many with first-floor master bedrooms in demand in our city. Estimated value: $14 million.

Notice it was not mentioned that the president of Liberty Development just happens to live in Lakewood in a very wealthy part of town. Coincidence? Also, he appears to do a lot of business with the Cleveland Clinic and also sits on Cleveland State University's Board of Directors. Is anyone seeing a pattern here?

Also, did he mention a tax abatement on these condos? I heard there would be a tax abatement.

Nearly 6 acres on the old Lakewood Hospital site are being readied for redevelopment in the next 5 years. Estimated value: $60 million to $100 million.

It's going to be great! But, we have no clue exactly what's going to go here!

Dozens of repaving and resurfacing projects are making our streets easier to navigate and water and sewer improvements are ensuring our future. (Take a look at an interactive map at onelakewood.com to see where it’s all happening.

Yes. Did anyone look at the list of projects? Erie Cliff, Leedale, Lake Point Dr, Daleview and Dru's street. Only a couple of streets south of Clifton, if I recall. Same deal with last year. Kenneth, Cliffdale, and Nicholson by the Lake. Few streets south of Clifton. Brown is in terrible condition. Lewis south of Madison and Cranford are in bad condition. Hathaway, Victoria, Revely, Olive, and Alger are also not good. Also, the water main replacements are nothing to get excited about. I saw the one they did on Eldred the other day. It's just a small strip of new asphalt all the way down the middle of the street. I hope they seal the cracks between the old and new asphalt, as it will increase the street's deterioration rate if not done. I also recall at council meetings a few years ago, it was mentioned that taxpayers would be assessed for some of these city water projects.

Unemployment rates here are below county, state and national averages.

Really? Is there any tangible documentation to back this up? Most of the time, people seem to be home all day.

Your house is worth more: Lakewood saw an average 8% growth in housing value in the 2015 reappraisal, one of only three communities in Cuyahoga County to see such improvement. That means an additional $1 million in revenues to reinvest in our city’s growth.

Yes, but not in Captain's Cove! Suddenly, Captain's Cove's property values plummeted. Hmmm... Also, this alleged "home value boom" will not last if the city's decline is permitted to continue. Eventually, people will realize that they can get a house in Euclid, Garfield Heights, Maple Heights, or Warrensville Heights for a lot cheaper and pay far less taxes while looking at overgrown grass and deteriorating home, just like Lakewood is becoming.

Before I get blasted off of the face of the Earth for negativity , I will say that it is very nice that the city is having a celebration at the park for the Solstice Steps.

[Amy Martin]

What I find extremely questionable is the assertion that 75% of Lakewood's 12,000 working people work for small businesses. That's 9,000 workers. The neighbors on my street work for Key Bank, Progressive Insurance, Home Depot, Cuyahoga County, Rosetta, Sherwin Williams, Bay Village School District, Direct TV , to name a few. I guess it all depends on Colin's definition of "small business"

[Michael Deneen]

I have many years experience as an analyst, so the 75 percent figure sounds suspicious.
For example, over 13 percent of the Ohio workforce is employed in the public sector.
If Siley were correct, that would mean only 12 percent of Lakewood works at large companies like Giant Eagle, Progressive, Lincoln Electric, McDonald's, etc.

Keep in mind....trumpeting the importance of small business is a clever way to spin the fact that large businesses are fleeing your city.

[Bridget Conant]

Keep in mind....trumpeting the importance of small business is a clever way to spin the fact that large businesses are fleeing your city.

Exactly! How many "small businesses" would we need to add to equal the employment lost in the hospital and New York Life closures. And, do the "small businesses" in Lakewood pay salaries similar to that of doctors, nurses, and other health care workers and professionals?

[Amy Martin]

So I e-mailed Colin with my concerns and asked for the data to back up his claims and have yet to hear anything. I was especially interested in a numerical list of the 4,000 small businesses based in the city and the data backing up the claim that 75% of the workers in the city are employed by small businesses.

Something tells me that I won't hear back from him . .

[Brian Essi]

So I e-mailed Colin with my concerns and asked for the data to back up his claims and have yet to hear anything. I was especially interested in a numerical list of the 4,000 small businesses based in the city and the data backing up the claim that 75% of the workers in the city are employed by small businesses.

Something tells me that I won't hear back from him . .

Amy,

Last year I made public records requests that exposed Summers' campaign claims about businesses coming to Lakewood as bogus.

In response to my requests, Butler claimed that they only keep records of businesses that are opened--they don't keep records of businesses that are closed. Huh?

If Butler was being truthful last fall, then that means that the "4,000" figure can't be accurate. How could Colin make the claim of the number of businesses that are operating if they don't keep records of those that close.

The 4,000 figure is nice and round and suspect. 52,000 residents and that many businesses in Lakewood Hmmm

How many coolaid stands are included in that number?

[Bridget Conant]

This is from the US census business section. Number of businesses and type of activity by industry. It's from 2014.

I find it hard to reconcile the 4000 figure the city is claiming when the US government says 988. That's just too far off - more than quadruple? Please.



http://censtats.census.gov/cgi-bin/zbpnaic/zbpsect.pl

[Paul Schrimpf]

Interesting stats for 2013. Only one employer reporting 1000+ employees ... gone. And 116 businesses supporting healthcare.

4000 seems nonsensical on its face.

[Amy Martin]

I think that Colin should be held just as responsible for the lies that he tosses around as much as the Mayor and the rest of City Hall should be. Of course, I doubt that he'll ever reply to my request for the facts to back up his bogus claims.

How do these people continue to get away with this stuff?

[tom monahan]

Hi All:

How about Colin's claim that the Clinic is spending upwards of $50 million on its health center. Where did that extra $16-million come from? It seems Colin has been swept up in the euphoria of his mighty leaders.

[Jim O'Bryan]

How do these people continue to get away with this stuff?

Amy

From as far as I can see, the Mayor and others were supported for their lies about the hospital from day one.

I am starting to believe that Lakewoodites prefer lies and bad behavior from elected and appointed officials.

.

[Bridget Conant]

In case anyone "disremembers," this is the cost of the new CCF "facility."

http://www.cleveland.com/lakewood/index ... _earl.html

"Not only is it important in health care delivery, but it is a $34 million facility that really offers an opportunity to set a new tone for redevelopment in our downtown district," Lakewood Planning and Development Director Dru Siley told the city's Architectural Board of Review and Board of Building Standards April 14.

Now it's suddenly $50 million?