Insiders Rebrand As Voters For Progress To Raise "Dark Money" at Rozi's Event

[Brian Essi]

http://lakewoodobserver.com/read/2016/0 ... s-ahead-of

Mr. Mager's great piece nails the event at Rozi's next week.

Bravo Mr. Mager.

[T Peppard]

http://lakewoodobserver.com/read/2016/08/16/lakewood-insiders-rebrand-as-lakewood-voters-for-progress-ahead-of

Mr. Mager's great piece nails the event at Rozi's next week.

Bravo Mr. Mager.

Yes, "Bravo" Mr. Mager. Thank you for a clear and eloquent summary of this issue. There are so many new families in Lakewood who are unfamiliar and confused about it. Your story provides an excellent explanation and thorough reason to vote against the ordinance.

Getting out this clear and honest message is vital and truly for the betterment of our community. Enough is enough with the lies and intimidation that there was anything honest about this rotten deal. Yes, indeed, the fiduciaries of Lakewood Hospital, along with "Build Lakewood" – now “Lakewood Voters for Progress,” removed hospital services, rigged the bidding process, and spent hospital monies on the political campaign to destroy the hospital they were entrusted to serve.

[Dan Alaimo]

Time for the spin cycle. Losing our hospital is progress. Ugh.

This was posted on their Facebook page. Have at it, folks, point by point:
---
"Here's a helpful summary of the benefits of the hospital transformation plan from the Block Club newsletter:
"Thanks to forward-looking leaders throughout the community, Lakewood has the resources to invest in a great future for all of our residents. You may not be aware of just how big those investments will be, thanks to the master agreement signed last year between the City of Lakewood, the Cleveland Clinic and Lakewood Hospital Association. Here’s how the number stack up to more than $100 million invested in our future:
City of Lakewood receives:
· $19.7 million in cash (includes $7 million in a rehab/demo fund; $8.2 million from sale of Columbia Rd. property; $2.88 million in lease payments through June 2018; and $1.7 million in a land sale to Cleveland Clinic)
· $40 to $80 million in development value from the former hospital site
· Ownership and rent from the Community Health Center on Belle Avenue
· Ownership of nine rental homes on Belle and St. Charles, estimated at $1 million
· Ownership of the Curtis Block building for reuse or redevelopment
· Ownership of current hospital site.
Lakewood Hospital Association contributes:
· $24.2 million toward the community wellness foundation, focused on improving the health and wellness of all Lakewood residents, and $23 million of its assets in transition costs.
· $7 million toward the city’s rehab and demolition fund;
· $8.2 million to the city on the sale of 850 Colombia Road property in Westlake.
Cleveland Clinic contributes:
· $36 million investment to develop the SW corner of Belle and Detroit into a three-story, 62,000-square-foot family health center and full-service emergency department.
· $8 million in the new community wellness foundation.
· $2.88 million worth of lease payments to the city through 2018."

[cmager]

Time for the spin cycle. Losing our hospital is progress. Ugh. This was posted on their Facebook page. Have at it, folks, point by point:
---
"Here's a helpful summary of the benefits of the hospital transformation plan from the Block Club newsletter:
"Thanks to forward-looking leaders throughout the community, Lakewood has the resources to invest in a great future for all of our residents. You may not be aware of just how big those investments will be, thanks to the master agreement signed last year between the City of Lakewood, the Cleveland Clinic and Lakewood Hospital Association. Here’s how the number stack up to more than $100 million invested in our future:

City of Lakewood receives:
· $19.7 million in cash (includes $7 million in a rehab/demo fund; $8.2 million from sale of Columbia Rd. property; $2.88 million in lease payments through June 2018; and $1.7 million in a land sale to Cleveland Clinic)
· $40 to $80 million in development value from the former hospital site
· Ownership and rent from the Community Health Center on Belle Avenue
· Ownership of nine rental homes on Belle and St. Charles, estimated at $1 million
· Ownership of the Curtis Block building for reuse or redevelopment
· Ownership of current hospital site.

Lakewood Hospital Association contributes:
· $24.2 million toward the community wellness foundation, focused on improving the health and wellness of all Lakewood residents, and $23 million of its assets in transition costs.
· $7 million toward the city’s rehab and demolition fund;
· $8.2 million to the city on the sale of 850 Colombia Road property in Westlake.

Cleveland Clinic contributes:
· $36 million investment to develop the SW corner of Belle and Detroit into a three-story, 62,000-square-foot family health center and full-service emergency department.
· $8 million in the new community wellness foundation.
· $2.88 million worth of lease payments to the city through 2018."

Quickly...
1. The City of Lakewood, or the Citizens of Lakewood, already own the assets of LHA. So Lakewood Insiders & CCF offer Lakewood it's own money? Nice!
2. $2.88M in lease payments through 2018. CCF was already obligated to pay these lease payments, along with an annual capital investment $$ into the Lakewood Hospital facilities and equipment. So this is a wash or a loss.
3. $40-80M in development value from the hospital site...riiiiight, as cash to the City of Lakewood, right? When it doesn't happen, will Lakewood Insiders and CCF executives personally cut a check for $80M to the City of Lakewood?
4. Also, let's include the lost rent on Lakewood Center Medical Bldg, the value of that land, and the value of the parking garage.

Thank you, Mr. Alaimo. Can you ask if there will there be more difficult challenges in the future?

[Dan Alaimo]

Thank you, Mr. Alaimo. Can you ask if there will there be more difficult challenges in the future?

Ask who? Them? I didn't want to add to their page "likes," so I'm not able to post in that Facebook group.
The Mayor invites questions in the Lakewood Community group for anyone who wants to ask it there.

[Jim O'Bryan]

Why are things listed 2 and 3 times?

Deal is a nightmare.


.

[cmager]

Mr. Alaimo, regrets I should have included /SarcasmOn or /SarcasmOff. My intent was to "have at" the list as a challenge and point out how obviously bogus is their list...too easy to shred. Their list is full of bogosity.

I welcome and applaud other efforts to further bogosize their list.

[mjkuhns]

One important caveat to Bill Mager's write-up:

It's about 99% certain that the ballot options on the hospital deal will be either "FOR" or "AGAINST," not yes or no. The city charter leaves essentially no room for picking and choosing terms in a referendum like this.

Also, for what it's worth, both proponents and opponents of the deal are already using this language. Save Lakewood Hospital materials advise voting "against" the deal," while part of Build's rebranding as Lakewood Voters for Progress appears to be emphasizing that word "for."

(And any point of agreement on this issue has to be considered notable, at the least.)

[todd vainisi]

Will this be on the ballot at the presidential election vote or something sooner?

[mjkuhns]

It's scheduled to go on the November 8 general election ballot.

The Board of Elections should announce the issue number in about three weeks.

[Bridget Conant]

According to law director Butler, the outcome of the election is meaningless because his reading of the law is that the referendum cannot undo the contract. He insists that the deal will go forward regardless of the election results.

Yet there is an active campaign soliciting donations to try and defeat the efforts to negate the "deal." Does this mean they aren't quite so confident in Butler's appraisal? I mean, why spend the time and money if you are so confident the results won't change anything?

[mjkuhns]

So far as I can tell: basically yes.

If city hall were 100% certain that the deal is irreversible, then council could have repealed the ordinance back in February, and avoided entirely the referendum which is supposedly so bothersome. If repeal really has no consequences, they could have voted for it and gone on with other matters.

The related claim that "the referendum can't undo the deal, but we want to spare the city costly litigation" seems equally puzzling. If it were genuinely beyond question that the deal can't be undone, then any litigation to that end is going to be very brief, and pretty low-cost even at law firm rates.

There are other problems with the "irreversible deal" story, but this seems to me the most basic.

[Dan Alaimo]

Yet there is an active campaign soliciting donations to try and defeat the efforts to negate the "deal." Does this mean they aren't quite so confident in Butler's appraisal? I mean, why spend the time and money if you are so confident the results won't change anything?

Now there's a good question for the Mayor.

[Jim Kenny]

As someone who is contributing to the campaign to affirm the ordinance that entered the new contract with the Cleveland Clinic, I hope you can take comfort in knowing that your neighbors are motivated to put closure to this topic to reach. When it does, many of our kind and well-intended neighbors can then take their energy and commitment to community and focus these assets on issues that move us forward as opposed to divide us.

Please recognize that voting against this ordinance is a vote against contracting with the Cleveland Clinic. It is not a vote to reopen the hospital, as that issue is not part of this ordinance's language.

This means to me that regardless if you agree with Kevin Butler's interpretation of contract law, the hospital remains closed whatever the outcome of the Nov. 8 election. If that's the case, I'm voting for keeping Lakewood's progress moving forward.

[Michael Deneen]

Allow me to put Mr. Kenny's comment through the "BS Translator":

As someone who is contributing to the campaign to affirm the ordinance that entered the new contract with the Cleveland Clinic, I hope you can take comfort in knowing that your neighbors are motivated to put closure to this topic to reach.

"We are going to buy this election in an effort to shut all of you up. We don't want any more discussion about the deal because we know it's very flawed".

When it does, many of our kind and well-intended neighbors can then take their energy and commitment to community and focus these assets on issues that move us forward as opposed to divide us.

It's time for you people shut up and do what the Mayor says. No more of this insubordination.....that's "divisive".
Anything that questions our City Hall is nasty, divisive, and should be ignored.

Please recognize that voting against this ordinance is a vote against contracting with the Cleveland Clinic. It is not a vote to reopen the hospital, as that issue is not part of this ordinance's language.

If you people don't behave the Clinic will take away the so-called "Emergency Room". Never mind the fact that they have made no guarantees to keep it open, and that the Clinic has already broken numerous promises to Lakewood.

This means to me that regardless if you agree with Kevin Butler's interpretation of contract law, the hospital remains closed whatever the outcome of the Nov. 8 election. If that's the case, I'm voting for keeping Lakewood's progress moving forward.

We bought last year's election fair and square. So give up any hope of restoring healthcare, because we've done all we can to dismantle the hospital.