The Incredible Shrinking Hospital Site Development

[Jim O'Bryan]

So, one firm sued Lakewood for $173,000 and received $49,000. Another sued for $58,000 and received $24,700. Careful or one might conclude there could have been a profit motive in improperly inflating the costs associated with submitting 320 public records requests via multiple batches in mid-2016 and withdrawing half by June of 2017 then turning to discovery. Did you really try to get Lakewood to pay for the time it took for you to receive advice not to post on the Observer? Congratulations.

You must have been disappointed in not getting the payday you were expecting. Here I thought you were volunteering.

Re your requested 200 word response, perhaps you missed the disposition of LHA assets in my 10/17 post.

I get it now, Mr. Essi. The hospital issue aside, you harbor resentment towards me because I met with you numerous times, listened and shared but came to a different conclusion as to the path forward. The only way you can understand my decision is by concluding that I'm stupid, unaware, corrupt, immoral or a combination of all that's bad because, obviously, you're the smartest person studying this issue and how can I ever come to a conclusion other than yours.

Proving once again you should never seek office.

There is no excuse for hiding public records, and going after residents. NONE

To me this is a very black and white issue.

The only oversight residents have is by looking at the documents. PERIOD

.

[Mark Kindt]

Mr. Anderson’s rebuttal to Mr. Essi emphasizes for me the basic insensitivity and sheer “tone-deafness” to ethics-in-government and compliance with public records access that tainted our Law Department for years.

I studied this carefully and wrote at considerable length about it numerous times. It was an embarrassment to every resident of Lakewood.

I have the deepest respect for the dedicated lawyers who opposed the City of Lakewood during the hospital closure, liquidation, and demolition.

[cmager]

To see Mr. Anderson provide a taunting witness to his belief that his side is righteous, believes his side won, and believes he's right, because a court awarded a %% of requested fees as sanction to the city and its law department. What a shallow and moronic way of keeping score, let alone any perspective at all of the bigger picture. But what to expect from a team who gloriously saved $250M of city wealth by giving it away to others. To kill it is to save it. Or something like that.

[David Anderson]

Proving once again you should never be called a journalist.

"There is no excuse for hiding public records, and going after residents. NONE To me this is a very black and white issue."

Except the words hidden or hiding are nowhere to be found in the legal decision posted by Mr. Essi.

If fact, it seems, Lakewood took too long in completing an "amended index" which "was over 1,000 pages long and showed that Lakewood had released over 27,000 pages of records to Essi."


Again, if you want to know my actions after you suggested to me that you and others were being somehow harassed, just ask me. I'm not going to post that here.

[David Anderson]

Oh please. I’m not too sure how promoting what has been described by those here and the publication as criminal activity and a fleecing of public assets then boasting that you got paid your attorney’s fees and posting a court report that points out “peculiar” billing (one example-the attempt to bill for time to “enlist the help of an independent mediator to help settle the case. At least 38 hours were spent pursuing this option, but Essi ultimately refused to participate” enhances your cause of self righteousness.


It’s not nice having your moral character questioned, is it?



Re the continued request for a 200 worded reasoning as to why -

I offered the AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF LHA - you don’t accept the contents as legitimate and make up your own.

I offered findings by Squires and two expert industry firms that concluded that LHA was responsible for operating losses - you don’t accept and refute with a napkin.

I offered findings by Squires and two expert industry firms that concluded that LHA would be BANKRUPT at least four years prior to the conclusion of the lease with CCF - again, you painted this statement as a complete fabrication.

The list continues but we all know there’s really no point.



It seems, finally, we have complete clarity as to where we disagree. I point to audited financial statements and findings by Squires and industry experts, etc. You disregard these materials as complete fiction and characterize everyone who doesn’t agree as a combination of immoral, too dense and stupid to understand and criminal.

[Brian Essi]

You must have been disappointed in not getting the payday you were expecting. Here I thought you were volunteering.


I get it now, Mr. Essi. The hospital issue aside, you harbor resentment towards me because I met with you numerous times

Oh please. I’m not too sure how promoting what has been described by those here and the publication as criminal activity and a fleecing of public assets then boasting that you got paid your attorney’s fees and posting a court report that points out “peculiar” billing (one example-the attempt to bill for time to “enlist the help of an independent mediator to help settle the case. At least 38 hours were spent pursuing this option, but Essi ultimately refused to participate” enhances your cause of self righteousness.


It’s not nice having your moral character questioned, is it?



I offered the AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF LHA - I point to audited financial statements and findings by Squires and industry experts, etc. You disregard these materials as complete fiction and characterize everyone who doesn’t agree as a combination of immoral, too dense and stupid to understand and criminal.

Mr. Anderson,

Firstly, I harbor no "resentment" towards you. And I have no problem with anyone questioning my "moral character" because I know who I am. The fact that you are so hurt and offended by a public airing of your actions as a public official may suggest that you are more concerned about how you were and are perceived than by doing what was you knew "righteous." "Know Thyself" I spent well over 2,500 volunteer hours over more than two years exposing what I discovered was a clear and unequivocal $100M plus giveaway--I knew from the outset that CCF and the Insider Elites in Lakewood and the greater Cuyahoga County Democrat community would likely have their way, but I gladly gave my time to a community I cherish. I would gladly do it again even knowing ahead of time the result would be the same. While I am very content with my role, we all understand why you are not content with yours.

BTW, the mediation was a City delay tactic to delay producing the documents until after the election cycle.

Secondly, I did not "sue for attorneys fees", I sued to expose what was wrongfully hidden from the PUBLIC---to get the PUBLIC records that were wrongfully withheld from the PUBLIC.

Thirdly, your comments above about the "AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF LHA" remind me of the most depressing of my interactions with you back then. Namely, you misguided belief that the dollar amount of Lakewood Hospital's i.e. the City's assets listed on the LHA "audited" financial statements somehow represented the fair market value of those assets. Mr. Anderson, the dollar amounts for the assets on those financials statements represented the BOOK VALUE---mostly fully depreciated. "Audited" is not "Appraised Value." I was stunned that you were unaware of the difference--and apparently still don't.

Fourthly, it is telling that you hide behind a big law firm and "industry experts" in a general and obtuse way to defend your decision---especially when that law firm and the experts were hired with the that exact intent in mind---bought and paid for to achieve a predetermined result. Nevertheless, Mr. Kindt, Mr. Call and others have conclusively exposed that canard with public records and facts.

It is a matter of simple common sense---Lakewood once had assets totaling over $100M and now we have a worthless HOLE in the ground.

Mr. Anderson, there is no escaping the fact that you cannot justify your decision to give away more than $100M with facts and reason--you only have JOB's "magic beans"---good luck chopping down the imaginary bean stalk you help create.

"Resentment" is the poison we drink hoping the other person gets sick. Lashing out at the folks who tried to prevent you from making the mistake you made won't help you feel better...and it certainly doesn't affect me in the least.

[David Anderson]

Mr. Essi –

You wrote on 10/17, that the Court awarded you $75,000 of your attorney’s fee. Those were your words, not mine.


There’s really nothing left to argue about.

You stated that you got paid your lawyer’s fees. I agree. I believe you figured out how to monetize the public request system and received a lot of Lakewood taxpayer money as a result. (You wanted much more as you attempted to get paid for work you performed on about half of the 318 public records requests which you later withdrew, for 38-hours for engaging in discussions regarding mediation in which you refused to participate and advice you received from Mr. Kindt.)

Whatever points I put forward regarding my reasoning (your demand for 200 words) do not matter as you believe I’m a combination of corrupt, too dense to understand and immoral all while acting criminally. I agree that you’ve made this point clear as well.

We agree also that I don’t like being called immoral, corrupt, criminal etc. in a public forum. Lashing out at you? Seriously?

[David Anderson]

You keep claiming $100,000,000 was traded for a hole in the ground. Again:

The liabilities were the operating losses (per audited financial statements), the $85m-$90m needed in hospital plant upgrades and the option stated by LHA members that LHA would file bankruptcy due to the forecast of it running out of funds by 2022 with the lease set to expire in 2026.

The Clinic built the new Family Health Center and 24/7 ER for $34m.

$24.2 went to the, what was termed at the time, the New Lakewood Foundation, which became the current public foundation. Another $8m was added later.

The land was valued at $20m (based on the value of the former Burger King lot) and returned to the control of the City for development.

The City received $8.2m for the sale of 850 Columbia Road (which was appraised for $6.8 by Charles M. Ritley Associates LLC). I’m not sure how the current administration has used or allocated these funds as these were to reseed a land acquisition fund – Cove Church purchase and rehab perhaps?

The City received $7m for demo/rehab funds. Again, ask the current administration.

$3m was used for the demo of the office building and parking garage at Detroit and Belle (site of the new Family Health Center and 24/7 Emergency Room).

$10m went to operating losses during the wind down period.

$20m was allocated to insurance, pension obligations, insurance and other transition costs.

$33m went to the Lakewood Hospital Foundation.

The City also received approximately $1.5m related to the sale of homes on Belle and St. Charles (were owed by the City but managed by LHA). Again, ask the current administration.

[Mark Kindt]

To former Councilperson Anderson, I can only say that your arguments today now arrive about 10 years too late.

Almost every inch of this terrain has been explored, analysed, and documented by me and others on this site and "argument-by-repetition" is neither of service to you nor of service to those you formerly represented.

Here's my primary document archive:

https://lakewoodobserver.com/forum/view ... ve#p191526

Here are my summary tables:

https://lakewoodobserver.com/forum/view ... =7&t=26704

Lecturing Brian Essi is truly pointless. Why? Because he had the fortitude to do the right thing and he stuck with it for several years at his own risk.

He did the right thing in those years when the Lakewood Law Department was out of control.

[Mark Kindt]

There is more than one document from the City with questionable numbers in the document archive

Here is my favorite. It explodes the $120,000,000 economic development figure used to promote the plan in January 2015. It was already nonsense by February

LKWD - HNNS PYNTR001316 - Highlighted - Bogus Numbers.jpg (339.82 KiB) Viewed 10292 times

LKWD - HNNS PYNTR001316 - Highlighted - Bogus Numbers.pdf

(602.72 KiB) Downloaded 184 times

[Brian Essi]

There is more than one document from the City with questionable numbers in the document archive

Here is my favorite. It explodes the $120,000,000 economic development figure used to promote the plan in January 2015. It was already nonsense by February

LKWD - HNNS PYNTR001316 - Highlighted - Bogus Numbers.jpg

LKWD - HNNS PYNTR001316 - Highlighted - Bogus Numbers.pdf

Mr. Kindt,

Thank you for reminding us of this nugget from Bill Gorton and Ken Haber. I note the "Bates" stamped numbers which may indicate that this is one of the thousands of public records we belatedly received in the lawsuit (a lawsuit that I apparently filed for personal gain )

I think it is fair to say that I have forgotten 1,000 times more than Mr. Andersen was ever capable of understanding about the whole Holespital affair.

Mr. Andersen,

"The lady doth protest too much, methinks."

The desperate and false allegations that I somehow acted in a financial self interest are laughable and causes think 180 degrees back in your direction as to your interests at the time you decided to accept the benefits of joining the fakes.

The public record Mr. Kindt posted above posts to the"fakes" I wrote to you several posts above: "Fake" LHA/LHF trustees like Messrs. Gorton and Haber who were supposed to be "Pillars of the Community" protecting our public assets were privately embarrassed about the hoax they played a roll in perpetrating. They, like you, lacked the courage to speak the truth in public and act honorably to preserve care for the poor and otherwise attend to the public welfare of Lakewood residents.