Does anyone have any insight?

[Gary Rice]

Caligula's leadership, or lack thereof, came along a couple of hundred years before Rome's sacking, I do believe...

The great (or not-so-great, depending on your historical perspective) sacking of Rome was in the year 410 A.D., when two political leaders could not get along (Honorius of Rome, and Alaric, of the Visigoths) As in these days, there were plenty of opportunities for compromise prior to that debacle, but as has happened so often in history, compromise was thrown out with the bathwater, in favor of total war.

Sounds pretty much like politicians today, does it not?

Sounds pretty much like some Lakewood so-called discussions too, I do believe, but I digress.

I guess that must be why I seem to annoy people once in awhile with that peace-making banjo of mine here on the 'Deck. I'm not fond of agendas, while at the same time recognizing the need for them. Without agendas, (plans) good stuff just does not happen. It's the conflict that seems to inevitably follow from clashing agendas that I have little use for. People may think that I'm attacking their agendas here when I do the virtual campfire stuff, but they misunderstand me. That's not the case at all. I'm for conflict-resolution and dialogue, and if I can put my banjo between opposing forces once in awhile, then maybe, just maybe, a real or imagined sacking of Lakewood can be stopped, or at least, delayed for awhile.

Then again, such thinking does not seem to be in style these days, does it?

Some people these days would rather fight and raise the dickens, than listen to a banjo; or so it would seem.

Still, to modify Marc Anthony's line from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar:

Romans, Visigoths, lend me your ears....

Since I've been put into the picture anyway, that is...

Back to the banjo...

[Betsy Voinovich]

Since I've been put into the picture anyway, that is...

Hi Gary, you look good in that picture. (And you were already in the picture anyway, you know...)

First of all, about the parks - Take down the hoops. Oops they took down the hoops, now they're putting the hoops back up. About time too.

Second - Has Gary written a soundtrack for Caligula? Is this the album cover?

Hi Sharon,

Nice to see you here. I agree with you about the hoops, but I think it's kind of counterproductive, to have hoops at Kauffman Park, and LakewoodAlive and Kauffman Park Friends working on ways to improve the park's visibility, and to increase its usefulness (We would LOVE a reading garden with maybe a program pointing the way to it at library, "Sunday afternoon book club at the park") -- and then take all of its parking away.

Now the only parking for the kids and their families playing basketball is the metered parking on Arthur Avenue Extension. These are the people we need feeding the meters? What about the Kauffman Park parking? And that's just the kids playing basketball, if anyone else needs parking, like a baseball team or a family on a picnic, or the aforementioned readers, they have no parking at all. Jim said in a post in this thread that the spots along the fence inside the Drug Mart Plaza "could be what is left of public parking." As it is now, there is no public parking. The signs clearly say that it is ALL for the Drug Mart Plaza, and the guys driving around in their little cars are enforcing it. You better not be parking for the library there, or for going to the Root, or to either of the churches.

What is this mixed message? We know that City Hall and LakewoodAlive are practically (yes in practical ways, like LakewoodAlive evaluating the condition of our houses) the same organization. LakewoodAlive has been working hard with Kauffman Park friends to develop ideas for the park. What is the point if no-one can go there unless they are on foot?

There is no parking. Was that the public's donation to Drug Mart? Drug Mart tries to be a good neighbor in Lakewood, I doubt they want to be the corporation who took away families' chances to play baseball, go on picnics, go sledding etc. Do they really want those people ticketed? Should we be calling their corporate office on Monday?

Here's Jim's post:

12483_54424-1.jpg (698.32 KiB) Viewed 5260 times

Now this could be what is left of public parking. It is not marked, but the entrances are
with warnings. Even if this is the "public parking" it is not even enough spaces for two
baseball teams of players, unless four of them are handicapped. Now how about the
mothers, sisters, brothers, workers?

What always got me about "The Slaughter of Cities" was that the devaluation and war
against residents was always framed as, "this is what is good for you." "This will help
lower your taxes..." "This is what everyone wants," though rarely does anyone but a small
handful or one person want it.

Last year many people asked City Hall to take steps to make Kauffman Park more visible,
and easier to be enjoyed by more residents. Instead City Hall has once again been the
tool for developers choosing them over the concerns and wants of residents.

Why?

It seems that we could do a pretty good job co-existing if we put our minds and resources behind it. I find it very encouraging that LakewoodAlive and Kauffman Park Friends are working together. I don't understand why the first real move would be to take away all of the parking.

I know the signs say: "Parking: 'Kauffman Park'" as if that's the name of the parking lot. Is this happening right in our faces? Are there already plans to make the actual Kauffman Park a parking lot? Or into a health campus? I don't know. You can't call me paranoid (and I am paranoid) with stuff like this happening right in our faces.

I'm hoping this was an oversight, and they just haven't put the signs up yet-- on what? On that one row of parking spaces along the fence? At least it would give the appearance of caring. If not, maybe we can go and ask Drug Mart to give us back a little parking as a goodwill gesture, and see if they will take better care of us than our own representatives.

Betsy Voinovich

[Meg Ostrowski]

The issue of parking was discussed at a recent Kauffman Park planning meeting.

It is everyone’s understanding that the number of public parking spaces available to park visitors has NOT changed. However, the enforcement of private parking for Lakewood Plaza patrons and the new layout feel like a reduction in parking for Kauffman Park.

With the development of a Kauffman Park Master Plan, parking will need to be addressed and some interesting suggestions were discussed.

In the meantime, I agree that the city should make an effort to reassure park visitors that public parking for Kauffman Park is available without risk of being towed. I have reported my concern via the city’s Report-A-Problem system.

[marklingm]

Meg,

Please share the response(s) you get from City Hall regarding your online submission at http://onelakewood.com/ReportProblem.

As City Hall is not very responsive to online submissions, I usually send a follow-up email blast to everyone at City Hall.

Director of Public Works Joseph J. Beno is great about always responding to my emails.

Matt

[Jim O'Bryan]

The issue of parking was discussed at a recent Kauffman Park planning meeting.

It is everyone’s understanding that the number of public parking spaces available to park visitors has NOT changed. However, the enforcement of private parking for Lakewood Plaza patrons and the new layout feel like a reduction in parking for Kauffman Park.

Meg

For the record, as I brought this up. When the first talk of "Kauffman Park Development" started, I took a retired
city worker who was at the Root Cafe to walk with me and show me what was the city's and what was not. We
walked over, and he told me that when he was on plow duty he was supposed to plow only the two rows of spots
on the north end of the lot. In essence 3 rows of parking, and along the fence, for the fourth row.

After the changes to the layout, I asked him again, and he said, "I would drive up the ramp, go directly to the
bumpers of the left side of the lot, and drive across, and continue until I was at the fence. Now with the
parking lot redrawn, and the ramp rebuilt, it is hard to tell, but generally it comes to about 75 spots to park."

As for not towing. I have learned never to park where they have towing signs. I do not need to be at the whim
of the owner, and how his day is going. Also this would be an extension of Lakewood, "We are not going after you,
just those people," rules that make zero sense.

If you put up a sign, make a law, then make it clear.

FWIW


.

[Betsy Voinovich]

The issue of parking was discussed at a recent Kauffman Park planning meeting.

It is everyone’s understanding that the number of public parking spaces available to park visitors has NOT changed. However, the enforcement of private parking for Lakewood Plaza patrons and the new layout feel like a reduction in parking for Kauffman Park.

Meg

For the record, as I brought this up. When the first talk of "Kauffman Park Development" started, I took a retired
city worker who was at the Root Cafe to walk with me and show me what was the city's and what was not. We
walked over, and he told me that when he was on plow duty he was supposed to plow only the two rows of spots
on the north end of the lot. In essence 3 rows of parking, and along the fence, for the fourth row.

After the changes to the layout, I asked him again, and he said, "I would drive up the ramp, go directly to the
bumpers of the left side of the lot, and drive across, and continue until I was at the fence. Now with the
parking lot redrawn, and the ramp rebuilt, it is hard to tell, but generally it comes to about 75 spots to park."

As for not towing. I have learned never to park where they have towing signs. I do not need to be at the whim
of the owner, and how his day is going. Also this would be an extension of Lakewood, "We are not going after you,
just those people," rules that make zero sense.

If you put up a sign, make a law, then make it clear.

FWIW


.

Hi all,

It's comforting to hear that "it is everyone’s understanding that the number of public parking spaces available to park visitors has NOT changed," in Meg's post.

Or, "Now with the parking lot redrawn, and the ramp rebuilt, it is hard to tell, but generally it comes to about 75 spots to park," from a city worker, according to Jim.

A regular member of the public is not the "everyone" at a Kauffman Park Friends/LakewoodAlive meeting, and we don't all know city workers who have the real scoop, like Jim does.

The reality of the situation is that THERE IS NO PUBLIC PARKING at Kauffman Park, if you are a family looking for a place for a picnic, or a place to sled, or you notice that cool playground but THERE IS NOT ONE PLACE TO PARK unless you park at the meters on the Arthur Ave extension.

This is the message to the public. There are signs at both parking lot entrances, Parking for Drug Mart Plaza only, violators will be towed. That's the end of it.

Does the City want to keep your average person not familiar with city workers or on special committees away from the park?

As Jim says, you don't park in a place that says, "if you park here you get towed." Do the parking enforcers know that some of it is public parking? This is ridiculous. The lack of care shown toward the park and the public is obvious. Especially when we have hundreds of signs that no-one wants or needs: "The Lake"! Turn right! Wow, thanks. How much did that cost me?

But not one sign designating parking for Kauffman Park.

The park was already allowed by the City to go to the weeds literally once. You blight a place by not maintaining it and making sure that our ever-vigilant police (and they are) don't go there. "It's blighted!" "No-one goes there, it's dangerous there!" You know what we do with blighted property! For the good of all! We take it away from its former owners and sell it! That park is ours. Decisions made by "The City" are made by the current batch of elected officials. The park is NOT THEIRS. IT IS OURS. WE are the city of Lakewood.

It's a beautiful park. It's the only open green space in the center of Lakewood. We need it, and we need to be able to park there, and we need not to scare people away from it. We need to attract people to it. It's potentially a gorgeous part of Downtown. It's under-used because people don't know about it unless they stumble into it, or unless their kids do track and field days there or play baseball there. And as I said, people using the Drug Mart Plaza will now think that they can't go there if they came in a car that needs to be parked.

How many families turn away from thinking that they can spend time at Kauffman Park every day because of those signs?

Betsy Voinovich

[Jim O'Bryan]

It's comforting to hear that "it is everyone’s understanding that the number of public parking spaces available to park visitors has NOT changed," in Meg's post.

Or, "Now with the parking lot redrawn, and the ramp rebuilt, it is hard to tell, but generally it comes to about 75 spots to park," from a city worker, according to Jim.

A regular member of the public is not the "everyone" at a Kauffman Park Friends/LakewoodAlive meeting, and we don't all know city workers who have the real scoop, like Jim does.

Betsy

This is exactly why we started the Observer. Everyone was getting stories crossed, and City Hall and Schools
were either not forth coming, or sent out mixed messages. OR, even worse, were out right, let's say, misleading
the public on what was going on. In other words indicate "people could still park" while towing signs go up,
hoping the confusion lets them off the hook.

This was totally out of control 10 years ago. The other problem was outside news sources, or news sources that
had reasons to mislead, would print damn near anything under the disguise as "News and Reporters" when in
fact there was little if any fact checking.

So a small group decided it was far better to vet the rumors, publicly, in the light of day, by real people, using
real names on their "rumors" so as the public could sort out fact from fiction, or weight of the fiction. Ten years
ago, the rumors were often months ahead of City Hall even begin to tell the truth. Just the other day I found
out even more troubling facts about the WestEnd Project and who made what, and it is outrageous!

Some day, City Hall will embrace the internet and how well it helps get the truth out. Until then, they prefer
to hide behind blogs, servile reporters, misinformation, and no talk at all. Me, I prefer the discussion with Meg
and the people that live and work here, then the silence or misinformation from City Hall.

Example: "The business paid $100 for each bike rack!" proclaimed the city proudly.
Well, how about telling me how much the city and the residents paid to put in that bike rack?
An equal $100? $200? $300? $400? or more.

Where is City Stats. We were told by a previous administration that it would allow average citizens to see in
real time what EVERYTHING costs at city hall and in the city. What was that weblink again?

Betsy, as you know, we are residents looking for and hoping for answers. Just trying to live our lives and make
sense to what is going on in our community. It would be so much better if the city hall would join the
conversation more often than to just tell us how unfair and screwed up city hall is when they don't agree.

.

[Meg Ostrowski]

It is everyone’s understanding that the number of public parking spaces available to park visitors has NOT changed.

Unless you consider the diagonal spaces lost in front of Lakewood Plaza on Detroit.

Meg,

Please share the response(s) you get from City Hall regarding your online submission at http://onelakewood.com/ReportProblem.

As City Hall is not very responsive to online submissions, I usually send a follow-up email blast to everyone at City Hall.

Director of Public Works Joseph J. Beno is great about always responding to my emails.

Matt

I have found the city to be very responsive to concerns submitted via their Report-A-Problem system.

Stay tuned.

[Meg Ostrowski]

The issue of parking was discussed at a recent Kauffman Park planning meeting.

It is everyone’s understanding that the number of public parking spaces available to park visitors has NOT changed. However, the enforcement of private parking for Lakewood Plaza patrons and the new layout feel like a reduction in parking for Kauffman Park.

Meg

For the record, as I brought this up. When the first talk of "Kauffman Park Development" started, I took a retired
city worker who was at the Root Cafe to walk with me and show me what was the city's and what was not. We
walked over, and he told me that when he was on plow duty he was supposed to plow only the two rows of spots
on the north end of the lot. In essence 3 rows of parking, and along the fence, for the fourth row.

After the changes to the layout, I asked him again, and he said, "I would drive up the ramp, go directly to the
bumpers of the left side of the lot, and drive across, and continue until I was at the fence. Now with the
parking lot redrawn, and the ramp rebuilt, it is hard to tell, but generally it comes to about 75 spots to park."

FWIW


.

Jim,

Is it possible that the city was plowing a portion of the shopping plaza's parking lot?

For the record, I referred to parcel maps provided by the City of Lakewood and the legal description of the property on file with the County Recorder's office. I even wrote to Ward 2 Councilman Bullock after the transfer of Lakewood Plaza to be sure that Kauffman Park hadn't lost anything in the deal. He confirmed that nothing had changed.

Meg

[Meg Ostrowski]

The reality of the situation is that THERE IS NO PUBLIC PARKING at Kauffman Park, if you are a family looking for a place for a picnic, or a place to sled, or you notice that cool playground but THERE IS NOT ONE PLACE TO PARK unless you park at the meters on the Arthur Ave extension.

This is the message to the public. There are signs at both parking lot entrances, Parking for Drug Mart Plaza only, violators will be towed. That's the end of it.

Does the City want to keep your average person not familiar with city workers or on special committees away from the park?

Betsy Voinovich

The new signs certainly aren't helping to get visitors to the park. I'd rather see big WELCOME TO KAUFFMAN PARK signs posted there.

[marklingm]

Meg,

Please share the response(s) you get from City Hall regarding your online submission at http://onelakewood.com/ReportProblem.

As City Hall is not very responsive to online submissions, I usually send a follow-up email blast to everyone at City Hall.

Director of Public Works Joseph J. Beno is great about always responding to my emails.

Matt

I have found the city to be very responsive to concerns submitted via their Report-A-Problem system.

Stay tuned.

Thanks, Meg!

I guess we can test to whom City Halls responds and to whom City Hall does not because I also submitted an online submission.

So far … silence ...

Matt

[Meg Ostrowski]

Meg,

Please share the response(s) you get from City Hall regarding your online submission at http://onelakewood.com/ReportProblem.

As City Hall is not very responsive to online submissions, I usually send a follow-up email blast to everyone at City Hall.

Director of Public Works Joseph J. Beno is great about always responding to my emails.

Matt

I have found the city to be very responsive to concerns submitted via their Report-A-Problem system.

Stay tuned.

Thanks, Meg!

I guess we can test to whom City Halls responds and to whom City Hall does not because I also submitted an online submission.

So far … silence ...

Matt

Ha! I love con-tests.

I am patient and keep my expectations reasonable.

It takes time to come up with solutions/explanations.

I usually get a response within a few days.

Plenty to do in the meantime.

[Meg Ostrowski]

In an effort to get a quicker response, I took Matt’s advice and sent a follow up message to the Mayor, Ward 2 Councilman, Director of Public Works and the Parks Manager after submitting Kauffman Park-ing concerns via the Report-A-Problem system.

I am uncomfortable posting the entire correspondence here due to the legal jargon that appears after all public official/city employee responses but I will try to summarize what I heard back in a future post.

Until then I thought I would re-post/”bump” Mike Zannoni’s thoughts on the reduced hours at Kauffman Park. I missed it over the summer but found it while catching up on this thread. Enjoy!



Mike Zanonni wrote:

1. I would like to walk in Kaufman Park until 11 PM and not have that be illegal.
2. I would like to photograph in Kaufman Park until 11 PM and not have that be illegal.
3. I would like to converse with one or more others in Kaufman Park until 11 PM and not have that be illegal.
4. I would like to eat take out food until 11 PM in Kaufman Park and not have that be illegal.
5. I would like to sit by myself and think in Kaufman Park until 11 PM and not have that be illegal.
6. I would like to be able to go to Kaufman Park until 11 PM just to get out of my home when necessary and not have that be illegal.
7. I would like to be able to listen to music with headphones at Kaufman Park until 11 PM and not have that be illegal.
8. I would like to smoke a cigarette in Kaufman Park until 11 PM and not have that be illegal.
9. I would like for Lakewood Police to drive by every once in a while between sundown and 11 PM to make its presence known and look to for anything that looks like drug activity, drinking of alcohol and/or excessive noise making.
10. I would NOT like ever to receive any special positive treatment, regardless of the hour, on the part of the police using any so-called "legal tools": because I'm middle aged, dressed and groomed professionally, am light skinned, wear glasses and look studious, am well-spoken or because my ID shows I live in Lakewood.
11. I would NOT like ever to receive any special negative treatment, regardless of the hour, on the part of the police using any so-called "legal tools": because I look young, have very long hair, have greasy hair, am wearing ripped jeans and a t-shirt, am a smoker, appear to be unshaven with ungroomed beard and mustache, seem not to be doing anything productive whatsoever, forgot to wear a belt, am with a group, don't have my ID or use street or youth slang.
12. I would like very much to be promptly handcuffed and arrested, regardless of the hour, if I am actually harming anybody or their property.
13. I would like to simply asked by police to leave if I'm truly causing any kind of disturbance whatsoever to others enjoying the park or living nearby.

Thank you Mike for articulating so well how many feel about the reduced hours at Kauffman Park.

[Meg Ostrowski]

City officials assured me that Kauffman Park is NOT being targeted for commercial development.

The city will consider adding signs to designate public parking along park fencing. I have asked them to do more as visitors will be deterred by signs before they make it to the fence.

The groups working on a Kauffman Park Master Plan will take a more serious look at the parking situation as part of the process.

Matt, Can you add anything here based on your contact with the city on this issue?

[marklingm]

Matt, Can you add anything here based on your contact with the city on this issue?

Meg,

Here is what City Hall shared with me:

Matt