The Observation Deck

Janet Popielski wrote:This is typical of a city in decline. The little things start to build up and soon the citzens you want to stay and buy the more expensive 2nd home move away. Just look at the for sale and for rent signs.

Janet

The answer is actual simple. Engage the community. empower the citizens.

Safe, clean, enjoyable,


FWIW


,

I saw city crews out picking up litter at Edwards park today (monday morning) at about 9 a.m.

Kudos to the parks dept for keeping Lakewood Park looking great all day Sunday for us. That wind was picking up every bit of paper it could but the area stayed clean. I know that a few of the Jaycees got a workout chasing down napkins and flyers. It is always interesting to see the responses of others though when someone else (other than the park's staff) is trying to keep an area clean.

Ryan Patrick Demro wrote: This is part of an ongoing shell game the Adminstration is playing to "cut costs" and justify yet another tax increase.

I agree. The administration needs a tax increase to finance the three to five percent yearly raises promised to City employees. The "cuts" made are cuts in services that "cut" nothing from spending.

The goal is to get a tax increase. The tactic used is to stop maintaining streets, ignore development needs, ignore unmowed lawns and abandoned homes etc. They hope that when they offer the "solution" of a tax increase the voters will buy it.

Don't be fooled. The proposed tax increase will barely cover raises and benefit increases for 18 months. At that point another tax increase will be required to finance another round of raises.

The Administration needs to deal with the structural nature of the budget problems facing the City.

This may or may not be something Lakewood would like to consider. I have seen county sheriff's with low-profile prisoners cleaning up Edgewater in the early hours of the morning when no one is allowed in the park unless they are fishing.
Our tax dollars help pay for the county lockup as well, anyone's thoughts on this idea, that now seems to benefit only Cleveland?
To take this a step further, people are punished with misdemeanor crimes all the time in Lakewood and have to pay a fine. Why not make these people pay their penalty by picking up trash in our parks?

Joe

Joseph Milan wrote:This may or may not be something Lakewood would like to consider. I have seen county sheriff's with low-profile prisoners cleaning up Edgewater in the early hours of the morning when no one is allowed in the park unless they are fishing.
Our tax dollars help pay for the county lockup as well, anyone's thoughts on this idea, that now seems to benefit only Cleveland?
To take this a step further, people are punished with misdemeanor crimes all the time in Lakewood and have to pay a fine. Why not make these people pay their penalty by picking up trash in our parks?

Joe

Joe

Judge Pat Carroll has been doing this all along, luckily we do not have a glut of these people.

As far as inviting "career criminals" in for chain gang labor?! I would think it would be best to send them out to clean up the Beck Center grounds at Crocker Park. It would help keep it "real."


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Jim O'Bryan wrote: As far as inviting "career criminals" in for chain gang labor?!

Jim,

Just because the people I referenced are with the county sheriff does not make them career criminals as you stereotyped them. These are not people in chains, either. They simply committed an offense that fell within the sheriff's jurisdiction, and were sentenced to the same type of punishment that you say Judge Carroll doles out sentences for. Obviously, you think these people are somehow more dangerous than someone in Judge Carroll's courtroom, not to mention you believe somehow that they are all hardened, repeat offenders.

Joe

Joseph Milan wrote:

Jim O'Bryan wrote: As far as inviting "career criminals" in for chain gang labor?!

Jim,

Just because the people I referenced are with the county sheriff does not make them career criminals as you stereotyped them. These are not people in chains, either. They simply committed an offense that fell within the sheriff's jurisdiction, and were sentenced to the same type of punishment that you say Judge Carroll doles out sentences for. Obviously, you think these people are somehow more dangerous than someone in Judge Carroll's courtroom, not to mention you believe somehow that they are all hardened, repeat offenders.

Joe

Joe

Perhaps you could site some examples. I might be wrong

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Site examples? There are hundreds of laws on the books. How many do you want? The Cuyahoga County court system takes in cases for many different reasons. The county common pleas court doesn't just take felony offenses. The Cuyahoga Muny court can take in simple traffic offenses, housing violations, misdemeanor violations, and small claims cases.
The Cuy. courts also take in juvenile cases.

The citations run the gamut of offenses. It could simply be for a kid breaking curfew. Do you not know the laws?

Joe

Janet,

I'm concerned you may be right. The litter, peeling paint, weeds, unmown grass is becoming the topic of conversation with family and friends but embarrassingly enough - guests. And it isn't the construction that feeds that impression...it's the litter, peeling paint, weeds and unmown grass and the general malaise that comes from the city when it's mentioned. We are looking depressed and unkept.

I have a young family that was relocated to St. Louis last year. They lived on Arthur, loved the community and loved living here. They missed Lakewood so much, he changed employers and they're moving back. They've been spending the past several weeks looking for houses and are now seriously considering living outside of the community that caused them to return to this area. Why? Dingy, dirty, depressing. They're staying here now but when they tried to use Webb Park it was so disgusting they had to abandon the idea. Her call to city hall was disturbing and non productive.

She'll be calling the ward councilperson and all three at-larges, but she's angry and worried. I told her that the Mayor has a hotline too. She'll be contacting him. I hope they listen to her. This is a young, educated family. Both parents grew up here, both graduated from LHS and both have good jobs. Both wanted to move home and now both are concerned they've made a big mistake.

Lakewood's most marketable asset is its quality of life - if that goes, no amount of ED will matter.

How can we fix this?

During the last week of the school year I went on a field trip to the Oldest Stone House with my second grader. After our tour and before heading off to lunch the kids took a bathroom break at the restrooms next to the skate park. The parents were shocked by how disgusting the bathrooms there were. In the men's room there was no running water in the sinks. Luckily we had lots of purell. I know that the city and some residents will probably say that the bathrooms are in horrible disrepair due to the skaters but it obvious those restrooms have been neglected for many years. It is important that if we are going to have public restrooms that they are clean and in working order, doors on the stalls would be nice too. These particular restrooms are not only used for the skate park but also for the numerous ballgames that are played on the ball field. I do worry about the state of our public parks. I worry about the direction the city appears to be heading when we can't keep our parks and public restroom decent and clean.

Mowing lawns and picking up trash should not even be subject for discussion. Given the size of the public works department the parks should be in great condition.

Rumor: I am not naming names but I hear park employees have been working on the yards of relatives.

Not a rumor: During my discussions with city employees for an article I was writing I heard the following more than once: F... Lakewood, I don't give a G. D. about Lakewood, I don't live in Lakewood.

Not a rumor: During my discussions with city employees for an article I was writing I heard the following more than once: F... Lakewood, I don't give a G. D. about Lakewood, I don't live in Lakewood

and thus we return to the discussion of why having a residency requirement makes so much sense.....

Jeff

Feels like a lowering of expectations.