The Observation Deck

Tarnation Dan!

Just when I was thinking about whether or not to put the iconic Lakewood Observer banjo out on the tree lawn for the rubbish people to pick up next week, you HAD to put that verse of Pete's out there.


How indeed, can we keep from singing? They sang in the death camps before and during WWII. People have sung under all sorts of political, religious, and economic persecutions.


Sing? Yes indeed.


Well, here's a little poem. Perhaps someone might come up with a melody to it, or not, but I think that whatever side you might have been on with this hospital fiasco, you might get a chuckle, or a sigh, or perhaps a bit of a wince at it:

(A FREE SPEECH PARODY, based on the traditional nursery rhyme "Who Killed Cock Robin")

Disclaimer: Any perceived resemblance in this post to any real-life mayors, councils, lawyers, litigators, preachers, teachers, cities, solstice steps, chat rooms, politicians, or banjo players, or whatever their actual possible comments or thoughts might truly be in this or similar situations would be purely coincidental. This poem reflects one person's opinions alone, and that person could well be wrong...

Who Killed The Hospital?

Not I! reflecteth Smiling Mayor.
I had the best of good intentions.
There were no dishonorable mentions.
What could be done? She was going, going, gone,
Long before I came along.

Who then killed the hospital?
Who saw it die?
Not we, sayeth the Council,
With our observant little eyes,
We did not see it die.

Who caught the blood?
Not we, sayeth the City,
On Solstice Steps, we now sit pretty.
We did not catch the blood, can’t you see?
We only damned an urban flood of misery.

Who'll make the shroud?
Not we, sayeth the chat rooms.
With all our words, a tomb,
We made, just by being loud,
While following our own crowds.

Who'll cover its grave?
Perhaps I? said the banjo player,
With layer upon layer,
Of lies and half-truths told,
By charlatans perhaps? But bold.

Who'll be the preachers?
Not we, sayeth the litigators,
Yet heed our words. They’re fire,
But we'll not be the preachers.
Another will be the teacher...

Who will pay the charges?
We will, we won, it’s done! sayeth the voters.
We love the tarnished visions,
Forgive unrepentant sinners,
Move along, and…vote for winners!

Who'll be the chief mourners?
Above all? The politicians...
They'll carry out the coffin,
Bear pall, engage the boffins,
Sing psalms, and wink...while coughin'.

Who'll toll the bell?
I, said Truth, I will... I'll toll the bell.
The people of the land,
Will choke on their flu-borne spittle,
As they hear the last bell toll,
For their unlamented hospital.

corvus oculum corvi non eruit
(Proposed city motto)

Back to a not-so-silent banjo...

Further Affiant Sayeth Naught…The Poet

by Gary Rice 2018 Any and all reproduction rights reserved

Amy Martin wrote:I wonder how Meagan George came to put her name onto this insult? I for one am not happy about her rubber-stamping this so called event.

Amy

So did I so I went out of my way to run into her last night.

I pointed out how she came in after, and should have stayed clear. Her answer was short and sincere.

"I know people were upset, but I thought it would be nice to give Lakewoodites a chance to see it one more time. Perhaps saying goodbye or closer."

I will be honest when I say, I was shocked to see the entire event. It seemed like something that had zero success of doing anything but making people upset and bringing back bad feelings and nasty comments on all sides.

I believe that Councilman Litten from the remarks I have seen, believes the same. People out there think "Shut up and move on." Not his words but mine. The facts are the City of Lakewood was lied to, and played by the City of Lakewood Administration, Mayor, Council, Law Director, Finance Director and a handful of supporters that seemed to end with either a lion share of the funds left, or a majority of the say in how those funds are squandered. They think no one noticed. They believe their scheme was cleaver. That want Lakewoodites to believe they were forced into this. And, a great many Lakewoodites do believe the Mayor's narrative which is an outright lie. They do not see the connection between the viscous attacks on those merely asking questions, now control the purse strings and development. A couple name changes, a couple board merges, and slam bam they believe they have fooled everyone.

It is that group of shallow individuals, that schemed for their interest over common sense, critical thought, and the best interests of Lakewood, that have thought since day one, move on already. The group that lied and told us there was $120 million in new development coming. Never once telling us the truth, that we as a community would loose hundreds of millions while having to underwrite their multi-use strip mall. They told us of healthy community, never mentioning they were taking millions we had raised as a community to keep our hospital going into their new slush fund. When they formed various groups to help Lakewood through this, they never mentioned they were standing at the end of the trough taking a majority of everything the community lost. These are the ones who said get over it.

I have said since day one, year two, year three and now year four. IF you really want Lakewood to get over it. If you really want to HEAL LAKEWOOD. If you really want the community to move on in any sort of form we were as a community before this nightmare began, it is simple. RELEASE ALL THE PAPERWORK.

Such a simple honest gesture, release all the documents, let the City read and understand if they want to what happened and how. Stop lying, stop misrepresenting, stop the intimidation, stop the destruction of democratic norms. Do what each and ever court hearing has asked for, RELEASE THE DOCUMENTS.

One simple move, then and only then can the community move on.

Accountability, Transparency, Honesty for the residents of Lakewood is much, much more than a campaign slogan to be forgotten by the second week of every December. It is not just the way of life and normality, it is in the very Charter Council and the City voted on. Do it, or get out and back into private business.

.

.

Gary Rice wrote:Tarnation Dan!

Just when I was thinking about whether or not to put the iconic Lakewood Observer banjo out on the tree lawn for the rubbish people to pick up next week, you HAD to put that verse of Pete's out there.


How indeed, can we keep from singing? They sang in the death camps before and during WWII. People have sung under all sorts of political, religious, and economic persecutions.


Sing? Yes indeed.


Well, here's a little poem. Perhaps someone might come up with a melody to it, or not, but I think that whatever side you might have been on with this hospital fiasco, you might get a chuckle, or a sigh, or perhaps a bit of a wince at it:

(A FREE SPEECH PARODY, based on the traditional nursery rhyme "Who Killed Cock Robin")

Disclaimer: Any perceived resemblance in this post to any real-life mayors, councils, lawyers, litigators, preachers, teachers, cities, solstice steps, chat rooms, politicians, or banjo players, or whatever their actual possible comments or thoughts might truly be in this or similar situations would be purely coincidental. This poem reflects one person's opinions alone, and that person could well be wrong...

Who Killed The Hospital?

Not I! reflecteth Smiling Mayor.
I had the best of good intentions.
There were no dishonorable mentions.
What could be done? She was going, going, gone,
Long before I came along.

Who then killed the hospital?
Who saw it die?
Not we, sayeth the Council,
With our observant little eyes,
We did not see it die.

Who caught the blood?
Not we, sayeth the City,
On Solstice Steps, we now sit pretty.
We did not catch the blood, can’t you see?
We only damned an urban flood of misery.

Who'll make the shroud?
Not we, sayeth the chat rooms.
With all our words, a tomb,
We made, just by being loud,
While following our own crowds.

Who'll cover its grave?
Perhaps I? said the banjo player,
With layer upon layer,
Of lies and half-truths told,
By charlatans perhaps? But bold.

Who'll be the preachers?
Not we, sayeth the litigators,
Yet heed our words. They’re fire,
But we'll not be the preachers.
Another will be the teacher...

Who will pay the charges?
We will, we won, it’s done! sayeth the voters.
We love the tarnished visions,
Forgive unrepentant sinners,
Move along, and…vote for winners!

Who'll be the chief mourners?
Above all? The politicians...
They'll carry out the coffin,
Bear pall, engage the boffins,
Sing psalms, and wink...while coughin'.

Who'll toll the bell?
I, said Truth, I will... I'll toll the bell.
The people of the land,
Will choke on their flu-borne spittle,
As they hear the last bell toll,
For their unlamented hospital.

corvus oculum corvi non eruit
(Proposed city motto)

Back to a not-so-silent banjo...

Further Affiant Sayeth Naught…The Poet

by Gary Rice 2018 Any and all reproduction rights reserved

Gary,
Thanks for the subtle, but unsparing verse.
To note, I was thinking more of the tyrants trembling than the friends singing, but that's quibbling. It's all of a piece.

For the reference of others, from a Google search:
"corvus oculum corvi non eruit" = "a crow will not pull out the eye of another crow."
Yes, indeed.

I was looking at some pictures of the abandoned hospital on Facebook. Looking at the empty rooms the thought occurred to me - is there an accounting of the fittings and equipment which is no longer there? There must be millions of dollars of beds, Xray machines, etc. that are no longer there. In all of the posts that have been posted regarding the hospital giveaway I have not seen any that account for fittings and equipment.

Stan Austin wrote:I was looking at some pictures of the abandoned hospital on Facebook. Looking at the empty rooms the thought occurred to me - is there an accounting of the fittings and equipment which is no longer there? There must be millions of dollars of beds, Xray machines, etc. that are no longer there. In all of the posts that have been posted regarding the hospital giveaway I have not seen any that account for fittings and equipment.

Stan

Those were but a couple rooms, from someone who snuck off during the tour. Much of the hospital has become dangerous to walk in, from supports being removed, asbestos removal or checking, and salvaging.

Currently there are some items for sale, like the generators that pulled in $300,000, others pieces are being salvaged by the Historical Society, some of the other pieces are being sold off and salvaged. The Clinic was allowed to take many of the items, and I can tell you the place is pretty empty. I know everything leaving the hospital currently is being asked for in writing, then approved and inventoried.

There are some serious problems with what is worth something. And example would be an operating table. By the time it is removed, it is basically worth much less than a new one, and cost associated with it is pretty high. Which means it is generally easier and better to donate money and buy new for other hospitals that do not have them. The bed licenses was worth more than the beds. An old X-Ray machine can have all sorts of issues as compared with a new smaller Cat Scan.

Finally, the company that does the demolition figures things like stainless steel, copper, aluminum, etc. into their demolition bids. They get to keep it towards their bottom line.

I say all of this without, having seen the contracts, the winning bids or any inventory sheets.

.

The hospital was always most important to me as a lifeline rather than as a place invested many memories. Seeing pictures of a facility in such apparently good condition makes me wonder even more about the city's haste in getting rid of it. They certainly didn't do it for the dollar bill they are going to receive.

Dan Alaimo wrote:The hospital was always most important to me as a lifeline rather than as a place invested many memories. Seeing pictures of a facility in such apparently good condition makes me wonder even more about the city's haste in getting rid of it. They certainly didn't do it for the dollar bill they are going to receive.

Did the Clinic pay even $1 for the $100M's they and the mayor and city council stole from the city?

cmager wrote:

Dan Alaimo wrote:The hospital was always most important to me as a lifeline rather than as a place invested many memories. Seeing pictures of a facility in such apparently good condition makes me wonder even more about the city's haste in getting rid of it. They certainly didn't do it for the dollar bill they are going to receive.

Did the Clinic pay even $1 for the $100M's they and the mayor and city council stole from the city?

CMager

I believe and I would have to look at the documents, that the Cleveland Clinic was paid $78 million to leave their contract, plus was given the land, and the new building for the Family Health Center. Also given a great building on Clague for a song. The $1 is what the group with ex-Mayor Ed FitzGerald paid for the property, after the residents were charged with tearing everything down, getting rid of asbestos, and preparing the ground.

Dan Alaimo wrote:The hospital was always most important to me as a lifeline rather than as a place invested many memories. Seeing pictures of a facility in such apparently good condition makes me wonder even more about the city's haste in getting rid of it. They certainly didn't do it for the dollar bill they are going to receive.

Dan

The Hospital was not great condition. There were estimates that the old part of the hospital needed as much as $80 million in repair. That number is debated. NO MATTER the Hospital Foundation had acquired enough funding to repair it and keep it going and more. This is the monies that have been shifted to the private foundation known as Three Arches. To my knowledge every penny was raised to keep Lakewood Hospital in good condition, add new things like the front doors, and provide health care. This was one of the things that LHF President Ken Haber said in my interview, "We will have to contact those that have given, if they can be found and let them know our plans and see if they would like to be a part of that." Many of the people that gave have passed on. Some of their families cannot be found. Other funds like those given for the Annual Ambulance Chase can only be used for putting that race on.

I have maintained since Day One these funds and the transfer of these funds to a private group, are one of the single biggest reasons our hospital was closed. My contacts at CCF said they were willing to finish the contract out. The offer by Metro asked for these funds to be turned over to bring the hospital up to tip-top condition, and of course the Mayor and others said NO! If you look at every aspect of this debacle, the grabbing and repurposing of these funds and how they are spent was reason number one on my book for Lakewood losing our largest employer, our anchor to DowntowN, and the creation of a black hole where it used to be. Look at the names on Three Arches and see where they stood during the past 4 years. Look and read at what they said and did. Look at who did what, quit what, went where during that period of time. Finally look at my Interview with LHF President Ken Haber in early 2015, he underlined everything that was going to happen, how and why.

People can hate and blame the Clinic all they want, but it was our elected officials and fellow Lakewoodites that sold us out for a handful of Magic Beans and control of the Foundation millions.

.

I'm still appalled by Meagan George's participation in this farce. Seems to me like she's Litten's protege. . . .

Amy Martin wrote:I'm still appalled by Meagan George's participation in this farce. Seems to me like she's Litten's protege. . . .

I think the idea that SHE is Littens protege is entirely mistaken.

Kitten was recruited for council so they’d have another “yes” vote on the Clinic deal. I’d venture to say that’s the extent of his public service. Given his Where’s Waldo performance as a councilman I’m expecting him to lose his next race, if he even runs again.

Meghan George is her own person, and if she’s anyone’s “protege,” she’s Tom George’s.

Jim O'Bryan wrote:

Dan Alaimo wrote:The hospital was always most important to me as a lifeline rather than as a place invested many memories. Seeing pictures of a facility in such apparently good condition makes me wonder even more about the city's haste in getting rid of it. They certainly didn't do it for the dollar bill they are going to receive.

Dan

The Hospital was not great condition. There were estimates that the old part of the hospital needed as much as $80 million in repair. That number is debated. NO MATTER the Hospital Foundation had acquired enough funding to repair it and keep it going and more. This is the monies that have been shifted to the private foundation known as Three Arches. To my knowledge every penny was raised to keep Lakewood Hospital in good condition, add new things like the front doors, and provide health care. This was one of the things that LHF President Ken Haber said in my interview, "We will have to contact those that have given, if they can be found and let them know our plans and see if they would like to be a part of that." Many of the people that gave have passed on. Some of their families cannot be found. Other funds like those given for the Annual Ambulance Chase can only be used for putting that race on.

I have maintained since Day One these funds and the transfer of these funds to a private group, are one of the single biggest reasons our hospital was closed. My contacts at CCF said they were willing to finish the contract out. The offer by Metro asked for these funds to be turned over to bring the hospital up to tip-top condition, and of course the Mayor and others said NO! If you look at every aspect of this debacle, the grabbing and repurposing of these funds and how they are spent was reason number one on my book for Lakewood losing our largest employer, our anchor to DowntowN, and the creation of a black hole where it used to be. Look at the names on Three Arches and see where they stood during the past 4 years. Look and read at what they said and did. Look at who did what, quit what, went where during that period of time. Finally look at my Interview with LHF President Ken Haber in early 2015, he underlined everything that was going to happen, how and why.

People can hate and blame the Clinic all they want, but it was our elected officials and fellow Lakewoodites that sold us out for a handful of Magic Beans and control of the Foundation millions.

.

So let me see if I've got this straight:
* The hospital was serviceable but needed significant repairs.
* Money was available for those repairs.
* The hospital needed a viable, reputable health system to run it.
* Two such health systems were willing to run it.
* The money and the hospital have now gone (or will soon go) pffffft.
Is that about right?

Dan Alaimo wrote:
So let me see if I've got this straight:
* The hospital was serviceable but needed significant repairs.
* Money was available for those repairs.
* The hospital needed a viable, reputable health system to run it.
* Two such health systems were willing to run it.
* The money and the hospital have now gone (or will soon go) pffffft.
Is that about right?

So let me see if I've got this straight:

* The hospital was serviceable but needed significant repairs.
Dan, this is correct according to some. I have no reason to doubt them, but without seeing the documents, the amount and cost of repairs could be fictitious. The repairs by everyone's account had to do with the original building not the new additions. So one could also believe the hospital could have soldiered on while the repairs are made.

* Money was available for those repairs.
Yes, and LHF had been raising money 1) knowing of the repairs needed, and 2) making multi-million dollar improvements to a hospital they knew was slated for destruction.

* The hospital needed a viable, reputable health system to run it.
No, it had one willing to run it through 2026 and honor their contract. What it needed was 1) Officials to hold LHA feet to the fire to enforce the promises made. 2) A management company that could manage it, LHA was only interested in shutting it down. 3) Our elected officials on the board of LHA needed to act like our fiduciary agents first and foremost, which according to everything we have uncovered and documents we have looked at was their primary responsibility, and something they never did.

* Two such health systems were willing to run it.
Actually I believe 3 came forward. 1) Was the Clinic, that refused to answer the initial RFP as they had a contract in place. 2) Was a Metro deal where they requested the assets of the hospital including Clague Road would be turned over to them. As we have witnessed they are very much into expanding, and taking care of inner ring suburbs. 3) Was a health care group like Premier, this was deemed the least attractive of all proposals, though they would have run it as a hospital.

* The money and the hospital have now gone (or will soon go) pffffft.
Is that about right?

Well I guess we got a couple dollars for everything. The lion share is in private foundations that we cannot get, or even oversee.

And that multi-use hair, nails, and skin strip mall, named after ex-Mayor FitzGerald.

That about sums it up.

.

Jim O'Bryan wrote:

Dan Alaimo wrote:
So let me see if I've got this straight:
* The hospital was serviceable but needed significant repairs.
* Money was available for those repairs.
* The hospital needed a viable, reputable health system to run it.
* Two such health systems were willing to run it.
* The money and the hospital have now gone (or will soon go) pffffft.
Is that about right?

So let me see if I've got this straight:

* The hospital was serviceable but needed significant repairs.
Dan, this is correct according to some. I have no reason to doubt them, but without seeing the documents, the amount and cost of repairs could be fictitious. The repairs by everyone's account had to do with the original building not the new additions. So one could also believe the hospital could have soldiered on while the repairs are made.

* Money was available for those repairs.
Yes, and LHF had been raising money 1) knowing of the repairs needed, and 2) making multi-million dollar improvements to a hospital they knew was slated for destruction.

* The hospital needed a viable, reputable health system to run it.
No, it had one willing to run it through 2026 and honor their contract. What it needed was 1) Officials to hold LHA feet to the fire to enforce the promises made. 2) A management company that could manage it, LHA was only interested in shutting it down. 3) Our elected officials on the board of LHA needed to act like our fiduciary agents first and foremost, which according to everything we have uncovered and documents we have looked at was their primary responsibility, and something they never did.

* Two such health systems were willing to run it.
Actually I believe 3 came forward. 1) Was the Clinic, that refused to answer the initial RFP as they had a contract in place. 2) Was a Metro deal where they requested the assets of the hospital including Clague Road would be turned over to them. As we have witnessed they are very much into expanding, and taking care of inner ring suburbs. 3) Was a health care group like Premier, this was deemed the least attractive of all proposals, though they would have run it as a hospital.

* The money and the hospital have now gone (or will soon go) pffffft.
Is that about right?

Well I guess we got a couple dollars for everything. The lion share is in private foundations that we cannot get, or even oversee.

And that multi-use hair, nails, and skin strip mall, named after ex-Mayor FitzGerald.

That about sums it up.

.

So if they had taken Metro's deal, we'd be in much the same place in terms of the land and the money, except we'd have a fully functioning hospital, many jobs, many more doctors in town, instead of a CCF building and mixed-use something or other? (And I bet CCF would've found a way to get their building, probably at the expense of park land somewhere in town.)
Am I getting close?

Dan Alaimo wrote:

Jim O'Bryan wrote:

Dan Alaimo wrote:
So let me see if I've got this straight:
* The hospital was serviceable but needed significant repairs.
* Money was available for those repairs.
* The hospital needed a viable, reputable health system to run it.
* Two such health systems were willing to run it.
* The money and the hospital have now gone (or will soon go) pffffft.
Is that about right?

So let me see if I've got this straight:

* The hospital was serviceable but needed significant repairs.
Dan, this is correct according to some. I have no reason to doubt them, but without seeing the documents, the amount and cost of repairs could be fictitious. The repairs by everyone's account had to do with the original building not the new additions. So one could also believe the hospital could have soldiered on while the repairs are made.

* Money was available for those repairs.
Yes, and LHF had been raising money 1) knowing of the repairs needed, and 2) making multi-million dollar improvements to a hospital they knew was slated for destruction.

* The hospital needed a viable, reputable health system to run it.
No, it had one willing to run it through 2026 and honor their contract. What it needed was 1) Officials to hold LHA feet to the fire to enforce the promises made. 2) A management company that could manage it, LHA was only interested in shutting it down. 3) Our elected officials on the board of LHA needed to act like our fiduciary agents first and foremost, which according to everything we have uncovered and documents we have looked at was their primary responsibility, and something they never did.

* Two such health systems were willing to run it.
Actually I believe 3 came forward. 1) Was the Clinic, that refused to answer the initial RFP as they had a contract in place. 2) Was a Metro deal where they requested the assets of the hospital including Clague Road would be turned over to them. As we have witnessed they are very much into expanding, and taking care of inner ring suburbs. 3) Was a health care group like Premier, this was deemed the least attractive of all proposals, though they would have run it as a hospital.

* The money and the hospital have now gone (or will soon go) pffffft.
Is that about right?

Well I guess we got a couple dollars for everything. The lion share is in private foundations that we cannot get, or even oversee.

And that multi-use hair, nails, and skin strip mall, named after ex-Mayor FitzGerald.

That about sums it up.

.

So if they had taken Metro's deal, we'd be in much the same place in terms of the land and the money, except we'd have a fully functioning hospital, many jobs, many more doctors in town, instead of a CCF building and mixed-use something or other? (And I bet CCF would've found a way to get their building, probably at the expense of park land somewhere in town.)
Am I getting close?

Dan

I am not Nostradamus, maybe others can answer supposedly questions.

Fully functional hospital would be up and working for at least 10 years.

I am sure the jobs would be about the same.

Not sure on more doctors in town or not.

Not sure CCF would have committed anything to building anything in Lakewood.

There have been plans on and off to develop Kauffman Park, even with a building for CCF, but I have only heard talk, never seen plans.

Dan, what we have is what we have. The thought process now should be two-fold. 1) Get all documents to see what really happened. Obviously they are lying, as they have proven repeatedly throughout this nightmare. 2) Take steps to prevent anything like this happening in the future. Accountability, Honesty, Transparency which also seems to be something desperately missing still at City Hall.

.

The Path Forward

What path forward?

There is no path forward other than the demolition of Lakewood Hospital, the conveyance of the hospital real estate to the selected developer for nominal consideration, and the construction of the "once-in-a-generation-opportunity" -- One Lakewood Place.

While there is some possibility that additional public documents may be released, that possibility appears increasingly unlikely with both the passage of time, the demolition of the hospital, and the other adverse determinations by the Ohio Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.

There are no impediments to something exactly like this happening again. In fact, the successful liquidation of an invaluable community asset (like our hospital) now stands as a blueprint on how to do exactly that -- convert community assets into private ownership.

We have no reason to expect any improvement in the short-term.

In 2019, we may elect some new municipal officeholders, but even if we are that lucky, they will be stuck living with the "dead hand" of the current city administration who will have completely committed the future of the city to the loss of our hospital and the construction of those upscale town houses, luxury apartments, high-end retail, and premium class A office space.

This is a done deal.

We witnessed that on May 7th when the majority of our city council (except George and Rader), while voting into the teeth of a temporary restraining order that protected the hospital, passed legislation that spelled demolition for that which the courts were at least temporarily trying to protect.

That exemplifies the collective thought process at work. --Ignore the Charter. --Disregard the Courts. --Litigate against transparency at all costs. --Flout internal written policies. --Marginalize those current and former public officials who object.