auction of lakewood landmark

[Jim O'Bryan]

Shelly

Before we blame Councilman FitzGerald, let's see where this goes. I would not fault Ed FitzGerald, at this point. I received a slew of email from people that "overstated" what was going on. There are many things at play here.

Lucky for all of us we have had Ed, and Otto joined the discussion. Also we have gotten some information from outside sources. Tonight the city will meet with Ed and Otto and look at what needs to be done to save the "historic" integrity of the house.

What we are watching is the birth of a new era in this city. Ed FitzGerald, Ryan Demro, Denis Dunn, Mary Louis Madigan, and Tom George have joined in a 24/7/365 open discussion about the city and where it is headed. They all get a standing ovation from me.

Think about this. Lynn, Don Farris, and myself still dislike eminent domain. Suzanne Metelko, Mary Anne Crampton, and Steve Davis think the tool has some value, and dislike it, but will not take it off the table. EVERYONE CAN LIVE WITH THAT AND CONTINUE THE DISCUSSION. Open source with people willing to take ownership of their comments and thoughts. Trust.

The Observer has put 30,000 issues on the street. Advertisers have embraced the project and the paper. Writers and residents have marched to the fore front to write, design, photograph, deliver or do anything in an effort to help the city know itself better than any other city. To get information out, and talk in public about real issues.

I really believe this forum and project came of age today. A couple weeks ago, people commented on Dean Boland. Mr Boland signed on and helped to correct some misconceptions, and allowed us some valuable insight. Today Ed FitzGerald, laid his thoughts on the line, and Observers did likewise. At 2:00pm Otto Lombardo joined in. It was pure magic, it was a new day for Lakewood.

It should be noted that both men put a lot on the line joining an open public discussion. Tonight at the meeting all the key players know in advance, what will be asked, and said. This allows all to come prepared, and to put FACTS on the table.

The group that started the Observer had no agenda, other than taking conversation, discussion and discourse up a notch. It works. Real Names, Open Source works, and this city will grow faster and better than ever before.

As the publisher I have no comment on Otto and his sale. But as the publisher of the Observer I am very proud of everyone that took the time, and the gave us the trust, to join in this and every discussion.

You have proven we can sit at a very big table and discuss the future face to face.

Yes, the Observer has a photographer, a reporter and about ten members at this meeting.

Thank You.


PS - Shelly when are you going to start to write for the paper. Love your style.

[stephen davis]

Here's a link to the auction site. It doesn't look that threatening to the integtrity of the house.

http://www.kikoauctions.com/Listings/Au ... mbardo.htm

[Stan Austin]

I just returned from the meeting. At the moment I am utterly repulsed by the intrusiviness and obscene behavior on the part of some of Lakewood's "finest".

Therefore, I can't at the moment write with any objectivity.

Maybe tomorrow.

Stan Austin

[Bobbie Hendrick]

Mr. Austin,
I think you are misrepresenting the meeting. There were just 2 people who I would say were out of line, and the group quickly shut them down. Most people were trying to show understanding for Mr. Lombardo's plight, and were trying to find a win-win solution, as a couple of people said. I hope Mr. Lombardo came away with a willingness to sit down and explore options with his neighbors. He said he has no other options, but many people think that is not the case. I just hope he is being honest and truly wants to live in the house as a home, and is not planning some kind of demolition or development.
B.H.

[Matthew Charboneau]

matthew

[Danielle Masters]

I also attended the meeting tonight. I do agree that some of the people in attendence were horrible. I think the majority of people there wanted to hear Mr. Lombardo's side of the story. I was very disgusted that a few in attendence felt the need to air Mr. Lombardo's private financial matters. Mr. Lombardo did say that he wants to keep his home and hopes to pass in on to his children. I hope that this community can come together and somehow help him. Perhaps I am being a little idealistic but I think that the majority of us feel sympathy for him and his family and have no ill feelings towards him.

[Matthew Charboneau]

..

[Jim O'Bryan]

Matthew

A couple small points, on what is being called one of Lakewood darkest days, by some who have called and emailed me.

Residents have every right to protect their property values, and Ed FitzGerald did the right thing having an open meeting to discuss something that could affect his ward. Likewise the Historical Society has a right to try to save one of the unique old homes in Lakewood. And of course Mr. Lombardo has the rght to have a sale of "his" property, especially seeing how it was never designated "historical."

After the good discussion here I never expected to hear what I heard about the meeting. As one Observer put it, "thank god outside media wasn't there it was a terrible display for a city hoping to attract new residents." I wonder how many had gone through the auction site.

I have heard that Paula Reed and Councilman FitzGerald have agreed to sit down, and try to come to some understanding, about what should be saved for the city, how to help Mr. Lombardo, and how to move the house onto the Historical Registry. Perhaps in retrospect this should have been the first move not the last.


Jim O'Bryan

[OTTO LOMBARDO]

Jim

I don't think it was one of Lakewood's darkest days. Some people may have brought their dark agenda to the meeting, but I think it was a New Day of Openness. It got people off their porches and out from behind their fences and away from their computer screens to meet face to face.
It gave me an opportunity to meet Ed Fitzgerald for the first time and to observe him as a good public official, that may have been misquided by false information from some of his constituents. I don't agree with what he has written on these pages, and he is an adversary, but when I put a face and handshake to all this I came away with a respect for Ed for his passion and in the way he moderated the meeting.
Thank you Jim in helping to bring about this positive change in our community.

[Shelly Gould Burgess]

An Indian spiritual master said, "Wisdom is the ability to see situations from all perspectives." It seems like there are many perspectives here, but, judging from reports of the meeting, people aren't behaving repsectfully towards those with perspectives other than their own.

Councilperson Fitzgerald, what I question is why you brought this matter into a public forum. It seems to me that the proper, respectful order of action should have gone something like this:
1. Contact Mr. Lombardo privately: I know you've said you delivered a letter to him, and he says that he intiated verbal contact by calling you. However, all of this was apparently after you posted on this site. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
2. IF Mr. Lombardy didn't respond to the issue to your satisfaction, look for government and private preservation organizations to help. When did you contact the Lakewood Historical Society? Was it before or after you made the post? Did you try other projects, such as HGTV's Restore America Project? If you did any of these things, did you do it with Mr. Lombardo's knowledge/consent?
3. If steps one and two didn't work to achieve your goals, could you have set up a meeting for the stakeholders...Mr. Lombardo, members of the LHS, and immediate neighbors?

I just question WHY you brought this issue to such a public forum seemingly before taking more sensitive steps. An analogy: In my school district, if a parent has a complaint about a teacher, the administration asks the parent to talk to the teacher first. If there's no resolution, THEN the administration of the school in question meets with the parents. If there's STILL no resolution, THEN the issue goes to the superintendent. The final step is the public step when the issue goes in front of the BOE. This is done because the administration and BOE, while technically the people with the greater power, have agreed to treat the teacher with courtesy.

Another analogy: Say my neighbor, Jane Doe, doesn't always mow her lawn, and it can get pretty unsightly. To me the courteous thing to do would be to ask her politely to take better care of it. Then I could call the city. I would NOT post a message on this site about how Jane doesn't mow her lawn and propopsing we as a community do something about it because it affects us all (which it does.)

I'm not accusing you of not treating Mr. Lombardo with courtesy or of taking private steps before publicly airing his laundry for him because I don't know the answers to the questions I've posed. Please answer them so that I can better understand.

Thanks,
Shelly

P.S. Wow, thanks Jim! I'm honored. Do you need an education reporter?

[dl meckes]

I went to the meeting with the idea that while perhaps something could be organized to help the Lombardo family and that it is time to reopen the discussion about historic preservation/districts/whatever.

Any time a community acts without knowledge, or reacts in a reactionary fashion, we lose something.

I believe it's very important to try to preserve our great homes and districts and the families who reside therein. Houses can be important for many reasons, but we always must make sure we understand what extenuating circumstances the owners of these fine homes may face.

I hate seeing the old homes of Lakewood diminished or destroyed. It isn't easy to find the right balance between preserving community assets and preserving the rights of property owners. I wish help had been available for this good neighbor. He isn't the first or last who will have to endure an agonizing situation.

I was appalled at some of what I heard last night – and it was more than two people who behaved badly (in my opinion).

This situation didn't happen overnight. N.E. Ohio has one of the highest rates of foreclosure in in the country. Homes deteriorate. People need help maintaining their properties. I wish I had some answers to ameliorate this and similar situations.

[john crino]

Mr. Lombardo,
First, I am sorry for your troubles. Second, I hope that if you are able and willing to continue to live in Lakewood you can understand that the community for the most part is concerned for your beautiful home and the integrity it adds to the community. It is commendable that people care in the first place even though some have an odd way of showing it. I hope you can see how the community would somehow like to help you through your situation as much for the benefit of the community as a whole and as a neighbor helping a neighbor. I wish you luck.

[Jim O'Bryan]

Mr. Lombardo

I was merely reporting on what I had heard. This came from a variety of sources. As others have stated this is a tough one, and one that has underlined many tough issues in Lakewood for residents, and civic leaders.

Out of this meeting I have to say that Ed FitzGerald, Paula Reed, and yourself have risen to the challenge. I hope everyone can come to an understanding, and reach some sort of compromise.

Thanks again for putting your name on your thoughts and joining this forum about what has to be a very tough subject to talk about in public. This forum and this paper is all about the light of day.

Jim O'Bryan

[Cyndie Morgan]

I attended the meeting last night and overall, I thought it went well. There will always be people with their own agendas (and ways of handling stressful situations) at any public meeting. But I think we need to focus on the positives of the meeting. For those who think the main reason the majority of people were at the meeting was "property values", I think you are wrong. Many people were there to see what could be done to save what we believe is a historical landmark that can never be built again. That means more than $$ to a lot of folks.

Now I don’t know Otto Lombardo and I won’t pretend to understand his intentions. I can only take the information we were provided and determine what makes sense. Otto mentioned that he is no longer a “wealthyâ€Â￾ man. As a homeowner, I understand the financials of owning a home of that magnitude and only a “wealthyâ€Â￾ man can logically live on that property – as it is today.

Otto said that he wants to keep the house for his family. I am sure he has the best intentions for his family but why would one sell 14 rooms of furniture if the plan was to remain in the house? So let’s play devil’s advocate for a minute. Let’s say that his goal is to gain as much profit from the property as possible. Many times the value of something is worth more taken apart than it is sold as a whole. In this case, that may be true. Let’s think about it for a minute. The initial auction’s proceeds could be used to partially pay off creditors. At that point, Otto can do whatever he wants with the property. He could then sell everything of value in the home, including marble floors, stairs, tiles….. It could then be knocked down and various homes could be built on the property and sold at a profit. In this scenario, the profit on the property (selling it piece meal) is most likely more than simply putting the intact property for sale.

Perhaps Otto believes that if he sells the property, that’s what would happen anyway so why not do it and keep the profit. And possibly continue to live on the property in one of the newly developed homes.

People may have offered Otto money for the house, but perhaps the offers were just too low. People have speculated for years that he was under financial duress. Perhaps the offers he received were low-ball offers. He knows what the real financial value is to anyone who owns the property. By now, he has an estimate from the auctioneer of the potential amount he would make on the sale.

So the question really comes down to – is there a right price? If there is a right price, maybe there is a buyer willing to pay it. That right price can only be determined by Otto. Perhaps the number is just too large for a potential buyer who would maintain the home. But if we knew what that number was, we could determine if there was a buyer.

I agree that Otto can do whatever he wants with “hisâ€Â￾ property. But I don’t think it is out of line to at least attempt to save one of the most beautiful properties in Lakewood! It is not out of line to care about the future of a home like Otto’s. It is not a matter of money for me. I would simply like to see the home continue to stand for many many years and Otto’s grandchildren can say that their grandfather used to live on that magnificient property.

[Ed FitzGerald]

Shelly:

I think your post made a lot of sense, and let me answer as best I can. First, the problem here is time. Most of the community learned about this situation 5 or 6 days ago. The auction of the architectural fixtures is set for seven days from now. In that brief window of time, the city had to explore all of its options, legal and otherwise, in a very complicated situation. There are a lot of parties involved, and unfortunately, its not just about Mr. Lombardo because there is pending foreclosure action and a sheriff sale is looming. Incidentally, many people are glossing over the fact that there is a foreclosure action on the property, which had made this public in the first place.

The difference with your tall grass analogy is the fact that the auction will have a permanent effect. The fixtures will be gone- they won't grow back, and if citizens are going to try and preserve them, time is of the essence. Basically, all parties were reached out to before time expired. All I can tell you is I was scrambling to make contact with any parties who had any say in all this; when I had a direct contact, i used it, when I didnt, I tried to find people who knew Mr. Lombardo.

Why a public meeting? Well, there was a LOT of disinformation and rumours out there. I'm not even going to repeat them here because it will just add fuel to the fire. Some neighbors were in an absolute panic about what might be in store for the property. As someone mentioned at the meeting last night, sometimes sunlight is the best disinfectant. When approximately 150 residents have contacted me, its hard to tell them to sit tight, others will take care of it. They want to know whats going on with the most prominent property in their area, and there's nothing wrong with that. Residents were taking it upon themselves to call the foreclosure attorneys, the sheriff sale administrator, the auction company, considering private attorneys...it was necessary in my opinion to lay all the cards on the table before things spiralled out of control. Just two days ago, a rumour started that the auction had been cancelled, and emails flew around that idea for a day or two. Then a rumour that house was being knocked down, and so on...

The actual meeting was less contentious than I had feared. Tom Corrigan from our law department did a good job explaining some of the legalities. Rich Sicha and others from the Historical Society gave valuable info. Mr. Lombardo spoke and was basically very classy. I don't agree with his auction of these fixtures, and I still think it will irreparably harm the property, but he and I had a nice chat, and I think he appreciates that I treated him with respect. His post today says alot, and is appreciated. A few people got carried away, no question about it. Feelings run high about this topic- thats because we all care about this town. There are certain aspects of this which should not be discussed in public- and those comments were ruled out of order and we moved on. The meeting ended with Mr. Lombardo agreeing to meet with Paula Reed and the Historical Society, although he admitted he thought it was too late to halt the auction.

Your points about mediation and communication are all well taken- all I can say is it gets messier under severe time constraints.

Not to drone on here, but as to legislation, no draconian legislation is in the works. I will be proposing an ordinance that says a residence can't be demolished with no permit and no notice to the residents- a protection we already give to commercial structures. It's reasonable, and I expect it will pass. In the long run, we need to start a dialogue about whether historical designations have a place in Lakewood, in some form or fashion. The key is to be flexible, I think.

Thank you for your post, and I hope I answered most of your questions. And by the way, I do think the Observer ended up playing a constructive role in this process. It helps take the secrecy out of government, and Jim and his staff should be proud of that.