The Observation Deck

David Anderson wrote:The reason I’m here, Brian, is because of the consistency of being demonized as immoral and corrupt. Nothing more.

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Thanks fot weighing in

I've been trying to find out how the Clinic aquired the land for the new Family Health Center. The City just closed the public records request without answering my question.

Their answer boiled down to : we don't know anything and besides the lot doesn't exist.

Do you know anything about the sale of that lot to the Clinic?

David Anderson wrote:\How do you and others account for this? Well, the Law Department, despite sworn affidavits, hid and destroyed documents. LHA was fake and its certified financial documents were manipulated. Council members were immoral and corrupt. Judges were duped. The voters were hoodwinked. It goes on and on.

David

Let constituents search for the truth if they have enough lawyers to find it.
That administration was despicable, and does not seem to age very well.

This is an easy one to figure out.

Who paid whose lawyers?

How often do the "winners" have to pay the "loser's" legal fees?

When a contract is broken who gets awarded the damages of the contract? Clinic won.

How many people on the LHA Board had to step down because of conflict of interest?

Had the city locked the door and walked away, the city would still be $100 million+ ahead of the hole you dug.

https://lakewoodobserver.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=154

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David, I was attending my first meeting at City Hall when at its conclusion, you came over to shake my hand, introduce yourself, and to find out who I was.

You were curious about as to ‘why was I there?’
I replied, that I was there because I wanted to keep Lakewood Hospital.

With a sweep of your hand, you said ‘that the hospital was going’. You continued with the question, ‘but what do we do next?’

I looked at you and said….. keep the hospital. To which you replied, ‘that is not going to happen’. You said that your concern is ‘what do we do next’?

Your words rang of a done deal. The hospital was going to be destroyed, despite the fact that it was still operating in the black even during the decanting.

Our exchange took place way, way before any vote had been put onto the ballot. In fact, a lot of people still didn’t know that the hospital was in jeopardy. A game of smoke and mirrors was being orchestrated with its players being jerked around like marionettes.

You played a part in this mess, so, for me, your question has just as much relevance today, as it did then.

Have you come up with an answer?
What do we do next?

Let me now address the canard of the 55 meetings. Mayor Summers was fond of this particular item of nonsense.

Given that blueprints showing a demolished hospital were under review by early 2012 by civic leadership, it seems to me that public meetings should have occurred three years prior to the January 2015 public announcement at City Hall.

Attorneys had to litigate to even get to see the blueprint schematics.

Mark Kindt wrote:Let me now address the canard of the 55 meetings. Mayor Summers was fond of this particular item of nonsense.

Given that blueprints showing a demolished hospital were under review by early 2012 by civic leadership, it seems to me that public meetings should have occurred three years prior to the January 2015 public announcement at City Hall.

Attorneys had to litigate to even get to see the blueprint schematics.

Mark

Let's not forget that the city had Lakewood Hospital architects draw up plans for a rec center as early as 2010, and possibly before that. That is as far back as documents we were finally able to get through many months of litigation. The only case, being slightly decided in the city's favor was the number of documents they had to produce. This was because after months of fighting in courts, the number of documents needed to understand the fleecing of Lakewood had grown, as did the years we found out, that it was secretly being planned. It was not until they realized we could not afford it, that the plans morphed into, "Let's take the money, screw the residents and their health needs."

Yep, the City's WIN was keeping facts from voters that took an oath, to protect, and be honest with.

That council must be so proud of their efforts to lie, and mislead voters and residents.

Quite a legacy, The Madigan, Anderson, Bullock, Litten Summers, FitzGerald Holespital.

DOCUMENTS
Smoking Gun 2: Rec Center Drawing Revealed
https://lakewoodobserver.com/forum/view ... ng#p160296

From "The Grandest City Corruption Scandal Ever!"
https://lakewoodobserver.com/forum/view ... ng#p172462

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Bill Call wrote:The latest plan is for a small affordable apartment building at the South end of the Big Hole. What a waste.

To return to Bill Call's original post for a moment.

I think most of us can agree that "a small affordable apartment building" is within the full capacity of the private sector and private investors and that there are other locations in Lakewood for such a project -- the former Steve Barry Buick empty lots for instance.

Query: So just how much more public money has to be spent to achieve the planning goals of the Summers Administration and the civic leadership who followed him down his rabbit hole?

It has all been such a total boondoggle that I've stopped running the numbers.

David Anderson wrote:The reason I’m here, Brian, is because of the consistency of being demonized as immoral and corrupt. Nothing more.

Mr. Anderson,

This forum is about sharing facts, ideas and opinions---I never thought it was a means of "redemption." I don't think you will achieve your stated goal here. Please here see the lack of any economic, legal, practical or common sense reason for the $100,000,000 give away.

Your role in the "consistency" is in your "consistently" avoiding a direct answer to the most basic bottom line question concern the Lakewood Hospital debacle:

How do you justify giving away over $100,000,000 of public city-owned assets for a Hole in the Ground?

Don't cite 55 public meetings, 27,000 pages of delayed release of public records, legal opinions from conflicted law firms, or failed lawsuits--these were all the McGuffins. The "Devil Made Me Do It" defense doesn't cut it here

BTW, I "won" the only lawsuit with my name on it---The City of Lakewood paid me the statutory award and my attorney fees.

So, Mr. Anderson, in simple terms, in less than 200 words, in a way the "Tin Foil Hat" folks can understand, tells us:

Why did you vote "Yes" to give away the $100,000,000?

Mr. Essi - I submitted the details below to the LO in December of 2018 but it was edited, er censored, er not fully printed. Oh, wait. I believe it was included in its entirety in the online edition.

Here's 289 words.

It’s been a few years, but, if memory serves, at the time, the total of LHA assets was around $120m.

$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? I’m not sure. I wasn’t there.

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.

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

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.

How you determine this is giving away $100,000,000 for a hole in the ground is beyond my imagination.

[Cite as State ex rel. Essi v. Lakewood, 2018-Ohio-5027.]
Court of Appeals of Ohio
EIGHTH APPELLATE DISTRICT
COUNTY OF CUYAHOGA
JOURNAL ENTRY AND OPINION
No. 104659
STATE OF OHIO, EX REL.
BRIAN J. ESSI
RELATOR
vs.
CITY OF LAKEWOOD, OHIO
RESPONDENT
JUDGMENT:
WRIT GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART
Writ of Mandamus
Motion No. 509719
Order No. 522769
RELEASE DATE: December 11, 2018

{¶38} In summary, after considering the purposes of the public records law, the
importance of the requests, the nature of the requests, the 27,000 pages of records released, and
the evidence and certifications of the parties, this court is convinced that Lakewood has fulfilled
its duty to release public records and, except for the records submitted for an in camera inspection,
declines to issue a writ of mandamus to compel Lakewood to continue its search for more records
coming within the requests.

Respondent to pay costs.

https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/rod/d ... o-5027.pdf

So, to summarize, on the brink of a global pandemic our civic leadership left us with an empty hole in the ground where an award-winning public hospital once stood and, further, that the $120 million in economic development promised by city leaders in January 2015 was essentially a public relations hoax where there was to be no new added-value beyond the liquidation of the existing assets.

Thus, confirming the content of many prior posts on this topic, and, numerous Lakewood Observer stories.

My cross reference to tables and charts are here:

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

David Anderson wrote:[Cite as State ex rel. Essi v. Lakewood, 2018-Ohio-5027.]
Court of Appeals of Ohio
EIGHTH APPELLATE DISTRICT
COUNTY OF CUYAHOGA
JOURNAL ENTRY AND OPINION
No. 104659
STATE OF OHIO, EX REL.
BRIAN J. ESSI
RELATOR
vs.
CITY OF LAKEWOOD, OHIO
RESPONDENT
JUDGMENT:
WRIT GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART
Writ of Mandamus
Motion No. 509719
Order No. 522769
RELEASE DATE: December 11, 2018

{¶38} In summary, after considering the purposes of the public records law, the
importance of the requests, the nature of the requests, the 27,000 pages of records released, and
the evidence and certifications of the parties, this court is convinced that Lakewood has fulfilled
its duty to release public records and, except for the records submitted for an in camera inspection,
declines to issue a writ of mandamus to compel Lakewood to continue its search for more records
coming within the requests.

Respondent to pay costs.

https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/rod/d ... o-5027.pdf

Mr. Anderson,

You have again failed to justify your decision and you further obfuscate by playing in your sandbox of avoidance.

You omitted many findings of the Court of Appeals, including its final ruling:

JUDGMENT: MOTION GRANTED
DATED: May 10, 2019

"....The court awards $49,210.50 to McGown & Markling Co., L.P.A., pursuant to R.C. 149.43(C).

The court awards DanhLaw $24,769.55 pursuant to R.C. 149.43(c). ..."

https://cpdocket.cp.cuyahogacounty.us/i ... Anjo4U05c1

So, you must agree that since the Court awarded me damages and $75,000 of my attorneys fees, the City of Lakewood acted improperly in delaying production 27,000 pages until AFTER the lawsuit was filed.

So, Mr. Anderson, once again, in simple terms, in less than 200 words, in a way the "Tin Foil Hat" folks can understand, tells us:

Why did you vote "Yes" to give away the $100,000,000+++?

To return to one of Bill Call's cogent comments:

Bill Call wrote:

As of today the estimated cost to complete the project is $20 million more than the last years estimate. Those costs will continue to increase. Banks are refusing to finance the entire project now and I don't see them changing their minds any time soon.

The project will never be completed without even more taxpayer subsidies. To what end?

Overall the Council and the Mayor are doing a fine job but you all have a blind spot when it comes to Hospital site development.

Retrospective Clarity

In 2023, we all have the benefit of hindsight; from that retrospective view we can all work backwards from several post-hospital demolition developments:

1. Economic development at the former hospital site failed when the prior developer abandoned the project years ago now.

2. Economic development at the former hospital site was stalled when a proposed business tenant abandoned the project recently.

3. We also have a duty to consider the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic between 2020 to date.

The City of Lakewood's public policy choice--that began as early as 2010/2012 in prior administrations--to hustle after economic development by creating a vacant "downtown" site by removing Lakewood Hospital failed definitively (nothing ever built on the hospital site); came at the expense of hospital-centered health care to the most vulnerable in our community during the pandemic and at the expense of those healthcare professionals who served that community with care, commitment, and compassion.

Trading-off Lakewood Hospital for a "pie-in-the-sky" development fantasy also impeded and still impedes other non-hospital private sector developments many of which have collapsed since the Carnegie project at the former hospital site was abandoned by the City and the developer.

Bill Call wrote:
The project will never be completed without even more taxpayer subsidies. To what end?

Mr. Call,

Agreed. The City and the community need to to come to grips with the fact that they can never recover their losses on this site and that nothing is economically viable--and that some of the same bad actors who caused the problem still control the attempts to change the outcome--they are feckless (remember Sam O'Leary). It is a waste of time trying change the outcome. BTW, where are all those brilliant "Build Lakewood" great thinkers when we need them most?

Besides, isn't everything in Lakewood just fine without a hospital, large employers and government "assisted" economic development plans that never work anyway?

Here is my proposed plan for the site: All of the members of Save Lakewood should reconvene and push for the hospital site to be filled with water, stocked with bluegill, large mouth bass and turtles etc. and surrounded by nice grass park with trees. It should be named "Michael Summers Build Lakewood Memorial Lake" and include a large bronze plaque listing the names of the mayor, law director, finance director, council members and the Build Lakewood members etc. together with a brief synopsis of the debacle. It would be a great educational tool for future generations to learn just how badly local government and community leaders can be corrupted by private corporate interests.

Perhaps the fish and turtles harvested from the lake could be contributed to a soup kitchen to help feed the poor.

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.