The Observation Deck

Shawn Juris wrote:what was I supposed to answer?
I answered the original thread, and commented on how my experience with the organization was positive, Councilman Butler seemed to answer most of the concerns. Were there others that needed to be addressed? I'm still hesitant to engage too much, given that I know that perception is outweighing reality, and that being the case a real discussion is futile.

Shawn

You are right as rain.

Except, The honorable Councilman/Council President came in and answered what Lakewood,
does which is pass on at least $75,000 in CDBG funding. From there, the city does not always
track the results of that money. That he has no firm number for what the city pays out to Lakewood
Alive(with various names) through various departments. And that he would be happy to
try to answer any question I had, for what the city could answer. Never mind that City of
Lakewood was not even mentioned or questioned about that money. The good councilman
jumped in to make sure we knew they LakewoodAlive was not "nefarious" and did not
have a "monopoly" on city policy and programs to his knowledge.

Outside of those "facts" the only other things really established is that you think I am not
in line with the LO's Mission Statement, and you think the LAkewoodAlive's meetings had
no one with actual horns on their heads, that you could see.

Shawn, where the good councilman tried to answer a question that was never even posed
to him, you offer no real answer, ignore all questions to you, and when cornered,
marginalize the question, the questioner, etc.

Just for fun, because after two years we now realize LA will never be forth coming or truly
accountable and transparent under current management(for life).

What would you say if AGS Software Development gave me a "Publisher of the Year" award.
Or maybe AGS Software gave AGS Studio an Award for bringing the Lakewood
Observer to Lakewood, Ohio? Oh wait that is not a good analogy, we actually did that!
Let's say AGS Studio gives the Lakewood Observer an Award for starting Pillars?
What would your post say?

It has been my belief when perception outweighs reality. Facts, honesty, and transparency
is the best cure. Sometimes best through open dialogue so that more than one can learn
as well.



.

Hi,
Sorry, I have to jump into this discussion. I further apologize for the length of this post but I hope it helps to highlight the frustration some of us have with this non-profit organization. My goal with this post is to help Lakewood businesses stay in business.

Let me take a different approach. Let’s discuss what this group’s purpose is and how they carry it out. Is there a public definition of a process by which a person or organization in Lakewood could do work for one of LakewoodAlive’s non-profit projects?

In the Thread, “ANNOUNCEMENT: New Logo for Downtown Lakewood”, Executive Director, Mary Ann Crampton announced the adoption of a new logo and publicly informs us the design work was done by a Cleveland based firm Studio Graphique. Part of the thread was her asking, which of 4 colors was preferred. This was odd because documentation suggested the color was already picked and had indeed been used. So, her desire was the appearance of community involvement with no real plan to use the input provided. Through the discussion on the thread it became clear that the firm, Studio Graphique did not do their work for free but was paid some amount. I do not know to this day the scope of the work they were hired to do, the deliverables, nor their compensation. Is this something an organization like LakewoodALive should provide? I think morally, yes. We’ll need a lawyer to chime in if that is a legally, yes too. Another poster in the thread stated:, “What I have trouble understanding is how an organization that claims it is devoted to economic development in Lakewood, and which encourages citizens to "shop Lakewood" and support local business, can find a justification for going outside Lakewood, and spending Lakewood taxpayer money outside of Lakewood, for a job that could have been done by a Lakewood business.”

To the above post, Executive Director, Crampton quickly replied, “There is no firm in Lakewood that can provide the complete set of services offered by Studio Graphique. We went with the best. We did it for Lakewood. This city deserves it.”

Well, I found that statement to be quite clear. So, I asked later in the thread: “I have to say that I disagree strongly with that comment. I know of a number of people that live (and some actually works) in Lakewood that are capable of doing what you needed. The fact that your "organization claims it is devoted to economic development in Lakewood, and which encourages citizens to "shop Lakewood" and support local business," adds further insult to the statement you made."

Could you please present to us all the effort you did in searching for Lakewood talent prior to making you your claim? What RFPs? What posts on this or any other forum did you make? What e-mails did you send out asking for Lakewood talent? Which meetings that your group held did you announce that you had this need?”


To which Jay Foran (I’m not sure of what Mr. Foran’s official title is with LakewoodAlive) replied with a personal attack on me, the Lakewood School System and a defense of the hired firm Studio Graphique. In his post, he had a statement from the Marketing Director of Studio Graphique. In it she stated, “We assisted Mary Anne and Lakewood Alive (formerly LCPI) with a grant proposal for a branding, wayfinding and signage design project. When the funding was awarded, we submitted a full proposal for Design Committee review.”

Well, our firm does a fair amount of work with non-profit organizations. It is always been our experience that in the interest of openness that if we are involved in preparing a proposal we are excluded from the actual work. This is, I thought, a rather common practice for non-profit organizations. The process I am familiar with is the approved proposal is turned into a Request for Proposal (RFP) to complete the task. This is made public and another firm is hired to complete the task. Did LakewoodAlive ask for a full proposal from any other organization through some public means? Clearly from Ms. Crampton’s use of the Observation Deck to announce the results of the work, she had the ability/knowledge to also mention that Lakewood Alive wanted this work done here on this public forum prior to selecting Studio Graphique.

Mr. Foran;s post did not answer my questions or explain how Lakewood Alive learns about the skill set of Lakewood’s businesses and it’s contributing members.

To this day, the extremely important question of, how LakewoodAlive, a 501c3 organization, grants projects and dollars to outside organizations has not been publicly answered. Why?

Later, in the same thread, owned by Lakewood Alive’s Executive Director, Ms. Crampton, Lynn posted this question which noone involved with LakewoodAlive has ever answerd: “What is the goal or Mainstreet/Lakewood Alive? Is it to promote Lakewood Businesses? Then why give the business to a firm outside of Lakewood without even doing an RFP to allow Lakewood Businesses to bid for this design work. To make the assumption without even an RFP that no Lakewood business could do this work, doesn't sound pro-Lakewood business. It disturbs me that if we can't get a group that allegedly is supposed to promote Lakewood Business to do an RFP to consider Lakewood Business, how can we get the City Government, the Schools, the Hospital and other people to consider Lakewood Businesses first. I have to ask, was there a down side to doing an RFP and just finding out if a Lakewood Business could do the work better and less costly?”

This was back in March of 2005. The question is still relevant and needs to be answered before I will support the organization, regardless if its name. I hope others in Lakewood feel the same. That is my answer to LakewoodAlive’s survey.

Since we're just speculating about hypotheticals, I would send the winner a gift basket from a local vendor and get on with my life. After all how would it really impact me in a day to day way. It's a shame that those in the real world decided instead to bully and abandon their phoney mission statement.

Shawn

This might be the difference between us.

I would find the people that did the work, not the ones that stole the credit. Sit down with
them and see how I could help them achieve more success, and their goals. Instead of
flowers, if a non-profit I would write them a check for what they are doing and try to
bring others to support them.

In life you reward the person doing the work. In Dog and Pony Shows... well you get it.

Maybe it is just the subject. But I feel like we have kicked this around for weeks, many
have weighed in, and still no answers, no real fulfillment, no conclusion, no accountability.

Go figure.

.

"When all else fails, have thee thought of love?"

"There are three parts to an argument: Thine, mine, and the Truth"

These are great quotes that I believe may have Quaker inspiration.

Oh yeah, one more for the day:

Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God

Matthew 5-9

Back to the banjo...

Maybe it's time for some "conflict resolution" to begin here.

It's certainly time for some healing. This I do believe.

As a former member of the CDBG committee involved with funding issues, an admirer of the good works done by LakewoodAlive, the Chamber of Commerce, the Lakewood Observer Project, and so many other local organizations, and also (I hope) a friend of Jim's and Sharon's, and so many others on this 'deck, I've had the opportunity to observe many sides of this discussion.

I feel that I have some knowledge of citizen concerns, and I think that I understand some of them. At the same time, and at some point, I think that we need to move ahead for the benefit of our entire community. The past is past, and the future is now. Our city presently needs more constructive engagement, particularly during these tough economic times.

Lakewood's civil wars need to be over.

Having made that point, however...

Is there unfinished business here? I think so. I do believe, as a general thought, that we need to learn and understand that when people or organizations deal with other people, developing those interpersonal communications skills can be just as important as developing big programs, if not more so.

Programs can never be more important than plain old human relationships.

When I was a CDBG member, I relentlessly grilled applicants asking for those federal HUD funds, as to their future accountability and where appropriate, their past performance. If there was a missing line in their application, I figuratively drove a truck through it, in an effort to try and make sure that the right people were going to be served. HUD funding is primarily to serve the poor, but a part of those funds can be used to serve a community that serves the poor.

That's where some of the downtown planning, programs, and street improvements came into the picture. That's also why input from groups like LakewoodAlive and others can be important. They compete with the Beck, the Senior Centers, municipal programs, and of course, other social service organizations for the betterment of our entire community. I was generally a strong proponent of the social services aspects, while others on the committee might have favored spending more for municipal improvements. Either way, there were strict guidelines and a process to follow.

I sincerely hope that all parties here will begin a process of renewal; putting the best interests of the city ahead of whatever perceived issues may have transpired in the past.

One could probably argue that apologies, at some point, might be appropriate by one party or another- but, as my grandmother once said. "An apology is a a lie. If you said it, you meant it at the time!" If that's true, then perhaps the best that we can hope for would be to move forward and simply try to work together in the future.

Time, hopefully, to begin to heal.

Spring's just around the corner.

Campfire sing-a-long time's comin'.

Back to the banjo.

Gary, Gary, Gary

First I am sure all of your quotes came after the money changers tables were overturned,
and chased from the temple.

Gary Rice wrote:"When all else fails, have thee thought of love?"

"There are three parts to an argument: Thine, mine, and the Truth"

Some, are merely looking for the truth. So that we can make this entire Quaker quote
real, and then go away.

But I see you are a fan of Matthew, have you forgotten...

Matthew 18:15-17
“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

This is all so surreal, when did asking for accountability become a bad thing?

Time to heal?

Time for change.

.

Jim, Jim, Jim,

Bible study is a great way to start the week.

As that great 3rd chapter of Ecclesiastes states, there is indeed a time for every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted...

"...a time to rend and a time to sew: a time to keep silence and a time to speak"

...and we certainly have all spoken, have we not?

Yet, a little farther along that chapter lies a somewhat more cryptic pair of verses:

Verse 15-16

"That which has been is now: and that which is to be hath already been: and God requireth that which is past. And moreover I saw under the sun that the place of judgment, that wickedness was there: and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there.

Back to the Bible, or was that, the banjo???

Gary Rice wrote:
Back to the Bible, or was that, the banjo???

Gary

You are right as history has always shown us, when in a fire, or a sinking vessel, or
an army marching to certain death.

It is music, that will make it more palatable.

Do you know that Pete Seeger Song

"A Little This And That"?

A LITTLE A' THIS 'N' THAT

My grandma, she can make a soup,
with a little a' this 'n' that.
She can feed the whole sloop group,
with a little a' this 'n' that.
Stone soup! You know the story.
Stone soup! Who needs the glory?
But with grandma cooking, no need to worry.
Just a little a' this 'n' that.

Grandma likes to make a garden grow,
with a little a' this 'n' that.
But she likes to have the ground just so,
with a little a' this 'n' that.
Not too loose and not too firm.
In the spring, the ground's all got to be turned.
In the fall, lots of compost, to feed the worms,
with a little a' this 'n' that.

Grandma knows we can build a future,
with a little a' this 'n' that.
And a few arguments never ever hurt ya,
with a little a' this 'n' that.
True, this world's in a helluva fix,
And some say oil and water don't mix.
But they don't know a salad-maker's tricks,
with a little a' this 'n' that.

The world to come may be like a song,
with a little a' this 'n' that.
To make ev'rybody want to sing along,
with a little a' this 'n' that.
A little dissonance ain't no sin,
A little skylarking to give us all a grin.
Who knows but God's got a plan for the people to win,
with a little a' this 'n' that.

Words and Music by Pete Seeger (1991)
(c) 1991, 1993 by Sanga Music Inc.

Amen.

Thank you Gary. The civil war needs to end. There are far more productive uses of my time and I'm sure the time of Jim and Sharon and anyone else who is weighing in on this. From what I can tell (and I am not trying to marginalize it), there is a question of accountability which falls under the CDBG approval of funding and the IRS position of disclosure of information. Both of these items seem to be addressed here. Beyond that I have heard questions raised about events and awards and selection of contracts and separate issues that seem to speak to a lack of clarity between the expectations of the public and the framework of the program itself. Some of these are valid points and should be dealt with. I'm optimistic that it can be done, without spreading rumors and turning to classist insults.
My harping on the mission is not to belittle the Lakewood Observer. It's a lofty goal and when the actions don't fit, then shouldn't something be said? Justified or not, I felt it was important to speak up and call foul. At this point I'm done with my beef. Better to move on now before I go too far and run the risk of behaving as badly as I am preaching against.
I look forward to finding common ground and comparing notes and understand that in many cases there will be a huge divide between perspectives.
Enjoy the weather, 75% sunny March as of today.

Thank you Shawn,

As far as I'm concerned, we all just beat that 75% sunny prediction by another 25%!

Back to the banjo.

Shawn Juris wrote:My harping on the mission is not to belittle the Lakewood Observer. It's a lofty goal and when the actions don't fit, then shouldn't something be said? Justified or not, I felt it was important to speak up and call foul. At this point I'm done with my beef. Better to move on now before I go too far and run the risk of behaving as badly as I am preaching against.

Shawn

If we are letting you or the city down, please harp.

Please call my attention to the issue.

Please judge me and the LO as you judge others.

Hold us accountable.

That is what this project is 100% about.

PLEASE SPEAK UP.

Someone from the Observer, probably myself
will be there to try to answer.

.

Shawn - Where were they answered. That is the problem, they were not.

Gary - You know I heart you truly, but, I have every right to demand accountability from organizations using taxpayers dollars and monies that could be better utilized by other organizations serving our city, small businesses and the poor.

It's not just a question of bygones being bygones, there may be some misappropriations. I am truly frustrated that I do not personally have the physical stamina to fully pursue this.

We must hold people accountable for their behavior. You of all people know that. This is one of the huge lessons we learned from being involved, and continuing to be involved with the Civil Rights Movement.

I do not excuse bad behavior. I do not excuse evasiveness, it reeks of wrongdoing. I do not excuse waste and greed. Those things are inexcusable.

Oh and everyone have a nice day.

Well, that's partly what I was thinking about with my "unfinished business" remark.

I never meant to imply that anyone's past concerns should be ignored, minimized, or lightly excused. I only hope that we can keep looking forward to work together as a community, whenever possible.

Just because I waive an olive branch from time to time does not mean that people should not try to sincerely address whatever concerns that they perceive may be happening.

There's a time for a private approach to conflict resolution issues, and a time for public awareness. Each person must determine their own course of action in these kinds of matters, I suppose.

I just happen to like camp fire sing-a-longs. (smile)

(except when we were talkin' about those trash cans)

As I say, to each their own.

Back to the banjo