The Observation Deck

http://media.lakewoodobserver.com/issue_pdfs/Observer_Vol_10_Issue_03.pdf



You have to love Lakewoodites, and Clevelanders in the winter. They forget how to drive, and everyone says out one side of their mouths, "Damn I hate this cold I can't wait for spring," and out the other side, "Damn it sure snowed more, was colder when we were kids." Then every year like clockwork they all forget how to drive in snow or wet weather. Like clockwork or Groundhog day, the same people saying the same things to each other year after year.

But here in Lakewood we not only know how to drive in the winter, but how to have fun in the snow.

Which works out well, as the locals were once again complaining about the streets and lack of salt on the roads. From City Hall we heard a variety of excuses sometimes all within an hour of each other, sometimes in conflict with each other, but the fact remains. Some found the lack of salt deadly, and others thought it was a good idea to cut down on chuckholes. Some found it dangerous to drive, others thought it was wise to make people slow down.

Me personally, I am not a huge fan of salt, but I understand that some people just are not good in slippery conditions. But here is a quick look at some salt facts to consider, because you know City Hall has to: An average ton of salt costs about $45.00 a ton. It takes about 220 tons to treat the 92 miles of streets in Lakewood once, and takes a crew of 4 trucks about 4 hours so we will figure in this. So $9,900 in salt and approximately another $1,000 for labor, and $300 in fuel. All of which has to be repeated many times during a large storm, and gets washed away in the melt or any rain.

In this winter we saw over-application with no snow coming, and you could see the white salted streets turn to dust and get lighter each day as the salt blew away.

So for each application, we are spending the cost of an outdoor basketball court in our city parks, that while closed early because of cost and safety could still use them.

So when do you call the trucks out? How many passes do you have them make, and what is more important, salted streets or open parks, which the same crews maintain?

We have not even added in the cost of repairing the plows, the overtime hours, and the damage to the streets that has to be repaired in the worst method available "cold patches" that will only pop off in the next winter when the plows scrape them.

We have not even hit the environmental side of the equation, and we live on a great river and a Great Lake. Now make this decision every time the forecast features snow. If you do not have a set agenda and a focus, It would be easy to be sidetracked by the loudest voices, the business voices, the oldest voices, the neighbors voices.

But if you have a plan, and you have a vision then it becomes easy to react to much of this. It becomes easy to say, "We plow to an inch, to save the madness, and so we can open all the parks again and keep them clean and safe." It becomes easy to be open and straightforward about your plan and why. We like clean roads, but we love parks. We like clean roads, but maybe one less application and one more basketball hoop in a park that is clean and safe. Try it every time the weather reports snow. Think, salt, or parks. Salt or toy helicopter, salt, 2 times or second spokesperson at city hall, salt 4 times or carry trash to the curb all year. It is a juggling act to be sure. What matters to you?

On another note, on one of the worst days of the year the thousands of postcards arrived in boxes from our good friends at North Coast Litho.

Their Lakewood based sales rep, Steve Davis had helped broker the deal, and now he was helping us deliver them. It was an amazing experience. I have a couple things I have done in my life that have truly given me a warm fuzzy feeling I can never forget. The biggest was being Santa at Metro Burn Center, and for the Society for Crippled Children. Day after day I got to be a legendary figure to little people that were not having the best times, many the worst times of their lives. But yet, enter the room, and their eyes lit up, and they became just happy kids again, it was amazing.

The second was the start of the Lakewood Observer, delivering papers to resident after resident and the smiles they would have getting Lakewood's community paper. Young or old, they would thank me for the delivery, and as I told them how the paper was there, no cost, and we want your story, they would offer lemonade, a beer, a chair and talk about what they loved in Lakewood.

The third has to be delivering to businesses Lakewood's first postcards in more than 40 years. One shop owner cried, she was so happy that an event she was at made one of the cards. Each business owner would look, then ask how much. We told them FREE, and said you can do what you want but we think if we all do our part and get them out there, everyone wins. Their customers with FREE postcards, the people they send them to, and the city of Lakewood, the city we all love and care deeply about. "How many can we have?" And I would answer through our partners, as many as you want.

This first set we printed 17,200 of each card. We are hoping to add three cards every other month for as long as we can. With many of the ideas and submissions Liveable Lakewood has already received we are looking at many different series, covering history, legends, art, parks, events, people, politicians, schools and more.

Liveable Lakewood, much like the Lakewood Observer, is a beautiful act of LOVE and RESPECT from all those involved to everyone that lives here, works here, and visits here or should. It is the organic movement that has put Lakewood on so many "best-of lists," and it is one we hope everyone enjoys and takes part in.

So who is the first person you are sending a postcard to?


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