The Observation Deck

Interesting group of people involved.

From Lakewood City Hall http://www.onelakewood.com/downtownrfq/

More from Crain's Cleveland Business http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/ ... e-hospital

"Citizen-led" panel, we don't need no stinkin "citizen-led" panel

As we observe the activities our local city government, this process will illustrate to Lakewood taxpayers how over a period of more than 30 years a valuable public and community asset (a hospital) was converted to fully private uses ("mixed residential/commercial" development).

If we had the time, we could also probably track how revenue streams to the City are slowly converted to tax subsidies for the benefit of third-parties via tax abatement and tax deferral.

Please email to me a list of all members of the "Citizen-led Advisory Panel and a list of all Lakewood City Hall Employees as well as City Council Members involved with this effort.

Respectfully,

pam wetula

Pam,

Thank you for submitting your comments through the website. I have provided the list of panel members, below.

• Debbie Berry, Vice President of Planning & Real Estate Development at University Circle Inc.

• Tom Einhouse, Vice President of Facilities & Capital at Playhouse Square

• Sean McDermott, Chief Planning & Design Officer at Cleveland Metroparks

• Sam O’Leary, President of Lakewood City Council

• Joe Stewart, Retired from Jacobs Real Estate Services

• Bryce Sylvester, Director of Planning & Development at City of Lakewood

This group was selected based on their experience in real estate and development and they are all residents of Lakewood. The Panel members were announced at the community meeting held on February 15th. The list is in the posted presentation on the website (http://www.onelakewood.com/DowntownRFQ/ ).

Tracey Nichols from Project Management Consultants is also participating in the panel in an advisory role.

Lakewood City Hall employees serving as project managers of this process include: Michelle Nochta, Alex Harnocz, Michael Molinski and myself. Sam O’Leary is the only council member involved at this point in the process.

Please continue to check the website for updates and let me know if you have any other questions.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Katelyn



Katelyn Milius, PE

City Planner

Department of Planning & Development

City of Lakewood

12650 Detroit Avenue

Lakewood, OH 44107

216-529-6634


Just an FYI. I was just interested in who made this decision and could not find the entire list on the Lakewood.one page she references in her response to me. where this was announced. I did miss the February 15th Community meeting. I would like to know "WHO" in particular selected the Citizen-Led Panel. Mayor Summers?, City Council, Butler, Bryce Sylvester.

Katelyn was quick to respond to my request for information.

According to the Crain's article, one of the six proposals came from Flaherty Collins, which partnered with Liberty Development (where Dru Siley is employed), and Jacobs Real Estate Services.

Yet thanks to Pam Wetula, we have the list of people reviewing and choosing these proposals and I see that one is associated with Jacobs Real Estate Services:

Joe Stewart, Retired from Jacobs Real Estate Services

.


As usual, it appears that this administration has issues with conflicts of interest. Retired or not, one of the committee has ties to one of the "bidders."

Bridget Conant wrote:According to the Crain's article, one of the six proposals came from Flaherty Collins, which partnered with Liberty Development (where Dru Siley is employed), and Jacobs Real Estate Services.

Yet thanks to Pam Wetula, we have the list of people reviewing and choosing these proposals and I see that one is associated with Jacobs Real Estate Services:

Joe Stewart, Retired from Jacobs Real Estate Services

.


As usual, it appears that this administration has issues with conflicts of interest. Retired or not, one of the committee has ties to one of the "bidders."

Yet, they didn't go with that proposal. Therefore, conflict avoided.

So.

So they didn't go with Jacobs - does that make it right?

The conflict was not avoided at all.

It remains as it was - a person with connections to one of the bidders was on the committee that reviews the bidders. Just because that bidder was not chosen does not "correct" the conflict.

Bridget, Explain that a little more. I want to make sure I follow what you are implying.

What's not known (at least in terms of this online conversation) is whether Mr. Stewart recused himself during discussion of or voting on Jacob's Real Estate Services bid. This, IMHO, would have been the ethical route to take. I'm sure the minutes of the panel's meeting (which are, or should be, public record) would indicate if that occurred or not.

Pam Wetula wrote:Please email to me a list of all members of the "Citizen-led Advisory Panel and a list of all Lakewood City Hall Employees as well as City Council Members involved with this effort.

Respectfully,

pam wetula

Pam,

Thank you for submitting your comments through the website. I have provided the list of panel members, below.

• Debbie Berry, Vice President of Planning & Real Estate Development at University Circle Inc.

• Tom Einhouse, Vice President of Facilities & Capital at Playhouse Square

• Sean McDermott, Chief Planning & Design Officer at Cleveland Metroparks

• Sam O’Leary, President of Lakewood City Council

• Joe Stewart, Retired from Jacobs Real Estate Services

• Bryce Sylvester, Director of Planning & Development at City of Lakewood

This group was selected based on their experience in real estate and development and they are all residents of Lakewood. The Panel members were announced at the community meeting held on February 15th. The list is in the posted presentation on the website (http://www.onelakewood.com/DowntownRFQ/ ).

Tracey Nichols from Project Management Consultants is also participating in the panel in an advisory role.

Lakewood City Hall employees serving as project managers of this process include: Michelle Nochta, Alex Harnocz, Michael Molinski and myself. Sam O’Leary is the only council member involved at this point in the process.

Please continue to check the website for updates and let me know if you have any other questions.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Katelyn



Katelyn Milius, PE

City Planner

Department of Planning & Development

City of Lakewood

12650 Detroit Avenue

Lakewood, OH 44107

216-529-6634


Just an FYI. I was just interested in who made this decision and could not find the entire list on the Lakewood.one page she references in her response to me. where this was announced. I did miss the February 15th Community meeting. I would like to know "WHO" in particular selected the Citizen-Led Panel. Mayor Summers?, City Council, Butler, Bryce Sylvester.

Katelyn was quick to respond to my request for information.

Sam O'Leary has only been out of Law School a few years and until recently was essentially a workers compensation
attorney (That's what he told me in 2015 when I first met him) Now he has vast experience in real estate and development? Huh?

"In his practice Samuel has assisted municipalities and other political subdivisions in areas including employment law, land use and acquisition, administrative and governance issues, and litigation."

http://www.mhglegal.com/attorney-profil ... -t-oleary/

An interesting group of people involved indeed.

It would appear that Mr. Summers has now taken to Onelakewood.com to spread more proaganda regarding the development of the hospital site. It must have slipped his memory that there is (or was) pending litigation regarding this issue until Lakewood resident Judge John P. O'Donnell apparently took an extended leave of absence, like some other people involved I know.

One of the developers listed was Carnegie Management and Development Corporation, headed up by: guess who? Rustom Khouri, a Mr. Summers campaign donor!:
Mr. Summers, care to explain, here, yourself, in your own words? For some silly reason, I will give you the benefit of a doubt on this one and allow you to explain this here, yourself, and in your own words.

I will however, throw out there that many people, thousands in fact, have rotted in federal prisons for less. FWIW.

Lori, I noticed that you no longer refer to Mayor Summers as "Lord Lakewood" in your posts.

Why is that?

Just curious. Thanks in advance for answering this simple question.

Patrick Wadden wrote:Lori, I noticed that you no longer refer to Mayor Summers as "Lord Lakewood" in your posts.

Why is that?

Just curious. Thanks in advance for answering this simple question.

Patrick

Just Curious, why would a person that is on record hating the term, worry about why it is no longer used?

What alone being the last person to use the term on the Deck?

Also this is thread drift and will be moved later today.

.

Here is another glaring example of misinformation and the inability of area news media to accurately report on events that affect us.

Last Friday on WCPN's Ideastream Weekly Roundup, Chris Quinn of the PD discussed the hospital and redevelopment. It begins at 31:45 if you'd like to listen:

http://wcpn.ideastream.org/programs/sou ... ound-up-25

The man mentions that "structures have been demolished" and now the city is looking at what to do with "the site." The impression is that the site to be redeveloped is the site that is currently empty - which we all know will be the location of the Health Center.

Anyone listening to this would assume something was being proposed for the empty site, not the parcel upon which the hospital sits.

It's so frustrating to read and listen to supposed "journalists" who have no idea what they are talking about. I suspect this person actually thinks that empty lot is where the city wants the "mixed use" development.

We are ill served by the media in Greater Cleveland. The are incompetent and we suffer as a result.

All,

If you, like myself do not feel that this latest round of apparent "favors" surrounding the choosing and recommending of developers for the hospital site is legal or ethical, I strongly urge you to file a formal complaint with the Ohio Auditor of State - Fraud Division through any of the methods listed here:

https://ohioauditor.gov/fraud.html

I spoke with a special investigator at the Ohio Ethics Commission earlier today. I was told that while this would not fall under their jurisdiction, that the Ohio Auditor of State could likely help.

In your complaint, be sure to be specific (names, contractor names, dates, etc.). Also, it may help to reference some of the information in my previous Deck posts regarding what appears to be a pattern of repeated conduct regarding Mr. Summers' and/or the City of Lakewood's apparent favors for campaign donors of Mr. Summers. Please feel free to print off my previous Deck posts regarding these apparent "favors" for campaign donors to send in with your complaint as evidence. If you would like more information regarding this apparent pattern of repeated conduct, please PM me.

Thanks.