Lakewood Loses Again! Thanks to Sam O'Leary Thinking in the Past

[Brian Essi]

So this weekend there will be a huge announcement on a multimillion dollar work-live project that has promise to bring jobs and much more to a city boarding Lakewood.

Is Sam O'Leary & Co. even aware of the project and opportunity?

Stay tuned while we watch our neighbor pass us by while Sam O'Leary sits on his hands spending his days currying favor with the people who put him in "power"---they live with him in a bubble of the past.

When Lakewood had another opportunity to move Lakewood forward with a progressive hospital system, Sam O'Leary had insider access to all of the public records that Mark Kindt has been writing about, but Sam chose his personal interest above Lakewood's best interests in moving forward.

Yes Sam! It has been you that has been standing in place looking backward--hoping in vain that the Old School Cuyahoga Dem Cabal will carry you forward---that's bad outdated "thinking" Sam.

Instead of moving 4WARD, Sam & Co. are sliding backward focusing on throwing their perceived magic beans in a hole at Belle and Detroit with worn out thinking.

Stay tuned...

[Bill Call]

Welcome back.

You are being a little too harsh on Councilman O'Leary and Mayor Summers.

The Mayor and the Councilman were so fixated on moving the Hospital to Avon and moving the cash to private foundations that they didn't have time to think about anything else.

[Mark Kindt]

Taking A Pass On Long-Term Investment

As the 15th largest city in Ohio (with a poverty rate above 19%), the city administration failed to participate in the special investment incentives (opportunity zones) under the new federal tax legislation administered by the U.S. Department of Treasury directed to benefit cities just like ours.

[bentleymike]

Taking A Pass On Long-Term Investment

As the 15th largest city in Ohio (with a poverty rate above 19%), the city administration failed to participate in the special investment incentives (opportunity zones) under the new federal tax legislation administered by the U.S. Department of Treasury directed to benefit cities just like ours.

Mark,

According to Crain's Cleveland, Lakewood was nominated by Cuyahoga County, but Gov. John Kasich didn't choose the city to submit to the federal government. This is a damn shame that Mr. Kasich did this. It could have been a further economic lift for our community.

https://www.crainscleveland.com/article ... unity-zone


And here, you can see in this article, it seems to baffle the Mayor on why.

https://www.crainscleveland.com/article ... -officials


Here are all of the census tracts chosen, according to the state of Ohio's Development Services Agency

https://www.development.ohio.gov/bs/bs_censustracts.htm

[Mark Kindt]

Thank you Mr. Bentley for posting this information. I was previously aware of all of this.

Elected official are not expected to "sit on their hands" while major opportunities slip-by.

You know as well as I do that Lakewood needs external investment and that it cannot sustain record job loss (as I have charted elsewhere on this Forum) and sustain a viable tax-base.

Nor can we afford to continue to publicly-subsidize business activity at taxpayer expense.

This was a key missed opportunity and we can't just say "Oh, Well..."

[Bridget Conant]

There was a previous discussion about the Federal Economic Opportunity Zones and it was noted that cities needed to apply for consideration of the award.

So saying the city didn’t get picked is inaccurate - the city chose not to apply for the award.

http://lakewoodobserver.com/forum/viewt ... ne#p182574

[Bill Call]

[quote="bentleymike"
According to Crain's Cleveland, Lakewood was nominated by Cuyahoga County, but Gov. John Kasich didn't choose the city to submit to the federal government. This is a damn shame that Mr. Kasich did this. It could have been a further economic lift for our community.

https://www.crainscleveland.com/article ... unity-zone

And here, you can see in this article, it seems to baffle the Mayor on why.

https://www.crainscleveland.com/article ... -officials

[/quote]

I am a little suspicious of Crain's reporting. Back in early 2018 I contacted the State of Ohio about the opportunity zone applications. The representative from Ohio said that they had no application from Lakewood. I am still looking for the email.

[Bridget Conant]

Bill

I posted the link to the thread where you posted s copy of that email. See above.

[Bill Call]

Bill

I posted the link to the thread where you posted s copy of that email. See above.

Thanks. I should have you do all my searches.

I did find this from the State:

Subject: RE: Lakewood Ohio, enterprise zone application

Our office hasn’t received anything relating to Lakewood Hospital or the City of Lakewood. If this is a more recent project, it’s possible that the county or cty haven’t forwarded us the required documents yet.

https://development.ohio.gov/images/dsa_logo.png
Daniel Strasser
Tax Incentives Analyst
Office of Strategic Business Investments

Sent: Thu, Apr 26, 2018 at 11:25 AM


77 South High Street
Columbus, Ohio 43215

We should all be suspicious of Crains reporting on the Hospital issue, well, all of its reporting. Among other things Crains reported that the City of Lakewood never owned the Hospital and (my personal favorite) that the Cleveland Clinic donated the Hospital land to the City.

[Brian Essi]

So, on the eve of truly “Good News” for a neighboring city we see the same old pattern of excuses for failed leadership by reference to sock puppet media organizations— looking backward and missing the facts in front of them.

People who are good at making excuses are usuallly not good at much else. Like O’Leary, they operate from backward looking thinking based on fear of failure. They protract failure with negativity and decisiveness to cling to status.

[cmager]

We should all be suspicious of Crain's reporting on the Hospital issue, well, all of its reporting. Among other things Crain's reported that the City of Lakewood never owned the Hospital and (my personal favorite) that the Cleveland Clinic donated the Hospital land to the City.

Indeed. It's as though the Clinic and the Clinic lawyers wrote that for Crain's. Or maybe Lakewood insiders.

[Richard Baker]

Wow, the Democrats are still wondering why they were sold out on health care for a city of 55,000 by fellow Democrats. Democrats are anticipating a Genova revelation by clicking their Dorothy shoe heals together and bring in jobs and taxes to replace the 4000 to 5000 jobs vacated when the hospital closed and doctors left a city of high taxes and no return. Let us take a moment of reason and figure out the number of unskilled jobs it will take to replace the hospital and doctors and professional staff.
Lakewood’s school system is an reimbursement, 65 percent of home owner’s property tax and in return the future generations students receive a mediocre education. The Democrats proclaim its success while the professional parents are sending their children to parochial schools for a real education and self-discipline.
Lakewood is a built out residential city and its only grace is it’s convenience to Cleveland. There is no room to expand and it will continue to detonate with higher levels of crime, a tyrannical over burden city government, expensive taxes and poor services. Lakewood is the next Detroit run by Democrats that think within the box waiting for the Wizard of Oz to save it.

[Richard Baker]

Wow, the Democrats are still wondering why they were sold out on health care for a city of 55,000 by fellow Democrats. Democrats are anticipating a Genova revelation by clicking their Dorothy shoe heals together and bring in jobs and taxes to replace the 4000 to 5000 jobs vacated when the hospital closed and doctors left a city of high taxes and no return. Let us take a moment of reason and figure out the number of unskilled jobs it will take to replace the hospital and doctors and professional staff.
Lakewood’s school system is an reimbursement, 65 percent of home owner’s property tax and in return the future generations students receive a mediocre education. The Democrats proclaim its success while the professional parents are sending their children to parochial schools for a real education and self-discipline.
Lakewood is a built out residential city and its only grace is it’s convenience to Cleveland. There is no room to expand and it will continue to detonate with higher levels of crime, a tyrannical over burden city government, expensive taxes and poor services. Lakewood is the next Detroit run by Democrats that think within the box waiting for the Wizard of Oz to save it.