Bullock Grandstands On Trees This Week!

[Jim O'Bryan]

The "big outrage" on media today was Lakewood cutting down the trees on Detroit, fixing the uneven walks, and planning on the next step for the Detroit Streetscape.

One would think one of the authors of outdoor sidewalk dining, and drinks to go would be happy with more room for tables. But no, not when you can make a scene.

So after many ridiculous posts from some of Lakewood's most dubious, Mayor George made it clear what was going on. Something Councilman Bullock could have done had he bothered listening instead of always looking for a return comment. YAWN.

From City Hall

In Response to Questions Regarding Removal of Trees Along Detroit Avenue
October 15, 2020

City of Lakewood Continues Commitment to Urban Tree Canopy Improvements

The City of Lakewood is on pace to plant 400 trees in 2020, meeting its commitment to a healthy and vibrant urban tree canopy.

Mayor Meghan George said, “Healthy trees in a densely populated community like Lakewood are very important. They provide us shade to eliminate the heat island effect. They hold rain to help us address Lakewood’s top challenge–stormwater runoff. Everyone can appreciate the aesthetic appeal of a beautiful old tree in one of Lakewood’s parks or the trees we plant in tree lawns to line our streets each spring.”

The City of Lakewood’s Division of Streets and Forestry maintains an inventory of over 13,800 trees located on public property, including those on tree lawns and within parks. The Forestry Unit has planted an average of 422 trees per year and removed an average of 217 trees per year for an average gain of 205 trees annually since 2013 and has spent over $770,000 supporting its tree action plan.

City Arborist Dan Sullivan said, “I have been an arborist for the City of Lakewood going on 31 years. I know the trees in this community well. Sometimes we have to make tough decisions to remove trees but overall, we are fortunate that this administration understands the many advantages of a robust tree canopy and invests to make it so. The locust trees we removed today near Nature’s Oasis along Detroit Avenue have had several complaints to our Forestry Unit and through the Division of Building & Housing.”

Trees are removed when they are diseased, dead, or in decline and/or pose a danger to the public. Mr. Sullivan is a certified arborist and manages a crew of four certified arborists equipped to trim branches, assess trees for disease and safety, remove diseased trees of any size including the stumps, plant new trees, and shred the resulting wastes for recycling into mulch, soil, and other landscape material.

Mr. Sullivan added, “The trees in front of Nature’s Oasis have been topped by utilities over the years, which forces side growth into the buildings. The sidewalks in front of the buildings are extreme tripping hazards and are being replaced as those problems develop. During those sidewalk repairs, seventy-five percent of the roots of these underlying trees will be removed, and therefore the tree will die or fall over. The locust species is too large for this particular site. We will start fresh in the spring and plant trees better suited for that area for people to enjoy for years to come.”

Director of Public Works Roman Ducu said, “Our Division of Streets and Forestry is perfectly suited to handle the challenges of growing trees–some hundreds of feet tall–that are surrounded by people and property all day, every day. Safety is this administration’s number one priority. Trees are an important component of Lakewood’s quality of life. We also want to be sure people can enjoy the sidewalks safely. We also have to balance the depth of our sidewalks and the width of our street lanes with on-street parking included. Unfortunately, that leaves little room for mature trees and we have situations like today’s removal along Detroit Avenue. The City has a responsibility to provide a safe pedestrian thoroughfare. These trees outgrew their small footprint but we will be replacing them with site suitable species as part of our tree action plan.”

The City of Lakewood’s Forestry Unit has the following Operational Principles regarding the City’s urban tree canopy:

Maintain the health and vigor of all trees in the Lakewood Urban Forest – to capture the long-term ecological, economic and social benefits; and for public safety.
Always plant the largest suitable tree for the site selected. Large trees live longer and provide greater economic and ecological benefits than small trees. Undersized trees fail to maximize the potential of the site. This failure is lost value for the Lakewood community.
Achieve a fully stocked Urban Forest to benefit all locations throughout the City of Lakewood and reach the peak Urban Tree Canopy that Lakewood can achieve and sustain.
Comprehensive tree planting plan for every street identifying primary and secondary species to be used on each street. Species will be selected based on the largest and most urban tolerant species best suited for each site and overall distribution of species to ensure proper diversity.

Mayor George added, “It pains me to see trees taken down in Lakewood when we work so hard and invest so much to grow our tree canopy and increase the number of trees in our community. However, this is the natural progression and I have to rely on our experts, like City Arborist Dan Sullivan, who understand how to balance healthy, growing trees with safety and accessibility for pedestrians. I have supported investment in Lakewood’s tree canopy as a citizen, while I was on City Council, and now as mayor. I would welcome a discussion about the value of our urban tree canopy with anyone. I am disappointed to see social media comments from one of our longest-serving members of City Council who was questioning the City’s longstanding commitment to its urban tree canopy and the expertise of our longtime staff who have devoted their decades-long careers to tree care and the necessary work of maintaining our tree canopy.”

[Michael Deneen]

He's desperately trying to rebrand himself as a "green" candidate in advance of next year's election.
This is the same guy who championed the destruction of our hospital, leaving us with a giant hole in the ground during a global pandemic.

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[Jim O'Bryan]

One might ask where Councilman Bullock was when they were cutting down our massive oaks, and turning a sweetheart deal on lumber for friends in the Department.

Oh yeah, that's different!

[Jim O'Bryan]

Well it would seem that Councilman Bullock not only verbally got into city workers faces, he was also physical and using foul language. No doubt to butch himself and feel tough.

Well those are our employees, not just his. They are adults, with families and UNIONS.

This party ain't over. You simply cannot abuse workers, especially union workers.

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[Jim O'Bryan]

Well it would seem that Councilman Bullock not only verbally got into city workers faces, he was also physical and using foul language. No doubt to butch himself and feel tough.

Well those are our employees, not just his. They are adults, with families and UNIONS.

This party ain't over. You simply cannot abuse workers, especially union workers.

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Tom Bullock grandstanding highlights...


Top left, this image appeared throughout Ward 2 after Tom Bullock made a statement approving of some of the graffiti around town. The artist who I tracked down and interview did it because Councilman Bullock in 6 months had appeared to be nothing more than an another empty politician, with a huge ego. Top photo was one of many spots "tagged" with the message about the councilman. As only a true politician and narcissist could do. He publicly praised the graffiti, and mentioned printing it out an putting it on his wall, and into his museum of images of himself. You can't make this stuff up.

Middle section, Tom Bullock going after State Rep at the time Mike Skindell, and other seniors gathering in front of the hospital. All Skindell and senior were asking is for the plans to be made public, and to stop and think about it. Tom, shouting everyone down for the TV cameras, mentioned how great their plans were. In fact City was still asking for plans, and/or Build Lakewood was just a faux group to spread more lies. Tom forcefully explained how much better off Lakewood would be with this new vision. He would later go on to engineer not just the loss of a $258 million dollars city asset. But did so in secret at the LHA with John Litten, and on Council. Let's be honest, they had no plan and killed the plan for a rebuild from Cleveland Clinic offered in 2010. No Tom had a better plan! Bottom photo FitzGerald, Summers, Bullock Holespital.

Time for the city to let this one fly on to bigger and better things way away from Lakewood.

Lakewoodites should never forget that this was the Cleveland Clinic's original plan for Lakewood Hospital, before FitzGerald, Summers, Bullock, Madigan, Litton and others had different plans for the land, and the millions of dollars that have all vanished!



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[Bridget Conant]

Bullock, a long standing member of the city administration, was unaware of who to call regarding the work being done? He couldn’t use his cell phone and call the department head in charge to get his questions answers.

I have to wonder how “with it” this guy is!

Instead, he chose to take his frustration out on innocent workers with no authority. That won’t play well.

He’s like the “Karens” who scream and yell at poor retail workers who dare ask customers to wear their masks.

[Jim O'Bryan]

Bullock, a long standing member of the city administration, was unaware of who to call regarding the work being done? He couldn’t use his cell phone and call the department head in charge to get his questions answers.

I have to wonder how “with it” this guy is!

Instead, he chose to take his frustration out on innocent workers with no authority. That won’t play well.

He’s like the “Karens” who scream and yell at poor retail workers who dare ask customers to wear their masks.

I have been there with Bullock before, "I guess you aren't ware of who you are talking too!" yawn.

The fact remains that this has been on the books for awhile. Maybe Tom arrived late to that meeting, or they handed it to him in printed form.

I find it hard that Tom walks on Detroit Ave. is he not aware that the bricks and trees have been getting removed and replaced for 5 years? The businesses hated the mud that would be tracked into the store from the mud. Then the bricks moved in our freezing conditions and became a safety hazard. Then the trees grew and started uprooting sidewalks and blocking signage. Till the point that Detroit Avenue businesses loved them, just not right in front of their business.

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[Michael Deneen]

Bullock, a long standing member of the city administration, was unaware of who to call regarding the work being done? He couldn’t use his cell phone and call the department head in charge to get his questions answers.

I have to wonder how “with it” this guy is!.

Bullock is not "with it" when it comes to basic City Hall operations or constituent service.
He has no idea who to contact for basic questions such as this.
That sort of stuff is small potatoes to an operator like Bullock.

Bullock has bigger fish to fry.
Bullock is very "with it" when it comes to political maneuvering and backroom dealing.
He is keenly aware of the internal operations of the Cuyahoga Democratic Party. IN fact, I bet he could name most of the Democratic Precinct Captains in Lakewood. He knows exactly how many are for him, and how many are against him.
He knows who to call when he needs to scheme a backroom endorsement for higher office.

He doesn't know many of the employees at City Hall.....but he is on a first name basis with county "leaders" like Armond Budish, Kevin Kelly and Ryan "Payday" Puente.
He certainly knows where to reach "Drivers Ed" FitzGerald, his political mentor.
And let's not forget his good friend Martin Sweeney, who ran a dark money campaign two years ago against Nickie Antonio.

[Stan Austin]

As someone who has worked hard for progressive politics in Lakewood for the past 50 years ---keep in mind the pratfalls but keep moving forward. Stanley D. Austin

[Dan Alaimo]

My first reaction to all this was, if I've been well aware of the tree program for several years, Tom Bullock, the longest serving council member, should've been. And, if I knew who to call at City Hall about this, how come Tom Bullock didn't?

But the real ongoing problem as I see it is one of communication. It's been better under Mayor George, but still needs improvement. The mayor said a letter went out to businesses about the trees, but questioned whether it reached the right people. It's a long-standing problem with such variable city services as refuse collection and leaf collection, COVID changes, meeting topics, and other programs, like the trees.

The multiplicity of comunication media only makes this more challenging. There are some people who can be reached electronically, some by mail, some by a sign, some by a press release, and some by phone. Don't rely on the website to reach everybody. I'm pretty savvy about this stuff but I only check the City website a couple of times a year. Somebody at City Hall needs to focus on this.