Lakewood police officers were dispatched to an apartment building at the corner of Atkins and Madison at 10:31 a.m. to investigate a report of a woman who was robbed at gunpoint.

A police dispatcher received a telephone call from a woman described as “hysterical” who said she was robbed by a male with a gun. The cell phone the woman was using had a poor reception and cut out before  additional details could be provided.

A number of officers quickly converged on the scene and learned the suspect was a younger-looking white male, about 5’9″, with a thin build and “messed-up teeth.” He was seen wearing a red hooded sweatshirt and a blue jacket.

Officers followed footprints in the snow leading to a nearby apartment building on Atkins. An officer on the outside of the building saw someone dressed in a gray hoodie and black sweatpants slip out of a first floor window and run south through the backyards on Atkins.

The police set-up a perimeter in the area and took the suspect into custody at 17000 Hilliard at 10:48 a.m..

The victim positively identified the suspect, 19-year-old Chad W. McCall. McCall claimed the gun was fake and he tossed it, although he couldn’t recall where. McCall was wanted in Elyria on a warrant for unpaid traffic tickets.

Lorain County court records indicate the traffic tickets are related to charges of obstructing official business, receiving stolen property, and tampering with evidence, which McCall is expected to face trial for in January.

A preliminary search of the apartment building McCall was spotted fleeing turned up the victim’s black Verizon touch screen cell phone. The victim was also robbed of her car keys and about $90 in cash.

2070 Dowd housed a daycare facility, but became obsolete.

Built with money donated by the community, designed by noted Cleveland-based architectural firm Walker and Weeks, and opened as a childcare facility on February 19, 1925, the house located at 2070 Dowd Ave. operated as a nursery for 77 years.

It closed in 2002 and sat vacant and in a deteriorating state until the Center for Families and Children – the group that owned the property – surrendered it to the city in November. The city razed the house several days ago.

The parcel is directly across from Harrison Elementary School.

Reached via e-mail in September when the Lakewood City Council first considered the acquisition, Dave Reines, vice president of resource development and external affairs at the Center for Families and Children, explained why the private non-profit wanted to unload the house:

“The property in Lakewood is a former daycare center that was acquired by the Center for Families and Children through a merger that occurred in the 1970’s.  We have not used the property since 2003 and have made numerous attempts to try and sell it, but we have been unsuccessful. Given the current real estate market and the likelihood that our efforts to sell would continue to be unsuccessful our Board recently decided to turn the property over to the City of Lakewood.”

What’s next for the property?

At a council meeting in October, Councilperson Mary Louise Madigan (Ward 4) said the estimated cost to rehab the structure was about $300,000 versus only $15,000 in demolition expenses. Director of Planning and Economic Development Nathan Kelly said the city investigated the possibility of turning the house into artist live/work space, but found the cost to be prohibitive.

Like the nearby parcel at 2042 Dowd Ave. that was recently cleared of its house, the city may erect a single family home on the plot. The city received $300,000 from the county via the federal government that can be used to fund construction of homes for low-to-moderate income homebuyers.

If the property is sold before March 2011, the city will share a cut of the net proceeds with the Center for Families and Children.

What does Birdtown know about this?

If you walked down your street, or a street close to yours, and saw two vacant lots where houses recently stood, how would you feel? One week the houses are there, and then the next week they are gone. An absence of detailed information on the matter might create an atmosphere of uncertainty. Are the lots going to stay vacant and attract nuisances? If not, who will rebuild the homes and when?

Citizens of Birdtown – especially discouraged longtime residents who could use a morale boost – deserve to know exactly what the city has planned. Elected officials and appointed administrators need to go above and beyond their typically minimal communication efforts. Sticking a letter full of public relations boilerplate in someone’s front door handle doesn’t cut it (see this letter (.PDF) regarding the Dowd demolition). The city ought to do a full-scale mailing to the entire neighborhood. It’s good news, why not share it?

2107 Robin St. is probably next on the demo list

2107 Robin is situated next to an empty parcel of land

Fannie Mae sold 2107 Robin St. to the city on December 18^th for $24,000. The house is vacant, had been in foreclosure and has been designated as a nuisance due to its poor physical condition. With the wrecking ball sitting on Dowd just a couple of streets away, it’s a fair bet the structure on 2107 Robin won’t be standing for too many more days.

The Lakewood City Council voted unanimously to approve Mayor Edward O. FitzGerald’s request to let the Beck Center for the Arts off of the hook for the remaining $45,000 they owed on a 14-year-old city loan that originally totaled $92,110.86.

FitzGerald first announced his intension to rip-up the loan contract in April after the Beck Center went public with their financial woes. FitzGerald also handed them $55,000 in federal stimulus money towards the purchase of an energy efficient HVAC system.

The mayor, who suffers from personal political narcissism and chronic self-congratulation, said at an earlier council meeting that he could have gotten a loan waiver through the Loan Approval Board, but decided to bring the issue before the Council.

The Council had very little public debate on the topic. They acceded to the mayor’s request to expedite the matter by issuing their approval after just one reading of the ordinance. Usually, three readings are required. FitzGerald said the Beck Center was conducting a year-end audit and needed an official ruling from the city.

The money the city is forfeiting originated from their low-interest community development block grant loan fund and will not affect the general fund.

New $25 administrative towing fee gouge

The police department could bring in as much as $65,000 in new revenue in 2010 on the backs of motorists who have had their cars towed by the city. The Council unanimously approved the addition of a $25 administrative towing fee to help recover the cost of labor that the department expends in processing tow releases.

President of the Public Safety Committee Thomas Bullock (Ward 2) said the fee is common in other cities. The amount is actually less, he said, than the $30 the city actually spends per tow in manpower hours. Bullock amended the final ordinance to give future rate adjustment authority to the director of public safety, who must notify the Council of any adjustments. The city has about 2,500 automobiles towed each year.

Structurally balanced 2010 city budget passed; 2010 water, sewer rates upped

Consistent with the approach that was discussed at the recent municipal budget hearing, the Council approved a structurally balanced budget for 2010. The police and human service department budgets will be reduced by a total of $250,000. $75,000 was dropped from a general-use economic development fund.

Cuts to city services will be minimal, and although there will be savings from planned attrition, the likelihood that some city employees will be laid-off is a definite possibility. Final approval was also issued to increase 2010 water and sewer rates by about 10% each.

Mayor FitzGerald took the opportunity to congratulate himself on shrinking the budget over the past couple of years so that the city is not now enduring the same level of fiscal crisis many other municipalities are experiencing. He said he’s talked with mayors from other cities who are concerned they won’t be able to make payroll in January.

Chase Ave. resident Colletta Graham complained about the high cost of water rates, especially when compared to those in Rocky River. FitzGerald said many Cleveland suburbs aren’t satisfied with the value and service provide by the Cleveland Water Department and are trying to figure out ways to opt out of the system. He added that Lakewood’s water bills will be soon be redesigned to provide a better graphical view and explanation of water and sewer costs.

Much anticipated expansion of historic preservation laws finalized

The Council unanimously approved expansion of the city’s zoning code to include preservation of the interior of historically significant structures. For instance, if a historically significant church is scheduled to be shuttered, this law would prohibit anyone from altering certain elements of the interior of the building.

“This is not a law targeted at any particular building in the community,” said Councilperson Brian Powers (At-Large) with a straight face. Powers, of course, knows lawyers representing the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland will disagree with his opinion when they move to disassemble St. James Church.

Councilperson Kevin Butler (Ward 1) said the expanded laws are primarily aimed at public spaces; private property rights are protected. “This is reflected in communities all over the country, from east-to-west,” he said, observing that similar laws exist elsewhere.

Council president Michael Dever hangs up his wool sweater

With lamb-in-waiting Monique Smith looking on from the audience, Councilperson Michael Dever (At-Large) conducted his final meeting as city council president. Dever, who works for the corruption-plagued county, announced earlier this year he would not seek reelection in order to spend more time with his family.

As far as Lakewood City Council members go, he wasn’t a complete embarrassment to the city. He did an admirable job of running city council meetings, conveyed a classy professionalism and treated citizens well – even the lunatics.

It would have been nice to see him use his seniority and popularity to challenge the sheep-like groupthink plaguing city government. The push to strong-arm residents into a mandatory recycling program may be his lasting legacy. Whatever the case, his absence will be felt when the Council reconvenes in January, and the inexperienced newcomer Smith occupies his seat.

City objects to liquor permit transfer for Richland Café

The Council voted to support the administration’s statutory objection to a liquor license transfer for Richland Café located at 14027 Madison Ave.

Chief Malley explained the objection is based on two things. First, one of the potential new owners of the bar has been convicted a couple of times for serving alcohol after hours. Second, and more strikingly, the current owner was found to have illegal slot machines in the bar. He was warned to remove them and did not. The police seized them and charged him with a gambling violation. The case is pending.

T-shirt company headquarters lured from Westlake with cash bribe

The Council formally adopted a Finance Committee recommendation to extend a $50,000 low-interest loan to University Tees, Inc, a t-shirt vendor.

The company will use the money to purchase a silkscreen machine and open a four-person office in the Lake Erie Screw building. University Tees will eventually move their Westlake company headquarters to the building, along with eight more workers, four of whom are Lakewood residents. The business will generate an estimated $7,000 in annual payroll tax for the city.

Miscellaneous

Chief Malley asked the Council to consider making bicycle licenses available at no cost. He believes the current $2 charge is a barrier preventing many people from registering their bikes. He thinks officers would be able to do more effective outreach, especially to juveniles, if the licenses were free. The matter was referred to the Public Safety Committee for discussion.

The Council approved a collective bargaining agreement with Local 1043 and Ohio Council 8, American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). The agreement covers many public works employees. FitzGerald congratulated his administration for reaching a deal in a fairly prompt manner. He said there will be another union agreement announced in January.

Councilperson Mary Louise Madigan (Ward 4) raised an issue about mayoral succession. The matter was referred to the Committee of the Whole for discussion.

The owners of Around the Corner Saloon and Café were given a resolution honoring their 35^th anniversary. Ryan and Mickey Krivosh were present to accept the Council’s accolades. Councilperson Butler (Ward 1) said he rarely hears of any complaints of patron misbehavior at the bar. He said they are a good role model for all other West End bars. The owners of Rozi’s Wine House were supposed to be honored for their 75^th anniversary. They weren’t present at the meeting, so the matter was deferred.

The Council approved an agreement permitting The West Side Community House to stash a couple of their employees in the Division of Youth building in order to operate a mental health program. It’s a one-year deal and will net the city $31,500.

Discussion of a liquor permit transfer for Route 6 from Bar 2 was deferred.

The council meeting lasted about one hour and 40 minutes. There were approximately 16 people in the audience when the meeting began, but only 8 people left when the meeting concluded. You can read the docket for yourself here (.PDF).

Joseph Falat stands in front of his Dowd Ave. property in May 2009

Birdtown resident Joesph Falat filed an appeal and a stay of execution in Cuyahoga Court of Common Pleas on November 19th in an effort to prevent the city from demolishing the investment property he owns at 2101 Dowd Ave. The Lakewood Board of Building Standards found the house to be a nuisance due to its poor physical condition. The decision cleared the way for the city to demolish it.

Falat, who lives on Magee St. and owns a couple of Lakewood rental properties, has been sparring with the city over housing issues off-and-on for at least a decade.

The most recent dispute began in 2008 when Falat was cited by the Division of Housing and Building. Falat painted the exterior of house and put on a new roof, but explained that financial hardship prohibited him from doing more extensive interior renovations to the unoccupied 4-unit house.

In addition to pursuing Falat for housing violations through Lakewood Municipal Court, the city moved along a parallel path with the Board of Building Standards to designate the house as an unsafe nuisance  structure.

Lakewood Municipal Court Judge Patrick Carroll issued several continuances  to the case in 2009. He gradually became more and more agitated with the lack of progress on Falat’s part. He issued a $950 fine and dispensed with the case after the building dept. issued a demolition order.

Falat maintains that when he retires in January of 2010, he’ll have access to at least $100,000 in retirement savings which he will use to fix the house. He indicated that he’s working with an architect and has plans to move forward.

The demolition is now on hold as the court reviews the case. A mediation session is scheduled for March 2010.

You can read Falat’s full complaint here (.pdf).

City demolishes a different house on Dowd

The city acquired 2042 Dowd from HUD for $35,000.

The city acquired 2042 Dowd from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for $35,000 in September. It was deemed to be in such disrepair that it had to be torn down. It was demolished sometime within the last week.

A view of the corner of Thrush and Dowd, where 2042 once stood.

The city could use federal funds to build a new single family house on the site, and most likely sell it to a low-to-moderate income homeowner. There are two or three other Birdtown houses the city hopes to raze and rebuild.

Lakewood City Council held a three-hour long hearing on Monday, December 14^th to figure how to plug an approximate $1.2 million gap in the 2010 municipal budget. The details are not final, but it appears as though the goal can be accomplished without the same kind of cuts to city services and lay-offs that occurred in 2008 and 2009.

Getting down to brass tacks

President of the Finance Committee and Ward 3 Councilperson Michael Summers said the city recently received a new estimate from the county indicating 2010 property tax revenue would be down 7.5% from this year. That figure is 1.5%, or $117,000, greater than original projections.

Summers provided an Excel spreadsheet outlining council’s suggested budget reductions. (Download it here.)

Police dept. will try combination of things to save money, raise revenue

Police Chief Timothy Malley said his department will try a variety of different things to find budget savings of $150,000 and locate additional sources of revenue. In the area of personnel, he expects three positions – dispatcher, corrections officer, and cadet – will be left vacant in 2010.

Mayor Edward O. FitzGerald is very keen to zero out the salaries of one or two data entry clerks whose jobs exist, he said, solely because certain databases aren’t interconnected. FitzGerald said there is a “decent” chance technology consultants hired by the city will figure out a low cost solution and connect them.

In a blatant money grab, Malley has asked City Council to approve the creation of a $25 towing fee surcharge to compensate the department for time it spends processing tow-related paperwork. The city has about 2,500 vehicles towed annually, and could realize $65,000 with the fee.

The finance department will audit an evidence trust fund that has accumulated about $250,000 over the last 15 years. Malley said anywhere from $15,000 to $75,000 of it could go unclaimed and would revert to the city’s general fund.

There is an effort underway to retool the parking ticket penalty collection system. The mayor wants parking violations to be designated as a civil offense (as opposed to a criminal offense) in order to make collection easier.

The city currently has over $300,000 in uncollected fines, which could be turned over to private collectors. “The problem is our collection system doesn’t work,” FitzGerald said.

So far, 500 fewer parking tickets have been issued this year versus last year. About half of the tickets are written by the parking enforcement squad, and the other half by police officers. FitzGerald said moving parking enforcement responsibilities from Public Works to the Division of Police “brought discipline” to the process it had been lacking.

Malley noted the number of parking tickets issued last year spiked to a 10-year high, so the statistics are deceiving. “This is a good year for enforcement, just not as good as last year,” he said. The mayor attributed last year’s jump to snow ban ticketing.

Malley couldn’t recall how much parking ticket fines had risen during his decades on the force. A few council members said they would oppose an effort to raise parking fines purely for revenue purposes.

The department has $100,000 budgeted to hire part-time officers. They currently have five part-timers and expect to bring on more in 2010. There are now 99 full-time officers. Six officers are participating in the program that allows them to take a squad car home if they live in the city. Three of cars are K-9 dog units. Two of them live in Lakewood.

As a side note, compared to Cleveland Heights, Lakewood has fewer police officers who are also residents. The timeframes are different, but as of July 2008, only 15 of Lakewood’s 90 police officers were residents of the city. As of November 2009, 50 of Cleveland Heights’ 101 full-time officers lived within that city.

Vultures again circle human services’ budget

Director of Human Services Dorothy Buckon is a good soldier. She is more familiar than most with the kind of human suffering residents must endure when social service programs are reduced or eliminated. Yet, she never makes a public peep of protest when City Council slashes her budget, or when the mayor unnecessarily limits community development block grant funding requests.

The budget vultures are again circling the Department of Human Services, this time looking to chop administrative costs in the neighborhood of $100,000 – a bit of a surprise considering just a couple of months ago Finance Committee members specifically expressed an interest in leaving Buckon’s department alone.

Buckon indicated the assistant director in the Division of Aging recently retired and will not be replaced, for a salary savings of about $70,000. Another person retired from the Division of Youth and will not be replaced. The position was funded from a non-general fund source, so it won’t result in any savings. Buckon thought $7,100 could be saved in insurance premiums, but Finance Director Jennifer Pae later clarified that claim and said no savings would be realized due to the way the insurance system is set up.

Buckon said The West Side Community House will pay the city $31,500 to house a couple of staff members in the Division of Youth building to operate a tapestry program. $12,900 will be conserved when New Day Adult Day Care closes and the department no longer needs to provide them with two transportation vehicles. New Day was funded by the Lakewood Foundation and had a partnership with the city.

Councilperson Summers (Ward 3) and Nickie Antonio (At-Large) have been meeting with human services staff members to do a service and cost analysis, and compile metrics showing exactly who is helped and at what cost. The information they gather will allow the city to optimize offerings and streamline costly services like senior transportation.

The mayor, of course, felt the need to repeat his standard talking point that even though human services have been slashed since he took office, the city still offers more services than any other suburb in Cuyahoga County.

Judge Carroll grouchy about court budget estimates

Lakewood Municipal Court Judge Patrick Carroll complained that the finance director’s 2010 budget numbers make it look like he’s seeking a 4% operating increase. When in fact, he said, the numbers submitted for 2010 are 1.5% to 2% under what was budgeted for the current year. “I want to make that clear,” he said.

Finance Director Pae later explained that the numbers she provided take into account estimated expenditures in 2009 versus budgeted 2010 expenditures. Carroll got his calculation by comparing budgeted expenditures in 2009 versus budgeted 2010 expenditures.

Carroll said the municipal court will underspend its 2009 budget by about $70,000 and may  return as much as $220,000 to the general fund. Court employees received a 2% raise in 2009 and will receive an unspecified increase in 2010. He has cut the “vast majority” of court publications, and no longer authorizes out-of-state trips.

Carroll explained municipal courts around the state are subject to new rules that shift the burden of payment for certain services from the state to cities. For instance, he said, visiting judges who serve in his absence must now be paid by the city instead of the state.

Carroll repeated a statement he made during his 2009 budget presentation and reminded council he is doing his best to be responsive and save the city money whenever possible. He checks the city jail roster twice a day and cuts loose people who don’t necessarily need to be there.

For instance, he recently got an early evening phone call from a sergeant who informed him that a woman with a minor warrant had overdosed, and was on life support at Lakewood Hospital. Carroll ordered her released and saved the city from $10,000 to $15,000 in medical obligations. He described another situation where he released a lady who had been transferred in from Cleveland without the proper medication.

Carroll pointed out that the city loses money when its Burmese-speaking residents get traffic tickets. State law requires the city to pay for a translator. The going rate is $55 per hour with a two hour minimum.

The recent incident at Mansfield City Hall caused Carroll to give serious consideration to adding security to his courtroom. He believes it is one of the least secure courtrooms in Cuyahoga County. The only security presence for the western side of City Hall (which also houses the mayor, law dept., etc.) is a guard at the information desk. Carroll said he’d like to at add a manned metal detector. The metal detector could cost as little as $500. The real expense would be the salary of the person operating the device.

“We’re all at risk,” he said. “The bad news is we might be coming back for even more money.” Carroll said he would go to the state supreme court and get an order forcing the city to pay for security improvements if he has to.

Water and sewer rates will rise

The city faces big expenses down the road in order to comply with federal clean water laws. To meet these obligations, it must increase rates each year over the next decade.

It is a virtual lock that City Council will vote to raise water and sewer rates for the coming year, but they will hold off on setting rates beyond 2010. The one-year-at-a-time approach will allow them to scale back planned rate increases in the event the feds provide money for clean water projects.

Cuts at the mayor’s discretion

The mayor maintained most job-related cuts in the budget would come from attrition, although a small number of people could still be laid-off. He said lowering the fire department’s minimum man per shift to 20 has helped out the budget situation.

He said the city reached a tentative agreement with the leadership of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Union that represents many employees in the public works dept. The agreement still needed to voted on by membership.

Monique Smith makes unofficial debut

Councilperson-elect Monique Smith fired off two questions during the three hour budget hearing. One question was about the drop in parking tickets and the other question was about the arrangement human services will have with The West Side Community House.

Majority of Lakewood residents just don’t care

There were about five people in attendance to witness the budget hearing.

That’s all there is?

One of the good things about the budget hearings held last year was that each department director gave a little presentation to council outlining their upcoming plans. It was an excellent way for a citizen to learn how things work and where taxpayer money was being spent.

For some reason, the city didn’t do it that way this year. So, if some genius at city hall wants to build a $40,000 wireless Internet access corridor along Detroit, between Bunts and Arthur, taxpayers may not learn about it until it’s too late.