Hilliard Square Theater was built in 1927, and has been closed since 1988.

Speaking to a gathering of about six people last Thursday at Harding Middle School during the latest stop on his Listening to Lakewood tour, Mayor Edward O. FitzGerald touched on a variety of topics including the fate of Kauffman Park’s Little Links, the financial situation at the Beck Center, and the future of Hilliard Square Theater.

Battling a power outage that affected the school and a large swath of the southwest area of the city, FitzGerald pushed through his opening presentation with neither a microphone nor a PowerPoint propaganda machine. He repeated from memory variations of tired self-congratulatory talking points and factoids that painted for listeners a deceptively rosy picture of the state of the city.

$2 million surplus

FitzGerald, who lost interest in his job as mayor after less than two years in office and is now seeking to become Cuyahoga County Executive, said the city is on target to have a $2 million surplus at the end of the year – its largest in seven years. “We are basically stable,” he said, but cautioned municipal operations are at their limits of efficiency. From his perspective, in other words, there’s no more fat to trim.

He declared success against crime (“some notable declines in crime statistics”), with nuisance situations (“a slew of evictions”), and recycling (“up roughly 20%”). In sum, he said, “We’re a smaller city with some big city problems.”

Little Links will be no longer

FitzGerald said the city is moving forward with modest improvements to Kauffman Park, including the removal of Little Links, which will repurposed as green space. The owner of nearby Lakewood Plaza has expressed his intent to renovate the tired-looking property, but hasn’t set a firm start date on the project, according to Director of Housing and Building Jeff Ashby, who was present at the event.

Beck Center still has money concerns

A member of the audience wondered if the Beck Center should be moved to Kauffman Park to capitalize on the prime location. “There isn’t money to move the Beck Center,” replied FitzGerald. He said that it is “under extreme financial duress,” and explained what the city has done to try and improve the situation. “These are tough times for non-profits,” he said.

Dim picture for Hilliard Square Theater

The same audience member asked about the status of the shuttered Hilliard Square Theater. FitzGerald said that the theater in the mostly vacant building complex is in very poor condition.  “It’s a very, very difficult property to redevelop,” he said. “It would almost have to be a complete redo” and “the cost to restore it is enormous”.

FitzGerald said that the movie theater industry is not doing well in the current economic climate. He noted that the theater on Detroit Rd. is having a tough time staying open.

The mayor said one major disadvantage to the Hilliard Rd. building is its lack of available parking. He felt it would be particularly expensive to acquire either of the adjacent buildings – one an apartment building and the other a gas station, because they are both money-making businesses.

FitzGerald said the city has helped theater owner Robert Dobush complete state grant applications, but the situation was “very, very difficult.”

Since the state has already invested in The Capitol Theater in the Gordon Square Arts District, the mayor doubts they would want to get involved with a similar project in such close proximity.

The next best hope, FitzGerald said, would be if a wealthy investor with the right kind of vision came along. The mayor acknowledged that the odds of anything good ever happening are not favorable. “I can’t say I’m overly optimistic about it,” he admitted.

Are weekends in Lakewood boring?

Someone said that the weekend vibe around the Coventry-area of Cleveland Heights was better than anywhere in Lakewood, and wondered what the city could do to fix it.

The mayor said the city can’t force businesses to open on Sunday and the situation in Lakewood is better than it used to be.

Paying to fix streets instead of paying for fireworks

A gentleman wondered if the city should take the money it spends on fireworks and instead apply it towards the cost of repairing roads. FitzGerald said the Fourth of July holiday is an important once-a-year community event that showcases the city to thousands of people. Compared to the millions of dollars it takes to fix the roads, the money spent on fireworks is very minor.

Dog lovers and their pets relax at Lakewood Dog Park at the end of the first day of a court trial that may have serious consequences for the park's future.

On Thursday, after three years of legal maneuvers and fruitless attempts at compromise, representatives from neighboring cities Lakewood and Rocky River met in Judge Carolyn B. Friedland’s court to begin a bench trial that will determine the future of Lakewood Dog Park.

Michael O’Shea, the attorney representing Rocky River, gave a 10-minute opening statement that outlined the core of the conflict and described how he would present his case.

Essentially, O’Shea said the dog park is a nuisance to nearby Rocky River homeowners due to the amount of noise it generates and the city of Lakewood must correct the problem.

O’Shea said there will be two phases to his presentation. First, he will call to the stand Rocky River and Lakewood officials and aggrieved Rocky River residents to describe the noise problems and explain how they were handled. Then, he will call on witnesses to describe the events and decisions that led up to the construction of the dog park on city property in the Metroparks.

O’Shea explained that dog park founders originally wanted to build the facility at St. Charles Green, the park-like area located behind the large parking garage near Lakewood Center North. However, some city officials felt it was a bad location because, as one city council member at the time said, “the barking will drive people crazy.”

According to O’Shea, the acoustics of the current dog park location are akin to those at Blossom Music Center. Noise generated in the Rocky River Valley – even slight noises – easily carry to the nearby cliffs. He claimed conversations conducted at a normal tone at the adjacent city water treatment plant are clearly heard by residents on High Parkway in Rocky River, who are only about 350 feet away.

Interestingly, none of the Lakewood residents who live on the cliff (pictured above) overlooking the dog park have lodged any noise complaints. Rocky River's attorney is quick to point out that the houses in Lakewood are twice as far away from the park as those in Rocky River and are positioned in such a way that the sound is blocked by the trees and the cliff.

O’Shea said he would introduce 370 barking dog complaints that occurred elsewhere in the city of Lakewood as evidence that officials there have been responsive to such situations, and should also be responsible for quieting Lakewood Dog Park.

Warning the court that he expects the defense to portray his clients as “over sensitive” and “complainers,” O’Shea said the noise emanating from the dog park is a legitimate nuisance.

The decibel level is not a problem, O’Shea explained, but its continuous, repetitive, and year-round nature is and it can be heard over common household sounds such as the television and air conditioning.  “It’s like Chinese water torture,” he said.

O’Shea concluded his opening statement by telling the judge that the Rocky River residents on High Parkway were there before the dog park and should not have to tolerate nuisance conditions. “It has destroyed the quality of their homes,” he said.

Judge Friedland then adjourned for the day so that she could visit the dog park, observe the surroundings, and get a better understanding of the geographic layout.

The trial will resume on Monday, July 12^th at around 10:00 a.m. in courtroom 20-D of the downtown Justice Center. Judge Friedland said the case would probably last the entire week.

Trial updates

It’s not clear if it will be updated regularly, but Lakewood Dog Park supporters are providing news on the case via Twitter

Learn more about the case

Want to learn more about the case? Here are some supporting legal documents that provide a background on the situation. Most of these files came from the Lakewood Dog Park Web site.

The original complaint (.PDF)

Affidavit from Rocky River resident Tim Merriman (.PDF)
Affidavit from Rocky River resident Carol Buddie (.PDF)
Affidavit from Rocky River resident Michael Buddie (.PDF)

Appeals court judgment reversal (.PDF)

Pretrial settlement effort statement (.PDF)

Motion to strike statement (.PDF)

Response to motion to strike (.PDF)

The effort to install a tree-lined median on Clifton Blvd. and make other improvements to the four-mile stretch of road is quietly moving forward.

The first leg of the project, formally known as the Clifton Boulevard Transportation Enhancement Program, was completed in June when conceptual design drawings were produced based on a comprehensive engineering survey done earlier in the year.

The project is a partnership between the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA), and the cities of Cleveland and Lakewood. It will be financed entirely by federal stimulus dollars. Richard L. Bowen + Associates, Inc was awarded a $765,000 contract to design and plan the project.

The overall cost of construction has been estimated at between $6 million and $14 million. Officials are reluctant to identify a more precise number because construction funding has not yet been secured. However, someone with in-depth knowledge of the situation believes it could be in the neighborhood of $8 million.

The budget estimate provided along with the June conceptual drawings is for just under $11 million.

April public meeting

A public meeting was held at Emerson Elementary School on Clifton Blvd. in early April to present the public with a project update and get feedback.

The decent-sized crowd that showed up was generally divided over the issue of whether or not a tree-lined median on the boulevard would be a welcome addition to the community.

Some opponents of the project felt a median could make travel less safe by reducing sight lines and eliminating left-hand turns at certain intersections. Other detractors of the plan questioned RTA’s priorities in light of their service reductions and sharp funding decreases.

Proposal proponents said a landscaped median would make the wide and sometimes busy road more neighborhood-friendly. “I want to reclaim it as a city street,” said a resident who has lived on Clifton Blvd. for 25 years.

A couple of Clifton Blvd. business owners commented favorably on the project. One said the area needed to “bring it up a notch” in order to compete with other cities. “It’s losing that status,” he said. “Where’s the excitement?”

Steve Presser, owner of Big Fun, agreed, and added “It’s a thoroughfare [right now]. It’s a dangerous street.”

A few things to watch for: money, maintenance, and communication

Here are three areas citizens should keep an eye one:

1. Funding – will there be enough cash to build something fantastic?

Federal money will be available for this project. The question is: Will there be enough funding to fully realize the project’s more ambitious elements? It is reasonable to assume that the colored concrete intersections could be jettisoned if the budget doesn’t match the plan.

If the right level of financial support isn’t available, one hopes the project’s leaders can resist the temptation to build a median on the cheap merely for the sake of the accomplishment.

2. Maintenance – can Cleveland and Lakewood maintain upkeep on a landscaped median?

Cleveland and Lakewood are not known nationally for the quality and upkeep of their urban forests. Lakewood, for example, spends thousands of dollars annually to plant new trees on city property, and then doesn’t bother to water them. Can they be counted on to invest the money and time required to keep a landscaped median looking good over the course of many decades?

3. Communication – are Clifton residents fully aware of project’s progress and impact?

After hearing both sides sound off at the April meeting, it seems some folks are emotionally opposed to the project partly because they have preconceived notions based on false or incomplete information. Other people are upset because they feel like they don’t have a voice in the matter and it’s being forced upon them.

In order to achieve the “broad public support” leaders of the project said they are seeking, more must be done to disseminate details of the project’s progress to the people it most directly effects – residents of Clifton Blvd and nearby streets. In the same vein, a more robust effort ought to be made to promote and publicize public meetings on the issue.

Right now, for instance, a copy of the project’s design drawings should be on prominent public display at Lakewood City Hall, and the Lakewood Public Library, and also available on the Internet. If the city can find $33,000 in its budget for a 25-minute Fourth of July fireworks show, surely it can find a few hundred bucks to help establish a more informed citizenry to ensure that a multi-million dollar project meets the needs and desires of the public.

How many people will attend the public work sessions scheduled for later this month? 50 people, maybe, most of whom will be completely unfamiliar with the latest details of the project and unable to contribute anything of significance except more frustration.

Members of Lakewood City Council should stop taking their $7,000 annual salaries so literally, and put forth a serious effort to publicize these meetings. If all seven council members were to go door-to-door in their respective wards and distribute meeting reminders, it could motivate hundreds of people to show up for the event.

Small efforts would help, too, like perhaps a dozen yard signs planted along Clifton near bus stops, or even small signs on bus shelters. Even a public meeting announcement in the city’s monthly water bill mailing would be useful.

What’s next?

Public work sessions will be held in Lakewood and Cleveland in July, according to the Web site EnhanceClifton.com. The site, which hasn’t been updated lately and contains some broken links, actually states the sessions will be held in early July, so instead figure mid-July.

The next project deadline is August 10^th, when the preliminary design documents will be due. The conceptual design material based on the field survey was provided on June 11^th.

Here are some images from the conceptual designs:

A few different types of median will be used. This rendering shows how a median with a short flowering tree would look. It also includes a view of a treeless median with poured concrete. Click on the image to see more detailed view.

This is a rendering of median with a medium-sized shade tree. The type of tree could be something like a hybrid elm or a honey locust, although the city banned the planting of honey locusts on public property in 1958. Click the image to see greater detail.

Here's a rendering of the overhead view of a typical bus stop station landscape plan. There will be approximately 30 of these along the entire stretch of Clifton Blvd. They will be about 10 feet wide and 150 feet in length. Click on the image to see greater detail.

Two different varieties of bus shelters will be used. This one has a peaked roof. Click on the image to see greater detail.

A flat-roofed bus stop. Click the image for greater detail.

Here's a rendering of the proposed bus stop design at the intersection of Belle Ave. and Clifton Blvd. Notice the bus shelter's roof color and shape match the red tile roof of the house in the background. Click the image for greater detail.

A rendering of the proposed bus shelter at the corner of Cove Ave. and Clifton Blvd. It blends in well with the area architecture. Click on the image to see greater detail.

A rendering of the proposed bus shelter near Clifton Blvd. and West 115th St. Click the image to see greater detail.

This is an overhead view of the pavement and landscaping details for the commercial district on Clifton Blvd. in Cleveland, just to the east of W. 117th St. Charter One Bank is in the lower left-hand corner. Click the image to see greater detail.

Because a landscaped median is impractical for the Clifton Blvd. business district area due to traffic conditions, designers want to put concrete planters close to the road, along the sidewalk. Click the image for greater detail.

An artist's rendering of the view east on Clifton Blvd at W. 117th St. You can see the stamped colored concrete cross walk and intersection, as well as the landscape planters in the business district. Project budget cuts could lead to the elimination of the colored concrete intersection. Click on the image to see greater detail.

Here's the survey map for the Lakewood side of the Clifton Blvd and W. 117th intersection. The colored stamped concrete crosswalk and intersection can be prominently seen. Click the image to see greater detail.

The survey map of the intersection at Clifton Blvd. and Nicholson Ave. indicates that the southwest corner will get a peaked-roof bus shelter. The intersection and crosswalks will have colored and stamped concrete, assuming the final budget permits it. Click the image to see greater detail.

In earlier versions of the Clifton Blvd. improvement project, the landscaped median did not stretch to the city's border with Rocky River. In the current proposal, however, it does. This survey map of the intersection of Clifton Blvd and Lake Ave, near the Clifton Park neighborhood, shows a tree-lined median and colored and stamped concrete crosswalk and intersection. Click the image to see it in greater detail.

This survey map of the intersection at Chase Ave. and Clifton Blvd. shows why some residents -- Chase Ave. resident Colleta Graham, in particular -- don't want a median. The median would eliminate any left-hand turns from Chase Ave onto Clifton Blvd. There is a small gap in the median, but it's reserved for emergency vehicles only. Click the image to see greater detail.

This color survey map depicts the intersection of Gladys Ave. and Clifton Blvd. It shows how the median will eliminate left-hand turns off of Gladys, except for emergency vehicles. Click the image to see greater detail.

This survey map shows the intersection of Jackson Ave. and Clifton Blvd., where through traffic from Jackson will be permitted to make left-hand turns onto Clifton. Click the image to see greater detail.

The annual Fourth of July fireworks display at Lakewood Park is a fantastic community tradition and a great source of civic pride. We are very fortunate to have it.

Our sister inner-ring suburb to the east, Cleveland Heights, hasn’t had a municipal fireworks show in well over a decade. Parma and Euclid canceled their displays this year because the expense could not be justified amidst the worst economy in decades. It doesn’t look good when you lay-off dozens of people and slash city services, and then drop thousands of dollars on a half-hour noise and light show. People begin to question your priorities.

When you get right down to it, cities, including Lakewood, shouldn’t be blowing tax dollars on non-essential activities. Really, these events ought to be underwritten by area businesses and individuals, similar to what the city of Hudson does:

“Most of the area community fireworks shows have traditionally been funded out of city budgets, which we all know are under strain these days,” said Bill Sedlacek, Hudson Community Foundation board member and chairperson of the fireworks committee. “The Hudson Independence Day fireworks are totally dependent on donations from residents and the business community, without which there would be no fireworks show in Hudson.”

Yes, Hudson is a wealthy community, but all things considered, the Lakewood community – particularly the business community – ought to be capable of providing ample funding for a quality holiday entertainment experience.

The city received a $25,000 donation for fireworks from Ice Land USA as part of the management deal for Winterhurst Ice Rink in 2008. The next year, July Fourth donations totaled just $300.

What’s it cost?

The city has a budget this year of $46,000 for Fourth of July events, with roughly $10,000 designated for salaries and labor, and $33,000 for fireworks, according to information provided by the finance department (see .PDF). (And as a quick aside, at no point during the 2010 budget discussions did anyone ever breathe so much as a whisper about this money.)

The fireworks

The city put out a request for proposal (RFP) in April inviting fireworks display exhibitors to submit responses for a 25 to 30 minute display with a $33,000 budget limitation. The RFP stated the show “must be designed to provide a full range of color, sizes, and patterns so that there are not ‘dead moments’ in the sky.” (see .PDF)

Four companies submitted responses: Mad Bomber Fireworks (.PDF) of Kingsbury, IN; Pyrotecnico (.PDF) of New Castle, PA; Wolverine Fireworks Display (.PDF) of Kawkawlin, MI; and Zambelli Fireworks (.PDF) of New Castle, PA.

Each of their display proposals contained fireworks programs with the same basic elements: opening barrage, main body, pre-finale, and grand finale. The firework shells range between 2 and 6 inches in diameter.

Fire Chief Lawrence Mroz reviewed the bids and found that they all met licensing, permit and safety requirements. Based upon company size, experience, and shell diameter size, he felt the best two proposals were from Pyrotecnico and Zambelli.

The city awarded the event to Pyrotecnico. Compared to the other bids, they did not offer the greatest number of overall shells, but did have the largest total number of 5 and 6 inch diameter fireworks with 647. The next largest total was Zambelli with 416. Check out the comparison sheet here. (.PDF)

Here’s what you can expect to see at tonight’s Fourth of July fireworks display:

Garfield Ave. resident Edward Smith has refiled a lawsuit against the city and two paramedics for injuries he suffered in an ambulance will being transported  to Lakewood Hospital in 2007. The complaint was originally filed in 2008 and then withdrawn the same year.

Smith had his mother call 911 on April 22, 2007 to get him emergency assistance after he experienced the early symptoms of a grand mal seizure. Smith claims she warned the dispatcher about his medical condition.

City personnel Jeffery Wilson and Mathias Brooks arrived on the scene. They seated Smith on a bench in the ambulance, and then proceeded towards the hospital.

Smith experienced a full grand mal seizure during the trip. He fell off of the bench, over a stretcher and onto the ambulance floor.

The paramedics picked the convulsing Smith up off of the ground, placed him on the stretcher and inserted an IV tube into his arm. It was later determined he separated his shoulder in the fall.

Basically, Smith’s lawsuit accuses the paramedics of being at fault for not recording his vital signs prior to the trip, and for not properly securing him in the ambulance when it was known he had a seizure problem.

Smith claims to have suffered severe physical and mental injuries from the incident which are permanent in nature.  He is seeking $75,000, plus $800,000 in punitive damages. You can read the complete complaint here (.PDF).

Quick legal updates

- Cuyahoga County Judge Michael P. Donnelly upheld the Lakewood Board of Zoning Appeals’ decision that Oak Tree Manor on Bonnieview Ave. must discontinue its use of office space for business purposes that are not permitted by the zoning code.

Specifically, two two-suite apartments had been combined and served as an office for supportive services provided by Mental Health Services for about two-dozen of their clients who reside within the building. The office was a 24-hour a day, 7-day a week operation staffed by a total of 14 employees.

One wonders what MHS’ clients will do if they can no longer get immediate access to support services to deal with their issues — more on this later.

- US District Court Judge Dan Aaron Polster dismissed Peter Machlup’s case against the city involving the house he (probably) co-owned that once stood at 1570 Woodward Ave. (see .PDF)

The house, badly damaged by fire, was left sitting unrepaired for several months. The city declared it a nuisance and it was later demolished. Machlup felt the city’s Board of Building Standards and Building Appeals did not allow him to properly appeal the nuisance designation.

The judge tossed the case out of federal court for a bunch of different reasons, but primarily because Machlup did not first exhaust all his appeals at the state and county levels. Machlup is appealing the judge’s ruling.

- The city filed responses to the Hidden Village lawsuit (see response .PDF), Jill Ann Stewart lawsuit (see response .PDF), and Leonard Shelton lawsuit (see response .PDF). In each case, they essentially deny any wrongdoing and state their defense. Shelton also amended his complaint to include the mayor and city council (see .PDF).

Crime calendar update: gun fire and foot pursuits

The crime calendar has been updated through June 30. It contains two reminders of why law enforcement officers in Lakewood have dangerous jobs: gun fire and foot pursuits.

At face value, foot pursuits don’t seem as dangerous as car chases, but they can be. Take, for instance, the incident in Cleveland Heights earlier this year where an officer there died of sudden cardiac arrest while chasing after a shoplifter at Marc’s on Coventry.

There were at least two brief foot chases in the city during the last week of June. One situation originated at City Center Park and involved a juvenile who was reported missing. The other event involved a male reported to be trying to break into cars at the corner of Woodward and Madison. (The trend has continued into July. There was another chase at around 2:30 a.m. yesterday. It originated from a disturbance at Around The Corner Saloon and Café and terminated at 1385 Riverside.)

It’s never good to hear about gunfire in Lakewood. There were two incidents where weapons were discharged, and they happened within an hour of each other.

At 10:07 p.m. on Thursday, June 24^th in – surprise, surprise – Councilperson Mary Louise Madigan’s Fighting 4^th Ward, there was a report of a fight outside between two females and a male where a gunshot was fired. Officers on the scene near Idlewood and Williamson located a spent shell chasing, and retrieved a Bersa 9mm handgun from a house on Idlewood. A female was arrested for unlawfully discharging a firearm.

At 10:46 p.m. on the same day, residents near the corner of Lakewood Hts. Blvd. and Brown called police to report the distinct sound of gunfire. Police rolled up on the scene and observed a group of people outside standing near 14202 Lakewood Heights. When they realized the police were present, several of them tried unsuccessfully to hide. One juvenile was arrested for drug trafficking. A gun involved in the incident was recovered in the area the following day.

One more crime calendar note: yet another person complained to police that Calanni wouldn’t return their vehicle.