Tag: city

Loveland, Ohio – On Tuesday. May 9 at 7 PM during the Loveland City Council meeting, Community Improvement Corporation (CIC), President, Jay Stewart is scheduled to present their “City Hall Repurposing Recommendation” to Council.

Council is expected to set a date for a public hearing on the recommendation.

These LOVELAND MAGAZINE TV videos are the last CIC meeting on May 3 when they discussed how the new City Hall project should be rolled out to the public. (See background information here: [Exclusive Video] CIC’s talks dollars and cents on new City Hall)

Also, here is the revised powerpoint presentation issued by the CIC that was prepared by consultant Ken Geis with facts and figures about what a new City Hall might look like and the costs associated with several variations. New slides were added last week to reflect a proposal by Councilwoman and CIC member, Pam Gross to include a 2-1/2 story building. This proposal is for an indoor/outdoor rooftop area to be used for such gatherings as weddings or events such as held at Receptions on Loveland Madeira Road, according to Gross. She also said that if a bar or restaurant is located on the first floor of the new building, they might want to lease the rooftop as well.

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Loveland, Ohio –  Jenny Lindgren said she was born and raised in Loveland and her family goes all the way back to the mid-1850’s, before Loveland was even a village. “Everything about Loveland is part of who I am,” she said. She spoke at the last Council meeting and said she didn’t know if she was upset about replacing City Hall, she just wanted to know why City Council was doing it.

Lindgren also had questions about the size and parking. She asked if it will it take away parking or will it affect traffic during construction. Lindgren lives nearby and says sometimes the traffic is so bad she can’t get off her own street. She wanted to know how it was going to be financed, from borrowing, or money the City already has. 

She said she has heard that the project will not be put out for bids and wanted to know if that was true.

She also asked about the design because she said there are people that are unhappy with the  looks of Loveland Station Apartments across the street in Historic Downtown. 

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Loveland, Ohio – The Community Improvement Corporation (CIC) got serious with numbers on April 24 when consultant Ken Geis brought slides with his facts and figures about what a new City Hall might look like and the costs associated with several variations.

These LOVELAND MAGAZINE TV videos are the only recording of the meeting and will be presented in several parts so viewers can digest what is being proposed – stop, then go back at your viewing pleasure. You will find that the conclusion of the meeting is most, revealing.

For most of City council and staff, this is also their only opportunity to see what transpired at this 1 PM meeting. The Fire Marshall came and reduced the number of attendees in the too small, crowded room which included some city staff who volunteered to leave. Some members of the public never quite made it into the undersized room in the first place.

Also, as an exclusive to our readers, CLICK below to see all of the slides Ken Geis used while making his presentation to CIC.

BACKGROUND

[Exclusive Video] Process of building new City Hall – Re-set and begins in ernest

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Loveland, Ohio – Neil Oury began an election speech during the public forum at Tuesday’s council meeting by reading part of the preamble of council rules:

As leaders of the community, City Council as a body and as individual members must lead by example and as such, shall hold themselves to the highest professional and ethical standards at all times. Council members are expected to be honorable and courteous while conducting city business.

He said the preamble was why he was there speaking at the council meeting. “I feel it is very important for open and honest dialogue to happen at all times. That every person’s voice be heard and acknowledged, to understand each others’ views and opinions, but most importantly it is time to make sure we as citizens and a council do what is best and approved by for the City of Loveland.”

Oury further said he was unhappy with the “Current majority actions and that recent changes to the membership of the CIC Board do not project transparency. The City is being rushed into a multi-million dollar public-private partnership without resident sanctions.”

The CIC (Community Improvement Corporation) is a private corporation allowed under Ohio law to be a quasi-government development arm of municipal governments.

[pull_quote_left]Oury said he feels that Mayor Mark Fitzgerald has lost the trust of the residentsl.[/pull_quote_left]Oury said he feels that Mayor Mark Fitzgerald has lost the trust of the residents and in his eye it’s time for change on City council He said he has twice asked him to resign and since he has not, he is presenting a petition for recall to the City Solicitor and the Council Clerk. (See Petition below)

When the meeting was over Fitzgerald was asked if he had any comments he wanted to make about the recall petition. He said, “No” and walked away from the camera. The petition was being circulated at the meeting for residents to sign.

Oury also announced that he was running for council to replace Fitzgerald. He said the recall committee will need 600 signatures of registered Loveland voters, and he will need 400 signatures on his own nominating petition. It is unclear if the recall election will be held on August 8, the date the Ohio Secretary of State has set for a “Special Election” or if the recall election will be held on the General Election date of November 7.

Fitzgerald is currently into the 2nd year of a four-year term which ends in December of 2019.

There will be 4 seats open for Council this November. The terms of current members, Pam Gross, Ted Phelps, Robert Weisgerber, and Stephen Zamagias will expire on December 4, 2017.

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Loveland, Ohio – This acrimonious, City Council debate may have brought to close the months-long debate over fees the Loveland Farmers’ Market and other groups planning public events in the City will have to pay. It will almost certainly not bring to end citizen debate about future vision for the City.

[quote_left]”The majority’s unilateral decision to welch on the deal is nothing short of outrageous.” – Kathy Bailey[/quote_left]The debate at the Council meeting on April 11, angry and loud at times, was over the last piece of legislation regulating public and private events. The Transient Businesses and Vendors, Mobile Food Vendors and Food Trucks ordinance was approved. The last contentious provision was that people and businesses supporting public and private events in the City will be required to undergo fingerprinting and background checks. The ordinance also regulates vendors going door-to-door selling goods and services.

Councilwoman Kathy Bailey said that after many hours negotiating what she thought was a compromise agreement that Council would vote on, a different ordinance was placed on the agenda. Council members, Rob Weisgerber and Ted Phelps also were surprised that the replacement ordinance appeared. Bailey said she did not know where it came from or who wrote it. The ordinance passed with Bailey, Phelps, and Weisgerber opposed. Mayor Mark Fitzgerald, Vice-Mayor Angie Settell, Pam Gross, and Steven Zamagias voted, “Yes.”

Gross did not agree with Bailey’s assessment of a compromise, saying, “I have no idea why you think there was an agreement.”

[quote_right]”You can’t renege on something no one has ever agreed to.” – Pam Gross[/quote_right]”Bailey said, “The blue line version that was distributed on March 28th represented the compromise reached between the majority and the minority, with Ms. Gross and myself representing each respectively, with Mr. Braun acting as an intermediary.” Joe Braun is the City Solicitor.

Bailey said that everything in that version had been previously agreed to by all parties. The major changes from that version versus what the majority surprised us with in the April 11th packet have to do with the fees charged. According to Bailey, the agreed-upon version capped fees for special events. “The version sprung upon us by the majority removes that language. I thought the blue line version represented a fair compromise and would like to have seen that passed. If the majority disagreed, the time to raise the issue was during our many hours of discussion and negotiation, not two weeks after agreeing to the blue line version.”

Bailey said that she was encouraged that, despite all the recent turmoil, the majority and minority were able to come together, albeit through an intermediary, and engage in a dialogue to reach a compromise. But added, “The majority’s unilateral decision to welch on the deal is nothing short of outrageous. The majority’s nonsensical explanation that there was no deal is patently false, and does not bode well for future collaboration, as without trust there can be no meaningful dialogue.”

In the end, Bailey was able to push through two amendments. The ordinance now says the event organizers, instead of City staff, will be responsible for ensuring individual vendors, or the event itself, has suitable insurance. The event organizers will also now be responsible for the background checks.

Peggy Goodwin: The Loveland Farmers’ Market will open as scheduled

The “BLUE LINED” version

 

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Gross alleges a local company’s truck was “kinda lurking” in the parking lot

Loveland, Ohio – It was a jaw dropping and eye-rolling allegation directed at a Loveland business and any, one, of their 75 employees when Councilwoman Pam Gross said from the council table on April 11, “There was a truck, for lack of a better word, that was kinda lurking in the parking lot.” She said she had just left the previous council meeting, heading to her car, when a truck seemed suspicious because it, “Kept stopping and slowing, and stopping and slowing.” Gross said it returned after a trip around the block. Gross identified a company name on the truck, and called out a resident who had just spoken at the public podium. She wanted the resident to identify who was driving the truck. The resident works for the company Gross made the allegation about and had also spoken at that previous council meeting.

Cries from the audience were of disbelief and became hostile, “Excuse me – are you kidding”  and “Oh my God.”

Mayor Mark Fitzgerald pounded his gavel telling the audience, You’re out of order, you’re out of order. Cease. You’ll be asked to leave.” He quieted the crowd, but not his council colleague.

The resident, who Loveland Magazine is not naming, went to work the next day and reported the allegation to the company owner. It was discovered, “The “lurking” pick up Ms. Gross referred to at our city council meeting last night, was a salesman leaving after a long day at work and dinner at Paxton’s. One Irish Coffee and an appetizer.”

Gross said that she wasn’t accusing the resident of anything, but wanted him to identify the driver. This was her clarification after she began her allegation by saying to the resident, “There is something on my mind that is directly related to you.”

When Gross said she wasn’t accusing the resident of anything, someone shouted from the audience, “Yes you did. Yes you did.”

This LOVELAND MAGAZINE TV video has portions blurred and some audio deliberately distorted so neither the resident, co-workers, or the local business would be harmed by the allegation.