Tag: local news

Deirdre Dyson has a different “Grailville Vision”

The House of Joy at Grailville – file photos by David Miller

by David Miller

Loveland, Ohio – Loveland resident Deirdre Dyson expressed a vision for the Grailville property at Tuesday’s council meeting during the open forum. “I question the idea that residential development of the property is inevitable, said Dyson. Then she talked about her vision.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Our apology for the sound quality of this video. It was hard to overcome the HVAC noise just overhead, a soft-spoken person, and a podium mic that wasn’t producing much volume.

A transcript has now been added. Read it below.

Good Evening, Everybody,

My name is Deirdre Dyson. I live at 430 W. Loveland Ave. I’ve lived in Loveland – I discovered to my horror today – for 53 years. I knew it had been a while, but it’s been a pleasure, all those 53 years.

I wish to talk to you this evening about Grailville, not about legislation and annexation, but just about Grailville itself. I’ve questioned the idea that residential development of the property is inevitable. Grailville is a classic gem of Victorian residential architecture. Many of the unique buildings on the property include: a dining hall designed by William Schickel; a venue for recitals, weddings, and events; trails; and much more.

I understand and respect that Grailville wants and needs to sell the property, but I suggest their needs could tie in and satisfy one of Loveland’s greatest needs at the moment. In spite of the recent and the terrific, great growth and revitalization, there is one area, one item that is sadly missing in Loveland. It needs accommodations. I imagine many of you have tried to find a place for out-of-town guests within the ambience of the town. Not easy. There is an opportunity here, I believe, to transform the buildings into an absolute gem for the city, community, and area: a boutique hotel Bed & Breakfast Plus.

Could the city actively seek a different kind of developer or group to purchase and restore the property with integrity and vision to honor its historic value? Other towns of Loveland’s sizer have renovated hotels; ornately painted mansions; emphasized architectural detail. Grailville offers all those possibilities and more, with attractive landscaping and walking trails. Just imagine how delightful it would be to stay in Grailville’s renovated, plush Bed & Breakfast rooms or hotel, go for a walk on the woodland property, then explore downtown area for communal bike trail and restaurants, etc. It would not generate traffic congestion like putting 250 or so homes in that area would generate. Road and sewer demands would be a fraction of the proposed development costs.

If you have never set foot on the property, let me say that I’m not the only person to feel that there’s something very special there. You can feel it immediately you get on the property. It exudes an aura of calm and tranquility, what so many of us are seeking these days. Surely there must be some entrepreneur or company out there looking for just such an investment opportunity, to purchase to renovate as business opportunity that would serve us all.

Please don’t let Grailville be just another discarded jewel in the history of what used to be a quaint and unique town.

Thank you.

October 28, 2021
Lauren Enda: Parking garage will harm Loveland’s heritage and the natural environment we love

by David Miller

Lauren Enda

Loveland, Ohio – Lauren Enda went to the Loveland City Council meeting Tuesday evening to talk about the proposed parking garage in Historic Downtown. Some of the concerns she expressed were about the negative impact she envisions for Loveland’s heritage and quaintness, and the environment.

She proposes that Loveland residents should be allowed to vote at the ballot box on what she describes as a “big city solution” that will take from the town things it will never get back.

She also suggestsed that an environmental impact study should be done to protect the “natural environment we love”.

October 28, 2021
Tom Scovanner on annexation of Grailville: Loveland taxpayers are being played for fools

by David Miller

Loveland, Ohio, At Tuesday’s City Council meeting resident Tom Scovanner went to the podium and laid out his reasoning and research into State and Federal law as to why he declares that Loveland residents are being, “played for fools” over the request by the Drees Company to annex Grailville into the City. The Grailville annexation involves 95 acres on O’Bannon Road and Scovanner cited a Drees’ press release that said they intend to build over 200 homes on the site.

He discussed the zoning the Drees Company expects to receive and the cost to the Loveland taxpayers of providing police, water, sanitary and stormwater sewers, fire and EMS services, street lighting, inspection services, and planning and zoning services. He said that Drees is expecting that City Council will re-zone the property and allow more than double the number of home sites than the land is currently zoned to handle.

He requested that Council rescind their request of approval to the Clermont County Commissioners until more is known about the impact to the City of the annexation is known.

Scovanner, a lawyer, said while holding up a large set of printed files, that although he has done the legal research, more is needed.

At press time, it is unknown if the Commissioners signed the paperwork on Wednesday as Scovanner anticipated they might.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Clermont County Commission approved the Annexation by unanimous vote on Wednesday, October 27.

October 28, 2021
Signups Have Been EXTENDED for Loveland’s Wonka-Land Halloween Edition!
by Cassie Mattia

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? THE WEATHER WILL BE PERFECT AND THE BEER WILL BE FLOWING!

SIGNUPS ARE EXTENDED UNTIL FRIDAY AT MIDNIGHT!

Loveland, Ohio – Halloween is in just a few days, which means Downtown Loveland is ready to see you in your costumes at Loveland’s Wonka-Land Halloween Edition!

In year’s past, the city of Loveland has celebrated Halloween with costume contests, special live entertainment at Downtown’s local restaurants, and spooky vendors that typically set up along the Loveland Bike Trail, but this year Little Miami River Chamber of Alliance Board President Doug Portmann envisioned something a little different…Loveland decked out in its very own Wonka-Land!

“As my wife and I were brainstorming as to what Loveland’s theme should be this year for Halloween my daughter said, ‘It’s Halloween so why don’t you do a Willy Wonka theme?” Portmann explained, “From there all we really needed to do was fill in the details!”

On Saturday, October 30th from 6 PM-8 PM teams of 4 will go on a hunt through Loveland’s impromptu candy land in search of Willy Wonka’s Golden Ticket! Teams will participate in “sweet” games including 25 stations of challenges, riddles, and drinking in order to find the grand prize. Those that will be participating are asked to please eat dinner beforehand as beer sample tickets and appetizer discount tickets will not be given out to teams until after the games have ended.

Teams and those that attend Loveland’s Wonka-Land Halloween Edition can dress up in Willy Wonka-themed attire, but ARE NOT REQUIRED to dress in a costume to participate in the games! Some of the Willy Wonka characters are as follows: Willy Wonka, Charlie Buckett, Grandpa Joe, Veruka Salt, Mike Teave, Arthur Slugworth, Augustus Gloop, Violet Beauregarde, Mr. Salt, Mrs. Teavee, Oompa-Lumpas, Mrs. Gloop, Mr. Turkentine, and The Tinker. Here are a few links to places where you can purchase Willy Wonka character-inspired costumes, HalloweenCostumes.com, Walmart, and Amazon.

Need more Wonka inspiration? Check out the original Willy Wonka movie trailer from 1971 starring the legendary Gene Wilder!

Excited and ready to sign up yet?! Registration is $35 per person or $140 a team, plus fees and taxes. We have included the link to sign up below, but before you do so here are a few simple rules to adhere to before you enter into the search for the Golden Ticket!
1. All those participating must be 21 years old.
2. It is recommended that all participants eat dinner beforehand as the event will be very crowded and hard to order a full dinner quickly!
3. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, there will be no food tastings this year, but select restaurants will be offering 50% off appetizers to all participants after the games!
4. DORA will be in full swing in Downtown Loveland!
5. The most important rule is…HAVE FUN!
Loveland’s Wonka-Land Halloween Edition is nearly sold out so we encourage you to grab your team and sign up before it’s too late!

Visit the Web Site

A Huge Shout-Out to This Year’s Sponsors! Thank you so Much for Your Support!

For more Loveland event updates stay tuned to the Loveland Salad With ME, Cassie Mattia!
October 28, 2021

Sharon Scovanner on the annexation of Grailville and suppression of speech by Mayor Bailey

Loveland, Ohio – Sharon Scovanner went through the legal channels to be permitted to speak for 10-minutes at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting. Even though she followed the rules, Mayor Kathy Bailey refused Scovanner’s request to be “Placed on the Agenda”.

She wanted to speak about the annexation into the City of the Graville property.

“WOW! If Mayor Bailey doesn’t want to hear from the citizens of Loveland maybe being mayor of Loveland is not for her.” – Sharon Scovanner

Not being deterred, Scovanner went to the meeting and signed up for “open forum” which would allow her 5-minutes to speak.

As soon as the 5-minutes was over, Scovanner was interrupted mid-sentence by Bailey and told that her speaking time was over. Scovanner immediately left the podium.

You can watch Scovanner speaking last night in the LOVELAND MAGAZINE TV video below and also read her entire statement to see what she was not allowed to say.

Also below is a post-meeting LOVELAND MAGAZINE TV interview with Scovanner being asked how she felt the meeting went and Mayor Bailey’s response to the accusation of suppressing free speech.

City council

I’ve spoken with numerous members of council recently including Mr. Oury, Mr. Bateman, (at my house) Mr. Blair, and Mr. Butler (at the committee appreciation dinner) about some really important issues recently. There has been debate and at times we have agreed to disagree. Disagreement is not a negative, but a way to understand each other’s point of view. I have also had productive meetings and discussions with Dave Kennedy, Tom Smith and Mark Medlar. The best results are always when there is dialogue, each person defending their positions. That’s how democracy works, when it is working well. Governing bodies succeed when there is open sharing of facts, discussion, deliberation and at times, compromise.

A couple of weeks ago all the city council candidates were invited to attend a meet the Candidate forum after our neighborhood’s annual HOA meeting. Mr. Butler, Hart, Phelps and Ms. Lukens attended. At our meeting there was spirited debate about the development of Blossom Hill, annexation of the Grail property, the proposed parking garage, all of which significantly impact TRAFFIC congestion in DT Loveland. Mr. Phelps and Hart took a lot of tough questions, as the residents were concerned about the disproportionate detrimental effect each of these developments would have on the residents of Warren County. Hopefully they heard the collective and heartfelt voices of the residents. Mr. Phelps stayed after the meeting and talked further about these issues which was most appreciated. He suggested that I add my name to the agenda of the next city council meeting for further discussion. I attempted to do so.

Rule 19 of the Loveland City Council rules (five-day rule) states “Any person, group or delegation wishing to be placed on the agenda to appear before council shall direct a letter to the clerk of council so it is received by the clerk no later than 12 noon on the Thursday preceding the regularly scheduled Tuesday council meeting,….

Rule 19 was followed, despite this, On Friday, I received an email from Misty, the clerk of council. It read, “Sharon, Mayor Bailey has DECLINED your request to be placed on the October 26 agenda and suggested that you speak during open forum.” WOW! If Mayor Bailey doesn’t want to hear from the citizens of Loveland maybe being mayor of Loveland is not for her.

According to rule 19, the mayor has no authority what so ever to deny a request to appear on the agenda. Just because the mayor does not like what a citizen has to say, does not give her the right to try to silence them.

If you look at the organizational chart of the city, one and only one group is at the top, it isn’t the mayor, the city council, businesses or developers. It’s the citizens.

Allowing active participation of the citizenry should be the goal of any functioning democracy and should be insisted upon by all who are in positions of power.

In 2017, a group known as Loveland Community Heartbeat, lead by Neal Oury (our community advocate, as per his political sign) initiated a recall of Mayor Mark Fitzgerald. The grounds for removal were as follows.

1. Conducting city operations and meetings in a manner which prohibits full participations by all council members, resident involvement and transparency and

2. Willfully and flagrantly exercising authority and power without the consent of the resident electorate or city council

2017 was a dark time for the city of Loveland and Mayor Bailey is returning us to those same dark days. Over the past few months Mayor Bailey has prohibited full participation by all council members and resident involvement by

1. denying my request to be on the agenda to limit my time for speaking, after I was invited by Mr. Phelps to be placed on the agenda.

2. telling another Resident he could not speak (Dave Stanton), only to be admonished by the Law Director because she overreached her authority.

3. voting in favor of taking a sitting Council Member off the agenda to limit his speech.

4. denying a sitting Council member’s request to be on the agenda to limit his speech.

5. trying to limit members of the press from access to meetings and taking pictures.

6. showing favoritism to one member of council by allowing him more times to speak, while denying that same right to others council members.

7. Earlier this year, she voted to change council rules to limit the time any one topic could be spoken about by residents in one meeting to 20 minutes.

So, if an issue comes up that brings 100 people to open forum only 4 people can speak? Council has an obligation to listen to all the residents who take the time to prepare and come to speak to council, regardless how long it takes; its what you were elected to do.

These are only the things that I know of, who knows who else has been denied the right to speak? This is all very alarming and needs to stop.

Suppression of speech undermines the very core of any democracy.

The recent actions of Mayor Bailey serve as a wakeup call for the citizens of Loveland, members of council and to those who spoke so loudly against Mark Fitzgerald 4 years ago.

We can and must do better.

I welcome your questions and comments

October 27, 2021

Loveland School Covid 19 Dashboard for October 24, 2021

Loveland, Ohio – At the beginning of each week, the Loveland City School District releases their latest Covid 19 Dashboard.

Note the correction to the 10/3/ report and that community cases increased from 51 to 62.

October 26, 2021
EIA forecasts U.S. winter natural gas bills will be 45% higher in the Mid-West than last winter

Expect the largest increase in retail natural gas prices to occur in the Midwest, where prices rise to $11.28/Mcf, a 45% increase compared with last winter

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Winter Fuels Outlook

In their latest Winter Fuels Outlook, the U.S. Energy Information Administration forecast that U.S. households that primarily use natural gas for space heating will spend an average of $746 on heating this winter (October–March), which is $172, or 30%, more than last year.

Natural gas is the primary heating fuel for 48% of U.S. homes, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2019 American Community Survey. Residential spending on winter natural gas bills is largely determined by the retail price of natural gas and the amount of natural gas consumed.

Higher retail natural gas prices are the primary driver for the expected increase in natural gas heating expenditures this winter, according to the Agency. On average, retail natural gas prices in the United States are expected to rise from $10.17 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf) last winter to $12.93/Mcf this winter, the highest price since the 2005–06 winter average. They say they expect the largest increase in retail natural gas prices to occur in the Midwest, where prices rise to $11.28/Mcf, a 45% increase compared with last winter.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Winter Fuels Outlook

The increase in retail prices reflects rising natural gas spot prices over the past year. Changes in natural gas spot prices typically get passed along to retail rates over a period of months because of regulatory rate structures. Utilities generally cannot profit or lose money from natural gas commodity sales, whose costs are passed along directly to the consumer.

In addition to the steady rise in natural gas spot prices over the past year, many utilities had to raise prices for consumers following the February 2021 cold snap that affected most of the country, but particularly Texas and the Midwest, according to the report. During the cold snap, many utilities had to purchase natural gas at spot prices that were higher than anticipated. However, because retail rates were already set for the month, utilities did not collect enough to cover the cost of the natural gas. To make up for this undercollection, many utilities opted to raise prices in subsequent months to spread out the costs to consumers over several months.

Higher-than-expected natural gas expenditures this winter also result from slightly higher-than-expected consumption compared with last year. For households that use natural gas as their primary space heating fuel, we expect average consumption this winter to be 57.7 Mcf, a 2.4% increase from last winter. The higher consumption is driven by a 2.6% forecast increase in the number of heating degree days (a measure of heating demand) compared with last winter. In our October Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), They estimate that U.S. natural gas inventories ended September at 3,304 Bcf, which is 5.5% below the five-year average for this time of year.

Principal contributors: Corrina Ricker, Stephen York

October 25, 2021
Claudia Bow finds comfort in the wonder of the cosmos
by David Miller

Claudia Bow (provided photo)

Loveland, Ohio – These are some photos of the full moon resident Claudia Bow took in May and October. She told Loveland Magazine, “Astronomy is something I became interested in during this past year. I have developed a great love of space and the universe, and have become fascinated with observing.”

This has become a hobby that means a lot to Claudia. She said, “I find comfort in the wonder of the cosmos.”

These photos were taken using a Polaris reflector telescope, a non-digital manual telescope that uses mirrors and lenses only, and an iPhone 12 held up against the optical lens. Claudia said that she edited the color and clarity using the iPhone to get the effects you see here.

“I hope to continue observing and taking more photos of space and all of its wonders,” Claudia said.

She is a graduate of Loveland High School and is a senior at Northern Kentucky University, studying music education. She plays five musical instruments.
October 24, 2021
Giuffré to remain Loveland Interim Treasurer

Robert Giuffre’

Loveland, Ohio – The Loveland City School District Board of Education has decided to temporarily pause the search for a new Treasurer. The District has said in their weekly newsletter that the timing of the search has “proved challenging” for the board and their community advisory group. Also that, “It has also proven difficult for many experienced candidates to apply.”

Robert Giuffre’ will continue as the interim Treasurer of Loveland City Schools.

Robert Giuffré was named the Interim Treasurer in August. Prior to this appointment, he spent 30 years in school finance as an auditor, treasurer, and consultant serving as treasurer for five districts. He previously served the Loveland District from November 1992 through February 1999.

October 24, 2021
Lauren Enda: Respect the citizens of Loveland enough to allow us to vote on the parking garage plan
Lauren Enda lives in Loveland at Hidden Creek

by Lauren Enda,

My name is Lauren Enda and I am a resident of Loveland. Like many Loveland residents, I am concerned about the proposed parking garage and its effect on our city. The largest municipal project in Loveland’s history has not involved public opinion though it will affect the residents of Loveland for years to come. My concern is based on the following:
1. The residents of Loveland have not had a real voice in this conversation since it began in 2019. Residents will be forced to live with changes caused by the garage to the city’s character and natural environment that attract so many to the area. Residents should vote on whether the project should proceed. If the location, design or economics are unsuccessful, the garage would be a blight on our quaint downtown, degrading the town’s ambiance. Residents would be stuck with it for years.
2. The Loveland parking situation has not been properly studied. No data exists that outlines whether more parking is required. The city has provided no evidence, other than anecdote, that we have a parking problem. How can we possibly come up with a solution when we don’t know if there is a problem?

3. Cost estimates that the City Council is using could be grossly underestimated based on construction cost increases seen elsewhere. There are no actual quotes. The opinion of the firm who created the almost $7 million price tag clearly states that they have “no control over the cost of labor, materials, or equipment, or over the contractor’s methods of determining prices.” With the current COVID pandemic, we have seen that inflated costs and severe shortages are the norm, not the exception, which could cause a large overrun of the budget, adding even more to taxpayer’s burden. There is a new idea to use the $1.3 million Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Funds to help cover some costs of this project. This fund is still needed by struggling businesses in Loveland. Why not help businesses that are failing instead?

4. An environmental impact study has not been done. Paved surfaces are one of the major causes of flooding. Increased storm strength and the numbers of storms will also make runoff and flooding worse. Some towns are removing parking areas to increase green space which absorbs water runoff. Why has the City Council not requested an environmental study?

5. A huge, expensive parking garage is a long term, permanent solution for a problem that may not exist. Loveland is not a big city. The garage will sit empty for much of the year when it is rainy, snowy and cold, and in the evenings and nights when businesses are closed. However, the eyesore will not disappear when no one is parked there. Accompanying lighting will be on 24/7, adding to light pollution that detracts from the beauty of our natural spaces that draw people to Loveland.

6. There is no guarantee, data or proof that this garage will decrease traffic in the downtown area or that it will create and retain good paying jobs. In fact, most of the traffic for Loveland will still traverse the downtown area from the west to access the garage. Only rural traffic from the north and east will access the garage without entering the downtown zone. It is a very expensive and intrusive plan for unknown benefit.

I am not against additional parking in downtown Loveland if it’s required. I am against a burden placed on residents without their approval for a project that has not been evaluated for cost, necessity, environmental impact, job creation, or traffic abatement. Residents deserve to know what criteria and data were used to make this project a priority for Loveland. As citizens, we need verifiable information, and we need to be part of the conversation.

Loveland is not, and does not wish to be, an urban center. The proposed garage will negatively and permanently alter the look and feel of Loveland’s most prized asset – our natural, historic downtown. Let’s open the conversation. I ask that City Council respect the citizens of Loveland enough to allow us to vote on the parking garage plan.
October 23, 2021