EDITOR’S NOTE: Please excuse the quality of our recent video work from the Loveland City Hall council chamber. After the City recently hired a Public Information Officer (PIO), LOVELAND MAGAZINE TV, USA-Today videographers, and Cincinnati Area TV stations have been put into a small corral to one side of the room, and the podium was placed so that when the public rises to speak, they have their backs toward the audience and our camera. We have talked to the PIO, City Manager and the Clerk of Council about how this arrangement significantly degrades our video, “The old set-up allowed a video camera to swing back and forth between those at the podium and the council table. That arrangement had been used for decades.”
Our plea has fallen on deaf ears. The PIO, however, did respond saying, “Unfortunately, the arrangement of the media area will not be moved to accommodate better angles at this time.”
So, for the time being, LOVELAND MAGAZINE TV is forced to show butts instead of faces, except when Councilwoman Pam Gross uses the podium. (See this recent video)
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Loveland, Ohio – At the June 13 Council meeting, Loveland-Symmes Fire Chief Otto Huber presented lifesaving awards to Captain Brian Hall, Paramedic Nick Gehring, EMT Dustin Freeze, Firefighter Brian Webb, and Firefighter John Cooper. The Fire Department Medal of Merit was presented to dispatchers Alicia Jim and Aaron Burg.
Relaxed atmosphere and friendly service welcomes you back time and time again! Located in the heart of the Historic Loveland District Just outside Cincinnati
“Why is this so?” his voice cracking, almost reaching falsetto. “Why can’t there be civil discussion instead of personal attacks?
– Loveland Mayor Mark Fitzgerald
by David Miller
Loveland, Ohio – Mayor Mark Fitzgerald called the June 27 Council meeting to order. He led those gathered in the Pledge of Allegiance. In unison, everyone said, “Indivisible.”
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The Mayor quoted Dr. King saying, “We must live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”[/quote_box_left]
He asked for a roll call and found that all Council members were present. He quoted the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and asked why the love for the community often turns to hatred on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month. “Why is this so?” his voice cracking, almost reaching falsetto. “Why can’t there be civil discussion rather than personal attacks?”
Then, he laid into the audience and Councilmember Rob Weisgerber.
He said there were community agitators infiltrating the City and spreading lies.
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THE FACEBOOK POST THAT PROMPTED PAM GROSS’ CALL TO THE POLICE:
You dont [Sic] have to give her anything. Thats [Sic] a violation. Does she have a subpeona [Sic] ? She can request all day long. Lol who does she think she is? Trying to pull another fast one with intimidation. She nerds a good old fashion loveland [Sic] ass kicking 80s style lol.
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He said vitriolic rhetoric had taken an “even darker turn” when a post (Read the post below) appeared on Weisgerber’s Facebook page where a threat to Councilmember Pam Gross could be found. He said that Weisgerber had made no attempt to admonish the person who wrote the comment. At that point, Weisgerber asked City Solicitor Joe Braun for a “point of order” where Council rules would dictate that Fitzgerald yields the floor to the Solicitor so he could address the “point of order”.
“Point of order,” could be heard at least ten more times during Fitzgerald’s four-minute barrage of charges leveled at Weisgerber and the community. Councilman Ted Phelps joined in asking for a point of order.
Fitzgerald to Weisgerber, “You are contributing to this misinformation and innuendos throughout our City. And, you routinely impugn the reputations of our citizens who volunteer their time and unselfishly serve our City.”
“False. False,” Weisgerber told the Mayor who was not deterred from finishing his speech without interruption.
Fitzgerald to Weisgerber, “You have created and fueled a toxic environment in our City – spawning threatened violence”
“At the minimum, you should be sanctioned,” Fitzgerald said waving his hand toward Weisgerber. “All this talk about resignation, you’re the one who should resign,” he continued with another wave of the hand in Weisgerber’s direction.
“Then, give me a chance to explain,” Weisgerber pleaded.
Fitzgerald continued his prepared speech – his speech pattern unbroken and gathering speed.
Fitzgerald only yielded the floor when as he finished his speech, he looked toward Vice-Mayor Angie Settell who had practiced the next line. In a fraction of a second she said, “Mayor, I move to adjourn.” Gross knew the next line and immediately seconded the motion, twice nodding in the direction of Fitzgerald, making sure he saw the ball coming back in his direction.
Weisgerber said, ‘Point of order” one more time.
The City Solicitor finally got a chance. He said, “There is no discussion on a motion to adjourn.”
The Mayor, who can count to four, called for the vote on the motion to immediately close the meeting.
Fitzgerald, Settle, Gross, voted, “Yes.”
Weisgerber said a defiant, rather loud, “No”
Kathy Bailey voted, “No.”
[quote_left]Phelps’, “No,” was said emphatically in comic disbelief.[/quote_left]Phelps’, “No,” was said emphatically in comic disbelief.
The 3-3 tie vote was broken when Stephen Zamagias cast the deciding, “Yes.”
Down came the Mayor’s gavel, placing the 14-minute meeting in the history books, enshrined in the official City Journal.
Zamagias and Gross had already packed their belongings in a neat stack before the motion was made. Gross had already grabbed her handbag from the floor and leaving her seat before the vote was tallied by the Clerk. She was through the side door within eight seconds. The other “Yes” voters quickly followed Gross’ exit out the side door, leaving the three “No” voting Councilmembers stunned. The three had expected to go through the full agenda of City business.
The dazed, angry, audience responded, “Boo! Who do you work for? Wrong! Who do you work for? Who do you work for people?” At least three of them had wanted to use the open forum portion section item on the agenda to speak of their community concerns.
Weisgerber, remaining in his seat, calmly stating his case for not deleting the Facebook comment. He also told the audience about the conversation he had with Sean Rahe, the Loveland Police Chief the next day. Rahe got involved after Gross called him to investigate, according to Weisgerber’s account. Weisgerber also said that he was told by Rahe that the comment didn’t rise to the level of a threat and Rahe had also consulted with the Clermont County Prosecutor for a second opinion. According to Weisgerber, the Prosecutor was not convinced the post constituted a threat.
In an email to the Police Chief that Weisgerber sent about seven hours before the council meeting, he said, “I understand Pam’s concerns and I am strongly against hate or threatening speech yet I will not censor free speech. Having said that, I don’t see what was said as a threat but that is not my call.”
Rahe responded by saying, “Rob, thank you for your time, and this response. I understand your position. Sean.”
While the Solicitor was still in the room, former Councilmember, Todd Osborne rose and said, “As a taxpayer, I asked the City Solicitor… We have not had a meeting. This meeting has not been adjourned properly. It has to be adjourned correctly, and, there has to be public business.”
[quote_left]Hearing this, Mays crumpled the meeting agenda she was holding. Resident Patti Sandmayr Horton , ripped the agenda in half then placed it at the empty spot where Pam Gross had been sitting a few moments before.[/quote_left]The solicitor returned to his seat, was about to speak, but just shook his head as if to say, I don’t know when he realized the microphone had been turned off? When a member of the audience asked, “Are they coming back, he simply said, “No, they adjourned. They adjourned.”
Pat Mays, a former member of Council was sitting in the audience, she held up the meeting agenda and asked, “So, this is mute, so, none of this is going to happen?
The Solicitor answered by saying, “The meeting was called to order and it was adjourned.”
Hearing this, Mays crumpled the meeting agenda she was holding. Resident Patti Sandmayr Horton , ripped the agenda in half then placed it at the empty spot where Pam Gross had been sitting a few moments before.
After the meeting, Bailey went on camera to respond to what had happened. She said Fitzgerald’s prepared statement, “Was really nothing more than an attack on Councilmember Rob Weisgerber.”
Bailey described the meeting end, “As soon as he finished his speech, in clearly what was a practiced and rehearsed and already decided move,” the meeting was adjourned. “So, all of us council members, the staff, dozens of citizens that were here – all for nothing because they took their ball and went home.” Bailey [quote_right]Bailey said it was clearly practiced and rehearsed.[/quote_right]said they had a full agenda for the meeting, including working on a collective bargaining agreement that, “Has to be dealt with in the next couple of days or we have a problem.” She said the four majority members who closed the meeting had no concern for the business of the City or for the citizens or anyone else who showed up.
Fitzgerald, Gross, Settell, and Zamagias had left the meeting room, so were not available for any rebuttal to Bailey’s allegation of a scripted shut-down of the meeting.
The next regularly scheduled Council meeting is in three weeks on July 11. The “second” Tuesday of the month.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Loveland Magazine sent an email the next morning to the Councilmembers who voted to shut down the meeting asking for their response regarding Kathy Bailey’s accusation that the abrupt closing down of the council meeting was pre-planned. None have responded.
The post on Rob Weisgerber’s Facebook page on June 21 at 9:50 PM ·that Fitzgerald and Gross say condones violence towards Gross
Rob Weisgerber
To all my friends out there and especially for those who have spoken out against Mark Fitzgerald and Pam Gross on Loveland City Council. Pam Gross today submitted 9 separate public documents requests for all emails and documents between me and a host of private citizens. The magnitude of the list of names is very disturbing. She had also made the same request of Ted Phelps and Kathy Bailey included in those 9 requests.
I will be clear that her request looks to be so broad and ill defined that no one can respond. Legal council now has to be involved to resolve. Pam is costing you the residents of Loveland by wasting your tax dollars on petty requests.
The depth Pam Gross is willing to stoop to for her campaign is embarrassing
(Name Redacted by Loveland Magazine) You dont [Sic] have to give her anything. Thats [Sic] a violation. Does she have a subpeona [Sic] ? She can request all day long. Lol who does she think she is? Trying to pull another fast one with intimidation. She nerds [Sic] a good old fashion loveland ass kicking 80s style lol.
[dropcap type=”2″]W[/dropcap]e did not want this, We did not ask for this “opportunity;” we did not do anything wrong to deserve this AND we will not run from our obligations as parents to care for our child. However, we cannot afford to cover all of Ethan’s health care costs without help from a large community and our government.
[quote_center]What do Ethan’s future health care options look like?[/quote_center]
Ethan will not have the opportunity to receive health care from his employer or pay the premiums for private insurance. Ethan’s significant disabilities will prevent him from finding employment and generating income. we hope we are proven wrong, as this is a very difficult reality to accept.
[quote_center]So, what are his future options?[/quote_center]
While he is very fortunate today to be covered by a great employer-sponsored health care plan, thanks to Procter & Gamble, what happens when Ethan is no longer eligible for this insurance?
Remember, today Ethan’s health care costs exceed $1,000,000 per year and it takes three policies to provide for his needs (Private, Medicaid and BCMH). Even with these three policies, there is about $100,000 per year of costs not covered by any of them.
Ethan will age out of BCMH and private insurance.
[quote_center]What will happen if Medicaid is taken away from Ethan, too?[/quote_center]
How will his future medical needs get paid for? Will we be placed in the position of having to make health care decisions for Ethan based on the cost? We already know we cannot afford to pay $1,000,000 per year (not even for one year). Ethan has already spent +380 days in the hospital over 4 years. Do we opt to not take him for urgent care at the hospital when private insurance and Medicaid are not available? For reference, ONE DAY in the hospital for Ethan costs $5,000-10,000, depending on his diagnosis and testing needs. If he ends up having surgery (Ethan has had 7 surgeries in the past 4 years), the costs are significantly higher and the hospitalization is longer.
We deal with a significant amount of uncertainty every day, just managing Ethan’s day-to-day care. We do not need the added stress of how to pay for Ethan’s basic medical care, or if our family will be forced into financial ruin.
We think you get the picture.
Please talk with your U.S. Senators and House of Representative member about preserving Medicaid for those who truly need it.
Ethan needs it NOW and will be dependent on it in the FUTURE.
[quote_center]SPEAK UP[/quote_center]
We have and we are. We have talked with the offices of Congressman Wenstrup and Senator Portman, and have left messages with Congressman Chabot and Senator Brown.
Stay Strong,
Alexia and Scott Kadish are residents of Loveland, Ohio
P.S. We are scared, shocked, angry, and confused. Please share our letter broadly and contact your representatives in Congress. Each one of us has a voice, a story to share, and a vote.
Ethan’s Story
On June 29, 2013, at URJ-GUCI, a summer camp near Indianapolis, a sudden burst of lightning struck on the athletic field where Ethan was out enjoying some Ultimate Frisbee with other campers. Everything changed for Ethan in that one moment. He was taken in critical condition to the local Children’s Hospital, where the doctors and nurses worked around the clock to stabilize him and assess his injuries. Ethan suffered a severe brain injury as a result of the lightning strike. Learn more about Ethan Kadish.
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PLEASE talk with your U.S. Senators and House of Representative member about preserving Medicaid for those who truly need it. Ethan needs it NOW and will be dependent on it in the FUTURE.
[/quote_box_right][dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Senate is likely to vote on the Republican replacement or the Affordable Care Act in the next week. Senator Rob Portman is one of a few select men who is meeting in closed-door strategy sessions to craft the bill.
Portman has asked for public comment and can be reached at:
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