Infeld: Closing Gearity Will Kill University Heights

The proposal to close Gearity Professional Development School was a primary topic during a Monday meeting that included city and school officials from Cleveland Heights, University Heights and South Euclid.

University Heights Mayor Susan Infeld told the Cleveland Heights-University Heights School Board that if they decide to close Gearity Professional Development School, it will “kill our city.” “Frankly, it’s odd in an urban area to not have a public elementary school,” Infeld said at a meeting Monday that included about 20 officials from Cleveland Heights, University Heights and South Euclid city councils and the CH-UH School Board. “In an area that is urban with sidewalks, it is normal and kind to have an elementary school choice for your children.” The meeting was called to discuss the district’s third facilities master plan proposal, and the two most hotly debated topics — closing the only elementary school in University Heights, and …

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2012 Road Repairs: Street Work Scheduled For The Week of May 14

Cleveland Heights will repair more than 50 roads this year. Here are the streets the city plans to work on this week.

At the end of March, we told you about the streets Cleveland Heights plans to fix this year. More than 50 are on the list to be repaved or surface treated. Last week, work began on nine roads. This week, seven more streets will be surface treated: Repairs take a day or two per street and about two to three weeks per group, said Alex Mannarino, public works director. Work usually begins on Monday but can be pushed back because of weather. The streets will not be closed off, Mannarino said, but parking can be limited. Look for more road work updates throughout the orange barrel season, and click on the interactive map above to view all streets the city plans to fix.

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Recycling Has Raised More Than $26K For Cleveland Heights So Far

Last year, the city sold a little more than $159,000 in recycled materials.

The City of Cleveland Heights has raised more than $26,500 from selling recycled materials so far this year. The city hosted a recycling fair last week to educate residents about the importance of recycling and to gather input. Councilwoman Bonnie Caplan, who often talks about the recycling program at council meetings, said last year the city sold a little more than $159,000 in recycled materials. "Not bad for the little city that could," she said in an email. In 2011, nearly 60 percent of the city's waste was recycled, which saved $699,700, as it costs $25 per ton to take it to the landfill, said Alex Mannarino, Cleveland Heights public works director, by email. He added that recycling usually picks up in the spring, summer and fall. "It …

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Cleveland Heights, University Heights Councils, School Board to Meet Tonight

The meeting among the two cities and CH-UH School Board will start at 7:30 p.m. in the Cleveland Heights Community Center.

The Cleveland Heights and University Heights city councils and the Cleveland Heights-University Heights School Board will meet at 7:30 p.m. today in the Cleveland Heights Community Center. City and school officials will discuss the proposed facilities master plan for the CH-UH district, and two major concerns from each city — Millikin and Gearity. Cleveland Heights City Council has asked the CH-UH School Board to meet to hear more about the future of the former Millikin School several times since February. The district released the updated appraisal last week, which said the market value of the property was about $770,000. University Heights Mayor Susan Infeld has openly shared her concern about the proposal to close Gearity Professional …

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New Self-Checkout System Available At Heights Libraries

Library director Nancy Levin says CircIT is easier to use and cheaper to maintain.

Regular patrons of the Heights Libraries may have noticed something was different this week. The four branches just rolled out a new self-checkout system called CircIT. The old system, Flashscan, required users to use a screen, a touchpad and a scanner. CircIT includes a touch-screen and a scanner, that is "more accurate and powerful than the old system, with brighter, more precise barcode scanners," according to a press release from Heights Libraries.  Information about fines and hold items is also easier to read and navigate. “The new system is not only easier for our customers to use, but also easier for our staff to fix and maintain,” said Heights Libraries Director Nancy Levin in a press release. “And CircIT costs roughly half of what…

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Cleveland Heights Resident Joins Library Board

Robert Fischer's term began in May.

The Cleveland Heights-University Heights School Board appointed Cleveland Heights resident Robert Fischer to the Heights Libraries board at its May 1 meeting. Fischer replaces Cardala Carter, who resigned in May to take a job as Nestle's digital marketing project manager in New York. She served three-and-a-half years of a seven year term. Fischer’s term will end in 2015. Fischer, who has lived in Cleveland Heights for 10 years, is a research associate professor at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University and co-director of the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development at the school. “I want to ensure that the library maintains its reputation for high quality service and extensive holdings,” …

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Kevin Ziegler

10:38 am on Friday, May 11, 2012

I agree. Rob served on the Citizens Advisory Committee for a decade and was always very well informed about community education trends and needs.   more ›

Cleveland Heights Recycling Fair Set for Tonight

Residents will learn more about recycling in the city and have an opportunity to provide input on how to improve the Cleveland Heights recycling program.

The Cleveland Heights Recycling Fair is set from 7 to 9 tonight in the Cleveland Heights Community Center. Residents can hear more about the city's recycling efforts and get information about recycling in the city. Officials also want input on how to improve the program. "It really matters for the environment, and it really matters for the community," said City Councilwoman Bonita Caplan at the May 7 council meeting. She added that the program brings in money for Cleveland Heights. For more information, call the Cleveland Heights Community Relations department at 216-291-2323. How would you improve the city's recycling program? Tell us in the comments.

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Patch Preview: Shaker Heights News

Shaker Heights to Consider Income Tax Increase

Shaker Heights City Council passed legislation that places the income tax increase in an Aug. 7 special election.

Editor's note: Shaker Heights Patch will launch very soon, but we are so excited to be in the new town, we thought, why wait to start making your lives ridiculously easy? We'll be featuring occasional Shaker Heights news on neighboring sites until we launch the new site in early June, when you can add ShakerHeights.Patch.com to your browser's bookmarks! Whether to raise Shaker Heights’ city income tax now lies in the hands of voters. A unanimous City Council, saying an increase is critical to the city’s financial health, agreed Monday to call a special election on the measure. If voters approve Aug. 7, the tax rate would rise to 2.25 percent from 1.75 percent, bringing in an additional $6 million a year. Without an increase, council …

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