Two Questions That Got Filtered Out Tonight By The LWV

Councilperson Stephens,

You are Director of Acquisitions, Dispositions, and Development with the Cuyahoga County Land Bank.

According to the Sun Press article about the demolition of the old Medic/Pick n Pay property on Nobel Road, you “spearheaded the city's purchase of the site” from the land bank.

After “spearheading” the purchase, you abstained from the December 3, 2012 city council “ordinance to purchase” vote.

Can you explain why, despite the conflict of interest you obviously recognized, and the unambiguous language of the city's Charter, you believe you are eligible to serve as a city councilperson while also serving as director of the land bank?

Councilperson Stein,

You were instrumental in establishing the gender specific swims at Cumberland pool on Sunday nights. These were held twice in 2012, and six times in 2013.

The women-only swim nights include the placement of “privacy tarps” on the fencing as required by religious law.

These gender-specific swims have been designated as “special events”, open to the public, requiring nothing more than a pool pass, or equivalent for admission.

It would seem that each such gender-specific swim night would be what the city normally considers “Private Group” parties, responsible for paying $260 per night in 2012 and $275 per night in 2013. Perhaps more, for the extra efforts in scheduling workers on Sundays to put up and remove the tarps.

Can you explain who made this costly decision to not bill and collect over $2,000 (so far), and what protocols were followed in making this decision?