Monday, April 29, 2013
Cleveland Heights rejects developer's request for project extension; looking for new developers at available lot
Plans for an apartment building on a vacant lot at Lee and Meadowbrook Roads have been halted after Cleveland Heights city officials rejected the developer's request for an extension on the contract. The city announced Friday that they had re-opened bidding for projects for the land after it rejected The Orlean Company's request for an extension on a payment that was due to the city earlier this month, said Mayor Ed Kelley. The company had been granted an 11-year, 80 percent tax abatement to build a $11.4 million residential and commercial building at Meadowbrook and Lee roads. The city is now accepting bids and will consider projects similar to this proposal as well as new ideas, Kelley said. View the Request for Proposals here.
Friday, April 19, 2013
City Council thanks outgoing director at meeting
The Cleveland Heights City Council thanked outgoing Heights Arts Director Peggy Spaeth at its April 15 meeting. MORE: Heights Arts Director Peggy Spaeth Announces Resignation
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Watch Kathleen Cerveny read "Saving Daylight" at Cleveland Heights City Council meeting
Cleveland Heights' new poet laureate Kathleen Cerveny read two poems at Monday's City Council meeting. Watch the first poem, "Saving Daylight," in the clip above. More: Heights Arts Poet Laureate To Appear at Monday Council Meeting
Monday, April 8, 2013
Building had been vacant for several years and was once decorated by a mystery muralist
It was two years ago nearly to the day that soup can murals appeared on a vacant Noble Road building when it was demolished last week. Now the city will seek developers to make use of the space. "The City is interested in proposals that will serve the neighborhood and the community well,” Mayor Ed Kelley said. The former Medic Drug Mart and Pick-N-Pay at 2920 Noble Road had been vacant for over a decade, and in 2002 was found to have 80 building violations. The building was declared a nuisance and its owner ordered to raze it in October 2011, six months after someone erected murals with polictical messages written on soup cans on the exterior. The city of Cleveland Heights and the Cuyahoga County Land Bank collaborated on the demolition, …
Monday, April 1, 2013
Council unanimously approved a raise on the city street lighting and forestry assessment.
Cleveland Heights City Council unanimously approved a 20-cent raise on the street lighting and forestry property assesment for property owners. Based on the width of homeowners' property at the front edge, the assessment pays for city-owned trees, street light maintenance and the city's forestry division. Home owners will pay $2 instead of $1.80 per foot of property frontage. The raise will appear on the tax bill residents receive for 2013 and amounts to about a $6 per year raise for property owners with 30 feet of frontage. Tom Raguz, the city's finance director, noted that the city raises this assessment every few years. It was last raised in 2010. Read the ordinance here.
Monday, March 18, 2013
Check out the agenda for tonight's Cleveland Heights City Council meeting
The Cleveland Heights City Council will hear requests from the City Manager to open bidding for a splash pad at Cain Park and pavement replacement on Mayfield Road at tonight's council meeting. The agenda also includes measures to approve the demolition of nuisance properties on Coventry, Eddington and Glenmont Roads and the second reading of the city's salary schedule. Click the PDF to the right to see the full agenda. Council meets at 7:30 p.m. in Cleveland Heights City Hall.
Friday, March 15, 2013
Acting city manager to continue role as council, staff continues search
The Cleveland Heights City Manager position remains open after Council's top choice decided not to pursue an offer from the city. Mayor Ed Kelley said he called Huron City Manager Andrew White, one of four applicants council interviewed last weekend, and White declined to to continue with the hiring process. Kelley noted that a salary package had not yet been discussed when White pulled out on Wednesday. White was not immediately available for comment Friday morning. More on the Cleveland Heights City Manager Search The city will not offer the position to the other three candidates it interviewed. Council is still searching for a new city manager, and in the interim, Acting City Manager Susanna Niermann O'Neil will continue manning the …
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Look at the bios for the four remaining candidates for City Manager in Cleveland Heights
The City of Cleveland Heights has released the bios for the four candidates in the running for city manager. Last month Acting City Manager Susanna Niermann O'Neil, one of the final five candidates, withdrew her name from the search after she discovered that her home had gotten behind on property taxes. Click the PDFs above to read about all the candidates.
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Susanna Niermann O'Neil pulled her name out of the running for the top Cleveland Heights city position because of delinquent real estate taxes and to allow the city to bring a new face to the position.
Acting Cleveland Heights City Manager Susanna Niermann O'Neil has taken her name out of the candidate pool for the city's permanent city manager spot. In a letter addressed to Council and the mayor Friday, Niermann O'Neil wrote that the application process made her aware that she owed delinquent taxes on her home in 2007. She noted that those taxes have been paid off now for some time. All articles on the Cleveland Heights City Manager Search "Although we have subsequently been current on our taxes, this past history is embarrassing to me and therefore not acceptable to me to continue as an applicant," she wrote. "I am also very aware that all things evolve and it is time for City Council to bring in a new person as City Manager," she …
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Cleveland Heights City Council expected to vote on legislation to allow dog-walking in Cain Park beginning in April
Cleveland Heights City Council is expected to vote on legislation that would allow dogs in Cain Park under certain restrictions. The Dog Project, modeled after a program in Lakewood that culminated in the abolishment of dog prohibitions in the city's parks, needs a majority vote from council to pass. The pilot program would allow leashed dogs in the park for six months. The group is seeking volunteers to refill dog waste bags at the parks during the trial, which would take place from April 15 to October 15. The proposal follows a survey last year about whether dogs should be allowed in Cain Park. Click the PDF to see all of tonight's council agenda. The meeting is at 7:30 p.m. at City Hall and is open to the public.
Diane H. Dreizen
3:25 pm on Sunday, May 12, 2013
I have to admit that, after 20 years, I thought seriously about jumping ship from this city and its lame leaders. I wondered about the company that council had dumped, so I looked them up on the Internet. The Orleans Company that was contracted to build on Meadowbrook-Lee is a builder/operator of low-income, subsidized government-type housing, as well as nursing homes. The board of directors are … more ›