This Week in Shaker©

An Independent E-Letter for the Residents of Shaker Heights, Ohio

Founded April 14, 2003

     Volume 8, Number 23       Monday, August 30, 2010

Jane Wood, Editor                                                                  Street and Alley, Proofreaders

This Week in Shaker will usually be emailed once a week or every other week,
on Sunday or Monday, if news warrants.  Sometimes that schedule changes.
If you like it, pass it on; if you would like to be on the distribution list, email thisweekinshaker@sbcglobal.net. 

This issue has 7 pages.

News Briefs

• There will be a public hearing at the City Planning Commission meeting Sept. 7 regarding RTA’s proposed walkways from the Warrensville Center Road bridge to the Green Line Rapid station below.
• The schools have again received $15,000 from the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation for a project titled “Family Connections” that would “encourage active parental involvement in kindergarten learning process” for at-risk Mercer and Lomond kindergarten students.  Family Connections is also the new name for the Shaker Family Center, which recently merged with Heights Parent Center and offers additional programs at Taylor Academy in Cleveland Hts.
• The school district paid $35,006.25 to the law firm Squire, Sanders & Dempsey in June.  Also in June the school district paid $10,200 to “Upper Arlington” (a suburb of Columbus), $35,100 to Ronald Fry of CWRU and $5,500 to the PR firm Burges & Burges Strategists.  In July, the school district paid $10,000 to IB Americas (International Baccalaureate) and $5,500 to Burges & Burges.  As noted in TWIS Vol. 8, Issue 14, April 19, 2010, “According to communications director Peggy Caldwell, the public relations firm was hired ‘to help design and execute research projects (e.g., interviews with community leaders, online surveys with parents and staff, and design of the Triad survey) to help define communications and outreach strategies.’”
• Hathaway Brown wants to put a fence around its property at the corner of South Park and Courtland Boulevards.  The issue goes before the Board of Zoning Appeals Sept. 7.  The proposal would extend the fence surrounding the new playground.
• According to a sign on the window, Zanzibar Soul Fusion will open in October in the space at Shaker Square vacated by the Moroccan restaurant Darna.  The space was previously occupied by Luchita’s.  There is nothing on the web site as yet: www.zanzibarohio.com.
• The Landmark Commission meeting this month was cancelled. 
• According to a memo regarding an amendment to the grass nuisance ordinance (approved by City Council* last week), the Public Works Department has sent out 1,183 warning letters so far this year (1,229 last year) and has had grass cut 722 times (982 last year).  The amendment clarifies “the intent to require that the City must send out a warning notice before abating any grass nuisance on a property,” according to the memo from chief counsel Bill Gruber.

*Jim Brady, Al Foster, Brian Gleisser, Nancy Moore, Lynn Ruffner, Earl Williams, Rob Zimmerman

Joint Police Agency is Coming Soon

According to Mayor Earl Leiken (mayor@shakeronline.com), a proposal that 5 cities, including Shaker Heights, share certain police activities will go to the Safety and Public Works Committee Sept. 17 and to Council Sept. 27.  The Sun Press published a story about this last week: (http://www.cleveland.com/sun/all/index.ssf/2010/08/university_heights_agrees_to_j.html)

The other cities are Beachwood, University Heights, South Euclid and Euclid. 

The last time something like this came up, “Police Chief Scott Lee said no agreement is yet in place with the cities of South Euclid, Euclid and University Heights on a joint SWAT team.  When there is an agreement, he will present it to the Safety and Public Works Committee and ultimately to City Council.  The 4 communities have been looking at this idea for more than a year, Lee said”—TWIS, Vol. 8, Issue 13, April 12, 2010.  

In 2009, TWIS reported that the reduction in prisoners at the Euclid jail could affect Shaker “if we need to house a female prisoner or if we have a male prisoner that needs to be housed and we are full.  We would then look to another jail for housing”—TWIS, Vol. 7, Issue 1, Jan. 12, 2009. 

According to the Police Department’s “2008 action plan—4th quarter update,” the Chief was “investigating the possibility” of a regional special operations team—TWIS Vol. 7, Issue 11, March 23, 2009.

How Much of Ohio’s ‘Race to the Top’ Money
Will Shaker Get?  (Around $400,000)

538 Ohio school districts and charter schools that signed a memorandum of understanding, including Shaker, will share in Ohio’s “Race to the Top” money.  According to an email to the school district from State Superintendent of Schools (and former Shaker gifted and talented program director) Deborah  Delisle, “Ohio has been awarded $400 million, of which more than 90 percent will directly support the work of schools across the state.” 

There is speculation that the Shaker School District could get about $400,000 of that, although communications director Peggy Caldwell emailed that the state has not yet “established an allocation formula.”  Indicating that both the school district and the teachers’ union (SHTA) signed the memorandum, and the District is therefore eligible for funding, she added, “We will have to submit a proposal to the Ohio Department of Education by the end of November on how the funds will be spent.  We are awaiting further instructions from Columbus.”

In a second email she said the Ohio Department of Education would provide more information via a “webinar” on Sept. 1 and noted that the Plain Dealer said Shaker would get about $398,000.

The money must be spent over the course of 4 years and in specific ways.  A story in the Plain Dealer explains it:  (http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/08/ohio_wins_400_million_in_race.html)

1 Bid Received for $111,600 of ADA Improvements

City Council* last week approved the expenditure of $111,600 for ADA improvements at City Hall.  According to a memo from Public Works director Bill Boag, “This project is being funded through the County Development Block Grant (CDBG) program with a grant amount of up to $100,000 and City match of $27,000.”

The only bid received was for $111,600 from F. Buddie Contracting, which also bid (with Knight & Stolar) unsuccessfully on the “design-build” project mentioned in the next story.

Asked by Mayor Earl Leiken (mayor@shakeronline.com) if the work addressed the issues mentioned in a lawsuit filed earlier (detailed in TWIS Vol. 5, Issue 37, Oct. 1, 2007), project manager Karrie Buxton said it did.  She added there were a “couple more outstanding in different buildings,” but that those were “being corrected.”  According to the issue of TWIS mentioned above, “The City will pay $50,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by Bonnie Kramer and the Disabled Patriots of America and has agreed to perform ‘barrier removal’ projects on property it owns: 14 of them are in City Hall, 9 are in the Shaker Community Building, 4 are in the Main Library, 3 are in the Service Center, 2 are in the new firehouse, 8 are at Thornton Park, 6 are at the Shaker Family Center, 6 are in the Police Department/Court and 1 is at Starbucks on Van Aken Boulevard.  The money will be used to cover fees and costs.”

According to Boag’s memo, “These improvements include the replacement of door hardware with ADA compliant handles, ADA signage, hand rail extension, ADA service counter modification, main exterior entrance doors and power operations for the entrance doors.”  The memo said, “The cost to design the improvements was $6,850 which was paid for from the funding along with the contingency amount of $8,550.”

According to the memo, the Public Works Department contacted 5 contractors “to inform them of the bid.”  However, just 1 bid was received.

When asked by Council member Rob Zimmerman (robert.zimmerman@shakeronline.com) why there was just 1 bid, Buxton mentioned the diversity of the work and the time of year.  The memo said, “A few of the reasons the City feels that this project only had the single bidder was due to one of the contractors having a scheduling conflict with the bid and another contractor stated that for the complexity of the project they could not meet the City’s budget and chose not to bid.”

*Jim Brady, Al Foster, Brian Gleisser, Nancy Moore, Lynn Ruffner, Earl Williams, Rob Zimmerman

City to Create ‘Pedestrian Passage’ on Vacant Lot

Using leftover neighborhood stabilization program funds, the City will spend $50,000 to convert a City-owned vacant lot at 16650 Chagrin Blvd., just east of Lee Road, into a “landscaped pedestrian passage” connecting the street to the parking lot behind some commercial buildings.

The “design-build” bid from R. J. Platten and McKnight was approved by City Council* last week.

Mayor Earl Leiken (mayor@shakeronline.com) and some members of Council seemed confused (but not Al Foster—alfoster44120@yahoo.com—who remembered there had been a light damaged during demolition) about exactly where the site is.  (Foster later emailed that there are 2 lights that don’t have globes or fixtures on them in front of the lot.)  According to Economic Development Department director Tania Menesse, the site is a “vacant lot at the center of the commercial district.”  She told Council it can be seen from Heinen’s and is a “real opportunity for the City,” noting that it would “be a positive versus what it is now.”  A memo says, “The property to be improved is located on the south side of Chagrin Boulevard, just east of Lee Road.  A commercial building that once occupied the site was demolished several years ago.”  Menesse emailed, “Brooks Flowers and a vacant space were there before the structure was demolished,” which was apparently about 3 years ago.

The memo said a design-build request for proposals was issued to 12 landscape architects and contractors, and 3 bids were received.  Those who did not win the bid were F. Buddie/Knight & Stolar ($48,500) and Aaron Landscape/GGJ Engineers ($50,000).

Council member Rob Zimmerman (robert.zimmerman@shakeronline.com) asked if there would be any restrictions on the use of the property, which he characterized as an “undeveloped eyesore,” and Menesse said, “I don’t believe there are.”  Zimmerman expressed interest in potentially developing the site later.  In response to a question from Council member Jim Brady (councilmanbrady@gmail.com), she said among the possibilities for the site was “public art.”  She said the site would be “part of the commercial district” and not a park.

Construction and design must be approved by the Architectural Board of Review and the City Planning Commission.  According to chief counsel Bill Gruber, Council would “see the plans” and be asked to approve them.

Although a contract must be awarded by August 31 in order to receive the funding, construction may take until 2013.

*Jim Brady, Al Foster, Brian Gleisser, Nancy Moore, Lynn Ruffner, Earl Williams, Rob Zimmerman

Knock on Wood

Food for Thought:  Tonight’s (Monday’s) benefit for the North Union Farmers Market and the Cleveland Botanical Garden starts at 5:30 p.m. at the Garden with Deborah Madison speaking.  Participating Shaker Square and Larchmere restaurants include Dewey’s Coffee House, Felice, Grotto, Sasa and Sarava. 

The founding chef at the vegetarian Greens Restaurant in San Francisco, Madison has written a number of books as well as the foreword to “A Painter’s Kitchen” (Georgia O’Keeffe).   NUFM was started in 1995 at Shaker Square by Mary Holmes and Donita Anderson; Anderson is currently the executive director, her daughter Emma is the general manager and Tiffany Leeper is Anderson’s assistant, according to the “contact us” section of the NUFM web page. 

• Speaking of NUFM, there will be a “garlic festival” Sept. 11 (1-10 p.m.) and 12 (noon- 8 p.m.) at Shaker Square ($10 for adults to get in): http://www.northunionfarmersmarket.org/.  Gilroy, California, held its festival in July ($17 to get in), and the winning recipes are already posted: http://gilroygarlicfestival.com/recipe-contest.html.
• Cleveland “restaurant week” is Nov. 1-14 (more like 2 weeks).  Menus will be posted at www.clevelandindependents.com.
• The Cleveland Botanical Garden is having a “food and garden festival” Sept. 24, 25 and 26.

Names in the News: Kate Ciepluch, the daughter of Gary and Marion Ciepluch, was featured on the front page of last week’s New York Times “Thursday Styles” section: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/26/fashion/26GIRLS.html?_r=1&ref=fashion.  Kate is the fashion director of the online retailer Shopbop (http://www.shopbop.com/), and her dad is a professor of music at Case and founder of the Cleveland Youth Wind Symphony.  When Kate was a teenager she played in the Shaker High band.

Artful Politics: Mayor Frank Jackson and his security detail recently paid a visit to the studio of former Cleveland Institute of Art president and CEO David Deming to take a look at his Superman sculpture and decide where in Cleveland it should go.  Deming will have some of his sculptures displayed starting Sept. 24 at the Sculpture Center, 1834 E. 123rd St. (across the street from Lake View Cemetery).  He is nearly finished with a sculpture of the late Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones.  Other artists in the Sculpture Center’s new fall show are Heather McGill and Aaron Peterman.

Arts Talk: The Fine Print Fair returns with an opening night preview at 6 p.m. Sept. 24 at Tri-C Corporate College, 4400 Richmond Rd. in Warrensville Heights.  Among the many supporters is Betsy Hegyes, who, as Betsy Bryan (below right, with Valerie Restifo), was once a majorette at Shaker High.

• This year’s Larchmere sidewalk sale Sept. 4 will feature music from Tom Shaper (who was profiled by Shaker Council member Nancy Moore in Shaker Magazine in 1992 and who played at Noggins when it still existed) and Rob Williams. 

Gossip: Rumor has it that a paint job apparently ordered by Shaker Square’s owner will go to “eye level” only and there will be no scraping of deteriorated paint.

• Local architects and sometime competitors Pete van Dijk and Richard Fleischman, whose names used to drop with some regularity from knowledgeable Clevelanders’ lips, were spotted on their way to breakfast together recently.  What does it mean?  Let’s ask Steve Litt.

Showtime: The Moreland on the Move Community Association is showing a movie at dusk Sept. 4 (pre-movie fun starts at 7:30 p.m.) in Shaker’s Chelton Park.  Vicki Elder put the event together.

It’s Only Natural: The first of a series of town meetings will be held at 7 p.m. Sept. 2 at the Nature Center on how the $78,665 grant the Nature Center received to restore the marsh will be used.  For more info or to volunteer, email Sarah Cech, cech@shakerlakes.org.

Send items for consideration to kownews@sbcglobal.net.

Real Estate Report

As of yesterday (Sunday), Realtors had listed 236 single-family houses for sale* (excluding condominiums and townhomes) in Shaker Heights, as follows:

• $100,000 - $199,000: 104 (85 last issue)
• $200,000 - $299,000: 49 (54 last issue)
• $300,000 - $399,000: 27 (28 last issue)
• $400,000 - $499,000: 15 (15 last issue)
• $500,000 - $599,000: 12 (13 last issue)
• $600,000 - $699,000: 10 (11 last issue)
• $700,000 - $799,000: 4 (2 last issue)
• $800,000 - $899,000: 6 (6 last issue)
• $900,000 - $999,000: 3 (3 last issue)
• $1,000,000 - $1,999,000: 5 (5 last issue)
• $2,000,000 - $2,999,000: 1 (1 last issue)

In addition, there are 32 (28 last issue) houses priced under $100,000, for a grand total of 268. 

As of Friday, there were 23 foreclosure sales pending (including 10 condominiums) and listed on the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s web site.**  In addition to those, there are sometimes foreclosure sales listed by the U. S. District Court.

[Editor’s note:  TWIS has been reporting these numbers since March 12, 2007.]

*233 last issue

**19 last issue; addresses include 3289 Chadbourne, 3599 Chelton, 13800 Fairhill #412, 3620 Ingleside, 3310 Kenmore, 18129 Lomond, 3601 Lytle, 3448 Menlo, 3689 Menlo, 3631 Rolliston, 23551 S. Woodland, 11 Sutton Pl., 14 Sutton Pl., 18975 Van Aken #302, 19101 Van Aken #226, 19101 Van Aken #522, 19436 Van Aken, 19801 Van Aken #4, 19901 Van Aken #206C, 2745 Warrensville, 3333 Warrensville, 23931 Wimbledon  and 18707 Winslow.  [Editor’s note: This week’s foreclosed properties include those listed for Sheriff’s sale on August 30 and September 7, 20 and 27 and October 4. Foreclosed properties are listed every week until they are sold or withdrawn; the total listed here, therefore, always includes some properties that have been listed in previous issues.]

Following Up . . .

• Library Court: According to a headline in the Sun Press, (http://blog.cleveland.com/sunpress/2010/08/shaker_heights_library_to_lose.html)

the Main Library will lose 18 parking spaces as a result of the Library Court apartment for seniors, which is about to be built.  Library director Luren Dickinson emailed, “The loss is temporary during the senior apartments construction,” which is what the story, but not the headline, says.  According to the minutes of the City Planning Commission of Nov. 4, 2009, which TWIS did not attend, the developer proposed a “shared parking agreement that will maintain the 162 spaces while allowing a clear 44 spaces of parking for the apartment building itself, while 12 of those spaces will be shared with the public . . . This proposal reconfigures the parking in the parking lot and adds more spaces by utilizing angled parking.  The 11 City-owned cars will be moved into the shared parking area”—TWIS Vol. 7, Issue 42, Dec. 7, 2009.

• First Baptist Farmers Market: The City Planning Commission will hear a request Sept. 7 to extend it outside through October.

This Week in Shaker©

An Independent E-Letter for the Residents of Shaker Heights, Ohio

Founded April 14, 2003

     Volume 8, Number 10                   Monday, March 22, 2010

Jane Wood, Editor                                                                  Street and Alley, Proofreaders

This Week in Shaker will usually be emailed once a week, on Sunday or Monday,
if news warrants.  Sometimes that schedule changes.
If you like it, pass it on; if you would like to be on the distribution list, email thisweekinshaker@sbcglobal.net. 

This issue has 3 pages.

Clarification

The Library Board minutes of Feb. 9, from which TWIS quoted in the last issue regarding the “Shaker Library Fest banners,” were DRAFT minutes and were subsequently corrected, according to Library director Luren Dickinson.  Banners celebrating the library are to be placed in April around the Main Library and Bertram Woods branch on poles which the schools also use.

News Briefs

• City Council is expected to vote tonight (Monday) on a development agreement with Library Court regarding City-owned property across the parking lot from the Main Library.
• Last year the Law Department drafted an agreement with Highland Hills for the reconfiguration of the Warrensville/Van Aken interchange.  It is “currently under review.”
• The Law Department also reported (in its “action plan” for last year) that “2 claims were handled by the City due to contractor defaults.  One claim against the City for a sewer backup was handled.”  The Department also “handled one sidewalk and one vicious dog appeal to Director of Public Works.”
• In terms of debt management, the Finance Department’s “action plan” indicated that last year “Shaker Town Center Urban Renewal Bonds including bond rating Bonds issued 4/9/09 were rated AA+; General Capital note renewal Notes issued 5/7/09; $250,000 new nuisance abatement notes” were issued, with $500,000 paid off and a reduction in  interest rates.
• This year, the City plans to add Building, Communications and Outreach, Finance, Housing, Planning and Public Works to its “credit card program.”
• According to the Human Resources Department’s “action plan,” 6 full-time and 4 “regular part-time positions were filled” last year.  The department also created 2 new “grant-funded” job descriptions for the Health Department.
• The Communications and Outreach marketing communications manager was recommended last year as a participant of the CSU College of Urban Affairs leadership academy; Community Life Department director Pam Quinn was recommended as a participant of Lead Diversity at the   Diversity Center of Northeast Ohio.
• City properties were re-appraised at $44,246,936; they had been insured at $37,119,714, “excluding the Zalud building.”
• Last year, “there were 98 incidents/accidents involving actions of City employees.  In addition, there were 21 incidents of damage to City property and 20 patron injuries,” according to the Human Resources Department’s “action plan.”
• At the Landmark Commission meeting later this month, which will be a joint one with the Architectural Board of Review, on the agenda will be a door replacement for City Hall, a local landmark.  It is not clear from the agenda which of the 6 doors is under consideration for a “certificate of appropriateness.”
• The Finance Committee last week recommended to City Council that the City be allowed to use auctions on the Internet as a way to dispose of personal property no longer needed.
• City Council is expected to approve tonight (Monday) the second lowest bid for baseball and soccer spring and fall field maintenance.

Real Estate Report

As of yesterday (Sunday), Realtors had listed 221 single-family houses for sale* (excluding condominiums and townhomes) in Shaker Heights, as follows:

• $100,000 - $199,000: 78 (75 last issue)
• $200,000 - $299,000: 55 (49 last issue)
• $300,000 - $399,000: 26 (28 last issue)
• $400,000 - $499,000: 19 (18 last issue)
• $500,000 - $599,000: 15 (14 last issue)
• $600,000 - $699,000: 8 (6 last issue)
• $700,000 - $799,000: 4 (5 last issue)
• $800,000 - $899,000: 6 (5 last issue)
• $900,000 - $999,000: 1 (1 last issue)
• $1,000,000 - $1,999,000: 7 (7 last issue)
• $2,000,000 - $2,999,000: 2 (2 last issue)
• 3,000,000+: 0 (0 last issue)

In addition, there are 17 (16 last issue) houses priced under $100,000, for a grand total of 238. 

As of Friday, there were 20 foreclosure sales pending (including 0 condominiums) and listed on the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s web site.**  In addition to those, there are sometimes foreclosure sales listed by the U. S. District Court.

[Editor’s note:  TWIS has been reporting these numbers since March 12, 2007.]

 *210 last issue

**23 last issue; addresses include 14017 Ashwood, 3376 Avalon, 3714 Avalon, 3656 Chelton, 3356 Daleford, 22450 Douglas, 20041 Fairmount, 22549 Fairmount, 3702 Hildana, 3534 Ingleside, 3345 Lansmere, 3619 Lindholm, 3613 Ludgate, 3427 Milverton, 3616 Pennington, 3567 Riedham, 22320 South Woodland, 3597 Strandhill, 3741 Sudbury and 3566 Townley.  [Editor’s note: This week’s foreclosed properties include those listed for Sheriff’s sale on March 22 and 29, April 12, 19 and 26 and May 3.  Foreclosed properties are listed every week until they are sold or withdrawn; the total listed here, therefore, always includes some properties that have been listed in previous issues.] 

Following Up . . .

·         Streets: By April 15, the City will decide whether to issue $2 million in bonds or notes.

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This Week in Shaker©

An Independent E-Letter for the Residents of Shaker Heights, Ohio

Founded April 14, 2003

     Volume 8, Number 9                     Monday, March 15, 2010

Jane Wood, Editor                                                                  Street and Alley, Proofreaders

This Week in Shaker will usually be emailed once a week, on Sunday or Monday,
if news warrants.  Sometimes that schedule changes.
If you like it, pass it on; if you would like to be on the distribution list, email thisweekinshaker@sbcglobal.net. 

This issue has 12 pages.

News Briefs

• The library has applied for a grant from the Ohio State Extension program to “plant a small orchard” at Bertram Woods branch.  It has also applied for a grant to “partner with existing community garden groups” and to expand the “collection and programs in related subjects.”  Meanwhile, the Community Life (Recreation) Department intends to create an orchard “on Kenyon lot.  NSP [Neighborhood Stabilization Program] grant funded.”
• According to the minutes of the Library Board of Feb. 9, the library and the City are “moving forward with the Shaker Library Fest banners to be put up during Shaker Fest in April” on Lee Road and Chagrin and possibly on Warrensville and Shaker.  TWIS does not know what “Shaker Library Fest” is; “Shakerfest” is organized by the school district.
• Superintendent Mark Freeman told the Board of Education* last week that the district is “losing minority teachers and staff at a greater rate than hiring” and said it is continuing to “beef up” efforts.  He said frozen salaries made it more difficult to “get people to relocate.”  Board member Jennifer Mearns said she would be interested in knowing what outreach efforts are being made.
• The “Housing Council,” whose purpose is to review properties that have residential tax abatement, meets tomorrow (Tuesday).  Members are Council members Brian Gleisser, Nancy Moore and Lynn Ruffner; Marguerite Bibb, Phil Calabrese, Matt Lehman and Julie Voyzey.
• According to the Board of Education minutes of its Feb. 10 “special meeting,” the Board discussed “personnel, including succession planning” in executive session.  The minutes do not reflect what was said at the “special meeting,” although there was a “consensus to table any further discussion about alternative schools.”
• The Fire Department is planning an open house later this year.
• The Community Life (Recreation) Department intends to create a new playground for 2-5-year-olds on Menlo Road, and Chelton Park playground is to be expanded this year, according to the Community Life (Recreation) Department “action plan.”  The Ashby Tot Lot will be cleaned up and refurbished.  All are “NSP grant funded.”
• The Architectural Board of Review this morning (Monday) will consider an “exterior alteration to enclose the parking garage” at 20521 Chagrin Blvd.  CTL is the property owner.
• Ronald Fry of CWRU will present preliminary findings from “Imagine Shaker” at 7 p.m. tonight at the High School.  Fry’s contract is for $43,500, which includes the services of someone at CSU as well as CWRU grad students.  It is not clear how much implementing a “strategic plan,” which is to be written beginning this summer, will cost.
• As of last week, about 30 students had signed up for the International Baccalaureate program.
• School Board members Norman Bliss and Jennifer Mearns are forming a committee to look at business practices. 
• The Board of Education* last week accepted a bid of $51,145 from American Office Services for the “Middle School lock repainting project.”
• At the Board of Education* meeting last week, the treasurer’s report included this: “The encumbrances . . . are . . . higher than the prior year . . . [and] are attributable primarily to timing.  On a budget basis, total expenditures are $518,513 below budget, but encumbrances are $757,648 above budget, resulting in a net unfavorable budget variance of $239,135.”
• The Community Life (Recreation) Department plans to give monthly “e-rec updates” to PTO and community association presidents this year.
• The Finance Committee this morning (Monday) will consider a development agreement with Library Court Senior Housing.

·         The Communications and Outreach Department now reports to the Community Life and Health Committee.  After meeting for the last time in October 2004, the Communications and Outreach Committee ceased meeting altogether in 2005.  At that time, Council Member Brian Gleisser was the chair, and he and former Mayor Judy Rawson sent out a letter saying they would no longer schedule regular meetings of the committee, but would call on members as specific questions needed discussion. 

• According to the Feb. 25 minutes of the Community Life and Health Committee, which TWIS did not attend, traffic to the City’s web site from “prospective residents” is down.
• The Communications and Outreach Department is looking at the “hiring, training and development of a new Community Information Representative to work with school-age family prospects and to identify and establish new relationships with growth businesses which may be hiring new executives and prospective residents.”
• The Community Life (Recreation) Department will meet with representatives of Laurel School regarding a “new collaboration” for this year.
• Street resurfacing bids are due March 19; bids for T-shirts and uniforms are due March 26.

*Norman Bliss, Freda Levenson, Jennifer Mearns, Peter Robertson, Annette Sutherland

Survey Results Show Levy Has 50-50 Chance of Passing

Results of a telephone survey (the survey itself was not made available to TWIS) taken of 400 registered voters in January by the TRIAD Research Group, which has surveyed Shaker residents in the past, indicate the following (http://www.shaker.org/surveys):

·         It will be important to remind voters that the money will be used for classroom instruction and programs.

·         Voters need to know about the schools’ financial situation.

·         3/5 of voters think the schools have cut spending, but most think the cuts have only been minor.

·         The dollar cost of the school levy is a negative for voters in the district.

·         If voters think the Shaker schools need more money, they are very likely to support the levy.

·         The Shaker schools should target early voters.

·         The School Board received a good credibility rating.

·         Slightly more voters said the quality [of education] is worse today than said it is better, while a third think it is the same.

·         6 out of 7 voters continue to say they are informed about the Shaker Heights schools.

·         Need and affordability are both significant reasons for voting against the levy.

·         The Shaker Heights schools continue to receive very good ratings.  Nearly all of them either stayed the same or improved since 2006.

The report also said, “Our experience has shown that for a levy to have a good chance of passing, the initial level of support must be 55% or higher while the percent opposed must be 30% or lower.  This is because surveys measure what people say they will do and not their actual voting behavior.  The first vote results obtained here of 55/30 are right at that threshold, indicating that this levy has about a 50/50 chance of being successful.

“In addition, a significant portion of the support is ‘soft’ or ‘weak’ . . . one focus of the levy campaign must be to strengthen and reinforce the support of the For voters, especially the Weak For voters.”

According to TRIAD, the “overall purpose of the survey was to update voters’ attitudes towards the schools and assess the chances of passing a levy this year.”

In 2006, the results were very similar.  The headline in TWIS read, “School Survey Indicates Levy Has
Less Than 50/50 Chance of Passing.”  The levy passed.

The survey cost $21,600; it cost $21,300 in 2006.

Students Describe Minority Student Conference

Six minority students (3 young ladies and 3 young men) spoke to the Board of Education* last week about what they learned at a minority achievement conference in Chicago last fall and also gave their impressions of life at Shaker High.

Among other things, they told the Board it is “really hard to move up from CP [college prep] to Honors or AP” classes and suggested they were not encouraged to try as hard.  One young lady said, “Shaker refers to CP as Colored People’s classes.”  She added that it was difficult for a lot of students to “push themselves when we realize we won’t be supported in classrooms.  Counselors need to take a larger role.”

Another young lady said she noticed the difference between CP and AP classes: “Students don’t expect them to be as hard [and] teachers don’t expect you to work as hard.”  She characterized CP classes as “babysitting” and said achievement is “being pushed farther down.  CP classes are positive,” she said, but “[students] should be expected to do the basics.”  She said she knew teachers didn’t enjoy those classes, either.

The Board was interested in their remarks and asked a number of questions, including whether or not the district was providing enough resources.  Board president Norman Bliss said he looked forward to learning more about “MAC [Minority Achievement Committee] Scholars” and asked the seniors what their college plans were.  All said they were waiting to hear from colleges to which they had applied.

In September 2005, TWIS visited a number of classrooms at Shaker High.  At that time, the AP and Honors classes were mostly Caucasian, and appeared to be doing more difficult work.  Students in college prep classes seemed less engaged.  Also at that time, academic advisor Mary Lynne McGovern, who is also the MAC Scholars advisor, told TWIS that aside from a few “general level” science classes, all courses were described as “college prep” (available in grades 9 - 12), “honors” (available in grades 9 - 12) or “advanced placement” (available in grades 11 - 12, plus history and math in grade 10).—TWIS Vol. 3, Issue 32, Sept. 5, 2005.

*Norman Bliss, Freda Levenson, Jennifer Mearns, Peter Robertson, Annette Sutherland

Council Takes No Action on Deer

After City Council* last week heard about deer from an employee of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and from Greg Miller of the City’s outsourced animal control service, it decided there wasn’t much to do about the problem here, if there is one.  Miller told them you can do “different things” to slow deer down, but those “won’t solve the problem completely.”

According to Mayor Earl Leiken, the matter was under discussion because he and members of City Council had “heard from a number of residents expressing concern over the number of deer” in the City.  He said, “Each of us has seen deer,” noting that sightings have come with “increasing regularity” and that he was concerned about traffic collisions.

However, after an hour’s presentation that included a PowerPoint on “White-Tailed Deer Biology and Management,” Council members agreed the deer situation in Shaker Heights is not that severe.

Scott Peters of ODNR said the state’s deer population has increased from 17,000 in 1970 to 700,000.  The animals are eliminated through a variety of measures, including deterrents and controlled hunting, he said.  He mentioned Solon and Pepper Pike, which have significantly more deer than Shaker, and noted that Shaker Heights is “not adjacent to any community that is doing controlled hunting.”  He said sharp-shooting, which Solon originally used, costs approximately $500 per animal.  He said Pepper Pike was the only city in Ohio using “trap and euthanize,” which costs about $400 per deer.

Miller said in 2008 and 2009, Shaker had 11 reports of deer, and so far this year, there has been 1 report, for an injured deer.  “15 years down the road,” he said, there could be up to 20 accidents a year from deer, noting that with the speed limit at 35 mph, there could be significant damage to the car, but little likelihood of injury to a person.  He also said Lyme disease was a “big issue to the east of us,” but not here.  According to a Public Works Department spokesperson, there were 5 dead deer in Shaker Heights in 2006, and each year there has been a “small increase.”

Two residents spoke about the problem, one saying she had reported an injured deer on Fernway Road,  but had difficulty reaching anyone, and another who lived on Rochester Road who said she thought all the Shaker Heights deer lived in her yard.

Last fall, TWIS emailed Public Works Department director Bill Boag, asking if the City were considering a policy on deer.  He responded as follows: “We are currently monitoring the situation and working with ODNR and our Animal Control people on Shaker’s deer population and will continue to do so.  At this time, they do not feel that Shaker’s deer population requires us to develop a special policy.”

That query was prompted by a deer sign on Shaker Boulevard, noted by a TWIS reader, who recently suggested another sign be placed on South Park near the Nature Center.  According to Boag, the deer signs “went up during the second half of 2008.”

Leiken said the City will continue to monitor the situation.

A story in the Plain Dealer in January discussed “deer culling:” http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/01/no_deer_culling_this_year_in_s.html

The minutes of the Solon City Council meeting of April 20, 2009 (posted online) said Solon would co-sponsor a seminar regarding options for deer-proofing gardens.   There was no discussion at last week’s meeting of anything similar for Shaker residents.

*Jim Brady, Al Foster, Brian Gleisser, Nancy Moore, Lynn Ruffner, Earl Williams, Rob Zimmerman

6 Nuisance Abatement Properties Recommended

The Neighborhood Revitalization Committee, which met last week (TWIS did not attend), has approved* the following 6 properties for nuisance abatement (last year at this time, 13 were approved; 27 were approved the year before that, and 44 the year before that).  Of these, 3 are vacant, 4 are in foreclosure and 3 are owner-occupied.  None is a rental.  Estimated cost of repairs does not include the City’s 22% service charge.  Funding for the work will be through bonds sold to the Cuyahoga County treasurer.

17933 Chagrin, single unit in a duplex owned and occupied by Billy Goodman.  Tax value: $64,800; estimated cost of repairs: $7,250

22700 Holmwood, single-family, owned and occupied by Mark D. Ross.  Tax value: $225,200; estimated cost of repairs: $11,350

17026 Kenyon, single unit in a duplex owned by Michelle Jones of Chicago.  Tax value: $124,600; estimated cost of repairs: $6,725

3666 Menlo, two-family owned by Ella Rowdy, now deceased.  Tax value: $123,300; estimated cost of repairs: $850

3451 Milverton, single-family owned by Greggory [sic] Perrin; tax foreclosure is pending with $15,883 owed.  Tax value: $113,900; estimated cost of repairs: $850

3722 Normandy, single-family owned and occupied by Jeanne Madison.  Tax value: $133,600; estimated cost of repairs: $5,000

Estimated total cost if all work is done by City contractors is $32,025 (last year it was $193,650; the year before that it was $545,490; and the year before that it was $800,955).  Upon completion, property owners will be charged for the total cost of the work, plus the 22% “administrative fee.”  If payment is not made in 30 days, the City will file a lien against the property. 

*Legislation was enacted in 2005 that allows the Neighborhood Revitalization Committee to recommend nuisance properties without the approval of City Council.  Council, however, awards contracts for the work to be done.

City Seeks Funds for Lomond Sewer Design

City Council will be asked to approve $55,000 to design the Lomond Boulevard sanitary sewer improvement project (from Lindholm to Strandhill), as recommended by the Safety and Public Works Committee last week.  (TWIS did not attend that meeting.)  It is on this morning’s (Monday’s) Finance Committee agenda.

The City’s “consulting engineer” (GPD Group) would design the project, which would replace approximately 3,000 of lineal feet of existing 12” and 15” sanitary sewers with 18” sanitary sewers because the existing sewer does not have enough capacity.

The project would also eliminate the existing “over/under” sewer system on Lomond as well as the combined manholes in the replaced section.  The City would also replace approximately 100 house service laterals and test tees.

Last fall, the City applied for and was denied $1,050,770 in grant funding for the sewer project from the Ohio Public Works Commission.  The Public Works Department thinks it has a better chance of getting a grant if the design is complete and the project is “shovel-ready.”

School Board Adopts Revision to

‘School Ceremonies and Patriotic Observances’ Policy

The Board of Education* last week approved a revision to a policy on “school ceremonies and patriotic observances” that eliminates the following 2 sentences:

·         “Recognition should be given to national secular holidays through educational activities.”

·         “Students who legitimately exercise their rights shall not interfere with the conduct of the ceremonies and observances.”

The revision also includes substituting the words “education and observance” for “study and celebration” in the following sentence: “The values of our national heritage, our traditions, our national observances and our respect for multi-cultural contributions to our society are emphasized through…….”

The policy was originally adopted Feb. 14, 1989, and revised Dec. 12 of the same year.

*Norman Bliss, Freda Levenson, Jennifer Mearns, Peter Robertson, Annette Sutherland

Wrapping up the Budget

This Week in Shaker concludes its examination of the budget of City departments.  All information has been taken from the 2010 Preliminary Budget produced by the Finance Department and approved by City Council in December (estimated revenue and expenditures have changed and are reflected below, if possible) and from the 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006 and 2005 preliminary budgets, which may not reflect actual revenue or expenditures.

The City’s budget is a public record that can be perused in the Finance Department at City Hall or at the Shaker Heights Public Library.

For the second time since TWIS has been presenting these budgets, there is no detailed information on salaries and wages, just a lump sum for each department. 

2010 revenue: $37,707,413 (general fund)    2010 expenditures: $38,956,866 (general fund)

2009 revenue: $36,412,374                           2009 expenditures: $38,489,751

2008 revenue: $38,437,086                           2008 expenditures: $39,121,163

2007 revenue: $37,882,797                           2007 expenditures: $37,597,569      

2006 revenue: $34,893,000                           2006 expenditures: $35,626,000

2005 revenue: $33,678,940                           2005 expenditures: $34,015,200

The series concludes with the Mayor’s Office, City Council and the Court.  Previous issues focused on the Building, Communications and Outreach, Community Life (Recreation), Finance, Fire, Health, Housing Inspection, Human Resources, Information Technology, Law, Neighborhood Revitalization, Planning, Police and Public Works Departments and the CAO’s office.

Mayor’s Office

Total Budget: $217,202

(2009: $229,676)

(2008: $224,684)

(2007: $200,200)

(2006: $197,300)

(2005: $187,700)

 (less $9,700 in revenue)

(2009: $9,630)

(2008: $8,000)

(2007: $7,900)

(2006: $6,300)

(2005: $3,400)

Salaries: $137,900; 145,356 last year

Mayor                                     $75,000 (2009, 2008: 75,000) (2007, 2006, 2005: 63,000)

Exec. assistant                        ? (2009: ?) (2008: 61,129) (2007: 57,690) (2006: 55,800)

(2005: 51,500)  

Student intern (12 wks)          not listed (2009: not listed) (2008: 3,500) (2007: 3,210)

(2006, 2005, 2004: 3,200)

Benefits                                  $52,100 (2009: 57,129) (2008: 55,905) (2007: 47,400)  

(2006: 46,400) (2005: 37,600) 

Longevity*                              not listed (2009: not listed) (2008, 2007, 2006, 2005: 400)

Merit raises                            not listed (2009: not listed) (2008: 1,450) (2007, 2006: 1,400)     

(2005: 400)                                

Travel                                     $3,594 (2009: 3,594) (2008, 2007, 2006: 3,000) (2005: 4,000)  

Training                                  $165 (2009: 165) (2008, 2007, 2006, 2005: 500)               

Employee relations                 $6,456 (2009: 6,456) (2008: 5,000) (2007, 2006: 4,500)                    

(2005: 5,500)  

Special services                      $100 (2009: 100) (2008: 500) (2007, 2006, 2005: 300)      

Communications                    $600 (2009: 600) (2008, 2007, 2006, 2005: 1,000)

Advertising &

  printing                                 $1,869 (2009: 1,869) (2008: 2,500) (2007, 2006, 2005: 3,000)        

Miscellaneous

  contractual serv.                   $6,920 (2009: 6,920) (2008: 8,200) (2007, 2006: 7,600)                     (2005: 9,100)                                                            

Office supplies                                    $3,070 (2009: 3,070) (2008, 2007, 2006: 2,300) (2005: 3,300)  

Operating supplies                 $2,158 (2009: 2,335) (2008, 2007, 2006, 2005: 1,500)       

Minor equipment                    $500 (2009: 500) (2008, 2007, 2006, 2005: 2,500)

Equipment maint.                   not listed (2009: not listed) (2008, 2007, 2006, 2005: 200) 

Vehicle maint.                         $220 (2009: 220) (2008, 2007, 2006, 2005: 100)   

Fuel                                         $1,304 (2009: 1,305) (2008, 2007, 2006, 2005: 500)          

Vehicular supplies                  $46 (2009: 48) (2008, 2007, 2006, 2005: 100)      

*Employees who have served 5 or more years were previously entitled to a modest bonus, based on the number of years of service.

City Council

Total Budget: $142,346*

                           (2009: $131,016)*

               (2008: $136,141)*

(2007: $134,000)*

(2006: $131,600)*

(2005: $135,200)*

Salaries: $105,100; 105,100 last year

7 members                              $63,000 (9,000 each; not noted in budget)

(2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005: 50,400)

Merit increases                      not listed (2009: not listed) (2008: 3,141)

Benefits                                  $22,200 (2009: 22,747) (2008: 22,200)  (2007: 22,200) 

(2006: 21,500) (2005: 21,200) 

*Some clerical help is charged to this budget.

Travel                                     $3,298 (2008: 307) (2008, 2007, 2006: 1,400) (2005: 3,400)  

Training                                  not listed (2009: not listed) (2008, 2007, 2006: 700)

(2005: 4,200)  

Employee relations                 not listed (2009: not listed) (2008, 2007, 2006, 2005: 1,200)          

Special services                      not listed (2009: not listed) (2008, 2007, 2006, 2005: 1,600)           

Advertising &

  printing                                 $1,322 (2009: 1,322) (2008: 3,900) (2007: 1,600)

(2006, 2005: 3,900)

Miscellaneous

contractual services                 $4,450 (2009: 4,455) (2008, 2007, 2006, 2005: 5,100)             

Office supplies                                    $6,376 (2009: 9,666) (2008, 2007, 2006, 2005: 3,500)

Rentals                                                $200 (2009: 200)           

Municipal Court

The Shaker Heights Municipal Court covers the Cities of Shaker Heights, University Heights, Beachwood, Pepper Pike and Hunting Valley.

The following budget was prepared by the Finance Department and approved by City Council. 

Total Budget: $2,287,581

(2009: $2,694,064)

(2008: $2,217,134)

(2007: $2,330,900)

(2006: $2,211,500)

                   (2005: $2,165,500)

(less $2,977,300 in anticipated revenue)

            (2009: $2,899,609)

            (2008: $1,920,050)

            (2007:                 ?)

            (2006: $1,585,700)

            (2005: $1,462,200)

Salaries: $1,666,600; 1,739,685 last year

Judge*                                    ? (2009: ?) (2008: 112,500) (2007, 2006, 2005: 107,450)   

Clerk of Court*          ? (2009: ?) (2008: 93,016) (2007: 92,233) (2006: 89,200) (2005: 84,300)

Chief Magistrate*      ?   (2008: 116,164) (2007: 112,367) (2006: 108,700) (2005: 102,700)

Magistrate II              not listed (2009: ?) (2008: 107,870) (2007: 104,350) (2006: 98,500)    

(2005: 93,100)

Magistrate I (2010: 2, 1 p/t;

2008: p/t)*                  ? (2009: ?) (2008: 11,517) (2007: 11,417) (2006: 11,100) (2005: 10,100)

Chief bailiff                  ? (2009: ?) (2008: 88,533) (2007: 85,650) (2006: 82,900) (2005: 78,300)

Magistrate mediator

  (p-t)                           not listed (2009, 2008: not listed) (2007: 34,400)   (2006: 33,300) (2005: 32,000)

Mgr. of inf. systems    not listed (2009: not listed) (2008: 78,250) (2007: 77,590) (2006: 75,100)   

(2005: 71,000)

Chief probation officer* ? (2009: ?) (2008: 67,480) (2007: 65,270) (2006: 63,100) (2005: 59,700)

Probation officer (4)    ? (2009: ?) (2008: 192,896) (2007:154,680-3) (2006: 147,300)  

(2005: 141,600)

Probation officer (p/t) not listed (2009: ?) (2008: not listed) (2007: 16,990) (2006: 16,500)   

(2005: 15,900)

Deputy bailiff (III) (2) ? (2009: ?) (2008: 113,590) (2007: 112,620) (2006: 107,400)   

(2005: 103,000)

Deputy bailiff (II) (1;

2 in 2009)                    ? (2009: ?) (2008: 44,350) (2007: 43,970) (2006: 41,500)   

(2005: 40,200)

Deputy bailiff I (3 p/t;

2009: 2 p/t)                 ? (2009: ?) (2008: 42,602) (2007: 46,660) (2006: 44,800)   

(2005: 38,100)

Administrative mgr.

(2; 2 in 2009;

1 in 2008)                    ? (2009: ?) (2008: 55,380) (2007: 54,910) (2006: 51,800)   

(2005: 50,300)

Spec. proj. mgr

(p-t in 2008)                not listed (2009: ?) (2008: 3,000) (2007: 6,840) (2006: 13,300)   

(2005: 27,000)

Chief dep. clerk/ acting

  mgr/systems mgr.     not listed (2009: ?) (2008: 58,190)

Accounting mgr.         not listed (2009, 2008: not listed) (2007: 56,280) (2006: 54,500) (2005: 51,500)

Admin. secretary        not listed (2009: ?) (2008: 42,210) (2007: 40,830) (2006: 37,600) (2005: 37,700)

Deputy clerk (‘office sup.’

 in 2010; 2009: 2)       ? (2009: ?) (2008: 80,335) (2007: 93,550) (2006: 89,400) (2005: 85,600)

Deputy clerk II (9)     ? (2009: ?) (2008: 356,198 ) (2007: 188,940-6, 1 p-t) (2006: 202,300)   

(2005: 195,300)

Deputy clerk II (3)     not listed (2009: ?) (2008: not listed) (2007: 122,890) (2006: 118,900)   

(2005: 115,400)

Student interns (p/t)   ?   (2008: 8,030) (2007: 8,040) (2006: 6,200) (2005: 6,200)

Acting judges              ? (2009: ?) (2008, 2007, 2006, 2005: 10,000)       

Deputy bailiff (p/t)       not listed (2009, 2008: not listed) (2007: 5,100) (2006: 4,900)     

(2005: 4,800)

Legal intern (2 p/t)     ? (2009: ?) (2008: not listed) (2007: 34,600) (2006: ?) (2005: 25,000)

Clerk typist (2 p-t)      not listed (2009, 2008: not listed) (2007: 10,810) (2006: 10,800)  

(2005: 10,800)

Data entry/typist         not listed (2009: ?) (2008: 13,738)

Student intern (p/t)     not listed (2009, 2008, 2007, 2006: not listed) (2005: 4,200)

Chief deputy clerk

  (info systems mgr.)      not listed (2009: ?)

Executive asst.                       ?

Magistrate (p/t)          ?

Deputy clerk I (2)       ?

*The County pays 40% of the benefits for these positions; the City pays the remainder (in 2009, this was also true of ‘Magistrate II’ and chief bailiff; chief probation officer is new this year; for the judge, in 2008, State paid $47,750, County paid 40%, and City paid 60% of remainder).

Benefits                      $615,200 (2009: 649,364) (2008: 609,300) (2007: 549,600)

(2006: 538,200) (2005: 501,800)

Longevity*                  not listed (2009: not listed) (2008: 13,500) (2007: 11,100) (2006: 11,200)

(2005: 11,200)

Sick leave conversion            not listed (2009: not listed) (2008: 6,000) (2007: 5,200) (2006: 5,000)

(2005: 4,800)

Merit increases          not listed (2009: not listed) (2008: 5,000) (2007: 5,220)     

(2006: 5,300) (2005: 5,300)

The following do not include indigent driver alcohol treatment, housing case services, court computer, clerk’s computerization, court community service fund, alternate dispute resolution fund, court security project or indigent driver interlock.

Travel                         $4,764 (2009: 6,500) (2008: 6,000) (2007: 10,900) (2006: 9,400) 

(2005: 10,900)

Training                      $2,250 (2009: 5,900) (2008: 5,000) (2007: 8,100) (2006: 8,100)  

(2005: 9,600)

Employee relations     $2,500 (2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005: 2,500)

Communications         $2,195 (2009: 2,200) (2008, 2007, 2006, 2005: 2,500)

Rents & leases                       $9,457 (2009: 10,000) (2008: 9,900) (2007: 7,700) (2006, 2005: 5,500)          

postage machine, copiers

Special services          $3,000 (2009: 3,000) (2008: 3,500) (2007: 41,500) (2006: 44,000) 

(2005: 34,500)

interpreters, appraisers, temporary help

Equipment maint.       $2,833 (2009: 3,000) (2008: 6,000) (2007: 16,000) (2006: 14,000) (2005:19,000)

Advertising &

  printing                     $16,500 (2009: 16,500) (2008, 2007, 2006: 18,500) (2005: 19,000)

Miscellaneous

  contract. serv.           $4,703 (2009: 11,400)

Miscellaneous                        not listed (2009: not listed) (2008, 2007, 2006: 4,000) (2005: 4,500)

Office supplies                        $36,672 (2009: 47,000) (2008: 45,800) (2007: 61,000) (2006: 9,000)

(2005: 57,500)

postage, miscellaneous

Operating supplies     $5,742 (2009: 4,900) (2008: 9,000) (2007, 2006, 2005: 18,000)      

Repair & maint supp. $974 (2009, 2008: 1,500) (2007, 2006, 2005: 2,500)          

Minor equip.               $6.978 (2009: 7,000) (2008: 4,000) (2007, 2006, 2005: 10,000)      

Bus. & commun.

  equipment                 not listed (2009, 2008: not listed) (2007: 75,000)   (2006: 15,000)   

(2005: 50,000)

Additions &

  improvements           $0 (2009, 2008: 3,000) (2007: 83,000) (2006: 8,000) (2005: 6,000)

             not detailed

*Employees who have served 5 or more years have previously been entitled to a modest bonus, based on the number of years of services.

According to the Court’s annual report, “Shaker Heights requested that the court raise costs to cover a greater portion of the expense of its operations from those who find themselves ‘using the court’—unsuccessful litigants and defendants . . . court costs were raised an average of $50 per case beginning in March 2009 . . .”

Real Estate Report

As of yesterday (Sunday), Realtors had listed 210 single-family houses for sale* (excluding condominiums and townhomes) in Shaker Heights, as follows:

• $100,000 - $199,000: 75 (62 last issue)
• $200,000 - $299,000: 49 (49 last issue)
• $300,000 - $399,000: 28 (28 last issue)
• $400,000 - $499,000: 18 (18 last issue)
• $500,000 - $599,000: 14 (14 last issue)
• $600,000 - $699,000: 6 (5 last issue)
• $700,000 - $799,000: 5 (5 last issue)
• $800,000 - $899,000: 5 (5 last issue)
• $900,000 - $999,000: 1 (1 last issue)
• $1,000,000 - $1,999,000: 7 (6 last issue)
• $2,000,000 - $2,999,000: 2 (2 last issue)
• 3,000,000+: 0 (0 last issue)

In addition, there are 16 (21 last issue) houses priced under $100,000, for a grand total of 226. 

As of Friday, there were 23 foreclosure sales pending (including 3 condominiums) and listed on the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s web site.**  In addition to those, there are sometimes foreclosure sales listed by the U. S. District Court.

[Editor’s note:  TWIS has been reporting these numbers since March 12, 2007.]

 *195 last issue

**23 last issue; addresses include 14017 Ashwood, 3376 Avalon, 3714 Avalon, 3656 Chelton, 22450 Douglas, 13800 Fairhill, 22375 Fairmount, 22549 Fairmount, 3702 Hildana, 3619 Lindholm, 3613 Ludgate, 3697 Menlo, 3728 Menlo, 3427 Milverton, 18512 Newell, 3616 Pennington, 3567 Riedham, 22320 South Woodland, 3597 Strandhill, 3741 Sudbury, 3627 Sutherland, 17 Sutton Pl. and 3333 Warrensville.  [Editor’s note: This week’s foreclosed properties include those listed for Sheriff’s sale on March 15, 22 and 29 and April 5, 12 and 19.  Foreclosed properties are listed every week until they are sold or withdrawn; the total listed here, therefore, always includes some properties that have been listed in previous issues.] 

Following Up . . .

·         Teacher Retirements: George Harley (English, High School); Ellen Kelly (English, High School); Eugene Kotmel (technology, High School); Mary Louise Cesa (health, Middle School); Lyman Lawrence (social studies, Middle School); Sondra Saddler (Middle School); Gary Raymont (Boulevard); Renata Griffin (Fernway); Theodosia Husband (Lomond); Norris Ross (Fernway); and Brenda Spivey (Boulevard), all effective at the end of the school year.

ADVERTISING

This Week in Shaker©

An Independent E-Letter for the Residents of Shaker Heights, Ohio

Founded April 14, 2003

     Volume 7, Number 37                  Monday, November 2, 2009

Jane Wood, Editor                                                                 Street and Alley, Proofreaders

This Week in Shaker will be emailed every Sunday night or Monday morning,
if news warrants.  Sometimes that schedule changes.
If you like it, pass it on; if you would like to be on the distribution list, email thisweekinshaker@sbcglobal.net. 

This issue has 4 pages.

News Briefs

• 650 Gold (http://www.650gold.com/), 16933 Chagrin Blvd., is a new occupant of the Shaker Towne Centre strip shopping center.
• Election Day is tomorrow (Tuesday).  Running for Council (vote for 3) are Brian Gleisser, Richard Pace, Isaac Powell, Lynn Ruffner and Rob Zimmerman; running for Board of Education (vote for 3) are Norman Bliss, Drexel Feeling, Jennifer Mearns and Annette Sutherland.
• The League of Women Voters’ web site (http://shakerlwv.org/) has posted links to videos of City Council and Board of Education candidates’ opening statements made at a recent forum. 
• Walgreen’s has been granted another liquor permit allowing it to sell beer “only in original sealed containers for carry-out only” and wine and “certain pre-packaged mixed drinks in sealed containers for carry-out” at 16400 Chagrin Blvd., across from the Main Library.  It previously received a similar permit for 20200 Chagrin Blvd.
• RTA is going before the Architectural Board of Review this morning (Monday) for a “door alteration” to accommodate a snow removal machine at its substation at the end of the Van Aken line.

Fiber Optic Cable May Be
Coming to a Right-of-Way Near You

City Council* last week approved granting a license to Northeastern ITS to install underground conduit and fiber optic cable in the City’s right-of-way (median strips and tree lawns) that would enter Shaker from Cleveland Heights in Fairmount Boulevard near Eaton, go to Warrensville Center Road, turn south down Warrensville and turn east on South Woodland to Sulgrave Road and the Beachwood border.

According to a memo from chief counsel Bill Gruber, “There will be 3, 5’x 8’ hand holes used in the route through Shaker Heights.  They will be labeled as Northeastern ITS, LLC along with an 800 contact phone number.”

The memo noted that Northeastern “does not intend to serve any customers in the City (or in the County at this time.)”

Gruber told Council the cable was “just passing through the region.”

The City will receive no fee from Northeastern, according to Gruber, who said the company will pay for a permit only.  There will apparently be little disruption, “mostly directional boring” and “some trenching.”  The cable will be installed “through a number of communities in the County.”

Council member Jim Brady (councilmanbrady@gmail.com), who also raised questions about fees and construction issues, said, “We don’t really have a choice.”

*Jim Brady, Al Foster, Brian Gleisser, Nancy Moore, Lynn Ruffner, Earl Williams, Rob Zimmerman

Following Up . . .

• Coventry Pointe Condominiums: The Architectural Board of Review will do a preliminary review of the development this morning.  The website TWIS cited last week no longer mentions this project.  The condos are proposed at the corner of Shaker and Coventry, on the north side of Shaker, directly across Haddam Road from Moreland Courts.  Coventry Pointe, LLC, bought the property at 14001 Coventry Rd. in 2008 for $240,000.
• Van Aken Cut-Through: City Council* last week approved eliminating the vehicular cut-through of the Van Aken median strip just west of Farnsleigh Rd. as requested by RTA.  The existing pedestrian access will be maintained.  According to a memo from the Planning Department, a recent study concluded that “even a 1-way, un-signalized crossover is in the ‘catastrophic’ hazard rating level.”  Although the memo says, “The City Planning Commission approved the case with the condition that there be less parking and more landscaping” than the original proposal, 10 new parking spaces will be added on the south side, which may be used by RTA riders and apartment building residents.  5 of the existing 7 trees will be saved.  [Ed. note: In 1990, the City modified 2 existing cut-throughs and created a third on Warrensville Center Road between Farnsleigh and South Woodland.]
• CVS:  City Council* learned last week that recent survey and title work revealed that the City owns “a small strip of land along Chagrin Boulevard adjacent to the westerly portion of the [proposed CVS] site.”  According to a memo, “This strip is not needed by the City, and we desire to quit-claim this long, narrow piece of land to CVS” without competitive bidding.  According to Economic Development Department director Patrick Campbell, the property is “in no man’s land” and “only came to our attention within the last 6 months or so.”  He said the property had been “reserved for road widening, which will never happen.”  [Ed. note: The widening of Chagrin Boulevard from Farnsleigh Road east to I-271 occurred in the late 1980s, when the City asked the Ohio Department of Transportation to add a lane to Chagrin between Farnsleigh and Warrensville Center as part of the ill-fated Van Aken project; in the early 1990s, a new traffic lane was added in front of Shaker Towne Centre, “rebuilding a better transition from 4 to 2 lanes between Avalon and Normandy,” according to the January/February 1991 issue of Shaker Magazine; 3 left-turn slots were also added.  During the widening of Chagrin between Lee and Avalon, wiring for electric utility lines and the street lighting system was to have been installed underground.]   “A development agreement for this development will be brought to Council for action next month,” the memo said.  “The development agreement will allow the City to collect Tax Increment Financing (TIF) revenues on this new investment.”
• JCU Student Housing:  City Council* last week placed on “second reading” an amendment to the zoning ordinance that would limit the expansion of student housing in the City.  According to a memo, John Carroll University has purchased 4 apartment buildings in the Fairmount Circle area of the City “and the University is believed to be in the process of purchasing a 5th . . . In addition, 2 of the 4 buildings are being rented through the University’s Student Life office, and students living in the apartment buildings are being offered meal plans through the University.”  Mayor Earl Leiken told Council that “discussions [with JCU] are continuing.”  The amendment will go to Council 1 more time, and a public hearing is scheduled Nov. 9.
• Outside Legal Counsel:  City Council* last week approved increasing the “maximum potential hourly rate to $225/hr. for specialized legal services.”  The “standard rate will remain at $175/hour.”
• Library Court Apartments: Plans will be re-submitted to the Architectural Board of Review this morning.  As noted last week, a public hearing (site plan review) will be held by the City Planning Commission on Wednesday.
• IT Budgets: According to an email from School District treasurer Bryan Christman, “The combined budget for both the IT and the Data Processing divisions for 2009 totaled $1.42 million, including a combined $426,000 for salaries and wages.”   Christman told TWIS that figure includes all telephone costs, including monthly telephone bills; it does not include benefits.  As reported last week, the City spends $342,320 and the library spends $260,204, including salaries and benefits, on IT.  Library director Luren Dickinson emailed that $144,300 of the library’s IT costs are for membership in CLEVNET, a consortium of libraries in 9 northern Ohio counties.  Membership fees are expected to be less next year.

*Jim Brady, Al Foster, Brian Gleisser, Nancy Moore, Lynn Ruffner, Earl Williams, Rob Zimmerman

Real Estate Report

As of yesterday (Sunday), Realtors had listed 229 single-family houses for sale* (excluding condominiums and townhomes) in Shaker Heights, as follows:

• $100,000 - $199,000: 80 (77 last issue)
• $200,000 - $299,000: 53 (57 last issue)
• $300,000 - $399,000: 29 (27 last issue)
• $400,000 - $499,000: 19 (20 last issue)
• $500,000 - $599,000: 14 (14 last issue)
• $600,000 - $699,000: 7 (8 last issue)
• $700,000 - $799,000: 7 (7 last issue)
• $800,000 - $899,000: 4 (5 last issue)
• $900,000 - $999,000: 4 (4 last issue)
• $1,000,000 - $1,999,000: 7 (7 last issue)
• $2,000,000 - $2,999,000: 2 (2 last issue)
• 3,000,000+: 0 (0 last issue)

In addition, there are 25 (25 last issue) houses priced under $100,000, for a grand total of 254. 

As of Friday, there were 29 foreclosure sales pending (including 8 condominiums) and listed on the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s web site.**  In addition to those, there are sometimes foreclosure sales listed by the U. S. District Court.

[Editor’s note:  TWIS has been reporting these numbers since March 12, 2007.]

*228 last issue

**29 last issue; addresses include 16625 Aldersyde, 17623 Chagrin, 3536 Daleford, 3663 Daleford, 22450 Douglas, 3598 Glencairn, 22700 Holmwood, 3450 Ingleside, 3292 Milverton, 3585 Normandy, 3601 Normandy, 17600 Parkland, 3618 Rolliston, 20306 Scottsdale, 18231 Sherrington, 3348 Sutton, 3367 Sutton, 15610 Van Aken #10, 15610 Van Aken #27, 15820 Van Aken, 15820 Van Aken #103, 16100 Van Aken #402, 19101 Van Aken #522, 2705 Warrensville, 3271 Warrensville #2A, 3333 Warrensville #204, 3158 Warrington, 17408 Winslow and 17705-07 Winslow.  [Editor’s note: This week’s foreclosed properties include those listed for Sheriff’s sale on Nov. 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30 and Dec. 7.  Foreclosed properties are listed every week until they are sold or withdrawn; the total listed here, therefore, always includes some properties that have been listed in previous issues.] 

The following commercial properties are for sale: gas station, 3746 Lee; Tower East (designed by Walter Gropius), 20600 Chagrin; 3393 Warrensville Center (“redevelopment opportunity”—“The owner will consider leasing, ground leasing, joint venture or selling the property,” which “sits at the signalized intersection of Warrensville Center Road and Farnsleigh Road, across the street from Van Aken Shopping Center”); Kingsbury Building, 3427 Lee (corner of Van Aken); Warren Gardens, 3610 Warrensville; Lewis Electronics, 3536 Lee: http://www.loopnet.com/Ohio/Shaker-Heights-Commercial-Real-Estate/

ADVERTISING

If you are interested in advertising, email thisweekinshaker@sbcglobal.net for an ad specification sheet.  TWIS does not accept political ads.   All ads will be placed at the end of the newsletter.

This Week in Shaker©

An Independent E-Letter for the Residents of Shaker Heights, Ohio

Founded April 14, 2003

     Volume 7, Number 35                  Monday, October 19, 2009

Jane Wood, Editor                                                                 Street and Alley, Proofreaders

This Week in Shaker will be emailed every Sunday night or Monday morning,
if news warrants.  Sometimes that schedule changes.
If you like it, pass it on; if you would like to be on the distribution list, email thisweekinshaker@sbcglobal.net. 

This issue has 6 pages.

Corrections and Clarifications

A reader has advised TWIS that an address was incorrect on last week’s Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s web page (it has since been corrected).  Up for Sheriff’s sale is 16625 Aldersyde Rd., not 16225.  TWIS regrets the Sheriff’s error and is pleased it was fixed.

Regarding the item about the Walgreen’s liquor permit, chief counsel William Gruber has advised TWIS that “City Council has no authority to approve or disapprove liquor permits.  Council has only the ability to object to a liquor permit on fairly narrow grounds under State law and request a hearing.”  As noted in the previous issue, TWIS did not attend the Council meeting at which the liquor permit was discussed.

News Briefs

• The school district paid Landau Public Relations $10,500 in September, for, according to treasurer Bryan Christman, “an internal communications audit.”  Last year, the City entered into a $10,000 contract with Landau for “crisis communication assistance.”  At that time, TWIS could not determine when the contract was signed or its duration (Vol. 6, Issue 20, May 26, 2008). 
• School superintendent Mark Freeman told the Board of Education* last week that Title I is “in jeopardy.”
• Following a lengthy power point presentation on “financial planning and budgeting,” the Board of Education* last week approved a 5-year financial forecast (June 30, 2010 – June 30, 2014) that assumes approval of a property tax levy “with a projected yield equivalent of at least 9.9 mills in 2010 and again in 2012,” among other things.  The forecast for 2009 – 2013 is on the school district’s web site.
• Tomorrow (Tuesday) morning’s Finance Committee agenda includes “authorizing the employment of outside legal counsel at a rate of up to $225/hour” and authorizing a license agreement to install conduit and fiber optic cable in the City’s right-of-way.
• The Board of Education* last week approved policy revisions on incapacity of treasurer, incapacity of superintendent and evaluation of instructional programs, and placed on “first reading” policy revisions on fiscal management goals, annual budget and appropriation measures, long-term financial planning, inventories and prohibition of student harassment and bullying.
• According to the Public Works Department’s “action plan,” a fence behind City Hall will be repaired in second half of the year.

*Norman Bliss, Drexel Feeling, Freda Levenson, Peter Robertson, Annette Sutherland

Board of Ed Offers Suggestions for ‘Fact Book’; Achievement Gap Re-Surfaces

At its meeting last week, the Board of Education* talked with Dale Whittington, director of research and evaluation; Bernice Stokes, director of elementary education; and James Paces, director of curriculum; about the “Accountability and Fact Book”** and made some suggestions as to what might be added.

Whittington told the Board she uses multiple sources, including the report card, to gather data.  She said the “Fact Book” has been in existence for 10 years, and last year she began meetings “to determine how to enhance it.”  She passed around a summary to Board members, but not to members of the audience.

Whittington would like to add the following:

• demographics by school
• foster care information
• kindergarten readiness
• results of a test everybody takes (TWIS does not know its name)
• a summary of the “school climate” survey

Paces and Stokes suggested adding a category related to the homeless.

In her presentation, Whittington noted “there is a group that bounces back and forth [between public and private schools] that is almost impossible to keep track of.”  She said she looks at “continuous enrollment.”

While Whittington and superintendent Mark Freeman were receptive to Board members’ suggestions, Freeman noted that the “Fact Book” might not be the appropriate place for some of them.

Board member Freda Levenson had several suggestions: looking at “how kids are doing in AP” and how that enrollment affects the International Baccalaureate program as well as how the IB program affects college admissions; tracking languages and the effect of Chinese; and an “inventory of technology,” i.e., “who has the Internet at home.”  Regarding the last suggestion, Whittington said, “Self-reporting is not always accurate.”

Board member Peter Robertson wanted to know how many students have taken an AP course or a language as well as the number of people accessing the “progress book” (a password-protected online grade book for grades 5-12 that parents can view), and Freeman said, “[We] can get some feeling about this.”

Another suggestion was to “look at the numbers in enrichment classes” (before students are placed in honors or AP classes), as well as “how many kids” have been identified as gifted and talented.

Board member Annette Sutherland asked about tracking parent involvement, and Freeman responded by saying, “The data is not going to be clean.”  He noted, however, that it was “important to look at it.”  This was an example of something he did not think should be in the “Fact Book.”

Sutherland also asked about “data on the lowest achieving” students—“factors to help us identify kids most at risk.”  Freeman said, “Teachers and principals pay attention” to how kids do on standardized tests versus how they do in class.  He said, “[We] might be able to answer that some other way.  To track [it] in the ‘Fact Book’ might be difficult.  Let us think about that awhile.”

Levenson wanted to know how many students travel or study abroad.  “Are we doing a good job of making international experiences available?” was the question she would like to see included.  Freeman said, “My guess is we have a changing trend here.”

Board member Norman Bliss suggested “[we] continue to be sensitive to the needs of all students.”

Board president*** Drexel Feeling asked how the effectiveness of certain programs is tracked.

At the end of the meeting, when it was time for public comment, resident Dan Hoffman proposed a “pilot program to reduce the achievement gap in elementary schools.”  He said it would cost about $30,000 ($107 per month per child) for 30 youngsters to be enrolled in a “Kumon” (http://www.kumon.com/?gclid=CNPHr6aovZ0CFQ4MDQodwiWljQ) reading program.  “Try it and see what the results are,” he said.

Feeling responded by saying there are a number of programs in place right now.  Freeman said the district has a program with very young children, “very similar to what you are talking about” and noted that 2/3 – 3/4 of the children that get help “are no longer in the system by 4th grade.  We need to look at this globally and regionally,” he said, noting that it was a “complex problem” and that Hoffman was “right on target.  We’ve got to get all school districts to do it,” he said.

In a letter to Feeling dated Oct. 5, Hoffman wrote, “The Education Secretary Arne Duncan is touring with Al Sharpton and Newt Gingrich pushing a $4.3 billion program for ‘Successful School Strategies.’

“A compelling new study has just been released from Stanford University entitled, ‘How New York Charter Schools Affect Achievement.’****  It definitively shows that they are shrinking the achievement gap between low-income minorities and more affluent whites.  It reports that, ‘On average, a student who attended a charter school in all of the grades K through eight would close about 86% of the Scarsdale-Harlem Achievement Gap in English.’  Similar, but even better results occurred in Boston and Chicago’s charter schools.  This is being accomplished with a per-pupil spending of about 61% of that of surrounding public schools.

“This is why President Obama and Education Secretary Duncan are pressuring states to become more ‘Charter-friendly.’

“In the face of these conspiring events, it is amazing that the Shaker schools’ Fact Book shows no measure or trending of the achievement gap in Shaker except what the state reports on achievement tests.  How do we know what works, and how well—and what doesn’t, and why?”

In his letter, Hoffman advocated for an “achievement gap task force,” something he has mentioned to the Board before.  

*Norman Bliss, Drexel Feeling, Freda Levenson, Peter Robertson, Annette Sutherland

**Includes information on the school district’s diversity, attendance, achievement, stability, staff experience and environment

***The Board of Education presidency traditionally rotates among its members; all will serve as president at some point.  The same is true of the City’s vice mayor.

****The principal investigator for “The Effects of New York City’s Charter Schools on Student Achievement”— http://www.nber.org/~schools/charterschoolseval/— was Caroline Minter Hoxby, a 1984 graduate of Shaker High (http://www.hoover.org/bios/hoxby.html). 

Public Works Department Stats as of June 30

• 660,990 pounds of debris hauled
• 1,183 mowing and yard cleanup nuisance letters sent; contractor cut 473 [lots], City cut 710
• City has 299 hanging baskets
• Sidewalk plows sent out 19 times in 2009
• 2,378 tons of brush collected
• 4,123 tons of salt used at 35 “ice and snow events” from January - April; “in the 2009 calendar year January 1, 2009 through the final snow on April 7, 2009 we started with an estimated 1000 tons of salt we purchased an estimated 5,000 tons of salt. We have used an estimated 4,000 tons of salt with 2,000 tons (estimated) stock pile remaining.”
• 1,094 misses by rubbish crews; 969 misses because residents “not prepared”
• 290.84 tons of residential mixed paper, 625.73 tons of cans, plastic and glass and 60.71 tons of “white goods” recycled
• 1,325 trees pruned on 33 streets
• 484 trees planted in 2005 pruned
• 430 trees identified for removal
• 513 trees planted in spring; 218 were ash tree replacements, 295 part of annual program
• 10 bare root trees (7 different species) planted in spring
• trees on 29 center strips and islands mulched
• 241 ash trees removed
• 460 catch basins cleaned in Onaway and Boulevard, 400 by contractor and 60 by City; 27 catch basins repaired
• 4 manhole restorations completed; 27 others inspected
• 440 lineal feet of sewer mains “root-cut”
• dye testing performed at 4 locations; 521 laterals cleaned, 31 repaired
• 109,200 linear feet of sewer mains cleaned
• 31 test tees raised or replaced
• 25% of streets rated [for repairs]; remainder will be rated by end of year
• 85 sinkholes repaired
• 10 laterals and 8 curb drains repaired
• 10 streets received large area repair
• 67 CWD [Cleveland Water Department] openings repaired; “at the end of the 2nd quarter there are 6 CWD openings that will need to be  attended to next quarter”
• 360 tons of hotmix asphalt applied to streets; “during winter months cold patch will be used to fill potholes concentrating first on the mains and reported problem areas whenever weather permits”
• Bioaugmentation program bid in late May/early June; “completion will be around the end of September.  Continue to implement the other components of the plan for Marshall and Green Lakes in conjunction with DBWP [Doan Brook Watershed Partnership] when appropriate.”
• Fuel used: unleaded -  44,178.45 all city usage, average price was $2.07 per gallon; diesel - 42,440.65 all city usage, average price was $1.94 per gallon
• $44,136.35 received at vehicle and equipment auction

Following Up . . .

·         Library Courts: Plans will be re-submitted to the Architectural Board of Review Oct. 19.

·         CVS: Plans will be re-submitted to the Architectural Board of Review Oct. 19.

·         New School Position: TWIS reported in Vol. 7, Issue 6 (Feb. 16, 2009) that the school district will hire a new “director of planning and development” to “provide leadership in strategic planning and curriculum.” At the February meeting of the Board of Education, president Drexel Feeling said a job description had been developed and that the new person “would help alleviate stress” on the administrative staff.  The new “central office senior administrator,” as Feeling described the position, would help “build a leadership structure” and help with “new initiatives.”  Posted on the school district’s web site Feb. 9, the position is now “on hold,” according to communications director Peggy Caldwell. 

·         Safe Routes to School:  The Planning Department will apply for up to $500,000 in grants from the Ohio Department of Transportation for projects that will include crosswalk striping and updated signs at intersections surrounding Boulevard, Onaway, Woodbury and the Middle School as well as ADA ramps at those intersections; countdown pedestrian signals at Warrensville/Shaker, Warrensville/South Woodland and South Woodland/Woodbury/ Southington; school zone flashers at South Woodland/Woodbury/Southington; and a traffic study of the Warrensville/Shaker/Fayette intersection.  A consulting engineer is determining cost estimates.

·         Sewers: Hildana and Ludgate projects scheduled for completion mid-November.

·         Water Lines: Chesterton and Onaway to be installed this year by Cleveland Water Department.

Real Estate Report

As of yesterday (Sunday), Realtors had listed 231 single-family houses for sale* (excluding condominiums and townhomes) in Shaker Heights, as follows:

• $100,000 - $199,000: 81 (75 last issue)
• $200,000 - $299,000: 55 (57 last issue)
• $300,000 - $399,000: 28 (27 last issue)
• $400,000 - $499,000: 20 (21 last issue)
• $500,000 - $599,000: 13 (13 last issue)
• $600,000 - $699,000: 9 (9 last issue)
• $700,000 - $799,000: 8 (8 last issue)
• $800,000 - $899,000: 5 (5 last issue)
• $900,000 - $999,000: 4 (4 last issue)
• $1,000,000 - $1,999,000: 6 (6 last issue)
• $2,000,000 - $2,999,000: 2 (2 last issue)
• 3,000,000+: 0 (0 last issue)

In addition, there are 25 (29 last issue) houses priced under $100,000, for a grand total of 256. 

As of Friday, there were 29 foreclosure sales pending (including 4 condominiums) and listed on the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s web site.**  In addition to those, there are sometimes foreclosure sales listed by the U. S. District Court.

[Editor’s note:  TWIS has been reporting these numbers since March 12, 2007.]

*227 last issue

**25 last issue; addresses include 3312 Aberdeen, 16625 Aldersyde, 17450 Aldersyde, 17460 Chagrin, 17623 Chagrin, 3356 Daleford, 3536 Daleford, 3663 Daleford, 3598 Glencairn, 22700 Holmwood, 3612 Ingleside, 3651 Latimore, 3618 Menlo, 3292 Milverton, 3455 Milverton, 3585 Normandy, 17600 Parkland, 3618 Rolliston, 3714 Sudbury, 3348 Sutton, 3367 Sutton, 15820 Van Aken, 16100 Van Aken #402, 2705 Warrensville, 3271 Warrensville #2A, 3279 Warrenville #2-8B, 3519 Warrington, 17408 Winslow and 17705-07 Winslow. [Editor’s note: This week’s foreclosed properties include those listed for Sheriff’s sale on Oct. 19 and 26 and Nov. 2, 9, 16 and 23.  Foreclosed properties are listed every week until they are sold or withdrawn; the total listed here, therefore, always includes some properties that have been listed in previous issues.] 

The following commercial properties are for sale: gas station, 3746 Lee; Tower East (designed by Walter Gropius), 20600 Chagrin; 3393 Warrensville Center (“redevelopment opportunity”—“The owner will consider leasing, ground leasing, joint venture or selling the property,” which “sits at the signalized intersection of Warrensville Center Road and Farnsleigh Road, across the street from Van Aken Shopping Center”); Kingsbury Building, 3427 Lee (corner of Van Aken); Warren Gardens, 3610 Warrensville; Lewis Electronics, 3536 Lee ;medical office building, 3645 Warrensville: http://www.loopnet.com/Ohio/Shaker-Heights-Commercial-Real-Estate/

ADVERTISING

Community Conversation with the

Shaker Heights School Board Candidates

Sunday, October 25, 5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.

Stephanie Tubbs Jones Community Building, 3450 Lee Road

 Moderated by Dan Moulthrop

Co-Sponsored by Moreland on the Move Community Association,

Caring Communities Organized for Education and ONE Shaker

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• 2,021 sq. ft., 2 bath, 2 bdrm townhouse - MLS® $275,000 - Good Value

The Village, Beachwood

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• 1,650 sq. ft., 1 bath, 4 bdrm 3 story - MLS® $150,000 - Value in Fernway

Fernway, Shaker Heights  -  Colonial in desirable Fernway neighborhood. First time on market in over 50 years.

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