Council 6/11

I attended Council on 6/11 and here's what I saw.

Traffic Light on Belmont.  I tend to agree with the Resident who suggested a light will concentrate traffic.  However I support the residents who want it in terms of the 1st step:  a study.  With the data, we can make a better, more informed decision.

West St Parking.  I support this more sensitive enhancement to parking, utilizing existing blacktop.  Our opportunity is to market our parking and raise awareness.

Trees within the parking lot.  This is a worthy addition.  I think this presents an even bigger oppty - to change zoning to require tree (or maybe offer to pay for) trees per X acres of blacktop.  Think about the  environmental and aesthetic benefits to a few trees cooling the lots, lessening runoff, enhancing the view, etc:
https://maps.google.com/maps?q=mariemont&hl=en&ll=39.145811,-84.375274&spn=0.00165,0.003822&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=54.533615,125.244141&t=h&hnear=Mariemont,+Hamilton,+Ohio&z=19

I don't know how it would look, but I'd like to see us reapply another community's efforts to improve the look of the necessary surface lots.

Levy renewal.  While we'll dig deep during 6/25 budget discussion, I think Jeff's comments about lessening Permanent improvements revenue and increasing Gen Fund revenue (net $0) is worthy of consideration.  We seem to always have more $$ in Perm Improvements vs Gen Fund.  Why not revisit all renewals vs just continuing as we have.  I think the State cuts are going to hurt starting next year and money isn't easily mov-able across fund types.

Sidewalk process and legality in the Village.  I still don't fully understand the rules for when the Village pays vs when the homeowner pays.  But I asked the question and was told it's appropriate to pay for new sidewalks and for non-tree damaged repairs.  I would have intuitively thought the opposite.  But I've done the due diligence, asked the question, and will move forward.

I voted in the affirmative on all votes as all were procedural in nature.  The one exception:  Adleta Construction to do 2012 street work.  The bid is reasonable and the vendor is reputable.

Cortney
ICRCTV.COM

question about Police fleet

I rec'd a question about the Police fleet in the Village.  Rick Hines reminded me of the inventory of vehicles:
-4 marked cruisers with Hamilton County funded computers.  These are used for policing the Village.  This number is in line relative to full time officers vs our peer Departments like Newtown, Terrace Park, etc.
-1 marked cruiser without a computer.  I suggested we keep the light bar on the recently retired Crown Vic (not transferable to smaller Chargers) to improve the impact of this "Decoy" vehicle.  It's used for commuting to Court, errands, and as a decoy of police presence in the area
-1 unmarked cruiser as Rick Hines work vehicle
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Total of 6

2 retired crown vics are sitting down at the Maintenance Shed waiting to be auctioned off.  They are not being maintained, nor do they have insurance on them.

I think 6 is reasonable, although I would like to see us investigate better mileage cars as they're replaced.  With the brand new Ford Taurus Interceptor, for instance, we have more choices, and alternatives that may improve our overall fleet economy.  This will save precious dollars in the General Fund, where we continue to struggle due to pending State Budget cuts.

Cortney

5/28 Mariemont Parade

I attended the Mariemont Memorial Day remembrance with my daughter Ally on Monday 5/28.  Always a good reminder of the sacrifice others have made for our quality of life and freedom here in Mariemont.

Cortney

Concern about so many trees lost this June

I continue to be dismayed about the particularly large number of tree casualties this year.  June is typically the toughest month as we have professional services come in, but this year seems worse.  Most recently, we lost 4 mature trees on West Street to make way for enhanced School parking.  I sent a note to John Schirpenberg, Joe Miller, and Dennis Malone to better understand why this is happening.  Copy of note below.

While we will always lose trees as a normal part of the life cycle, as a Village, we need to fiercely protect this great asset, mourn the loss of EVERY one, and have a detailed plan for maintaining our urban forest.  I fear we don't have a comprehensive plan and will be asking about this in the near future.

Cortney
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All,

Could use some clarificarion - while I expected 1-2 tree casualties for the new west st parking plan, I don't understand the loss of so many trees on west when our plan was to add only one more apron. Will the other 2 aprons be replaced?  Was the cost of all the removals included in the amount council approved?

Thanks,
Cortney Scheeser
m479-221-1752
w513-983-0463

6/6 Emergency Council meeting

I attended the emergency Council meeting to discuss Belmont Traffic light on Wed and here's what I saw.

I am supportive of a $19000 study however I think the light will encourage traffic and backups on Settle in the short term.  But I'll defer to the majority of residents I've heard from on Settle.  And this first step is only study and design.  Assuming the light is truly paid for by Fairfax' grant, and the study shows overwhelming need, and the vast majority of residents continue to support it, I don't love an additional light, but I'll not vote against it.

The bigger decision, and my takeaway, is the additional future traffic calming proposed.  There are some big time side effects of a dead ended Settle Rd.  I'm supportive of a solution for Settle that doesn't hurt adjacent streets and doesn't completely close off Mariemont from its neighbors.  More to come on this in the coming months....

Cortney

5/14 Public Works Meeting

Public Works came to order @7PM on 5/14 to discuss one topic:  bids for street repair.  Cortney asked Chris to remind the group on the bids and bidders.  Chris had positive experience working with Adleta Construction.  The Committee discussed the high bid for Albert Pl sidewalks.  The Committee decided to remove Albert Pl sidwalks from the bid, so it could be bid separately.  Chris suggested approviing all $145,000 and then allowing him to remove the work on Albert Pl after.  Will reduce the net cost of the job $20000.  The Committee agreed and made the recommendation of accepting Adleta for $145K.  The meeting adjourned at 7:15 PM.

5/29 Council Meeting, updated

I attended Council on 5/29 and here's what I saw.

Pool programming enhancements.  I really like the energy and creativity of the Pool Board.  Events like Movie Night are awesome.  We should be doing more programming like this to better leverage Village assets like the Pool.  Well done.

Tennis Adult Parties.  Like the Pool Board, the Tennis Association is also upping it's programming.  I think it's fair to treat pool and tennis the same, and so a similar party is appropriate.

Local Phone Savings.  I continue to be troubled by a >$600/mo phone bill from Cincy Bell.  On a hunch, assuming this number is full of inefficiencies and unused services and no one on the payroll to look into it, I approached them and asked them for their best deal in light of much cheaper technology out there like VOIP.  For instance, at my house, we no longer use Cincy Bell, rather we use an internet appliance and save a ton.  Their Sales person was very helpful and showed me some great alternatives THAT MAINTAIN SERVICES WE USE TODAY at a significant savings.  While we can save even more by a more radical solution, I think the blowback would be significant and lead to more trouble than it's worth.  So, optimizing the "copper wires" as the Salesman said is my recommendation.  Specifically, locking in a long term loyalty-type contract which he assured me we can renegotiate if something changes is a win for both us and Cincy Bell.  A 60mo contract will save us around $220 before taxes and fees which is great.  I'll get the official contract in the hands of Finance, and we can start saving this Summer.  A fun project for sure, and one that pays nearly 3x my salary every year.


I voted in the affirmative on everything as all were procedural except:  Liquor License suspend for Tennis Party.  As stated above, I think it's a fair request.  And it helps us better utilize our assets.

Cortney
ICRCTV.COM