If Cleveland wants to be a city of choice, it has to offer quality city services....

 

#Cleveland residents say lacking city services are leaving their neighborhoods without the help they need #CLEvotes https://t.co/npE5uU37kQ

I'm cautiously optimistic that the tax increase will make some noticeable differences, especially with the added housing inspectors. I imagine there will be some uproar though when people have an inspector citing them to remove a dead tree on their property when there's a bigger one on the treelawn that nothing is being done with...

Mayor Frank Jackson plans to expand Cleveland’s recreation centers into family resource sites to boost quality of life

Updated Mar 25, 7:21 PM; Posted Mar 25, 6:29 PM

By Robert Higgs, cleveland.com 

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Mayor Frank Jackson intends to convert the city’s 22 recreation centers into family resource centers geared to connecting Clevelanders to services and programs to boost their quality of life.

 

The shift is an expansion of efforts Jackson’s administration has pursued the last two years when it added dozens of rec center offerings for youth, trained staff members to better spot symptoms of trauma and stress that can affect behavior and lead to violence and added counselors who can intervene and make referrals to social services when needed.

 

MORE:

https://www.cleveland.com/cityhall/2019/03/mayor-frank-jackson-plans-to-expand-clevelands-recreation-centers-into-family-resource-sites-to-boost-quality-of-life.html

The Cleveland Crime thread is locked but I found an interesting datapoint and wanted to share, so I'll put it here, though it belongs there....

 

"Cuyahoga County is one of the 2% of U.S. counties that collectively account for a majority of the nation’s death-row prisoners and imposed more death sentences in 2018-2019 than any other county in the U.S."

 

https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/news/eight-years-after-exoneration-court-declares-joe-dambrosio-wrongfully-imprisoned

 

I had started reading about the death penalty in the US and what's allowed in what states when I came upon that article. I originally got to the topic after reading that Trump wants to execute five people during the transition---the first time in more than a century.

 

"If the executions of Brandon Bernard and Alfred Bourgeois go ahead as scheduled the 10 inmates executed in 2020 will bring a single-year total unmatched in modern history. "We'd have to go back to 1896 to find another year where there were 10 or more executions," Ms Ndulue said."

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-55236260

Resurrecting this thread for a piece of mail I received this week from the City of Cleveland requesting their input on how best to spend the $511 in ARPA funds.   

 

Any suggestions from the Urban Ohio camp?  😜

 

 

50 minutes ago, Cleburger said:

Resurrecting this thread for a piece of mail I received this week from the City of Cleveland requesting their input on how best to spend the $511 in ARPA funds.   

 

Any suggestions from the Urban Ohio camp?  😜

 

 

If it gets spent on capital projects for transit, can it be considered the local contribution eligible for Federal matching? Only half joking. Most impactful potential project would be downtown subway along Huron / Euclid at least to Tri-C, preferably all the way to University Circle and on to Shaker Square. 
 

Imagine where this city would be if the Dual Hub had been built 20 years ago instead of settling for the HealthLine. 

Basic maintenance? Street repairs? Sweeping? Demolitions?

 

I remembered how laughably bad it was to get potholes filled and streets swept at Shaker Square. And when a street sweeper did come around, it was adorned with convicted fraud-man Ken Johnson's name - as if street sweeping was something that was to be begged for and that he was a savior. And when the potholes were patched, there was a banner that all but thanked Ken Johnson for such progress.

 

Expansions and pie-in-the-sky proposals are nice, but if the basic infrastructure needs aren't met, then it's all a wash.

19 minutes ago, Boomerang_Brian said:

If it gets spent on capital projects for transit, can it be considered the local contribution eligible for Federal matching? Only half joking. Most impactful potential project would be downtown subway along Huron / Euclid at least to Tri-C, preferably all the way to University Circle and on to Shaker Square. 
 

Imagine where this city would be if the Dual Hub had been built 20 years ago instead of settling for the HealthLine. 

I don't disagree with you, however I feel like it's unrealistic if the city is "only" getting $511 million from the Feds.   I do know one thing that the city will like to filter it out to all their departments and grease the wheels of their loyalists.  

 

With this in mind, I was wondering if there is a more "shovel-ready" project that I could put on this that might actually get done with enough responses and support for it.   

the county has a similar survey going for their 240 million dollars.

I'd use a good chunk of the money to rebuild East Cleveland infrastructure and housing, demolish and clean vacant industries, and extend the Red Line to Noble Road  -- with the condition that East Cleveland be absorbed into the City of Cleveland.

2 hours ago, Boomerang_Brian said:

If it gets spent on capital projects for transit, can it be considered the local contribution eligible for Federal matching? Only half joking. Most impactful potential project would be downtown subway along Huron / Euclid at least to Tri-C, preferably all the way to University Circle and on to Shaker Square. 
 

Imagine where this city would be if the Dual Hub had been built 20 years ago instead of settling for the HealthLine. 

 

 

1 hour ago, seicer said:

Basic maintenance? Street repairs? Sweeping? Demolitions?

 

I remembered how laughably bad it was to get potholes filled and streets swept at Shaker Square. And when a street sweeper did come around, it was adorned with convicted fraud-man Ken Johnson's name - as if street sweeping was something that was to be begged for and that he was a savior. And when the potholes were patched, there was a banner that all but thanked Ken Johnson for such progress.

 

Expansions and pie-in-the-sky proposals are nice, but if the basic infrastructure needs aren't met, then it's all a wash.

 

 

3 minutes ago, KJP said:

I'd use a good chunk of the money to rebuild East Cleveland infrastructure and housing, demolish and clean vacant industries, and extend the Red Line to Noble Road  -- with the condition that East Cleveland be absorbed into the City of Cleveland.

 

I wholeheartedly agree that the downtown subway plan under huron/euclid/e.22 should be built. This would be a very different city if we had that. But I don't think the $511 Million can be used for that--nor for potholes, streets, or other stuff like that. It's supposed to be related to covid.  putting in broadband IS ALLOWED. THAT is what the money should be used for. Then build the subway with the $1 trillion infrastructure funds!

6 minutes ago, Pugu said:

 

 

 

 

 

I wholeheartedly agree that the downtown subway plan under huron/euclid/e.22 should be built. This would be a very different city if we had that. But I don't think the $511 Million can be used for that--nor for potholes, streets, or other stuff like that. It's supposed to be related to covid.  putting in broadband IS ALLOWED. THAT is what the money should be used for. Then build the subway with the $1 trillion infrastructure funds!

 

No, it's supposed to be for stimulating economic growth post-covid.

5 minutes ago, KJP said:

 

No, it's supposed to be for stimulating economic growth post-covid.

 

Broadband is allowed as its stimulates growth but more so as it is directly tied to covid in terms of people being able to work remotely and kids being able to go to school remotely.

I missed it on the letter yesterday, but there is an online form to submit these suggestions.   Do your thing Urban Ohio!  

 

 

https://www.clevelandohio.gov/arpa

How about brownfield remediation? Brownfields definitely put the city at a disadvantage.

Time to bump up this thread.   This is exactly the kind of story I hope a Bibb administration can start to curtail.  Most all the rank-and-file city workers either don't do their jobs, or have their hands tied by insane union regulations prohibiting them from responding to early snow storms, etc.  

 

 

Those deaths are squarely on the city and the absolute negligence on their part. Wait for the lawsuit and the multi-million dollar settlement that eventually comes from it.

I think a city ran by incompetent friends of mayors/councilman/local politicians in positions they were NEVER qualified to be in to are to blame more than Unions. And yes, I hope Mayor Frank gets named personally in those suits. His theft of Muni Income tax to fund incompetency/neglect that runs thru every department of this city is criminal, to say the least. Glad the Jackson/Kelley chain has been broken, but 50% of council are yearning to self anoint their Bibb successor as we speak. 

 

9 hours ago, ogibbigo said:

I think a city ran by incompetent friends of mayors/councilman/local politicians in positions they were NEVER qualified to be in to are to blame more than Unions.

 

 

There's a synergy here.   Lazy and incompetent managers seek tranquility almost as much as they do money, and placating the unions is key to that.

On 8/3/2021 at 1:55 PM, Cleburger said:

Resurrecting this thread for a piece of mail I received this week from the City of Cleveland requesting their input on how best to spend the $511 in ARPA funds.   

 

Any suggestions from the Urban Ohio camp?  😜

 

 

 

 

Suggestions on how to spend some of the $511 million in ARPA funds:

 

EMS Squads - The average age of Cleveland's units is more than double the national average.  Some front-line units would not even be suitable as back-up squads in other cities.  Aside from staffing issues, this is a big reason the city frequently does not have enough squads available to provide basic coverage is due to breakdowns.

Fire Engines - One backup unit recently caught fire at a fire station.  The unit it replaced was out-of-service.  Other engines needing repair cannot be taken out of service due to not enough backup units available.

Police Cars - The city still has a lot of Ford Crown Victoria models in service.  The last one rolled off of Ford's production line in 2011.

Service Department Plow Trucks - Every winter, the city does not have enough trucks in service to plow streets.  If unchanged, what happens when the city faces an s winter with average to above-average snowfall or multiple snowstorms in a short period of time?

Just now, LifeLongClevelander said:

Service Department Plow Trucks - Every winter, the city does not have enough trucks in service to plow streets.  If unchanged, what happens when the city faces an s winter with average to above-average snowfall or multiple snowstorms in a short period of time?

As an aside, it is my understanding that union rules prohibit city mechanics from working on said plows until after a certain calendar date ever year, which is one of the reasons the city seems to start every snow season seemingly short on plows.   If true, this is an incomprehensible rule that should be reviewed by the Bibb administration and done away with.   There is no reason city mechanics should be sitting around in October with their feet up and not readying the plows for snow service.  

2 minutes ago, Cleburger said:

As an aside, it is my understanding that union rules prohibit city mechanics from working on said plows until after a certain calendar date ever year, which is one of the reasons the city seems to start every snow season seemingly short on plows.   If true, this is an incomprehensible rule that should be reviewed by the Bibb administration and done away with.   There is no reason city mechanics should be sitting around in October with their feet up and not readying the plows for snow service.  

Do these plow trucks serve in other capacities during the year?  What do they do if they run out of available trucks for large trash items or road repairs?  The plow truck situation has gone back for decades, dating back during the two-year mayoral term of Kucinich.  It got so bad in the late 1970's where the city had fewer that 50 trucks to plow streets in the winter.  As bad as things were then, the city leased and eventually purchased 50 Unimog medium-sized trucks to assist to clear streets.  The only time things improved was under Voinovich when he re-instituted the installation of plow gear on garbage trucks when needed (a practice that existed in the 1950's).  This was discontinued when White was mayor.  Don't know how many times in recent years the city has announced it has somewhere in the vicinity of 50 trucks available to plow streets to start a winter season.  If the city has a major snowstorm, does it have to resort to using fire trucks (that they already have problems keeping in service) to pack down snow to keep streets "passable"?

Just now, LifeLongClevelander said:

Do these plow trucks serve in other capacities during the year?  What do they do if they run out of available trucks for large trash items or road repairs? 

 

The answer is simple.   Roads don't get repaired, and large trash items aren't picked up.  Sounds like an average day in the City of Cleveland...

10 minutes ago, Cleburger said:

 

The answer is simple.   Roads don't get repaired, and large trash items aren't picked up.  Sounds like an average day in the City of Cleveland...

Broken down and unavailable EMS squads, fire engines, service department trucks and police cars.  Unacceptably long wait time for safety services.  Large garbage items not collected.  City streets in poor shape.  Snow making streets impassable.  Understaffed departments across the board.  If this goes unchanged, picture all of this with the caption:  "Your 2.5% income tax and $511 million ARPA funds at work"

Edited December 4, 20213 yr by LifeLongClevelander

2 hours ago, Cleburger said:

As an aside, it is my understanding that union rules prohibit city mechanics from working on said plows until after a certain calendar date ever year, which is one of the reasons the city seems to start every snow season seemingly short on plows.   If true, this is an incomprehensible rule that should be reviewed by the Bibb administration and done away with.   

 

Union rules are pretty universally unkind to proper vehicle maintenance. 

I guess the Fairfax Meijer development isn’t the only groundbreaking in Cleveland today.

 

Look at Justin Bibb go!   Here is the link to the city snowplow tracker.   And he's getting employees from other departments to help out.   

 

 

25 minutes ago, Cleburger said:

Look at Justin Bibb go!   Here is the link to the city snowplow tracker.   And he's getting employees from other departments to help out.   

 

 

the GPS tracker is such a simple thing but the last administration never thought to implement it.

Just now, freefourur said:

the GPS tracker is such a simple thing but the last administration never thought to implement it.

 

I have a feeling over the next year we are going to see more of these simple changes that the Jackson administration chose to ignore.   During the Jackson reign, anything that was outside of the normal job description was left to rot. 

 

Will they solve every problem?  Of course not.  But they will make life in Cleveland a little more bearable which will have long term benefits. 

6 minutes ago, Cleburger said:

 

I have a feeling over the next year we are going to see more of these simple changes that the Jackson administration chose to ignore.   During the Jackson reign, anything that was outside of the normal job description was left to rot. 

 

Will they solve every problem?  Of course not.  But they will make life in Cleveland a little more bearable which will have long term benefits. 

I'm feeling optimistic about the county and city both having new administrations. I think the old guard has no vision.

Very neoliberal of them to have an app that confirms my street hasn’t been plowed in a week lol.

(Inaction) Jackson was so intent on keeping the city from falling backward that he forgot it's possible to move forward. We really needed a fresh look at what's possible. 

 

Bibb is very young and inexperienced as well. He will make mistakes but at least he appears to be trying. I'm very hopeful that this young man can open us up to possibilities rather the tunnel vision we had been getting.

Finally, City Hall gets out of the 90s!

 

lol bibb's mayor bio page gets out of the 90s. the rest of the site, no

I'd use a good chunk of the money to rebuild East Cleveland infrastructure and housing, demolish and clean vacant industries, and extend the Red Line to Noble Road  -- with the condition that East Cleveland be absorbed into the City of Cleveland.

Is the annexation idea completely off the table at this point?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Bibb is continuing to not take things as they are, is looking at pulling parks and rec out of public works and into its own department. Given how well city parks are maintained something needs to be done. And I did not realize just how much falls under public works, so this seems to make sense 

 

What can a standalone parks and recreation department do for Cleveland? Mayor Justin Bibb wants to find out

 

https://www.cleveland.com/news/2022/04/what-can-a-standalone-parks-and-recreation-department-do-for-cleveland-mayor-justin-bibb-wants-to-find-out.html

One of the craziest things I've seen with my involvement with the city of Cleveland is the shift hours.   For instance, Parks & Rec or Streets  may have a 6 am-2:30 pm shift.   So for half the year the city workers show up at 6 am, then sit there for 2 hours waiting for the sun to come up before they even think about doing anything.    I'm sure the union would fight tooth and nail to change this, but it seems like a reasonable way of improving productivity. 

This is the closest thread I could find for this:

 

Cleveland, you paid a million bucks for this. Read City Hall’s modernization plan here.

https://www.cleveland.com/metro/2024/03/cleveland-you-paid-a-million-bucks-for-this-read-city-halls-modernization-plan-here.html