Three Catalytic Projects Public Meeting Summary & Frequently Asked Questions

La Villa Hispana, The Dream Neighborhood &
West 25th Street Corridor Initiative

The following information is a summary of three projects that are underway on the near west side of Cleveland.  The projects geographically are located within or in portions of the following neighborhoods that comprise City of Cleveland Wards 3, 12, 13, 14 and 15:

1. La Villa Hispana: Clark Fulton and portions of Tremont and Ohio City.
2. The Dream Neighborhood: Clark Fulton and Stockyard.
3. West 25th Street Corridor Initiative: Ohio City, Clark Fulton, Tremont, Brooklyn Centre and Old Brooklyn.

In addition to the three community and economic development projects covered in the information below, a forth project  - The MetroHealth Transformation, being lead by MetroHealth, seeks to physically integrate Metro's main campus with the surrounding neighborhoods and also revolutionize care delivery and engineer new ways of working to ensure the health and wellness of those they serve in Greater Cleveland.

All of the partners listed and referenced for the La Villa Hispana, The Dream Neighborhood & West 25th Street Corridor Initiative are also partners working with MetroHealth to ensure the success of their planning and investments.

If you would like more information about any of the four projects and initiatives listed here, please send us an email indicating your interest and we'll be sure to include you on any future emails and mailings for updates or future meetings.

Please email: bcummins@clevelandcitycouncil.org & thenschel@clevelandcitycouncil.org

Three Catalytic Projects FAQ by Brian Cummins

Media coverage:

La Villa Hispana

• New Tax Credit Project Funded in Clark Fulton, The Lofts at Lion Mills Scheduled to Break Ground Early 2016
  By Greg Baron,  Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization, 6/19/2015
• La Placita offers testing ground for Hispanic entrepreneurs
  By Jacqueline Bon, Freshwater, 6/11/2015
• Planning effort hopes to make Clark Avenue corridor a more livable community
  By Chuck Hoven, Plain Press, 3/2015
• What's working: agencies boost prospects of cleveland's rising number of Latino entrepreneurs by Douglas J. Guth, Freshwater. 7/31/2014
  

The Dream Neighborhood

• Dream Neighborhood project offers parts of Cleveland -- and refugees -- a second chance
  Editorial Board, The Plain Dealer, 7/25/2015
• Dream Neighborhood initiative presented to City Planning Commission
  By Brian Cummins, 7/17/2015
• Dream Neighborhood aims to weave refugee housing into West Side neighborhoods
• By Michelle Jarboe McFee, The Plain Dealer, 7/16/2015
• Planning effort hopes to make Clark Avenue corridor a more livable community
  By Chuck Hoven, Plain Press, 3/2015

West 25th Street Corridor Initiative

• Forward Cities Reaches into Cleveland Neighborhoods
  Forward Cities Cleveland Council, 5/4/2015
• Cleveland Clinic completes Lutheran Hospital emergency department expansion
  By Angela Townsend, The Plain Dealer, 4/21/15
• Exclusive first look: the Aragon Ballroom renovation
  By Erin O'Brien, Freshwater, 4/15/2015
• Clifton boulevard-style transit eyed for 25th street corridor
  By Erin O'Brien, Freshwater, 1/21/2015
• OneCommunity Announces Recipients of its Big Gig Challenge Grant
  By Brian Cummins, 1/16/2015
• What comes first along West 25th Street - housing density or faster transit? Planners to discuss findings tonight
  By Steven Litt, The Plain Dealer, 11/13/2014
• West 25th Street Corridor Initiative
  By Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative, 1/2012
• Nestle launches $20 million-plus expansion in Cleveland, plans global research facility in Solon
• By Michelle Jarboe McFee, The Plain Dealer, 8/18/2011
• Pearl Road/West 25th Street transportation Corridor Plan (PDF)
  Old Brooklyn CDC, Baker, City Archetecture, NOACA and City of Cleveland, 2/2009

The MetroHealth Transformation 

• MetroHealth Video Presentation - A look at the new MetroHealth Hospital in Cleveland, OH and how it's design innovations are transforming healthcare in the community for the better. We were proud to partner with MetroHealth on this expansion of their healthcare campus, 10/14/2015
  
  
  
• MetroHealth to Open Freestanding Emergency Departments in Cleveland Heights and Parma
  By HealthSpan, 9/21/15
• MetroHealth Transforms with New Critical Care Pavilion
  By City of Cleveland, 8/17/2015
• Transforming MetroHealth into a data-driven organization
  By The Advisory Board Company, 8/7/2015
  



• Dr. Akram Boutros finds the Rx for MetroHealth is engaging in the culture
  By: Dennis Seeds, Smart Business, 6/1/2015
• MetroHealth Medical Center renovation, rebuilding plans show signs of moving forwardBy Angela Townsend, The Plain Dealer 3/15/2015
• Q & A: Walter Jones, senior vice president of campus transformation, The MetroHealth System
  By Crain's Cleveland Business, 1/17/2015
• MetroHealth Systems Annual Report 2014 (PDF)
  
  
  
• MetroHealth unveils campus transformation plan at public meeting, executives vague on funding sources
  By Brie Zeltner, The Plain Dealer, 5/9/2014
• MetroHealth's ambitious campus makeover may be push West 25th Street needs
  By Jay Miller, Crain's Cleveland Business, 8/4/2014

Other

• Housing Stabilization by the numbers - foreclosed, rehab and demolition in the Stockyard, Clark Fulton and Brooklyn Centre Neighborhoods
  By Brian Cummins, 7/17/2015

Cleveland City Council Tobacco related Resolution and Ordinances

The following are two pieces of legislation and one resolution that have been introduced through the Cleveland City Council Health and Human Services Committee related to the regulation of tobacco products.  In addition to information and copies of the Resolution and Ordinances, additional information is provided below that was reviewed in the last three Health and Human Service Committee hearings held on 11/16, 11/23 and 12/2/15.

Here is a status of the pieces; copies are provided below:

• Resolution No. 669-15; Tobacco Free Workforce Working Group - Resolution Declaring that the City of Cleveland will strive for a tobacco free workforce by January 2016, and establishing a working group of Council, the Jackson Administration, and community stakeholders to study employment policies of hiring only tobacco-free employees and offering smoking cessation programs to current employees.
  STATUS:  Passed out of the Health Committee, scheduled for hearing of the Council of the Whole, beginning 9:00 am, Monday December 7th, 2015.  Resolution 669-15 was first read on June 1st, 2015.
• Ordinance No. 737-15; Raise Age for Tobacco Sales and Distribution - Ordinance to amend Section 607.15 of the Codified Ordinances of Cleveland, Ohio, 1976, as amended by Ordinance No. 474-14, passed June 2, 2014, to raise the sales and distribution age from eighteen to twenty-one years for cigarettes, tobacco products and alternative nicotine products, including electronic cigarettes.
  STATUS: Passed out of the Health Committee, scheduled for hearing of the Council of the Whole, beginning 9:00 am, Monday December 7th, 2015. Resolution 737-15 was first read on June 8th, 2015.  Note: Section 4 of ordinance states: "That the amendments to Section 607.15 shall take effect sixty days after the effective date of this ordinance."  There is a consideration to increase the grace period to 90-days to allow for sufficient time for public education and awareness.


• Ordinance No. 929-15; Partial Ban of Flavored  Tobacco Products - Ordinance to supplement the Codified Ordinances of Cleveland, Ohio, 1976, by enacting new Section 607.21, to ban the sale or distribution of flavored tobacco products, except in a retail tobacco store.
  STATUS: Ordinance has not been passed out of the Health Committee and is NOT scheduled to be heard by the Council of the Whole on Monday, 12/7/2015.  The next opportunity for this legislation to be heard in Committee hearing(s) is the week of January 4th, when council returns from winter legislative recess that begins 12/8/2015.  The next potential opportunity for a vote on this ordinance is Monday, January 8th, 2016.

The above legislative status information is provided by Councilman Brian Cummins, member of the Health & Human Services Committee.  Health Committee member information can be found here.

669-15-Res-Declaring City Will Strive for Tobacco Free Workforce by Brian Cummins

737-15-Ord-Amend 607 15 Prohibit Sale of Cigarettes Etc to Children by Brian Cummins

929-15-Ord-Enact Section 607 21 Flavored Tobacco Partial Ban by Brian Cummins

Tobacco 21 HHS Hearing Final_11 23 15 by Brian Cummins

Municipal Services & Properties Committee Meeting - Administration Responses 10.2015

The following memo and attachments detail responses to questions raised in a recent Municipal Services and Properties Committee Meeting of Cleveland City Council.  The information pertains to street maintenance, crack sealing, pot hole repair and snow plowing.

Memo Dept Public Works - Resp Oct 5 2014 MSP by Brian Cummins

Attachment A - 10.2015 Maint Crack Sealing by Brian Cummins

Public Works Service Zones map - Ward 14

Click on the image for a larger view.

Attachment C - Snow Removal Plan by Brian Cummins

Attachment D - Semi-Automated Roadways by Brian Cummins

PUBLIC NOTICE: NOV 4 presentations of catalytic community projects - La Villa Hispana; Dream Neighborhood & W 25 St Initiative

Please see below the invitation letter and flyer for this important community event.

Stay tuned for additional information about these projects and the presentation materials that will be shared on November 4th.

Please RSVP to Keisha Gonzalez, Bilingual Community Organizer, (216) 961-9073 x204 or Kgonzalez@dscdo.org by November 1st, 2015.

----------------------------------

Acompáñanos para una cena y discusión de tres proyectos comunitarios vitales que están en proceso en nuestros vecindarios!

Miércoles, 04 de noviembre 2015
6:00-7:00 PM Inscripción, Cena y Redes· 7:00-9:00 PM Presentaciones y Preguntas
Lincoln West High School (3202 West 30th Street, Cleveland, OH 44109)

Por favor de RSVP a Keisha Gonzalez, Organizadora Comunitario
al (216) 961-9073 x204 o Kgonzalez@dscdo.org

Vital Projects - Invite Letter Nov 4 2015 Public Meeting by Brian Cummins

Public Notice Flyer Three Initaitves by Brian Cummins

Cleveland Council approves proposal for Charter Amendment aimed at increasing diversity of workforce, changes required by DOJ agreement

Cleveland City Council passed on Wednesday an ordinance that proposes changes to the City's hiring practices. Ordinance Number 842-15 passed as an emergency ordinance -

"Authorizing the submission to the electors of the City of Cleveland of a proposal to amend Sections 131 and 133 of the Charter of the City of Cleveland relating to civil service appointments and promotions wherever practicable."

A copy of the ordinance is provided below.

In discussion in a Committee of the Whole council President Kelley offered an amendment that was passed that limited the proposed changes to the hiring of new employees and not that of promotions.

The initial Ordinance would of required the certification of ten of the top ranked applicants for both hiring and promotions.  The Charter currently requires that the top three applicants for both hires and promotions be certified and used for selection of awards.  If accepted by Cleveland voters, the new Charter amendment would increase the number of top candidates for hire from three to ten but would retain the top number of candidates for promotions at three.

Several Council members (Cummins, Polensek & J. Johnson) questioned the need for the amendment that would maintain the rule of three for promotions  Council members Polensek and Cummins voted no on the amendment that then passed.  In the vote in Chambers later in the afternoon, the measure passed 16 to 1 with Cummins casting the Nay vote.

Between the Committee of the Whole and the council meeting in Chambers, Councilman Cummins shared with colleagues an alternative for selecting top ranked candidates for hiring or promotion, by using a category rating instead of a purely numerical ranking of individuals.  Category ratings are used by federal agencies and qualify candidates in categories such as:

• Superior = 98 - 100
• Best Qualified =  90 - 97
• Well Qualified - 85 - 89
• Qualified = 70 – 84

In Committee Cummins argued that if the City truly wants to be more inclusive and ensure greater diversity that the rule of three should be replaced for both hiring and promotions and that a category rating system would be useful in certifying the most qualified list of candidates from which a hiring officer could make a decision for an award.

Although it was argued by some Council members that by increasing the pool of qualified candidates to select from in the initial hiring would have an affect on increasing diversity, Cummins pointed out that it would take on average 7 to 12 years before the City could anticipate seeing more diversity in higher ranking supervisory positions and in effect the ordinance that passed will likely maintain the status quo for at least that period of time if accepted by voters.


Diversity numbers for Cleveland's Division of Police, as reported by ideastream®

The changes are driven by a requirement within the City of Cleveland and Department of Justice Consent Decree Agreement that states (pages 70):

• (300) "To maintain high-level, quality service, ensure officer safety and accountability, and promote constitutional, effective policing, CDP will review and revise as necessary its recruitment and hiring program to ensure that CDP successfully attracts and hires diverse group of qualified individuals.  [ands]
• (301) The Mayor will work with the City Council to develop an ordinance to place a Charter Amendment on the ballot that would give the appointing authority greater flexibility in the selection of candidates from the certified eligibility list for the CDP."

In addition to the specific language in the Consent decree regarding providing greater flexibility for hiring, the agreement also sets forth criteria that will need to be used in annual performance evaluations for police (pages 72-73):

The annual performance evaluation will be augmented to
include an assessment of:

1. community engagement and communication with the public as appropriate to assignment;
2. use of communi ty and problem-oriented policing and problem-solving strategies as appropriate to assignment;
3. de-escalation strategies;
4. techniques for dealing with individuals in crisis;
5. civilian commendations and complaints;
6. disciplinary actions;
7. compliance with policy;
8. safety (e.g., officer safety standards and vehicle operations);
9. training;
10. report writing; and
11. decision-making skills.

And, for promotions -

In determining whether the officer is likely to be effective and appropriate for the
position to which he or she is being considered for promotion, the appointing authority
will consider the following factors, where relevant:

1. effective use of community and problem-oriented policing strategics;
2. the number and circumstances of uses of force;
3. an officer's service as an FTO or Field Training Sergeant;
4. disciplinary record;
5. problem-solving skill s;
6. interpersonal skills;
7. support for departmental integrity measures; and
8. pending disciplinary process.

842-15 as Amended by Brian Cummins

Reference:

• U.S. General Services Administration, April 15, 2011, 9337.1A CPO Category Rating and Selection Procedures.
• Cleveland Council proposes charter amendment aimed at boosting diversity on city's police force, by Leila Atassi, Northeast Ohio Media Group, August 19, 2015.