Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Robber makes restitution to victims

A robber makes restitution to Mentor victims, the Old Village Market is moving, and a softball tournament benefitting the family of a deceased Mentor firefighter is turning out to be a financial boon to the city. Find out what else is going on in the city, including construction updates, in the latest city manager memo to City Council:

Manager Comments 
•    The Lake County Prosecutor’s office recently made us aware that Paul Shimelonis, who was convicted of several robberies in the city taking place last year, made restitution to nine Mentor households for a total amount of $14,500.

•    The Old Village Market started well this past Friday, despite some initial confusion due to a relocation of vendors at the request of the Park Service. Unfortunately, this will be the last year the Market will be located at the Garfield home.  The National Park Services has informed us that their mission allows only events related in theme to the Park’s purpose and heritage. We are considering Civic Center as a new site next year.

•    The two-day Matt Henk softball tournament was played recently with 52 teams competing. The Public Safety Division was won by Columbus Fire while the business division was won by B & R Kyle.  Local teams, as well as, teams from Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky and Michigan participated with several arriving days early to visit the area. All Mentor hotels were filled and area restaurants were unusually busy Friday evening because of the out-of-the area teams and their families.

•    Income tax collections for the month of July were up $133,000 when compared to July of last year.  The current total year collections through July, as compared to last year, are up 12.25 percent.

•    The Mentor Police Department’s Facebook page has reached 4,000 “Likes.” This is more than the Cleveland Police Department. The Facebook page is a great addition to staying in touch with our community.

Police Department
•    On July 29, a male forced entry into the Hooley House, 7861 Reynolds Rd. The suspect disabled the alarm speaker from the kitchen and then poured himself a drink. When officers arrived the suspect tried to flee out of an opposite door, but was immediately captured and arrested for breaking and entering. Once secured in the jail, the male damaged the jail cell smoke detector and plugged the toilet causing water damage. He was charged with vandalism for the damage to the jail cell.

•    An officer conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle for excessive window tint. While speaking with the driver, he smelled an odor of marijuana emitting from the vehicle. The officer searched the vehicle and located a Crown Royal bag in the trunk that contained eight small baggies of marijuana. The driver admitted he sells marijuana to make money. He was arrested and charged with trafficking in marijuana. A cell phone, $280 in cash and the vehicle were seized for possible forfeiture.

•    An officer conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle on SR2. The officer could smell an odor of marijuana emitting from the vehicle. The rear passenger handed the officer a marijuana cigarette, which he admitted he was smoking. There was an open bottle of vodka next to this male. He was arrested for possession of marijuana and open container in a motor vehicle. During a search of the vehicle, officers found an automatic knife disguised as a miniature handgun. A female passenger admitted the knife was hers. She was an illegal Mexican immigrant. The female was charged with carrying a concealed weapon and will eventually be turned over to the U.S. Border Patrol. The driver was cited and released.

Engineering
•    SR 2 Widening and Reconstruction – Mainline work is proceeding. The contractor is working on median lighting and has begun foundations for noise walls east of Center Street. Work on Center Street should take approximately three more weeks to complete. Beginning next week, excavation will occur on Heisley Road with lane closures beginning in 2-3 weeks. Additional updates will be provided as information becomes available.

•    2012 Road Repair Program — All concrete repairs and asphalt paving are complete. A punch list is being prepared for the project, and final clean-up will occur before the contracts are closed out.

•    Safe Routes to Schools Infrastructure Project — The infrastructure improvement project has been advertised for bid. Work with this contract will include a school flasher update at Shore Middle School, curb ramp improvements near Sterling Morton Elementary, a sidewalk from Eagles Nest to Orchard Hollow Elementary, a sidewalk along the southerly drive of Shore Middle School, a sidewalk from Washington Avenue to Shore Middle School and bike racks at each of the three schools. The project, funded totally by an ODOT grant, is slated for completion by August of 2013.

•    Garfield Road/Stoneybrook Lane Culvert Improvement: The contractor should be finished with the installation of the culvert on Garfield Road this week. Beginning this week, they will be performing restoration over the culverts on Stoneybrook Lane and Garfield Road. The final phase of the project will be to improve the stream overflow into the retention pond at SR84 and Garfield Road where the existing embankment has washed out.

•    City Sidewalk Replacement Program: The City will be advertising for bids for sidewalk repair work with bid opening scheduled for Aug. 16. We are anticipating that a potential contract may be available to present to council for award on Aug. 21, along with the legislation for the Resolution of Necessity to implement the sidewalk repairs in Ward 2, Zone 2B.

Fire Department
•    On July 28 at 3:59 a.m., paramedics were called for treatment of an unresponsive female, reportedly the victim of an attempted suicide from drug and alcohol ingestion. Once on scene, paramedics administered Narcan and provided advanced care. The patient was transported to the hospital in stable condition. The scene was turned over to the police department for their investigation.

•    On July 28 at 4:09 p.m., paramedics were called to treat a child in respiratory arrest. The child was treated and transported to the hospital in stable condition.

•    The fire department union, Local 1845, will again be participating in the MDA’s “Fill the Boot” campaign on August 23-26 at Diamond Centre.

Parks and Recreation Department
•    Black Brook Golf Course & Practice Center was voted “Best of the Best Reader’s Choice Award” by the readers of The News-Herald. This is the second time we have won this award. We appreciate the recognition by all those who voted and we want to congratulate Tim and the staff at Black Brook on exemplifying the positive image of the city of Mentor.

•    The Family Campout is scheduled for Friday at the Civic Amphitheater. This family fun night is a chance for the family to go on a camping trip with out leaving the city limits, plus we’ll supply the campfire, games, crafts, snacks and a late night swim at the pool. So grab your tent and sleeping bags, give us a call and register to join us for this annual event.

•    The official name change ceremony for the Edward R. Walsh Park will be held on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at the entrance sign.

•    The Children’s Pet show was held this week at the Civic Amphitheater. Aside from the normal pet, we also had a goldfish that swam upside down, the return of “Super Duck,” and we learned that an iguana’s tale is twice as long as it’s body. All the participants had a great time and we want to thank our sponsors Pet-tastic and Walmart for donating the prizes, animal treats and judging the contest.

•    Tuesday night, the band “Chance” had the largest crowd we have ever had with over 1,000 folks enjoying the final concert of the year.

•    The Recreation Department had a meeting with the city manager to discuss the plan for the 2013 Fall Festival. The meeting went well and the department will continue to work on the plan for next year’s festival.

Economic and Community Development
•    Attended the Ohio Tax Credit Authority meeting in Columbus on behalf of PMi, Wiseco; a 55 percent credit for 10 years beginning in 2013 was approved.

•    Tom O’Hara & Ron Traub met with the representatives of the Western Reserve Community Development Corporation regarding the housing rehabilitation program; the Corporation has a “short” waiting list.

•    Ken Filipiak and Ron Traub toured the Center Street Village School project; the built-out of the salon is well under way and a podiatrist will occupy the first floor of the building.

•    Field work has been completed for an extension to the community reinvestment area, which will encompass an area bounded by Twinbrook and Tyler Boulevard between Hopkins Road and the B-2, General Business district on Tyler Boulevard.

Finance
•    The city received $211,000 from Time Warner and AT&T for video service franchise fees for the second quarter of calendar year 2012. First half of the year revenue equals $428,000. Estimated annual revenue from this source is $760,000.

Public Works Department
•    Remove Phragmites from easement at north end of Willowbrook
•    Fabricating/installing new sign for Edward R. Walsh park
•    Installing new radios in all City vehicles
•    Enclosing rafters at Mentor Beach Park
•    Sidewalk replacement - Center Street
•    Full depth asphalt repair - Hendricks at Brownstone
•    Inlet basin rebuilds - Deer Ridge, Cornell, Bunker Cove
•    Sign upgrade program, ongoing - replaced 105 stop signs year to date
•    FS #4 generator scheduled to go operational in end of August
•    Began improvement to Barto Ditch from Roosevelt to Jackson
•    Cleaned Martin Ohm Ditch from St. James to Meadowbrook
•    Roadside Ditch cleaning from 6199 to 6233 Mentor Park   

-- Betsy Scott, BScott@News-Herald.com, @ReporterBetsy

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