Buy-By St, Roberts?

The City Should buy the closed St. Roberts church land. The cost of the approximate 7.8 acres is
$647,000. I not only favor the purchase, but, have pushed this purchase strongly. Here are some points to consider:

No tax or fee increases related to this purchase. The trash and lighting fees recently passed by City Council is not going toward this purchase. In fact, those monies are to pay for general operating expenses such as police and fire salaries and benefits. St. Roberts purchase is coming out of our capital funds. Capital funds can not be used to pay for salaries.

Shore is not the target of this purchase. It is not my intent to purchase St. Roberts to somehow
close down Shore. We are purchasing this property as a "pass thru" until the lakefront project is farther along and, we are ready for its redevelopment.

The City has done a poor job with properties on Euclid Avenue and at 205. True. But the problem was not in the purchase itself, but, in not having a plan. With JJR, our lakefront consultants, we have a top notch waterfront planning firm.

And, St. Roberts IS a part of the lakefront planning: Since at least 1994, lakefront development planning envisioned redevelopment pushing south of Lakeshore Blvd. I have always felt that the entire area between the golf course and the marina should be a target of redevelopment efforts.

JJR, our lakefront development consultants, and the "quarterback" of the project believes St. Roberts is a critical piece of the overall lakefront development area.

So, what do we do with St. Roberts once we buy it. Ideally, we would immediately pass it thru to an interested and sympathetic developer. Short of that, the City should rent out the church to an interested congregation. This will allow the City to recoup some of the purchase price while we work on other aspects of the lakefront plan.

Some might say that it is still risky. The risk is minimal. If we are not successful on the lakefront the City can always sell off the property.

Euclid is at a critical time. Our population is falling, and, we are losing wealth. That means we have fewer and fewer resources to pay for services. Therefore, from an economic development standpoint, we must do the marina as a catalyst for apartment conversion into condominiums. JJR estimates that such public investments will leverage 8-12 times that amount in private investment.

Purchasing St. Roberts gives the City options in creating a truly great redevelopment project.
We will have none south of Lakeshore if we miss.

Let me know what you think.

Trees for Euclid

Planting trees does a world of good! Not only do trees offer beauty to and garden, they can save the home owner money. Properly planted trees can cool your home thereby saving money on air conditioning. Consult a landscape or an arborist to select the proper tree and, more importantly the proper location to plant your tree. Chris Grant, our City Arborist can suggest
help for your tree planting questions.

Planting trees is not simply the home owners choice: The City of Euclid plants dozens of trees every year. Most are to replace diseased and damaged trees, or, trees that have been removed for sewer/road work. The City is a long time winner of the Tree City USA designation meaning that we appreciate the value planting and maintaining trees.

As a member of the Shade Tree Commission, I have a great interest in planting trees along our public right of ways. To that end, Matt Sarver, another member of the Shade Tree Commission
have set up an Shade Tree Ad Hoc Committee dedicated to planting trees along the marginal, and in the "infield" areas of the I90/Rt highway interchange. We are currently experimenting
by planting seedlings along the marginal near 260th. If all goes well, and, they take" we will work to obtain ODOT's permission to do a more extensive planting next spring.

2010 Euclid Pond and Garden Tour

Right here in Euclid you can see some of North East Ohio's most creative gardens. Its the
2010 Euclid Pond and Garden Tour. This year's tour is June 26th and 27th. Saturday, the 26th is the special candlelight tour from 7:00 pm to Midnight. Sunday, the 27th is from
1:00pm to 7:00pm. As a member of the Euclid Shade Tree Commission, I want to thank my colleagues and City staff for putting this all together. Proceeds go toward planting trees in Euclid. Tickets are 8 dollars and can be purchased at City Hall. Call Marcia at City Hall for more information (289-2726)