Councilman Tom Waniewski Newsletter - July 2008
July 1, 2008
District Development
A Special Use Permit has been filed for the old B'Nai Israel Synagogue on Kenwood. I am holding a meeting at St. Francis de Sales High School to fill residents in on plans for the building. The meeting will be July 7th at 7 p.m. at St. Francis de Sales. Park in the lot to the west of the school and look for the signs.
Additionally, I favor rezoning for a small doctors' office development on Sylvania Ave. west of Talmadge. We are loosing these quality developments to Sylvania Township. The zoning codes are very confusing for this area.
Meantime, I am not in favor of encroachment into the residents in Nopper Gardens. I met with a good group of neighbors concerned about possible developments from the Joseph's retail strip. If you have any questions about these or other developments, please contact my office so I can provide you with the factual arguments.
Flooding
Well the floods came again, and boy did I hear about it! I've talked with the mayor's office about this. Particularly I mentioned Drummond (pictured), Clover Lane, Elmhurst, Douglas, Buell, Castleton and Garrison. The city has no money I'm told. Nonetheless, I'm scheduling a meeting with the mayor's staff to try to get more attention to these areas. In the meantime, please check your streets to make sure that all storm water grates are clear of any debris.
Speaking of flooding, the city is working with federal regulators to review new flood control regulations. There will be public hearings, and I'll keep you posted on where and when they are. Being tossed into a high flood plane can add quite a bit to your house insurance bill, so I want to make sure those regulations are fair.
Street Repaving
The city has been moving quickly on repaving streets. District 5 got a good share of CIP money, and I will work hard for at least as much in next year's budget. Are there more roads to repave? Absolutely. All roads that were targeted for repaving this year should be completed by August or September.
Inside Savage Hall
Thanks to Matt Schroeder and Chuck Lehnert for the tour of Savage Hall recently. It will be completed in time for basketball season in November. It's a $30 million investment (which translates into more than a billion dollars of residual economic development). Look closely at the photo. Yes, that's a rocket fashioned from the individual seats in Savage Hall. There will be 14 suites on the opposite side. And see where those cranes are working? That's the basketball court!!
Save the Date
July 23rd - 7 p.m.: Sanger Branch Library on Central near Middlesex. I've invited the chief of Toledo Police and the University of Toledo Police to talk with residents about crime prevention in Old Orchard
Did You Know
The Toledo Bar Association offers referral and information service assistance with a myriad of legal questions. Call the association at 419-242-2000 or visit them at their web site.
Worth Noting:
- I continue meeting with officials from Westfield Franklin Park and our Toledo Police Department to keep tabs on security issues at the area's premier mall. They are installing a pick-up area for parents. This will be near the Elephant Bar. Also new cameras and lighting are planned. The mall has Book Worm Wednesdays. Stop into the mall to find out more. Don't take a summer break from reading.
- City Council is being asked to approve $200,000 for the first half of dock repairs at Promenade Park. I am not in favor of this. That kind of money could repave almost another mile of streets in the district or be used for other capital improvements, such as the kind to prevent flooding.
- I also was not in favor of spending $45,000 for pre-trial drug testing. Let the defendants pay for the testing themselves, I thought. Then I visited muni court and had inside access to what goes on there. The judges, prosecutors, deputies, and police put up with a lot of "junk" in muni court, and I want to support them. I'm not completely sure this is an effective use of tax dollars however.
