YOUR INFORMATION NEWSLETTER FROM NORTHFIELD CENTER TOWNSHIP TRUSTEE
PAUL G. BUESCHER
~ KEEPING NCT RESIDENTS INFORMED SINCE 2005 ~
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#542 THURSDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2018
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CLEVELAND WATER FINAL NOTICES
Many residents have received “FINAL” notices from the Cleveland Water Department threatening them with water cutoffs if they do not make an appointment to have new water meters installed, including radio transmitters. These transmitters record and report water usage in real time. This issue first came to light back in 2013. Many of you will recall that over 50 NCT residents refused to have these radio transmitters installed and as a result, Greg Faugst (now retired) from the Department, put together an “opt out” list. Since that time, no other actions or warnings or any other communications were made until now.
The following is information provided to me by Director, Fred Roberts:
CLEVELAND WATER CLEAR READS AUTHORITY
The City of Cleveland owns and operates a waterworks system under the management and control of its Department of Public Utilities Division of Water (Cleveland Water) pursuant to the Constitution and laws of the State of Ohio and the Charter and ordinances of the City of Cleveland.
Under the authority of the Charter of the City of Cleveland and Article XVIII, Section 6 of Constitution of the State of Ohio, the City of Cleveland is empowered to sell and deliver its water outside of its municipal boundaries.
Any municipality that Cleveland Water provides direct service to must enter into a Water Service Agreement (WSA) with the City of Cleveland. By entering into the WSA, a municipality agrees under Article 24.04 to be bound by the ordinances, rules, and regulations of the City of Cleveland that govern water service, including, but not limited to, Sections 531, 533, and 535 of the City of Cleveland Code of Ordinances. Section 533.01 of the City of Cleveland Code of Ordinances grants authority to Cleveland Water to replace existing meters if deemed necessary.
Additionally, Article 16.01 of the WSA requires the installation of meters and registers on all service connections within the service area of the municipality. The meters and registers are to be supplied, installed, and owned by Cleveland Water. Article 3.04 of the WSA grants Cleveland Water the right to discontinue water service to any customer in the municipality who violates any of the provisions of the WSA or any City of Cleveland ordinances, rules, or regulations that are applicable to the supplying of water.
The terms of the Water Service Agreement; the ordinances, rules, and regulations of the City of Cleveland; and the laws and regulations of the State of Ohio govern the operation of Cleveland Water’s direct water service to municipalities. The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) regulates investor-owned water and wastewater companies. It does not regulate providers that are a municipality. Therefore, the PUCO does not have a role in the operation of Cleveland Water, or any other municipal water systems.
For questions or more information contact websiteinquiries@clevelandwater.com
LEAF PICKUP REMINDER ~ DEADLINE IS THIS MONDAY ~
This coming Monday, December 3rd, is the deadline for having your leaves ready for pickup. Our Service Department will begin their final round on that date. This means that once they cover your street after that date they will not return. Make sure your leaves are curbside on that date to guarantee pickup. If your leaves are put out late (after Dec. 3rd) and the Service Department has already picked up, then you will be responsible for removal.
WOW CABLE UPDATE ~ As reported by our Zoning Inspector ~
Wow cable will be resuming work for the installation of their fiber optic cables within the next few weeks. They have all their bonds in place and will be installing their power supplies throughout the Township and cable installations will be in the Charter Lake development area for now.
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Q >>> – I am concerned about our rubbish pickups. Today [11/29], and just like two weeks ago, I noticed that both my trash and recycle bins were empty early this morning. Normally, the recycle bins are picked up much later in the day. I suspect that they are simply dumping the recycle with the trash. If this is true, why are we paying for recycling? Please check on this.
A >>> – I noticed the same thing so I did a little detective work. I have a video surveillance system that covers everything around me. This morning, Thursday, Nov. 29th, I viewed my playback. At my home, the recycles were picked up at 7:45AM and then the rubbish was picked up by another truck at 7:56PM. The same was true for several of my neighbors that I was able to see on the playback. The bottom line here is that Kimble may have changed their pickup schedules, they are still doing the job that they are supposed to do.
Q >>> – I am hoping that you can clear up a friendly argument that I am having with my cousin. I put in a new water garden with goldfish. I’ve been told to not feed the fish during the winter because it’s bad for them. He said I am wrong. I know you have a pond because you mentioned it a few times on this newsletter. Who is right?
A >>> – You are right. Fish are cold-blooded creatures and when the water temperature reaches around 48 degrees, they are unable to metabolize food. Basically, it just sits and rots in their gut. On average, I do not feed my fish (Gold Fish, Blue Gill and Koi) from around November to April. I’ve done this for 18-years. And although the pond surface freezes, I keep a bubbling hole in the ice for oxygen exchange, which is critical to the survival of the fish. They don’t need heat because they go into a semi-hibernation state but the oxygenation is critical!
YOUR GENERAL COMMENTS
NOTE – If you would like your name to appear under your Comments, please type the word “Signed” next to your name
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I see that something is at last being done concerning the junk yards in my neighborhood …..
Hopefully the “follow thru” is coming.
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Thank you,
Paul G. Buescher
Northfield Center Twp. – Trustee
330-467-9451
