~ KEEPING NCT RESIDENTS INFORMED SINCE 2005 ~
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#441 TUESDAY FEBRUARY 09, 2016
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FIRE CHIEF FRANK RISKO THANKS THOSE WHO HELPED DURING TRAGEDY
It’s time to say” Thank You” to all who worked so tirelessly the evening of January 11th, 2016 and the days following.
First, and foremost, thank you to our dedicated Northfield Center/Sagamore Hills Firefighters and to the Macedonia, Northfield Village, Twinsburg, Oakwood, Valley and Boston Heights Fire Departments who did an excellent job in assisting us in fighting the fatal fire and saving the neighboring homes from damage. Thank you to State Fire Marshall Brian Peterman and his Team for their quick response and support and to Wes Dobbins Summit County Lead Deputy, Macedonia Dispatch, Summit County Dispatch, Father Ralph, St. Barnabas Parish and the Northfield Center Road Department. Thank you for the dedication and teamwork of so many different factions coming together and working as one.
I would also like to offer my appreciation to Trustee Paul Buescher for assisting me with the Media that evening and the day after the fire and newly appointed Trustee John Romanik who was also on scene. The support of the Northfield Center Trustees during this tragic event has been invaluable to me and my Department.
I would like to also take this opportunity to offer a public note of appreciation, to everyone for everything they did for us. Generous donations of food, heartfelt cards and genuine support came from all over our Community and beyond. We want everyone to know that we truly are grateful and appreciate all of you.
In my 25 years with the Fire Department, I have never witnessed such a sad tragic event in our community.
On behalf of Myself, My Department and the Northfield Center Trustees, we wish to express our sincere Gratitude for so many family, friends and neighbors that came together for us and for the family.
Chief Frank Risko
Northfield Center/Sagamore Hills Fire District 27
MEIJER STORE / SPITZER REZONING UPDATE
Although the Summit County Planning Commission (SCPC) staff recommended a disapproval for Spitzer’s request to rezone its property from R-1 to C-1, the actual Commission members approved the request. The document below is from the SCPC and shows how the vote went down. An SCPC post meeting letter is attached to this Newsletter.
Spitzer Rezoning, Northfield Center Township
Located in Northfield Center Township north of the Spitzer Chevrolet on E. Aurora Road (SR 82), just west of Northfield Road (SR 8). The applicant is requesting a proposed zoning amendment for the subject property, to rezone it from the current R-1 zoning classification to a C-1 classification, in order to facilitate the development of an approximately 190,000 sf retail store on the site.
Staff recommends disapproval.
SCPC Action:
Approval: X
Disapproval:
Action: Approved
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Q >>> – Why are you using a 10 font on your newsletter? These old eyes are not what they use to be. Please consider changing it to a 12, thanks and have a good one.
A >>> – I’ve been using Arial font 10 since the very beginning in 2005 and this is the first time anyone has brought up the subject. I am open to suggestions and comments from others to see if more folks want the change that you suggest.
Q >>> – I came home from work today to find a tag on my trash can. NO SERVICE – PLEASE FACE CONTAINER OTHER WAY – THANK YOU. I called Kimble and they told me the Township signed a contract with them and if their supplied container was not facing the correct way – they do not have to pick up. The driver does not have to get out to turn. They left my trash here. Is this true? Did you sign a contract to this matter? I used to put out two trash cans and they have told me I have to use theirs facing the correct way. How do I fit two cans of trash into one? They won’t provide me a second trash can and they tell me I can’t use mine since the driver would have to get out of the truck. Please let me know. I have the NO SERVICE tag for your review. Worse thing – they won’t give me a credit for not picking up my trash.
A >>> – When I received your complaint something didn’t sound right so I forwarded it to others for them to investigate. Although it’s fairly long, I am including the following synopsis of the investigation written by the investigator:
Per your request, here is, as far as I can determine, an accurate summary of a Kimble incident that began on February 4, 2016.
I became aware of the problem when I received an email from Trustee Buescher on Thursday evening, February 4, 2016 and I contacted Kimble on Friday. I was told by them that I needed to supply an address for the inquiry.
I spoke with a Kimble customer service agent on Friday, February 5, 2016 after obtaining the address from you that morning. She said that a Northfield Center Township resident called around 4:56 p.m. on Thursday, February 4, 2016. She also said that he was very upset because Kimble did not empty his trash can because the lid was not facing the road. The same customer service agent stated that the resident reported that the driver got out of the truck and left a green ticket on the cart and stated it would not be picked up.
At this point I and Kimble did not know the driver’s side of the story.
She stated that the resident wanted a credit, but told him that she didn’t have the authority to issue one, and told me that she repeatedly told him they would send out a driver that evening and he replied he was leaving for the evening. She told him to leave the cart by the road so Kimble could pick it up that night. The resident told her that he intended to go to the Twinsburg Kimble facility the next morning (Friday) because he wanted “to take it out on others” in addition to her. He said he would remove the bags from the cart and line them up by the road so the driver would have get out of the truck to pick up each one of them. She advised him not to do it. When the resident claimed he was never informed of the policy regarding the placement of carts, she read to him the letter that Kimble had sent to residents.
It is my understanding that a Twinsburg Kimble Supervisor arrived at the resident’s home around 5:45 pm – 6:00 pm, approximately an hour after the complaint was received by Kimble.
Kimble had responded to his complaint in one hour!
The cart was not in the driveway and the Supervisor called the resident from in front of his house and left a voice mail that Kimble would return early the next morning, February 5, 2015. A call-back number was also left.
According to Kimble, the truck arrived at 6:20 am on Friday morning and the cart was not in the driveway. This was Kimble’s second attempt to pick up the rubbish after tagging the cart on Thursday. Kimble said that later Friday the resident said the supervisor who arrived at 5:45 pm – 6:00 pm on Thursday evening should have rung his doorbell, although the resident had previously stated he would not be home Thursday evening.
The resident said he got rid of the trash himself.
I became aware of the situation when I received an email from Trustee Buescher on Thursday evening, February 4, 2016 and I contacted Kimble on Friday. I was told by them that I needed to supply an address, and was talking to Trustee Buescher on the phone when the resident came into my office to complain.He denied knowing about the proper cart placement and denied ever receiving a letter to that effect from Kimble. I read him the letter (which is on our web site) and printed a copy for him. I did not know at that time that the woman from Kimble read him the same letter the day before on Thursday.
The resident stated that the Trustees make decisions with coin tosses. He requested a copy of the signed Kimble Contract. I told him it was a Request for Public Records and I would get it to him. After he left, I believed what he really needed was a copy of the Kimble Bid Specs for Sagamore Hills, since we were using the same specs and sent him an email telling him a hard copy of the bid specs would be available on Tuesday, February 9, 2016. The Sagamore Hills specs were over 16 Meg. I didn’t have to make that effort – it was out of courtesy. During a subsequent phone call from the resident, he told me I didn’t need to make the offer because he was now requesting the Sagamore specs as a Public Records Request, and after again making a comment about the Trustees making decisions via coin tosses, he hung up on me.
On Monday, February 8, 2016, Kimble called me and confirmed that the cart was in fact emptied by the Kimble driver on Thursday, February 4, 2016 as part of Kimble’s routine schedule, and the container was tagged per their policy.
To put this in perspective, there have been approximately 10,500 rubbish pickups since the beginning of cart usage and the resident’s complaint is the only one of which I am aware.
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For the record, YES we signed a contract because it’s our job to provide trash and recycled pickups at the best price that we could get. Also, if you fill your provided container you can still put out up to ten (10) additional bags of trash for pickup. By the way, both the trash and recycle containers are embossed with directions on which way to position them for pickup! And lastly, you are under no obligation to use Kimble for your trash hauler. If you are not satisfied with their service, you are free to hire anyone else of your choosing at your expense.
CORRECTION
It looks like one got by me in my last newsletter. Many of you advised me that the tax information that someone sent me under “Your General Comments” was not accurate. Obviously I did not check it out and assumed that the writer, who I personally know, did her homework. I called this person on the phone and was told that she passed it on after receiving it from a good friend. I will do MY homework the next time I receive something like this in the future.
I would also like to mention that several of you referred me to “Snopes” to check future information for accuracy. Although Snopes was correct in this particular incident, there have been many occasions when they were totally wrong and never admitted to it. Once such occasion had its roots right here in Ohio. It was reported that a Sheriff in Ashtabula county, had to lay off much of his staff and when residents began asking questions about their safety, a JUDGE told them to “Arm yourselves.” Snopes stated that this never happened and was false. However, the story was reported in the Plain Dealer and was aired on our local TV stations clearly showing the judge stating this! Snopes is not run by a staff of researchers but by a couple who started the site some years ago. There are many more sites to check information accuracy and I will endeavor to use them more in the future.
Also, please remember that I do NOT write comments in the “YOUR GENERAL COMMENTS” column below. ALL of the comments appearing in this column are written by THE READERS of this newsletter, NOT ME. This column is provided to you to sound off on matters on which you feel strongly about. YOUR comments, including compliments, criticisms and suggestions are always welcome.
YOUR GENERAL COMMENTS
NOTE: All comments must include your name and a phone number. This information will NOT be published. However, if you want your name to be published with your comments you should include the word “SIGNED” next to your name.
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I just wanted to weigh in on the Meijer store subject. My family and friends and I are firmly against any retail store being built on the property adjacent to Spitzer Chevrolet. When is enough,enough? The light pollution is already out of hand with the new, powerful LED lighting systems being used at other stores and businesses in the area. The residents of beechwood and cherry lane are strongly opposed to anything that will bring another influx of traffic, also. Beechwood is a freeway at rush hour already, even though it isn’t a thru street, and posted signs don’t stop people from cutting through. The reason my wife and I moved to Northfield Center and not Northfield village or Macedonia, was to escape city life, not to live in “little Cleveland”. The property is zoned residential, and should stay that way. I know money talks, but i hope that Meijer finds another location, in a suitable commercial area, instead of bulldozing more green space to line their pockets.
Signed Sean Gearing
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Thank you, as always, for your newsletter. I learn so much from it. In the most recent one, you mentioned that residents need to let you know where they stand on the proposed Meijer’s coming to Northfield.
My husband and I both attended the Dec. 9th Zoning Commission meeting and voiced our opposition to Meijer’s opening a store in the proposed area. I send this email to put our opposition in writing. The area where Rt 82 and Rt 8 meet is looking like every other retail area to our north (Northfield Village, the area around what used to be Southgate and the area around the old Randall Mall) – crowded, trashy and redundant. We understand that areas grow and change, however, the small community ‘feel’ of Northfield Township, which once made it so appealing, is quickly disappearing. We are also concerned about the effect on the wetlands and the water problems (despite what the Meijer’s engineer claimed) which will inevitably occur to houses close by.
We don’t need yet another large store in Northfield Center. Our shopping needs are more than met. Quite frankly, I question the research the Meijer’s team performed, which they claimed indicated that their store is needed here. As a resident, I would much prefer to drive a few extra miles to another community to purchase anything I need and enjoy driving past the beautiful wooded land in Northfield Center on my way vs. the ‘convenience’ of going around the corner to make a purchase.
Finally, we are concerned about the wildlife which will be displaced with the construction of the store. A large part of the charm of our area is experiencing the amazing animals and birds that share our community. How awful it would be to displace them in favor of more bright light pollution, paved land, increased noise and yet more traffic.
Enough is enough and I ask you to do the right thing and oppose Meijer’s coming to Northfield!
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Thank you,
Paul G. Buescher
Northfield Center Twp. Trustee Vice-Chairman
Northfield Center-Sagamore Hills Fire Dist. Board – Chairman
330-467-9451
TrusteeBuescher@aol.com
www.northfieldcenter.com
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