TWDC Development Director Story

       Link to plain Press Story.

http://www.plainpress.org/html/stories/2008-08/sammycataniaresignsattwdcboardpresident.htm

Tremont Pointe Coverage

          Round Table discusses concerns about security planning for Tremont Pointe
by Chuck Hoven

(Plain Press, August 2008) At the urging of Tremont West Development Corporation (TWDC) Board Member David Purpera, a number of members of TWDC’s board and housing and safety committees attended a July 11th meeting of the Tremont Pointe Round Table. Their goal was to raise concerns about the development of a security plan for Tremont Pointe Development at W. 7th and Starkweather.

In several recent TWDC board and committee meetings, Purpera urged TWDC to work with the management of Tremont Pointe, McCormack, Baron and Salazar to develop a security plan. Purpera expressed disappointment when the TWDC board agreed to accept a $15,000 payment from McCormack, Baron and Salazar to serve fiscal agent for federal Housing and Urban Development dollars targeted for the next phase of the development. Purpera hoped that TWDC’s board would seek a security plan from the developers before agreeing to serve as a conduit for the dollars.

Currently just over 100 rental units are completed at Tremont Pointe. Tremont Pointe, a federally funded part of the HOPE VI Program.  When entire development is completed Tremont Pointe will have roughly 190 mixed income rental suites. According to the original plans for the development 95 of those rental units will be public housing units promised to the former residents of Valley View who were forced to move to make way for the new development, 62 of the rental units will be market rate units and an additional 33 units of housing will be tax credit units with subsidized rents. In addition 24 new market rate houses were proposed as part of the development.

The federally designed HOPE VI project includes management service and social services. To that end CMHA has partnered with McCormack, Baron and Salazar of St. Louis to manage Tremont Point. Merrick House is also a partner in providing social services to the residents of Tremont Pointe.

Purpera, who lives directly across from the development, has been attending the monthly meetings at the development and reporting back to the Board of TWDC. Purpera told the TWDC Board of Trustees that McCormack, Baron and Salazar had not delivered on promised security for the development. He said instead they were depending on using Cleveland Police for their security needs.

Over 25 people packed into a small meeting room at Tremont Pointe for a teleconference with Barbara Freeland, Executive Vice President of McCormack, Baron and Salazar, the St. Louis based developer and manager of Tremont Pointe.

Residents from Tremont West Development Corporation’s Safety Committee urged Tremont Pointe to participate in the security camera program being developed for the neighborhood and offered to help the resident council of Tremont Pointe to secure a grant for cameras as some block clubs in the neighborhood have already done. Freeland agreed to hold conversations with the safety committee on that matter.

Ward 13 Councilperson Joe Cimperman raised a number of issues calling for cooperation with the neighborhood. Among the issues he raised were cooperation between TWDC and the developer in the area of securing financing for the next phase of the development, cameras and safety, the role of CMHA police, eviction policy, the formation of a resident council, and connecting the towpath trail to Tremont Pointe.

Several people urged Tremont Pointe to hold its monthly meetings at a more convenient time for working residents of Tremont Pointe. Renee Richardson, a Tremont Board Member and the chair of the resident council at Tremont Pointe, was the only resident able to attend the 11 a.m. meeting.

 Freeland agreed that the resident council needs to happen and hoped to make progress in the next 30 days. Freeland said she hoped residents would also become involved in Tremont’s block club for the area.

Richardson told the Plain Press after the meeting that the resident council is already in place and has seven active members. She also said several members of the resident council are also active in the neighborhood block club.

Freeland agreed to regular contact between TWDC, CMHA and McCormack, Baron and Salazar to give updates on the development.

Freeland said Phase II of the development is about to begin, adding 87 additional units of mixed income rental housing.  She estimated that construction on Phase II would begin in early August and would be completed by October or November of 2009. The site manager at Tremont Pointe offices said that 99% of units already completed have signed lease agreements.

Several neighborhood residents expressed concern that 200 additional families would be in the neighborhood when the development is complete and would tax an already over worked Second District Police station. They urged Freeland to hire security guards for the development.

Second District Commander Keith Sulzer told residents that they would not be happy if CMHA police were called. He said they are overloaded and would just call the Second District. This would just delay response time. He also noted that the Second District was not receiving a lot of calls from Tremont Pointe. He urged residents to call if there is a problem. As far as a preferred security option Sulzer said he would “love to see Tremont Point get a security guard.”

Resident Tim Jenkins, asked urged the building of a basketball court at Tremont Pointe so youths won’t have to use portable nets in the street. He urged placement of security cameras in the two large parking lots and expressed the need for such a large development to have a security plan and paid security guards.

The manager of the office at Tremont Pointe said she had observed only one portable basketball hoop. It broke and had been thrown away. She also said only eight youths ages 14-17 were residents of the low-income units at present.

Freeland responded that parking for residents of Tremont Pointe should be no different from other single-family homes in Tremont. She said she didn’t see them as bastions of crime in need of security cameras. She said McCormack Baron and Salazar took care of security through their resident screening process. She said residents should be no different that other Tremont residents and should call Cleveland police when there is a problem. She said a very effective eviction program tied to a strong lease would assure that problem tenants were removed from the development.

Freeland said that McCormack Baron and Salazar run HOPE VI developments all over the country and “very few require security guards. When they do it is because we can’t control what is going on in the neighborhood around us.”

Jenkins noted that the McCormack and Baron managed property at Lexington Village in Cleveland had security. Freeland said she was not aware of this and would look into it.

Freeland said tot lots were provided in Tremont Pointe but not a basketball court. She said the thinking was the older youths could get on their bikes and make use of the basketball court and parks in the neighborhood.

Marie Timpano, Executive Director of Merrick House, said Merrick House has been working with youth in Tremont Pointe to provide recreation services for youth. She noted that Merrick House has a basketball league other programs for youth. She said Merrick House would consider offering transportation to youth if there was a need for it. She said, “We are your settlement house,” and urged residents to contact her if they felt additional services were needed in the neighborhood.

TWDC Executive Director Chris Garland noted there was an agreement for regular updates on infrastructure development; an agreement to look at recreational needs of youth in Tremont Pointe and how to better tie them to youth programs in the larger neighborhood; an agreement to look at safety concerns about real and perceived crime and how to make progress on safety.

The next meeting was set for the second Friday of August at 3 p.m. Richardson agreed to serve as chairperson of the meeting.

http://www.plainpress.org/html/stories/2008-08/roundtablediscussesconcernsaboutsecurityplanning.htm

http://www.cleveland.com/westsidesun/news/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1216316716139140.xml&coll=4

Frank Giglio's House

   Landmarks Commission saves historic W. 14th Street house from demolition
by Chuck Hoven

(Plain Press, August 2008) At its June 26th meeting, Cleveland Landmarks Commission voted 5-3 with one abstention to disapprove of the demolition a house on W. 14th in the Tremont Historic District. The 1890s era house, at 2288 W. 14th (directly across the street from Grace Hospital), belongs to Tremont resident Frank Giglio. The vote for disapproval of the City of Cleveland’s demolition order came after the Landmarks Commission heard extensive testimony from those for and against the demolition.

Ward 13 Councilman Joe Cimperman, the Cleveland City Council representative on the Landmarks Commission, said, “I’d love to see this house preserved, but it is just not happening.” Cimperman went on to say that he sees no solution available to fix up the property, which he estimated would cost over $250,000. He cited safety issues and called for the demolition of the property. Cimperman said since the day he took office, this house has been a concern. Cimperman said Giglio is not bankable and there is no free money to fix up the property. He expressed a lack of confidence in Giglio’s ability to maintain the property, “If we spent $200,000 fix it up. In ten years it would look like this again,” said Cimperman.

Chris Garland, Executive Director of Tremont West Development Corporation said both the Tremont Local Design Review Committee and the Housing Committee of Tremont West Development Corporation have voted to approve demolition of the house.

Patrick Turner, a Cleveland resident and friend of Frank Giglio, said he believed there is “some sort of political vendetta against Frank.” He wondered why three vacant structures across W. 14th from Giglio’s house that were empty and in various states of disrepair were not being held to the same standard. He testified he had been in Giglio’s house and feels that it is a very solid structure. While it would take a lot of work, he said he believes the house can be fixed up. Turner called what was happening in Tremont, a “classic case of gentrification.”

Ron O’Leary of the City of Cleveland’s Building and Housing Department submitted documentation of the various citations issued on the property over the years and the 30-day condemnation order issued on November 1, 2007. He also submitted the Board of Building Standards and Building Appeals’ decision on March 5, 2008 to deny of Frank Giglio’s request for a variance consideration. The decision called for the Building and Housing Department to enforce the violation notice and demolish the structure. O’Leary said the estimated $16,000 cost of demolition would be charged to Giglio or placed on the tax duplicate for the property.

Joshua Ehrlick, a former Tremont resident and friend of Frank Giglio, said he had attended several of the hearings on Giglio’s property and was present for one of the inspections. He questioned the standards the house was being held to. He noted that the house was cited for not having grounded electrical outlets. He said, “Outlets in most of the houses in Cleveland are not grounded.”

Ehrlick said health inspectors reported the house was infested with fleas. However, he said he walked with inspectors through the house in shorts and did not have any fleabites. Ehrlick questioned the attitude of inspectors sent to the property by the City of Cleveland, saying they were rude and slamming doors in his face as he accompanied them through the house.

Ehrlick read into the record a letter from another supporter of Giglio. The letter praised Giglio as a member of the artistic community that helped to build community in the Tremont neighborhood. The letter writer said Giglio was being persecuted because he didn’t keep a manicured lawn but instead raised native plants. Many people in the neighborhood appreciated the native landscape and that the house was beautiful and interesting and should be restored, said the letter writer.  The author of the letter called on the city to support Giglio in his efforts rather than subjecting him to fines and regulations.

Landmarks Commission member Thomas Coffey, a Tremont resident, spoke strongly in favor of taking the time to look at the possibility of saving Giglio’s house. He said he had talked to Giglio and said, “He is interested in selling the house, but doesn’t want to have the development corporation (Tremont West Development Corporation) tell him whom the buyer will be.” Coffey said Giglio offered to allow him and developer Mike McBride to look at the house.

Coffey described the very intense emotions at the Tremont West Development Corporation Housing Committee meeting when Giglio’s house was discussed. Coffey said he found it peculiar that Second District Commander Keith Sultzer told the committee “if there is any trouble (with Giglio), just call and I will have him arrested.” Coffee, a lawyer, said, “ I thought you had to commit a crime to be arrested.”

Coffey also took issue with Cimperman’s contention that the house was a danger. He said “the house is solid structurally and not in danger of coming down.“ He noted a vacant lot on one side of the structure, I-90 behind the structure and Frank’s mother’s house on the other side (where Giglio now resides.)  “Talk about danger here is simply not warranted, “ said Coffey. “I don’t think this is a danger to anyone, “ he emphasized.

Coffey reminded the Landmarks Commission of their mission to consider the historic value of the house. He said, “Once the house comes down. The house is down forever.”  In all the discussion so far he noted, “precious little attention paid to the historical nature of the house.”

Frank Giglio, who arrived late at the hearing, complained of uneven enforcement of the building code on W. 14th street. He cited a mansion in disrepair near his house that was never cited by the city and noted other neglected properties left alone by city inspectors while “year after year I have been cited for violations and have corrected them.” He refuted claims that restoration of the house would cost over $250,000 and said the cost would be more like $60,000. He said he is looking for an electrician willing to donate electrical expertise to help out at the site.

Giglio refuted claims by Cimperman that he had been offered help. He contended that the Ron O’Leary of the Building and Housing Department blocked his and his mother’s applications for the paint program. He called his relationship with Councilman Cimperman strained.

Giglio noted an incident in 1999 when the city illegally entered his property and bulldozed the front of it (apparently while working on the vacant lot next door). He recalled being sprayed in the face with mace by a police lieutenant while trying to protect his property. He noted the difficulty of restoring his natural garden after the city’s destructive behavior and expressed his belief that “naturalized green space is very important in this city.”

Countering arguments about the safety threat posed by the property, Giglio noted there are no police calls to the property, no drug activity, and the property had a new roof and new gutters. He noted there was no danger of an electrical fire because the electricity is off.

Giglio said he had lived in the Tremont neighborhood for 25 years. “I love Tremont. But have been ready to leave for some time. I want to sell the house,” he said.

Following Giglio’s testimony, Coffey again spoke up. “I respectfully suggest that something really cool has been allowed to fall into awful shape. There has got to be a better answer than to just tear the house down,” said Coffey.

Speaking of the house, Coffey said, “It deserves restoration and preservation.” He said, “someday we may reach a conclusion that it must be torn down, but we are not even close to that. There are many things we can do to save it,” said Coffey.

http://www.plainpress.org/html/stories/2008-08/landmarkssaveshistoricw14thhouse.htm

I am glad to see that Tremont residents are not allowing back room politics to determine the fate of fellow longtime and sometimes idiosyncratic residents such as Frank Giglio. The demolition will be revisited by Landmark Commission in September. The best option for Frank Giglio is transferring/co-owning his house with someone who will make the necessary repairs. If there is a handy person out there, who feels strongly about helping one person preserve his right to property, perhaps you can help Frank Giglio.

I agree, imcshane, and thank you Henry for posting this info. More people should be aware of how TWDC and Cimperman have mistreated a fellow resident. It seems a myopic concern with "PROPERTY VALUES" have led to idiocy. If equal emphasis for PERSONAL VALUES were held by TWDC and Joe Cimperman this would not have come to where it is. But I guess we don't pay politicians to serve humanely, especially when money is involved.

Some people are just incapable of appreciating what they can not understand and have no interest in enlightening themselves.

Cleveland gave birth to the superhero Superman :)

Moving large objects with one hand--nice work.

those two need to audition for the Sopranos - they're a shoe in! They could bring it all back!

Former TWDC Board President in the News, Priceless!!!

http://www.wkyc.com/news/local/news_article.aspx?storyid=94374&catid=45or

http://www.woio.com/global/video/flash/popupplayer.asp?ClipID1=2742472&h1=Only%20On%2019%20Action%20News%3A%20Worker%20Speaks%20Out%20About%20County%20Raids&vt1=v&at1=News&d1=153500&LaunchPageAdTag=Homepage&activePane=info&rnd=16706074

One must wonder when the Men in Black will be in Tremont looking over contracts and influence peddling involving land transfers.

First Target:  Parcel Number

004-02-033

WKYC Link

 See if this works

http://www.wkyc.com/news/local/news_article.aspx?storyid=94374&catid=45