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Activities Group News: Community Engagement | Housing | Downtown Lakewood | Safety
Community Engagement News
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2009 Mid-year Report
 2009 Mid-Year Community ReportAs a volunteer-based non-profit economic development organization with a staff of 1.5 people, much of our work goes on under the radar of the general public. As we head into the second half of 2009 and expand LakewoodAlive’s programming to play a role in protecting Lakewood’s housing stock, we offer this update to the community on our activities year-to-date:
LakewoodAlive continues to be focused its Downtown Lakewood programming as we seek to revitalize the district using the National Main Street™ model.
How we look:
In coordination with the City’s Department of Planning and Development, on July 9 our Design Guidelines Committee, headed by volunteer Paul Beegan and a highly qualified volunteer committee, will present to Lakewood’s Architecture Board of Review (ABR) a draft proposal of guiding principles for new design guidelines for the downtown commercial district.
Downtown Lakewood Blossoms committee, led by Kathy Haber, coordinated the orders and placement of 32 flower boxes in the district and flowers in the Sinagra Park planters. Keep Lakewood Beautiful is sharing the cost of seasonal flowers for the planters. Lakewood United Methodist Church volunteers, led by Sandy Gates, are maintaining them. The Coral Company donated the eight hanging baskets in Sinagra Park and contributed funds to LakewoodAlive for watering services.
Community Service Workers Initiative: Under the leadership of Judge Carroll and facilitated by LakewoodAlive, community service workers are being assigned to remove graffiti on private property in Downtown Lakewood. This groundbreaking initiative is in a “pilot” phase with early excellent results. Workers assigned by the courts are also assisting in weekly watering of the flower boxes plus weeding and litter collection in municipal parking lots in the district.
Downtown Lakewood staff has developed relationships with most of the district’s property owners and/or property management firms. On an ongoing basis we encourage them to maintain their street front presence by pointing out areas that need attention e.g. clean & attractive windows, graffiti removal, landscape maintenance, etc.
How we function:
The Wayfinding & Signage Design Committee, led by volunteer Sean McDermott, presented to ABR on July 2 a review of activities to-date to design a new wayfinding and signage system for the district with the help of environmental design consultants, Studio Graphique. This project is funded by a grant award to LakewoodAlive from Heritage Ohio, matched by the City of Lakewood.
Seven property/business owners on the Downtown Lakewood Security Committee funded a 10-week enhanced security initiative this spring in the district. This pilot program secured the services of off-duty Lakewood police officers to patrol the district by foot, bike and car at irregularly scheduled shifts during busy periods in the area. The committee is reviewing information reported by the police officers and is in the process of determining if the program will be extended and/or be refined in order to assure that the commercial district is perceived as safe and inviting for all visitors.
Invited and facilitated by LakewoodAlive, twenty-plus merchants have met bi-weekly since mid-May to discuss promotion of the shopping district. As a result, a 2-day sidewalk sale will be held in conjunction with Streetwalk 2009, and promotional materials will be created for distribution at the LakewoodAlive table during the Lakewood Arts Festival. Plans for a late-October special event are under discussion, as are efforts to increase cross-promotion activity in the district.
LakewoodAlive is working with the City of Lakewood’s Department of Planning & Development and developers in the downtown district to attract, expand and retain businesses and tenants. Ongoing work includes, but is not limited to, Giltz & Co. (aka Discount Drug Mart plaza), The Coral Company (aka Marc’s plaza), Detroit-Warren Building, 14701 Detroit LLC (former INA and Lakewood Center Buildings), Wholesome Development (Five Guys building), Lakewood Center North and West, and Lakewood Hospital. This activity ranges from direct solicitation/problem-solving, to facilitating discussions with city representatives, to representing the district at roundtable meetings designed to showcase the city.
We are updating the popular Downtown Lakewood post-card map to reflect changes from last printing. Lakewood Hospital is the primary distributor of this piece that directs patient family members and visitors to amenities and services in the area.
Attracting visitors:
Three major summer events, led by Downtown Lakewood in collaboration with other community organizations are being heavily promoted to attract residents and visitors from outside the city to the downtown district. Lakewood Hospital has generously stepped up as a major sponsor of all these events:
Band2gether:One World Music Series brings live entertainment to Sinagra Park every Friday evening in July and August. This program is a collaborative effort with Lakewood Is Art, Vance Music Studios, and the City of Lakewood and is funded in part by Cuyahoga Arts & Culture.
Alive & Well Streetwalk 2009 on Saturday, July 18th in a collaborative effort with Live Well Lakewood and the City of Lakewood will celebrate Lakewood’s healthy living assets on closed Detroit Avenue.
Downtown Lakewood pARTy will offer live music and refreshment under the Belle Avenue tent following the Arts Festival on Saturday, August 1. In collaboration with Lakewood Is Art, proceeds from this event will help fund arts programming in the district throughout the year.
Downtown Lakewood is helping with the cross-promotion of LEAF nights, the North Union Farmer’s Market, Lakewood Arts Festival, Starry Night Lakewood Hospital Benefit, and Lakewood Library programming.
Downtown Lakewood has become a member of Positively Cleveland to have access to its many resources for attracting out-of-town visitors to our city.
We recently launched a blog-based website, www.downtownlakewood.org, to specifically promote Downtown Lakewood activities and businesses. The LakewoodAlive site, www.lakewoodalive.com, remains as our “corporate” web-based location for economic development news and information. Both of these websites were designed and are maintained by LakewoodAlive volunteers, Mark Dubis (downtownlakewood.org) and Jonathan Morgan (lakewoodalive.com)
Awards and Recognitions:
Geiger’s Clothing & Sports was nominated by Downtown Lakewood and recognized as Heritage Ohio’s Main Street Business of the Year at its state conference held in Cleveland in May.
LakewoodAlive’s Downtown Lakewood program was recognized as being nationally accredited by the National Main Street Center in February.
LakewoodAlive and the City of Lakewood were jointly recognized with an Economic Impact Award from Team NEO in June for its work in attracting Wholesome Development headquarters to Lakewood.
The City of Lakewood, Lakewood Historical Society and Downtown Lakewood were recognized with a Preservation Award by the Cleveland Restoration Society in May for work related to the passage of the preservation ordinance and our Main Street program.
LakewoodAlive has been notified by Cuyahoga Arts & Culture of a $5000 grant award in the form of matching funds for Band2gether: One World Music Series programming in Downtown Lakewood.
Streetscape Funding
On June 22, Congressman Dennis Kucinich announced $311,000 in Federal Highway appropriation for Downtown Lakewood streetscape improvements. LakewoodAlive has been meeting with the representative and his staff to advocate for this critical aspect of Downtown Lakewood’s revitalization. The City of Lakewood made the formal appropriations request on our behalf.
Community Engagement
In February, the Community Engagement Committee, led by Jay Foran, presented a forum, Lakewood Hospital-Vision for Tomorrow, to update the community about Lakewood Hospital’s strategic vision and investment plans for the institution.
We made presentations about our work this spring to Junior Women’s Club of Lakewood, Lakewood Garden Club, Prudential Lucien Realty and two chapters of the Lakewood-Rocky River Rotary.
Downtown Lakewood has created a fan page on Facebook, and is exploring other social networking opportunities.
Coming soon: Housing Initiative
In mid-July, Hilary Schickler will join LakewoodAlive as our Housing Outreach Director. Funded by federal Community Development Block Grant dollars, Hilary will launch our housing initiative by working with low-moderate income residents to resolve exterior house maintenance issues. In addition to offering practical advice, this program will provide information to eligible property owners on government programs available to help address these issues. In anticipation of this new role, LakewoodAlive has benefitted from the pro-bono services of CSU Marshall Law fellow and social worker, Sarah Dixon, who has documented for us her significant research on government processes and resources related to housing issues.
Fundraising
As a nonprofit organization, LakewoodAlive relies heavily on the generosity of the community to execute its mission to facilitate economic stability and growth in the City of Lakewood. In 2009, we expect to be reimbursed for approximately $50,000 in business technical assistance and housing outreach through federal community development block grant funds as allocated by the City of Lakewood. We must raise the dollars to fund the balance of our $215,000 operating budget. Fundraising events for 2009 include Let’s Wine About Winter, LakewoodAlive Cornhole Tournament, Downtown Lakewood pARTy and Spooky Pooch Parade. Community support of these events and contributions to our annual fund are essential to our continued operation. We thank you for your generous past and future support.
Board and Volunteers
The dedication of our board, committees and event volunteers cannot be overstated. From fundraising, to governance, to networking, to research, to graphic design, to leadership, to cleaning, to planting, to laughter – their contributions of time and talent are inspiring and utterly essential to our success. We are honored to help facilitate the hopes that so many Lakewood residents have for our city. Your assistance in matters big and small will be gratefully accepted. Please join us!
Mary Anne Crampton
Executive Director
macrampton@lakewoodalive.com
Shannon Strachan
Marketing & Development Director
sstrachan@lakewoodalive.com
216.521.0655
LakewoodAlive Board of Directors
Effective July 1, 2009
Executive Officers
President:
Mikelann Ward Rensel
Nonprofit consultant
Vice-President:
Jack Gustin
President, Lakewood Hospital
Treasurer:
Mary Sue McGorray †
McGorray Funeral Home
Secretary:
Curt Brosky
Exec. Director, LSC Service Corp
Past President:
David Shaw
Senior VP, First Federal of Lakewood
At-Large
Jenni Baker † - The Bullock Group
Patty Ryan – Lakewood Chamber of Commerce
Paul Beegan - Beegan Architectural Design
Steven Clark* – Lakewood Chamber of Commerce
Randy Doi – Collins Gordon & Bostwick
Mayor Ed FitzGerald – City of Lakewood
Jay Foran † - Team NEO
Chas Geiger †– Geiger’s Clothing & Sports
Director Nathan Kelly – City of Lakewood Planning & Development
Mary Louise Madigan - Ward 4 Council Representative
Tom McConnell - Discount Drug Mart
Steve Ott Esq.† - Ott & Associates
Paula Reed†– Prudential Lucien Realty
Mike Summers - Summers Rubber; Ward 3 Council Representative
Terry Vincent Esq.* – Chamber of Commerce
†Committee Chair
* Ex-officio
LakewoodAlive is a 501-(c)(3) nonprofit economic development organization that facilitates economic growth and stability in the city of Lakewood, Ohio. Downtown Lakewood is the National Main Street™ program of LakewoodAlive dedicated to revitalizing our historic business district.
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