HERITAGE OHIO NEWS RELEASE

Media Contact:
Joyce Barrett
T: 614.258.6200
JBarrett@heritageohio.org

June 17, 2010
Lakewood Schools honored with “Best Civic Benefit” Award
at Heritage Ohio’s Annual Awards Ceremony

Athens, OHIO–Heritage Ohio awarded the “Best Civic Benefit” for Lakewood Schools rehabilitation of Horace Mann and Emerson Elementary Schools. Rick Berdine of Lakewood City School and Paula Reed of Lakewood Alive accepted the award Thursday, June 17th at Heritage Ohio’s Annual Preservation and Revitalization Awards Ceremony held at the Baker Center on the campus of Ohio University. The Awards Ceremony is held in conjunction with Heritage Ohio’s Statewide Conference.

Located in Cleveland’s first-ring suburb of Lakewood, Ohio, these “twin” schools were originally built in 1921 by architect Charles H. Hopkinson. In the renovation process both Emerson and Horace Mann schools, both originally junior high schools, were converted to elementary schools at a cost of $36 million. The source of funding was bond proceeds as approved by Lakewood taxpayers.

The projects were completed in 2008 and today services 375 and 396 students in grades k-5 respectively.

The two facilities have served the communities for nearly 100 years and remain icons of their respective neighborhoods. The original architects drawing were found at the Cleveland Public Library Archive. Historic photographs from the Lakewood Historical Society were also used to verify the original construction of the building.

“All the communities, organizations and individuals receiving awards today have demonstrated a local commitment to sustaining and growing the preservation and revitalization movement. Ohioans are concerned about the future of their heritage,” stated W. Kevin Pape, Board Chair of Heritage Ohio. Added Pape, “The inspiration these award winners provide to other communities will pay dividends far into the future.”

More than 20 communities, organizations and individuals submitted nominations for consideration. The awards recognize the numerous preservation and revitalization accomplishments of downtowns and neighborhoods across the state. The Selection Committee reported an increased level of quality in nominations, awarding 9 categories at this year's event.

Heritage Ohio is the statewide, not-for-profit preservation organization, dedicated to encouraging and assisting people and organizations to protect, preserve and revitalize Ohio’s heritage. Formed in 1989, Heritage Ohio has more than 500 members ranging from individuals and households to organizations and local governments. In 2002, Heritage Ohio was designated as the statewide partner of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Heritage Ohio encourages the development, redevelopment and improvement of downtown and neighborhood commercial districts. Heritage Ohio works as a catalyst for downtown development by bringing together downtown organizations, conducting statewide seminars and conferences and providing a network to share knowledge, common experiences and challenges concerning downtowns. Learn more at www.heritageohio.org.

Heritage Ohio has received support from the Ohio Department of Development’s Office of Housing and Community Partnerships, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Ohio Historic Preservation Office, and many Ohio corporations.

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Newsweek Names Lakewood One of Top Ten High Schools in Ohio!

Methodology

The Newsweek List

Lakewood High School is a public high school located in Lakewood, Ohio, west of Cleveland. The school colors are purple and gold. The mascot is the Ranger Man. The school is currently a member of the Northeast Ohio Conference. During the past years, many improvements have been made in the physical plant of the school. Improvements have included the planetarium, reading center, improved academic classrooms and offices, a 25 yard pool with separate diving well and natatorium, new cafeterias, a horticulture laboratory, an enlarged library, five computer labs, additional physical educational facilities, and extensive vocational program facilities.

A building addition, referred to as "the New Building" was completed in 1970, and was necessary because of increased enrollment which included bringing the inclusion of the ninth grade in the high school. The most recent addition is the music wing which accommodates both the vocal and instrumental programs at the school. The school underwent renovation which started late 2007 and is now completed. The curriculum at LHS is broad and offers a wide selection of courses in technical, vocational, art, home economics, music and business as well as the regular academic fields of English, Science, Mathematics, Languages and Social Studies. Lakewood High School currently offers 12 AP courses. The school's newspaper, the Lakewood Times, won the the Pacemaker Award, in 2000 and 2001.

Adopted by Lakewood City Council at a special meeting held on Thursday, June 10, 2010

A RESOLUTION supporting the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and Lakewood Hospital Association’s Vision for Tomorrow plan and its focus on Centers of Excellence at Lakewood Hospital.

WHEREAS, the City of Lakewood entered into a partnership with the Lakewood Hospital Association, whose sole member is the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, in 1996 through a definitive agreement and lease; and

WHEREAS, the City and Cleveland Clinic both aspire and commit to provide appropriate services suitable for the Lakewood community and to maintain the near- and long-term viability of Lakewood Hospital; and

WHEREAS, the marketplace, regulatory and financial trends and forces regarding health care delivery services, including hospital services, are in an extraordinarily dynamic and uncertain state, as evidenced by the fact that 50 percent of the hospitals in the United States reported operating losses in 2009; and

WHEREAS, as described in the April 6, 2010, letter to the City, the Cleveland Clinic and Lakewood Hospital Association have asked for approval for their Vision For Tomorrow strategy at Lakewood Hospital, with emphasis on four Centers of Excellence, as a means of addressing the marketplace trends and forces; and

WHEREAS, the City has worked diligently to understand these trends, the proposed strategy, and the roles and responsibilities of all parties to the lease agreement as evidenced by numerous public forums as well as the May 24, 2010, questions-and-answers letter, the June 1 letter, and the most recent letter, received on or about June 9, from the Cleveland Clinic leadership; and

WHEREAS, as a result of these communications, the citizens of Lakewood, through their elected officials, have been assured continued, active participation in key decisions impacting the Vision for Tomorrow plan and related Centers of Excellence for the duration of the lease term; and

WHEREAS, Lakewood City Council and the mayor of Lakewood appoint 10 of the 23 seats on the Board of Trustees of the Lakewood Hospital Association; and

WHEREAS, the Lakewood Hospital Association Board of Trustees has the responsibility and authority to oversee the performance and service strategy of Lakewood Hospital; and

WHEREAS, the Lakewood Hospital Association Board of Trustees has unanimously voted to support the Vision for Tomorrow strategy at Lakewood Hospital; and

WHEREAS, it is thus fitting and proper that the City join the Lakewood Hospital Association Board of Trustees in giving public cognizance and support to the Lakewood Hospital Vision for Tomorrow plan including its Centers of Excellence emphasis; now, therefore:

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY OF LAKEWOOD, STATE OF OHIO:

Section 1. This Council and the Mayor affirm their support for the Vision for Tomorrow plan at Lakewood Hospital, with its focus on the Centers of Excellence, as described in the April 6, 2010, letter from Cleveland Clinic leadership to the City.

Section 2. This Council and the Mayor affirm their duties and responsibilities as defined by the lease agreement entered into by the City and Lakewood Hospital Association in 1996, as well as their duties and responsibilities arising from any ancillary or related documents, including, principally, their recognition and need to work with and through the Lakewood Hospital Association Board of Trustees on matters pertaining to service and performance.

Section 3. It is found and determined that all formal actions of this Council concerning and relating to the passage of this resolution were adopted in an open meeting of this Council, and that all such deliberations of this Council and of any of its committees that resulted in such formal action were in meetings open to the public in compliance with all legal requirements.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


June 10, 2010

City of Lakewood, First Suburbs Development Council and City of Cleveland Win $100,000 from the Fund for Our Economic Future

Yesterday, the Fund for Our Economic Future announced the winners of their EfficientGovNow competition. A consortium including the City of Lakewood, the First Suburbs Development Council and the City of Cleveland were among the winners that received funding.

The funds will be used to help establish Ohio’s first Renewable Energy Special Improvement District, or RE-SID. Just this week, the City of Lakewood introduced legislation to establish the RE-SID after declaring intent to pursue an advanced energy improvement district in November of 2009. Seventeen communities have been invited to participate in this first-of-its-kind consortium.

A RE-SID has been called “pay as you go for energy improvements,” because it will establish a mechanism to finance energy improvements and all but eliminate up front installation costs. By participating in a RE-SID, property owners finance energy improvements at special rates, and pay for the improvements via a special voluntary assessment on their tax bills. The energy cost savings will outweigh the payments.

“Lakewood has been a leader in building this strong and diverse coalition of cities working together to be more efficient. Our proposal was the only one that builds a public sector mechanism to help the private sector. These funds are going to be used to help property owners in Lakewood save money and use less non-renewable energy,” said Lakewood Mayor Ed FitzGerald.

The Fund for Our Economic Future sponsored the competition to encourage greater citizen advocacy for more collaborative, efficient local government. Residents were asked to vote for their three favorite government collaborations from 10 finalists chosen by the Fund, a collaboration of philanthropic institutions and individuals throughout Northeast Ohio that works to strengthen the region’s economic competitiveness.

The goal of the RE-SID is to enable property owners to cut their utility bills and benefit from renewable energy. It is a self-financing program where the energy cost savings will be greater than the costs of the solar improvements. Without the RE-SID, energy efficiency projects have significant up-front costs; it takes a property owner several years to recoup their investment in energy efficiency. The Renewable Energy Special Improvement District changes that.

Lakewood City Council will consider the legislation in the coming weeks. Other cities and the City of Cleveland are expected to propose similar legislation in the coming months. Property owners will be invited to participate in a pilot program in autumn 2010, with full scale implementation expected in 2011.

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For more information, contact Nathan Kelly, Director of Planning and Development at (216) 529-6635.

PLEASE POST

In accordance with Article III Section 4 ofthe Second Amended Charter ofthe City of
Lakewood you are hereby notified that I am calling and there will be a Special
Meeting of Council Thursday June 10 2010 at 7 PM in the Jury Room ofLakewood
City Hall to discuss the following item:

Introducing a resolution supporting the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and Lakewood
Hospital Association Vision for Tomorrow plan and its focus on Centers of
Excellence at Lakewood Hospital.

Kevin Butler
PRESIDENT OF COUNCIL

City of Lakewood Introduces Legislation to Establish
Advanced Energy Special Improvement District
Special SID First in State, Collaboration First in Nation

At Monday’s meeting of Lakewood City Council, Mayor FitzGerald and Councilman Tom Bullock introduced legislation to create the Ohio’s First Advanced Energy Special Improvement District (AESID). An AESID has been called “pay as you go for energy improvements,” because it will establish a mechanism to finance energy improvements and all but eliminate up front installation costs. By participating in an AESID, participating property owners finance energy improvements taxes at special rates and repay the cost of the improvements via through their property taxes using the savings yielded through the savings in energy efficiency improvements.

“We intend to create a mechanism that goes beyond an ordinary incentive. Establishing the state’s first ever Advanced Energy Special Improvement District initiates a financing tool that virtually eliminates the up-front project costs and makes these improvements a reality for ordinary property owners. The savings from property owners’ lower utility bills will more than cover the costs of the energy efficiency improvement,” said Lakewood Mayor Ed FitzGerald. “The SID will cost the city almost nothing, while improving participating property values and making it easier to modernize older residential and commercial properties.”

The AESID is a growing collaboration among the City of Lakewood, the City of Cleveland, the Cleveland-Cuyahoga Port Authority and other first-ring suburbs. The legislation helps establish the multi-city special improvement district, and authorizes Lakewood’s participation in the new organization. Local leaders believe this is the first ever multi-city collaboration in the country.

The goal of the AESID is to enable property owners to cut their utility bills and benefit from renewable energy. It is a self-financing program where the energy cost savings will be greater than costs of the solar improvements. Without the AESID, energy efficiency projects have significant up-front costs; it takes a property owner several years to recoup their investment in energy efficiency. The Solar Energy Special Improvement District changes that.

“This financing option will help more businesses and homeowners afford clean energy projects and invest in their properties--at little or no cost to the city” said Councilman Tom Bullock. “Our community intends to be a leader in sustainability and clean energy, and taking this step makes us one of the first municipalities in Ohio to pursue this innovative new strategy."

In October 2009, Ohio House Bill 1 became effective, enacting changes to Ohio law allowing municipalities to create such SIDs for “special energy improvement projects” in their communities. Just last Friday, that legislation was expanded to include other energy efficiency improvements, including geothermal and wind—energy efficiency applications that are better suited for residential use in Lakewood.

Lakewood City Council will consider the legislation over the coming weeks. Mayor FitzGerald expects other communities to adopt similar legislation in the coming months. Property owners will be invited to participate in a pilot program in autumn 2010, with full scale implementation expected in 2011.

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For more information, contact Nathan Kelly, Director of Planning and Development at (216) 529-6635.

PUBLIC NOTICE

PLEASE POST



The Animal Safety and Welfare Advisory Board will meet Wednesday June 9, 2010 at 7:00 PM in the Jury Room (ROOM IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE PLEASE CHECK WITH GUARD AT DESK ON ARRIVAL) of Lakewood City Hall, 12650 Detroit Avenue. The Agenda is as follows.



Nominations and Election of Chair of the Committee; Set Agenda for remaining part of year.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 7, 2010

Contact:
Christine Gordillo
Lakewood City Schools
christine.gordillo@lakewood.k12.oh.us

Lakewood High and Harding Middle School Win
State Tech Grants Worth $500K

(Columbus, OH) – Lakewood High School and Harding Middle School each recently were awarded coveted eTech Ohio grants that will give each school $225,000 over the next two years to help build technology-rich learning environments. The Ohio Department of Education American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Title II-D Round 2 Competitive Grants go toward teams at each building that will work over the next two school years implementing new technology into the learning process. The first year will focus on building a professional development plan and the second year of the grant is for student implementation.

“This grant dramatically increases the ability of LHS teachers to incorporate 21st century instructional techniques and provide real-life learning opportunities for students,” said Dr. Bill Wagner, principal at LHS. “The teachers involved will be able to share what they learn with their colleagues so the entire school can benefit.”

Added Harding principal Keith Ahearn: “We are very excited to integrate 21st Century skills into the curriculum using best practices in the use of technology in education. It is crucial that our students become literate in the effective use of technology and information.”

Through sustained, collaborative, job-embedded professional development and the use of research-based methods, the school teams from each awarded building will experience new models and strategies for teaching and learning. Teachers will become facilitators and co-learners and create technology-enabled learning environments in which students will meet or exceed the state academic content standards and develop 21st century skills.

The schools will look to engage the students more with the technology that surrounds them everyday and to grow their technological competence and sophistication by using more web-based multi-media content and formats such as I-Tunes University, wikis and blogs. The open source course management program MOODLE will be a large component of the program. Currently, the high school has a pilot program for the use of MOODLE, which allows for secure online interaction between students and teachers. Part of the Harding team’s goal is to introduce MOODLE to the middle school classrooms with the mentoring help of the LHS team.

Lakewood High School’s team consists of Andre Bruwer, Ken Kozar, Karen Wheeler, Sean Wheeler, Lisa Wiegand and principal Bill Wagner. Harding Middle School’s team members are Alex Cammock, Katie Gerard, Lisa Hoy, Ann Pesta, Amy Miller and principal Keith Ahearn.

Team members have already begun taking an 10-week online course about 21st century technology tools and will be working throughout the summer, including some daylong seminars, to be ready to hit the ground running once school resumes in August.
The money for the grants comes from $650 million in federal stimulus money earmarked for Education Technology state grants. Ohio received approximately $23 million under these ARRA Title II-D grants. These latest round of grants amounted to about $10.4 million awarded to 38 districts across the state.

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City of Lakewood News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 28, 2010

Meet The Trucks Set For June 5th
Arbor Day Ceremony At 9:30 AM

The City of Lakewood and the Lakewood Early Childhood PTA invite you to attend the 5th Annual Meet the Trucks on Saturday, June 5, 2010 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Lakewood Park, 14532 Lake Avenue. Come see, touch and explore the City’s fine fleet of trucks and vehicles.

Vehicles on display will include an aerial truck, dump truck, refuse truck, fire truck, ambulance, police car, police motorcycle, SWAT vehicles, MetroParks Nature Tracks Bus and more. In addition, the Lakewood Early Childhood PTA will offer crafts, face painting, a D.J., bounce houses, Jungle Bob, a bike raffle, a balloon artist and much more. Refreshment will be available.

Quality bike and multi-purpose helmets will be available for purchase while supplies last. The Burning River Roller Derby Girls will perform at 12:00 PM at the skate park and Spin Bike Shop of Lakewood will offer a bike repair station.

At 9:30 AM, the City’s will hold it’s annual Arbor Day Ceremony prior to the start of the Meet the Trucks. Join us as we plant a tree near the swimming pool

Attendees are asked to bring a canned good which will be donated to the Lakewood Christian Service Center, the City’s food bank.

The following organizations helped to sponsor this event: Lakewood Hospital, The Kiwanis Club of Lakewood, Romp n Stomp, Donatos, Cliff Tower’s Marathon Midway Oh Boy, Jungle Bob, Zap Entertainment and Music Connection.

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