Middletown Ohio


Find us on
 Google+ and Facebook


 

Home | Yearly News Archive | Advertisers | Blog | Contact Us
Thursday, March 28, 2024
FORUM CITY SCHOOLS COMMUNITY
  New Posts New Posts RSS Feed - Cincinnati State III
  FAQ FAQ  Forum Search   Events   Register Register  Login Login

Cincinnati State III

 Post Reply Post Reply Page  <1 2345>
Author
spiderjohn View Drop Down
Prominent MUSA Citizen
Prominent MUSA Citizen
Avatar

Joined: Jul 01 2007
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 2749
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote spiderjohn Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Apr 26 2012 at 7:51am
well--I have been messaged that all is fine with Red Onion @ Beau Verre--so I had bad info obviously.
Still seems that with all of the vacant space in that area that a better location could have been chosen. I can think of three other possibles.
Still---Beau Verre is an absolutely beautiful project, and you have to commend the Moormans for their efforts, persistence, hard work and the subsequent results. Should be a good local eatery.
 
East End?---I still can't get past the I-75 never-ending boondoggle, and am pleasantly surprised that more accidents haven't occured out there. We remain the stepchild of the region.
 
Duncan?--prime example of mis-management and total lack of follow-thru/commitment by everyone involved. As mentioned, maybe a knee-jerk reaction to the train deal falling through?
 
I ill miss the PAC eatery/caterer oif they leave. They do a fine job, and offer a nice Fri.evending dinner spread.
+ very nice people.
Back to Top
acclaro View Drop Down
Prominent MUSA Citizen
Prominent MUSA Citizen
Avatar

Joined: Jul 01 2009
Status: Offline
Points: 1878
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote acclaro Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Apr 26 2012 at 8:06am
Mike, I once knew a CEO whom is well known as a turn-around executive, that had a saying I learned many years ago in business and consulting. Its called as he would say often.' FACTS ARE MY FRIEND'. It sounds simple enough, and you apply it daily in your interaction and observation, as do the vast majority of individuals who care about Middletown and their valuation, and just don't take kindly to the scam at city hall. As Joe Friday would say, "the facts maam, nothing but the facts."

There are two worlds in Middletown. The world of facts, Officer Joe Friday, CEO Jerre Stead types, and those in the world of fiction. SM, and council, and city hall....live in the world of fiction.

Lets expound on you remark  regarding C State classes. Well, Officer Joe Friday, here's what I know. I phoned Cincinnati State, and they have no idea what classes they will offer, and initial applications to Cincinnati are just that---they are registering students to attend C State in Cincinnati. In fact, honest Injun Officer Friday, they said Middletown is entirely tasked with creating the need for the market at the "northern" campus, and when they get enough students to determine what classes to offer, then they will begin looking at classes. Think of it as a church with the C State deal. You have a congregation of 0, think you are going to have Sunday services starting in a week, with overhead, at the Presbyterian Church, holding 500, when 0 are planning on attending to worship?   I digress Officer Friday, but you get the point.

Using another analogy, how's the Senior Citizen building doing after overpaying for property and its 11 acres or so? They thought they'd fill it up, everyone could come and pay a monthly fee. Guess what, they were wrong. They cannot even afford the gas and labor to mow grass but every 6-8 weeks.

I learned many years ago, when you live in the world of facts, with those living in fiction, the two rarely intersect. An example: you see and I see, the Atrium no measuring up to its potential. Its had an exit for years, and prime land owned by the Thatcher's, Akers, and others. What has kept it from growing? That's simple. The development has been around residential, non profit (churches and hospital), and a very minor office presence. The Clayton development is a bust in my pinion, Hospice and what else? The Renaissance? Same, a bust.

But to those living in fiction, ergo SupportMiddletown, instead of recognizing the fact developers north and south are bypassing Middletown and building further east and west off 75 (Austin Reed exit ring a bell), they say in a fictional dialect, "you know, it won't be anytime that there is no where else to build but Middletown,the center of it all, the heart, the front-door, the back door, its all going to explode." Hmmm.....and I have a golf course fully irrigated with rain water in Death Valley, price pt $100 Mm, want to buy it?

Facts are your friends, and fiction is your enemy. Fiction causes much pain and poor decision making. Too many "leaders' in the land of fiction.  That's the facts Officer Friday.      
'An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.' - Winston Churchill
Back to Top
Mike_Presta View Drop Down
MUSA Council
MUSA Council
Avatar

Joined: Apr 20 2008
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 3483
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mike_Presta Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Apr 26 2012 at 10:01am
If only we can hold on until the Wells Fargo wagon shows up with the uniforms and instruments for the boys' band!!! Certainly everything will come up roses then!!! Wink
“Mulligan said he ... doesn’t believe they necessarily make the return on investment necessary to keep funding them.” …The Middletown Journal, January 30, 2012
Back to Top
VietVet View Drop Down
MUSA Council
MUSA Council
Avatar

Joined: May 15 2008
Status: Offline
Points: 7008
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote VietVet Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Apr 27 2012 at 6:45am
Now THIS is something to get excited about!!!!....or, maybe not.

Today's Journal.....

DMI set to help downtown Middletown prosper

MIDDLETOWN — City leaders want downtown to be a destination (FORGET THAT PESKY EAST END I GUESS), and Downtown Middletown Inc. will play a significant role in help making that happen. (BANGUP JOB SO FAR BY KAY AND ROBINETTE)

Thursday afternoon the nonprofit downtown booster officially opened its offices in the TV Middletown building, 1131 Central Ave., and Downtown Middletown Inc. board chair Mike Robinette said the building fits the organization’s needs.

“We felt it was important to have a presence in the core of downtown,” he said.

Downtown Middletown Inc.’s goal is to “make downtown an exciting place to live, work and play,” said Director Patrick Kay.

SO ROBINETTE RESURFACED HERE IN MIDDLETOWN AGAIN, HUH? GOT HIM A JOB WITH DOWNTOWN MIDDLETOWN INC, DID HE? DIDN'T THEY LIKE HIM AT HIS OTHER JOB? TIRED OF HIM ALREADY, ARE THEY? MUST HAVE BEEN DUE TO HIS HIGH LEVEL PERFORMANCE AS ECON. DEV. DIRECTOR THAT LANDED HIM HERE ONCE AGAIN. LIKE A BAD PENNY- HE JUST WON'T GO AWAY. OR....HE MUST BE BUDDIES WITH SOMEONE AT CITY HALL AND THEY JUST HANDED HIM THIS SILVER PLATTER CAKEWALK OF A JOB. WHAT HORSECRAP. KAY SEEMS FAIRLY WORTHLESS TO DATE ALSO. INEPTNESS MUST BE THE CRITERIA FOR EMPLOYMENT AT THE CITY BUILDING. MERCY.

“It’s about the organization. It’s about what this organization is going to do for the downtown community,” he said. “It really solidifies the position that we are really serious about this.”

KAY, ARE YOU ACTUALLY GOING TO DO ANYTHING WORTHWHILE, OR ARE YOU GOING TO DRAW A PAYCHECK TALKING IN ABSTRACT GENERALITIES?

With Cincinnati State Middletown, the monthly First Friday celebrations and other downtown activities, Mayor Larry Mulligan is excited about downtown Middletown. (LARRY AND OTHERS ARE ALSO EXCITED ABOUT MINIMIZING THE FREEFALL IN THEIR PROPERTY VALUES IN THE S. MAIN ST. AREA TOO)

“It’s good to say downtown Middletown is open for business and ready to get things done down here,” he said. “I think (Downtown Middletown Inc.) is really going to the driving force in downtown Middletown and we have a lot to look forward to

WE WERE "EXCITED" ABOUT THE CITY CENTER MALL BACK IN THE 70'S LAWRENCE. WE WERE "EXCITED" ABOUT THE EAST END DEVELOPMENT TO AROUND ATRIUM. WE SEE WHAT HAPPENED TO THOSE IDEAS, DIDN'T WE? DOWNTOWN, "OPEN FOR BUSINESS"???? UMMMM.....NOT YET. IF YOU ARE "OPEN FOR BUSINESS", THERE AREN'T ALOT OF CUSTOMERS SHOWING UP AT YOUR DOOR AS YET.


I STILL DON'T SEE WHAT THE EXCITEMENT IS TO ATTRACT ANY SIGNIFICANT NUMBER DOWNTOWN LAWRENCE. A FEW ARTS PLACES.....LITTLE TO NO DINING.....OCCASIONAL MUSIC EVENTS AT THE SQUARE....FIRST FRIDAY'S AT PENDLETON, WHICH IS A PART TIME OPERATION....CINCY STATE, WHICH, TO DATE, ALSO LOOKS LIKE A PART TIME OPERATION....SOME PAWN SHOPS....A BARREN WASTELAND AT THE TRACKS ON CENTRAL AT THE FORMERLY PROMISED "DUNCAN OIL" SITE.....OFFICE OUTFITTERS BOARDED UP....TRINKLET STORES....EXACTLY WHAT IS DOWN THERE TO BACK UP YOUR STATEMENT THAT WE ARE "OPEN FOR BUSINESS" AND "ALOT TO GET EXCITED ABOUT"??? PERHAPS IF YOU ACTUALLY HAD MORE IN PLACE TO ATTRACT A DIVERSE CROSS-SECTION OF PEOPLE, ONE COULD GET ENTHUSED, BUT AS OF NOW, CAN'T BE TOO MUCH EXCITEMENT FOR THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE LIVING IN THIS TOWN.

MORE EMBELLISHMENT FROM THE CITY LEADER GENE POOL LITTER. CERTAINLY DOESN'T TAKE MUCH TO EXCITE YOU PEOPLE, DOES IT? YA GOTTA STOP SAYING THESE THINGS. MAKES YOU LOOK LIKE A FOOL.
Back to Top
tomahawk35 View Drop Down
MUSA Resident
MUSA Resident
Avatar

Joined: Nov 18 2008
Location: Middletown
Status: Offline
Points: 223
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tomahawk35 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Apr 27 2012 at 11:35pm
Hey Vet, I got news for you. They don't look like fools,they are foolsLOLLOL
Back to Top
acclaro View Drop Down
Prominent MUSA Citizen
Prominent MUSA Citizen
Avatar

Joined: Jul 01 2009
Status: Offline
Points: 1878
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote acclaro Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Apr 28 2012 at 9:47am
FACT:

Middletown WILL NEVER, EVER be a destination.

Middletown WILL ALWAYS be a central point of departure.

Downtown has failed repeatedly. What is driving this effort?

1) Main Street property, council members living on Main, and city leaders (planning ergo 'others').

2) The train from Cincinnati throughout Ohio. They thought Strickland would win Ohio, and all bets were placed on transport from Cincinnati to Middletown, even though it was a huge unknown even with the state route train, Middletown would be on the route. Huge gamble, rolled dice, and it failed. To save face, all efforts are on downtown AT TAXPAYER EXPENSE.
'An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.' - Winston Churchill
Back to Top
409 View Drop Down
Prominent MUSA Citizen
Prominent MUSA Citizen
Avatar

Joined: Mar 27 2009
Status: Offline
Points: 1014
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 409 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Apr 28 2012 at 8:17pm
From MJ:

Give city manager credit for gutsy move

By Rick McCrabb, Commentary 7:49 PM Saturday, April 28, 2012

MIDDLETOWN — When asked if she likes to gamble, Judy Gilleland, Middletown’s city manager, managed a smile.

Question answered without uttering a word.

For most of her career here, Gilleland has sat at a Texas Hold ’Em table, dark sunglasses over her eyes, head buried in her arms.

Finally, when she squeezed her two cards, she saw pocket aces. She seized the moment.

That’s when she pushed all in — more than $400,000, the amount Middletown spent acquiring four downtown buildings and the Manchester Inn.

And when Cincinnati State Technical and Community College announced it was coming to town, Gilleland stacked the chips.

Call her Poker Queen.

Years from now, when Middletown rewrites its history, luring Cincinnati State to Middletown — with the possibility of renewing a dormant downtown — a chapter should be dedicated to Gilleland, 50, who came here four years ago after 3 1/4 years as city manager in Pickerington and 14 years as Centerville’s assistant city manager.

Gilleland, of course, takes little credit. She’s like the poker player who says: “I got good cards.”

She prefers to point the spotlight to city council, city staff and the Middletown community, all who understood the potential.

“It’s not about me,” she said recently while sitting in her office.

Of course it is. Let’s say, Cincinnati State pulled out of the deal, and the city — already hemorrhaging cash and cutting staff — was left holding vacant buildings.

The fingers would have been pointed at her.

The idea of bringing Cincinnati State to Middletown was introduced to Gilleland by the late Perry Thatcher in early 2009. He walked in her office, and in classic Thatcher style said something like: “I’ve been thinking about something.”

When Thatcher died less than one year later, Gilleland said the city “picked up the lead” on the project.

Thatcher courted Cincinnati State. Gilleland proposed to Cincinnati State.

She admits there was “no guarantee” Cincinnati State would come, but she said the potential far outweighed the risk. It was worth the $400,000 gamble. That’s a lot of money to you and me, but in the business world, it’s pennies.

By owning the properties, Gilleland said the city could “control its destiny,” and if the deal failed, the city could find the best possible uses for the properties.

Easy to say now.

Someone told Gilleland that bringing Cincinnati State to Middletown was the most important move for the city in the last 50 years. She never thought about it that way.

The comments gave her “a different perspective.”

Gilleland, who is single, has no children. Only two cats, Niles and Tony. She considers Cincinnati State one of her babies.

Her family portrait also includes Pendleton Art Center and Beauverre Studios.

Twenty years from now — when Gilleland is 70 and hopefully retired but still living in Middletown — she anticipates attending Cincinnati State’s 20th anniversary celebration.

“I’ll be very proud of how the college grew and the economic impact it had on the community,” she said.

She called Cincinnati State part of the city’s positive economic development and “a game changer.”

Just like a pair of aces.

Back to Top
tomahawk35 View Drop Down
MUSA Resident
MUSA Resident
Avatar

Joined: Nov 18 2008
Location: Middletown
Status: Offline
Points: 223
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tomahawk35 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Apr 29 2012 at 12:07am
This article and the one that praises how art has brought in hordes of people to downtown just about made me lose my supper.
I wouldn't need a pair of aces as my hold cards if I was playing with the tax payer's money (without their permission) I bet if it was her money she would fold with a pair of bullets.
Ths is exactly why I quit buying the journal,it's so full of crap.matter of fact I would get my land-line backOuch or put in a pay phone before I would ever buy another copy of this garbage.
Back to Top
acclaro View Drop Down
Prominent MUSA Citizen
Prominent MUSA Citizen
Avatar

Joined: Jul 01 2009
Status: Offline
Points: 1878
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote acclaro Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Apr 29 2012 at 8:20am
I had tears in my eyes laughing so hard on that humorist column. McCrabb isn't a journalist, he's a humorist.

Game changer? I think not. A game ender. And there she goes, the Titantic downward. All men for themselves. And Main Street got the first boat...they are paying to pump up their value on your dime. In real poker on a river boat, grounds for the revolver coming out behind the hidden aces in sleeve. As cowardly is McCrabb shilling for Gilleland. You only bring in a college you buy a franchise from, when you can't bring in business. C State played no poker, wouldn't invest a penny into this proposition. No culinary school....Thatcher's dream right....and the majority of buildings sitting empty. Maybe the 8 members on the golf team will keep Weatherwax afloat without raiding the General Fund reserve.

Hey McCrabb, why not include the drain from 25% to 15% under Gilleland. Most would call spending $700,000 and getting $200,000 to be a loser. For McCrab, its called a "game changer." Too much MSNBC and Morning with Joe. 
'An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.' - Winston Churchill
Back to Top
VietVet View Drop Down
MUSA Council
MUSA Council
Avatar

Joined: May 15 2008
Status: Offline
Points: 7008
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote VietVet Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Apr 29 2012 at 8:48am
The Journal stopped being a real newspaper years ago. Stopped the Journal in 2000. Not a hometown newspaper anymore. Prints the ca ca we read from McCrabb in this article. Just shook my head while reading this nonsense.

"For most of her career here, Gilleland has sat at a Texas Hold ’Em table, dark sunglasses over her eyes, head buried in her arms."

REWRITE TO READ "HEAD BURIED IN THE SAND"

"And when Cincinnati State Technical and Community College announced it was coming to town, Gilleland stacked the chips.

Call her Poker Queen."

I'D LIKE TO CALL HER SOMETHING ELSE, BUT WOULDN'T BE APPROPRIATE FOR THIS VENUE.

"Years from now, when Middletown rewrites its history, luring Cincinnati State to Middletown — with the possibility of renewing a dormant downtown — a chapter should be dedicated to Gilleland, 50, who came here four years ago after 3 1/4 years as city manager in Pickerington and 14 years as Centerville’s assistant city manager"

YEAH, AND IF THE WRITING OF THE HISTORY HAD ANY VALIDITY TO IT, IT WOULDN'T PAINT A PRETTY PICTURE OF WHAT SHE AND OTHERS HAVE DONE TO THIS TOWN. VERY DESTRUCTIVE AGENDA AND USUALLY THE WRONG PRIORITIES AND DIRECTION.

"She prefers to point the spotlight to city council, city staff and the Middletown community, all who understood the potential."

DEBATABLE ON THE MIDDLETOWN COMMUNITY UNDERSTANDING THE POTENTIAL. I WOULD GUESS THAT ONLY A SMALL PERCENTAGE OF TOWN POPULATION, FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH HER DECISION-MAKING ON BEHALF OF THE MMF'ERS. IT WASN'T HER DECISION. SHE WAS TOLD WHAT TO DO. SINCE WHEN DID GILLELAND EVER MAKE A DECISION ON HER OWN?

“It’s not about me,” she said recently while sitting in her office.

OH YES IT IS. IT'S ABOUT YOU, YOU'RE LITTLE CREW AND THE DESIRES OF THE MMF, OF WHICH YOU ARE A MEMBER. IT IS ABOUT THE BIDDING OF A SMALL LITTLE GROUP CONTROLLING THE MAJORITY OF THE PEOPLE, SOME OF WHICH FOLLOW YOU LIKE SHEEP TO SLAUGHTER. THAT'S WHY WE CAN'T EFFECT REAL CHANGE IN THIS CITY BY CANNING MOST OF YOU INEPT PEOPLE.

"Of course it is. Let’s say, Cincinnati State pulled out of the deal, and the city — already hemorrhaging cash and cutting staff — was left holding vacant buildings.

The fingers would have been pointed at her."

STILL MIGHT HAPPEN. JUST GETTING STARTED. NO REAL ACTIVITY AS YET AS TO INTEREST IN THE COLLEGE. NO CURRICULUM HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED. ONLY OCCUPYING THE CG&E BUILDING SO FAR. STILL AT LEAST TWO BUILDINGS THAT ARE MOTHBALLED AND HAVE NO USERS. WHAT ABOUT THEM GILLELAND?

"Someone told Gilleland that bringing Cincinnati State to Middletown was the most important move for the city in the last 50 years. She never thought about it that way"

INCREDIBLE STATEMENT AND ONE THAT ONLY THE MOST NAIVE WOULD BELIEVE. THAT "SOMEONE" WAS FULL OF IT MCCRABB. "MOST IMPORTANT MOVE" IN THE LAST 50.......50 YEARS? NONSENSE.

"She considers Cincinnati State one of her babies.

Her family portrait also includes Pendleton Art Center and Beauverre Studios"

SO FAR, NOT THAT BIG OF IMPACT ON DOWNTOWN. CATERS ONLY TO A FEW SELECT PEOPLE AS TO INTEREST. NO REAL IMPACT UNTIL YOU GET SOMETHING DOWN THERE THAT WOULD APPEAL TO A WIDER AUDIENCE THAN THE ARTZY CROWD.

"Twenty years from now — when Gilleland is 70 and hopefully retired but still living in Middletown — she anticipates attending Cincinnati State’s 20th anniversary celebration.

“I’ll be very proud of how the college grew and the economic impact it had on the community,” she said.

She called Cincinnati State part of the city’s positive economic development and “a game changer.”

MORE EMBELLISHMENT. GLITZY, FLOWERY JOURNALISM, WRITTEN FROM A SUCCESS PERSPECTIVE THAT HASN'T PROVEN TO BE A SUCCESS AS YET. GOOD TO HAVE HOPE. RISKY TO ASSUME A SUCCESS WITHOUT RE-ENFORCEMENT OF EVIDENCE. TO BE OBJECTIVE ABOUT HER ACCOMPLISHMENTS, PERHAPS YOU SHOULD HAVE MENTIONED THE DUNCAN OIL THING, AS WELL AS THE CABINET/ANTIQUES THING AND THE CLEARING OF BUILDINGS FOR THE TRAIN THAT NEVER CAME. HOW ABOUT ALL THE DEMOLITION DOWNTOWN AND THE EMPTY SPACES LEFT WITH NO NEW DEVELOPMENT IN SIGHT? OH, AND HOW ABOUT THE WAY THE EXIT LOOKS OUT BY I-75 AND THE STAGNATION AROUND THE HOSPITAL AREA? SHE HAS HAD FAILURES TO GO ALONG WITH PERCEIVED SUCCESSES. THIS IS WRITTEN AS A ONE-SIDED STORY, MCCRABB. JMO




Back to Top
VietVet View Drop Down
MUSA Council
MUSA Council
Avatar

Joined: May 15 2008
Status: Offline
Points: 7008
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote VietVet Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Apr 29 2012 at 9:37am
Today's Journal....

Art center helps bring new life to downtown
In one year, the Pendleton has attracted many to the area.

MIDDLETOWN - A spotlight directed people to downtown Middletown a year ago when the Pendleton Art Center opened, and many say that energy has not left.
It’s too soon to measure the economic impact of the center, but it draws hundreds to downtown monthly, said Suzanne Sizer, the center’s spokeswoman.
“It shows that there was a need to jump start the arts downtown,” she said. “The interest to be downtown is growing stronger and I think we helped generate that.”
The center, which rents space to artists to showcase their work, has drawn many outside the city to downtown, said Bill Triick, president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce Serving Middletown, Monroe and Trenton.
“This city didn’t have — until a couple of years ago — a recognizable future.
“Now there is a recognizable future,” Triick said. The Pendleton and downtown are “not going to drive the whole city, but it’s going to drive this portion of the city. People now have confidence and they know it’s going to get better.”
The center — founded by Jim Verdin, president of Cincinnati-based Verdin Bells and Clocks — was the first significant development in years. The Pendleton chain, which includes Cincinnati, Kentucky and Indiana, and media coverage created a newfound buzz for downtown.
While there’s some debate if the center, 1105 Central Ave., was the force that restarted the area’s economic development, most agree the center has been an asset.
“I think that the fact the Pendleton Art Centers have been successful,” Sizer said. “So when we came in, there was plenty of excitement about it, and we filled up right away.”
The center will celebrate its first anniversary Friday during a First Friday event that was started by the Pendleton last year to drive people downtown.
Engine for change
First Friday is a development tool for businesses, said Linda Moorman, co-owner of BeauVerre Stained Glass, which is adjacent to the arts center. The Pendleton has “brought a new flare to the city for people to enjoy the art” and accentuates the city’s rich arts history, said Moorman, who also is the president of the Middletown Convention and Visitors Bureau.
“It’s been a great complement and kind of a driver to get people here,” said Moorman, whose husband, Jay, was instrumental in bringing the Pendleton to downtown. “We want those outside dollars to come into Middletown and be here buying.”

OK, YOU HAVE ALL THAT POSITIVE, HOPEFUL TALK FROM TRIICK, SIZER, MOORMAN AND OTHERS.......

THEN YOU HAVE THIS FROM A BUSINESS OWNER ABOVE BEAUVERRE....

Art Avenue owner Phillip Harrison said First Fridays bring scores of people through his shop above BeauVerre. But if First Fridays don’t bring in immediate sales, they do bring returning visitors to his shop that makes custom frames and sells art on consignment. However, Harrison wants to see development efforts beyond First Fridays.
“There’s a lack of traffic in the downtown area in terms of people being down here, but at least one night a month, that changes,” Harrison said. “The energy is about our expectations more than it is about actual people downtown. We still have a long way to go before we see exciting things on a day-to-day basis.
“Things are moving along, but they are not where they really need to be, and that’s just going to take some time,” he said.

"THE ENERGY IS ABOUT OUR EXPECTATIONS MORE THAN IT IS ABOUT ACTUAL PEOPLE DOWNTOWN"......QUOTE FROM MR. HARRISON.

TWO DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES ON THE WAY IT IS PERHAPS? MORE GLITZ...EMBELLISHMENT OF THE TRUTH?
Back to Top
acclaro View Drop Down
Prominent MUSA Citizen
Prominent MUSA Citizen
Avatar

Joined: Jul 01 2009
Status: Offline
Points: 1878
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote acclaro Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Apr 29 2012 at 11:52am
Its rather amusing how McCrabb enjoys the embellishment of any story he writes. If he wrote one on garbage, it would have some poetic resonance within, to spray perfume amongst the repugnant odor.

As with the "poker" analogy, what a failure. Both HEP and Cincinnati State called Gilleland's bluff years ago. C State ran off with $10 Kk from Middletown "donors" for the President, the rainmaker, and HEP bought buildings at a fire sale, only a fraction to be used but the city will throw them all in, for $200,000., and about $3,000,000 in federal grant funding.

Personally, I would be absolutely humiliated, indeed, embarrassed, to know this project was such a failure and one the city had to do everything to make this "no risk" to State and HEP, to mildly refer to it as a success and its future positive. But I live in a different world, the commercial world, where results and performance dictate recognition, not gross incompetency and failure is glossed over with platitudes.

There is nothing praise worthy of this endeavor. And residents should be enraged Main Street is using city funds to protect their valuation, under the cloak of Cincinnati State. If education was such a mega-market in Middletown, why isn't MUM exploding?

As usual, Middletown is the follower. The Moorman's command the strategy. If a successful business downtown was producing fishing lures, the city would be giving buildings away from ancillary businesses such as taxidermy, gun shops, and fishing boats. State and HEP called Gilleland's bluff, there was no poker game played, they won, Middletown lost. But thankfully there is a UDF gas station. There is a victory somewhere to be found isn't there. They do occasionally have 3 pints of Homemade for $5 bucks on sale.

  
'An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.' - Winston Churchill
Back to Top
Vivian Moon View Drop Down
MUSA Council
MUSA Council


Joined: May 16 2008
Location: Middletown, Ohi
Status: Offline
Points: 4187
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Vivian Moon Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 02 2012 at 3:54pm

Cincinnati State branch developer seeks $1M in federal funds

By Michael D. Pitman, Staff Writer 9:33 PM Tuesday, May 1, 2012

    MIDDLETOWN — The developer for the Cincinnati State Middletown campus is seeking $1 million — nearly half of the total project cost — from a federal agency.
    City Council unanimously approved an emergency resolution Tuesday night to allow Higher Education Partners to apply for a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Section 108 loan.
    The $1 million loan request is 46.5 percent of the total $2.15 million projected cost to complete phase one of the campus, which will be located on the first, third and part of the sixth floors and the basement of the former CG&E building at 1 N. Main St.
    “The financing shortage could jeopardize both short-term construction and long-term viability of the Middletown campus,” according to a report by Doug Adkins, Middletown Community Revitalization director.
    Last month, Cincinnati State Technical & Community College signed a 20-year deal with Higher Education Partners that will bring the Cincinnati-based college to the city. The city then signed a deal with HEP to sell the former CG&E building at
1 N. Main St. for $202,000 and donate the former senior center building to become the basis of the Cincinnati State
campus.
    HEP “will execute corporate and personal guarantees” for the loan and the two buildings will be held as collateral, according Adkins’ report. If HEP defaults on the loan, the city’s future Community Development Block Grant funding would be used to pay off the loan, but Adkins wrote there has never been a default on a Section 108 loan.
    The loan request was part of the deal between the city and HEP. In order to apply for the loan, HEP had to make a formal request to the city. The application will be submitted to HUD after May 9.
    “These two prominent downtown sites will be used as part of a collaborative revitalization effort that will utilize significant private investment,” according to the letter from HEP’s Bill Luster.

 

Back to Top
Vivian Moon View Drop Down
MUSA Council
MUSA Council


Joined: May 16 2008
Location: Middletown, Ohi
Status: Offline
Points: 4187
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Vivian Moon Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 03 2012 at 3:47am
  HEP “will execute corporate and personal guarantees” for the loan and the two buildings will be held as collateral, according Adkins’ report. If HEP defaults on the loan, the city’s future Community Development Block Grant funding would be used to pay off the loan, but Adkins wrote there has never been a default on a Section 108 loan.

Doug Adkins once again fails to tell the truth.  Section 108 loans have been around for a long time.  There have been failures.  Oklahoma City is one example where a 108 loan defaulted in the 1990's.


Back to Top
Richard Saunders View Drop Down
MUSA Resident
MUSA Resident


Joined: Jun 30 2010
Status: Offline
Points: 232
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Richard Saunders Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 03 2012 at 5:19am
Sorry, Ms. Moon, but Adkins is not technically lying.  Even if HEP "defaults" on the loan, "the Section 108 loan will not be in default" because HUD will automatically begin making payments from any and all CBDG funds due to the City of Middletown until the Section 108 loan is fully repaid.  Therefore, even though HEP may default, "the Section 108 loan" will never be in default unless congress stops funding the CDBG program.
 
A clever bit of legal weasel wording by Mr. Adkins.
 
Of course if all CBDG funds have to go towards repaying this loan, then the city officials that live in historic districts will have to find some other way to fund their landscaping and property maintenance--I mean "neighborhood beautification"--at public expense.
Back to Top
VietVet View Drop Down
MUSA Council
MUSA Council
Avatar

Joined: May 15 2008
Status: Offline
Points: 7008
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote VietVet Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 04 2012 at 6:31am
Today's Journal...

Middletown business community key to college’s success

MIDDLETOWN — Cincinnati State’s investment is in downtown, but the school’s president wants the entire city involved to help get people jobs and to provide training.

“We exist for you” is the message Cincinnati State Technical & Community College President Dr. O’dell Owens wants delivered to the business community

People will come down to Middletown as a destination,” he said. “Middletown will grow.”

Middletown City Manager Judy Gilleland agreed.

“I absolutely agree with him mentioning that Cincinnati State will be an economic driver for the downtown area,” said Gilleland. “Cincinnati State has already proven they have a strong interest in working with local businesses, and I definitely believe there will be spin off businesses supported by the students.”

“That’s what we really need to hear, and that’s what Cincinnati State needs to hear for their programs,” she said. “They need to know what employment is out there and what the employers need.”

GOOD CHEERLEADING EFFORT JUDITH.

“It’s as simple as we exist for you,” Owens said of the business community. “What ever you need, we can provide.”

SO, CINCY STATE IS GOING TO DESIGN THEIR CURRICULUM BASED ON FEEDBACK FROM THE BUSINESS LEADERS? ("WHAT EVER YOU NEED, WE CAN PROVIDE") KINDA LATE IN THE GAME ISN'T IT? GONNA START UP HERE SHORTLY AND STILL TRYING TO ASSEMBLE A CURRICULUM TO OFFER? IF THE GOAL WAS TO TAILOR THE COURSE OFFERINGS TO THE NEEDS OF AREA BUSINESSES, SHOULDN'T THAT HAVE DONE LONG AGO IN THE BEGINNING PHASES OF THIS PROJECT?....JUST TO SEE IF THERE WAS INTEREST IN STARTING A SCHOOL HERE? DON'T SEE ANY NEW REPORTED NUMBERS OF STUDENTS SIGNING ON WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE ONE GOING INTO HOTEL MANAGEMENT. ANYONE HEARD WHAT THE CURRENT COUNT IS AS TO STUDENT ENROLLMENT?
Back to Top
Richard Saunders View Drop Down
MUSA Resident
MUSA Resident


Joined: Jun 30 2010
Status: Offline
Points: 232
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Richard Saunders Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 04 2012 at 7:20am
"ANYONE HEARD WHAT THE CURRENT COUNT IS AS TO STUDENT ENROLLMENT?"
 
Counting the young gent who was first to enroll: I believe it would be ONE.
Back to Top
acclaro View Drop Down
Prominent MUSA Citizen
Prominent MUSA Citizen
Avatar

Joined: Jul 01 2009
Status: Offline
Points: 1878
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote acclaro Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 04 2012 at 7:37am
Let me help both Ms. G and Dr. Owens out. When the economic is stagnant and companies can turn a nice 10% or above marginal return on the number of employees they have, regardless of whether you have an MBA in finance, a law degree from Georgetown, a teaching degree from Miami, or a psychology degree from Tufts or Vassar, the graduate is competing with thousands of others, all fully equipped, that cannot find a job. In North Carolina, paralegals are supplanted today by attorneys who can't get jobs and take paralegal jobs at their price pt. The need is in healthcare, that's what HEP's business model is focused. To state they will offer every program they have is ludicrous. 

Butler Cty will never sustain an increase in job demand associated with Cincinnati State. Middletown doesn't have the employer base that can use the graduates. Neither does the city nor county. More fireman, more police officers? No way.

Cousin Vinny's is hiring, maybe they'd like one that has a good driving record and can pass a drug test.

The oratory that comes out of public officlals makes one cringe. Perhaps the airport could use a two year program in aeronautical engineering so new employees could pack parachutes?  

Lets make this super easy Dr. Owens. Companies don't need alot of workers, no matter what you provide. They aren't hiring. Get it.
'An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.' - Winston Churchill
Back to Top
409 View Drop Down
Prominent MUSA Citizen
Prominent MUSA Citizen
Avatar

Joined: Mar 27 2009
Status: Offline
Points: 1014
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 409 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 07 2012 at 8:08am
From the MJ:

Colleges pour millions into construction

More than $461M will be invested in area campus construction projects.

By Meagan Pant, Staff Writer 12:06 AM Monday, May 7, 2012

More than $461 million will be invested in new buildings and major renovations on college campuses in the region in the coming years, bringing businesses to the area and signaling the continued growth of the higher education industry locally.

“Companies go where there is talent. By us ensuring that we have strong talent coming out of our higher education facilities, we are locking in one of those economic development tools that we need to attract and retain businesses,” said Chris Kershner, a local expert on public policy and economic development.

With a mix of public funding, private donations, institutions’ resources and public-private partnerships, local colleges and universities are engaged in multimillion-dollar projects creating all types of jobs from architects to skilled labor, said Sean Creighton, executive director of the Southwestern Ohio Council for Higher Education.

After two years of no funding from the state for capital improvements, Ohio has dedicated $400 million to infrastructure of its 37 public colleges and universities.

The work is important in meeting the demands of increasing enrollment and attracting new students, educators say.

Excerpt:

Cincinnati State Technical & Community College

Nearly $3.07 million is being invested in Cincinnati State’s new downtown Middletown branch campus. At least 200 students will be taking classes there this fall in the former CG&E building, the school’s first branch campus in Butler County.

Back to Top
Vivian Moon View Drop Down
MUSA Council
MUSA Council


Joined: May 16 2008
Location: Middletown, Ohi
Status: Offline
Points: 4187
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Vivian Moon Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 11 2012 at 4:37am

Cincinnati State president urges community to help guide students

By Eric Robinette, Staff Writer 9:34 PM Thursday, May 10, 2012

     FAIRFIELD — An “army of hearts” needs to march in the world as the blight that has affected inner city schools is making its way to suburban ones, the president of Cincinnati State Technical and Community College said Thursday night.
    Dr. O’dell Owens spoke before an audience of about 300 people at
Fairfield High School
’s Performing Arts Center, urging the audience to be the light that someone needs to succeed.
     “If I lit a candle right now, it would have no impact in this room. But turn off all the lights and make this room dark, one little light would light this room. It will show the way for someone. Each of us has that power within us,” he said.
    Owens talked about how up until the third grade, students learn to read, but after that point they read to learn. If students can’t read in third grade, without tremendous intervention, “You’re finished,” Owens said.
    “Education is a gift from the past to the present to ensure our future,” Owens said. “Every single one of those kids are going to be around, and where do we want them? In the classroom, or on the corner in a white T-shirt with their pants hanging down selling dope?”
   
Fairfield
has its share of disenfranchised students, said Superintendent Paul Otten.
    “We have those kids who come in and out of our classrooms every day,” he said. “We must never lose sight of every student that walks through our doors.”
    Owens noted that people tend to sit back and not get involved until those problems come into their neighborhoods. Owens talked about crack, marijuana and ecstasy, saying, “Those are the same drugs you’re going to find here in
Fairfield
, except you are surrounded by methamphetamine ... they’re surrounding you and your children ... even though the highest rate of drug sales are in the city, the overdoses are in the county.”
    That’s why “we need to get involved before it’s at our door,” he said.
   
Cincinnati State will soon open a campus in Middletown
, and Owens said that would be an economic driver for the city and the surrounding area.
    “I think it’s an opportunity for kids here to go up to
Middletown as well. We’re going to have a hybrid where a lot of our courses will be online,” he said.

 

Back to Top
Richard Saunders View Drop Down
MUSA Resident
MUSA Resident


Joined: Jun 30 2010
Status: Offline
Points: 232
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Richard Saunders Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 11 2012 at 6:13am
We’re going to have a hybrid where a lot of our courses will be online,” he said.
I wonder how many of those online students will be coming downtown for a $8 hamburger after class?
Back to Top
VietVet View Drop Down
MUSA Council
MUSA Council
Avatar

Joined: May 15 2008
Status: Offline
Points: 7008
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote VietVet Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 11 2012 at 10:30am
Originally posted by Richard Saunders Richard Saunders wrote:




<span style="color: red; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><font face="Georgia">We’re going to have a hybrid where a lot of our courses will be online,” he said.
I wonder how many of those online students will be coming downtown for a $8 hamburger after class?
</span>


They're college kids. Unless Mom and Dad give 'em money for that $8 gourmet hamburger, they'll be heading for the McDonalds drive thru for those $1 double cheesburgers. I would imagine the same would apply to most of Middletown on the salaries people make in this town. Probably no gourmet food on their plates either. Again, the new restaurant, judging by the description of food given and the atmosphere chosen, probably will only interest a small percentage of the population of this town. JMO
Back to Top
Bill View Drop Down
MUSA Citizen
MUSA Citizen


Joined: Nov 04 2009
Status: Offline
Points: 710
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Bill Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 11 2012 at 2:21pm
Off the rails again....who ever said Stained was supposed to cater to the few dozen Cincy St kids?  I've read no mention that their target market is 22 years with little money.
Back to Top
acclaro View Drop Down
Prominent MUSA Citizen
Prominent MUSA Citizen
Avatar

Joined: Jul 01 2009
Status: Offline
Points: 1878
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote acclaro Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 11 2012 at 2:25pm
I know of at least 10 families in Middletown that have net worth of over $50 Mm, or .5 unit folks, as we call them in a Texas, a unit is $100 Mm net worth, so Ross Perot would be a 100 unit cowboy.

There are more than enough professional individuals to keep both the Bistro and Stefano's hopping. The question will be are those with ample disposable income going to be spread out in numbers enough 6 nights a week, to make a profit for Bistro, Stefano's, and the others around? That's a matter only of the desire to eat out. I can walk in LasRosa's on Wednesday, and only see 2-3 people eating in an hr and a half.

The money is in the city to support two restaurants. But, the money has the food tab at Brown's Run to make each month, I think I pay about $60.00 there, and is it worth tipping $20.00 each week for a bill. But, there are enough with more than ample disposable income to fill the house every night. Its up to Stefano and the Bistro to get them there.   
'An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.' - Winston Churchill
Back to Top
Chris Fiora View Drop Down
MUSA Resident
MUSA Resident


Joined: Mar 16 2010
Location: Middletown OH
Status: Offline
Points: 62
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Chris Fiora Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 11 2012 at 3:20pm
acclaro,
Well said.  I see it the same way.  The Bistro will be a success provided they can give the people what they want.  If the success of the Red Onion is an indication they will be able to do that.  Provided Stefano's keeps up their quality, service, etc, they will continue to be successful.  There are more than enough people in Middletown with enough disposable income to support the two of them and Brown's Run.
Back to Top
 Post Reply Post Reply Page  <1 2345>
  Share Topic   

Forum Jump Forum Permissions View Drop Down



This page was generated in 0.090 seconds.
Copyright ©2024 MiddletownUSA.com    Privacy Statement  |   Terms of Use  |   Site by Xponex Media  |   Advertising Information