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Sharing the CIty Building

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VietVet View Drop Down
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    Posted: Dec 20 2012 at 7:10am
Today's Journal...

City and school district to become roommates
First National Bank building donated to Cincinnati State

MIDDLETOWN —
A 10-year deal that would see the Middletown City School District administration offices move into One Donham Plaza should be consummated in January

Gilleland touts this partnership as a “win-win” for both entities that will bring more people into the core of downtown Middletown

WOULD THIS BRING ENOUGH PEOPLE TO THE "CORE OF DOWNTOWN" TO EVEN BE NOTICED JUDITH?

Though there are a few more details to be worked out, the basic agreement has the schools paying the city for utilities and maintenance costs, which would be around $65,000 a year, Gilleland said. This is the amount the schools already pay to maintain its building.

Marcia Andrew, school board president, said the board is “generally supportive” of the proposal if it can “save the taxpayers’ money .....

HOW WILL THIS SAVE TAXPAYERS MONEY MS. ANDREW? ACCORDING TO THIS STORY, YOU ARE ALREADY PAYING $65,000 TO MAINTAIN THE CURRENT BUILDING AND WILL BE PAYING $65,000 IN THE CITY BUILDING FOR THE SCHOOL'S SHARE OF MAINT. IT'S A BREAK EVEN THING, ISN'T IT?

“While this is cost-neutral for the schools, the city would gain by the additional revenue,” she said

DOESN'T MATTER JUDITH. IT'S ALL FUNNY MONEY ANYWAY, PAID FOR BY THE TAXPAYER. WHETHER IT GOES IN THE CITY FUNDS OR THE SCHOOL FUNDS... IMMATERIAL. ALSO SOUNDS LIKE JUDITH'S CITY FUNDS ARE A LITTLE LOW AND SHE IS SEARCHING FOR EVERY PENNY SHE CAN FIND. IMAGINE THAT, THE WAY THEY SPEND MONEY AROUND HERE.



City Council is expected to vote on the donation of the former First National Bank building at 2 N. Main St. to Cincinnati State Technical & Community College by its first meeting in January

HEY, GONNA GIVE AWAY ANOTHER TAXPAYER FUNDED BUILDING TO CS AGAIN. WONDER WHAT CS HAS PLANNED FOR ALL THESE FREEBIES? THEY HAVEN"T FILLED ALL FLOORS OF THE OLD CG&E BUILDING YET NOR HAVE THEY TOUCHED THE DONATED FORMER SENIOR CENTER BUILDING. NOT TO MENTION THEM WANTING THE OLD LICENSE BUREAU BUILDING FROM THE COUNTY. THEY'RE GONNA END UP OWNING ALOT OF TAXPAYER FUNDED, DONATED, EMPTY BUILDINGS DOWNTOWN......FOR WHAT PURPOSE IF THEY CAN'T FILL THE ORIGINAL BUILDING AS YET?
I'm so proud of my hometown and what it has become. Recall 'em all. Let's start over.
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Marcia Andrew View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Marcia Andrew Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Dec 20 2012 at 1:41pm
Vet,
 
First, the terms are still being negotiated.  But the article is correct that generally, the idea is for the school to pay in rent to the city no more than it is currently paying for utilites and maintenance on the building it owns. This would save the school district money because (1) we expect to be paying slightly less to the city than we pay now for our own space and (2) we would not incur some capital costs, like a new roof on the administration building, that would otherwise be needed in the next 5-10 years. Plus, instead of paying these dollars to Duke Energy, we would be paying them to the City. That is revenue to the City, because they are already incurring those utility and maintenance expenses now without a tenant.  Which is that many dollars less that the City needs to raise in taxes. My comment was recognizing that it is the same taxpayers funding both entities.
 
Bringing people into downtown is not the primary reason to move the school offices, in my opinion, but it is a positive effect. There are appoximately 30 employees. Right now, they do not feel safe to walk from the district offices at lunch time, and there is no where to walk to. In the city building, they could walk to lunch at the several new restaurants opening up on Central. Or to the Y.  Alone, this number of people would not make a difference downtown. But if you add parents and teachers who come to the district offices, and Cincinnati State students, it all starts to slowly add up.
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VietVet View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote VietVet Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Dec 20 2012 at 8:40pm
Ok Ms. Andrew. It will slowly add up. Nothing wrong with keeping the faith along with the city leaders concerning the downtown......at least for a reasonable amount of time. Eventually, we will all know whether this was another city sponsored, money wasting pipe dream or not. I would hope, at that time, if this fails, that all the dreamcatchers and rainbow chasers will drop the embellishment program and prioritize correctly as to where the resources really need to be placed.   

Thought it curious that the schools were more than eager to help the city out with revenue issues as I believe Gilleland and company are masters of money waste and totally misfocused on spending targets. Also remember that fatal day at old Wilson school when there was a combo city council/school board meeting and as the two faced each other, you could have cut the tension with a knife. Yeah, I was there, Ms. Andrew. I saw two different groups of people with council forcing their little Section 8 onslaught on the community and the schools and the schools not appreciating the issues it caused as to the type of student normally associated with Section 8. Guess everyone has forgotten or forgiven this episode and are now trying to be one happy family under one roof.
I'm so proud of my hometown and what it has become. Recall 'em all. Let's start over.
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Marcia Andrew View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Marcia Andrew Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Dec 21 2012 at 2:19pm
Vet, if I vote for the lease with the City, it will be just that--a lease.  Agreeing to rent space from the City does not equate to agreement with the way the City is running its business, nor does it give the City any say in how the school district runs its business.
 
It is true that in the past, the City has done things that have had a substantial negative impact on the schools, without asking us in advance what we thought. The leasing arrangement alone would not change any of that, but it seems that being under the same roof could make it easier to have informal discussions about matters of mutual concern.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote VietVet Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Dec 21 2012 at 7:32pm
Fair enough Ms. Andrew. It will be interesting to see how this will work out with the two entities in such close contact with each other. Still, there has to be some underlying resentment for what the city has done to the schools in the name of revenue generation through Section 8.

Time will tell concerning this relationship.
I'm so proud of my hometown and what it has become. Recall 'em all. Let's start over.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mike_Presta Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Dec 21 2012 at 8:53pm
Originally posted by Marcia Andrew Marcia Andrew wrote:

...being under the same roof could make it easier to have informal discussions about matters of mutual concern.
This gives me pause!!!
 
Please bear in mind ALL of the provisions of the Ohio Open Meetings laws.
 
Also, please be aware that the courts have ruled that a series of meetings involving members of a public body, each separately including less than a quorum, discussing the same public business and resulting in a majority of the public body having been included, shall be subject to the provisions of the Open Meetings laws.  In other words:  You can NOT play "musical chairs" to avoid the Open Meetings requirements!!! 
 
The public's business MUST be discussed in open, public meetings...something Middletown City Council keeps trying to avoid.  Please do not let this attitude rub off on the School Board.


Edited by Mike_Presta - Dec 21 2012 at 8:56pm
“Mulligan said he ... doesn’t believe they necessarily make the return on investment necessary to keep funding them.” …The Middletown Journal, January 30, 2012
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Middletown29 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Middletown29 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Dec 22 2012 at 8:20am
Vet
Get real man, this is al no brainier good idea.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote VietVet Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Dec 22 2012 at 9:28am
Originally posted by Middletown29 Middletown29 wrote:

Vet
Get real man, this is al no brainier good idea.


How do you know it's a good idea? Hasn't been implemented as yet and there is no track record of the city government and city schools living together in such close quarters. Suppose they meet in the city building without public knowledge as Mr. Presta has suggested? What is your opinion about Sunshine Law violations? Might never happen, but who will monitor the "out of sight" gatherings if they happen? Do you really trust your city government to do the right thing knowing what we know about them? If so, you are more gullible than most. Let's give it a little time to see if it is such a good idea or not.
I'm so proud of my hometown and what it has become. Recall 'em all. Let's start over.
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