Meeting Minutes 5/09/2006

Since nobody has stepped up to provide me with minutes I will add pieces of information to this page that may be useful to you. I am still looking for help with minutes. It has been a long time since minutes were posted on this site. If any of you who take notes at the meetings would like to forward them to me. I can put them on the web site for others to read.
Information for you to use:

At our last meeting Lt. Mauk shared with us some of the many ways the Salvation Army can help you. Whether it is learning how to use a computer or you need help with food and utilities. You can reach the Salvation Army at 216-692-1388

At he March meeting Shannon Harney the new Housing Programs and Property Manager will have information about the Weatherization Program and the upcoming Paint Program.

Senior Transportation will be offered in Ward 11: Flyers will be passed out at the March meting with the details on how to take advantage of this free service or call Denise at 481-7660 for more information

Here is a little of what you missed at the November meeting: Cuyahoga County representatives discussed the legal process from arrest to trial. City of Cleveland representatives explained the decorative post light program. Councilman Polensek was greeted with applause for winning another election he brought us up to date with neighborhood happenings and Commander Drummond shared 5th District information. Commander Drummond and the Councilman reminded everyone that with the Holidays coming up we need to make sure our doors are locked, shades/drapes are closed and if you are out shopping “PUT YOUR JUNK IN THE TRUNK!”

Here is a little of what you missed at the October meeting… Candidates night was very well attended and informative. Thank you to all of the candidates for sharing their thoughts and goals with us.

Here is a little of what you missed at the September meeting: We had a Potluck dinner at the last meeting. What a feast we had. If you went home hungry it was your own fault. We also had the census bureau there reminding people to please be counted in April. The Council on Aging provided some info to the seniors in our group. Commander Drummond talked about the crime in the area and the Councilman provided updates on the LaSalle theater and the Christian Life Center.

Here is a little of what you missed at the August meeting: Bob Guttu came back to congratulate us on being together for 4 years. Councilman Polensek brought everyone up to date on happenings in the area. Commander Drummond brought everyone up to date on crime stats. We had cake to celebrate. The majority of the group who was at the meeting decided to have a potluck picnic for the September meeting. Please don't forget to bring a side dish or dessert to share at the September meeting.

Here is a little of what you missed at the July meeting: the new Sheriff of Cuyahoga County was at the meeting to share how his department and the Cleveland Police will be working together to keep our neighborhood safe. Lt. Hill brought everyone up to date on recent crimes in the area and how we can try to protect ourselves from crime. The biggest way is still to make sure your doors and windows are locked even when you are working in your yard. Most robberies are crimes of opportunity if you don’t give them the opportunity they won’t be able to commit the crime. Councilman Polensek brought up the new Rec Center, ground is supposed to be broke for this facility in the fall. He also informed us Hospice bought the Christian Life Center. Most of the residents would like to have a party to celebrate our 4 years together instead of the meeting on August 11th. A party being planned in the near future would be nice. We will have to try to get a group of volunteers to help get this party under way. Maybe a cook out in September would be nice. We will try to have a sign up sheet at the August meeting to see who wants to do what for the cook out. Meanwhile cake will be at the August meeting to celebrate 4 years. It will be an abbreviated meeting with just the Commander and the Councilman as the speakers.

Here is a little of what you missed at the June meeting: Mayor Frank Jackson was our guest speaker. He talked about the state of Cleveland then answered questions and concerns.

As we approach the 4th anniversary of the Block Watch there are a couple of things we would like to remind everyone about. If you have a crime complaint you need to call 911 if it is an emergency, if it is not an emergency you need to call 621-1234, consistent problems call 623-5620. If it is a Housing Complaint please call 664-2007. You should also follow up any calls you make with a call to Councilman Polensek at 664-4236. If you just call my husband or myself or email and leave it up to us to call the proper authority then it looks like we are the only ones with any complaints in the neighborhood. My husband and I received a letter from the Councilman in regards to complaints in the area telling me that we are the only ones that ever complain. I tried to explain that we were relaying complaints from folks that called us. He indicated that people need to call in their own complaints. While we like to be kept informed you have to call the proper authorities yourself. Calling us, emailing me or stopping over our house and having us call in your complaint is not good enough you need to call your own complaints in. If you are not sure who to call I can be reached at 481-7660 most days between 8:30 am & 5:00 pm.

Angela Thomas from the Cuyahoga County Prosecutors office was our Special Guest. Angela explained the different Divisions of the Prosecutors office. The Prosecutors office is responsible for handling the cases in all of Cuyahoga County. The subject of Court Watch was brought up. Court Watch is very beneficial as a way of letting the judge on any particular case know that the neighborhood cares about the outcome of a particular case. If we can’t be there physically the letters to the judge are the next best thing. You can go to www.prosecutor.cuyahogacounty.us and click on the Court Watch tab to find out what cases are being heard in the Prosecutors office. If there is a case pertaining to our area the resident may want to think about showing up at the hearings and sentencing. Angela can be reached at 443-7800. Lt. Dennis Hill brought us up to date with the crime stats in our area. Robberies are up so KEEP YOUR DOORS LOCKED even if you are in your yard working. Please folks, in this day and age nobody (strangers) should be coming to your house uninvited. Any city service departments usually make an appt. to let you know they are coming out. www.crimereports.com will keep you current with crimes in our area. If it doesn’t feel right call the police 911 if it is an emergency or 621-1234. Councilman Polensek brought us up to date on local matters.

Here is a little of what you missed at the April meeting: Julie Donaldson from the City of Cleveland’s Consumer affairs department was there to share with us how to keep ourselves safe from predatory lending, shady home repair contractors and how to keep yourself safe from identity theft. If you have questions for her she can be reached at 664-3528. Debbie Schroeder from Homeland Security was there to talk about our group getting our group trained to be a Community Emergency Response Team. If you are interested please call Denise at 216-481-7660. Commander Drummond brought everyone up to date on the crime stats. If you would like to see for yourself the crime stats for our area go to www.crimereports.com and type in our zip code. Councilman Polensek told us that the Social Security Administration building was going to be built on South Waterloo. He also talked about the redistricting and how lucky we are that our Ward was not that affected by the changes. He took questions and concerns.

Here is what you missed at the last meeting: Rodney Weems owner of the new sports bar “Winners” was there to meet the residents and let us know that he wants to be involved in the area and wants to be a good neighbor to all of us. The new owner of Gabriellas could not make the meeting but sent information on his new store. A letter was read to the group that was written to us by Councilman Polensek regarding the transfer of the liquor license of the 800 Club. The new owner of the 800 Club was at the meeting because he received the letter as well. He explained that although he is a resident of Mentor he cares about our community. Even though he has not been to a meeting in over several months he tried to tell us he was active in the Block Watch as well. If you have a problem with a Bikini Dance Bar in your neighborhood, the Councilman told us that now is the time to voice any complaints you might have, so that they can be addressed before the transfer of the license. These are just a few of the complaints the councilman has received from some of the neighbors of the 800 Club broken bottles and garbage in the parking lot, patrons drinking outside the bar and dancers hanging out on the corner. Councilman Polensek also talked about the redistricting and showed us a map of the new wards. Commander Drummond brought us up to date on the crime stats which you can also get for yourself at www.crimereports.com .

Here’s a little of what you missed from the last meeting 2/10/2009: We did not have any special guest for February. Commander Drummond brought us up to date on the activities in the area. Residents voiced their concerns and questions. Councilman Polensek reminded us to write letters about the closing of St. Jeromes. There was still no decision on the Residency or Redistricting issues. Mary Louise from the Councilman's office is looking for information for the Collinwood & Nottingham Historical Society if you have something you would like to share you can contact her at 664-4236.

Here’s a little of what you missed from the last meeting: One of our special guests was Frank Revy from Nottingham Tax & Financial located in the Lithuanian Hall 216-571-6587 gave us some Tax tips. Bettye Hines from the new Key Bank introduced herself and invited everyone to the Grand Opening February 14^th at the new branch on E.185^th St. Commander Drummond let us know that the 5^th district has the fastest response time in the city, they are on a call within 10 minutes. He also reminded us they need us to be their eyes and ears. So please keep calling incidents in to the police. Remember when calling from your cell phone call 621-1234 if you call 911 be prepared to let them know what city you need. You don’t have to leave a name and phone number if you don’t want to. The dispatcher will ask for it because they have to BUT you don’t have to leave your contact information. Break-ins are happening during the day keep your eyes open if it looks suspicious call it in. Councilman let us know that Rite-Aid is open for business. Still no decision on the Residency or Redistricting issues. Mary Louise from the Councilman's office is looking for information for the Collinwood & Nottingham Historical Society if you have something you would like to share you can contact her at 664-4236

Here is what you missed from the last meeting... Thanks to Gus's diner for donating food to the block watch meeting, and Councilman Polensek for donating the cake, pop and bottle of wine for our raffle. The 50/50 raffle winner won $33.00. Sarah Gyorki from Arts Collinwood reminded everyone that week-ends on Waterloo are going on the whole month of December. Check out their web site for details. www.artscollinwood.org. Cindy Barber president of Northeast Shores urged everyone to join Northeast Shores and have your voice be heard in the neighborhood. It is only $15.00 for a resident, $10.00 for a senior and $60.00 for a business. January is election time for Board members of Northeast Shores if you are a member you can run for a board position to have a say in the neighborhood. If you want to be able to vote for a board member you have to be a member of Northeast Shores, elections are at the general meeting at Memorial Nottingham Library at 6:00pm on January 20th. Residents shared their concerns with Commander Drummond. Cornwall residents were complaining about people hanging around their corner doing illicit things. Commander Drummond reminded everyone to be especially cognizant of our surroundings during this Holiday Season. Be careful when shopping, lock your doors (cars and houses), don't leave presents in plain sight. Councilman Polensek gave updates on things going on in the community and again asked everyone to write the Bishop about the closing of St. Jeromes.

Here is a little of what you missed at the last meeting. Experience Corps. told us about their Mentoring Program and asked for volunteers. If you would like to mentor a child please call 216-391-9500 ext. 125 and ask for Carol Hasek. Northeast Shores gave us the results of the E. 185th St. survey we all took. They also brought us up to date on the commercial district and some home energy saving tips. The 5th District police reminded us to be aware as we do our Holiday shopping, don’t leave packages in you car, put them in the trunk. Please don’t forget to lock your houses up. Councilman Polensek reminded everyone to please write to Bishop Lennon and let him know that we are not in favor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help and St. Jeromes merging. This would result in St. Jeromes closing and Our Lady of Perpetual Help closing and merging to form a new church with a new name. Please even if you are not Catholic write the Bishop and let him know that this is a bad decision for our area.

Here is a little of what you missed at the last meeting. The rep from the Domestic Violence Center shared what they do to help people. Commander Drummond let us know that Arsenio Winston and some of his cohorts were arrested. They were wanted for the rash of burglaries in our area. Councilman Polensek reminded everyone to please write to Bishop Lennon and let him know that we are not in favor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help and St. Jeromes merging. This would result in St. Jeromes closing and Our Lady of Perpetual Help closing and merging to form a new church with a new name. Please even if you are not Catholic write the Bishop and let him know that this is a bad decision for our area.

Here is a little of what you missed at the last meeting…. Our joint meeting with the E. 185th St. Merchants Assoc. and the Waterloo Homeowners Assoc. was a big success. We had 16 candidates running for election in November speak at our Meet the Candidates Night meeting The following candidates spoke to the residents:

Maureen O’Connor (R) Justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio

Mike Corrigan on behalf of Evelyn Stratten (R) Justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio

James Valentino on behalf of Peter M. Soikora (D) Justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio

Steven Terry (D) Judge of Common Pleas General Division

Robert McClelland (R) Judge of Common Pleas General Division

Richard McMonagle (R) Judge of Common Pleas General Division

Lynn McLaughlin Murray (D) Judge of Common Pleas General Division

Maureen Clancy on behalf of Bill Mason (D) Prosecuting Attorney

Annette Butler (R) Prosecuting Attorney

Kathleen Sutula (R) Judge of the Court of Common Pleas Probate Division

Laura Gallagher (D) Judge of the Court of Common Pleas Probate Division

Larry Jones (D) Judge of the Court of Appeals

Kenny Yuko (D) State Representative

Beverly Valencic (R) State Representative

Representative of Barack Obama

Lt. Dennis Hill from the 5th District Detective Bureau was there on behalf of Commander Drummond with an update on the crime wave going on around our neighborhood. He discussed the Mickey’s robbery they have a suspect and at the time of the meeting they were still trying to find him. He also indicated that they had a person of interest for the video store robberies. Councilman Polensek also touched on the robberies and reminded everyone that they could vote by absentee ballot if they want to. Thanks to the E. 185th Merchants Association we had pizza from Scotti’s (which was very good, if you haven’t tried it you should) and the Lithuanian Hall donated the beverages.

Here is a little of what you missed at the last meeting…. We celebrated the 3rd Anniversary of the E. 185th St. Block Watch with Hot Dogs donated from the owners of Convenient Store on E. 200th St., goodies from the residents and a cake. Commander Drummond and the Councilman congratulated everyone on being together for so long and making an improvement in their neighborhood. Barb Mullally from Northeast Shores was given a Thank-you certificate for helping us start the Block Watch. All of the people who passed out flyers were also recognized and thanked.

The Car Wash that was proposed for E. 185th St was voted down by the residents who live close to the proposed site. Other neighborhood projects were discussed. The Councilman also suggested that if you are not a member of Northeast Shores you should think about joining. There are committees for Residential & Commercial Development. You would get a voice on what goes on in our area. The other committees are Marketing & Media which is a group who helps promote the area. And there is also a community Outreach Committee this committee helps get the word out about what Northeast Shores does for the community.

Everyone was also reminded that the next meeting on September 9th is meet the candidates night. Please plan on attending and voicing your questions.

Here is a little of what you missed at the July meeting….. This meeting was a special meeting of residents through out the community to voice their concerns over a car wash going in on the corner of Muskoka and E. 185^th.

We had many concerned residents in attendance as well as the following people:

Joe Compoli president of the E. 185^th St. Merchants & Professionals

Steve Hippin owner of Family Sports

Board Members from Northeast Shores (Cindy Barber the board president, Elva Brodnick, & Suzi Darlin)

Brian Friedman Executive Director and Barb Mullally Community Organizer from Northeast Shores

Sarah Gyorki from Arts Collinwood

Councilman Polensek

Special Guest George Webb, proposed owner of the car wash.

The meeting started with an announcement from Denise that the Block Watch had been given a generous donation from Keith Hamulak who works at CBRE a commercial real estate broker. Keith was instrumental in many of the commercial transactions that have happened around here. She also announced that this brings the total in the bank to $971.59. August 12^th will be 3 years that the block watch has been meeting there will be a party!

The meeting started with Commander Drummond. He talked about the success of the Safety Fair that was held June 28^th. He introduced Denis Hill who took concerns and questions from the residents. Commander also talked about holding a walk around in this area similar to the one he just did over in the Waterloo area. We will be looking for volunteers who would like to walk the streets of our neighborhood with Commander Drummond. He also reminded everyone that if you call 911 from a cell phone it does not go to the 5^th District it goes to central dispatch. If you want to reach the 5^th district you need to call 621-1234.

George Webb was then introduced. He gave his presentation with pictures to the residents. He then opened the floor up to questions and concerns. George indicated that they had spent a lot of money trying to figure out the highest and best use for the property if the were to buy it. The bank agreed to financing a car wash. He indicated it will be state of the art with energy star equipment. He intends to make a park like setting with benches in the front of the building. Many questions were asked and answered. Many residents were upset by the idea. Some people thought it was a good idea that we need to move forward, others want to just sit on the building and wait. The Councilman wanted to know what we were supposed to wait for. He said the days of the mom and pop places are gone and if we didn’t start having an open mind we were going to start looking pretty empty on 185^th St. he also told the crowd that if there was someone in the crowd who had a better idea for that spot they should step up and buy it. The building has asbestos in it, and nasty water in the basement. Whoever buys it would have to raze the building. There will be a Building of Zoning Appeals meeting at the end of July at that time Mr. Webb will find out if he will be able to put his car wash in. He is hoping he can have a good relationship with the neighbors and the community if he gets the variance he needs. Stay tuned.

Kenny Yuko our State Rep pulled the raffle winner and donated tickets to an Indians game.

Special thanks to Elva Brodnick for contributing to these minutes. I can use all of the help I can get to make sure the residents get the information they deserve.

Our June meeting was cancelled due to the Mayor’s meeting. The Mayors meeting at the Food Bank on Waterloo was just like his past meetings in this area. Questions were asked and he directed the questions to his people in various departments. He indicated that they are putting money towards a rec center for our area but no target dates for a rec center were discussed.
Our meeting in May had Carol Ward a Naturalist from the Cleveland Lakefront State Park. She let everyone know about the programs the park has to offer. Check out their web site for upcoming events. www.clevelandlakefront.org

Here is a little of what you missed at the April 8th meeting… Stephanie Thomas from Northeast Shores told everyone about the Paint Program available to residents. You can call Stephanie at 216-481-7660 ext. 31 to find out if you are eligible. Tony Dial from the Department of Aging told about different programs available to our Seniors. He can be reached at 216-664-2833. Commander Drummond reminded everyone about the change in Districts. The new number for our 5th District is 216-623-5505.

Here is a little of what you missed at the the March 11^th meeting… Erin Randel from the Summer Guide was there, if you have an event you would like to see in the Summer guide contact her at bluelight@en.com. Barb Mullally from Northeast Shores Development Corp. told everyone about the upcoming Safety Summit. It is March 27^th, 6-7 at the Memorial Nottingham Library. Commander Drummond and 6^th District Police Officers will be on hand to answer any questions or concerns you may have. Our Guest Judge Ray Pianka had a power point presentation that described the foreclosure and receivership process. In his presentation were the email addresses and phone numbers of organizations that can try to help people having a hard time keeping their houses. These links are in the links page of this web site. I will scan his presentation to a page in the web site, there was some very helpful information on the foreclosure process, how it works and how to protect yourself. Commander Drummond talked about the shooting on Whitcomb and St. Clair. He then took questions from the audience. Councilman Polensek’s visit was brief. He had to go to the studio of Channel 19 to be on the special Taking Back Our Streets. If you would like to see this vide there is a link on the web site or go to the WOIO web site www.woio.com and click Taking Back Our Streets: Teens In Crisis.

Here is what you missed from the February 12th block watch meeting... Stephanie Thomas from Northeast Shore Development Corp. was there to tell us about the weatherization programs available to residents. Call her at 216-481-7660 for more information. She also has programs to reduce your water and electric bills. In April The Paint Program will start. Commander Drummond brought us up to date on the latest crime stats for our area. He also shared with us that Convenient on E,200th St was caught selling to minors. Councilman Polensek shared with us updates on Save-A-Lot they are supposed to open around Feb. 22nd. Then it was on to the celebration of Bob Guttu's retirement. Bob received several proclamations and awards for all of his help in preserving the Quality of Life in our neighborhood. The 50/50 raffle paid out $16.00.

Here is a little of what you missed from the January 2008 meeting… Robert Triozzi, Law Director for the City of Cleveland was our special guest. Mr. Triozzi explained what his job entails and that he has 70-75 attorneys who work for his department. He then took questions from the residents. He explained about the Home Rule and how it pertains to the Residency Requirement. Right now the Residency law is in the Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court will make the final decision. He took questions about the foreclosure problem explaining how they are trying to make the property owners of vacant and foreclosed on properties more responsible. Mr. Triozzi also told the residents that he is open to phone calls and left us his number 216-664-2680. Commander Drummond reported that this year his dept. is going to really step up enforcement of Quality of Life issues. They are also going to go after Liquor violations more aggressively. Councilman Polensek reported that Parkview Federal owns the LaSalle Theater property. He also reminded the residents that if they are not happy with the snow removal on their street to call Operation Snowbird 216-664-2510. You can also use this number to call in complaints if the city tears up your tree lawn or damages your curb. One of the residents stressed the importance of having a clearly visible address on the front of your house. It also helps to turn on a light so they can see your address when calling for assistance. We took in $58.00 in the 50/50 raffle and paid $29.00 to the winner. An account has been opened at Huntington Bank with Northeast Shores Development Corp named as our Fiscal agent. There is $410.00 in the account as of the January 8, 2008 meeting.

Here is what you missed from the last meeting. Commander Drummond talked about identity theft. Cleve PD has a Financial Crimes Unit they are based in the Justice Center. The phone number is 216-623-5618. Traffic cars are in the area as we requested making routine stop sign and speeding stops. The traffic unit radar cars you see are not deployed out of the 6^th District they are from downtown. Ohio Lottery Commission was out and gave everybody promotional lottery tickets. She explained how the lottery money is used in education. Councilman Polensek told everyone to use the 211 hotline for housing, mortgage problems or any other problems you may have. He also told us how the building & housing dept. wants us to use this number 664-2007 for any complaints instead of calling your inspector for the area. Parkview Bank now owns the LaSalle theater building, the tavern has lost its license but is open for business because they are appealing the decision. The Crawl Inn(Fields) is closed and the license is being moved out of the neighborhood. Key Bank is considering buying the back lot to Save A Lot bringing up the question of what is going to happen to the Europa building. This is a concern for some residents that don’t want to see the building torn down. Brian Friedman from Northeast Shores was talking about different possibilities for the Europa building. He reminded everyone that it is not handicap accessible and that he has been in contact with people to see if the building can be taken apart and moved to another location. He also brought everyone up to date on housing purchases that Northeast Shores has made in the area. We also had a cake to celebrate the Holidays. The 50/50 raffle paid out $14.50 and we have $381.50 in our account. We also had a turkey to raffle off from Paul Falzone candidate for Cuyahoga County Sheriff, a gift basket from Kenny Yuk our State Rep and a bag of goodies from the Lottery Commission.

Here is a little of what you missed from the November 13^th meeting. Our guest speaker didn’t make it so we will have to reschedule him. Barb Mullally from Northeast Shores shared what the Safety Committee that she is on is up to. They have allotted money to hire off duty patrols to keep an eye on the E185th St. business area and the Waterloo business area. They have also been working with CPP and RTA to make the streets and bus stops safer. Commander Drummond took questions and talked about the constant need to be informed and pass your info along. If it looks suspicious it probably is. Call the police. Councilman Polensek talked about the need to turn in the criminals you can’t turn a blind eye to crimes and expect things to get better.

Here is a little of what you missed from the October 2007 meeting. Vicar Mike from St. John Lutheran Church was our first guest. He shared information about the Collinwood Church Council Food Pantry. The new location of the Food Pantry is 15220 Lakeshore Blvd. at the corner of Huntmere and Lakeshore Blvd.. The hours ars Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays from 11:45 to 2:45. The Food Pantry accepts food donations and clothing donations. For the holidays they will also be accepting new toys to be handed out to the children of Food Pantry recipients. All donations can be dropped off at the office of St. John Nottingham’s church located at 17403 Nottingham Rd. or you can call 216-531-1156 . The vicar also shared info on the back pack program they have made available to children in the area. The children go home on Friday with enough food for them to eat over the week end. We donated the food that was brought to the block watch meeting to St. John Nottingham Church. Commander Drummond commended everyone on helping to catch one of the intruders. This juvenile lived in the area and was put into the juvenile correction facility. He told us to keep the lines of communication open between all of the residents and we can continue to improve the quality of life around our area. He also shared with us his experience at the FBI academy. Commander then answered questions from the residents. Councilman Polensek asked us once again to write letters to the Mayor about our Rec Center request. In an effort to get the maximum amount of letters to the Mayor I will make a sample letter available at the next meeting and on the web site. We need to get the Rec Center back on the front burner. Sav A Lot is moving right along, hoping to open by the end of the year. 5th 3^rd bank is open for business and Rite Aid is still looking at the corner of 185 and Lakeshore for it’s store.

Here is a little of what you missed from the Sept 2007 meeting: Building Inspector Dawn Guilyard was present at the meeting. She took complaints from the residents and answered questions. Victor Rucker from The Sanitation Dept was at the meeting and explained that Cleveland will be recycling again. The city is also doing an experiment with new trucks and containers. Acting Commander Tube let us know that “Saturn Boy” and his group of crack dealers were arrested, approx. 14 in all. He then took questions from the residents. Councilman Polensek was talking about the shooting on Grovewood and various other concerns of the residents. The 800 Club’s manager who lives in Madison came to make sure we noticed they moved their smoking section and changed their hours. The 800 Club manager indicated he is here for the residents so hopefully we will continue to see him at future meetings. We had donations to raffle off. We had an Ipod from Lakeshore Chevrolet, and Indians tickets from Councilman Polensek + the 50/50 raffle paid out $38.50.

8/14/07 Here is a little of what you missed at the last meeting: Acting Commander Trappenburg took questions from the residents. Councilman Polensek was honored with a cake donated by one of the residents. Councilman thanked everyone for their support. State Rep Kenny Yuko presented the “E.185^th St. Block Watch” with a commendation for 2 years of working together to improve our Quality of Life. The owner of the “800 Club” and his family (some who didn’t even live in our neighborhood) came to explain the benefits of having a Bikini Dance Bar in our neighborhood. Councilman Polensek informed the owner of the 800 club that he was there to take questions from the residents. Several people asked questions and made comments. Councilman suggested that the whole neighborhood should watch the 800 Club for the next month, and that the 800 Club will try to move their smoking area. Back by popular demand Building Inspector Dawn Guilyard was present at the meeting. She took complaints from the residents and answered questions. Councilman Polensek congratulated everyone on getting the offensive billboard on E. 185^th St. taken down. For those of you who did not get to see the bill board it was a Seagrams Gin & Juice billboard. It featured a young African American female saying that she brings dope style and laughs to a party. It was the billboard on the corner of Hiller and E.185^th St. So many residents expressed their outrage to Clear Channel Advertising that the billboard was changed by 8:00am the day after all of our complaints were received. The billboard was replaced with one promoting graduating from High School. We had many donations from the merchants to raffle off. We had 4 oil changes and an Ipod from Lakeshore Chevrolet, a hair cut from the E.185^th St. Barbershop, a $25.00 gift cert to Muldoons, t shirt from Cebars, a grab bag from Johns FunHouse, umbrellas from National City and Indians tickets from Councilman Polensek + the 50/50 raffle paid out $40.50. Victor Rucker from the Sanitation dept. approached me after the meeting to ask if he could be a speaker at our next meeting. The city of Cleveland is going to be implementing a new waste pick up system and he would like to explain to us the new system.

7/10/07Here is a little of what you missed at the last meeting. Barb Mullally informed everyone that Sav-A-Lot will be going into the old Topps site. She also talked about Rite-Aid going in where Schwebels is. 5^th 3^rd is moving right along. Velda Brodnick talked about carrying on her late husband Frank’s plan of bringing the Euclid Beach Carousel back to Euclid Beach. Sarah Gyorki reminded everyone about the Waterloo Arts Fest on July 28^th from 11:00 to 7:00 it’s free! The E.185^th St Merchants Assoc. would like to work with the Block Watch to get a Framers Market in our area. Most of the residents agreed that we need something like that around here and volunteered to help. If you are interested please call 216-692-3700 and leave a message or contact us through our email or web site. The “Celebrate E.185^”has been cancelled due to time constraints. We were reminded by Captain Tube that we don’t have to put up with loud music, dogs barking, kids in the street etc… Call theses complaints in even if they don’t respond right away if they get enough calls coming from this area we will get more patrol cars cruising our neighborhood. He also took some complaints from the residents and will look in to them. Kenny Yuko and Lance Mason brought us up to date on what is happening on the State level, and then took questions from the residents. Councilman Polensek talked a little more about Sav-A-Lot and Rite-Aid. He also told us Convenient will have new owners. Fields Bar on E.185^th St. will be up for liquor license renewal in August. Since they were just recently accused of selling drugs, and numerous other offenses it would be appreciated if we got letters together to complain about this bars renewal. Mike also reminded everyone to keep calling in your complaints to the police and his office. Remember when you call your complaints in please give the address where the problem is, then give your name and phone number (address if you want) you can ask to remain anonymous. If you don’t leave your name, address and phone number it will be hard for anyone to call you back if they have questions about your complaint. Residents were reminded that our August meeting will mark 2 years of us getting together to try and improve the quality of life in our neighborhood. We will be having a cake to celebrate at our next meeting so please plan on attending.