WITH THE LAURA BROWN HIRE AS FINANCE DIRECTOR, DID NORTH CANTON GET BACK TO HIRING EXCELLENCE?

SEE THE RÉSUMÉS OF ALL 19 CANDIDATES
(at end of blog)

VIDEO

LAURA BROWN
IN ACTION AS
FINANCIAL RESOURCE

North Canton has one of the weirdest hiring structures in all of Ohio government.

City council hires the law director and the finance director.

Consequently, it is sort of "a no man's land" insofar as supervision of the law director and and finance director in North Canton.

It is the perfect environment, the SCPR thinks, for North Canton's autocratic Tim Fox to run amok in.

It seems like in not being directly accountable to any single North Canton elected official, he has taken it on himself in and of himself to be North Canton government.

Want a public record?

Well, you may or may not get it.

It all depends on the "unelected" Tim Fox as to whether or not you get it.

Only once has Fox been held accountable by any elected official in North Canton government.

Feeling political heat of a controversy, post-November, 2012 election when North Canton voters at a 78% rate agreed with an ordinance referendum to deny part-time councilpersons health care coverage at city expense if they had alternative means of obtaining coverage, Mayor David Held took it upon himself (nearly a year after the fact of the opinion being issued and refused to the public under the guise of attorney/client privilege) to release a Fox's pro-council analysis of the legality of the ordinance.

Otherwise, Fox appears to have had free reign in "ordering the day" of government in North Canton.

All of which, shows how all-important the hiring process in the no-man's land of accountability is in the ridiculous structure of North Canton government administration.

It appears to the SCPR that the hiring of Fox has been devastating to the public confidence in North Canton government.

But, perhaps, with the recent hiring a replacement financial director, the process is improving.

The Report emphasizes "perhaps" because "the jury is still out" in assessing whether or not Finance chair Dan Griffith has taken the process from a seeming dark and obscure "cloak and dagger-esque" model of Councilman Daniel "Jeff" Peters (re: Fox) into light of day.

One needs to remember however that Griffth was on the council committee which selected Fox.

THE NIGHT:  THE TIM FOX HIRING

The SCPR thinks and has written frequently that the September, 2012 hiring of Tim Fox as law director has been an absolute disaster in terms of council and the mayor's relationship with any North Canton citizen who dares question the actions of North Canton government.

Fox, from the outset of his hiring,  knowing how forthright, direct and uncompromising the SCPR is in The Report's expectation that public officials treat citizens with regard and respect and welcome their input on the operation of government, adopted a "Cold War" mentality in dealing with this blog.

And the mayor and council has let him get away with being unaccountable to the North Canton public in his obvious hostility to anyone who has not "come to praise Caesar."

Part of the answer is the structure of North Canton government in having the ridiculous "no man's land" as to who controls the likes of Fox.

The present structure worked fine when the last first rate law director of North Canton was serving the citizens of North Canton.

Roy Batista, a top notch "appointed" North Canton official, who passed away last weekend, last served the city on a temporary basis in the summer of 2012 while council selected a successor to Hans Nilges who resigned in July, 2012.

Prior to the temporary service, Batista had been North Canton's law director (then part-time [80 hours per month) from the 1970s through 1980 and again 2000 through 2003.

In the gaps of Batista's service, North Canton had so-so legal counsel.

But that was better than the nose dive that The Report again—in signaling a North Canton Council vis-a-vis inquiring citizens Fox-led  hostility—believes has been the reality with Fox's September, 2012 hire.

Not to exonerate Fox, but The Report's take is that the-then personnel committee chairman Dan "Jeff" Peters (now president of council) led the way for then Ward 3 Councilman Fox to be hired as an "inside job" hiring operation and let it be known to Fox that at least a majority of council wanted him to crack down on any citizen dissent to come before council at its regular meetings.

And Fox has not disappointed at least a majority of North Canton's seven council persons.

He has proved to be a "rules attorney" who is so utterly bound up in a rigidity of interpreting law in an obvious quest to use the law to hamstring and punish any who dare challenge the likes Councilpersons Peters, Kiesling and Werren.

More democratic-republican values friendly Councilpersons Cerreta, Foltz, Fonte and Griffith have stood by and allowed the Fox generated hostility grow.

It seems like he has brought his senior non commissioned officer bearing with him from is days in the United States Air Force.

Fox was not on the original list of applicants to fill the Nilges resignation vacancy.  Sort of duplicated earlier this year when Jeff Wendorf surfaced from out-of-the-blue to become North Canton City Schools superintendent earlier this year.

Must be a uniquely North Canton thing, no?

Here is the list of applicants with no

To say it one more time: out-of-nowhere, Fox, elected as a councilman in Ward 3 in November, 2011, at the behest of Peters, jettisoned to the top the list that he was not originally part of.

In the time before the selection of Fox, the SCPR thought that North Canton Council was among the better councils among Alliance, Canton, Massillon and North Canton being Stark County's major cities.

But the Fox hire presaged a marked change of attitude and approach that now has North Canton being in the assessment of the SCPR the worst Stark County major municipality city council in terms of its relationship with everyday citizens who have the audacity to question North Canton governance.

In North Canton, only those who "come to praise Caesar" are welcome with open arms.

THE DAY:  THE BROWN HIRE

To repeat, because Dan Griffith was part of the committee of council who orchestrated the Fox hire, one had to be just tad nervous that as Finance Committee chair he headed up the hiring of a replacement for retiring finance director Karen Alger.

At first blush, the Laura Brown hiring was done in an environment in which there was "real" competition for the position.

For one thing, Brown actually publicly applied for the position of finance director.

However, there is a reasonable basis to think that maybe the Brown hiring may not be all that different from the Fox hiring.

Reason #1 would be the failure of the Griffith led effort to include Stark County commissioner Budget and Management Director Chris Nichols (eminently qualified as far as the SCPR is concerned by virtue of his outstanding performance on-the-job) as among the three of 19 applicants to get an interview.

Reason #2 would be the fact that Laura Brown had done finance work for North Canton about a year ago and therefore had an insurmountable advantage for landing the job and that the apparent consideration of two others was just that:  "apparent," but not real.

Reason #3 would be Mayor David Held telephoning the SCPR (last week) with a seeming public relations pump on the Brown hiring.

A key difference in comparing the Fox/Brown hirings however was the willingness of Councilman Griffith to talk with the SCPR on Friday for about 20 minutes about the details of the Brown hiring process.

Griffith agreed:

• that Nichols is a superlative Stark County budget and management director but said that his experience was not in the judgment of the committee screening the finance director hire (Councilpersons Griffith, Peters and Werren along with a Stark County auditor employee [Michael Minor, a CPA] and a former Bruner Cox partner: Ronald Manse now Director of Economic Alliances at Walsh University),

But said that he did not agree with the SCPR insination that Brown's past work gave her an inside track to land the directorship and that the other  two interviewed candidates were merely window dressing for a predetermined hire as The Report thinks was the case in the Fox hire.

A persuasive marker for Griffith's point to counter The Report's suspicions of predetermination is that the committee held a second round of interviews.  Three of the applicants made the first cut.  Brown and Barbara Markland (Tuslaw Schools treasurer) made the final round of the two round interview process.

No such openness has been forthcoming from Peters on the Fox hiring.

Hopefully, Griffith's apparent transparency is a positive omen for more a democratic-republican values consistent evolution on the part of  some North Canton City Council members.  P eters, Kiesling and Werren are not likely to be part of such a trend, if the Griffith interview is at all indicative of a change taking place.

Everybody the SCPR has talked with agrees:  Laura Brown was "top notch" as a candidate.

Moreover, SCPR is familiar with Brown's financial/accounting prowess from her work as a state of Ohio official on the Massillon Financial Planning and Supervision Commission.

Here is a video exceRpt of Brown from one of those meetings.



The SCPR's model is to be skeptical of anyone who is uncritically acclaimed as Brown appears to be.

However, there are a few Stark County political subdivision elected and unelected officials whose performance merits the praise the receive.

Former primer auditor for the city of Canton Gary Young comes to mind.

As do elected officials Thomas Bernabei (mayor of Canton), Alan Harold (Stark County auditor), Alex Zumbar (Stark County treasurer), Edmond Mack (Canton city councilman) and others on the SCPR "Top 10" Stark County Political Subdivision Elected Officials list.

Notwithstanding the aforementioned elected officials excellence, they have from time-to-time been subjects of SCPR critical blogs.

So time will tell with Brown.

THE BROWN/FOX RELATIONSHIP GOING FORWARD

A major indicator of her excellence will be how she handles her relationship with Fox.

Undoubtedly, in one fashion or another Fox will try to dominate Brown as "the" key factor in North Canton government.

What the SCPR cannot assess from Brown's work in the Massillon Financial Planning and Supervision Commission is her strength of personality in the face of Fox-like bullying.

Of course, the critical factor in her holding or ground with Fox will be the vibes she gets from council as a whole.

For the betterment of North Canton government/citizen relationship, citizen have to be hoping that she proves to be one person in North Canton administration who is not in thrall to Law Director Tim Fox!

THE RÉSUMÉS

/b>

CANTON (STARK COUNTY) S.W.A.T. "PERSONA NON-GRATA" AT CLEVELAND SITED REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION?

UPDATED THURSDAY:  5:12 PM

North Canton Asked,

But is Not Sending Any of its Police
to
Cleveland
===========================
Sheriff's "Office"
is not
But Individual Deputies Are

Originally Published on Wednesday
(new material in gold)

Rejected or the Rejector:  that is the question?

For some time now, the SCPR has been question Canton law enforcement officials as to whether or not the Canton (Stark County) Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT) would be providing security services at the upcoming Republican National Convention at Cleveland for the period July 18th through 21st, which, of course, is Monday of next week.

The local posture has been that everything will have to Stark County's SWAT advantage for officials to agree to send members to Cleveland.

The answer is now in, Stark's SWAT operation will NOT have a presence in Cleveland.

And so local Republican officials such as  Republican Stark County Commissioner Janet Creighton will not have the comfort of knowing that her hometown police are nearby as she and upwards of a couple thousand convention delegates assemble in Ohio's lakeside city.

NORTH CANTON

The SCPR also has learned from North Canton mayor David Held that he has been approached by Cleveland police officials to provide "mutual aid" assistance but that North Canton has declined.  As things stand now, he queried, "what are the chances that Cleveland would ever be in a position to offer reciprocal mutual aid.

He did add however that should an emergency develop at the convention no doubt under the long standing tradition of safety forces "mutual aid" would kick in and North Canton along with safety forces across Ohio would jump into help out.

STARK COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE

BACK TO SWAT

There is a report in today's online Plain Dealer that only Cleveland policemen will be authorized to make arrests for convention related infractions of law should the need arise.

The reason for the Stark County SWAT not going to Cleveland is not clear.

The actual answer lies somewhere in between of whom you believe as between Canton law enforcement officials and Cleveland police officials.

A recent WKYC report:  (LINK)  Investigator:  Hidden recordings suggest a police cover up, May 18, 2016 (Tom Meyer) marked the first of an ongoing series on matters  Stark County SWAT by the Cleveland based television station.

The alleged cover up pertains to operations of Stark's SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics unit [LINK] standoff with one Shane Ryan at Great Clips in Massillon on July 28, 2012 which resulted in Ryan's death at the hand of a SWAT officer.  (LINK)

Though written transcripts of the shooting do not identify the shooting officer, the WKYC report identifies the shooter as being Sgt. Charles Saler, a 26 year veteran of the SWAT team.

And it could be that Cleveland police officials letting local chief Bruce Lawver know that in view of Saler being a defendant in a civil lawsuit on the Great Clips shooting is the real reason that Stark County SWAT will not be in Cleveland.

Canton officials have told the SCPR that there was no way the city would agree to send its SWAT unit to Cleveland without Saler—or any other member who has been a defendant in litigation, present or past, with respect to killings that have taken place by Stark County SWAT—being a part of any such contingent.

What's more, local officials say that they think there is a high probability that there will be violence in Cleveland and that they do not want Stark County based law enforcement officials to be anywhere near having local policemen having a role in quelling expected violence.

In today's Cleveland Plain Dealer (online version), this headline:

See "subsequent to original article" disclaimer by chairman at this LINK.

There is no doubt.  Tensions are extremely high between the African American community and police departments across America.  Reports like the Plain Dealer report above is cause for pause as to whether or not it is a good idea to have a Stark County police presence in Cleveland beginning on Monday.

And, of course, there are going to be a lot of "Never Trump folks" at the RNC.

Will their deeply felt passions get the best of them?

If so, is that the material of which might prompt coercive police action and perhaps per chance involving a Stark County contingent should it have a presence at the convention?

That pretty much is the Canton police officialdom perspective of why Stark County SWAT will not be going to Cleveland next week.

The Report must say that getting to the heart of the matter with Stark County policing officials (including Safety Director Andrea Perry) was "like pulling teeth."  According to a WKYC anchor, Perry promised to get back to the station with reasons why Canton's regional SWAT is not going to the convention, but never delivered on her promise.

Sifting through bits and pieces of responses to SCPR questions, it appears—taking for granted Canton's version that not having a presence at the RNC was its call—that the decider-in-chief was Canton police chief Bruce Lawver.

What is  Canton police officialdom's problem in providing candid answers to the Stark County public on seemingly benign matters like the whys and wherefores of participating/not participating in RNC security?

Their reluctance only fuels the fires of speculation of them perhaps hiding something that they think does not reflect well on Stark County-based policing operations.

Mayor Thomas M. Bernabei needs to take the lead in insisting that short of protecting internal security matters that Perry be forthcoming on justifications of this or that policy, practice and/or operations of the Stark County SWAT and any other matters that fall under her supervision.

Cleveland officials and at least one local attorney and civic activist (Craig T. Conley) see Stark County SWAT's exclusion differently than local officials.

Last evening, WKYC continued its ongoing series on Stark County SWAT in providing "a differing with Stark County policing officials" as to whom rejected whom and the reason for the rejection.

Before proceeding with reading this blog, readers owe it to themselves to go to this LINK and take in the one minute and 53 second WKYC report of last evening.

It starts of with the on air anchor saying:

• that according to WKYC investigator Tom Meyer that Stark County SWAT and its commander Charles Saler has been told not to come to Cleveland
• in a six year span,  Canton SWAT commander shot and killed three suspects,
• Saler volunteered to help with security at next week's RNC in attending himself and taking with him most of the 36 members of the Stark County-based SWAT,
• the reason could be, Meyer says, because of Saler's history of excessive force complaints,

Appearing on the last night's broadcast was Craig Conley:  "If I were in charge in Cleveland, I would say that guy (Saler) is persona non-grata.  I don't want him here.  I don't want the liability.

Conley has written Ohio attorney general Mike DeWine and the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) asking that Stark County's SWAT be investigated (specifically Saler) on the issue of whether or not SWAT killings at his hand were legally justified or not.

DeWine gave the lame excuse that "unless invited in by local officials," his department of Ohio government has no authority to intervene.

The Report has to believe that if DeWine wants in, he will get that "invitation" or find some other avenue to enter an appearance (re:  Steubenville football player matter).

At last report, Conley says he has not heard from the DOJ.

So there you have it folks, the Stark County-based SWAT at the center of yet another controversy.

But for The Stark County Political Report, Stark Countians would have no clue as to all of the foregoing.

Interesting, no? that Stark County's only countywide newspaper—The Repository—has not looked into the WKYC allegations!

CANTON UNDOES DAMAGE DONE BY NORTH CANTON GOV'T TO CANTON'S MONTABELLA ESTATES RESIDENTS' CELL TOWER OPPOSITION

UPDATED:  2:03 PM

STARK COUNTY'S FOREMOST LEGISLATOR

EDMOND MACK

"LEADS THE WAY"

VIDEOS

TowerCo Legal Counsel Matthews
on
"Court is Next"
=========================
Ward 8 Councilman Edmond Mack
Reflects on Victory
=========================
Mack's Reasons for Voting "No"
Also
Fisher and Harmon
The Actual Vote
==========================
Montabella Citizens
Input
&
Reaction to Decision
==========================
TowerCo  Attorney Jim Matthews
Main Arguments

Back on December 10, 2015, North Canton's Planning Commission determined that city of Canton residents living in Montabella Estates would have to live with a 140' Verizon Cell Tower in their backyards.

Last night, eleven of Canton's councilpersons (Councilman West was not present) in effect—for now, at least— determined that it would deny TowerCo (representing the interests of Verizon) an easement over its land to run necessary cabling to power the tower.

"For  now?"  Yes.  Legal counsel for TowerCo  (Jim Matthews) said last night that "the next step" is court thereby clearing indicating that this fight is going to go on.

And here is a video on his legal arguments in favor of granting TowerCo it request for an easement.



Canton has and is likely to grant other companies utility easements over its land and therefore seems to have provided TowerCo with a competitive argument as to why a court should overrule council.

Accordingly, this battle is far from over.

North Canton's December action (and TowerCo's persistence/insistence on the tower) makes no sense given the fact that a sufficiently high up city of Canton water tower lies within "a stone's throw" north of the proposed site., located on property owned by First Friends Church at .55th Street NW and Market Avenue, North.

It seems that the "water tower" site is the answer to get to a win/win/win for the residents of Monatbella and TowerCo's client Verizon and for that matter (assuming that Verizon is correct in saying that a tower presence is needed in the area to prevent "dropped calls") for Verizon's customers.

On July 1st TowerCo became financially obligated to pay First Friends $144,000 for the right to erect the Verizon accommodating tower.   A tower that First Friends is now saying it does not want even at the prospect of being in line to receive the $144,000.

The SCPR has learned that Canton had approached TowerCo through its legal counsel to work out an arrangement for the Verizon signal enhancement to be placed on the city's water tower.

But for some inexplicable reason, it appears that TowerCo is not interested.

This despite its website showing that it offers co-location services.

Moreover, a pervasive concept of legal resolution across the legal spectrum is to find resolution to disputes in "the least restrictive alternative" available.

Perhaps, TowerCo's seeming disinterest in pursuing a win/win/win strategy involving Canton's water tower will come back to bite it in court litigation.

It will be interesting to see.

As stated in December, 2015 in a blog on the North Canton Planning Commission hearing process, the SCPR has "no dog in this fight."

However, the contrast between the North Canton proceeding (SCPR blog LINK)  and Canton's last night on the matter of government processes alone is striking.

Council president Allen Schulman (Stark County very best council president in terms of communicating "citizen" friendliness) struck the right chord with his intro to the "public speaks" portion of last night's meeting in assuring Montabella residents opposing the tower that they would have a fair opportunity to present views.

Schulman is respectful and and non-confrontational.

This video (which includes post-decision citizen comments) is clear evidence of the dignified treatment that Schulman accords everyday citizens:



North Canton's president of council Dan Peters gets in the face of public speaks participants seemingly at "the drop of a hat" should a of them be critical of North Canton government.

Government democratic-republican value friendly government is a top priority with The Stark County Political Report.

As regular readers know, the SCPR thinks that North Canton government processes under the obvious influence of Law Director Tim Fox all seem to have a citizen unfriendly, anti-democratic/republican values tint to them which at times blooms into bold color.

One area observer has described the December North Canton hearing to be in the order of being a "Kangaroo Court."

But last night in Canton, it was "all on the merits" in an effort led by Ward 8 councilman Edmond Mack.  Ward 8 is the area within which the proposed tower would be placed if TowerCo was to be granted a utility easement by Canton government.

Here is the video which includes:

• Mack making his well thought out and therefore reasonable objections to council granting TowerCo an easement,
• Councilman Fisher and Harmon weighing in on the matter, and, of course,
• the vote itself (11 - 0) to deny Tohttp://starkpoliticalreport.blogspot.com/2014/07/videos-ward-8s-edmund-mack-pushers-for.htmlwerCo's request,

Mack from the get-go has been in the top rungs of the SCPR Top 10 Stark County Political Subdivision Elected Officials list.

He has the grace to accept rejection of an idea (i.e. creating a city park at St. Marks) having according his constituents a full and complete opportunity to voice and be heard on their objections.

And he is dogged in seeking to improve the structure and elasticity of Canton government with his work to get Cantonians to consider approving Canton adopting a charter form of government.

As the SCPR sees it, it was the effort of Stark County trade union movement headed by Plumbers and Pipefitters busness agent David Kirven that resulted in the electoral defeat of the measure.

It appears to The Report that Kirven was willing to put selfish union interests ahead of the public good.

But Mack is to be commended for the effort.

In narrowing down elected official evaluation down to legislative bodies, Mack is the SCPR's number one (#1) rated elected "legislative" official.

Here is Mack's reaction to his smashing victory last night.

Following this initial rendition of today's blog, the SCPR will be posting video of the entire proceeding including the arguments of counsel for TowerCo, for Montabella residents, Edmond Mack's presentation as well as those of Councilpersons Fisher and Harmon.

WHICH IS MORE IMPORTANT TO CANTON'S FUTURE: KINGS LANDING REHAB OR PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME VILLAGE PROJECT?

Kings Landing Rehab:   A "Mustard Seed-esque" Springboard?==

* Creative Commons attribution (Tree Link, Seeds Link).

VIDEO

Bruce Nordman

President, Vassar Park Neighborhood Ass'n

Updates of Kings Landing Rehab

We all know that anybody who is anyone in Stark County political leadership is ga-ga over the "in progress" Pro Football Hall of Fame Village Project (HOFVP).

The reason being that this same leadership has over decades has presided over a city of Canton and indeed a countywide economic slide that has seen the county slip from Ohio's #7 sized county to #8 and these leaders are therefore desperate for something, anything to reverse the seeming inexorable slide further down "the important in Ohio" measure.

Some five to six years ago, it was Utica Shale fracking that was going to being the economic savior of Ohio's county which is home to the McKinley Monument.

Then rah-rah mayor William J. Healy, II looking for a gimmick to make people believe his administration was being effective in reversing a parallel to Stark County slide underway in Canton with much fanfare named Canton "The Utica Capital."

And the Canton. Regional Chamber of Commerce jumped right on board.

The claim:  Utica was going to brings tens of thousands of jobs to the area.  

The reality was that Healy could not even hold major shale player Chesapeake Energy in the city as evidenced with its move to Louisville.

All of which was really a masking or Canton's "real" problem:  "the decline of its residential neighborhoods."

What companies would want to come to Canton?  A city with a declining fiscal ($5.1 million budget deficit in 2016 with more to come perhaps in 2017), physical and social infrastructure.  

Some sectors of Canton neighborhoods have as much as a 40% poverty rate.

Canton's physical neighborhoods infrastructure had deteriorated to such a degree that only solution is to demolish some 5,000 or better homes witness this SCPR blog of March, 2012.

Moreover, Canton has very little money to implement its recently adopted Citywide Comprehensive Plan of recovery to a "rightly sized" city.

Accordingly,  the answer to the "what companies would want to come to Canton" is for all intents and purposes is: "none," in terms of bringing with them living wage jobs, let alone high paying jobs.

In fact, with the reduced TimkenSteel footprint,  the closing of Republic Storage and the pending Nationwide relocation to Columbus; treading water is more the Canton profile than it is a model of attracting outsiders to come to Canton and Stark.

In the end, Healy was unable to pull off a Houdini to reverse tides in Canton, and, in an irony of all Stark County ironies,  if Canton is to be revived to some semblance of her former greatness; it will be long time Healy foe and former Democrat Thomas M. Bernabei (who was fired by Healy in January, 2009 as his chief of staff and service director) sitting as a politically independent mayor having defeated Healy in November, 2015 who will do the reviving.

While Bernabei undoubtedly along most Cantonians and Stark Countians hope that the $500 million plus  HOFVP turns out to be what area leadership enthusiasts are saying (like in the Utica shale case) that it certainly will be in terms of bringings thousands upon thousands of jobs to Canton and Stark County, there are those who question whether or not the project is "pie in the sky"  like Utica and that the financing is not there to make the HOFVP "all that it could be."

And, if the wild eyed projections of HOFVP economic success do not materialize, then what?

Answer:  Back to basics which includes the key component Canton rebuilding its core neighborhoods.

One such neighborhood is Vassar Park.

And a key to Vassar Park is what was formerly Ridgewood-Castle apartments (now Kings Landing) at 17th Street and Market Avenue.

While Canton government is an important part of that rebuilding (e.g. Market Square), it cannot be the only part.

The private sector constituting Canton's rental real estate industry needs to step-up-to-the-plate and upgrade neighborhoods with heavy rental density.

To the SCPR, the KLP initiative ought to be taken as being somewhat like the biblical story of the potential of the tiny mustard seed pictured in the lead graphic of today's blog, to wt:

“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; and this is smaller than all other seeds; but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches. ... ” 

Recently, KL Partners, LLC (KLP) purchased the former Ridgewood-Castle apartment complex and single handedly is blazing a pathway for other city of Canton private sector landlords to follow in making rental properties all that they ought to be.

On April 28th, the SCPR ballyhooed the appearance of KLP official Josh Lesak at a Stark County commissioner meeting (Video LINK) to fill the commissioners in on the details of the purchase and KLP's plans for rehabbing the apartment complex.

And at last Wednesday's meeting, Vassar Park Association president Bruce Nordman (who brought Lesak to the April 28th commissioners' meeting), was back to update the commissioners on the spellbinding progress that KLP is making in making Kings Landing a point of pride in terms of being an asset in providing living space to those who want to live in Canton but are unable or do not desire to own individual housing.



Nordman made the following points:

• Prior to KLP becoming owners of the apartment complex at 17th St NW and Market Avenue on December 10, 2015, the site was the number one location in all of Canton in terms of police and fire calls,
• On June 21st, Vassar Park Ass'n, Lesak (of KLP) Mayor Thomas Bernabei, Safety Director Andrea Perry,  Councilpersons West, Scaglione, Harmon and Smuckler met re:  Kings' Landing,
• Note:  Mayor Bernabei met with KLP one-on-one on May 4th,
• Note:  Nordman has an upcoming meeting with Safety Director Perry on the evolving Kings Landing situation,
• Of the 200 apartments consisting of Kings Landing,
• there have been 46 evictions plus another seven anticipating eviction moved out on their own,
• Note:  KLP has spent:
• about $15,000 in legal fees on legal matters re:  occupancy,
• about $140,000 on new electric boxes,
• about $190,000 on replacing all of the windows,
• New Kings Landing standards include:
• the need for residents to have a parking pass to park at the apartment complex,
• renters have to:
•  have a credit score of 500 in order to rent at Kings Landing,
• deposit as a security deposit triple the first month's rent,
• no felony record,
• a $200 non-refundable fee for having up to two animals,
• no tolerance of illegal drugs,
• the presence of 12 security cameras,

If the HOFVP turns out to be anywhere near what its cheerleaders say it will be, then it will be value added to the Hall of Fame City.

However, for Canton to "really" turn itself around, its neighborhoods need to be right sized and improved.

A major component of improving the neighborhoods is the improvement of rental properties.

KLP is all about do so for its Kings Landing property and is in the process of flowering in to a full blown Mustard Tree as a shining model to all of Canton's landlords as to what the can and must do to as a private sector contribution to turning around Canton.

LOUIS GIAVASIS AS PLAIN TRUSTEE LED THROWING COUNTY COMMISSIONERS "UNDER THE BUS" EFFORT?

IMPRESSIVE!

THOUGH THEY DID NOTHING WRONG

COMMISSIONERS CREIGHTON & REGULA APOLOGIZE TO STARK COUNTIANS

FOR BEING HOODWINKED? BY

PLAIN TOWNSHIP TRUSTEES

VIDEOS

Commissioner Janet Creighton

Scorches Plain Township trustees

==========================

County Administration Brant Luther

on the Background of the Controversy

First, watch this video of Stark County commissioner Janet Creighton (president of the Board of Stark County Board of Commissioners) as she fires out—at yesterday's commissioners' meeting—at the Plain Township trustees:



An intriguing local government relationship gone wrong story emerged from yesterday's Stark County commissioners' regular weekly meeting yesterday.

It appears that an ill-prepared (in terms of knowing their Plain Township constituency) Plain Township Board of Trustees promoted a cause a couple of years ago whereby the commissioners:

• vacated a Plain Township roadway,
• only to have to "unvacate" it a few months later,

And to add insult to injury, agree to pay the owners of the vacated roadway real estate (title to vacated roadways by Ohio law reverts to the abutting owners) for $15,367.00 in your money and my money (i.e. taxpayer money) in total in acquisition of title fees for Stark County government to reacquire the roadway space so as to restore a public right-of-way.

Here is the resolution voted upon by commissioners yesterday:

And, of course, there is the loss of opportunity costs in county employees/officials having to forego working on other taxpayer enhancing projects while holding their collective noses in spending many hours in working the road vacation/unvacation matter that could have been avoided had the Plain Township trustees been better informed about the total picture of the sentiments of residents living in the area of the roadway.

Even at that, Stark County assistant prosecutor Stephan Babik had the unhappy task to report to commissioners that there was resistance on the part of at one of the owners on the terms of the reacquisition.

One could readily see the faces of Commissioners Janet Creighton and Richard Regula redden as the as discussion of the above resolution unfolded.

Watch Chief County Administrator Brant Luther layout for the SCPR the background of how this matter unfolded:  (Note:  video includes repeat of Creighton indignation with Regula comments added)

(SCPR Note:  Tom Bernabei, now mayor of Canton, was a county commissioner for much of  the timeline in which this story developed)

Now go to the Plain Township website at this LINK and watch beginning at the 34:25 minute mark of a  video of the June as Plain Township law director Eric Williams initiates (at 37:57)  a discussion in which it becomes clear to the SCPR that the Plain trustees are bailing out of any responsibility for the goof up and in effect throwing the Stark County commissioners "under-the-bus," all at county taxpayer expense.

And who is the de facto in not the de jure leader of the Plain Township trustees.

None other than currently appointed by the Stark County Democratic Party Central Committee (July 25, 2015) to be county clerk of courts Louis Giavasis:   brother of Stark County Democratic Party chairman Phil Giavasis.

Giavasis is standing for election to be "retained" as clerk of courts this November.

Giavasis served many years as a Plain Township trustee and has to know the various resident interests in the township like the back of his own hand.

While he was not at the June 23rd meeting, The Report believes he had to have had a "heads up" from Williams and therefore knew about the citizen's complaint and has stood mute about it and thereby acquiescing in if not participating—pre meeting—in the formulation of the Williams presentation.

Also serving as trustees then and now are Democrat Al Leno who works for Giavasis in the clerk of courts office and Republican Scott Haws.

But there is no doubt about it, Giavasis is the guy the SCPR thinks completely dropped the ball on the matter and stood by as Williams seems to blame the commissioners for the entire fiasco.

As county clerk of courts, Giavasis at least through December 31st will having dealings with the commissioners.  Being the type of persons they are, Creighton and Regula will be civil to Giavasis if not friendly for appearances sake.  

But there is no doubt that they are completely ticked off they are on how the Plain Township Giavasis led trustees handled the matter and then sought through Williams to exonerate themselves.

Over the years of writing the SCPR, I have learned how utterly political Louis Giavasis is in promoting a certain image about himself of openness, transparency and only mildly political and the like that I do not think is an accurate picture of the man as a public official/figure.

The SCPR has written a number of blogs on his political wheelin' and dealin' that as far as The Report is concerned is not the kind of profile that Stark Countians should want in a political subdivision official.

One shutters to think how the political factor plays into his management of the Stark County clerk of courts.

His skill in leaving his fingerprints off politically inspired actions is at a high level.  

For a time the SCPR was buying into the Giavasis projected political innocence.  But no more.  The cat is clearly out-of-the-bag on a man whom The Report sees as being among top rungs of the most self-serving politicos of Stark County.

Only the SCPR among Stark County media sees the abiding political agenda of Louis Giavasis.

However, there are others.

Just ask Lawrence Township trustee Mike Stevens and Stark County judicial candidate Angela Walls Alexander (Canton Municipal Court candidate, Democratic primary election, 2015) about their experiences with the politician Louis Giavasis.

The commissioners have gotten a taste of politico Louis Giavasis.

Who is next?

ARE THE FINANCIAL CHICKENS ABOUT TO COME HOME TO ROOST ON $80 MILLION PLUS STADIUM PROJECT?

UPDATE:  11:56 AM

A reader's response:

Thank you for your reporting of the status of the project.  The puffing of the Hall of Fame project reminds me of the similar puffing of the Utica Shale efforts.  Utica Shale was going to be the saving grace for a city that is in economic collapse.  Our politicians lined up to praise the efforts and then Mayor Healy rebranded the city as the Utica Capital, which should rightly belong to Carrollton, Ohio.  Now it's a bust and the promises are gone just like the mayor who promoted the myth.

We seem to see the same occurring with the Hall of Fame project.  At a high cost to taxpayers, the project is supposedly moving forward but as you point out the money  doesn't seem to be there.  You are the only one questioning the finances as the Canton Repository with its close relationship with the Hall of Fame seeks to downplay it. 

Stadiums are a drain on public money especially from local governments that don't have the resources to spend.  For example, in Hamilton County, Ohio, where a combined $805 million in taxpayers money built the new football and baseball stadiums, police and education budgets have been slashed, while one in seven people live below the poverty line.

It is interesting that in her book, Public/Private Partnerships for Major League Sports Facilities, Judith Grant Long, associate professor of Urban Planning at the Havard University Graduate School of Design, shatters previous conceptions of just how much money, the public has poured into these deals.  By the late 19902, the first wave of damning economic studies came to light but afterwards from 2001 to 2010, new sports facilities were opened receiving $130 million more, on average public cost for a new facility than in previous years.

Simply stated, for every out of county fan that makes the journey to Canton for the Hall of Fame game, other non-fans or local fans who can't afford to go find something else to do.  All in all, building a stadium is a poor use of hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer money.

ORIGINAL BLOG

A SCPR source in a position to assess by virtue of contacts with those who have an inkling of what may being going on inside the high councils of the Canton-based Pro Football Hall of Fame—with regard to the "financing" of the reconstruction of the formerly name Fawcett Stadium (now Benson Stadium)— is conjecturing that while the game of August 7th is going to go on, there may be a proverbial "sh** hitting the fan" once the festivities of the weekend of the 7th are over.

The Report's source believes that a number of contractors have been working stadium without being paid on the hope and prayer that at end of the day the money will be there for them to get paid.

All that the SCPR is aware of as being publicly revealed is that some $25 million has been pledged/raised to start the Pro Football Hall of Fame Village Project (HOFVP) with the stadium rehab.  The cost of the stadium rework is thought to be at least $80 million,  if not higher.  The total HOFVP  "in final form" cost is estimated to be in excess of $500 million (a half a billion dollars, folks) to reach completion.  The estimated completion date is in about two years.

Of the $25 million, some $15 million is public money:  $5 million from the city of Canton, $10 million from the state of Ohio (through state Rep. Kirk Schuring's effort).

It is reported that the stadium phase of the HOFVP is half completed.

If the completion percentage to day is accurate, it should mean that $40 or million is payable to the contractors to the work.

The reported revenue-taken-in-so-far numbers do not quite add up to $40 million, no?

Other than accounting specifically for the $15 million in public money, there are questions of how an $80 million plus expenditure can a person in one's wildest dreams imagine that a capital outlay of this magnitude can in our lifetimes be financially viable in the sense of being self supporting.

In April, the SCPR asked HOF executive Pete Fierle for an accounting of the public monies being spent on the stadium project.  He seemingly was going to get that data for The Report.  But here it is four months later and nada, absolutely nada from Fierle or any other HOF official on how taxpayer dollars are being used in the HOFVP.

Recently, in what the SCPR deems to be a "puff piece"  (Baker, Lichter forge friendship through HOF Village project, June 27, 2016) by Repository reporter Todd Porter seems to skate around difficulties that HOF officials are encountering in sheparding the project.  His focus is the relationship between HOFVP CEO David Baker and master across-the-nation developer Stu Lichter.

However, a critical reading of the article does offer some clues that the SCPR's source may be on to something, to wit:

"Believe me, there have been bumps along the way. You don't do a project like this without bumps, but whenever something has gone off the scale, he's calm. He keeps everybody focused."  [Steve Strawbridge, a senior vice president at the Hall and a member of Baker's management team.]

There have been problems behind the scenes in the first year of the Hall of Fame Village project. Baker and Lichter both acknowledged issues, such as costs and zoning, that need to be worked through.

"And there will be more problems,” Baker said. "Everybody is attempting to do more than we ever dreamed of doing, but it's the people who solve those problems, not the quality of the project."

Lichter said he has questioned the prices of some things, but then he saw the programming behind the brick-and-mortar parts of the project, and he understood.

It goes without saying that every Stark Countian has high hopes that the completion of the project will be flawless and on time.

More importantly it is crucial to maintaining public confidence in the viability of the project that whatever taxpayer dollars are spent on it are accounted for in chapter and verse specificity.

So far, it is no go on the accountability factor.

It is amazing that The Repository nor anyone in public officialdom is pressing for accountability for tax dollars being spent.

And, of course, we should all be on the outlook for the development of a critical need for the taxpayers being asked to ante up more public money.

So it will be interesting to see whether or not the SCPR's source proves to be credible in projecting "troubles ahead" once the August 7th Pro Football Hall and Fame annual festivities come and go.

ANOTHER "TRUST IN GOV'T" BUILDER EMERGES IN STARK COUNTY?

On April 1, 2009 "all Hell broke lose" in terms of trusting Stark County government.

For it was no April's Fools joke.

Stark Countians learned on that day of political/government infamy that we were the victims of an "inside job" in which in came out over the course of time that Stark County Chief Deputy Treasurer Vince Frustaci had stolen upwards of $3 million from us the taxpayers.

As government officials are wont to do, many of Stark County's started pointing fingers at each other as to who was not minding the store to allow the Frustaci misdeed "right under their noses."

Even then Ohio auditor Mary Taylor (thought to be maneuvering to run for governor in 2018) was accused by some local officials as not doing a proper job o monitoring Stark's treasury so as to detect the theft much, much earlier than her office.

She, in turn, accused then treasurer Gary Zeigler of not having practices, procedures, policies and physical facilities of the first "secure" order so as to have prevented Frustaci from doing what he was ultimately convicted of doing.

Then county auditor Kim Perez came in for criticism.

And on and on goes the list.

It took the election of Thomas M. Bernabei and Janet Creighton in November, 2010 to being the process of restoring a "relative" modicum of  trust to Stark County government's ability provide protection of public monies.

The SCPR uses the word "relative" as a descriptor of the measure of trust restored because as a whole we Americans do not trust our government officials.

According to the November, 2015 Pew report, only 19% of Americans trust government as compared to 77% in 1958.

A very good year if I  must say so myself.  A 16 year old at the time, I can remember basking in the comfort of "I Like Ike" and feeling that by and large all was well with American government.

But in 1972 that all came to a crashing end.

It was not enough for Committee for the Re-Election of the President (CREEP, LINK)  that President Richard M. Nixon was going to crush Democrat George McGovern in the November, 1972 election.

CREEP broke into the Democratic National Committee office suite in Watergate to obtain information about McGovern campaign plans and strategies.

A phrase that has become a investigative truism surface out of the Watergate fiasco:  "Follow the Money."

We all know that it seemingly takes lots and lots of money to get elected to office in America this day and age.

And we also know that once a candidate becomes indebted to contributors, some of those contributors are highly likely to think they get special access to candidates who become elected officials.

Nowhere in our political/government system is it of critical importance that the public think that campaign contributions have nothing whatsoever to do with outcome than with the administration of justice.

Just within the past week, thinking that the American system of justice of fairness may be under attack came with reports of former president William Jefferson Clinton paying a visit to Attorney General Loretta Lynch as their airplanes sat on the tarmac at the Phoenix airport.

For as we all know, Clinton's wife Hillary, a candidate for president of the 240 year old USA is under investigation by the Lynch run U.S. Department of Justice for perhaps violating law by communicating government business on a private Internet server.

At the very least, Bill Clinton showed in seeking and carrying out the visit with Lynch despite his having being a Oxford Rhodes scholar and thought by many to be a political genius that he is quite capable of being super stupid.

While the Clinton/Lynch incident does not apparently have a campaign finance factor to it, nonetheless it is a prime example of why there is a slow but continuing slide (i.e. 77% to 19% over nearly 60 years) of public trust in our government:  at all levels; not just the national level.

What Stark County and the nation needs are the likes of Thomas Bernabei and Janet Creighton to surface with agendas designed to build public trust.  Not derogate public trust like many public officials do in the performance of their duties.

It appears to the SCPR that Stark County prosecutor Republican candidate Jeff Jakmides may turn out to be a public trust builder in the specific area of campaign finance as it impacts the Stark County justice system.

At the cost of $150,00 to $200,000 (his own estimate), Jakmides will self-finance his campaign to unseat Democrat incumber prosecutor John Ferrero.

Jakmides (a well known and highly respected Stark County criminal law and family law attorney) joked last Thursday night at a campaign "kick-off' event that earlier in this political year he and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump were trumpeting (no pun intended) self-financing the respective campaigns and that now only he—Jeff Jakmides—is left.



While Jakmides is unmistakably a partisan Republican, he does not have the political pedigree of Ferrero. And therefore, it appears that he has the capability to rise above political connections (financial and otherwise) and administer just to all who come before the Stark County bar of justice: fairly and impartially.

The Report suspects that there are those within his own political party who rely on being politically connected who would not want to see Jakmides elected Stark County prosecutor.

But "the proof will be in the pudding" of actually being prosecutor and his showing that he is "no respecter of persons" of those who come under his office's scrutiny.

Ferrero is a former Stark County Democratic Party chairman who resigned his chairmanship in 2003 in an obvious attempt to shed himself of being perceived by the voting public as primarily being a highly partisan politico holding a Stark County "fair and impartial justice to all" position and accordingly suspect as to his devotion not being influenced by political factors in his administration of justice.

The SCPR has written quite a number of blogs which question his devotion to the "fair and impartial administration of justice."

Of course that has gained the SCPR his ire.  (LINK)

Such is part of the territory when one does what The Report does.  (LINK)

All of us should be watching Jeff Jakmides very carefully to make of final determination of whether or not he is "the real deal."

If he is, his self-finance model should be at the top of the list as to whom Stark Countians should vote for.

If he shows in one way or another that he is not, then scratch the ethics distinguishing feature and go to the next tier of determining:  "the lesser of two evils?

The Report is somewhat skeptical that Jakmides will be all that different from the likes of Ferrero.

It is understandable that Jakmides would want to tap into the rupture in Stark County Democratic Party between Ferrero and the Maier brothers (Sheriff George T. Maier and Massillon clerk of courts Johnnie A. Maier, Jr.) and court the Maier brothers to "on the political sly" tell their supporters through the political grapevine to vote for Jeff Jakmides.  (see above interview video)

But The Report thinks that if they do so and can make a case that they were a critical difference in his election, they will have no compunction whatsoever in exercising political leverage if they perceive a need to do so.

The SCPR believes that the Maier brothers are the most consummately political officials in all of Stark County.

Especially so with former Canton mayor William J. Healy, II seemingly having vacated the Stark County political scene.