NORTH CANTON (FOUR VIDEOS): SHOULD COUNCIL'S WATERING HOLE RELOCATE FROM SYVESTER'S GRILLE TO MULLIGAN'S PUB? ALSO, SEE NEW COUNCILMAN CERRETA'S SWEARING IN, HIS FIRST PRESS CONFERENCE AS WELL AS COUNCIL PRESIDENT SNYDER ON THE SELECTION OF CERRETA & THE DIEBOLD QUEST. LASTLY, WHAT MAYOR HELD HAS TO SAY ABOUT DIEBOLD'

 

Not to long ago the Stark County Political Report learned that what appears to be a de facto meeting of a number of North Canton City Council (Council) members and a few of Mayor David Held's administrative team meeting on a fairly regular basis at Sylvester's North End Grille.

Perhaps the participants should consider relocating in view of the goofy goings on among North Canton officials on the city's effort to lure Diebold's from its present site in Summit County (City of Green) to North Canton and, of course, Stark County.

The new site?

Mulligans Pub down on Dressler, perhaps.

Why Mulligans?

As everyone who plays golf knows, a Mulligan is a do-over on a muffed golf stroke.

From what the SCPR heard at last Monday's meeting and from a source with inside knowledge, it appears that North Canton officials need to regroup and present a united front in the city's quest to bring Diebold into North Canton.

The Report hears that several councilpersons were displeased with the Held administration on two counts:

1. Held's open and too detailed talk about North Canton's pursuit of the largely Summit County (City of Green) Diebold Corporation.
2. And that Diebold has been pursued over the last nine months by other Stark County communities as well as out-of-state pursuers (most notably, North Carolina) while North Canton's officials seemed not be be aware of Diebold's initiative to move out of its present Green facilities.

However, the Held administration is not the only blameworthy factor from North Canton government.  As readers of the SCPR will see from the "press conference" that newly appointed Councilman-at-Large held at the end of his first meeting as councilman that he does not favor the North Canton held Arrowhead country club/golf course complex as a site for Diebold.  Someone did not get the word to him that ought not be talking in that kind of specificity?

Moreover, Council President Jon Snyder is seen on an accompanying video to this blog talking about Mayor Held having a meeting regarding Diebold and its 1900 jobs coming to North Canton.  The meeting took place earlier in the day that Snyder spoke (April 27th).  President Snyder must have forgotten his role on the "united we are " front, no?

So it seems there are "do-overs" galore in order among North Canton's officials both from Council and the Held administration.

The question is whether or not North Canton is sorely missing the leadership of Daryl Revoldt (former president of Council who has been snatched up by the Kasich administration for his Department of Development.  Revoldt (who along with Cerreta is said to oppose using Arrowhead for Diebold) "behind the scene" was able to whip North Canton's Council and the Held administration together to achieve the appearance of a unified front on various issues that have come up from time to time.

It is The Report belief that homogeneous communities in generally seem to have an obsession with presented a united front in their governance.  We have seen the phenomenon from the Board of Education (BOE - Board) in a BOE video of February 9th of a community meeting on the Elementary Service Plan (ESP; two buildings K - 2; two 3 - 5) which the Board voted (4 to 1 last Wednesday) in favor over a K - 5 plan the latter of which (in a dissenting manner) appeared to be the choice of parents.

Board president Jordan Greenwald, in the BOE video, went to great pains to highlight his preoccupation with unanimity.  So the 4 to 1 vote on the ESP had to be a huge disappointment to him.  Moreover, there were about two hours of dissenting "public speaks" comments made to the Board before the vote.

Why Revoldt is missed by the principals in North Canton government has to do with his ability to cobble together "apparent" 7 to 0 votes on most matters that came before Council. 

But all is not "doom and gloom" in North Canton.  Mayor Held (which Snyder alluded to in his video) tells The Report that a major announcement on a new occupant for the former Hoover complex will be forthcoming this week.  Also, Held tells The Report that North Canton has been selected as an "Intelligent Community" and, moreover, that the awarding entity - the Intelligent Community Forum - is relocating its national headquarters (about 20 employees, he says) to Walsh University.

Walsh, according to Held, is planning with ICF and North Canton officials to house an Institute of Intelligent Community on the Walsh campus.  Held said that no North Canton tax money is in play and that the cost of the relocate (to the degree there costs that ICF is looking for others to bear) will be borne by Walsh.

The SCPR has three videos for readers to follow along with as confirmation of a number of points made in this blog and also to provide readers a glimpse of Councilman Mark Cerreta.  Readers will note that Councilman Pat DeOrio broke rank with his fellows (likely to the consternation of his fellows) and voted for former Councilman Jim Replace to replace Revoldt whereas Councilman Jeff Davies who bulked at voting for Cerreta in executive session discussion was ultimately prevailed upon by his fellow councilpersons.