OSBORNE: "BAD JUDGMENT," NORTH CANTON 'EMS' ISSUE PASSES OVERWHELMINGLY

Nearly everybody is for funding emergency medical services aren't they?

Some 7.61% of North Cantonian "registered" voters overwhelmingly (81.74%) said so in yesterday's "special" election that likely will end up costing North Canton taxpayers in the neighborhood of $14,000 because North Canton City Council could not "timely" get its act together to get Issue 1 on November's general election ballot.

Council had to know that the turnout for a "special" election was going to be sparsely participated in.

But, then again, North Canton council is not exactly a venue in which democratic-republican values seem to be highly prized.

In yesterday's blog, The Stark County Political Report published an e-mail sent out by North Canton activist Chuck Osborne saying he was voting "no" and thereby urging his fellow North Cantons to follow suit.

Today, Osborne has to be questioning his judgment in taking his all-consuming fight about nearly everything anti-North Canton Council and North Canton mayor into an anti-public-safety issue.

Note:  Osborne has written me to the effect that he disagrees with my characterization of him having an "all-consuming fight about nearly everything anti-North Canton Council and North Canton mayor" even to the extent of opposing the public safety Issue 1.

No surprise there to me, who expected anything else?   Apparently, he thinks he always makes the right call?

He tried to make Issue 1 into a fiscally-irresponsible-council issue, but North Canton's voters were not buying that tactic.

He scored a success back in the November, 2012 general election when some 78% of North Canton 75% of registered voters voting agreed with him that North Canton's part-time council members with alternative sources for health care coverage should not be provided such by North Canton taxpayers.

North Canton council showed very poor judgment for ignoring the "will of the people" on this vote.

Eventually, council members did see the light and wipe political egg off their collective faces in implementing legislation mirroring the "will of the people."

As pointed out in yesterday's blog, it appears that some if not all of North Canton's elective government positions (plus some of its un-elected [e.g. Law Director Tim Fox]) like nothing better than to smear the highly active Osborne and to question his credibility.

And he plays right into their hands on a "for the public safety issue?"

Hmmm?

(VIDEOS) WOULD "BOSS" HOOVER APPROVE OF WHAT HE IS SEEING OF NORTH CANTON GOV'T?

Note:  Graphic consists of a remix of
SCPR photos taken of depicted items

UPDATE
03:48 PM

OSBORNE REBUTTAL
 TO
HELD'S ASSESSMENT
(In Appendix)

VIDEOS

MAYOR HELD ON "BOSS" HOOVER
============================== 
OSBORNE ON NC GOV'T CRITIQUES
==============================
CITIZEN COVEY

ON

MAPLE STREET

TREE REMOVAL
==============================
COMPLETE HELD VIDEO
(Response to Osborne Criticisms)
===================================

  BONUS FOOTAGE
IN THE APPENDIX SECTION
============================== 
McCLEASTER & NC JCC PRESENTATION
==============================
  

One of the most used sayings in largely Christian America in terms of accountability is:  "WWJD" What would Jesus do?

And North Canton, being a bastion of Christianity would be no exception.

But there might be a modification.

Because he likely made North Canton a hugely successful community of yesteryear, his name remains to this very day a revered name in The Dogwood City.

View this video clip of current North Canton mayor David Held as he talks with the SCPR post August 25th North Canton City Council meeting about "Boss" Hoover.



The context of Held's "in awe" words of The Hoover Company founder was an attempt by North Canton civic activist (also a former councilman) Chuck Osborne's gambit at last night's regular city council meeting to draw a contrast between "Boss" Hoover and the successor owner (Maple Street Commerce) of what was once the building complete.

In Osborne's "public speaks" presentation, the SCPR largely focused the camera on city council members to try to get a sense of whether or not Osborne's theme was striking a cord.

Osborne cast "Boss" Hoover as a community builder whereas he was clearing trying to make Maple Street Commerce and by obvious implication North Canton City Council (past and present) and by further extension, the Held administration as community destroyers.

As he apt to do, Osborne "left no stone unturned" in his quest to make his overriding point.

At the end of this blog (Appendix) the SCPR has included a written version of Osborne's remarks so that readers can check it out to measure The Report's take on Osborne's assessment of North Canton - August, 2014 - against the words he actually used.

It seems to the SCPR that in building evidence to support his overall theme of community building versus community destruction, Osborne focused on:

• "Boss" Hoover as a city father who recognized the importance of building community (The North Canton Community Building - 1923) along with his business as a pathway to success,
• Hoover:  charitable, paternal and benevolent,
• a giver
• Maple Street Commerce, (formed in early 2008 by developer Stuart Lichter to manage the complex)
•  
  
• a greedy company,  Osborne says, taking every advantage of North Canton government and by extension Ohio and North Canton taxpayers,
• a taker
• North Canton government,
• a giver away of North Canton resources for inadequate return

The consequences, Osborne says or implies, include:

• $6,753,000 spent for economic development with inadequate return,
• a loss of community-ness,
• a wrecking of community assets, that is to say,
• the unnecessary destruction of trees,
• the projected cutting down of some 180 additional trees,
• the disruption of Stark Parks hiking trails, and
• the continued viability of the North Canton YMCA

 SCPR Note:  Here is a photo of Maple Street and vicinity trees either cut down or projected to be cut down.

To end his speech and to make North Canton government officials conscious of their accountability, Osborne invokes "Boss" Hoover with an emotive:

W. "Boss" Hoover is watching!

Earlier today (10:00 a.m.), Osborne was at Maple and North Main protesting what he calls the destruction of North Canton.  Rod Covey tells the SCPR he joined in the protest for about 40 minutes.

The question for the SCPR and ultimately North Cantonians is whether or not they as citizens of a community with a long, deep and rich history need to be the "eyes and ears" of "Boss" Hoover in 2014?

The obvious answer is that North Cantonians can honor the magnanimity of "Boss" Hoover and preserve the remaining fruits thereof by heeding the prompt of Citizen Osborne to scrutinize each and every North Canton City Council and Held administration move.

Here is the complete video of Mayor Held's response to Osborne's criticisms.



It could be that council and the mayor have done the best that anyone could under the circumstances of the unfolding of a different economic, cultural, social and political mix than when "Boss" Hoover lived.

However, it does seem to the SCPR that North Canton is far short of the mark of what the Lichter artist's rendition of projecting what the Hoover complex might one day become.

Such is for North Cantonians to decide at the ballot box.

But they owe it to Hoover, to themselves and to future generations of North Cantonians "to be on the watch."

As Osborne pointed out, the "Boss" is watching and they should be too!

APPENDIX LIST:

• OSBORNE'S REBUTTAL REMARKS
• OSBORNE WRITTEN COMMENTS
•  
• McCLEASTER ON NORTH CANTON JUNIOR CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

APPENDIX 1:  OSBORNE REBUTTAL 

Rebuttal Remarks to Today's Blog - August 26, 2014

        Chuck Osborne
        Today at 2:15 PM

To:  Martin Olson

Hello Martin,

In regards to the statements made by Mayor Held, in your video interview, I would disagree on the following points:

First, Mayor Held’s statement that the majestic Pin Oak trees that lined East Maple had to come down to allow for the expansion of the street is untrue. The street was only widened five feet. The trees that lined East Maple sat a considerable distance back from the street. I measured the distance myself and if memory serves me right, the trees were close to twenty feet from the street. The distance the trees sat back from the street would easily have accommodated the widening plus the addition of the sidewalk and still have been about five feet further back. In short, the trees could have been incorporated in the redesign of the street and saved.

Second, I disagree that the North Canton YMCA is not being threatened. McKinley Street is literally in the shadows of the YMCA and if the City vacates McKinley Street to Maple Street Commerce, the YMCA will be hindered in the performance of their mission. Development plans of Maple Street Commerce will be literally at the doorstep of the YMCA.

Third, Mayor Held says that Stark Parks has no objections to the relocation of their trail. This statement is ludicrous. Stark Parks is not in the habit of expending public tax dollars constructing trails only to abandon the trails after they are constructed. Unfortunately, in the agreement between Stark Parks and Maple Street Commerce, Stark Parks agreed to terms with Maple Street that left them no choice but to relocate their trail. The agreement required of Stark Parks a one-time relocation of the trail at the expense of Stark Parks should Maple Street Commerce make that request. I would have to say here that Maple Street Commerce did not deal in good faith with Stark Parks at the time the agreement was signed.



Contrary to what Mayor Held has stated the relocation of the trail to a sidewalk on East Maple is not how Stark Parks wants to spend public money. So, in short, I think it is safe to say that Stark Parks is not happy with how this has turned out for them.

Lastly, Mayor Held touts the development of Waterside as a success. The City partnered with the developer in 2007 with the construction of a road that costs nearly $1.0 million. That was seven years ago. A state grant in the amount of $350,000 was extended to assist with the road construction. In 2017, that $350,000 must be repaid to the state. Here we are, seven years later and there is no development. I do not see any success in this situation.

Thanks,

Chuck Osborne  

APPENDIX 2.   OSBORNE COMMENTS

[Osborne] Prepared Comments Made to
NORTH CANTON CITY COUNCIL
August 25, 2014

CORPORATE GREED IS OVERTAKING NORTH CANTON
 AND THE INSTITUTIONS THAT SERVE AND ENRICH OUR
COMMUNITY

 “The North Canton Community Building was founded in 1923 by W. ‘Boss’ Hoover who gave the original ‘Community Building’ to North Canton for the enjoyment of its citizens. The current building was completed in 1970, with a major addition in 1983 and a new Wellness Center addition in 2002.”

This information is from the Website of the North Canton YMCA.

Unfortunately, “Boss” Hoover is no longer with us today nor is the company that he founded. The charity and paternalism championed by W. “Boss” Hoover and the Hoover Company for our community are gone. That benevolence is not something Maple Street Commerce, now the owners of the former Hoover property, feel compelled to show our community.

What has Maple Street Commerce done for our community since becoming owners of what is now called the Hoover District?

The roles have been reversed as it is the community that is now the benefactor. Corporate millionaires now expect to be served by the community upon which they have descended to suck from them as much as City leaders will hand out.

How much has North Canton provided to the millionaire owners of the Hoover District since their arrival in 2008?

First was $440,000 to purchase cranes for their first tenant, Meyers Controlled Power. Then it was $3,000,000 to renovate factory space for The Shroer Group. Then another $1.0 million for further office space on the second floor for additional tenants. Most recently and most noticed by the public is the expenditure of $2,253,000 for what has been described as a widening of East Maple Street. The so-called widening of East Maple in actuality simply creates on-street parking in front of the office building.

It is through this recent construction that the majestic Pin Oaks which lined East Maple Street were destroyed in spite of the fact that the majestic Oaks were located far enough away from the finished widening of East Maple Street to have remained.

In total, our small community has provided close to $6,753, 000 and this does not include the many tax abatements that the City and the North Canton City School District have had to accept to help make lease terms with Maple Street Commerce acceptable to new tenants.

I suspect “Boss” Hoover is rolling over in his grave at this point, but that is not all that Maple Street Commerce has inflicted on our little community.

Plans to expand the south parking lot could lead to the destruction of hundreds more trees that serve as a buffer to the surrounding neighborhoods. If that happens, home values and neighborhood harmony will be impacted very negatively.

Community institutions are also feeling the greed of Maple Street Commerce.

Stark Parks will be forced to relocate a trail if the south parking lot is expanded. The forced relocation of the trail will result in the squandering of thousands of dollars of public money that were expended to build the trail.

Lastly, I am concerned about the future viability of the North Canton YMCA. That concern is for two reasons.

First, the new entrance to the YMCA parking lot, presently under construction, is wholly inadequate. At 22 feet in width, it is much too narrow and will not serve the needs of the motoring public. Many of you on this Council have looked at this poor design and concur.

The new entrance to the Hoover District parking lot is 33 feet wide. Why wasn’t the entrance to the YMCA parking lot afforded an equally inviting navigable entrance?  Further, bus traffic and emergency vehicles will have great difficulty maneuvering in the poorly designed network of curbs.

Second, the vacation of McKinley Street will soon be decided before the Planning Commission. The vacation of McKinley Street should go entirely to the YMCA. The YMCA has parking and growth needs of its own that need to be filled. And that need is now.

Maple Street Commerce, through its plans that may or may not be realistic and that may or may not come to fruition, is making a demand for parking that is unfair to the North Canton YMCA.

McKinley Street is located in the very shadows of the YMCA building. To not vacate the entire length of McKinley Street to the YMCA will simply put a chokehold on their future.

Please do not undermine the seeds that W. “Boss” Hoover planted over ninety-one years ago.

Economic development should not come at any and all costs to the community.

I ask this council to protect our community and the institutions that serve us. Save the Stark Parks trail. Support the North Canton YMCA in every way possible. And protect the City and its residents from the rampant “Corporate Greed” that we see consuming our community.

W. “Boss” Hoover is watching!

Thank you,

Chuck Osborne, Resident
City of North Canton

APPENDIX 2:  McCLEASTER NC JCC

CLOUDS CONTINUE TO BUILD UP IN NORTH CANTON; JON SNYDER RESIGNS FROM COUNCIL!

UPDATED 5:19 PM

THE WORST OF TIMES

It could be that North Canton hit bottom yesterday.

Not that anybody is indispensable, but the loss of Jon Snyder as Ward 4 councilman with his resignation yesterday, effective this coming Sunday, June 1st is one of a long line of calamities that has hit The Dogwood City since the sale of the venerable Hoover Company in 1985.

And on top of the Snyder resignation, you have the resignation of Clerk of Council Gail Kalpac to coincide with Snyder's step-down.

While Kalpac, the gracious person she is,  gave family reasons (helping to care for her parents and spending time with grandchildren) as the "why" for leaving, the SCPR has reason to believe that her difficult relationship with Law Director Tim Fox going back a year or so and an incident during the week immediately preceding her resignation letter were "the straws that broke the camel's back" insofar as Kalpac's sudden departure is concerned.

These two resignations are likely to cripple North Canton government in the foreseeable future and it will be interesting to see whether or not council can get a Kalpacesque quality of clerk from this advertisement in The Repository classified ads sections:

There is talk that Snyder's wife (Kathy,  who currently works part-time in Canal Fulton city government and who formerly worked at the Stark County Board of Elections) will be candidate to replace Kalpac.

The SCPR's take is that it will take somebody with extraordinary"strength of personality" to work with Law Director Tim Fox.  Kathy Lewis Snyder appears to have the experience of working with egotistic government leaders to perhaps be a leading candidate.

But of course it is way too premature to either endorse or not endorse the selection of a particular person for the job.  Remember, applications are open until June 16th.

That is unless you are Chuck Osborne.

Osborne is a former councilman (of about 13 years ago) who also has run for mayor and for a return to council who witeh the resignation of Snyder may now be the most knowledgeable North Cantonian in terms of knowing the "ins" and "outs" of North Canton government.

He, since he lost his post as a councilman, has been "a thorn in the side" of North Canton councilpersons and officials of the North Canton administration as a civic activist.

It appears to the SCPR that he sort of has a political "love-hate" relationship with Snyder.

Here is the substance of an e-mail he wrote last evening to the SCPR.

        Chuck Osborne
        May 27 at 10:11 PM

To:  Martin Olson

Hello Martin,

... .

Jon Snyder called me late this afternoon and I just returned his call. Mr. Snyder was very gracious but I think he was hoping to mute any criticism of the timing of his resignation in regards to the opening of the Clerk of Council’s position.

While I understand it would be gratifying for her to find a full-time position I just do not think it would be a good appointment given the situation. Jon gave me a myriad of reasons as to why he is stepping down now but when I asked him if his resignation opened the door for his wife to apply, he could only say that was true.

Personnel changes like this are for the most part choreographed and I suspect that is what we are going to see played out.

I am sorry to say this but Government exists for the players who like to play with the public’s money.

Thanks,

Chuck Osborne

It is amazing that North Canton Council (principally members Ceretta, Griffith and Kiesling [who may now be vacillating], Snyder and Stephanie Werren [Fox came from a law firm that a member of Stephanie Werren's family has been associated with] but who (i.e. Werren) is now said to be now allied with members Foltz and Peters in a desire to replace Fox, has seemingly allowed him - in the opinion of the Stark County Political Report - to be "a one-man-wrecking-crew" on the stability of North Canton government administration.

And the SCPR thinks Mayor David Held is part of Fox's political support system.

The Report is told that in the opinion of one key player in North Canton government and politics that Fox's future with North Canton hinges on the success/failure of a lawsuit filed in the Stark County Court of Common Pleas  seeking a declaratory judgment that civic activist Chuck Osborne's "cutting council out from health care coverage" ordinance (Issue 5 in the November, 2012 general election which passed overwhelmingly) was defective and therefore invalid.

On Friday, May 23rd, Osborne filed an answer to that lawsuit and also filed a lawsuit of his own (called in legal parlance "a counterclaim") against North Canton.

It was on Fox's legal interpretation of Issue 5 that several council members (including Snyder) accepted city financial subsidy of health care benefits.

That North Canton government did not recognize the November, 2012 vote on Issue 5 resulted in a political firestorm being unleashed and the members of council participating in the health care subsidy program (Peters, Snyder, Kiesling and Werren) terminated their respective coverages and made returns of premium subsidies received.

 THE BEST OF TIMES?

Note the question mark.

Both "yes" and "no" with the "no" being with reference to the failure of North Canton government officials over the years (from 1985 on) to see the gathering storm clouds which in time would let loose a torrent bad financial/economic factors which the SCPR believes has pretty much brought this one proud city to her very knees.

And, with the loss of the likes of Daryl Revoldt (a former mayor, council person and council president), Kalpac and now Snyder, it appears to The Report that North Canton is now in a survival mode and it is not all that clear that the city will survive intact over the long haul.

In a conversation with Snyder yesterday, he told the SCPR that still riding on the coattails of the  glory days of a thriving Hoover Company, North Canton, as late as 1997, had $24 million in reserves invested and earning about 20% per annum and apparently not a cloud on the horizon.

In hindsight, the fact of the matter is that there were indeed "clouds on the horizons" beginning with the purchase of "the cash cow" Hoover Company by "the coming out of bankruptcy" Chicago Pacific Railway in 1985.

As Snyder tells it, Chicago Pacific seemed to be forking out $535 million for Hoover whereas the truth of the matter is that the buy was actually acquiring Hoover for its richly funded pension account which, Snyder says,  Chicago Pacific used to pay for the Stark County based vacuum cleaner company.

So the underpinnings of the transfer of the company from the Hoover family to North Canton "outsiders" seems to the SCPR to have been such that North Canton government leaders and civic leaders should have "read the 'tea leaves'" and started planning for the day when The Hoover Company would no longer be the city's cash cow.

But they didn't and North Canton is now at the door of financial disaster that Stark County's other major cities (Canton, Massillon and Alliance) are also gracing.

While North Canton has historically had "the best of times," its overall political/governmental leadership proved to be deficient of foresight and consequently the city faces "the worst of times."

THE FUTURE FOR NORTH CANTON (SCPR BLOG LINK)

Answer:  It depends!

Depends on what?

Whether or not North Canton's voters can figure out who to bring into the council/mayoralty of North Canton government that have the qualities required to bring North Canton back to a semblance of "the best of times."

The SCPR does not see those folks for the most part currently being in place.

The loss of Revoldt (it does not appear that he will be Snyder's replacement), Kalpac and Snyder seem to have gutted the city of what few resources that North Canton has to right it to a "true North" direction.

And David Held in the stance he took in the MEDA (Mutual Economic Development Agreement) negotiations with Canton, Jackson Township and Plain Township showed the SCPR that he is one very confused leader in terms of finding his way  "to the light" for the well-being of North Canton's future.

Time will tell whether or not council president Jeff Peters and veteran councilman Doug Foltz are enough of a leadership factor to redirect North Canton "northward."

A question remains as to whether or not council has the political will to get control of its legal leadership factor.  Right now it seems to be a 50/50 factor.  And it clearly appears to be a case of "the tail wagging the dog."

How can the city move in a positive direction with such being the case?

City officials appear to have banked the future of North Canton on the restoration of the Hoover complex (i.e. Maple Street Commerce) as its prime time commercial/industrial complex.

But that project (which the city has invested $5 million in) is not likely to be nearly enough even if it fully develops and matures to bring bring back "the best of times.

The SCPR thinks these are critical times for North Canton in terms of telling the tale of whether or not The Dogwood City will have a return to an approximation of "the best of times" or continue to be mired in downward spiral into the abyss of "the worst of times."

Whom in North Canton from among the citizenry will step forward to get the city headed "true North?"

(VIDEOS) ALSO SEE RESPONSE TO SNYDER VIDEO IN "UPDATE" - NORTH CANTON COUNCILMAN PETERS "RESPECTS THE PEOPLE'S VOTE," WILL COUNCIL PRESIDENT JON SNYDER?

CORRECTION UPDATE:  02/16/2014 AT 5:45 PM

The SCPR has just learned that North Canton does not hold partisan primary elections and therefore any contested elections in 2015 will occur, if at all, on the November general election ballot.

UPDATE:  RESPONSE TO JON SNYDER VIDEOTAPED INTERVIEW
02/16/2014

Hello Martin,

It is hard to know where to start in addressing the remarks in your videotape of Jon Snyder. I wonder if Mr. Snyder ever stops to listen to what he is saying. First of all, the Health Care Ordinance passed by the voters 3 to 1 in the November 6, 2012 General Election had nothing to do with changing the City Charter. It was a taxpayer initiated Ordinance. Pure and simple.

Secondly, Mr. Snyder states that citizens cannot initiate a petition to change the Charter. That is categorically untrue. If it were true, why then did North Canton City Council submit the recent citizen-initiated Charter amendment in the summer of 2013 (proposing to make the ceremonial position of Mayor a full-time position) to the Stark County Board of Elections by Resolution this last summer? Not liking the citizen-initiated Charter Amendment, Council later passed a resolution in opposition to the proposed Charter amendment.

If Mr. Snyder is working 35-40 hours per week as a councilman,  how does he manage another 40 hours per week in his full-time position? Does Mr. Snyder’s full-time employer know that their employee is working a second full-time job?

When was the public to be advised that the health care ordinance was illegal? The Health Care Ordinance was certified and became law December 2, 2012. If North Canton’s Law Director had any issues with the citizen –initiated ordinance, when were they going to make that known?

Further, North Canton City Council, by Resolution , also submitted the Health Care ballot language to the Stark County Board of Elections in July of 2012 to allow the issue to go on the ballot. Mr. Snyder voted to submit the issue to the voters. Is Mr. Snyder now telling us that he and the rest of City Council on two occasions (Health Care Ordinance in 2012 and Charter Amendment in 2013 )submitted issues to the Stark County Board of Elections that were illegal?

... .

... .

ORIGINAL BLOG

 VIDEOS

COUNCIL PRESIDENT JON SNYDER

ON

HEALTH CARE INITIATIVE ORDINANCE

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

JAMIE McCLEASTER

CONCERNED CITIZENS OF NORTH CANTON

ON

HEALTH CARE INITIATIVE

Stark Countians showed former Stark County commissioners Todd Bosley, Tom Harmon and Jane Vignos what they thought of their "imposed" sales tax of 0.5% in November, 2009!

On the one hand North Canton voters "overwhelmingly" told North Canton's council members that "the people" did not want to pay for health care for them.

On the other hand, Stark County voters told Bosley (a Democrat), Harmon (a Democrat) and Vignos (a Republican):  "do not impose a tax on us" in resounding numbers 64% "no" to a mere 36% in favor of the tax.

It is interesting to note, that all three offending commissioners chose to leave rather than - the SCPR thinks - "face the music" from voters.  To be fair to Vignos, she had decided not to run for re-election in 2008 and Pete Ferguson was elected in the November, 2008 election to replace her.  However, The Report is convinced that she would have been done in 2012 had she run and been elected in 2008.

Of course, it is likely that had she been elected in 2008, her late December, 2008 "impose the tax" vote might well have been different if there was any possibility she might run in 2012.

In the North Canton instance, it only came to light recently that Councilman Jon Snyder (Ward 4) and Daniel "Jeff" Peters (Ward 2) chose to ignore "the - 7.2 votes out 10 - will of the people" and have North Canton taxpayers pay for their family health insurance coverage.

As far as the SCPR knows, Jon Snyder is sticking by what he had to say to The Report after this past Monday's council meeting.

Jamie McCleaster (spokesperson for the Concerned Citizens of North Canton) had these remarks on the health care issue at Monday's meeting.



And here is Snyder:



There appears to be "a glimmer of hope,"  from what he had to say on camera, that he is reconsidering his decision to ignore "the unmistakable - will of the people."

The SCPR gets the impression that they latched onto the notion they could "ignore the the 71.76% vote - will of the people" that they not get North Canton taxpayer paid-for healthcare insurance from Law Director Tim Fox.

The Report's understanding is (See Snyder video below) that Fox's position that an initiative petition affecting the pay of council members cannot be done by citizen petition process.

As far as the SCPR is concerned, hiding under what may or what may not be a correct interpretation (see article on attempt in Cincinnati) of the law in not a politically wise place for any councilperson to be.

And that is exactly - in effect - what Councilman Peters concluded yesterday.

He had a bank check in the amount of $3,172.71 payable to North Canton Finance Department deposited with North Canton Finance Director Karen Alger.

An extract from a release to the media made available to the SCPR late yesterday, Peters said:

[T]his morning, the city is 100% reimbursed for all costs related to healthcare. Even though there is a legal opinion from the NC law dept saying in essence that the initiative petition has no legal standing, I felt this was the best course of action for me personally ... .

The SCPR was gratified to see that he went on to address "the will of the people" question:

It has never been my intention, nor will it ever be my intention, to circumvent the will of the people of NC. I take my position as an elected official of this great city very seriously from a legal and moral standpoint, and my actions today solidify that stance!

Note:  Peters also left a telephone message with the SCPR to the same effect.

That leaves council president Jon Peters with a decision to make.

Will he follow Peters' lead or will he stick to the interpreted "point-of-law."

The Report is guessing that eventually, if he hasn't done so already and the SCPR just doesn't know about it, Snyder will capitulate to "the overwhelming will of the people" of North Canton.

If he chooses not to, then there is always May of 2015 (a little over a year from now in the Republican primary) and November of 2015 (the general election for Democrats and independents) for Snyder to test whether or not the people meant what they said in November, 2012 by a 72% to 28% margin.

The SCPR is guessing that North Cantonians did mean what they said and that if he persists with defying the "will of the people" he may have to deal with it in spades to come either May, 2015 or November, 2015.

As for Councilman Peters, he is one of a few of North Canton's councilpersons who The Report thinks "actually" takes the people of the "Dogwood" city to heart.  And he takes seriously the core of community activists represented for the most part, the Concerned Citizens of North Canton.

They all do as a matter of rhetoric.

When are the retorticians going to figure out that the general public is not buying glib pronouncements anymore?

North Cantonians need to do a "gut check time" come May and November of 2015, as to who means it as demonstrated by confirmable action, and who is merely "paying lip" service.

Councilman Peters tuned into the correct standard, the "will of the people."

Will Councilman Snyder do likewise?

The SCPR thinks he will even if it means the activists dragging him "kicking and screaming" hearing "the will of the people."

One more thing.

The SCPR believes that Director Fox and "council as a whole" ought to work with the Concerned Citizens of North Canton to fix any alleged defects in the law.

Now that would be showing a lot of political maturity, wouldn't it?

(VIDEOS) AN EXAMPLE OF "WHEN WE ALL WORK TOGETHER, OH! HOW HAPPY WE WILL BE!"

NORTH CANTON OFFICIALS, STATE REP. KIRK SCHURING (R - JACKSON), STATE OF OHIO,  AND COUNTY OFFICIALS TEAM UP TO GET NORTH CANTON FLOODING PROBLEMS UNDER CONTROL

On March 28th of this North Canton Council President Jon Snyder brought to North Canton's Civic Center a number of officials to address the city's Zimber Ditch generated flooding problem which has been going on for years and years.

Zimber has been - increasingly - a problem for a variety of reasons.  A number of them include:

• It gets clogged up by debris that as a matter of nature falls into the waterway,
• It gets clogged up by neighboring residents dumping various materials into the channel,
• It has to handle more water than it was originally designed for because more and more nearby asphalt and concrete part and parcel ofcommerical and residential development become conduits in shifting rain waters into the Zimber drain.

And, of course, there are other contributory reasons.

So those who live in the vicinity of  Lucille and Glendale in North Canton have had their fill of flooding and have beseeched city hall to do something now to solve the problem.

The ditch itself is not going to get fixed anytime soon because it would be a mammoth financial project running in the millions upon million upon millions of dollars to do so.

Proving that one "persisting leadership" man can make a difference, Councilman Snyder responded in bringing together at the meeting of the 28th:

• State Rep. Kirk Schuring (Republican - Jackson Township) whose 48th Ohio House District includes North Canton
• Steve Ferryman and Josh Stigmon of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Emergency Management Division,
• Director Tim Warstler of the Stark County Emergency Management Agency, and
• Bob Fonte the executive director of the Stark Parks (who, himself, is a hydraulics engineer)

And Snyder has kept up with his effort.

At last night's regular North Canton City Council meeting, Snyder was the bearer of some good news for many of the folks who get flooded out frequently by the overflowing Zimber.

North Canton is in line to get about $1.5 million dollars ($30,000 from council, $60,000 from the Stark commissioners, $100,000 from the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District, $1.125 in a state of Ohio federally funded grant and, presumably, the rest from Stark Parks) to buy out properties in the vicinity so that they can be razed to allow Zimber to overflow its banks when the big rains/flash floods come and perhaps lessen the problem

Some 10 to 13 homes a currently set for buyout, but depending on what effect the razing of the first batch, other could follow if city officials can find additional funds.

The city will follow up with a second round request for a federally funded state grant in hopes od doubling its money to apply to the Zimber Ditch problem.

A public meeting is scheduled at the North Canton Civic Center for September 26th at 7:00 p.m. so that officials can explain the specifics of their remediation plan to North Cantonians, one-on-one.

Insofar as the SCPR is concerned Snyder is "the main man" in getting a solution underway for the unfortunate North Canton residents.  However, he was quick to share with The Report his gratitude of having many state, Stark County and federal (including Congressmen Jim Renacci, Republican - Wadsworth - the 16th congressional district) work with him and each other.



At the session immediately prior to the regular council meeting, President Snyder explained the grant received from the Ohio Emergency Management Agency and took questions from council members.



Snyder's taking the lead on working to finding a solution to the perennial flooding experienced by North Cantonians adjacent to the Zimber Ditch is impressive.

But The Report has seen quite a number of Stark County public officials start off a project with a lot of "vim, vigor and vitality" only to get fatigued in the process and end up giving up on the project.

That Snyder is "staying the course and "seeing this project through" should be an inspiration and a model to his peers across Stark Connty's local governments.

It appears to the SCPR that North Canton is doing the realistic thing in fashioning a solution to the flooding problem.

Fixing the ditch itself is definitely long term and will take many millions of dollars.

For a few million, North Canton local government, working with local, state and federal officials, have shown North Cantonians that government can be responsive to the needs of its citizens.

A SCPR "Hats Off!" to North Canton Council, its council president and the Mayor David Held administration but with a special "Tip-of-the-Hat" to the president - Jon Snyder - for putting this team effort together and keeping the team on task.

As the saying goes:  "there is no 'I' in the word TEAM."

And Jon Snyder - in this instance - amply personifies what team work is all about!

NORTH CANTON COUNCIL FRACKING MORATORIUM RESOLUTION "SIGNED, SEALED & DELIVERED - BUT TO WHAT EFFECT?"

 

It is what Chris Borello and her fellows working in the Concerned Citizens of Stark County would have preferred, but the North Canton City Council (Council) has (except for Councilman Pat DeOrio who says he has a conflict-in-interest on and therefore recused himself) signed off on a resolution forwarded to various statewide officials asking that "fracking" (horizontal fracturing) be placed in moratorium status until more is known about the risks to water purity posed by the process.

In doing so North Canton joins Canton and Plain Township in calling for a moratorium.  It could be that Alliance, Louisville and Hartville will join the effort in coming months as discussions have been going on among councilpersons in those Stark County political subdivisions.

North Canton's concern (see a previous blog) comes from information that land (actually in Plain Township) adjacent to its East Maple water well field have been leased to an oil and gas drilling interest with the idea that the company contemplates commencing a fracking operation to recover natural gas from the Marcellus Shale thought to underlie the leased property.

Horizontal hydraulic fracturing (aka fracking) for natural gas in a formation known as the Marcellus shale is a process by which a vertical hole is drilled to about 8,000 feet below the surface and then turned horizontal for a distance (limited by the size of the lease) and then injected with a high pressure mix of sand and chemicals (some of which are hazardous) and, of course, water to fracture rock which encases natural gas thereby release the gas for collection.

The Stark County Political Report is skeptical that any Stark County units of government will go the route of governments in others states (e.g. New York, Pennsylvania and West Virginia) and ban fracking.

In 2010 and a few years earlier the Ohio General Assembly in the combo of Senate Bill 165 (2010) and House Bill 278 effectively took away local government jurisdiction to deal with drilling issues within their geographical areas.  Local legislators (of both political parties, past and present) such as Scott Oelslager, Stephen Slesnick, Todd Snitchler, Kirk Schuring, John Hagan and William J. Healy, II supported the state power grab over drilling issues from Stark's localities.

Accordingly, local legal officials feel and are advising their jurisdictions that localities have no power to regulate and if they do so they could be incurring legal liability to property owners affected as well as to drilling companies.

The SCPR provides the following copy of the actual North Canton resolution for readers of The Report to read:

(VIDEOS: COUNCILMEN DAVIES & FOLTZ) IS THE FRACKING CONTROVERSY A POLITICAL THING? YES & NO. HOW DOES STARK COUNTY STACK UP ON THE POLITICS OF FRACKING?

One of the least explored questions on the fracking issue is the "politics of fracking."

Horizontal hydraulic fracturing (aka fracking) for natural gas in a formation known as the Marcellus shale is a process by which a vertical hole is drilled to about 8,000 feet below the surface and then turned horizontal for a distance (limited by the size of the lease) and then injected with a high pressure mix of sand and chemicals (some of which are hazardous) and, of course, water to fracture rock which encases natural gas thereby release the gas for collection.

The SCPR's take on the "politics of fracking" is that Democrats generally oppose the process whereas Republicans generally support it.  But, like anything else with a political dimension to it, there are plenty of exceptions to the rule of thumb.

Ohio's leading Republican, Governor John Kasich, has come out strongly in favor of fracking.

For the average citizen, politics does not seem to be much of a factor.  The lure of fracking to everyday Stark Countians is the money to be made by leasing their properties to energy companies who are setting up to do fracking.  However, there are quite a number of Stark Countians who worry about whether or not fracking will result in contaminating drinking water supplies.

Both sides are weighing in with the Democratic and Republican politicians who staff village and city councils or boards of trustees.

Stark County two leading anti-fracking-politicians happen to be Democrats, to wit:  Trustee Louis Giavasis (Plain Township - who The Report believes is the leading authority in Stark on fracking) and Councilwoman Mary Cirelli of Canton.

However, the mix of communities that have passed resolutions (only calls for moratoriums so far) are not so easily identified as promoting a Republican or Democratic view.  These communities include Canton (heavily Democratic), Plain Township and Alliance (pretty much an even split) as well as Hartville and North Canton (which have a Republican dominance).

At least one individual Republican who has strong anti-fracking views is Plain Township attorney William G. Williams who has spent most of his career representing oil and gas interests and land owners.

So while The Report does believe that there is an element of politics at play on the fracking issue in the local domain, big stakes politics is played out in Columbus and Washington not Stark County.

In Stark County the controversy is between folks like Chris Borello (who happens to be a Democrat) of Plain Township and the Concerned Citizens of Stark County (also, Concerned Citizens of Lake Township - on hazardous waste dump site located near the center of Uniontown) and others who care about the possible damage that could occur to Stark localities from fracking but who think that Ohio government has enough safeguards in place to protect citizens and that therefore fracking is a reasonable risk for Ohio, local communities, and local citizens to engage in.

The Report 's take is that Borello represents the "no risk crowd" whereas folks like Williams represents the "reasonable risk" crowd and that the fight is over the risk element and is not, for them, a Republican/Democratic thing.

The SCPR has published material in earlier blogs about positions of public officials from Alliance, Canton and Plain Township.

Today, The Report shares with readers the North Canton perspective.  It appears that North Canton like Canton and Plain Township will be submitting a resolution (likely to be voted on this coming Monday, May 9th) asking state officials to declare a moratorium on fracking until a EPA study commissioned by the national government is completed in about two years.

Here are two videos which emcompass five of seven councilpersons (Councilman Jeff Davies being the lead on the matter) who expressed their viewpoints last Monday.

INNER "POLITICAL" FIRES BURN IN NORTH CANTON GOVERNMENT OVER FAILURE OF FIRE HYDRANTS?

Bliss and delight can be replaced with irritation and discord in a heartbeat within the confines of North Canton city government. While there are times that all seems love and kisses at North Canton City Hall; other times produce charge, countercharge and finger pointing. The latter is prone to flare up when there is a failure in city services.

One such failure happened this past Monday (December 20th) when an accidental fire occurred in a home located on Pittsburg Avenue in North Canton.

The outstanding North Canton Fire Department headed by Chief John Bacon responded lickety-split to the call, but alas, alas there was no water at the first hydrant and a second - a least momentarily. However, the third time turned out to be charm for getting water with which to fight the fire.

People familiar with the situation and in a position to know say there was no disruption in fighting the fire due to the failed hydrant.  Because Stark County's fire chiefs (as well as their peers in Summit) do a terrific job of working in a coordinated fashion through what is known as "mutual aid," Jackson Township and the City of Green were "Johnnies on the Spot" with their tankers to begin quelling the fire while the malfunction hydrant situation was overcome.

One thing that the general public might not understand about tough financial times is that government all the way from the top to the bottom (Stark County based government) are looking for ways to cut costs. What matters most to the citizenry is whether or not the cuts affect public safety services.

The one thing that city officials in any locale are loathe to do, is to cut such services. For elected officials, if there is a failure in safety services laid at their feet, the consequences might result in the official(s) becoming "unelected." For appointed officials, dismissal can come in nanoseconds.

During Mayor David Held's tenure as North Canton's chief executive, the city has been looking very hard at ways to keep The Dogwood City in a balanced budget.  It was not that long ago that city officials were holding meetings at the North Canton Civic Center to inform the North Canton public about the coming financial crisis. Not that many months ago, city officials were predicting deficits in the $1 million range for 2012.

Through belt tightening in the form of letting a number of employees go (e.g. the former chief administrator) and refinancing some of its bonded debt, North Canton is now projecting a surplus for 2012.

Apparently, part of the belt tightening threatens to interfere with the city administration's ability to keep tabs on the "ready or not" status of the city's hydrants. So when the hydrant mishap was discovered in the midst of dealing with the Pittsburg fire, the SCPR is told that there were pointed words exchanged between Mayor David Held and various council members.

The nature of the pointed words?  "I told you so;" more or less.

Held reminded  current city council President Daryl Revoldt and Councilman Jon Snyder of a prior council's refusal to fund what he calls an "efficient and effective" restructuring of North Canton's workforce he requested of council a number of years ago.

According to Held, about four years ago North Canton was having difficulty manning the the annual flushing of hydrants and checking attendant waterline valves.   His solution:  create "cross-utility" employee positions in which employees working in the streets department (general fund workers) be cross trained to flush hydrants and turn valves as water department (an enterprise fund) employees.

In this Held concept, the workers would rotate back and forth between the two departments on a "as needed" basis in the ebb and flow of the two departments' workload.

However, the former council refused to fund the Held initiative and therefore he has had to hire summer temporary help in order to accomplish the work of ensuring that the hydrants are functioning properly.  In Held's thinking, since properly performing hydrants are a public safety factor, it is far more prudent to have veteran city workers doing the hydrant and valve work rather than 18 year-olds working a summer job.

Of course, North Canton City Council controls the purse strings. We all know that "the power of the purse, is the power to control" - period!  Held says that the hydrant that failed last Monday was checked this fall by what The Report understands to have been a full time water department employee.  But he feels that the failure is a "wake-up call" that servicing of the 900 or so North Canton hydrants should not be dependent on bringing in summer temporaries.

Held did not put it this way, but the SCPR will.  If there is a future hydrant failure that records show was serviced by a temporary employee and the failure affects the fire department's ability to effectively deal with a fire, how is that going to go over with the property owner and by the North Canton public-at-large?

It seems to The Report that Held has a good plan in his cross-training proposal and it deserves serious consideration by council.  Held tells The Report he will be resubmitting his proposal to council over the next month as council deals with North Canton's 2011 budget.

However, the rub between Held and several North Canton councilpersons runs deeper than the fire hydrant incident.

Council as the purse-string controller is moving deep into the administration of Mayor Held to reorder and reconstruct how with what personnel the city does its administration.

Held did everything he could possibly do to save his former chief administrator's job as the personnel who serves in city administration at Held's discretion by city charter. But it has been known for some time that there have been councilpeople who wanted Held's former chief to be gone. Being the conciliator type of person he is, Held agreed to a face-saving way of the chief's removal without it appearing that council forced his hand.

But the SCPR believes that is exactly what happened.

While Held is the ever cheerful mayor for public appearances sake, he has to know when he has been manhandled and occasions such as the hydrant incident provide him with a perfect cover to get back at council.

Look for more difficulties to plague North Canton government internal relationships in the coming weeks.   Held has the task of hiring an aide to combo Chief City Engineer and Administrator Jim Benekos.  Council will be replacing former finance director Alex Zumbar.

Council, in what the SCPR believes was pressuring the removal of Wise,  was party to placing a workload burden on Benekos that is unsustainable. That the city has well over 100 applications to sift through for a deputy city administrator position, may draw the process out.  However, it could be that North Canton officials have already decided to hire Police Chief Michael Grimes (one of the applicants as confirmed to the SCPR by Mayor Held) but is nonetheless going through the winnowing process to ensure that there is no "knock-'em dead" applicant with tons of experience who could provide more instant relief to the Benekos' overload.

It is critically important for North Canton to get the right person for the finance director job. Zumbar did superlative work for the city in the midst of tight finances and his replacement will have to have similar Houdini qualities if North Canton is stay on a positive track of keeping its finances in the black.

For if North Canton falls into the financial red, then there will be no peace and harmony at city hall because there will have to be an additional trimming of personnel. Cuts in staffing very likely will mean that the remaining staff will be spread so thin that they cannot stop, by implementing proactive preventive measures, failures in service.

And if public safety equipment and services are among the failures, there will be quite an uproar to say the least.  Moreover, there will be a reigniting of a blame game and finger pointing!