Cleveland police warn about theft of valuables from cars

This Ward 10 community meeting, hosted by Council Member Mike Polensek, started promptly at 6 p.m. About 25 attendees came to Lithuanian Village Hall, 877 E. 185th St., and gathered in a restaurant space. Tables and chairs were available for the meeting. No other business appeared to be happening at the hall at this time.

Officer Davonte Congress, the community engagement officer for the 5th Police District, spoke first:

• Warned against leaving running vehicles in driveways due to theft of valuables.
  
• Recommended leaving valuables inside homes or in the vehicle’s trunk.
  
• There is no schedule yet for the next district commander’s meeting, but the first should be in March.

E. 185th Neighborhood Association discussion

Chair of E. 185th Neighborhood Association, Elva Brodnick, spoke next on cost-sharing for the neighborhood association; this community meeting was specifically geared toward the association:

• Pizza at each meeting costs approximately $41.
  
• Discussed foregoing pizza in order to cover other refreshments with raffle and donation funds; the group agreed to this.
  
• Some residents suggested potluck.
  
• There was a previous neighborhood association, but funds owned by that group are not accessible to this group.

Brodnick asked for programming requests for neighborhood association meetings, and a sheet was passed around for residents to share their requests:

• “Bring your neighbor” meeting was discussed for April. There has been low engagement for neighborhood association meetings on Facebook, Brodnick said.
  
• A resident shared an idea for collaborating with other neighborhood associations that are now part of the expanded Ward 10.
  
• A resident shared the desire for someone from the city to discuss street repairs.
  
• A resident shared the desire for someone from the city to discuss recycling pickup.
  
• The neighborhood association is considering starting to include a Zoom option for this meeting.

Euclid corridor a Polensek priority

The next speaker was Polensek, council member for Ward 10. He covered multiple topics:

• Brodnick noted that they had not seen him for a few months because he had to attend CMSD meetings, and because there wasn’t a community meeting in January. Update: Brodnick provided Signal Cleveland with additional information regarding Polensek’s meeting attendance, and this article was updated to reflect that.
  
• He thanked residents who voted for him and expressed a desire to win the trust of those who did not vote for him.
  
• The Euclid Avenue corridor between Euclid and East Cleveland will be a main priority of his term due to empty storefronts.
  
  • He shared that when he talked to residents during the election, they expressed a desire for a civic club or residential association to replace groups that are now defunct.
  • More street, beach, civic clubs exist north of I-90, but south of the highway there is a gap. He is working to engage community leaders to develop these groups.
  • Nottingham United Methodist has offered the church space for a Nottingham Civic Club, if they can resurrect the group.

CMSD concerns

• CMSD is moving forward with the closure of three schools in Ward 10 as part of its merger and consolidation plan. Polensek asked residents to write letters to the school board and to Mayor Justin Bibb. He shared his own letter and contact information for City Council and school board members. He said quality schools are an anchor for strong neighborhoods, and he discussed the continued population decline in Glenville — which he attributed to school issues — resulting in families moving to Euclid, South Euclid, Richmond Heights and other communities.
  
• Schools slated to close in Ward 10 are Hannah Gibbons-Nottingham, Euclid Park and Collinwood High School.
  
• Residents discussed their impression that more East Side schools have been closed by CMSD in the last 20 years than West Side schools.
  
• Polensek said he has discussed with Mayor Bibb that this part of Ward 10 needs a school. He said many nearby schools that are not in Cleveland (charters, East Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, etc.) are likely to attract families who live closer to those schools than to the remaining CMSD schools.
  
• Polensek discussed population loss on the East Side and said he believes it is strongly attached to closure of schools and removal of vocational and extracurricular programs from East Side schools. He told residents about Fox8 I-Team reporting on school funding, executive pay and a downtown office lease. He also said residents should have been informed of the school closure plan ahead of the mayoral and council elections last year. “This was premeditated. This was deliberate.”

‘I’m going to the mat over these schools’

• He said that, according to CMSD, “only 36% of graduates are proficient, can go to college, go into the service.” He shared his fear that too many students will end up incarcerated due to a lack of education. He expressed a lack of confidence in CMSD, saying their approach to students is to “crank ‘em out and don’t care what happens to ‘em.”
  
• Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School, a Catholic school on Lakeshore Boulevard in Cleveland, is building a new vocational/technical program, as is Shaw High School and other nearby schools, Polensek said. He advocated for such programs to be equitably available across CMSD schools so that all students graduate with a path to “meaningful” work or an apprenticeship.
  
• “I’m going to the mat over these schools. … I can’t stand by and let them just come in our neighborhood and close schools and not provide opportunities for our kids.”
  
• Residents shared the desire for more programs that help students explore the trades and link them with local manufacturers and other businesses.
  
• Polensek expressed concerns about where residents will vote if schools are closed, calling it voter suppression. “We see that coming out of Washington, we’ve seen it coming out of Columbus, now we’re going to see it in Cleveland. Voter suppression.”

Water main breaks and snow plowing

• Polensek then shifted topics and asked residents to immediately report water line/water main breaks, which he said have been especially bad this winter. Ice jams on streets and sidewalks are becoming an issue due to water main breaks. He reported that there have been 232 water line breaks in the city so far this winter. “None of us can figure out why,” he said, adding that water lines are eight feet deep, so they shouldn’t be freezing.
  
• He thanked residents who were patient with a delay in snow plowing and said that people who park in the street are part of the problem, as the large tandem plows cannot plow the entire street. He wants police to ticket and tow these cars so that plows can clear the streets.

Former Dave’s Supermarket tentative agreement

• There is a tentative agreement with First Interstate for the former Dave’s Market property and former Ponderosa property near Lakeshore Boulevard and East 156th Street. This is the company that built Legacy Village. The city is asking for their plans for the space. Both buildings will likely need to be demolished, so they are also gathering numbers on demolition, as rehabbing the buildings is likely cost-prohibitive.
  • Part of the reason First Interstate is interested is because of the new park project happening at Euclid Beach, now that Euclid Beach Mobile Home Park has transferred ownership and no longer exists. [Editor’s note: Learn more about the Euclid Beach Mobile Home park closure.]

Euclid Beach Park planning

• Polensek said he expects that the planning process for expanding Euclid Beach Park should begin soon with the Cleveland Metroparks. There are neighborhood concerns about tree removal. He said Metroparks plans to remove scrub and invasive species. The neighborhood is asking that Metroparks replace the same number of trees that are removed.
  • Park development from west of Euclid Beach Pier to East 151st Street: Funding is secured, bids will go out soon to the county.
  • Polensek sponsored this project and wants to “safeguard” this property for a park “that rivals anything to the west of us. We don’t want an Edgewater … we want a park, we want a beach, and we also want a nature preserve…” with the goal of driving people to the neighborhood.
    
• Polensek is hopeful overall for neighborhood development — businesses such as Spitzer, Hospice of the Western Reserve, and The City Desk Company are expanding their footprints in the neighborhood. Correction: This article was updated to reflect the correct name of the third business listed.
  
• Neff Park will be open this summer with new pickleball courts.
  
• Ten new houses on Grovewood with Habitat for Humanity are finished, and Polensek is advocating for modular homes and additional new housing to address vacant lots.
  • “If this economy holds, I’m looking forward to a good year.”

• Part of the reason First Interstate is interested is because of the new park project happening at Euclid Beach, now that Euclid Beach Mobile Home Park has transferred ownership and no longer exists. [Editor’s note: Learn more about the Euclid Beach Mobile Home park closure.]

Other discussion

• Ward 10 is short of police officers but fully staffed with fire fighters, and soon will be with EMS, Polensek said.
  
• Polensek said the “no party” registered voters group is growing and shared his disappointment in low voter turnout overall across the city.
  
• There was discussion of establishing a veterans’ park and a new monument that will memorialize Collinwood High School students who died in World War II.
  
• Two old industrial buildings have been demolished, one an old GE building that needed mercury abatement, and council is looking at other vacant industrial buildings that can be demolished and replaced with infill housing.
  
• A resident asked about school board elections. In the past, school board representatives were elected, but now they are appointed by the mayor. They want to see school board members elected again to increase neighborhood accountability. Polensek said he supports elected school board members again. He said he is discussing elections and policy change with other council members.

• Polensek said he has concerns about the mayor’s staff, access to the mayor, and his difficulty in scheduling a meeting with the mayor.

• A resident asked if the city or state are doing anything to attract large businesses such as Siemens, which is expanding railcar production, or the Coast Guard training academy (which is currently being discussed for placement outside of Columbus).

The meeting was adjourned at 7:05 p.m.

These notes are by Documenter Julia Brookover.

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If you believe anything in these notes is inaccurate, please email us at documenters@signalcleveland.org  with “Correction Request” in the subject line.