If only we knew half of what was going on…

Sometimes it isn’t the news that is the most interesting.

 

Sometimes it is the comments.

 

The comments for this article have been turned off and those that wish to comment can do so at the Chronicle Telegram site.

I heard it through the grapevine that someone is back in town.

It has been reported that “The Chair”, after lying low for the last several months has been making the rounds through our city. Everyone remembers “The Chair”, don’t you? The icon that brought hundreds of people together and possibly greatly influenced the school board elections.

“On July 16th at 5:30 I plan to take my lawn chair and a big ol sign with me and sit by the entrance of the parking lot at either Charleston or Janincto and wave my sign proudly.”

 

 

Ran our city for a while, and bear in mind did this with absolutely no pay.

 

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“In a brash display of arrogance and disdain, the likes of which haven’t been seen in this city in years, the Chair barged into Council’s chambers Thursday, hog-tied former Mayor Foltin’s leather chair, and set itself up as acting Mayor.”

 

 Piloted the tall ship U.S. Niagera into port.

 

 

“In an equally warm welcome, the Captain turned over the rudder of the ship to the Chair, and allowed the Chair to guide the Niagara to the western bank of the Black River, so that she could be tied down at Black River Landing.”

 

Supports those that support our Lighthouse. 

 

Supporting the finer causes in our community

 

 

 

, and scouts out all the great events in Lorain.

 

He’s been out and about.

 

Here…

Here…

And here…

 

Oh, and here too.

 

 

 

Dog gone it!

I am just so freakin tired of HEARING political answers. Just this morning I read in today’s Chronicle about a YOUNG FIVE YEAR OLD BOY that was attacked by a PIT BULL. Our cities response? Mayor Tony Krasienko said the state would have to step up and make a broader determination of its vicious dog laws if the city is to ever undertake the issue again.

“The pit bull breed has become a problem in Lorain because we have irresponsible owners,” he said. “We have to find a more effective way to make sure the dogs are taken care of.”

The State of Ohio has to make a broader determination of its vicious dog laws before the city can do anything about it?

HORSE CRAP, or more correctly, DOG CRAP!!!!!!!

I would have to say that if the FIVE YEAR OLD BOY WAS THE MAYORS SON he might have been singing a different song, or had it been a stray pit bull roaming the cities far west side more effort may have gone into finding the dog, but this is Livingston Avenue, the HOOD, and my neck of the woods.

 

Had I been the father of that five year old, I would have probably been out today with a baseball bat looking for every stray dog there was. I would give the city dog catcher the courtsey call if I found a stray dog, but if and when I was told that he was not available because our city does not have the funds to pay overtime, I wouldn’t have been waiting for the State of Ohio to make a broader determination. WHEN OUR CITY DOES NOT SAY THAT THEY WILL DO EVERYTHING IN THERE POWER TO PROTECT A FIVE YEAR OLD CHILD, WHO IS?

 

Had this been your son, how would you feel? For some reason the response from the city doesn’t make me feel all warm inside.

Do you miss something that you never had?

Our 32^nd President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, came up with a brilliant plan in the United States could extort taxes from the residents even before their paychecks were cut. Wonder what this tax was? It was WITHHOLDING TAX, in which a portion of your earnings was immediately deducted and sent to the Federal Government. Since the tax is taken even before you even see the money, it was like they were not really taking it from you because it was already gone before it got into your hands. Thirty-one presidents before FDR was able to run our government without this tax, and since the creation of this tax, it has never gone away.

 

I believe that Lorain is BROKE. Broke in like there is no money left in the coffers to pay its own bills and BROKE because it is unable to fix a stinkin thing RIGHT NOW. Let’s look at RIGHT NOW and how our city is operating. Have we “already shut down”?

 

WHAT IF the license plate tax doesn’t pass? What will happen? Will our roads really get fixed, or just that we have created another TAX that creates a FUND that our city can steal from?

 

LOOK AT OUR WATER/ SEWER FUNDS!!!!

LOOK AT THE POLICE LEVY!!!!

WHERE IS ALL THE MONEY?

 

The mayor is proposing an increase in the income taxes for the residents that work outside of our city, up and above what many of our other residents pay because “they are not paying their fair share”.

 

Is that so?

 

Are these potential tax payers paying their fair share or has our city already shut down and cannot do anything about it?

Look at me! I just found ya 6 taxpayers! OOPS, it is too late…

I created my own definition today.

 

HOUSE WHORE: VERB, 1. The act of buying up homes by a “so-called investor”, not getting, or misrepresenting building permits, allowing unlisensed, unregistered, or unqualified individuals or companies to work on these homes,not getting required inspections on the work that the individuals mentioned above performed, then either renting, leasing, or selling the property to someone else with absolutely no record of responsibility and safeguards that the work was done safely, properly, or even legally.

 

I inquired on Friday the 13th about the permit for the home pictured below. I was told by the lady at the Building Department that the owner pulled the permit indicating that he was vinyl siding three sides of the home by himself and listed the valuation at $1,800.00 which matches the permit that is actually in the front window.This means in the vast majority of the time that IF the owner applied for the permit HONESTLY and LEGALLY and was doing the job all by himself, that there was eighteen hundred dollars of materials that were purchased to do the job that he was installing all of the materials him/ herself.

Here are some of our city ordinances, AKA LAWS!!!

 

 

 

  

 

 

1501.03  PERMIT APPLICATIONS

 Such application shall describe the proposed work and shall give such additional information as may be required by the Chief Building Inspector for an intelligent understanding of the proposed work.

 

IF the work is being done by someone else besides the owner and getting paid anything at all, I would believe that they would be considered a contractor or subcontractor. There is a law that was written by our city just for them. 

 

1501.09  CONTRACTOR REGISTRATION AND REQUIREMENTS.

Registration and Bond Required.  Any person, firm or corporation engaged in contracting, construction, alteration, repair, removal or demolition of buildings or structures, as a business for profit in the City shall, before entering into such a business or doing any part of the work, register with the City and furnish a surety bond to carry on such business or work within the City.  The bond shall be subject to approval of the Chief Building Inspector and shall ensure that the applicant shall comply with all provisions of City Building Codes, Ohio Revised Code, City ordinances and all lawful rules and orders issued pursuant thereto, and in an amount as follows: ECT ECT

 

  Can everyone follow me so far? The owner of the property by me pulled a permit for $1,800.00 stating that he/ she was doing the work themselves and the ONLY THING THE BUILDING DEPARTMENT WOULD THINK TO INSPECT IS THE THREE SIDES OF VINYL SIDING THAT IS THE ONLY THING LISTED ON THE PERMIT THINKING THAT THE OWNER INSTALLED IT ALL BY HIM/ HERSELF. 

There are reasons why permits and registrations are required in this city. Here is the ordinance that explains why…

 

		1501.04  PERMITS

 

(a)     Registration with Income Tax Administrator Required.  Any and all general contractors, contractors and/or subcontractors performing any work within the City shall register with the City Income Tax Administrator prior to the issuance of any permits with respect to construction.  General contractors shall list all licensed subcontractors performing any work on behalf of the general contractor on any and all permit applications.

 

		(b)     Responsibility of the Income Tax Administrator.  The Income Tax Administrator shall note upon the general contractor’s, contractor’s and/or subcontractor’s application for a building permit that such general contractor, contractor, and/or subcontractor has registered with him in accordance with the rules and regulations promulgated by such Administrator and transmit such information to the Building Department.

 

		(c)     Action on Application.  It shall be the duty of the Chief Building Inspector to examine applications for permits, within a reasonable time after filing.  If after examination, he finds no objection to the same and it appears that the proposed work will be in compliance with the laws and ordinances applicable thereto and the proposed construction or work will be safe, he shall approve such application and issue a permit for the proposed work as soon as practicable.  If his examination reveals otherwise, he shall reject such application, noting his findings in a report to be attached to the application and delivering a copy to the applicant.

 

 

Now that the LAW has been REPRINTED FROM THE CITIES WEB SITE, you be the judge. Does the owner of this home, with the permit for $1,800.00 indicating that he/ she  is doing all the work him/herself qualify to be called a “HOUSE WHORE”

 

By looking into the opened door it sure looks like a whole lotta drywalling has been going on along with some plywood has been installed over the possibly ROTTEN porch floor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

According to the picture below this owner that was going to do all of the work all by him/her self has been able to clone him/ herself AT LEAST SIX TIMES! 

 

 

Looks like a little more than just siding. I see six guys installing doors, windows, and siding. 

 

 

 

 

Here is the 6th guy that you can’t see in the first picture actually INSTALLING A NEW DOOR.

So what does the three pictures above indicate? Obviously NOTHING to our building department because I went to the building department last Friday and filled out a written complaint. Then I called again yesterday and left a message, and as I look out at the house now at 9:00 AM Tuesday June 17^th, it looks like just about all the guys are pretty much done over there.

According to the County Auditors web site, it appears that a home on West 35th Street is the mailing address for this property along with THREE OTHERS, so who wants to bet the owner LIVES IN ALL FOUR? 

Is a HOUSE WHORE outright breaking the law or improving our neighborhoods? Does a ”House Whore” pay taxes and get checked out by doctors/ inspectors to make sure they are safe or should we just do away with all inspections of existing homes?

 

If our city was hurtin for money should it try to collect monies from folks that are avoiding paying taxes before they raise fees for those that follow the law? Do you think they would be thankful for all of the help they can get from the residents collecting more of it or am I just a disgruntled person because I shut down my company that did many of the same things that were done to this house.

 

 

With one in thirty eight homes with a mortgage in foreclosure in Lorain, along with a very “discouraged” housing market, is it a good thing there is a bunch of folks buying up homes for pennies on the dollar, investing a few bucks into them, and either flipping them or renting them out for someone else to live in?

 

 

The Wheels on the Bus go Round and Round, Round and Round, Round and Round,

The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round, round and round,

 

 

Has anyone thought about or wondered about Olgesby Norton and the over ONE MEELION DOLLARS that the city was going to get from the land sale??? I did…

 

       

 

 

With all of the talk about RAISING OUR LISENSE PLATE FEES and RAISING OUR INCOME TAXES, 

on Friday the 13th I walked down the “closed road” across from Drug Mart that leads to the proposed Olgesby Norton site. I counted over seventy dead trees and two leaking water valve boxes to stumble upon NOTHING HAS HAPPENED ON THE SITE.

 

The dead trees and brand new water lines that are already leaking should have been the “warning signs”, but as I walked it, there was something that just told me, something isn’t right.

 

I noticed along the way a gray car sitting at the end of an uncompleted road. I was informed by two cyclists that in the car was a city employee that was hired by Community Development just to watch over the property.  About half way back a police officer in his cruiser passed me, turned around in the cul-de-sac at the end of the road and waved as he drove by me the second time. I think I felt safer walking down this road with no buildings to protect than I do walking to the Dairy Queen at the end of my very own street.

 

 

 

Well, guess what? Looks like we are getting what our city always gets us. NOTHING.

 

I WONDER THAT IT MIGHT BE POSSIBLE THAT SOMEHOW AND SOMEWHERE THERE IS  SIGNED CONTRACTS?

 

I THOUGHT WE HAD A SIGNED AGREEMENTS? Someone did take the time to have the agreements signed BEFORE we rezoned the property and BEFORE we granted the CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT?

 

 

 

FOR SALE BY OWNER!!!

 

(make look like newspaper ad)

FOR SALE BY OWNER

 

BRAND NEW 3 BEDROOM HOMES ON QUIET COUNTRY STREET.

HOMES SURROUNDED BY NATURE AND WILDLIFE.

Flexible Zoning? We like flexible people. (link to property Root and Colorado)

Call Community Development Today!

 

Interested?

 

Let’s look around.

You can INVEST to drive by this home everyday!

 

PICTURE VACANT HOME

 

Was this house falling down before or after the city decided they were going to build next door?(note under picture) 

 

 

This one is a beauty also to live next too.

 

Picture of home with siding missing from front of house here.

 

And let’s not forget the home that appears that someone is working on, that most likely will never be inspected.

 

Boy it sure would be great if someone would buy one of the two homes the city has for sale off of East 39^th Street. What a bargain, what a deal! (show picture of price in window)

 

What would you expect from our city? I try not to expect too much, but this was too much, even for me.

 

(Show picture of chickens and little pony in the back yard)

 

PONY RIDES $1.00, EGGS 50 CENTS ( under picture)

 

What is just soo amusing, is that nobody in our city will say they knew about this. In all the time that it took to build these two homes nobody drove by the house that is falling down. Nobody knew that a home with a good portion of its siding that is missing was right next door. NOBODY HEARD THE CHICKENS AND ROOSTER THAT IS RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET and NOBODY NOTICED THE PONY?

 

SHHHH, If we are all really quiet, mabe no one will notice! ( 

 

 

 

Who said what when?

I just don’t get it anymore. The issue that confuses me the most about our city is that it appears that nobody, absolutely nobody listens to what they say, and after it is said, they forgot they said it in the first place.

 

Before council this Monday, May 12^th, is this little tid-bit of information in a letter included in the packet. In the letter it asks for consideration of adding an approximately four hundred thousand and something dollar “addendum” to the water tower project like the two of them are related. One contract is for storing fresh clean water above the ground to increase pressure, and the other is for underground storage of sewer water to possibly relieve pressure.

 

Yes, they look related to me, uh, maybe?

 

I was concerned last year about the “twins” that went under our river from behind city hall to the Black Water Treatment Plant because I did not see the large retention tanks that I THOUGHT we had to put in according to a study that the city agreed to. “OH NO! We don’t need no stinkin tanks” I was told because the city increased the nominal size of most of the pipes to a very large portion of the relief sewers it ELIMINATED THE NEED FOR THE TANK.  

 

I even went to city hall and had a discussion with Dale, one of our Engineer’s and he explained the whole idea. I did not completely understand how it reduced the overall pressure that could build up, but I did understand how it could hold more sewage, therefore increasing the pressure on the twins. I was just a dim-witted carpenter who  never read a blue print before

 

I raised my concerns publicly and was told not to worry…

 

Until today…

 

When I saw this on page seven…

 

“The phase I of the BRWTTP is an addendum to the current contract. The conveyance tunnel will replace the downtown retention basin of the SSO elimination project. This will ultimately save the city money and eliminate an extremely large retention basin at city hall parking lot by incorporating the conveyance tunnel as our SSO storage.”

 

The water tower project is the water tower project and has nothing to do with sewage. In fact, the west side of town where this tower will go has it’s own water treatment plant that would be the receiver of the fresh water that would be converted into sewage. The tunneling project is a tunneling project and let’s just call it what it is. It is to eliminate the Black Water Treatment Facility because no one has figured out how to redevelop our waterfront with it there along with no one wants to admit that the “twins” are in serious need of repair or worse.

Addition by Subtraction

I sense a swelling within the community that I reside in. It’s coming from the residents; it’s coming from some of our elected officials. It is even coming from the employees that work for our city. Is the shit about ready to hit the fan?

 

The problems with our city are starting to spill over into the public realm and the problems of the past are getting harder and more difficult to sweep under the rug.

 

Problems from within our police department have been front page news as of late, could it get worse?

 

Problems have been raised in other departments like the utility department in the past and so far have flown under the radar, but could they come back?

 

Mr. Desvari has been awful quiet as of late and will he go away quietly or fight like a coon trapped into a corner?

 

I cannot see how our city can operate with even one less employee, that is if they had the money to buy the supplies and materials to let them work.

 

If I was a city leader I would be very concerned; and the largest concern may be, if the city doesn’t shit some money out of somewhere, we may have to lay off some city employees.

 

Why would that be worrisome? Look what happened when the school system laid off a substantial amount of their employees and THE RAPID FIRE EXPLOSION FROM NOT ONLY THE COMMUNITY BUT THE EMPLOYEES THAT WERE LEFT WITHOUT A JOB.

 

I know that the city watches the blog and many of the employees have posted comments. I sense that many employees do not post things that they are aware of because they are concerned about their jobs. Boy, things could change after be given a pink slip?

Where’s Waldo?

Everyone may remember the comical “Where’s Waldo” but on a much less comical note, where is our streets department?

 

While we are all waiting for the mayors “comprehensive plan” to fix our streets, we are paying city employees every day to show up to work and do what?

 

Here we are a quarter of the way through this year’s budget and “times a wasting” and TIME EQUALS MONEY!!!!