Weekly Update to City Council
from the City Manager
March 28, 2010
Thank you to our Police and Fire Personnel
I am very pleased with and proud of our police and fire personnel who participated in Council Member Armbruster’s visitation, funeral and burial services. Fire and Police Protocol Officers Day and Birk did an outstanding job in working together, likewise, Chief Botts and Chief Schwarber went above and beyond in their work. In addition, thank you to those personnel who were not directly involved but were on-duty taking calls while personnel were detailed to the funeral events. Effective service provision takes a team effort; we demonstrated this weekend how strong our teams are in police and fire. I know that Mr. Armbruster would have been honored, especially given his dedication to our police and fire divisions.
Again, our deepest condolences to Melinda and the Armbruster family. We will miss Jim a great deal as a Council Member, friend and community member.
East Pointe Awarded Gold LEED Status
East Pointe Building 200 (Paychex Building) has received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold Certification for Core and Shell. Located in the Renaissance District, East Pointe 200 is a 50,000-square-foot Class A office building, completed last year. This achievement gives Middletown distinction since the project is one of only three gold LEED Core & Shell certified projects in the State of Ohio.
LEED is a third-party certification program and the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings. LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.
East Pointe also recently became the State of Ohio’s first project certified under the Ohio Job Ready Sites Program. “The East Pointe Project has been held to stringent requirements, and was required to satisfy high industry standards in order to receive an Ohio Job Ready Sites Certification,” according to Ohio Department of
Development Director Lisa Patt-McDaniel in a March 18, 2010, letter sent to the City of Middletown. “This project is an exemplary success for the City of Middletown, Warren County, and the State of Ohio as a whole.”
Budget Training and Mediation
Last week I was privileged to be among a group of mediators who underwent training given by statewide budget experts. (I serve as a volunteer mediator for the State of Ohio Commission on Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management.) This training will also be useful as staff prepares our 2011 budgets.
We then broke into teams and mediated budget disputes between cities/counties and their Judges. As you may know, Judges have the ability to require that a certain dollar amount be granted to them in their annual budget; this can cause issues for their funding sources (cities and counties) which do not always have the ability to pay. Fortunately for Middletown and thanks to Judge Wall, we do not get into these disputes. Judge Wall is extremely budget conscious and works with us each year to reduce his expenses and increase court revenue.
Discuss in the MUSA Forum
Section 8 Notices of Deficiencies
Doug Adkins has prepared letters outlining deficiencies in the programs for both CONSOC and TIG. Further, we are working on a plan should one or both vendors not be able to fulfill the obligations of their contract. I anticipate that the letters will go out this week. We will discuss any contractual issues with Council at the April Housing Agency meeting should we need to do so.
Discuss in the MUSA Forum
Keep Middletown Beautiful
Congratulations! Jeff Michel will be taking over as Executive Director starting Monday March 29th. Jeff has been with KMB for 4 years and Board President for 3 years. He has been instrumental in initiating new projects and looks forward to expanding the program. Thanks to Denise Hall for her leadership of KMB; we wish her the best of luck in her future endeavors!
Discuss in the MUSA Forum
Emergency Operations Center Training
Over the past several weeks, Department Heads, Police and Fire Personnel have gone through training on various aspects of the EOC. For some, these were refresher courses, for others, it was new information. Thanks to the Butler County EMA staff for their assistance. We have made a commitment to train annually as a staff on emergency operations so that we are equipped to assist our citizens and keep the city functioning during emergency situations and natural disasters.
Extended Income Tax Division Hours
The Middletown Tax Office will have extended hours to aid our citizens in getting their taxes filed on time. As an added service, the Tax Department also assists residents with preparing their local tax returns. Residents who desire assistance should bring the appropriate paperwork, i.e., W-2s, 1099s, Federal returns, etc. This service is free of charge, on a first –come, first-served basis. The extended hours are as follows:
Tuesday, April 13th 7:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Wednesday, April 14th 7:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Thursday, April 15th 7:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Upcoming Events
April 1 Chamber Monthly Luncheon – MASC 11:45 – 1:15 p.m.
April 2 Good Friday - City Building Closed
April 4 Happy Easter
April 5 Park Board meeting – Conference Room 2C City Building 5:30 p.m.
Middletown Board of Education – 1515 Girard Avenue 6:30 p.m.
April 6 City Council meeting – Council Chambers (LL) City Building 5:30 p.m.
April 9 First Friday Noon Concert Series – First Methodist Church (across from Library)
12:00 – 1:00 p.m.
April 12 Golf Commission – Weatherwax Golf Course 6:00 p.m.
April 13 Board of Health meeting – Conference Room 2C 7:30 a.m.
April 13 Town Hall meeting w/ Councilman Josh Laubach - Middletown Area Senior Citizens on Central Avenue
April 14 Planning Commission meeting – Council Chambers (LL) City Building 6:30 p.m.
April 17 Great American Cleanup Keep Middletown Beautiful – Jacot Park 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
April 19 Middletown Board of Education – 1515 Girard Avenue 6:30 p.m.
April 20 MPHA meeting – Council Chambers 5:30 p.m.
City Council – Council Chambers (LL) 6:30 p.m.
April 22 Earth Day – Douglass Park 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Discuss in the MUSA Forum
Links for additional information:
City Manager’s Weekly Update: www.cityofmiddletown.org
Middletown Community Calendar: http://www.calendarwiz.com/middletowncalendar (copy and paste in your web browser)
Pothole Patrol: www.cityofmiddletown.org or call 727-3691 (Option 2)
Have a great week! Judy
