In & About Moreland Hills Spring 2011

Message from Mayor Susan Renda

Dear Resident,

I hope you find the spring edition of In and About Moreland Hills interesting and enlightening. There is a great deal of useful information throughout the newsletter, so please take a few moments to peruse it.

On April 6^th, I gave the “State of the Village Address.” It was full of good news because our Village is thriving. We live in a safe community with a highly trained and motivated police force. The Service Department is settled in their new facility and prepared to serve the residents in an even more efficient manner. Our Council members are engaged and thoughtful about decisions. The Green Commission is helping us look at decisions through a “green lens” with sustainability as one of our objectives. The Parks Commission is planning for uses of the 18 acres we plan to obtain with the help of the Western Reserve Land Conservancy. Finally, we seem to have weathered the bad economic times over the last few years and have a very strong financial position. For the full financial picture please see the report from the Finance Department elsewhere in this newsletter.

Last fall you, the electorate of Moreland Hills, approved Issue 88 which gave Council the right to approve a Conditional Use Permit in very limited circumstances. As you probably know, Council approved a Conditional Use Permit for the Western Reserve Land Conservancy (WRLC) at the April 13^th Council Meeting after an exhaustive and transparent process. Many people had a hand in fully vetting the project. Planning Commission and the Village’s architect, Dick Kawalek, did yeoman’s work in advocating for a Western Reserve look for the office addition. The Parks and Green Commission members weighed in with their ideas, as well. Our Law Department gave us invaluable guidance at every turn. It was truly a joint effort and we worked well together crafting this Conditional Use Permit, the first for the Village.

I think having WRLC, the largest land conservation organization in Ohio, headquartered here is a feather in Moreland Hills’ cap. They will preserve the historic homestead at 3850 Chagrin River Road and will work with the Village to find funding for us to purchase the 18 acres which they acquired but do not need.

If you have not done so, please check out our new website at www.morelandhills.com. I am personally recruiting people to sign up for the “House of the Month” feature. A photographer will take pictures of the outside of your house on a sunny day in May when it looks its most resplendent. We will not identify it as your house or give the address. We want to feature the many looks and neighborhoods that make up our wonderful village. If you would like to have your home featured, please email me at srenda@morelandhills.com and I will put you on the list.

When you visit the website, please consider signing up to receive your newsletter by email. When we have a large group of people who have signed up for it, we will modify our mailing list and you will receive your copies by email only. Furthermore, if we have your email address we can notify you of closings, emergencies, etc.

Finally, we continue with our Wellness Program, THE BIGGEST LOSER. The losers/winners this month were: Scott Bennett (-5.3%), Stewart Thompson (-5.2%), Greg Potts (-1.8%) Vickie Murfello (-1.6%), Bob Cooke (-1.6%), Julie Miller (-1.2) and Stan Sirk (-0.5%). Congratulations!

Enjoy the Spring!

Greening the Hills & Service Facility Grand Opening

Saturday, May 7th 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Village Hall

Please join the Green Commission, Service Department, Elected Officials and Other Residents for:

• Guided Tours of the Service Facility
• Dedication Ceremony at 10:00 a.m.
• Free Face-painting for the Kids
• All Residents Who Attend Will Receive a Gift
• Confidential Paper Shredding and Hazardous Waste Drop-Off

Garlic Mustard Removal Event at Forest Ridge is May 14

First 75 volunteers to register get free T-shirts!

As mentioned in last month’s newsletter, Moreland HIlls will be holding its annual Garlic Mustard Removal event on May 14 from 9:00 a.m. to noon at Forest Ridge on Chagrin River Road.

Although its name sounds harmless enough, Garlic Mustard is an invasive plant species that grows very rapidly, virtually consuming indigenous plants that are part of the local food-chain for animals. Please consider taking a couple hours of your day to help at this worthwhile event. It’s something your whole family can do together to help your community.

The first 75 volunteers to register for the event by emailing villagehall@morelandhills.com will receive free t-shirts. Please include your name, number of volunteers and shirt size (M, L, or XL).

We hope to see  you there, and don’t forget your garden gloves!

- Dan Fritz, Moreland Hills Parks Commission

Moreland Hills Restaurant & Salon are Open for Business

Two new businesses opened in April: the contemporary bistro, Flour, and the hair salon and spa, Oscar Giovanni

Both are located in the new building at 34205 Chagrin Blvd, at the intersection of S.O.M. Center Road. The Village welcomes both businesses to the community and courages residents to visit them as soon as they get the chance.

The long-awaited Flour is owned by chefs Paul Minnillo (former owner of the Baricelli Inn) and Chris DiLisi. The restaurant specializes in wood-fired pizza and other rustic Italian fare, including homemade pastas and house-cured meats. The menu also features fresh, in-season local ingredients as much as possible. For more information and reservations, visit www.flourrestaurant.com.

Next door to FLour is Oscar & Jennifer Flynn’s latest salon venture, Oscar Giovanni. This is their 2nd location (the other one is in Concord). The upscale salon features 12 hair stations, as well as three manicure and three pedicure stations. In addition to hairstyling and nail services, Oscar Giovanni offers a variety of facials and massages.

For a complete list of products & services, visit: www.oscargiovannisalon.com

Resident in the Spotlight:

Amy Cramer Makes Healthy Vegan Dinners Available at Your Fingertips

Have you ever said to yourself, “I would eat healthier if I had someone to cook it for me?”

Let’s face it, the idea of chopping massive amounts of fresh vegetables and trying to come up with guilt-free recipes that actually taste good is enough to make most of us head for the land of frozen entrees or speed dial our favorite take-out establishment.

Moreland Hills resident Amy Cramer, however, saw the healthy vs. convenient food conundrum as a career change opportunity rather than a dinner-on-the-fly dilemma. Her business, Dinners Done Now, provides oil-free, gourmet vegan entrees, sides and snacks for weekly pickup at four East Side Locations, including, of course, Moreland Hills.

Cramer came up with the idea for healthy, homemade dinners-to-go a few years ago when she and her husband, Ken, switched to a vegan lifestyle for health reasons.

“Vegan” is strictly plant-based; no animal products like eggs or dairy. Inspired by a longtime family friend -the former internationally known surgeon, researcher and clinician at the Cleveland Clinic, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn and his book, Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease – Cramer passionately embraced an oil-free, plant-based diet.

“When we became vegan,” Cramer said, “we tried to convince others to as well. So I started making dinners for friends. One of them said to me, ‘If you cook for me like this, I’ll become a vegan.”

Call it karma or coincidence, but it just so happened that the self-taught cook was in the midst of figuring out her next career move. She recently had sold a direct marketing company she started and was looking to switch gears. Thus, the idea for Dinners Done Now was born.

At first, Cramer did all the cooking herself, which was fine for her client list of about seven families. But word of mouth started to get out, and with support and encouragement from Dr. Esseltyn and his wife, Ann, her business began to grow.

“Today,” Cramer said, “we cook an average of 300 dinners each week.” To handle that kind of volumer, she hired two staff from Loretta Paganini’s International Culinary Arts & Sciences Institute, as well as an assistant.

“We work every day, but usually do one day of massive cooking. Our most popular order is a week of vegan, which includes seven breakfasts, lunches  and dinners, as well as snacks.” Clients can also order everything a la carte.

The menu varies each week and includes items like Veggie Lasagna, Curried Squash Ravioli, Veggie Terrine, Adobe Black Bean Soup, Three-Bean Tempeh Chili with Corn Muffins and Crunchy Blueberry Almond Granola.

“Everything is 100% oil-free,” Cramer said. “That’s the only way we cook here.” Her bakery items (muffins, bars, and granola) are provided by Vegan Sweet Tooth, which soon will be opening a store at Eton on Chagrin Blvd. She gets most of her other ingredients locally from Premier Produce, Whole Foods and Ohio City Pasta-which created several vegan pasta options for her business.

Cramer sends out her menu for the week via email, and clients place their orders in response. On Wednesdays, the orders are available for pickup.

To learn more about vegan cooking, pickup locations, and to receive Cramer’s weekly menu by email, visit www.dinnersdonenow.com.

SAFETY CORNER

Now that the weather is getting warmer and more people are out and about, it’s a good time to remind residents of the Village’s Ordinance regarding walking and running on public streets.

371.05 WALKING AND STANDING ON HIGHWAYS; RUNNING AND JOGGING.

(a) No person shall purposely walk, run, jog, stand on, or otherwise be in or upon any public street or highway open to motor vehicle traffic other than in a safety zone, in such a manner as to obstruct or interfere with the free passage of vehicular traffic, or to cause an actual or imminent hazardous condition as to any vehicle or person.

(b) No person shall run or jog in any public street or highway open to motor vehicle traffic other than in a safety zone, during the time from one-half hour after sunset to on-half hour before sunrise, or at any other time when there is not sufficient natural light to render discernible persons, vehicles, and substantial objects on the street or highway at a distance of 500 feet ahead, unless such person is wearing reflective clothing or a reflective device.  The reflective clothing or reflective device shall be worn on the person and be of sufficient size and reflective capacity to be seen at a distance of not less than 500 feet to the person’s front and rear, when illuminated by two standard automobile headlights operating at the lawful lower beam setting.

(c) No person shall run or job in any public street or highway open to motor vehicle traffic while wearing an earphone or earphones.

(d) For the purposes of this section, the public street or highway shall not include the sidewalk or a crosswalk.

(Ordinance 1986-61, Passed 10-8-86)

SAFETY TIPS FROM THE MORELAND HILLS POLICE

• Drive safely in your neighborhood and throughout Moreland Hills.
• Do not hesitate to call the Police Department if you see suspicious activity in your neighborhood.
• Periodically have your alarm company check your alarm system for the proper operation.
• Make sure all exterior doors have proper locks.  (All exterior doors should have 1-inch deadbolts installed.)
• If you get an unexpected knock at the door, check to see who it is before opening it.
• Do not leave extra keys hidden outside in obvious places, such as under doormats or potted plants.
• Keep your garage door closed and locked, as well as the door from the garage to the house.
• Do not leave keys or valuables in your car, and keep vehicles locked.
• Place bars in the tracks or track locks on all sliding doors and windows, provided they would not impede your escape from the house in an emergency.
• Make sure your address is properly displayed to help emergency responders locate your house.
• Keep drapes and blinds closed, especially in rooms in which there is expensive equipment.
• Do not leave notes on the door for service people or family members.  These can alert burglars that you are not home.
• When going away for an extended period, notify the police department.

The Village began the fiscal year 2011 with $520,000 in its general operating fund.  At the end of the first quarter the balance in this fund remained steady at $532,000.  As in the past years the annual budget was prepared conservatively in keeping with the management’s prudent financial planning which has been consistently acknowledged by the rating agencies.  Moody’s has upgraded the Village’s bond rating to Aa1 making Moreland Hills the only Village of its size in the State with such a high rating.  The Village used this rating to its advantage in March when it refinanced some of its formerly issued bonds at a much reduced interest rate consequently saving approximately $64,000 in net present value over the remaining term of the bonds.

Revenues are showing an uptick and are coming in slightly better than projected. Income Tax is currently trending 5% over previous year’s receipts.  Interest income has declined due to the state of the general economy and the lowering of rates by the Federal government. The departmental expenditures are in line with the budgets and there have been no extraordinary expenses or unexpected events that would draw on the reserves at this time.

NEORSD Stormwater Management Program Implemented Soon

One of the 2011 goals of the Green Commission is to educate residents about stormwater management issues. Our reason for this is twofold: 1) Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) is going to create a Stormwater Management Program and bill each of us to pay for it; we want you to be aware of that. 2) We want to increase awareness and protection of the Chagrin River Watershed which ultimately affects Lake Erie.

Stormwater is rainwater and melted snow and ice that runs off streets, lawns, and other sites. When stormwater is absorbed into the ground, it is filtered and ultimately flows into streams and rivers. In developed areas, however, hard surfaces such as pavement and roofs prevent precipitation from naturally soaking into the ground. Instead, the water runs rapidly into storm drains, sewer systems, and drainage ditches and can cause contaminated rivers, streams and lakes, downstream flooding and erosion and combined sewer overflow.

Untreated stormwater is unsafe. It can contain toxic metals, organic compounds, bacteria, and viruses. It is not safe for people to drink and is not recommended for swimming. It can also trigger algae blooms.

Here are some ways for you to minimize stormwater runoff from your property:

• - Save water. Connect a rain barrel to one or more of your downspouts and use it to water your plants during dry spells.
• - Consider using a permeable surface if you are replacing your driveway.
• - Carefully store and dispose of household cleaners, chemicals, and oil.
• - Practice good car care. Take your car to professionals for oil changes and washing. They often reuse/recycle the materials and always keep them out of storm sewers.
• - Choose earth-friendly landscaping. Consider installing a rain garden. Fertilize sparingly and caringly. Finally, keep landscaping hard surfaces to a minimum.
• - Pick up poop! When it rains, bacteria from dog droppings can soak into groundwater, or be carried by rainwater to nearby streams. In both cases, the water is not treated at a wastewater treatment plant, and that’s not good for the enviornment.

Remember our drinking water comes from Lake Erie. Be careful what you add to your drinking water!

Waste Water Treatment Update

As you may know, Moreland Hills is in the process of eliminating three waste water treatment plants, converting them to pump stations and pumping the effluent to the Northeast Ohio Sewer District (NEORSD) for treatment. You will see in the Legislation Section of this newsletter that a contract has been awarded to Workman Industries for the last phase of this project. We anticipate that all the work will be completed early next year.

This project will save the Village a significant amount of money over the long term. Upgrading just one plant was estimated to cost more than $3 million, and one of the other two plants would have to be completely upgraded immediately after we finished the first. As you can see, keeping these plants would be incredibly expensive to the Village. Those costs would, of course, be passed on to those residents who use the sanitary sewer system. Instead, we have installed force mains and are installing pump stations for less than  it would cost to upgrade just one plant.

Currently residents using the sanitary system owned and operated by the Village are assessed $1000 per year on their tax bill: $500 for operations and $500 for capital expenses. We anticipate that these costs will decline with the changeover to NEORSD, probably in the first quarter of 2012. The bills will be based on water usage whcih many believe is a much fairer way to asses fees than assessing everyone the same flat fee. At the same time, the Village will study its costs to maintain the pump stations and begin to lower the tax assessment for sewage.

Between now and the end of the year we will try to educate ourselves and you on NEORSD’s rate structures and their proposed increases. As the end of the year approaches we will ask a speaker from NEORSD to come to our Village Hall, meet with you, and explain billing rates and possible increases. We want you to fully understand the process.

On a completely separate issue, NEORSD is proposing to implement a new Stormwater Management Program. Every resident of the Village, whether you are connected to the

sanitary system or you have your own septic system, would be required [Q pay a fee. According to NEORSD, this program would charge a typical homeowner $4.75 per month-or $57 per year. Although there was some controversy regarding

NEORSD’s proposed program, Judge Pokorny recently concluded that the Sewer District has authority “to address intercommunity flooding. erosion and stonnwater-related

water quality issues” and. therefore, the Sewer District has authority to implement a program to address regional stormwater issues. We will watch this issue and keep you updated.

Great Advice From Residents
As you know, I love hearingfrom residents. I often learn a lot and get some of my best ideas just by listening or reading e-mails. I want to share some bits of wisdom with you:

From Gary Sherk:
“My idea is for residents to use e-mail to notify the Moreland Hills Police Department when they go out of town. In the past, but not always, we have called the Police Department with our information. In the past two years, I have always used the Internet to stop the delivery of the New York Times and U.S. mail. I like it, and it works well. With the e-mail notification, the police department would have all our information.In the past, you have encouraged us to advise the Police Department when we will be out of town. This quicker e-mail alternative method would eliminate some of the phone calls and provide for accurate information.”

Great idea!  will use it myself.

The e-mail address is policedept@morelandhills.com

From Judy Neuger, CERT Team Secretary:
“Recently Japan was rocked by a deadly earthquake and tsunami, which also created a nuclear emergency that remains unresolved. It is a tragedy of the highest order, killing thousands and displacing many more, with thousands still missing, Japan’s catastrophe reminds us that natural disasters can occur at any time. Being properly prepared for them is one of the single most important things families can do t0 help minimize their danger. Discuss with Your family: What are the potential types of natural disasters that could occur where you live? What is your family’s plan in the event of a natural disaster? Is there an agreed-upon meeting place or a family member from another state that everyone can check in with? What are some items that should be in your family’s emergency preparedness supplies? What call you do at your school to raise money to help the victims of the Japan tragedy?”

After the recent storms, I think we should have these discussions at the dinner table.

From Melanie Larson, Chagrin Falls Sophomore and Environmentalist:
“I was watching Nickelodeon with my younger sister one night, and they were showing their first Halo Awards, which are for kids who have put in extra effort to charities and good causes. One of the winners was an environmentalist in California, and one thing she was doing in her community was talking to the mayor of her city about going plastic grocery bag-less. It has been some time since