TWDC denies residents opportunity to discuss neighborhood plan prior to vote
by Chuck Hoven

(Plain Press, March 2008) In its meetings prior to the Annual Membership Meeting on January 31, 2008, the Tremont West Development Corporation (TWDC) Board of Trustees debated whether or not to allow the membership to vote on the neighborhood plan, the Tremont Strategic Investment Initiative. At a meeting late last year, during one such discussion a board member pointed out that the by-laws didn’t require that membership vote on the plan. At that point, Tim Jenkins, a TWDC member attending the board meeting, pointed out that the members had been promised that they would be able to vote on the plan prior to its adoption. “You can’t call for a vote and then tell people they can’t vote on it,” he argued.

On January 31st at the Annual Membership Meeting, the solution the Board of Trustees had come up with was obvious. They would allow a vote on the Strategic Investment Initiative, but there would be no discussion prior to the vote. As people arrived for the meeting they were handed a ballot to vote not only on candidates for the Board of Trustees, but also to vote for or against the Tremont Strategic Investment Initiative.

Some residents had some serious concerns about the plan they wanted to bring up prior to the vote. Others thought the plan should have been brought to the individual block clubs for review prior to being finalized.

Prior to the Annual Meeting, Jenkins expressed disappointment with the decision of the board not to allow open discussion. He felt that the plan “read like an advertisement for Neighborhood Progress Inc.” and could have applied generically to any neighborhood. Jenkins, who participated in the planning process, thought the final draft of the plan would have benefited greatly from more neighborhood input. He noted several major neighborhood projects and concerns that were not addressed by the plan.

Late in the meeting, but before the vote totals were announced, residents received their first opportunity to speak when the agenda moved to new business.

Tremont resident Mark Dorsey called for more discussion before a final vote since the plan at the meeting called for acquisition and demolition of several homes on Thurman to build a two story parking garage planned for the Union Gospel Press building.

Resident Roman Dowhaniuk said he was assured during the planning process that the plan would be available for the block clubs to review prior to voting on it. Instead, they were now being asked to vote the plan when “none of the block clubs have had a chance to discuss this. Why are we here voting on this?” he stressed.

TWDC Board President Sammy Catania responded, “I don’t like that we couldn’t get it out fast enough.” Catania said if TWDC put off the vote on the plan at the annual meeting, the plan would have to wait another year for approval. He said members had an opportunity to vote “yes” or “no” on the plan. If they thought the plan needed more review they could have voted “no.”

Henry Senyak, Co-Chair of the Lincoln Heights/Scranton-Starkweather Block Club said at a planning meeting in April 2007 it was promised that the plan would go to the block clubs and they would have an opportunity to offer amendments to the plan before it was approved as a working document. Senyak then made a motion to amend the Master Plan to include a process that would allow the plan to be amended from a block club perspective.

As Senyak was making his motion, TWDC board members began counting heads. As Dowhaniuk offered to second the motion by Senyak, he was told he could not second the motion because there was no longer a quorum. Only five minutes prior to Senyak’s motion, however, a motion by Jenkins to make the Safety Committee a permanent standing committee of the board was approved with no call for a quorum.

Jenkins then brought up the fact that the December Housing Committee Report had already called for the plan to go to the block clubs to receive letters of acceptance. At that point, Board President Sammy Catania said, “I assure you these things will go to committee, with housing, and to the block clubs.”

While Catania’s comments ended the discussion at the Annual Meeting, the discussion was continued at the Lincoln Heights/Scranton-Starkweather Blcok Club at its February 7th meeting. Members of the block club, which had the greatest participation of any block club at the neighborhood planning meetings, were clearly still upset that they did not have an opportunity to discuss the plan. At the meeting block club member Roman Dowhaniuk noted that at the April 23, 2007 planning meeting at St. Augustine, TWDC Board President Catania promised “to take the plan to each and every block club for approval and amendment. That never happened,” he said.

Block Club Co-Chair Henry Senyak noted the City of Cleveland had already approved its Master Plan, which included the Tremont Strategic Investment Initiative, before it was submitted to the membership at the annual meeting. He noted while the plan had passed by a vote of 104-27, the entire neighborhood would be affected by the plan, but only a small portion of the neighborhood was informed of the plan. He noted the plan says there are 9,500 people in the neighborhood, only 600 TWDC members received a mailing about the vote for the plan at the annual meeting.

Senyak said Architect Paul Volpe, a consultant in the planning process, had told people they could contact TWDC and get a copy of the plan if they wanted to review it. Senyak said the plan was not available to those who asked. He said members did not see a copy of the plan until they received it in the mail on January 18 and were told they would be voting on in at the Annual Meeting.

Senyak further questioned how the plan was handled at the Annual Meeting. He said that the vote was item #2 in the meeting agenda, but there was no opportunity for discussion until item #9 on the agenda. He also said “the vote was illegitimate because most people voted before the meeting was called to order.”

Residents at the block club expressed other frustrations at what they feel is TWDC’s continuing indifference to block club concerns.

(see related photos here)

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