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 The Columbia Journal November 2008 | |
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CT Calendar
Nov.13, 10:30 a.m.: Columbia Square ribbon cutting ceremony
Nov. 17: CTCC meeting, 7:30 p.m., Carnegie Center, 3738 Eastern Ave.
December: holiday break; no council meeting
Jan. 19, 2009: CTCC meeting 7:30 p.m., Carnegie Center
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'Tis the season to plan for 2009
In this edition of the e-Journal, we'll tell you about:
- Selecting the 2009 Council Steering Team
- Proposals for City funding grants
- Review of Council work that helps make Columbia Tusculum a desireable place to live, and thanking those
who made it happen.
The Journal has gone electronic. Please forward this to neighbors and other interested parties for email sign-up. -- Your Community Council |
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| Community input for 2009 Council grant funding |
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Where does a community council get money to operate? We are not a "department" of the City of Cincinnati with direct funding. Columbia Tusculum Community Council is a separate State of Ohio nonprofit organization, run by volunteers.
We get funding in two ways. The first is through community fund-raising projects. The recent CTCC Historic Home Tour is one example. CTCC may also participate in fund-raising of other local nonprofit organizations. We sponsor a water station for the Flying Pig marathon and staff it with our volunteers. The Flying Pig organization gives us a share of their profits.
The other way Councils can get funding is by participating in the City's Neighborhood Support and Neighborhood Business District grant programs. 2009 Neighborhood grant project proposals will be reviewed and voted at the Nov. 17 CTCC meeting. All resident input is welcome. First, some background on what this is.
The City Council believes strong neighborhoods make for a strong city. It provides basic operating funds for neighborhood councils and funds for small projects in neighborhood business districts in the form of grants. A nonprofit group called Invest in Neighborhoods is subcontracted to administer these funds, and to consult with neighborhoods on running their councils.
Invest in Neighborhood members are council leaders from the 52 Cincinnati neighborhoods. Neighborhood grant requests are subject to specific criteria. Invest neighborhood members make up the review committees and approve grants. So, peer review is an important part of the process.
Once approved, neighborhoods receive money only after completing projects and producing invoices and canceled checks. This ensures integrity in the process, but means CTCC must cover spending until reimbursed later in the year.
CTCC Grant proposals
This is the time of year to develop proposals for 2009. All Columbia Tusculum residents and property owners can recommend and vote on projects; they do not need to be CTCC voting members.
CTCC will once again receive $7,000 for 2009 council operating costs. Examples of past operating costs are publishing The Columbia Journal, running our website and being an investor in the Blues Fest. The Blues Fest is another nonprofit event in which CTCC participates and receives a share of profits. These monies have been used for landscaping the Carnegie Center and pocket parks, paying water bills to keep these looking good, supplying mutt mitt stations, maintaining a P.O. box for council mail, website maintenance, etc.
The Neighborhood Business District Support program (NBDSP) is earmarked for improving defined business districts. CT's neighborhood business district is the area from Columbia Parkway to Eastern Avenue, east of Delta Avenue. With this money you've seen several recent beautification efforts: the CT gateway parks at the Parkway and Airport Road improved, street trees watered and tree wells mulched, and Eastern Avenue weeds cleaned up near the railroad overpasses. We've bought park benches and provided advance money for the Home Tour, which brings publicity for the business district.
NBDSP funding has been $9,000, but may be reduced for 2009 if Cincinnati City Council needs to reduce its budget.
2009 recommendations
Some projects and operating costs are ongoing, and will need to be renewed. The CTCC Steering Team will present base proposals for review and voting at the Nov. 17 council meeting. We welcome any ideas you also have that fit the grant criteria.
Neighborhood beautification will continue as a priority. We have invested significant money in the last three years, and have received donated plants and landscaping services. We need to protect these investments with continued weeding, mulching and watering, some of which will need professional services.
A new proposal for this year is to pay a community share of expenses for a Mural works project. CT was awarded a community mural by the nonprofit ArtWorks
See articles below for more on the Council Beautification efforts and the planned mural. |
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| Columbia Tusculum Community Council News |
2009 CTCC Steering Team Elections planned for Nov. 17 Council meeting
Elections for four 2009 CTCC officers and three director-at-large positions will take place at the Nov. 17 Council meeting. The Steering Team nominations to date are:
President - Arlene Golembiewski
Vice President - open
Treasurer - Matt Ackermann
Secretary - open
Director 1 - Josh Phillips
Director 2 - open
Director 3 - open
Are you interested in providing more direction for the Columbia Tusculum neighborhood and input to the Council? Want to get more involved in your community? Consider becoming a CTCC officer or director for 2009. With a few hours a month, you can see your ideas put into action -- and community improvements made important to you and your neighbors.
The work of a community council is done only by volunteer effort. Help keep CT a great place to live by becoming an officer or director - and enjoy meeting and working with your neighbors. Contact Arlene Golembiewski, CTCC president, at ctcc@columbiatusculum.org.
Beat Crime -- work with Cincinnati Police Thanks to Cincinnati Police for working with Morris Place residents on addressing drug activity at the corner of Morris Place and Stanley. Undercover agents bought drugs leading to an arrest associated with the corner rental property. The landlord is now requested to evict this tenant or risk legal action himself.
Cincinnati Police have created a new website to make crime information and data accessible. See www.crimereports.com.
Crime data is entered in near real time and includes all areas within Cincinnati's jurisdiction. A Google Maps interface allows anyone to search for crime reports by location, date or type of offense, and to zoom in on the map with the click of a mouse. Click on neighborhood reports or use search functions to investigate history of crime at specific locations. Data are loaded as of April 08.
You can sign up for email alerts of offenses in any area you specify. CTCC will use our email address book to quickly inform residents of unusual crime activity. This puts timely information in residents' hands to be on the lookout for crime activity -- and in turn, quickly alert the police to things they may see.
To quickly access local data from the website, just enter 45226 in the location box of the front (national) page, and refine your search from there. Try it out, and use this tool to work in partnership with Cincinnati Police to fight crime.
CTCC supports demolition for 427 Delta
Developer Al Neyer requested community support in demolishing an old house on its property at 427 Delta Ave. The old and unoccupied building near the northeast corner of Columbia Parkway has become a public nuisance, subject to vandalism. A council motion passed 15-0-0 in support of demolition. Cincinnati Zoning Examiner has since approved the demolition. |
| Successful community projects completed |
A big thank-you to two community committees for work well done
CT Historic Home Tour
About 4500 people enjoyed a beautiful fall day touring the historic homes and buildings of Columbia Tusculum's October 12th Home Tour. The historic and business districts never looked better, with thirteen homeowners generously opening their homes, business open houses, Starbuck's art fair for local artists and community landscaping freshly completed.
Feedback was unanimously positive from tour participants with comments like: charming, historically important neighborhood, a treasure in the city, hospitable, beautifully done.
The Home Tour committee has labored on organzing this year's tour since January, making it a tour to remember. A big thanks are in order for Chair, Angela Lyman, Vice Chair, Ashley Wilkerson, and Publicity manager, Kate Huelsman for their outstanding work.
We appreciate the many efforts of all committee members: Ann Stamp, Cynthia Matyi, Garret Walker, Kathy Roberts, Melanie Walls, Rene and Roy Grever and Arlene Golembiewski. The tour would not have been successful without all the volunteer efforts of home owners, house monitors, shuttle drivers and other tour advisors. Thank you! Finally, a special thanks to Starbuck's for being the title sponsor and hosting the art fair. You continually show you're a great neighbor and supporter of Columbia Tusculum.
Columbia Tusculum Beautification
CTCC has sponsored landscaping for five neighborhood areas to beautify Columbia Tusuculum. A huge thanks are in order for Lesley Hodell and her group of volunteers for managing the work over the last few years at:
The Carnegie Center
Columbia Parkway gateway sign park
Airport Road gateway sign (at Widmer Rd)
Airport Road pocket park (at Eastern Ave.)
Median strips & tree wells - Columbia Pkwy & Eastern
Market price to hire a landscaper for these five areas would have far exceeded the $4000 - $7000 of CTCC funds spent each year. We can thank Lesley for master planning the work and using her network of professionals and vendors to obtain materials and services at or below cost. Some were donated outright. Lesley personally spent countless hour caring for all these areas.
We want to recognize these businesses. We can highly recommend them for the following services:
- Pipkin Fruit & Vegetable Market - plant materials
- Hafner's - Mulch and top soil
- Groundwork Landscaping Design - Carnegie Center
- Tarvin Plumbing - water line repair at the Parkway
We would not have completed the landscaping, or kept it looking as beautiful as it does, without the work of all our volunteers. Your long and hot hours have paid off with a neighborhood we truly can be proud of. Names are numerous to mention here, and someone would probably be missed. You know who you are, and we send you a big thanks on behalf of the whole community. We appreciate all you've done! |
| Columbia Tusculum to receive mosaic mural |
Columbia Tusculum will be among seven Cincinnati neighborhoods brightened with colorful public art in 2008-09, through the city's MuralWorks project. This winter, teen artists will be employed by the non-profit organization ArtWorks to work with a professional artist and create eight mosaic scenes of our historic area. Next spring, they'll be installed on the upper panels of the railroad underpass at Delta and Eastern avenues. (Horizontally above the bus in this picture.)
A group of neighborhood residents provided a profile of the community that inspired initial sketches for the mural. Professional artist Pam Kravetz developed sketches proposed for each panel, including views of homes in the historic district. Pam and her husband moved into the historic district earlier this year, providing a personal perspective on what makes Columbia Tusculum a special neighborhood.
The mural project, which could cost $45,000, was delayed in order to get approval from property owner SORTA, the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority, and to complete other requirements.
The Columbia Tusculum neighborhood will be asked to provide 20 to 50 percent of the mural cost. That can include in-kind contributions from the community. As one example, the Carnegie Center will provide space in its basement on Eastern Avenue for students to work over the winter.
Other sources of funding being evaluated are using the Neighborhood Business District Support grant (see article above) and fund-raising from local businesses and individuals. This will be a investment celebrating our historic neighborhood with long term value we should all support.
Over two years, about 19 murals have been initiated across Cincinnati in 16 neighborhoods through the MuralWorks program.
Thanks to Matt Ackermann, McDowell Avenue resident, for coordinating the project for Columbia Tusculum with ArtWorks. If you are interested in making a tax deductible contribution to the mural, please contact Matt at mackermann@fuse.net. |
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Columbia Square ribbon cutting Nov. 13
Join Al Neyer Corporation and City Council for the official opening of the Columbia Square project on Nov. 13 at 10:30 a.m. Columbia Square is now a reality with tenant Anytime Fitness slated to open by December in the rear building at the east end of the square. Sycamore Gas, an office tenant, and a salon have also signed leases. Brueggel's Bagel cafe is slated for a building yet to be built facing Columbia Parkway.
Alm's Park infrastructure improvements underway
If you've recently been in Alm's Park you will see a handicap accessible sidewalk being installed, connecting the Lunken Airport and Ohio River overlooks.
We can thank Barb Lichtenstein and the Friends of Alm's Park group she chairs for making this happen. Barb worked with then State Rep. Tom Brinkman to apply for State funding slated for park infrastructure improvements.
The Alm's Park proposal included the above handicap walkway, rebuilding the Lunken overlook wall and an enlarged picnic pavillion for the lower park area. Alm's Park was up against stiff competition from other much larger projects, like the Cincinnati Banks. The state Congressional review committee questioned whether Alm's Park could not be covered instead by the Cincinnati Park Board. The Park Board agreed and work is now underway. Many thanks to Barb and Friends of Alm's Park for initiating these improvements we'll enjoy for many years to come.
Want a Neighborhood Watch group? Cincinnati Police will work with you to set one up:
- First, identify interested neighbors
- Assign a block leader
- Then, contact Officer Germaine Love, Neighborhood Liaison Officer, at 979-4480. She will help your group to get started.
Holiday Church Schedule
Get involved in Columbia Tusculum
If you would like to get more involved in your community and make new friends, we have volunteer opportunities for you:
- Beautification Committee -- planning, planting, weeding, watering, grass cutting around our gateway welcome sign -- we need it all. Help this group over the winter plan new projects for a cohesive beautification plan.
- Columbia Journal Editor and support -- Have ideas to improve the look and content of the e-Journal? Stories to contribute? We need someone to take over as Journal editor, as well as help in writing stories.
- Special project help - is your time limited, but still willing to help on an ad hoc basis? We can match you with current needs. Let us know your time availability or the kind of skills you have to offer.
Contact ctcc@columbiatusculum.org if you can help on any of these. |
Columbia Tusculum articles for sale
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Let people know you're from Columbia Tusculum with a CT tote bag. This heavy organic cotton canvas tote bag holds a lot because it's 17 in. x 13 in. with deep 7 in. side panels. Something old, something new with both CT logo's front and back. A classy bargain at $12.50.
 
Historic Home Plaques are again available for $30. Originally produced for the historic district, you do not need to be an historic home to order one. Just provide your home's construction date, often available on the Hamilton County Auditor's website.
Send your name, address and a check made out to CTCC for articles you are interested in to CTCC, P.O.Box 26085, CIncinnati, OH, 45226. |
| Share YOUR CT News |
It's easy to send us news. Do you have a local event to tell your neighbors about? Know of someone who's won a award, a new business owner or some other noteworthy news? Send us just the facts, ma'am, (who, what, when, where, plus your phone #) to ctcc@columbiatusculum.org. |
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