Amherst News-Times, 1998-12-23

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Amherst News-Times
December 23.  1998
Amherst. Ohio
M) cents
lents
distrust
Nord talk
by QLEN MLLER
Nawa-Timaa raporter
Nord Mental Health Center officials are hoping a meeting with Hidden Valley residents will calm their
concerns about women with mental
disabilities who live in a neighborhood residential care facility.
The mental health center's decision to operate the home at 820
Deer Rm as a supervised independent living facility has come under
fire from surrounding residents who
claim it is unsuitable for the
neighborhood.
Antoni Sulikowski, Nord Center
director, said he hopes meetings this
week or next will "calm the situation" and alleviate neighborhood
fears about women living in the
home.
', The meetings may help offset anger, frustration and animosity of residents. They include more than SO
'residents who gathered in Amherst
Township Hall Dec. 15 to hear Sulikowski and other Nord Center officials discuss their choice of the
home and their concerns.
In an interview with the News-
Times, he admitted center staff
members did a poor job of notifying
residents of their plans.
"We admit that maybe we could
have done a little better job in educating them up front by going to the
community and reassuring them
from the get-go," he said. "It would
have alleviated some of their anxieties and fears."
Based on the township meeting,
Sulikowski said he and his staff feel
another meeting may be the best
way of resolving complaints about
the home and educating Hidden
Valley residents.
The meetings may be with individual families or groups.
- Their goal, he added, is to allay
their fears and answer questions.
- But one resident, Dan Orr, said he
doesn't think additional meetings
with Nord Center officials will
change neighborhood feelings
"They botched this thing so badly
that there's a lot of people in the
neighborhood, me included, who
aren't going to be happy until they
close and sell the house," he added.
He accused the mental health
agency of using deceptive practices.
"The Nord Center people have
lied to us, they botched it horribly
and they have no credibility with the
neighborhood," he added. 1 think
that message came across to them
crystal clear at the township
meeting."
.A resident living next to the Deer
Run home reported the theft of an
iron fence post from her family's
ItooVe and also complained her mail
had been tampered with by one of
fjte residents.
Sulikowiki said the problems
were caused by one resident who
has been placed under closer supervision, and may be moved to
fee neighbors, but wa an charged
with caring for our client's needs.''
. BM Oar arid he and other reai-
denfe feel those with mental disabU-
mmm should not be placed in densely
fpffllatmt neighborhoods, Ha noted
fee bouse is located in front of a
strhppl bm stop and said many poo-
lie fear the residents Bay harass or
harm children in some way.
Sulikowski called the claim "an-
founded" and noted the Nord Center
emAmai similar homes in residential
of Oberlin. Elyria and
for at feast 30
Checking it twice
Santa does his best to remember what each Powers Elementary
School child would like for Christmas. He visited each classroom
last week and gave each child an opportunity to tell him what is on
their holiday wish list.
New cable guy sought for system
The city's cable advisory committee has launched a search for a
new manager to run Amherst City
Cable operations.
Harold Dopman, manager for about a year, announced he will resign
Dec. 31 for personal reasons. The
former owner of his own San Diego,
Calif., video production service,
Dopman was named the city's first
part-time manager because of the
need for more expertise in running
the service, mayor John Higgins
said.
Amherst City Cable, of WACC-
TV as it also is known, operates out
of facilities in Marion L. Steele
High School and consists of volunteer staff.
The mayor said the search for
Dopman's replacement is being
hartJtuJJjytllgTable advisory committee, which also consists of volunteers. It meets on a regular basis to
discuss local cable programming
and other needs of the cable televi
sion station.
The committee has placed employment ads in area daily newspapers with the hope a replacement can
be found and hired by early January.
The part-time manager will work
about 25 hours a week and handle
all aspects of the cable station's
operations.     -.-
■ <**■•*■**> mt*\y\me*m
Im sorry to see him (Dopman)
go because he brought a new degree
of professionalism to the cable service and improved the operation,"
Higgins said.
Previously, the mayor said the
cable operation mainly was operated
by volunteers and high school staff
members.
Shortly after his arrival, Dopman
began a series of TV training classes
for interested area residents that involved camera operation, video editing and TV production and
direction.
Many of those who enrolled in
the free classes are now among
those who volunteer their services.
Sulikowski said the Nord Center
another mental health agencies use
residential care as one means of
helping tram the mentally disabled,
hy integrating them back into the
community.
*We work for the people in Lor-
ain County, so their mental health is
ap.hnportant to us as is our clients,"
he added. "I don't want to i
Time grinches
A time witch (Kayley PorterfieW) and axa man (Scott Rosenau) pushing some time travel buttohs. Tha child actors wart among
are ready to smaeh and tap a time computer occupied by Choieea thoae who performed during Harris Elementary School* annual
Pharam aa Father Time (Joah Toothman) attempts to aave II by Christmaa pageant.
St*.
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Developers buy empty twp. store
aw Bay Village developer David
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Road will be given a leverel retail outlets once in JJ3UT*" m9m***1*
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will be en asset to me township aad city," he added.
Abraham said he expect*
the facility's haemal aad a*>
teraal renovations to be eaav
pletsd by spring.
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Electric
ordinance
may get
zapped
by QLEN MLLER
News-Times reporter
City officials are considering eliminating or changing
an electric rebate ordinance so
they can use a $23 million
surplus to help pay for more
than $4 million in improvements to the city's electrical
system.
Without the money, city officials my the city's electric
rates, now among the lowest
in the area, could significantly
increase in the coming years
to pay for the improvements
and a possible expansion of
the electric system.
Last week, council decided
not make that decision without first talking it over in
committee. Repeal of the ordinance was sent back to the
utilities committee for further
recommendation.
"I don't think we want to
repeal the whole ordinance,
but before we can do anything it has to be drastically
changed to bring it up to
date so it meets our needs,"
public utilities committee
chairman John Dietrich said.
In the meantime, the city
may hire a consultant to review its electric rate structure
and advise council on how
best to finance improvements
without drastically passing
costs on to customers.
The 14-year-old city law
allows customers to receive a
five percent rebate if the
surplus exceeds $1.95 million.
It also allows the city to in-
cream rates five percent if
the fund is $330,000 or less.
Prior to the meeting, mayor
John Higgins said the ordinance is "flawed" because
city officials failed to consider the cost of maintaining
and improving the municipal
electric system when they
adopted it in 1985.
"No one realized how
much this city would grow
back then and how much
more demand it would place
on the electric system," he
explained. \ '
Several improvement projects are needed over the next
four to seven years. They
include:
• Replacement of an old
transformer at an electric substation on the south side of
the city, estimated at
$800,000 or more.
• Replacement of a high
voltage line supplying power
to the Amherst Plaza, estimated at about $15 million.
The line was damaged after
being struck by lightning several years ago and needs to
be replaced to prevent possible power outages to businesses in the area.
Without the new tine, the
mayor said be fears die city
could be legally liable for
damage to frozen foods in
grocery stores, restaurants and
deb shops if power should
ML
• Installation of several new
utility poim, at least
SlOOjOOO, and rej>lece<nent of
old electric meters on bo-
.
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