April 10, 2009 City Manager's Update

Oberlin City Schools, New Russia Township and City to Explore Collaboration:  In response to a challenge by the Fund For Our Economic Future to improve efficiency and collaboration amongst local governments, representatives of the Township, School District and City met recently to explore ways to work together.  The Fund is providing up to $300,000 for grants to implement three projects that will save money and foster collaboration.  As some of you may be aware, the City and the school district have discussed the possibility of constructing a bus storage facility near the City Service Complex off Oberlin Road.  Next week, the City, Township and district will submit a 250-word concept to the Fund’s “EfficientGovNow” grant program seeking support for a joint maintenance, storage and fueling effort.  The application process will work in stages, so the full details of our proposal are yet to be worked out.  If the 250-word concept is supported by the screening panel for the Fund for our Economic Future, we will develop more plans and update our respective legislative bodies on the proposed structure so that the final proposal may be reviewed in detail and voted upon by northeast Ohio stakeholders.  

Governor to Hold Stimulus Briefing:  Governor Strickland’s Office announced eight briefing sessions to be held around Ohio in the few weeks.  The nearest sessions are:

April 20th from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Cleveland State University
Maxine Goodman Levin
College of Urban Affairs Atrium
1717 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44115 

Congresswoman Kaptur Announces Earmark Priorities for Oberlin:  Representative Kaptur has put four Oberlin projects on her list of recommended appropriations for 2010.  As part of an effort to make the earmark process more transparent, senators and representatives are expected to release lists of their priorities.  Rep. Kaptur has done so and there are four projects on her list for Oberlin:

City Of Oberlin Renewable Power Program: $1 million from Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency Power Supply to help develop a green energy portfolio and renewable power generation for the city’s municipally-owned power system. 

City of Oberlin Water Treatment Plant Ultraviolet Disinfection – Design and Construction: $474,000.00 from EPA STAG to equip the City’s Water Treatment Plant (WTP) with ultra-violet disinfection technology necessary to meet the requirements of the “Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule.”  This regulation, promulgated by the USEPA under the Safe Drinking Water Act, is intended to protect public drinking water supplies from microorganisms such as Cryptosporidium and Giardia.  The addition of UV disinfection to the City’s conventional lime-soda softening treatment processes will be the first OEPA-permitted application of this technology to a public drinking water system in the State of Ohio.  UV disinfection technology will provide a state of the art, long-term solution to ensure the safe drinking water supply of the City of Oberlin and continued compliance with federal regulations.  

Oberlin College Downtown Power Corridor: $1,100,000 for a solar photovoltaic array in a cutting-edge sustainable community model and a $17M development converting a Brownfield into a sustainably-designed mixed-use building designated a national pilot project for the new LEED Neighborhood Development certification.

Oberlin College and Community Green Arts District Planning Study: $100,000 to develop a highly-specialized energy efficiency study and design for building a College and Community Green Arts District adjacent to historic Tappan Square.  This project is a partnership between Oberlin College, the City of Oberlin, and the Oberlin School District.   Encompassing an entire city block and built to the highest environmental standards, this mixed use community will be anchored by world-class college cultural facilities and will include housing, retail/commercial, institutional offices, an inn/convention center, and performance spaces to strengthen the community and the relationship between the City of Oberlin and the College.

Oberlin Fire Department News

LifeFlight Service to be Based in Lorain County:  On Wednesday, Metro LifeFlight, the region's largest critical care transport service, established a helicopter base and crew at the Lorain County Regional Airport. This move to Lorain County is extremely beneficial to Oberlin residents and the Oberlin Fire Department.  Oberlin Fire has worked closely with LifeFlight for both direct emergency scene response and pre-hospital EMS training for many years. The aeromedical service crew consists of two pilots, a physician and a flight nurse capable of providing sophisticated patient care in conjunction with local fire/EMS agencies.  The three helicopter bases operated by LifeFlight now form a ring around Cuyahoga County to provide quicker response times, increased ability to fly in poor weather and a more efficient operation. 

Bids for Renovation/Expansion of Oberlin Fire Station Opened:  Approximately 12 persons representing contractors and subcontractors attended the bid opening this morning at the Fire Station.  Six general contractors provided base bids.  RP Hughes Architects will now begin analyzing the bids to determine those that were responsive and complete, then check references and prepare a recommendation for award.  

April 3, 2009 City Manager's Update

OFD Members Earn Certifications/Designations:  After completing over 600 hours of training, Lt. Shawn Clawson and Firefighter Richard Kenney recently obtained state certification as Paramedics.  This brings the total to six Paramedics in the department (with another awaiting test results).  And, on March 9, Chief Dennis Kirin was re-designated a “Chief Fire Officer” (CFO) by the Commission on Professional Credentialing of the Center for Public Safety Excellence, Inc.  He earned this professional designation following review by a team of peers and members of the Commission.  The Commission noted that Chief Kirin has demonstrated through education, leadership and management skills that he possesses the requisite knowledge, skills, and abilities required for a “Chief” in the fire and emergency services profession.

National League of Cities Leadership Training Institute Comes to Cleveland:  On June 28-30, the NLC brings “The Changing Landscape of Cities: Finding Harmony in Today's Economic Climate” to northeast Ohio.  You may be interested in attending this three day session that will address issues cities are faced with as a result of the national economic situation. 

Ohio: Green and Growing Conference a Financial Success:  Last summer, the City Council agreed to be a co-sponsor of a regional conference on sustainability along with Oberlin College and ICLEI.  The City agreed to support the start-up costs of the conference with a $5,000 sponsorship investment, with the understanding that the City and College would split any surplus after all conference expenses were reconciled.  On Thursday, a check in the amount of $2,910.25 was received from the College as a result of that final accounting.  In addition to recognition, publicity and the sense of accomplishment as a result of the holding the conference, the City also received free registration to the conference for a number of City Councilmembers, commission members and staff.  

Drug-Free Workplace Training to be Held for all Employees: One of several opportunities the City is pursing to reduce its workers compensation costs is participation in the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation’s Drug Free Workplace Program (DFWP).  The DFWP is an incentive program designed to help employers establish safer and more cost-effective workplaces.  We will join hundreds of other Ohio employers in implementing a program to keep employees safe and reduce the chance of an accident caused by substance use. The DFWP encourages employers to detect and deter substance use and misuse, and take appropriate corrective action.  Substance use is often the silent and unseen cause of work-related accidents. Estimates of the cost of substance use to employers vary, ranging from $7,000 to $25,000 annually per substance user.  By implementing this program, the City will be eligible for a 15% discount on our workers compensation premiums.  However, the greatest value of this program is in its long-range benefit of having a safer workforce and community. Part of the program requirement will be to train all employees. 

Senator Brown’s Staff and Other Federal Officials Provide Stimulus Briefing:  On Thursday, several members of Senator Sherrod Brown’s staff and representatives from other federal agencies provided a briefing on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (a.k.a. stimulus bill) for municipal officials, individuals and business persons interested in learning how to take advantage of provisions in the Act.  A lengthy review of the Act prepared by the Senator’s office is found elsewhere in the packet.  The status of state and federal funding opportunities is constantly changing, so City staff are regularly monitoring state and federal websites and receiving updates from a number of sources.  As there are provisions to assist small business and individuals, please advise residents interested in information or how to get assistance, to visit recovery.ohio.gov or http://brown.senate.gov/issues_and_agenda/issues/recovery/.