Summary
- Cleveland Police and Fire representatives updated residents about recent activities in the community (for example, fires, drownings and sentencing for crimes). Representatives from the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office talked about the Environmental Crimes Task Force and the importance of stopping illegal dumping in the district.
- Ward 8 Cleveland City Council Member Stephanie Howse-Jones attended and spoke at the end of the meeting about the importance of residents being active and involved in the community.
Follow-up questions
- Following up on Third District Police Commander Mark Maguth’s suggestion that residents use Cleveland’s data portal to ask questions, I filtered the police dashboard for the Third District to look at year-to-date data. I have a couple of questions about the offenses reported so far this year:
- When looking by hour of occurrence, the largest number of offenses occurred at 12 a.m., followed by 12 p.m. Is this accurate, or do offenses that occurred at an unknown time get entered as 12 a.m. or 12 p.m.?
- Over one-quarter of offenses so far this year in the Third District are categorized as “blank” for “offense type.” This is nearly twice the number of the largest type, “simple assault.” Why are so many offenses categorized as blank?
- The Documenters instructions for this meeting state this meeting “may have a similar feel” to Cleveland City Council community ward meetings. It did have a similar feel, and I was wondering why there are separate meetings. Is it duplicative and not the best use of time?
The scene at the Third District Community Relations Safety meeting
Note: Cleveland’s Third Police District covers downtown and nearby East Side neighborhoods.
The Third District Community Relations Safety Meeting began slightly late at 6:03 p.m. The atmosphere at the meeting was positive, with laughter heard among residents, as well as banter between residents and presenters. Residents trickled into the meeting room at the Third District Police Station, 4501 Chester Ave., after the meeting began, with the room becoming half to two-thirds full. I would estimate there were 20 to 30 residents in attendance (Maguth said during the meeting that there was an attendance goal of 30 residents).
Call to order and approval of minutes
Vern Daniels (voluntary co-chair of the meeting) began by leading attendees in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. The minutes from the last meeting were approved, though I didn’t see copies of the minutes anywhere. (Note: I also wasn’t able to get the date of the last meeting.)
Tian Ran Temple
A representative of the Buddhist Tian Ran Temple, 4320 Payne Ave., introduced the temple to attending residents.
Common Pleas Court candidate
Fallon Marie Radigan, who is running to become a judge on the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, briefly spoke to residents about her candidacy.
Cleveland Police
Maguth began by inviting residents to visit the city’s data portal at data.clevelandohio.gov and ask him questions based on the police data compiled there. Maguth gave residents his office phone number at 216-623-5305 to call with questions and also with positive comments about police.
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Cleveland Fire
Lieutenant Mike Norman gave updates on recent events, including a fire and a drowning in the Cuyahoga River. Norman talked about fire hydrant testing that the division is conducting throughout the city, as well as upcoming social events at fire stations. A colleague from the division’s Public Education team talked about fall prevention and how to escape from a fire inside a building. Finally, a resident who was unsure about downed utility lines (whether they were live power lines or cable wires) was asked to call 911 and not try to decide herself. [Editor’s note: It’s not gunshots or car crashes. Why falls are the leading cause of trauma in Northeast Ohio].
Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office
Chris Woodworth and Patrick White with the office talked about recent cases where offenders had been sentenced. Woodworth talked about the Environmental Crimes Task Force and specifically asked for collaboration from residents in combating illegal dumping in the district. Woodworth said this was a “high priority” of the prosecutor’s office and cited instances where developers from outside the district (for example, individuals in the Second District building “million-dollar townhouses”) would discard waste materials at illegal dumping sites. Woodworth said “welcome back” to the residents in attendance, and said he was “excited to see the growth of this group”.
Third Federal
Amy Garcia, a representative from Third Federal Savings and Loan, talked about the financial products and services available for residents from their “local community bank.” The bank had a table at the back of the room where residents could go after the meeting for more information.
Cleveland Department of Public Health (CDPH)
A representative from CDPH talked about the CleaninCLE program of air quality monitoring in the city. He said the city had been working with the federal Environmental Protection Agency to install air quality monitors throughout the city, and residents can Google “CleaninCLE” to find and install an app on their phone to learn both the overall air quality in the city and to find monitors that measure air quality in their specific neighborhoods.
Remarks from Howse-Jones
Howse-Jones was called to the front of the room. She talked about the Ward 8 community meeting held April 16 at Fatima Family Center, 6600 Lexington Ave., where residents were informed that the long-closed Willson Middle School is slated to be demolished. Howse-Jones encouraged residents to be actively involved in the neighborhood, saying “We have to show up for ourselves.” She specifically mentioned going with residents to a recent sentencing hearing, and she also encouraged residents to vote in upcoming elections.
Closing
The meeting ended with Third District Community Relations Board Representative Tiffany McClay encouraging people to call her at 216-664-3861 with any complaints or comments (“if you see something, say something”). After a raffle drawing, the meeting ended at 7:02 p.m.
These notes are by Documenter Tucker Handley. Audio recorded by Documenter Andrea Jones.
If you believe anything in these notes is inaccurate, please email us at documenters@signalcleveland.org with “Correction Request” in the subject line.
