Mill Creek Watershed

From its headwaters in Liberty Township and running South/Southwest for 28 miles, the Mill Creek and its tributaries provided the lifeblood for development of Cincinnati over two hundred years ago. Within 100 years of being renamed the "Mill Creek" from the Native American name "Macetewa," the Mill Creek was nearly destroyed due to the very industrial development that put Cincinnati on the map. I, like many of our Amberley residents, have lived within Mill Creek watershed our whole lives. Many local communities count on the Mill Creek to provide their local drinking water. The Mill Creek Watershed Council of Communities was established to protect and enhance the value of the Mill Creek.

Amberley Creek, which runs through French Park and provides a natural and attractive water feature to many of our residents, is a tributary of the Mill Creek. Perhaps you have seen these signs and wondered about the water flowing nearby. The tributaries of the Mill Creek expand the reach of the watershed to encompass areas as far east as Deer Park and Silverton within Hamilton County, and as far west as Groesbeck and Mt. Airy. The Mill Creek itself dumps into the Ohio River in Western Cincinnati near 9th and Gest Streets.

There is plenty to do to enjoy the Mill Creek, which is slowly regaining its health and providing a home to wildlife and a place to recreate. Like to paddle? You can explore the Mill Creek by canoe. Five different sections of the creek are open to paddlers. If you are looking for an outdoor activity this Saturday, March 16th, the Mill Creek Watershed Council is looking for volunteers to help remove invasive plant species from Twin Creek Preserve in Sharonville from 9:00-12:00 PM.

Why should we care about the Mill Creek Watershed? Amberley Creek is a valuable asset! Like access to walking trails and bike paths, current statistics show that homeowners will pay a premium to live near daylighted water sources, like open, running creeks. Let's acknowledge, protect, and enhance our natural assets for the future of Amberley.

It's like this:

I've been somewhat disingenuous with my posts, as the subtitle of this blog is "the musings of the only female elected official in Amberley Village." This video will give you an idea of how things actually are. This was a publicly televised council meeting. Imagine the message this sends to the female staff of the village.

http://icrctv.com/amberley-village-council-21113

Click on "Guest Speaker." "Streets" and "New Business."

Training

Ohio law requires all elected officials, either individually or through an appointed representative, to attend Sunshine Law Training regarding Ohio Public Records and Open Meetings laws. On January 24, Tom Muething and myself along with Council Clerk, Nicole Browder (appointed on behalf of the remainder of Council), attended the training presented by the Ohio Attorney General’s office.

This is just one of many training workshops for government officials that is either required, or made available, to elected officials. When we’re elected to serve on Council, we are often inexperienced in public service and the plethora of government agencies available to assist our communities.  When I was elected to Council last November, I made a concerted effort to attend as many training workshops as I could since I, like most of council, was new to public service. Some workshops were presented by WeTHRIVE!, some by the Hamilton County Public Health District, The HC Planning Partnership, as well as the Cincinnati Bar Association. The information I learn from training makes me a better council person, as well as enables me to spread the great news from Amberley Village to the rest of the County.  

I encourage all of Amberley's elected officials to make it a practice to attend these workshops, which are offered throughout the year, encompassing topics such as planning and zoning, Public Records, local government law, and meeting management.

Professional Services

One of the things you learn pretty quickly as a council person is that you can't be an expert at everything. Running a village takes many layers of expertise from management to maintenance to legal to surveying to engineering studies. In this post, I am going to write briefly about the role of our Village Engineering service, CDS Associates, Inc.

The Village has contracted for professional services with CDS for 27 years. Unlike contracts for capital improvements, professional services for the village are not competitively bid, but are based on expertise and the needs of the village. Just like you would hire the best attorney for the job, the same holds true for engineering services. CDS provides engineering services for many Cincinnati jurisdictions including the Cities of Blue Ash and Cincinnati, Villages of Glendale and Amelia, Deerfield Township and many more. Jurisdictions rely on the expertise of their engineer for  everything from preliminary feasibility studies to post-construction services. Amberley's infrastructure needs are as complicated and diverse as any size jurisdiction. Our roads and bridges are aging and council relies upon the recommendations of the engineer to advise us on whether these assets are in need of repair or replacement.

Because of  CDS Associates and our Village Engineer, John Eisenman's long association with Amberley, the knowledge they bring with regard to our infrastructure is invaluable. The relationship predates the acquisition of Amberley Green, for example, and they are able to advise council on the condition of the dam that is not up to ODNR standards and provide several options for bringing it up to code in a timely manner that will potentially save the village hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines. CDS advises and provides planning for bridges, roads, traffic lights and systems, crosswalks -- essentially all of the things that keep our roads and operations running safely and smoothly.

CDS has not raised their consulting rates since 2009, and only just this month brought us a new rate sheet which detailed rate increases that on average are not more than 3.4%. Council, in light of  the history and knowledge that CDS brings to Amberley, as well as the expertise and high rating by the Ohio Dept. of Transportation, its reputation among the over 25 other jurisdictions it represents, its ease of accessibility to village staff, and satisfaction with prior service, voted at last night's council meeting to approve the rate increases.

Neighborhood Networking

At a recent meeting of the Amberley Women's Forum, the topic of an Amberley Village neighborhood directory was discussed. One resident who had moved here from Terrace Park, told and showed us the great Terrace Park directory that she had kept when she moved to Amberley. It contained lists of babysitters, referrals for roofers, lawn care, mechanics, and other local businesses that had actually been used by residents. If you were looking for someone to check on your house while you were on vacation, it was easy to see who your neighbors were. Rollman Estates used to publish a  neighborhood directory and Brookwood has a neighborhood listing. Wouldn't it be nice, we thought, if Amberley could do this? And wouldn't it be even cooler if it could be done online, without incurring any printing costs?

Shortly after, Peg Conway read an article about a local Cincinnati community that was using an online "closed" networking website to do exactly what we envisioned. It is called "Nextdoor." Verified residents of a community who live within the specified boundaries are invited to join and to invite their neighbors to join. Members can create subgroups within the larger group, such as bookclubs and garden groups. Members can make referrals for local businesses and babysitters. Best of all, it makes it easy to figure out who our neighbors are.  CNet reviewed Nextdoor when it first launched in October 2011 and The New York Times also gave it a positive review in May of 2012.

When you receive your invitation to join Nextdoor, we hope you will join! It is just one more way to keep Amberley residents connnected.  If you don't live in Amberley, you can set up your own Nextdoor community here.

Budget Time

Last week the Finance Committee of Council met to discuss and make recommendations to Council for the 2013 budget. Thanks to the culture of austerity that pervades the Amberley Village administrative offices, very nearly every single line item of the 2012 budget is coming in significantly under budget for the year. Under the leadership of Village Manager Scot Lahrmer, Chief Rich Wallace, and Public Works Supervisor Steve Rasfeld, village staff has worked hard to reduce expenses in every area of the Village. Even Council is making the move to go completely paperless, for which I am extremely grateful! Our staff is to be commended for the seriousness and creativity with which they have tackled our expenses -- all while their own salaries have been frozen since 2010 and their compensation and benefits are under continual review by Council.

In the proposed budget, 2013 expenses are projected at $4.8 million, with estimated revenues of $5.5 million.  While at first glance this looks like a surplus (called a positive fund balance in municipal finance), the real significance lies in what is NOT appropriated.  Margin notations in the proposed budget showed more than $1 million in equipment purchases and capital improvements that are being deferred.  These unfunded items include police cruisers, fire hoses, upgraded traffic signals and lights at the intersection of Ridge and Section, maintenance vehicles, and repairs to Village Hall. Additionally, the 2013 budget included a contingency of $250,000, which will be reduced to $5,000 to $25,000.

While the budgeted appropriations going into 2013 are less than last year, we still face a deficit of $1.3 million in the General Fund balance. Also, we face significant capital expenses in the future, which the Finance committee will begin planning for in the near future.  Passing the Police Levy in the spring and, most recently, paying off the debt on Amberley Green which we were able to do because of a once-in-a-lifetime estate tax windfall, are positive steps in a process that must continue to move forward toward re-establishing Amberley's sound financial footing. As a Council, we must continue to work with village staff to find ways to sustain a healthy balance sheet in all areas. 

Kennedy Heights Arts Center

In case you missed seeing the banner at the corner of Ridge and Section Roads, or missed the event listing on the Amberley Village website, yesterday was an "Amberley Afternoon" at the Kennedy Heights Arts Center.  Located at 6546 Montgomery Road in Kennedy Heights, the Center is less than a five minute drive from most of Amberley. It's close enough to walk or run to as well, as I've run past it many times myself. Which is probably what you do too -- walk, run, or drive past without stopping to see what's inside.

FotoFocus Exhibit "Let's Face It"

Yesterday, a gorgeous fall day in Cincinnati, I stopped by to see what the Kennedy Heights Arts Center was all about. From the moment I stepped inside the historic gothic mansion, I was both surprised and impressed. To my immediate left, in what was once most likely the parlor, is a bright and airy gift shop. The rest of the first floor is also filled with sunlight -- which is not something you often see in a house such as this one, which was built in 1875 and was once the home of Lewis Kennedy, developer of Kennedy Heights.

Conway & Stern/McIntosh families with Executive Dir. Ellen Muse-Lindeman

The Arts Center is currently exhibiting the works of photographers Melvin Grier, Michael Kearns, and Michael Wilson, as part of the city-wide FotoFocus exhibition. It is also a participant in the Taft Museum's Art for All program and is hosting a reproduction of Robert S. Duncanson's "Landscape Mural." Last summer it participated in the "Play Me I'm Yours" piano project by ArtWorks.

Community art created with Cedric Michael Cox

The Center sponsors programs for children and adults and also hosts an Artist in Residence. I don't know what took me so long to go inside this neighborhood gem, but I hope that Amberley residents don't wait for another invitation other than this one to stop by for a visit.