Amberley's Neighborhood School

When my husband was growing up in Amberley, he attended his neighborhood school for elementary school, which, at the time, was Losantiville School. I attended my own neighborhood schools while growing up in Finneytown. In fact, for most of us, the neighborhood school was our school, unless our parents made a different choice -- say to send the kids to parochial school. In recent decades, here in Cincinnati, the neighborhood school has been replaced by the magnet school. Parents stand in line for days, often in inclement weather, to enroll their children in select schools of choice, because of the perception, often based in reality, that the neighborhood school is unable to adequately meet the educational needs of their children.

When my family moved to Amberley in 1997, I could not tell you what our neighborhood school was. Amberley didn't have its own school and as far as I could tell, where I sent my child to public school depended on what quadrant I lived in. Although Amberley only comprises 3.5 square miles, our children could go to any one of three "neighborhood" schools. Most Amberley parents did as we did and sent their kids to private school.

Things have changed since 1997. The former Pleasant Ridge Elementary School, a neighborhood school in CPS for over 100 years, was rebuilt and re-opened as PRM (Pleasant Ridge Montessori). A very dedicated  group of parents and community volunteers have been working tirelessly since 2006 to make this school a top-performing neighborhood school for Pleasant Ridge, Golf Manor, and Amberley Village. Through the very active involvement of educators, community leaders, parents, and Xavier University, PRM has seen its academic performance indicators rise and its socio-economic makeup become more diverse and more closely resemble the neighborhood where it is located.

Last night I attended a community meeting at PRM where the focus was on the next steps for the school. From my estimation, over 200 community members were in attendance. Most were parents of PRM students, but additonally there were local elected officials from all three communities served by the school, representatives from social service agencies and other interested community members.  This is an extremely involved parent body!  For a community like Amberley, which has not had a neighborhood school to call its own since it was incorporated, we are very lucky to have this rising star of Cincinnati Public Schools as our neighborhood school. The best part is, parents of Amberley kids can enroll their kids in a school where the parents and teachers are as involved as any private or magnet school for free and without camping out for a week.

If you are a PRM parent and Amberley resident, please leave a comment about PRM in the comment section of this post. I'd love to hear your thoughts on PRM. If you are interested in the next steps for PRM, there is another community meeting on May 22nd at 5:30 at the school itself.

Natalie

"Green"

Running on Amberley Green

When I was campaigning for council, I was derided a couple of times for my green signs. Although the signs, in my mind, depicted how I felt about Amberley -- green, rolling hills -- they were seen as being an indicator of another kind of "green." The green of someone who cares about the environment. Did this interpretation of  a one dimensional yard sign hurt my feelings? Absolutely not! On the contrary, I welcomed it, and if I happened to lose those two votes (I did), I hope that the passage of time has proven that green is a sign of foresight and progressiveness when it comes to economic development and the future of Amberley and Cincinnati.

Recently, Amberley Village Council voted in favor of an agreement that would give The Walnut Group the exclusive right to conduct a due diligence investigation into the feasiblity of developing Amberley Green consistent with Amberley's Long Range Plan. The agreement, Resolution 2013-09, requires that The Walnut Group develop detailed site plans, including street and utility diagrams, street layouts, specific designs, as well as possible tenants, timing, and economics. Because the concept plan of The Walnut Group is consistent with Amberley's published Long Range Plan, it includes strong references to Amberley's Vision Pillars that require sustainable and ecological practices as well as connectivity.

Which brings me back to "green." According to this morning's Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati is ten years ahead of other municipalities in terms of sustainablility. Last week, I wrote about our recycling program. We have been gardening at Amberley Green for a year. Tomorrow at 6:00PM, Amberley is celebrating nine years of being a Tree City, USA community. Next month, on May 19th, we will be hosting "One Stop Drop," a large-scale recycling event at Amberley Green where residents can bring documents for shredding, small electric appliances for recycling, and any kind of shoe to give to foundations that will reuse them.

A strong componant of building a greener community is the ability of residents to commute within the area without the use of cars. Cycle trails, sidewalks, and walking paths make a community more friendly and, from an economic standpoint, a more desirable area in which to buy a house and raise a family. The Walnut Group's concept plan includes a town square, Univeral Design housing, a corporate tenant, plenty of green space and walking paths. It is up to us, the citizens of Amberley Village, to insist on a safe means to connect to Amberley Green, French Park, and our other myriad amenities, without needing to resort to our cars.

If you haven't yet connected with your neighbors on Amberley Village Nextdoor, please accept my invitation to do so now. Stay informed! CLICK HERE.

Fill Up That Bin!

Ok, so you've got your new 65 gallon recycle bin. Have you filled it up yet? I mean, have you really filled it up? Are you maximizing the recycle potential of your trash?

The most recent issue of Hamilton County Solid Waste & Recycling's newsletter "WasteLine" has Amberley Village falling out of the top 10 municipalities for recycling. The truth is, our recycling rate stayed almost the same, but our solid waste output increased.

As I drive around Amberley on Friday's, I notice a lot of recyclable items stacked at the curb alongside the bins. Cardboard boxes, for example, are recyclable if you break them down and put them in the new, larger bin. In my household, I've become a super recycler -- empty toilet paper, paper towel, or gift wrap tubes go into the bin. Empty tissue boxes also go into the bin. In fact, I've been guilty of pulling recyclable items out of the trash and putting them where they belong -- in the recycle bin. If you're not sure what can be recycled, clicke HERE for a list.

 Now I'll get off my (recyclable, cardboard) soapbox and talk about something else. Trash in the streets. This usually occurs just after trash day, but I have a favor to ask. We all need to take care of our community. If you see that something from your garbage has blown out of the can, or for some reason not made it into the truck, please pick it up and dispose of it. If you see someone has thrown a beer can into your yard over the night, please pick it up and recycle it. I always ask myself, if I don't pick it up, who will?  All of us working collectively can resolve this issue and go far to keeping Amberley the beautiful community that we love. 

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.