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Ed Hauser's Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority Public Records Request - one man for the citizensSubmitted by Norm Roulet on Mon, 12/18/2006 - 01:25.
There is lots of major news related to the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority and their plans for the region, these days. They have appointed a new President, Adam Wasserman, to replace Gary Failor, and their efforts to bulldoze the East Bank of the Flats, for developer Scott Wolstein and his mother, have moved through the Cleveland Planning Commission - next stop, court. More important, outside public news and vision, the Port Authority is in the process of a costly review of the need for their operations and facilities, and there is at least one effort in town to make that analysis more useful, honest, public and visible, thanks to one man... port watchdog "Citizen" Ed Hauser, of course. Read his public records requests and correspondence on this below, as an excellent demonstration of how citizens should act in NEO. Then think, why does he care so much, and do you care enough?
Date: Fri, 15 Dec 2006 13:25:16 -0800 (PST) Dear Media Contacts: Date: Fri, 15 Dec 2006 13:12:16 -0800 (PST) Subject: Port Public Records Request & Comments Dear Public Officials: December 15, 2006 To: Gary Failor President Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority 1375 East Ninth Street, Suite 2300 Cleveland, Ohio 44114 From: Ed Hauser 11125 Lake Avenue #402 Cleveland, Ohio 44102 cc: Interested Citizens, Organizations, Public Officials and the Media Subject: Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority: Public Records Request 2006-1 Dear President Failor: Pursuant to the Ohio's Sunshine Laws and the Federal Freedom of Information Act, please assemble and provide the following public records listed below for inspection and/or copying. Please send me a written reply to this public records request within five business days to notify me which of the records will be available for immediate inspection and/or copying. Afterward, I will contact you to arrange for a date and time for me to inspect the assembled public records while the Port Authority assembles the remainder of the public records, if needed. 1) Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority (Port Authority) Relocation Feasibility Study 1.1) Request for Qualifications (RFQ) / Letters-of Interest (LOI) 1.2) Requests for Proposals (RFP) 1.3) Scope of Work and /or Services (SOW/S) 1.4) All Consultants Responses to the RFQ, LOI, RFP, and SOW/S 1.5) Documentation of the Consultants interviews and selection process 1.6) Contract with URS Corporation for the Port Authority Relocation Feasibility Study 1.7) Revised Scope of Work /Services with URS Corporation 1.8) Documentation of meetings and correspondence with the city of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County 2) Proposals and Meetings with Developers and/or Consultants for the Future Development of the Port Authority Eastside Maritime Facilities/Properties (Dock 20-Dock 30) 2.1) Request for Qualifications (RFQ) / Letters-of Interest (LOI) 2.2) Request for Proposals (RFP) 2.3) Scope of Work and /or Services (SOW/S) 2.4) All Developer's and/or Consultant's responses to the RFQ, LOI, RFP, and SOW/S 2.5) Documentation of Future Plans submitted by Developers and/or Consultants 2.6) Documentation of the Developers and/or Consultants interviews and selection process 2.7) Agreements and/or Contracts with Developers and/or Consultants for Future Development 2.8) Documentation of meetings and correspondence with the city of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County 2.9) Documentation of the travel itinerary and expense reports for John Carney and/or Port Authority staff for travel to and from Las Vegas, Nevada for a convention in May 2006. Respectfully submitted, Ed Hauser > September 8, 2006
To: John Carney, Chair; Michael Wager, Vice Chair; Monte Ahuja; Rose Rodriguez-Bardwell; Candace Jones; Robert Peto; Steven Williams; and Leonard Young One Cleveland Center
From: cc: Interested Citizens, Public Officials, Organizations and the Media Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority, President- Gary Failor Subject: Request for the Port Authority to cancel its contract with URS regarding the Port Relocation Feasibility Study *REPLY REQUESTED* Dear Board of Directors: I am requesting that the Port Authority Board of Directors cancel its contract with URS regarding the Port Relocation Feasibility Study. The Port Authority and URS have 60 days from July 21, 2006 to cancel this contract. For the following reason and concerns, I believe the Port Authority should cancel the contract with URS for the Port Relocation Study: * Cuyahoga County Planning Commission has been in the process of conducting a comprehensive study for the entire Port of Cleveland * US Army Corps of Engineers is conducting an Environmental Impact Statement for the Dredged Materials Management Plan * No Public Consensus to relocate the entire Port Authority eastside maritime facilities * No public consensus to build a new Port Authority cargo handling facility on Whiskey Island Marina * Missing public records regarding the last study between the Port Authority, URS and Oglebay Norton * Port Authority deleted its obligation to conduct public hearings for its future development plans from its Rules and Regulations and lobbied state legislators to repeal those laws from the Ohio Revised Code * Pattern of dysfunctional planning efforts by the Port Authority for future development plans * Potential conflict of interest between the Port Authority Chair and the proposed developer Respectfully submitted, Ed Hauser August 23, 2006
To: From: cc: Interested Citizens, Public Officials, Organizations, Stakeholders, and the Media Subject: Dear Honorable Board of County Commissioners: On July 27 and August 10, 2006, I testified in front of the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) making an urgent request for the county to proceed with its Cleveland Lakefront / Cuyahoga River Maritime Facilities Study for $200,000. On July 21, the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority (Port Authority) approved a Port Relocation Feasibility Study for $900,000. The urgency of my request is because of a statement made in a Plain Dealer article, "The county, which set aside money for its own independent study last year, will now drop those plans and work with the port." The county administrator confirmed that to be true, at this time. Therefore, I am resubmitting my request in writing and ask the BOCC reconsider my formal request for the county to proceed with its Cleveland Lakefront / Cuyahoga River Maritime Facilities Study. I will briefly explain the logic behind my request and that the taxpayers must finally get the information we need to make logical decisions regarding Port Authority, private maritime operators and the Cleveland waterfront. I am attaching a "Detailed Timeline" and "Brief Timeline" of waterfront planning efforts in Cleveland during the last decade. The Timelines demonstrate the dysfunctional planning efforts for our waterfront and the need for valid studies and assessments regarding our waterways. For example, over a nine (9) year period, the plans for Cuyahoga County's Whiskey Island Parkland (now Wendy Park) have changed nine (9) times. This type of dysfunctional planning can no longer be tolerated. The people of Northeast Ohio deserve a "comprehensive" assessment of the current and future maritime needs for the public and private operations along the lakefront and riverfront. In the very near future, I will submit extensive public record requests to the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority, Cuyahoga County, and the city of Cleveland. For over eight (8) years, I have participated in the public processes for waterfront development and will continue to investigate how our governments operate and spend our tax dollars. I will also suggest the "Next Steps" that need to taken to restore the public's trust and confidence in planning for Cleveland's waterways. The Cuyahoga County Planning Commission and Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority are taking two very different approaches to its studies and assessments. The county will do a comprehensive study of the current and future needs of the maritime operations along the lakefront and riverfront. The Port Authority is narrowly focused on relocating its east side operations and building a new gravel dock. Next Steps to Restore the Public's Trust and Confidence in Planning for Our Waterways 1) Proceed with the County's Cleveland Lakefront / Cuyahoga River Maritime Facilities Study (Project completion within ten months after Project Award date) Quoted from the County's Maritime Study - Problem Statement: As a major partner in the Northeast Ohio economy, the BOCC [Board of County Commissioners] believes that the Cleveland Harbor lacks a comprehensive strategy for what its maritime and public role will be in the future and the markets it will serve. This lack of strategy affects the Harbor's long-term viability and capability, the maritime operators that utilize Port facilities, the industries that depend on the maritime shipping and the public that seeks increasing access to Lake Erie and the Cuyahoga River. Therefore, the BOCC has decided to undertake a study of the maritime facilities of the Cleveland Lakefront and the Cuyahoga River to obtain the necessary information and analysis to assist them and their partners in making key decisions in regards to:
2) Cancel the contract between the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority and URS for the Port Relocation Feasibility Study - The contract includes a 60-day cancellation option by either party (Project completed within six months) The Port Authority's relocation study is a waste of taxpayer money because: 2a) Results of the US Army Corps of Engineer's federal mandated Dredged Material Management Plan (DMMP) and the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will not be available until January 2008. * Results may determine that a new Confined Disposal Facility (CDF) will be built on a site other than the Cleveland Harbor West Breakwall. 2b) Building a new Gravel Dock for Oglebay Norton on the County's Whiskey Island Marina property has nothing to do with relocating the Port Authority's East Side Operations to the West Breakwall. * This Gravel Dock Project will cost the county taxpayers over $30 million with a Return on Investment (ROI) of over 150 years. Costs = $33.5 Million = Construction ($20.5 M) + Land Acquisition ($6 M) + Boater Long Term Leases ($2 M) + Access Road ($3 M) + Bridge ($2 M). The Port leases 10 acres for bulk storage on Dock 20 for about $200K/year. ROI=167.5 years=$33.5M/$200K=Unacceptable 3) After the results and findings of the County's Cleveland Lakefront / Cuyahoga River Maritime Facilities Study; and the USACE Dredged Material Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement: * Revisit the feasibility of the Port Authority's Port Relocation Feasibility Study.
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