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Boston Heights Overlook
Not an official public document by, of or for the Village of Boston Heights OH.
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Boston Heights Overlook |
This is a publication of
Boston Heights Overlook. Not an official public document by, of or for the Village of Boston Heights OH. |
PROJECT MOVED!
The US Army
plan: an Army Reserve Center
on 22 acres at Olde 8 and Hines Hill Roads, now planned for Chamberlin Road in Twinsburg. |
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Links:
Notices
Proposal
Village Response
Citizens Rally
In the News FAQ 
Reader
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Updated: 1 February 2008 |
PROPOSED ARMY CENTER MOVED TO TWINSBURG!
News:
"Army Reserve nearly ready to open Twinsburg training center, shop", Cleveland Plain Dealer, 1 Feb 2008.
For the new Twinsburg site (now under construction, June 2006):
Click here for the Environmental Assessment and Findings document
;
caution: it's huge!
It is possible that this same document may be found at the
Twinsburg Public Library.
At the Village Council Meeting of 12 February 2003 Mayor McFall re-iterated his communication with Rep. Steve LaTourette's office: The Army is reported to be no longer planning to build its Center in Boston Heights, and a news conference would soon be arranged to make that announcement - "within weeks".
On 26 November 2002, the US Government acquired the land slated for the Army Reserve Center, apparently without consulting the Village Planning Commission as is usual for lot splits. The new parcel is #1300941.
Mayor McFall responds: "Boston Heights' side of the story", a letter to the Akron Beacon Journal, 25 Nov 2002. This is in response to Major Michael Kiene's "Army Reserve Center would benefit area" letter to the Akron Beacon Journal, 06 Nov 2002, wherein he offers a view on the origins of the local opposition to the center.
More on the land swap proposed for the Army Reserve Center; see
"Army Reserve Considers Coit Road Site"
Plain Dealer 9 Nov 2002 and
"Boston Heights might dodge Army Reserve Center"
Akron Beacon Journal, 8 Nov 2002.
Congressman LaTourette moves to relocate or block the Army Center; see
"New site is sought for Army Reserve"
Akron Beacon Journal, 19 Oct 2002 and
"LaTourette peddles land swap to help Boston Heights" Cleveland Plain Dealer, 24 Oct 2002.
Courtesy of Major Michael Kiene, here is the slide presentation from the Town Hall Meeting on 03 October 2002.
The Boston Heights Village Council, at its 09 October meeting, passed Resolution 22-2002 opposing the location of the Army Reserve Center in the village.
Here are some interesting (sometimes bizarre) perspectives in letters to the Akron Beacon Journal:
"Boston Heights' bad karma" (21-Oct);
"Weekend Warriors" (16-Oct);
"Good neighbors" (10-Oct);
"NIMBY" (29-Sep);
"Suddenly, residents are worried about nature" (25-Sep).
On 30 August 2002, local newspapers carried a 2nd
Public Notice
on the proposed Army Reserve Center, announcing the finalization of the
Environmental Assessment - Finding of No Significant Impact. For summary transcriptions:
Click here for the FNSI summary
;
and click here for the public-comment and response summary
.
The complete final document, with public comments, is available at the
Nordonia Public Library (not online).
On 03 July 2002, local newspapers carried a
legal notice
that gave the first word of the proposed Army Reserve Center.
This started a 30-day period for public comment. Apparently the Village government
did not receive any notice before this.
(Note: this was disputed by the Army Reserve;
at the 03 October Town Hall Meeting, Major Kiene noted that the Army had contacted
the Boston Height Village Engineer in February 2002, expressing interest in the site and asking for
zoning and utility information. The Village response is that this sort of casual
inquiry is not notification, and that the Village Planning Commission should have
been consulted.)
The Center is to be built on
22 acres at Olde 8 Rd., just south of
E. Hines Hill Rd.
The complete proposal, in the form of a draft Environmental Assessment and
Finding of No Significant Impact, is found at
http://www.usarc.army.mil/88thrsc/news/archive/enviromental_assessment_complete.asp, but
since the web link seems to lead to the 88th's splash page, try these direct links:
Here is the Army's $1.2M Land Acquisition Budget for this project.
The Boston Heights Village Council, at its 09 October meeting, passed Resolution 22-2002 opposing the location of the Army Reserve Center in the village.
On 3 October 2002, the Village and the Army hosted another Town Hall Meeting to
allow the Army Reserve to explain the proposed Center project. Here is the
Army Press Release.
Once again, about 150-200 people attended.
Staffers from the offices of Congressman Steve LaTourette and
Senator DeWine were on hand.
Representatives from the Army Corps of Engineers and the Army Reserve came to make
their case, principally through an able and amiable presentation by Major Michael Kiene
of the the Office of the Chief of the Army Reserve. This was answered by a trio of
Village councilors, Dr. Mike Cheung, Ms. Terri Slane, and Mr. Bill Goncy, who presented
the objections of the citizens and the Village. A phalanx of unhappy citizens then made
their own objections known.
Click here for Major Kiene's slide presentation.
New developments included objections to the location of the Center in Boston Heights; click to read:
John Debo, head of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park (letter)
,
Senator Mike DeWine (letter), and
the Summit County Council (resolution)
.
A number of people, including Mr. John Codrea and Major Kiene, reiterated the idea of
locating the proposed center on the
former Coliseum site,
now a portion of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. While not an issue at the meeting,
it should be noted that this site at Rt 303 & Rt 271 is south of
the Turnpike, and so outside the Army's geographic criterion for this project.
Previously, on the evening of 5 September 2002, the Village held a
Special Town Hall Public Meeting, to which
all residents were invited, along with
Rep. LaTourette, Sen. DeWine and Sen. Voinovich. Those worthies each sent a staff member;
media reporters and cameras were also present. About 150-200 people attended, and 21 spoke,
all in opposition to the center. Included in that group were four Village Councilors
(Mr. Goncy, Ms. Slane, Dr. Cheung, Mr. Palumbo), as well as Mary Ann Day, Trustee of adjacent
Northfield Center Township.
Dino DiSanto, representing Rep. LaTourette, noted that the Army had already purchased
the property, on or around 29 August -- earlier than expected. (Note: this was
contradicted in the meeting of 03 October; the Army's purchase offer was accepted but
had not yet closed as of that date. It does seem to have been completed as of 26 November.)
He also conveyed this message from the Congressman:
He is working to arrange a public meeting with the Army Reserve and Army Corps of Engineers, so
that they can explain the proposed base and their view of the impacts on the village.
If after that meeting, Village officials and the community are still opposed, he will
attempt to influence the Army to swap the land for a more suitable site elsewhere.
Barring that, he will attempt to block the $24M fund allocation required to build the
base (there is of course no guarantee of success in that effort).
Many Village residents oppose the proposed center, mostly due to quality-of-life issues like vastly increased weekend traffic, conflict with adjacent residential areas, and proximity to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Other residents do not oppose the center, citing support for the U.S. armed forces and its needs. A group of "Concerned Citizens of Boston Heights" has distributed a letter of opposition and, more recently, a circular of opposition, citing grounds for opposing the center.
The Village government's response to this plan has been generally negative, mostly due to impact of heavy trucks on the roads and lack of income from property and income taxes. While these problems would apply to any location, the burden is seen to be too large in proportion to the size of the village (400 families in 7 sq.miles). Apparently there was no consulation until a meeting on 13 August between Mayor McFall et al. and representatives of the U.S.Army.
Q: What is the Army's proposal, exactly?
A: OBSOLETE It's best explained by the Army's legal notice
and the complete set of documents linked from it.
Briefly, the Army plans to consolidate several equipment and training centers in the
Akron-Cleveland area into one new center in Boston Heights. The chosen site is the part
of the wooded lot between Olde 8 Rd. and the driving range, nearest the turnpike.
This is about 22 acres.
Q: What about that rumor that the Army was going to buy the
Papes "Sheep Farm" too?
A: Debunked -- the Army denied any such plan during its meeting with the Village
on 13 August. Also, see this correspondence
with the Army Corps of Engineers.
Q: Does the Village zoning allow this center?
A: OBSOLETE First and most importantly, the Army has informed the Village that, while they
will make a reasonable effort to accommodate the community, they are not subject to the
Village's Zoning Plan.
The parcel is currently zoned
OP Office/Professional. The office portion of
the proposed use and preliminary site plan might be conformant with the Village
OP zoning rules. The planned material storage/shipping and truck maintenance, and
perhaps much of the training, probably is not.
Q: Does the Army expect to make use of the Village police, fire and EMS services?
A: OBSOLETE Yes, says the Army's Environmental Assessment document. The Village raised the
question of fee-for-service in lieu of taxes, but this is reported to be unresolved.
Q: Will the center employees or reservists pay income tax to the Village?
A: OBSOLETE Active and Reserve members of the U.S. military do not pay municipal income tax,
according to the
Ohio Revised Code 718.01(F)(1).
There will be perhaps 30 civilian employees at the
center who will be subject to the Village income tax of 1.5%.
Q: Will the center pay property taxes to the Village or Hudson School District?
A: No, as property of the Federal Government, the center will pay no property taxes.
The previous owner
paid about $10,171 per year on the undeveloped 22 acres (pro rata), of
which less than $1000 went to the Village.
Q: What about "Payment in Lieu of Taxes" (aka PILT)?
A: PILT is a payment sometimes made by the Federal Government to local governments,
to account for some of the direct costs of supporting their property and installations.
Clerk-Treasurer Zeman advises us that the Village currently receives $76.12 per year
as PILT for the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. That's for over 1500 acres, many structures,
and miles of roads. Not much help there!
Q: Who owns this land right now?
A: OBSOLETE At the Town Hall Meeting of 5 Sep 2002, the village was informed by Rep. LaTourette's
office that the U.S. Army had purchased the property on or about 29 August.
This was contradicted in the meeting of 03 October; the Army's purchase offer was
accepted in August 2002 in order to use the funds in Fiscal Year 2002,
but the purchase had not yet closed as of 03 October. Note: the purchase did close 26 November 2002.
The previous owner was a limited partnership, whose legal agent is Mark T. Coffin:
Second Green LP 3201 Enterprise Parkway #140 Beachwood, OH 44122
The single general partner for the L.P. is Fairway Properties, Inc., same agent but
at #220 of that same address. That's also the legal agent for Second Fairway LP,
which owns the adjacent driving range "The Range", as well as one of its four general partners.
The entire 32 acres was bought from Hudson Park Estates Inc. & Woodale Estates Inc.
on 14 April 2000, for $639,987. HPE/WE is the owner of the adjacent
golf course, "Boston Hills Country Club", and uses the same Pepper Pike address as
Boston Hills Leasing, one of the other partners in the driving range.
As of 2000, the
president of Hudson Park Estates Inc. was Arthur W. Treuhaft.
Q: Does the site have water and sanitary sewer?
A: OBSOLETE Nearly. Water and sewer mains run along Hine Hills Road, east-west.
Since the Army is not planning to buy the land at the corner of Olde 8 and Hines Hill,
the lines will have to be extended south to their site, just 800 feet or less. It was
pointed out at the 04 October meeting that the sewer line is a forced main, and so that
the Army will need lift/pump stations -- and backup power for the village's unreliable
electrical supply.
Q: When is the center going to be built?
A: OBSOLETE According to the Plain Dealer, 7-Sep-2002: "The Army will begin designing
the facility in November and
award a construction contract
in December 2003, said
project manager Joseph Gates
of the Army Corps of
Engineers. Construction will
begin in 2004."
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