Blogger Foreword: First of all, my apologies to all for such a long lapse and still no posts about the last trustees meeting. And this isn't going to be, either. This week is like a 3-pound bag that has to have 10 pounds stuffed into it. This post is a kind of "two-fer": It is an ad for The Mantua Restoration Society, Inc.,
second annual meeting, and it also reports the content of Mark Hall's announcement in the Club and Committee Reports section of the April 17 meeting.
Mark announced the second annual meeting of The Mantua Restoration Society, Inc., on Sunday, April 27, at the Mantua Center school building, 11741 Center Road.
Gather at 1:00 for a [very] light lunch of sandwiches, veggies, and cookies.
The business meeting will be at 1:30, followed by guest speaker Steve Coon at 2:00 p.m.
As of last Thursday, Jonathan Sandvick, Sandvick Architects, Inc., would be attending also. As of today, Thursday, April 25, that has become a little uncertain. However, we believe that a representative of the firm will still be there.
Mark gave a brief bio of Mr. Sandvick, which had too much detail delivered faster than I could keep up. However, here is a brief list of Mr. Sandvick's credentials, derived from information posted on the Internet at www.sandvickarchitects.com/page7Html. That is not a "live" link in the blog, but if you Google it or Jonathan Sandvick, you should get it. The key to whether you have the same source that Mark and I worked from is the page 7 as part of the address.
Here is a partial list of Jonathan Sandvick's qualifications and his work in historic preservation.
He earned a B.A. and M.A. in architecture from Kent State University.
He is or is part of
Vice Chair of Heritage Ohio, which handles physical restoration (as opposed to archives) in Ohio
Vice Chair of Downtown Cleveland Alliance
Executive Committee of the Cleveland Historic Warehouse District Development Corporation
Trustee of The Cleveland Restoration Society
"Sandvick Architects, Inc., . . . practices sustainable design by applying the principles of historic preservation. . . ."
"Jonathan is an expert in the architectural analysis of historic buildings . . . ."
He "believes that our existing buildings are one of our great storehouses of natural resources imbued with wonderful artistry and history . . . ."
Also attending will be John Zeit, architect, from Kent, who was in the small group which went through the school building when Vic took Steve Coon through it, with a videographer, about a month ago. John has retired from teaching at Stark State College in Canton, where he taught Civil Engineering Technology.
The capstone of the program for those students was the Estimating class, in which students were given blueprints of an existing building with the assignment to renovate it for use as offices for a consulting firm. They presented their plans and estimated costs at the end of the term in as if they were members of a design-build firm competing for the bid. Drawings, cost estimates, and a construction schedule were all part of the presentation
Steve Coon will have a power point presentation about what in historic presentation is called a sense of place. How our building is part of that should become clear to everyone who attends. Plans are in place to video record that presentation. The video of the walkthrough of our building will also be available.
Let me make this as clear as possible: There is far more right than wrong with this 100-year-old building, or it would not have gotten the support that it has from qualified people who do not have a local axe to grind for purely personal, hostile reasons.
Their opinions are worth a great deal because they are based on a wide knowledge of buildings, structures, the economic value of renovation, and conservation of the resources available to a community.
If you have been reading the blog for a while, you don't need me to tell you how different that is from what is often said by the opposition during trustees meetings.
Please come to the Mantua Center school building at 1 p.m. on this Sunday afternoon, April 27. It really is a once in a lifetime opportunity, well worth juggling your schedules for.
About This Blog
The purpose of this blog is to give an accurate account of what is said during Public Comment at Mantua Township Trustees meetings.
Trustees' decisions are in the official minutes, available on request from the Mantua Township Fiscal Officer, Jodi Thompson, at 330-274-8443. The Township charges 10 cents per page. FAX, 330-274-8447. E-mail, fiscalofficer@mantuatownshipohio.gov. The minutes are also posted on the website after they have been approved. That means that there is usually a two-week lag between a given meeting and the minutes being available to read on the website.
Since meetings are the first and third Thursdays of the month, there is a three-week wait during months with five Thursdays.
Other items of interest or the writer's opinions will be included from time to time, clearly identified.
This is not a forum or chat room, but a source of information, so it is closed to outside input.
During the time I have been doing the blog, the posts have expanded to become very detailed accounts of the meetings. Doing that is time consuming, to say the least, and I am going to try to return to the public comment focus, with background and perspective (and the occasional pointed editorial comment). Such additions are usually enclosed in brackets. However, since some extended accounts of the meetings reveal significant things--and character--better than I could by commenting, there will probably still be a fair amount of semi-transcript. (Sigh.)
My thanks to the readers who have found the blog, and to the ones who from time to time tell me that they value it. You have encouraged me when the tedious work of keyboarding has made me wonder why I am doing this. Then you have reminded me, and I am grateful.
Trustees' decisions are in the official minutes, available on request from the Mantua Township Fiscal Officer, Jodi Thompson, at 330-274-8443. The Township charges 10 cents per page. FAX, 330-274-8447. E-mail, fiscalofficer@mantuatownshipohio.gov. The minutes are also posted on the website after they have been approved. That means that there is usually a two-week lag between a given meeting and the minutes being available to read on the website.
Since meetings are the first and third Thursdays of the month, there is a three-week wait during months with five Thursdays.
Other items of interest or the writer's opinions will be included from time to time, clearly identified.
This is not a forum or chat room, but a source of information, so it is closed to outside input.
During the time I have been doing the blog, the posts have expanded to become very detailed accounts of the meetings. Doing that is time consuming, to say the least, and I am going to try to return to the public comment focus, with background and perspective (and the occasional pointed editorial comment). Such additions are usually enclosed in brackets. However, since some extended accounts of the meetings reveal significant things--and character--better than I could by commenting, there will probably still be a fair amount of semi-transcript. (Sigh.)
My thanks to the readers who have found the blog, and to the ones who from time to time tell me that they value it. You have encouraged me when the tedious work of keyboarding has made me wonder why I am doing this. Then you have reminded me, and I am grateful.
Principles
Two ideas guide and support me:
The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.
______Attributed to Edmund Burke
GOOD PREVAILS.
Those ideas are also the reason I have been doing the blog since late February 2011.
I have discovered that a transcript is almost impossible to do and that verbatim accounts are usually not absolutely necessary. When in doubt, I check against a recording.
The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.
______Attributed to Edmund Burke
GOOD PREVAILS.
Those ideas are also the reason I have been doing the blog since late February 2011.
I have discovered that a transcript is almost impossible to do and that verbatim accounts are usually not absolutely necessary. When in doubt, I check against a recording.
