Those of us who bank at Chase were dismayed to learn that the bank's last day in Mantua will be May 31. The bank is transferring its staff to Streetsboro, and the investment officer will travel to Chase in Aurora if a customer would rather bank there than go to Streetsboro. I do not know/remember which other branches have safety deposit boxes. Personally, the loss of the convenience of having a bank with everything I want or need only four miles away is disgruntling, and I anticipate finding a new bank.
OK, so is this post just to use the blog for a boo-hoo session? No. Read on.
A week or so ago, a friend called and asked what I knew about the closing and told me several things she had heard, at least one of which made NO sense and which I am not going to repeat simply because illogical things have a way of growing faster than reasonable ones.
I asked someone in a position to know the facts, and here they are, as I remember them:
The bank does not meet current service standards in regard to handicapped access, and it also contains asbestos. The asbestos, as I understand it, is not a problem as long as it is contained.
Adding handicapped access would be quite expensive, and [I believe] would also require a lot of work to deal with the asbestos properly. Chase corporate is unwilling to do that.
Some of us, after hearing about the planned closure, thought the building would be a perfect place for a coffee shop like Maggie's.
Well, that would actually be more complicated (envision big dollar signs) than renovating just for the bank.
Kitchens are expensive, if the pastries were to be made on the spot. More asbestos mitigation, as well. I don't remember what requirements apply if the pastries are made off site. There are also plumbing requirements for coffee making equipment.
For the public, restrooms would be necessary, since the employee restroom is in the basement. Obviously, that does not provide handicapped access.
Handicapped access from the outside would have to be installed as well.
Even if I have a couple of small details not quite right, I can assure you, dear readers, that this information is a lot more reasonable than the rumor I heard.
It is a frustrating development. The Downtown Mantua Revitalization Corporation has done huge amounts of good work to live up to its mission, and the results are becoming apparent. But for every step forward, it seems as if there's at least a half step forced backwards. Sometimes comically pessimistic one-liners seem true, like this one: No good deed goes unpunished. On the other hand, this may be an opportunity somehow.
No one knows what will be done with the building and site.
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.
