The Times Free Press- CLEVELAND, Tenn. — The Cleveland City Council does not have a united vision concerning what changes, if any, ought to be
The Times Free Press- CLEVELAND, Tenn. — The Cleveland City Council does not have a united vision concerning what changes, if any, ought to be considered concerning the city’s 22-year-old charter. On Monday, Councilman Bill Estes called for his peers to ensure that the revived panel has clear directions regarding its assignment, citing a lack of clarity voiced by a number of committee members that have spoke to him. “We really are sending a mixed message to them,” Estes said. City Councilman Avery Johnson, who served on the charter committee in 1992 and is serving on the reformed panel, expressed a similar viewpoint. “My main concern is that the city of Cleveland has grown so much in the last 22 years, that when we first wrote the charter maybe we did not anticipate all the growth that is in place now,” Johnson said. During the reconvened committee’s Nov. 4 meeting, he asked the body to take a look at the entire charter and to pay special attention to the duties and responsibilities of the city manager, mayor and vice mayor. He also called for the panel to consider ways to improve diversity on the city’s committees. Vice Mayor George Poe voiced the need for a stronger role by the City Council concerning key administrative decisions, citing the selection of department heads as an example. In such situations, the city manger should bring a department head selection to the City Council for approval, Poe said. Councilman Richard Banks supported Poe’s stance, calling for the City Council to ratify department head decisions and likening it to the process of Congress approving a presidential Supreme Court nomination. Councilman David May said he could support such a measure if it improved “the checks and balances” of government. Cleveland’s charter review committee meets today at the City Annex Building at 5:30 p.m. The Times Free Press- CLEVELAND, Tenn. — Cleveland Utility officials said Charter Communications is slow to cooperate with the needs of the electric division. In a recent meeting, Bart Borden, vice president of the electric division, reported problems regarding a long-standing program to attach meters to cable power supply lines and a lack of response concerning the transfer of Charter lines from old wooden utility poles to new steel poles. After receiving no response after requesting that Charter Communications identify a preferred communications contractor to handle 26 recent pole transfers, Cleveland Utilities finally exercised its right to take on the task in-house, said Borden. Line crews worked 18 of the required transfers along Peerless Road, which had received new steel utility poles in 2012, he said. Eight more transfer were conducted in other parts of the city. Once the transfers are complete, the old wooden poles can be removed, said Ken Webb, president and CEO of Cleveland Utilities. “We have customers calling, wanting them [the wooden poles] removed,” Borden said. Board member Chari Buckner asked why Charter will not respond to the transfer requests. “They really won’t give us an answer to that,” said Borden, stating that the cable company was “very aware of the need” and has 243 pending pole transfers. Press release- “Grateful” was Robert Goins’ reaction upon learning a local business was replacing maintenance equipment stolen last month from Fort Hill Cemetery where he volunteers as caregiver of the veterans’ section. Jim Rush Funeral and Cremation Services donated a new lawnmower and leaf blower to Goins and the cemetery on Monday in the wake of the Oct. 16 burglary of Fort Hill’s maintenance shed. “It just goes to show you that some people really care about you,” Goins said. “It makes me feel real good. This funeral home buried my mother and father. They’ve always been real good to us.” Speaking on behalf of Jim Rush Funeral and Cremation Services, Marc Rush said, “We’re very patriotic, and we appreciate our veterans. We appreciate their service, and they need to be taken care of — both during their lives and after death.”The funeral home purchased the equipment from two local businesses. “We especially appreciate David Vassey, of Vassey Lawn and Garden Center, and Kenneth Malone at Beaty’s Feed and Hardware,” Rush said.
