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Don't bury this recommendation
(by Barbara Christian - June 15, 2011)
WINDOW ON MAIN STREET, BY BARBARA CHRISTIAN
Don't bury this recommendation
Recently, Mayor Tom Brick asked educators at a well known area business school to assign students to the task of studying Chagrin Falls. The goal: Find ways to cut costs, raise revenues and improve efficiency.
Four students answered the call and, after several weeks of investigation, presented their findings to Village Council. There were some very good ideas in the batch of suggestions.
For instance, we loved the one about a village pet cemetery. The kids did their homework and found just about every household in town is also home to a dog, cat, bird or other critter and that we spend a ton of money on our pets' care, feeding and, in some cases, even clothing.
We Chagrinites love our pets -- dead or alive -- and the smart young business students tapped into that with their pet cemetery idea. But the challenge is finding a place to put it in our built-up village.
The students suggested setting aside a pet area within Evergreen Hill Cemetery. We can see members of the cemetery board rolling their eyes from here.
But perhaps they shouldn't be so fast in rejecting the idea. Why would the mayor ask for suggestions from the up-and-coming business minds if we are just going to file them away under N for no or A for amusing. Instead, the mayor should form a pet cemetery fact-finding committee and survey residents for their reactions and suggestions.
It's no secret the village could use the extra revenue, although you may wonder how much there is to gain from grave sites for Fido and Fluffy. Well, hold onto your hats. According to the business students' research, Chagrin Falls could make $500,000 to $1 million a year selling plots for pets.
Another advantage is jobs. According to the students' findings, it takes five to nine employees to run a pet cemetery. It seems like one of those win-win situations we are always hearing about. Chagrin Falls taps into a new stream of revenue, some unemployed folks get jobs, and our beloved pets find a forever resting place.
Good for those four students from the well-known area business school. They get an A for their pet cemetery idea.
And it was just one of about 10 other suggestions they came up with. Truth to tell, some have a better chance of success than others. For instance, the suggestion for sharing services already is done in Chagrin Falls, and it's working.
Not to rain on the young academics' parade, but they came up with a couple of questionable ideas. Real clinkers.
Where they hit the nail on the head in understanding villagers' love for their pets, they missed the nail altogether when they suggested leasing space in Village Hall to a coffee shop or selling advertising space on village vehicles.
Had they made a site visit, the students would have seen there is barely space in Village Hall for the employee coffee pot.
Had they studied the conservative mores of our town, they would have known townsfolk would go into shock the first time they saw a village snowplow roll by with "Eat at Joe's" emblazoned on its side.
For these suggestions, the kids get a grade of TD, for thumbs down.
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