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Orange mayor wants plan for acquired land
(by Sali McSherry - December 07, 2011)
Orange mayor wants plan for acquired land
By SALI McSHERRY
Orange Mayor Kathy U. Mulcahy has a full plate of goals for next year.
The focus will be on developing a plan for the 10-plus acre property acquired by Orange earlier this year, analyzing the cost savings and benefits of merging with other communities, maintaining property values and extending waterlines.
Next year, village Architect Ronald Kluchin and architects Bialosky & Partners, of Cleveland, along with Orange officials, will develop a plan for the former St. Margaret of Hungary Church property adjacent to Village Hall. Goals include: creation of a design, renovation of the amphitheater, perimeter landscaping, programming and retrofitting of the interior of the existing building. Other issues that will need to be addressed are construction of storage structures, creation of a resident-friendly recycling center and additional trail linkages to the community park, Ms. Mulcahy said.
First, the village must identify a way to accomplish the goals in a fiscally prudent and manageable way, she said. A service center will not be constructed until a funding source for the project is identified, she said. "We hope to get many residents involved in the process," Ms. Mulcahy said.
The village will devote efforts next year to the merger study it is participating in with Moreland Hills, Pepper Pike and Woodmere. The Cuyahoga County Planning Commission and Ed Jerse, director of regional collaboration for the county, are coordinating the analysis.
There are a wide range of possible outcomes, Ms. Mulcahy said, ranging from not changing anything, to identifying opportunities for consolidation of services to a full-blown merging of communities, which would have to be voted on by residents of each municipality. Once the county planning commission has gathered data, completed interviews and processed the information, members will share it with the communities in public forums and through other forms of communication.
Maintaining property values also will be a focus of the administration. Orange had 92.6 percent owner-occupied residential units according to the 2010 U.S. Census, Ms. Mulcahy said, a slight decrease from 94.7 percent in 2000. While the vacancy rate is not alarming, she said, there is a discernible trend downward in the condition of too many properties in Orange. Deteriorating homes are a community concern, she said. One of the administration's goals is to examine the issue to determine if there are any weaknesses in village code or if there is any other legal authority or municipal tools that could be utilized to counteract and reverse the trend.
One of the village's safety goals is to further extend waterlines to allow the fire department to have a continuous supply of water with hydrants. Cleveland is extending a waterline on Brainard Road, heading east on Harvard Road and looping with Orangewood Drive, at no expense to Orange taxpayers, Ms. Mulcahy said.
"In addition to enhanced water flow in case of fire, this will also allow a significant number of residents to tie in voluntarily, subject to the payment of a tap-in fee. Further information will be provided to those affected residents as soon as it becomes available to us," she said.
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