As tempting as the idea may seem considering the last two managers, I'm still against it. All you would have would be the locals to choose from. How many of them have a degree in city management? How may of them even have a degree?

Conneaut Revolutionary wrote:

As tempting as the idea may seem considering the last two managers, I'm still against it. All you would have would be the locals to choose from. How many of them have a degree in city management? How may of them even have a degree?

You raise a good point, but it's because of the last two and the present one being basically do nothings or doing the wrong thing, that they should be more responsible for their actions. Like being voted out of office. It seems to me the last few thought Conneaut is a good place to relax, enjoy the lake, and make a good salary to boot.

Drifter wrote:

<quoted text>You raise a good point, but it's because of the last two and the present one being basically do nothings or doing the wrong thing, that they should be more responsible for their actions. Like being voted out of office. It seems to me the last few thought Conneaut is a good place to relax, enjoy the lake, and make a good salary to boot.

You make an excellent point here Drifter. However, this is where we need to make changes to our city council. We must remember that the city manager works FOR city council. So that being said, city council needs to step up to the plate and give the city manager specific direction and not let him have free regin.

Scarlett Pimpernel wrote:

<quoted text>
You make an excellent point here Drifter. However, this is where we need to make changes to our city council. We must remember that the city manager works FOR city council. So that being said, city council needs to step up to the plate and give the city manager specific direction and not let him have free regin.

What do you think of the controversy with Michael Ratcliffe? Did Schaumleffel and council drop the ball or is Ratcliffe asking for too much? And what about all these closed door meetings and not allowing people to speak their mind at council meetings? Sounds more like a dictatorship than a democracy.

Drifter wrote:

<quoted text>What do you think of the controversy with Michael Ratcliffe? Did Schaumleffel and council drop the ball or is Ratcliffe asking for too much? And what about all these closed door meetings and not allowing people to speak their mind at council meetings? Sounds more like a dictatorship than a democracy.

That is the scary thing about Conneaut now.....the censorship many in city goverment seem to feel they have the right to impose upon us. If they could, they would close down this forum too because "It shows Conneaut in a bad light." Never mind they act like tin horn dictators in a banana republic.

Drifter wrote:

<quoted text>What do you think of the controversy with Michael Ratcliffe? Did Schaumleffel and council drop the ball or is Ratcliffe asking for too much? And what about all these closed door meetings and not allowing people to speak their mind at council meetings? Sounds more like a dictatorship than a democracy.

I think that council could have made a motion to suspend the rule that prohibited Mr. Ratcliffe from speaking and allowed him to do so. I am not familiar with the proposal made by his company, so I can't comment as to whether he is asking too much or not. And, yes--I do think that city council and the city manager dropped the ball on this issue as far a returning calls and investigating his proposal and making a counter offer.
I am not in favor of restricting the citizens (voters) right to speak at meeting. Council forgets that they serve at the pleasure of the citizens. And right now this citizen is NOT very pleased. Council needs to grow a set and give the manager some specific direction and then demand accountability. Council is nothing but a big joke. The city manager is worried about negotiating for only one trash hauler in the city. I think he has more important things to do than worry about garbage pickup. I am capable of selecting my own trash hauler. Jeez!

Scarlett Pimpernel wrote:

<quoted text>
I think that council could have made a motion to suspend the rule that prohibited Mr. Ratcliffe from speaking and allowed him to do so. I am not familiar with the proposal made by his company, so I can't comment as to whether he is asking too much or not. And, yes--I do think that city council and the city manager dropped the ball on this issue as far a returning calls and investigating his proposal and making a counter offer.
I am not in favor of restricting the citizens (voters) right to speak at meeting. Council forgets that they serve at the pleasure of the citizens. And right now this citizen is NOT very pleased. Council needs to grow a set and give the manager some specific direction and then demand accountability. Council is nothing but a big joke. The city manager is worried about negotiating for only one trash hauler in the city. I think he has more important things to do than worry about garbage pickup. I am capable of selecting my own trash hauler. Jeez!

I didn't know the city manager was working on having only one trash service in Conneaut. What business is that of his or council? What about the other haulers? They're going to lose a lot of business.

This is one of the things I hate about Conneaut city council and the manager. Instead of doing something about real improvements in town, LIKE GETTING JOBS OR MORE STORES, they do this little piddly stuff like worrying about how many days we can put out our trash or whining about people who don't mow they lawns.

As for all the stink about not mowing lawns, why doesn't the city make the owner of the now defunct golf course mow it. It's an eyesore and a detriment to the city. What does city council and the manager think visitors to Conneaut say when they see that mess?

Conneaut Revolutionary wrote:

<quoted text>
That is the scary thing about Conneaut now.....the censorship many in city goverment seem to feel they have the right to impose upon us. If they could, they would close down this forum too because "It shows Conneaut in a bad light." Never mind they act like tin horn dictators in a banana republic.

City council doesn't want anyone to speak at meetings because they have so many people mad at them for their mistakes or inaction. They consider all the criticism negativity which is a bunch of crap. They should be called on the carpet for all their bumbling around.

Also they shouldn't be allowed to have closed door work sessions. Everything they do should be out in the open because of past blunders like the Cleveland Hotel tax abatement.

http://www.starbeacon.com/archivesearch/local...

As a former resident of Conneaut,(now living in southern California) I remember in the 80's and early 90's having an elected mayor. It seems with a mayor, issues were getting addressed. Conneaut seemed more "alive". You're right Drifter, the city council is too worried about the little things that don't amount to anything. Conneaut could be such a great place if the city officials cared a bit more about businesses and the well being of their fellow townspeople rather than their own wallets. I've been to many places on this planet, but for some reason there is no place like Conneaut. It is a very unique and different town that has alot of great qualities that most towns only dream of. Most towns would kill to have lakefront property and a beautiful beach. This is very true living near the beach in southern California. For this I think Conneaut would be better off with an elected mayor who would get things done.

Tony J wrote:

As a former resident of Conneaut,(now living in southern California) I remember in the 80's and early 90's having an elected mayor. It seems with a mayor, issues were getting addressed. Conneaut seemed more "alive". You're right Drifter, the city council is too worried about the little things that don't amount to anything. Conneaut could be such a great place if the city officials cared a bit more about businesses and the well being of their fellow townspeople rather than their own wallets. I've been to many places on this planet, but for some reason there is no place like Conneaut. It is a very unique and different town that has alot of great qualities that most towns only dream of. Most towns would kill to have lakefront property and a beautiful beach. This is very true living near the beach in southern California. For this I think Conneaut would be better off with an elected mayor who would get things done.

At last someone who remembers what a good town Conneaut used to be. I could never understand why our lakefront hasn't been used to help the economy. I used to go fishing at the public dock and had many, many people from out of town ask me where is there a place to stay in town. I was forced to say, well there's a motel by the freeway.

Council and the manager should make jobs their number one priority. What happened with the windfarm? Why can't we get a grocery store to replace Giant Eagle? If we don't watch it, K-mart may be the next place to leave, if we don't fill that plaza.

I've seen people turn off RT 90, do a loop looking for businesses nearby, then get right back on. Look at all the stores and gas stations Kingsville has at their exit. Little Kingsville for heavens sake. Why can't we do that?

There has to be something seriously wrong with our leadership when we falling behind and letting jobs slip though our fingers.

EXACTLY! They need some eye catching stores right off route 90 and 7, put in a shopping center with a Home Depot and a Starbucks or something! I was just looking at Home Depot locations in northeast Ohio, and the closest ones are in Ashtabula and Erie. I cant drive 10 minutes north or south in Southern California without hitting a Home Depot. I think the distance from the freeway to downtown and waterfront was always a downfall. However, I think that by building businesses and stores off the freeway would in turn lure the people further north toward downtown and the waterfront. The waterfront could bring in a HUGE amount of jobs with recreational activities alone.
Jet ski, windsurfing and boat rentals, and even parasailing just to name a few. And what's with the Railroad Museum??? Conneaut has such a deep railroad history, I never understood why they didn't expand the existing railroad museum and capitalize or even advertise it more. I think that place is in need of a serious overhaul and needs to get expanded, adding a few more locomotives wouldn't hurt either. Just to give you an example of local businesses thriving, there is a car show of epic proportions every saturday morning up the road from me at the Ford Automotive Design Studio. Hundred's of hot rod's, exotic and muscle cars show up every weekend for this event. The coffee/doughnut stand and the nearby shops that are very close to this event make serious money from the vast number of people that show up. If Conneaut advertised something like this down at the PD every saturday morning and had the the same turnout, there is no doubt in my mind that businesses in the area would make a huge profit. I think more and more restaurants and shops would also open because of this. I think the city manager's lack of motivation and lack of advertising are the reasons why Conneaut is in this sad predicament. I could go on for days about Conneaut, maybe I should run for mayor...lol

Tony J wrote:

EXACTLY! They need some eye catching stores right off route 90 and 7, put in a shopping center with a Home Depot and a Starbucks or something! I was just looking at Home Depot locations in northeast Ohio, and the closest ones are in Ashtabula and Erie. I cant drive 10 minutes north or south in Southern California without hitting a Home Depot. I think the distance from the freeway to downtown and waterfront was always a downfall. However, I think that by building businesses and stores off the freeway would in turn lure the people further north toward downtown and the waterfront. The waterfront could bring in a HUGE amount of jobs with recreational activities alone.
Jet ski, windsurfing and boat rentals, and even parasailing just to name a few. And what's with the Railroad Museum??? Conneaut has such a deep railroad history, I never understood why they didn't expand the existing railroad museum and capitalize or even advertise it more. I think that place is in need of a serious overhaul and needs to get expanded, adding a few more locomotives wouldn't hurt either. Just to give you an example of local businesses thriving, there is a car show of epic proportions every saturday morning up the road from me at the Ford Automotive Design Studio. Hundred's of hot rod's, exotic and muscle cars show up every weekend for this event. The coffee/doughnut stand and the nearby shops that are very close to this event make serious money from the vast number of people that show up. If Conneaut advertised something like this down at the PD every saturday morning and had the the same turnout, there is no doubt in my mind that businesses in the area would make a huge profit. I think more and more restaurants and shops would also open because of this. I think the city manager's lack of motivation and lack of advertising are the reasons why Conneaut is in this sad predicament. I could go on for days about Conneaut, maybe I should run for mayor...lol

Maybe you should run for mayor. I like your idea about having rentals at the lakefront. We also need a nice family restaurant by the lake like the old Brown's Restaurant. As it stands now, our dock area is too much of a private boat club with no admittance, members only, no fishing, etc, signs everywhere. It makes Conneaut look very unfriendly. And get rid of those damn huge chunks of stone on the lagoon drive. What an eyesore! And what's with the big "NO" as soon as you drive into Township Park.

A little advertisement for our lake front would be a big plus also. Maybe radio or newpaper ads in Erie and Cleveland telling people of the events we do have in town.

Well my wife and I will be visiting for the 4th festivities this weekend. Its her first time there, I'm curious as to what her opinion on Conneaut will be. Maybe while I'm there I'll try to kick some city officials in the butt and get them to do something!:) Happy 4th!!

Tony J wrote:

Well my wife and I will be visiting for the 4th festivities this weekend. Its her first time there, I'm curious as to what her opinion on Conneaut will be. Maybe while I'm there I'll try to kick some city officials in the butt and get them to do something!:) Happy 4th!!

Hey, Happy 4th to you too! Enjoy the lake!

I changed my mind thanks to our current 'people's republic of Conneaut' city manager. I now believe that should elect our city manager. At least we would have someone who has a vested interest in our town. Let's face it, these city managers use Conneaut as a parking spot and a paycheck just until they can move on to something else.

Kent State University - Ashtabula should offer courses & degrees in how to run city and county goverments.

"Government is a trust, and the officers of the government are trustees; and both the trust and the trustees are created for the benefit of the people” Henry Clay

The above quote is precisely the problem here in Conneaut. Our administration has forgotten that their job is to benefit all the people of Conneaut, not just the privledged few.

Ca Ira,
Sir Percy

Conneaut needs a strong mayor form of gov. The fed gov voted it councle maniger for of gov about 60 years ago most cities that went to a councle maniger form of gov went back to a mayor. Never works when you have a councle of ppl being the leader you need a broker. I would rahter vote for the guy next door,so I can kick his ass if he fucks up LOL. its great to see that ppl still car in this town

No wonder Conneaut is in such bad shape.

My opinion. NO NO NO AND AGAIN NOOOOOOOOOOO