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Update from Campus Partners: 
Prepared for residents the University Area Commission
June 12, 2007

Contents:

· Progress continues on Columbus Coated Fabrics site · Civic leaders break ground for new Neighborhood Policing Center

· Update on public safety · Update on refuse and code enforcement · Campus Hops begin June 21

[Please note that Steve Sterrett, community relations director of Campus Partners, will be on vacation beginning June 16. He will participate in a study tour of China. He will return to the Campus Partners office on July 12. He will not be checking e-mail messages or telephone messages while he is gone.] Progress continues on Columbus Coated Fabrics site Gary Guglielmi, economic development manager for the City of Columbus, convened a public meeting on May 22 to review the city’s application to the Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund (CORF) for $3 million to remove building foundations and contaminated soil on the Columbus Coated Fabrics site. The public meeting, which is required as part of the CORF process, drew about 18 people. Campus Partners’ environmental attorney Joe Reidy, Matt Knecht of HzW Environmental Consultants and Eric Wagenbrenner of Wagenbrenner Development Company gave an overview of the Columbus Coated Fabrics initiative and answered questions. There was good discussion. Mr. Reidy commented after the meeting that the public participation was the best that he had seen at any of the public meetings he had attended for CORF applications around the state. The regional integrating committee which ranks the CORF applications from the central Ohio region met on June 4 and ranked the Columbus Coated Fabrics project as first. This ranking makes funding of the city’s application much more likely. The state is expected to announce the funding in late July. Meanwhile, Champion Environmental Services has completed more than half the demolition of the existing Columbus Coated Fabrics buildings and is on schedule to complete the work by August. Back to the top Civic leaders break ground for new Neighborhood Policing Center Mayor Mike Coleman, City Council member Andy Ginther and Ohio State President Karen Holbrook on June 7 joined about 150 public safety personnel, neighborhood residents and university staff for a ground-breaking ceremony for the new Neighborhood Policing Center on East 11th Avenue between Summit and North Fourth streets. The mayor announced that the new facility will be named in honor of former Mayor Tom Moody, a graduate of Ohio State, and Willliam H. Hall, vice president for student affairs at Ohio State who died in early 2006. The Neighborhood Policing Center is being jointly funded by the city and the university. The center will house the substation for the Columbus Division of Police's fourth precinct, offices for the Community Crime Patrol and University Police, a neighborhood pride center, and a community meeting room. Back to the top Update on public safety At its meeting on May 9, the University Area Safety Committee presented President Holbrook with a printed resolution of appreciation in recognition of her service to Ohio State and for her commitment to community safety. In other matters at the meeting, the committee heard a report from David McDermott of the Student Wellness Center of the results of a survey of Ohio State students on which bars and nightspots they frequent to obtain alcohol. Four Kegs and Panini’s tend to attract students under 21. Students who travel to the Arena District to visit bars tend to be older students over 21. He also presented a “tavern-owner advertisement agreement” developed in Albany, N.Y., in which bar owners and managers agree to review all their advertising to promote responsible and lawful consumption of alcoholic beverages and appropriate and civic behavior when patrons leave their bars. Mr. McDermott said the challenge is to get bar owners in the University District involved in developing and supporting such agreements. During the meeting, Wade Sagraves introduced himself as the agent in charge of the Investigative Unit-Columbus with the Ohio Department of Public Safety. He said his unit responds to complaints of liquor law violations. He noted that his unit had made 21 arrests the previous Thursday and Saturday in the University District. His unit also had cited two carry-outs for selling alcohol to under-age persons the previous week. He explained the Liquor Control Commission’s process for reviewing citations. Out-of-control parties and related problems have not been a major issue during spring quarter. The weekend prior to the May 9 meeting had been the busiest of spring quarter in terms of concerts, sports and other special events. Columbus Police Lt. Rod Wittich said there were no problems in the neighborhoods associated with Ohio State. Assistant University Police Chief Richard Morman said there were no problems on the university campus. Vernon Baisden, co-chair of the committee and assistant vice president for public safety, noted that the annual African American Heritage Festival had concluded successfully. He said many students and others have worked to change the nature of the heritage festival, moving away from a “block party” to a celebration of culture. Willie Young, co-chair of the committee and director of off-campus student services, said he would like to have a discussion of the possibility of the placement of surveillance video cameras in the predominantly student neighborhood. He suggested the discussion could be held at the safety committee’s meeting in September. He noted that students are interested in surveillance cameras and the mayor has expressed an interest in placing the cameras in neighborhoods. Mr. Baisden reported that since the murders at Virginia Tech, he has heard more requests from students and parents for the installation of surveillance cameras on and around the campus. The safety committee members decided not to meet during the summer, unless called by the co-chairs. The next regularly scheduled meeting will be Wednesday, Sept. 12, at 3:30 p.m. in the conference room of 33 W. 11th Ave. Acting on reports filed with the Columbus Division of Police, the University Police Department issued four “crime alerts” in the first three weeks of May. Three alerts were for armed robberies along High Street and in the south campus area, and one was for an attempted home invasion near Norwich and High Street. The Columbus Police ordered extra patrols, including undercover officers, to try to interdict the criminals. University Police assigned two officers to work with these patrols. Back to the top Update on refuse and code enforcement The University District Code Enforcement Task Force and the Campus Partners Public Service Committee on refuse collection and recycling met jointly May 8. In general, the committee members were satisfied with the regular collection of refuse. Steve Sterrett of Campus Partners announced that the city and neighborhood property owners would cooperate again this summer to conduct the 11th annual special collection of bulk refuse from Aug. 22 to Sept. 10. The two committees will hold their next joint meeting on Tuesday, July 17, at 1 p.m. in the Northwood-High Building, 2231 N. High St. The primary discussion item will be illegal dumping and “theft of service” resulting from inappropriate items, such as building construction materials, being placed in refuse containers. The city conducted its Neighborhood Pride program from May 14-18 in Weinland Park. The program focused on an area bounded by Chittenden Avenue, East Fifth Avenue, North Fourth Street and North High Street. (The Weinland Park Community Civic Association plans to apply for Neighborhood Pride to return in 2008 for the rest of the Weinland Park.) A number of city agencies participated in efforts to promote public safety, clean up the neighborhood, apply systematic code enforcement, and provide information on city services, such as housing renovation and health services. Mayor Coleman and his cabinet met with a large group of residents on May 17 at 7th Avenue Community Baptist Church. Back to the top Campus Hops begin June 21 The Campus Hop Planning Committee is organizing three Campus Hops along High Street this summer: June 21, July 19 and August 16. The goal of the events is to showcase High Street in the University District as a regional destination for education, the arts, entertainment and food. The Wexner Center and South Campus Gateway are anchoring the events, plus additional activities will be offered along High Street and around the Oval. For information, visit www.UniversityDistrict.org. The Weinland Park Community Civic Association, with assistance from Campus Partners staff, submitted a request for a Neighborhood Partnership Grant to support neighborhood involvement in the three Campus Hops and in the Weinland Park Community Festival on Aug. 18. In late May, the civic association was notified that it would receive a grant of $3,600. The Neighborhood Partnership Grant program is supported by The Columbus Foundation and United Way of Central Ohio.

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Campus Partners for Community Urban Redevelopment, Inc.
1824 N. High St., Columbus, OH 43201
(614) 294-7300; fax (614) 294-7333