ThisWeek Upper Arlington 6/9

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June 9, 2011

Permit parking repealed by council By CHRIS BOURNEA ThisWeek Community Newspapers In a 6-1 vote during a special meeting Monday night, Upper Arlington City Council voted to repeal permit parking restrictions on Brandon and Chester roads and nine other streets bordering Lane Avenue. The vote came after months of com-

plaints from residents that patrons near the Arlington Commons development at 1750 W. Lane Ave., especially the Wine Bistro restaurant, have been parking in front of Frank Ciotola their homes, causing congestion and noise.

Council member Erik Yassenoff, who cast the sole dissenting vote, said he believes council should have waited to repeal parking restrictions until a Lane Avenue traffic study conducted by consulting firm AECOM is completed this summer. “I feel like were not doing the complete review and our due diligence,” Yassenoff said.

Council members who voted for the repeal cited an e-mail received from AECOM representatives earlier in the day stating that permit parking would not likely be one of the study’s recommendations. Council president Frank Ciotola said council can revisit the issue if the study ultimately does recommend some form of permit parking. “Repealing this ordinance does not

preclude us from enforcing the recommendations from AECOM,” Ciotola said. “What repealing this ordinance does is alleviate the frustration of having a law on the books that we’re not enforcing.” Bill Dargush, a representative of Arlington Commons developer Metropolitan Partners, said his company continSee REPEAL, page A2

5 announce school board candidacy

CLASS OF 2011

By ANDREW MILLER ThisWeek Community Newspapers

By Laurie Stevenson/ThisWeek

Upper Arlington seniors give a standing ovation to classmates performing a string medley during their commencement ceremony on June 5 at Veterans Memorial. For more photos from the event, see page B1.

With two three-term members of the Upper Arlington Board of Education announcing they would not seek re-election in November, several candidates have already thrown their hats into the ring. Current board members William Catalano and Gloria Heydlauff have both decided to retire from the board at the end of their current terms, while incumbent member Robin Comfort said she plans to seek re-election to her seat. The other announced candidates are Nancy Drees, Peter Hahn, Stacey Royer and Lori Trent. Board members Marjory Pizzuti and Robert Arkin both have two years remaining on their cur-

rent terms. “Losing two 12-year members of the board is hard, because continuity is so important,” Comfort said. “Four years was enough to get my feet wet, but another four years will give me a real leadership opportunity.” Comfort is the current school board vice president and, according to her press release, worked to develop the current school district strategic plan and serves on the Upper Arlington Education Foundation board. Candidate Drees said she believes that the current school board is heading in the right direction, and she wants to make sure that continues. See BOARD, page A3

Greensview ‘mini-mall’ Yassenoff, Leach seek raises money for charity 2nd city council terms By KATE HETRICK

ThisWeek Community Newspapers

At an average shopping mall, a quarter or two might buy a gumball, or the chance to play a game in the arcade. But at the Greensview Elementary School mini-mall, a few quarters can buy much more.

The fourth-graders at Greensview opened a mini-mall in the school cafeteria June 2, selling items they created after studying the basics of economics. They sold everything from a secret language to toothbrush bracelets to pet rocks, all priced at just 25 or 50 cents.A total of 84 students in four classes created their own cor-

poration, called JMPK?. The initials stand for Johnson, McGuire, Pavlasek and Kotch — their classroom teachers. “Everyone is working together to raise money for charity,” Suzanne Kotch said. “While they want their business to do the best, See MALL, page A3

By Andrea Kjerrumgaard/ThisWeek

Fourth-graders Will Geletka, (left), and Rafi Fadhlurrahman, both 10, peddle their handmade “FuzzyPencils” at the Greensview Mini-Mall on June 2. The mini-mall was the culmination of a lesson on economics.

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Former mayor Don Leach and incumbent Erik Yassenoff both have announced that they are seeking second terms to Upper Arlington City Council on the November ballot. Leach, 56, served on UA Council from 20062010, including two years as president of council and mayor, but did not run for re-election in 2009. “Two years ago, I realized I was over-committed in business and family matters,” Leach said. “Now several of those have sorted out, and I believe there are issues facing the community that my experience and skills lend themselves to. I still care tremendously about the community.” Leach is managing partner of one of the Columbus law firm Dinsmore & Shohl LLP. He has lived in UA for 20 years and in central Ohio his entire life. Leach is completing his term as chair of the UA Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Trustees, is a past director of the UA Civic Association, past treasurer of UA schools’ last three operating levies, and is a member of the UA Community Foundation Board, UA Rotary and UA Lutheran Church. He is married and has two children. Leach said that while he was on council, Kingsdale shopping center was revitalized; the city’s budget was balanced without raising taxes or relying on reserves; Sunny 95 Park was de-

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veloped; a new firehouse was built; the city’s new website was developed; and sidewalks and other infrastructure were upgraded. Yassenoff, 31, received the most votes in a field of five candidates in the 2007 elecDon Leach tion. During his first term, Yassenoff said, he advocated redeveloping Kingsdale; worked on new economic development programs; increased investment on infrastructure projects; increased communication with citizens via the Internet; and ensured the use of performance measures in the city budget. “I feel like we’ve accomErik Yassenoff plished a lot in the past four years,”Yassenoff said. “At the same time, there’s still a lot more that we need to work on — mainly economic development, infrastructure, fiscal responsibility — and those are some areas that I’m relatively knowledgeable in.” Yassenoff is a lifelong resident of Upper Arlington, with a master’s degree from Ohio State University. He works on asset management issues for the state of Ohio and is chief financial officer of Rainbow Development, a real estate management firm. See COUNCIL, page A2

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