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Volume 7, No. 7
Friday, March 5, 2021
Smolic Addresses Social Media Rumors
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Kirtland Schools Puts PI Levy Increase on May Ballot
CHRONICLE
By Magdalene Pesch
news@kirtlandchronicle.com
On May 4, Kirtland voters will By Magdalene Pesch be asked to support a continuous news@kirtlandchronicle.com LAND
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A Kirtland City councilman and the mayor recently addressed rumors the city has not been paying its bills. “Unfortunately, I get on the ‘garbage pile’ or ‘garbage dumpster fire’ that is Facebook on occasion and I’ve seen a couple comments that the city is not paying its bills. Do you know what that’s about? I have no clue,” Councilman Joe Smolic asked Mayor Kevin Potter during the Feb. 17 city council meeting. Potter said between the city’s accounting software conversion, some logistical issues and the fact the United States Postal Service had several delays in deliverSmolic ing mail in recent months — sometimes four- to fiveweek delays — there were a few vendors who did not get paid on time. The issues are being corrected through the finance department, he added. “It’s not for a lack of funds,” the mayor said. “It’s part of the logistics with the whole software conversion that we’ve been working through so, if (Assistant Finance Director Louis) Slapnicker wants to back me up on that, that would be appreciated, or if I missed something, or if I misstated something.” Slapnicker confirmed Potter’s explanation. “So cities are having the same issues with mail that everybody else is,” Smolic added. “I know I normally get payments at my shop and I’ve had some up to six weeks late, so I think everybody is having those issues.” Potter said the mail delays only caused a couple of issues with late payments. “In other instances, it was just a lag in the system and everything See Rumors • Page 10
0.95-mill permanent improvement levy increase for Kirtland Schools. The current five-year, 1.1-mill PI levy costs homeowners $22.27 per year per $100,000 property valuation and yields $268,453 annually, according to the Lake County Auditor’s Office. The proposed 0.95-mill increase — which would bring the levy total to 2.05 mills — would cost homeowners an additional $33.25 per year per $100,000 property valuation and yield $341,594 annually, according to the auditor’s office. Therefore, the total yield for the 2.05 mills would be $610,047 annually. “This $33 per year (increase) will remain fixed, for, as property valuations increase over time, the effective millage collected is decreased,” school district officials said in a recent press release. “This is also why the originally-approved PI levy for 1.1 mills currently collects only 0.73 mills.” The yield the current levy generates for maintenance and needed upgrades to buildings that are over 238,000 square feet is the same amount it has collected for the past 25 years, district officials said in a statement. At the Feb. 9 PTA meeting, Kirtland Schools Superintendent Chad VanArnhem praised the versatility of a PI levy. “This PI will allow us to redo this one science lab that we know needs work, the classrooms in K-3, different educational pieces of the building, technology — anything that’s got a lifespan of five years, we can use this money toward,” VanArnhem said. The levy money can be used for “any property, asset or improvement with an estimated life or usefulness of five years or more,” according to the press release. If it passes, VanArnhem said the stadium would be a major focus of improvement efforts. At a Jan. 7 campus improve-
MAGDALENE PESCH/KMG
The proposed 0.95-mill permanent improvement levy increase on the May 4 ballot would generate an additional $341,594 annually for Kirtland Schools, which would go toward maintenance, updates to school buildings and a much-needed stadium renovation, school officials said.
ment brainstorming session, he said residents have contacted the district with wishes for stadium improvement. “The stadium was a piece of (proposed renovations) that would be redone to become a multi-purpose stadium, instead of just being what it is now — a football stadium that’s used for maybe like 10 events a year,” he said. VanArnhem gave a brief history of the stadium, which was originally built in the 1950s. “In the 70s, it was regraded and our track was installed as part of that project. Walter Rogers donated money and the field was named after him,” he said. “The visiting stands are concrete and were built actually in the 50s. They were condemned less than 10 years ago and renovated with a Kiwanis project, which is very much appreciated, to keep them functional.” The home stands were also a Kiwanian effort, VanArnhem said. “They were donated in the mid-1970s. I believe that a school somewhere in Cleveland closed and the Kiwanis got all together with some trucks and took pieces of the stands and brought them over welded them together,” he said. “Our bleachers are deemed ADA-compliant because they were existing structures before that mandate went in, but there are no ramps and they’re not wide enough for wheelchairs.”
The lights, installed in 1963, are also older, the superintendent said. “In the last 10 years, we had some insects that started boring holes in them, so those had to be filled and had to have a protective coating added,” VanArnhem said. He said the new field would allow for soccer. “The field is, I believe 52 yards wide. Most stadiums are 75 (yards),” he said. “So, it’s really not ideal for soccer. That’s why we don’t play up there very often.” District officials said the turf would be available for baseball and softball to practice on while the fields are muddy and the band could practice on it without worrying about wearing bare spots in the field. “Classes can use it during the day. The turf can be used for recess for the elementary students when the grass is muddy,” according to the district press release. Youth soccer and football teams would also have the opportunity to use the turf field. “The high school and middle school teams will have the priority, but the youth teams can use it when it is available,” district officials said. “We want to look at how we can improve this for everyone, not just one or two sports, but for as many as possible,” VanArnhem added. The district plans to borrow money now while interest rates See Levy • Page 3
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