06/15/1999 Meeting Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Council Minutes of June 15, 1999 President Saringer explained that at this time Council could not address the issue of the ~~ ;,~,, site. That has nothing to do with the process of whether or not Council will go ahead and back them on the loan. She suggested that Mrs. Moga attend the Planning Commission meeting when the plans for building are presented. Mr. Nashar said that he had contacted CEI about the site and especially inquired about the transformers that are still there. The CEI representative said there was no health threat. Bill Jacob, director of development for Horizon, read a letter from Congressman Dennis Kucinich. "Dear Mr. Smith: I am writing in support of the effort by the Horizon Activities Center to qualify for atax-exempt loan for the purposes of construction of a replacement child care center in North Olmsted for 327 children. As you well know, the Horizon Activities Center is a non-profit organization currently providing early educational and childhood services to hundreds of families in the northeast Ohio communities. By providing high quality, low cost day care, preschool and before- and after-school services, Horizon is able to help meet the needs of countless families in the immediate area. I am also keenly aware of the quality of Horizon's early intervention services, including special need preschool, parenting classes, speech and hearing therapy, as well as summer camp. Especially noteworthy is the fact that Horizon provides these quality services at low rates and sliding scale programs for many low- and moderate- income families and often two working-parent households. In short, Horizon Activities Center is a `crown jewel' in child care delivery for North Olmsted and surrounding communities. Its ability to continue to help serve countless families through the delivery of high-quality, affordable day care is dependent on its ability to initiate this construction project. I consider the qualification for atax-exempt loan to be a wise and prudent investment in the entire North Olmsted community, and I strongly support your continued efforts. I remain available to help you further with this initiative, and I look forward to seeing you and the families of the Horizon Activities Centers in the very near future. Sincerely, Dennis Kucinich, Member of Congress" Sara Cooley, 5868 South Porter Road, an 11-year employee of Horizon Activity Center. She has literally watched a generation of Horizon kids grow up. She can't go anywhere in North Olmsted without seeing a child who has been through Horizon. These kids are a productive part of the schools and the community-many of them work at local businesses or are members of an athletic team or cheerleading squad at school. Many families in our community require child day care. Horizon was started 21 years ago as an alternative to TV for kids whose parents were working. There are a lot of kids in the community who would be latch-key kids if not for Horizon. Their families depend on Horizon, and Horizon depends on them. As to the issue of transportation, Horizon does not have children transported from all the public schools. The children come from the Catholic schools, from Spruce and Forest that are in the area and from Birch which transports children district-wide. Horizon vans transport children from Butternut, Pine and Maple at their own expense. 9