10/07/2003 Meeting Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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~ October 3, 2003 TO: Norman T. Musial, "~`" President / City '~"` cc: Safety Director; Mayor of North Olmsted and Council Representatives Service Director; Police Chief; Law Dept. We, the undersigned, are residents who live along and/or use the North Olmsted City bike path that extends from Lansing Drive to North Park Drive. We are forwarding this letter/update for your next Council meeting. In essence, a group of vandals have taken charge of this City bike path (and adjoining residents' yards as they go to/from the path.) Beginning in June, 2003 a group of young teens were witnessed to be drinking alcohol and smoking at night along the City path, using a downed tree as their "watering hole." The owner of the adjacent property reported that she clears out ground covering from any adjoining woods that she owns to prevent the youth from coming from the path to hide, drink, and dump beer cans/wine bottles on her property as they do on the City path. Afterward, these teens exit through residents' yards, throwing lit cigarettes/empty beer cans at houses. Another resident along the City path has reported vandals "kicking out" his yard lights/mailbox and throwing a City sign in the City drainage ditch adjacent to his front yard. This ditch is located at the path's east end, is open and has a "crock-type" passage large enough for youths to enter/hide. Since July three stolen (new) bikes have been found along the City bike path by residents. Police report that minimal questioning of a person is done whenever a stolen bikes is later claimed at the police station. During this time period one resident's trampoline was jumped upon by teens in broad daylight. This same resident's storage shed was urinated upon and, most recently, kicked in by multiple vandals coming off the path. At the end of July three fires were started by vandals around 1:00 AM in piles of dead branches in the "cut-through" section of the City path. This "cut-through" is a natural clearing that has evolved in the bike path's trees/weeds, allowing easy entry into residents' yards. Residents were advised by North Olmsted Police prior to that night to pile dead branches/brush at this site to deter vandals from entering our yards from the path. Had a barking dog not awoken residents to the fires, these could have spread. Charred branches were also found at the "watering hole". Since that time the pile of branches at the cut-through has been replaced by residents at least weekly, as these are moved/removed by vandals day/night, with the debris thrown into the City's ditch. The presence of these vandals is often silent, undetected, and carefully timed to avoid being caught. They even did damage