April 2013

What's

Inside

Monfort Heights • White Oak Community Association

P.O. Box 11342 • Cincinnati, Ohio 45211

Website: www.mh-wo.org Email: mhwoca@aol.com

"It's not just a community, It's our home."

• Local History

See Page 2

• Garden Tour

See Page 4

• Development

Updates

See Page 5

APRIL MEETING Wednesday, April 10, 2013 at 7:30 p.m.

Green Township Senior Center, 3620 Epley Road

The speakers for our meeting next week will be the PoliceChiefs from both Colerain Township and Green Township, togetherwith Pauletta Crowley from the Northwest Local School District.Pauletta heads the District Crisis Team for the NWLSD. ColerainTownship Police Chief Dan Meloy and Green Township PoliceChief Bart West will describe what they are doing in theirjurisdictions with the District Crisis Team following the horror inNewtown, Connecticut last December. Colerain and Green are twoof the largest three townships in Ohio, and each has many schoolsand high enrollments.

Together with Pauletta and the members of the District CrisisTeam in the individual schools in Colerain and Green Township, thepolice in both Townships are working to

reduce the risk of a tragedy similar to the deadly incidents in anumber of communities in this country over the last decade. Theworst of those incidents may have been the murder of twentyyoung school children and six adults in Newtown, but there werean increasing number of such tragedies before then, and therehave been more since.

We all like to think that horrors like that are unthinkable inour own communities. But the truth is that it can happen herejust as it did in Newtown.

We urge you to attend this meeting to hear what is going onin our townships and our local school district–some of which isfrankly alarming–and ask your own questions to Chief Dan Meloy,Chief Bart West and Pauletta Crowley.

Don't forget that Saturday, April 20, is this spring's regular clean-up day, whenvolunteers led by Beautification Committee Chairperson Robey Klare will pick upthe trash around the North Bend Road/I-74 interchange. Robey asks all volunteersto meet in the parking lot of St. Ignatius Church at 8:00 that morning. The job takesonly a few hours and is a very visible community improvement.

All the necessary equipment will be provided, including safety vests andconvenient trash tongs for picking up most trash without stooping, except for gloves.Robey recommends that volunteers bring their own gardening gloves. Please giveRobey a call at 481-7888 if you have any questions.

Chief Dan Meloy

Chief Bart West

SPRING CLEAN-UP TIME!

Saturday, April 20, at 8:00 a.m.

MONFORT HEIGHTS • WHITE OAK

COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION, INC.

The Association is an Ohio non-profitcorporation and has been determinedby the Internal Revenue Service to be

an exempt organization underIRC sec. 501(c)(3).

Newsletters are published during thefirst week of each month except July,

August and December.

Website: www.mh-wo.org

OFFICERS AND TRUSTEES

JIM KUMMER

TRUSTEE AND PRESIDENT

DONNA PETERSON

TRUSTEE AND VICE PRESIDENT

MARIA LEONHARDT

TRUSTEE AND TREASURER

DAVE LOPEZ

TRUSTEE AND SECRETARY

MARGARET ANGER

TRUSTEE

PAULETTA CROWLEY

TRUSTEE

JACKIE GOLAY

TRUSTEE

LYNNE HAMONS

TRUSTEE

KAREN KERST

TRUSTEE

SANDY MCCANN

TRUSTEE

BARB PIATT

TRUSTEE

COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSONS

JACKIE GOLAY

SUMMER GARDEN TOUR — 481-5501ROBEY KLARE

BEAUTIFICATION — 481-7888JIM KUMMER

WEBSITE — 376-0387PAULETTA CROWLEY

REFRESHMENTS — 741-4699PEGGY LOPEZ

LAND USE — 662-2452PEGGY LOPEZ

SPEAKERS — 662-2452BARB PIATT

COMMUNICATIONS — 661-8446

2

continued on page 7

In the 1800s the neighborhood

called Monfort Heights was called

Weisenburg. The first individuals that

settled here were mostly of English

and Scotch/Irish ancestry, but by the

middle of the 19th century, most were

immigrants from Bavaria and southern

Germany.

In 1900 a local postmaster named

Frank Lumler opened a new post

office on Burnt Schoolhouse Road

(now Cheviot Road). He named that

branch of the Post Office after the

current Postmaster General, E.R.

Monfort, who had been an Army

Captain in the Civil War. The branch

closed in 1905, and the name was

almost lost until the consolidation of

Monforts HeightsMonforts HeightsMonforts HeightsMonforts HeightsMonforts Heights:::::

A GREEN TOWNSHIP COMMUNITY

some local one and two room schools

in the 1920s. The consolidated school

was named Monfort Heights:

Monfort for the post office and

Heights for the high elevation of the

area.

After the 1830s, while many

issues and tensions arose in the U.S.,

including slavery and the Civil War,

slavery was not a problem here

because slavery was not permitted in

the Northwest Territory, and Ohio had

been admitted to the Union as a free

state in 1803. The German

immigrants who settled here were

hard working and toiled on the land.

As the Civil War raged on, many men

went to war. Later men and boys of

Monfort Heights would serve in the

Mexican War, the Boxer Rebellion,

the Spanish American War, and both

WWI and WWII.

While these major world events

were taking place, life in Monfort

Heights stayed pretty much the same.

The farmers were tied to the land and

its seasons. Spring brought tilling and

planting, summer brought raising the

crops, and fall brought harvesting

them and preparing for winter. Life in

3

LOW-INCOME HOUSING PROJECT IN GREEN TOWNSHIP

continued on page 7

Todd Portune

We reported in our February and March issues on theproposal by the Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority(CHMA) to acquire property to build a new low-incomehousing project in Green Township. The project, whichwould have up to 50 multi-family units, was called "OptionA" by CMHA. It would have involved the acquisition byCMHA of parcels on Westwood Northern Boulevardowned by Green Township and Hamilton County and someprivately owned parcels, including the site of the formerBeal's Total Automotive business on North Bend Road.Option A was preferred by CMHA over a "scattered unit"alternative (called "Option B") because it would permit theconstruction not only of the 32 subsidized low-incomehousing units mandated by HUD for Green Township, butalso an additional 18 units of "affordable housing," whichhave a different financial CMHA makeup.

Since our newsletter last month, there were manymeetings focused on the CMHA proposal. There wereseveral meetings hosted by CHMA at its headquarter onWestern Avenue, several protest meetings by theConcerned Citizens of Green Township, Cheviot andWestwood (a group newly organized for this purpose), andit also was the main event at several regular meetings ofthe Green Township Trustees.

All these meetings were attended by large crowds.Nearly all the citizens in attendance objected to thedevelopment of a 32 to 50 unit low-income housing projectin any one neighborhood of the Township, especially on theedge of the Township adjacent to Cheviot and Westwood,which already have many subsidized low-income apartmentunits.

A special meeting of our Association's Board ofTrustees was called on March 13 to consider the subject.At that meeting, the members of the Board unanimouslyauthorized Association President Jim Kummer to sendletters to the Green Township Trustees and to the CMHACommissioners objecting to the placement of a low-incomehousing project of the proposed size in any neighborhood ofthe Township, and to developing more than the 32 unitsmandated by HUD. The letters supported the Option Balternative of the scattering those 32 units throughout theTownship.

Opposition to the proposed development grew.Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune came to ameeting of the Concerned Citizens of Green Township,Cheviot and Westwood to explain that the CountyCommissioners, as the officials responsible for the entireCounty, also objected to the Option A project. Among theCommissioners' reasons were that the location would placenew burdens on already understaffed fire and policeservices in Westwood and Cheviot as the "first responders"to problems in the project area in Green Township, and that

children living in that proposedproject would be the responsibilityof the Cincinnati public schools,not White Oak or Green Town-ship public schools.

However, Mr. Portune alsoadvised the audience that arefusal by the County Commis-sioners to sell the parcel thatthe County owns on WestwoodNorthern Boulevard for Option Aor to approve the zoning changes required for it might raisequestions of compliance by the County with its obligationsunder an agreement with HUD for Block Grant funds.Those funds are important sources of funding for most ofthe County's cities and townships, including GreenTownship. The Commissioners would take action to keepOption A from proceeding only if the County's attorneysadvised that doing so would not violate that HUDagreement. The necessary legal opinion was expected byFriday, March 29.

Then, on Monday, March 25, the Green TownshipTrustees unanimously adopted a resolution opposing a saleof the Township's property on Westwood NorthernBoulevard for the CMHA project. The resolution alsoexpressed the Trustees' objections to locating more than the32 low-income housing units mandated by HUD in theTownship, and supporting CMHA's Option B concept ofscattering those mandated 32 units throughout theTownship. The Trustees' decision was greeted with loudcheers from the overflow crowd at the TownshipAdministration Building.

The next evening, the CMHA Board of Commissionersalso voted unanimously to proceed with the Option B or"scattered site" alternative. The Option A proposal for the32 to 50 unit development along North Bend Road andWestwood Northern Boulevard died for lack of a motion toauthorize it.

It is important to note that the basic issue is not dead.In voting not to sell Township land for Option A, each ofthe Green Township Trustees expressed serious concernabout how CMHA now will implement its Option Balternative. The members of the Association's Board ofTrustees share that serious concern. CMHA is facingsevere budget cuts. For example, could CMHA decide thatthe least expensive way to place the 32 units mandated byHUD in Green Township would be to rehab two or threeapartment buildings in one area or neighborhood rather thanto acquire and rehab eight 4 family units or sixteen 2 family

4

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is theofficial name of the religion commonly known as theMormon Church. A Christian religion, members believefirst and foremost that Jesus Christ is the Savior of theworld and the Son of God.

Worldwide the Church has more than 30,000congregations. The members who live in Cincinnati's westside attend the chapel on the corner of North Bend Roadand Diehl Road. Along with weekly worship servicesevery Sunday from 10:00 - 11:10 am, the building hostslocal Cub and Boy Scout troops, a daily scripture studyclass for high school students, activities for youth andwomen's groups and periodic specialty courses. Theseinclude the current Dave Ramsey's Financial PeaceUniversity class. Beginning this summer, the building willalso serve as the headquarters for one of the Cincinnatimissions of the church, one of 405 worldwide missions.

In March, the women's group from the church offeredworkshops on thrift and self-reliance. The topics includedsmall area gardening, preparing freezer meals, cakedecorating, and couponing. These women belong to thelargest women's organization in the world, called ReliefSociety. The purpose of Relief Society is to aid women instrengthening themselves, their families and helping thosein need.

The operation of the local church is managed solely bymembers who volunteer their time and talents for thatpurpose. None of the local church leaders or missionariesis paid for his work. Even the Sunday sermon is deliveredby various members of the congregation so that all havethe opportunity to share their own personal testimony ofthe Gospel of Jesus Christ.

You can find out more about what the members of thechurch believe by visiting www.mormon.org or by stopping

THE MORMON CHURCH IN MONFORT HEIGHTS

by and joining any of the activities. Visitors are alwayswelcome to attend.

Members of the congregation are proud of thecommunity in which they live. "This community is a placewhere family values matter and I am grateful for that," saidJean Wimmer of Monfort Heights.

HOLD THAT SUMMER GARDEN TOUR DATE!

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Be sure to mark your calendar for the 2013 Association Summer Garden Tour.This year's tour will feature five beautiful home yards and gardens, and again offergarden and yard art and value-priced plants for sale. You can visit all of the yards and

gardens on our annual Summer Garden Tour and check out the plant and art sales for only $10 (or $13 ifyou wait until the day of the Tour). By doing so, you also help this non-profit Association continue its workbecause our annual Summer Garden Tour is our most important fundraiser.

If you would like to help man the ticket booth at one of the Tour homes that day for a couple of hours,

please call Donna Peterson at 481-4091.

DON'T FORGET YOUR POSY POWER!

Your Posy Power™ orders can be picked up onSaturday, April 13, 2013 between 11:00 a.m. and noon atthe St. Ignatius Church parking lot on North Bend Road.Helpers will be available to load the bags in your trunk ortruck. If you have any questions, please call Mary EllenLovett at 598-5204 or Eileen Kisker at 661-6002.

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

DEVELOPMENT UPDATES

from our March Meeting

A big Thank You to Adam Goetzman, Director ofDevelopment for Green Township, and Pat Kowalski, ChiefExecutive Officer for Mercy West, for their presentations atour March meeting.

Adam used many photos in a PowerPoint presentationto detail the development now occurring in our Township.He explained the flow of additional employment, businessand economic benefits that the emerging regional health caredevelopments will bring. Those developments include MercyHospital in Monfort Heights, Children's Hospital, ChristHospital and Good Samaritan Hospital on Harrison Avenue,Covenant Village on West Fork Road, and WellingtonOrthopedic. The importance of these developments is bothlong term and short term. In the short term, they will provideconstruction employment opportunities. For the long term,they will offer permanent employment positions and anexpansion of Green Township's tax base.

The Township's investment in infrastructureimprovements for the project will be largely paid for overtime by the Township's JEDDs (Joint EconomicDevelopment Districts) with the town of Cheviot, throughwhich employees of the new medical facilities will pay asmall earnings tax.

In connection with the Mercy Hospital development, theNorth Bend Road improvements near Mercy HealthBoulevard are scheduled to be completed in June 2013.

Adam then gave an overview of the other new projectsin Green Township:

• Harrison Avenue West – including a trafficsignal at Sheed and Harrison.Engineering on this project should be completed in2013, construction to begin in fall 2013, andcompleted in summer 2014.

• Wesselman/Rybolt-Taylor/Rybolt

The final right-of-way acquisition should becompleted in 2013, construction to begin in fall2013 and completed in summer 2014.

• Cheviot Road – Tallahassee to Jessup

Widening

Engineering for this project should be completed in2013/2014 and the construction completed in 2015/2016.

• North Bend Road Overpass

This major project involves the completereplacement of the existing North Bend Roadbridge over I-74. The major reason for this is thatthe existing bridge does not meet current ODOTclearance requirements. (That is, the distancebetween I-74 pavement and the bottom of thebridge is not as high as current standards require.)

The bridge also will be widened to 5 lanes, whichwill provide a dedicated entrance ramp to eastboundI-74 and four full lanes of through traffic.Engineering work is to be awarded in summer 2013and the new bridge constructed in 2016/2017.

Another current ODOT project, the road widening at thecorners of North Bend and West Fork Road, should becompleted in the fall of 2013.

After Adam finished his presentation, Pat Kowalski tookthe floor. Pat also used lots of photos in his own PowerPointpresentation to give the audience clear views of the exteriorand interior of the new Mercy Hospital, its facilities and theadjacent medical office building. Pat's exterior viewsincluded aerial photos that dramatically showed the size andlocation of the hospital, office building and service facilitieson this large site. The hospital is anticipated to open this fall.

After his presentation with its pictorial accompaniment,Pat answered questions about the new construction,including how old Boomer Road will be used and the benefitsof the hospital's grass-covered "green" roof.

Both Pat and Adam answered many audience questionsabout these ongoing and anticipated projects.

5

Green Roof

6

KAREN'S BASKET FACTORY

MOVING SALE!

Association business member, Karen Freeman, advisedus that she is moving her shop. But fans need not despair-themove will be only about 200 feet northeast of its presentlocation to the building Frey Electric formerly used as itsshowroom. The move, which is planned for late May or earlyJune, will provide Karen with more flexibility in arrangingdisplays and a better store layout.

As Karen consolidates and trims her inventory ofspecialty decorative and gift items along with many of herbaskets, customers will have the opportunity to take advan-tage of substantial markdowns. There will be great bargains,with many items marked down 25%, 50% and even 75% off!The sale will continue until Karen completes the move or, shesays, "possibly later if I don't get my act together."

This is a great opportunity to see if a special item you hadyour eye on may be on sale. Karen also is bringing in newmerchandise every week. That makes her "moving day sale"an even more wonderful opportunity to shop this localmerchant who has supported the Association for many years,and to help her keep her unique gift and craft shop in business!

Karen's Basket Factory regular store hours are Monday,Wednesday and Fridays 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.; Tuesdays andThursdays 12:00 noon - 7:00 p.m. (possibly later if basketweaving classes in session-call 213-245-1100 to check); andSaturdays from 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

LIBRARY HAPPENINGS

YEAR ROUND GARDENINGLearn new ideas for planning and maintaining your

garden throughout the year from the staff at White OakGarden Center. All programs are on Mondays at 6:30 p.m.

• April 8, Growing Small Fruits and Berries in theHome Garden: Practical advice on making the rightvariety choices, site and soil choices and correctmaintenance to achieve success tips and methods.

• April 22, Tropical Treasures: Add bright pops ofcolor to your summer garden by adding new andexciting tropical plants and bulbs.

SENIOR BOOK CLUBMeets the third Tuesday of each month at 10:00 a.m. at

the Green Township Senior Center, 3620 Epley Road.• April 16, Heft, by Liz Moore• May 21, In the Garden of Beasts, by Erik Larson• June 18, The Day the Falls Stood Still, by Cathy

Marie BuchananQUICK CRAFTS for teens and adults

Meets the second Tuesday of every month at 6:00 p.m.Learn a new crafting skill and work on a one-hour project.Please call 369-4472 for the theme of the monthly project.For ages 12-adult. Registration is required.BOOK CLUB

Meets on the first Thursday of each month at 6:30 p.m.The title for the following month will be announced at eachmonth's meeting. Or call the library at 369-4472.

For more information on these and other libraryprograms, call the Monfort Heights Branch at 369-4472

or go to www.CincinnatiLibrary.org.

2013 WESTWOOD HOME TOUR

The Westwood Historical Society is pleased to announcethe 6th Westwood Home Tour that takes place on Sunday,April 28. The self-guided tour runs from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.and starts at Mother of Mercy High School, 3036 Werk Road(Epworth Avenue entrance). As in past Westwood Home Tours, the featured homesmirror the diversity of styles found in Westwood. The homesreflect the different tastes and lifestyles of their originalowners as well as those of the current owners and theirfamilies. Interiors are as varied as the exteriors, with some-thing to appeal to everyone's taste. See how homeownershave repurposed found objects, blended old with new, madethe ordinary unique, and dealt with architectural challenges. Also featured on the tour will be the recently renovatedWestwood School and the Suburban Bell telephone buildingthat has been acquired by Madcap Puppets and will berenovated as their new home. Tickets are $15 on the day of the tour and can bepurchased at Mother of Mercy High School starting at 12:30p.m. (homes will not open until 1:00 p.m). Advance sale tickets are $10, available from April 1 untilApril 27, at Henke Winery (3077 Harrison Avenue) and USBank Westwood-Cheviot Office (3168 Harrison Avenue).For more information, go to www.westwoodhistorical.org, or(513) 979-1927.

OUR NEW HEAD LIBRARIAN!

We welcome Lisa Cappelto Green Township as the newhead librarian of the MonfortHeights Branch of the CincinnatiPublic Library.

Lisa, who earned her mastersdegree in Library Science andInformation at the University ofKentucky, began her managementposition at the Monfort HeightsBranch just last month, onMarch 18. She is a native ofPickerington, Ohio (near Columbus)and has worked in the Cincinnati area since 2003 at librarybranches in Covedale and Miamitown. She and her husbandlive in Westwood with their three children.

Many of our members are fond users of our local publiclibrary branch. Be sure to stop in and introduce yourself toLisa Cappel and welcome her to our community!

Lisa Cappel

7

A GREEN TOWNSHIP COMMUNITY Continuedfrompage 2

LOW INCOME HOUSING

Continued from page 3

the winter slowed considerably.

Some farmers took their crops and livestock to market

once a week to Cincinnati, but most of the farms in the

area were too far from Cincinnati to support a true suburb,

and growth was slow in Monfort Heights until the post

World War II baby boom. Cars, shopping centers and

subdivisions began to replace farmland that produced

vegetables, fruits and animals. Today Monfort Heights is

just a 15 minute drive from downtown Cincinnati and has

easy access to I-74, I-75, I-275, I-71 and the Ronald

Reagan highways, as well as Northern Kentucky. It is now

possible to easily and quickly access all the Greater

Cincinnati area from this suburban community.

Soon the new 300+ bed Mercy Hospital will be opening

on North Bend Road. This development is leading to major

road improvements on North Bend Road, the main traffic

artery for the area. The community also supports a large

number of churches of many denominations, including the

Catholic, Protestant and Mormon faiths.

Like its close neighbor Bridgetown, Monfort Heights is

considered to be a Census Designated Area. Its residents'

median income level, educational level, age and property

values all are higher than the state of Ohio average.

The new Bicentennial Park on Diehl Road as well as

access to nearby Mt. Airy Forest offers residents many

recreational opportunities. Mt. Airy is home to miles of

horseback riding trails so there are several barns and

horses close by. Sewers have yet to be developed on many

of its streets because of the hilly terrain, and many

residences still have large lots and privacy, which enhances

the "rural feel" of this community despite its close proximity

to Cincinnati. The community is also home to the Monfort

Heights branch of the Cincinnati library on West Fork

Road.

Overall, Monfort Heights is a very pleasant place to

live with a short commute to just about anywhere, family

friendly recreation, quiet and beautiful residential

neighborhoods, access to health care, shopping, schools and

churches. One can certainly understand why the residents

of Monfort Heights are happy to call the community their

home.

[In next month's issue, we will explore the equally

varied and interesting history of White Oak.]

Some of the information contained in this article

was adapted from A Bicentennial History of Green

Township: Uncovering a Jewel in the Crown of the Queen

City 1809-2009, by Joe Flickinger.

units in genuinely "scattered sites" throughout theTownship? We don't know, but the Association's Trusteesare convinced that would be a bad result both for theTownship and the residents of those public housing units.

The Association's Trustees, together with the leaders ofthe Concerned Citizens of Green Township, Westwood andCheviot group, intend to stay fully informed about CMHA'splans and, to the extent possible, assure that Option B isimplemented in a way that will best help the residents ofnew low-income public housing and at the same timereduce the threat of adverse impact of that housing uponour local communities and their schools, public order andproperty values.

Names: ______________________________________________________________________________________________

Street Address: ____________________________________________________________ Zip: ______________________

Phone:____________________________________ e-Mail: ___________________________________________________

This is a q renewal q new membership q change of address/information q Send newsletter by e-mail

Monfort Heights/White Oak Community Association

Membership/Change of Information Form(If accompanied by check, supply missing information only)

Mail to: MHWOCA, P.O. Box 11342, Cincinnati, Ohio 45211

MEMBERSHIP

FAMILY BUSINESS

$10 One Year $25

$25 Three Years $60

Monfort Heights/White Oak

Community Association

P.O. Box 11342

Cincinnati, OH 45211

www.mh-wo.org

First Class Mail

Our Association's Regular Monthly

Meetings Are Held on

The Second Wednesday

Of Each Month at

The Green Township Senior Center

3620 Epley Road.