May 16, 2010 Update from Dave Berger

Greetings, Ladies and Gents!

In Memoriam
This past week witnessed the annual Police Parade and Memorial Service, conducted in tribute for the seven Lima and Allen County officers who have been killed in the line of duty. Please take a moment to remember them and their families for the sacrifices that they made on behalf of our community. (You can access biographical information about these officers at the following: http://www.odmp.org/agency/76-allen-county-sheriffs-department-ohio & http://www.odmp.org/agency/2155-lima-police-department-ohio)





Lima Police Department Chief Greg Garlock, Allen County Sheriff Sam Crish, and Ohio State Highway Patrol representative place their wreath during the Memorial Service.









Allen County Commissioner Sam Bassitt and I presented proclamations, while Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray reminded us of the 125 officers killed in the United States this past year in the line of duty.




In addition to this annual event organized by the Fraternal Order of Police, a service is held each year at the Lima Firefighters Museum in Lincoln Park (http://www.limafiremuseum.org) honoring the Lima firefighters who have died while serving our community. This is held on Memorial Day in the early afternoon. The public is encouraged to attend. Please watch for media announcements in coming days.

Your attendance is a significant way of showing appreciation for the sacrifices of these public servants and their families.



Thank you for supporting Ohio’s Third Frontier Program
Voters in Lima and Allen County, along with the majority of voters across the state of Ohio, approved the renewal of the Third Frontier Program at the May 4 primary election. This approval assures that investments in cutting edge technology and job creation will continue in Ohio and in our community. THANK YOU.




Excerpts from the Ohio Business Development Coalition website:

FEATURED STORY:
Ohio Voters Overwhelmingly Approved Renewal of the Ohio Third Frontier Program Through 2016
On May 4, 2010, Ohio voters approved a $700 million renewal of Ohio Third Frontier , extending the program through 2016.
Established in 2002, the 10-year, $1.6 billion initiative fosters the creation of high-paying jobs through innovation, research and development and the commercialization of next-generation products designed to improve the lives of Ohioans and people around the world. Since its inception, Ohio Third Frontier has:
• Created 48,000 Ohio jobs
• Created, attracted or capitalized 571 start-up companies
• Produced more than $6.6 billion in total economic impact
• Attracted $3.2 billion in additional investments from other public and private sources
The Ohio Third Frontier Annual Report details the successes of the program and opportunities for growth in the coming six years.

FEATURED TOPIC:
Ohio Fares Well in Tech-Job Rankings
The Columbus Dispatch recently reported that Ohio’s high-tech industry was in the top 10 among all states in gaining jobs for the fourth year in a row, according to a recently released study by the TechAmerica Foundation.
Cyberstates 2010: The Definitive State-by-State Analysis of the High-Technology Industry comprises data from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, for the year 2008. The report details national and state trends in high-tech employment, wages, and other key economic factors.
Ohio was ranked eighth nationally in adding high-tech jobs between 2007 and 2008, and 14th in the total number of high-tech workers.

You too can stay well informed by signing up for hiVelocity!
Subscribe to hiVelocity
Ohio is at the forefront of a new economy, creating new ideas, innovative businesses and new jobs needed for the 21st century. It's an important story. And hiVelocity, a new online magazine, is here to tell it.



The 2010 Mayor’s Golf Outing: Thursday, May 27
Spring time brings with it intensive planning for the Mayor’s Annual Golf Outing. This year’s event will take place at Hawthorne Hills Country Club (http://www.hawthornegolf.com/) and as always promises to be a terrifically fun event. The format is a scramble with 2 shot-gun starts, at 7:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. with a hot lunch at 12:30 p.m. for all participants. Lots of door prizes, food and drink!

I hope you will consider joining us.

For tickets, please contact one of the following persons:

 Carol Buettner, Chairperson, 419-879-4843, cbuettner@superiorfcu.com
 Mike Caprella, 419-236-1074, mike.caprella@cityhall.lima.oh.us



Take care.


Dave


David & Linda Berger
1211 Lakewood Avenue
Lima, Ohio 45805
419-228-7498
dberger@wcoil.com

May 3, 2010 Update from Dave Berger

Greetings, Ladies and Gents:

Tomorrow is Election Day
Though there has not been a deluge of advertising and the event may seem low key, tomorrow’s election is an important opportunity to decide on local issues and candidates, as well as several statewide elections. So I hope that you will take the time to vote.

I would like to call your attention to several issues, and I ask for your support for each of them.

First, the city of Lima will have a second set of changes to the city’s charter on the ballot. (The first set was adopted by voter approval in November, 2009.) This set is the result of study and recommendation by the Charter Review Commission and unanimous approval by Lima City Council. For a full explanation of these changes, please visit the Lima News website for a column by Dr. Zach Broshes, the Chairman of the Charter Review Commission. The link to Dr. Broshes’ column is as follows: http://www.limaohio.com/articles/charter-49705-city-council.html.

My continuing thanks to the members of the Charter Review Commission for their diligence and hard work for nearly 2 years. The Commission includes Nancy Berney (1st Ward), Dr. Zach Broshes (2nd Ward), Deb Tallman (3rd Ward), Ben Rose (4th Ward), John Doxie (5th Ward), John Leahy, Jr. (7th Ward), and Dick Meredith (8th Ward).

Second, voters throughout Allen County will have the opportunity to support the important work of the Children’s Services Board with the replacement levy that will appear on the ballot. We have witnessed some terrible situations for children in our region. It is important that we continue to provide the services necessary to protect and help children all over the county. Following are links to both a column by the Children’s Services director, Scott Ferris, and an editorial by the Lima News in support of voter approval: http://www.limaohio.com/articles/theologian-49496-dietrich-allen.html & http://www.limaohio.com/articles/children-49655-services-important.html

Third, Ohio’s Third Frontier Program is up for voter renewal in tomorrow’s election as Issue 1. Lima and the region have successfully competed for these significant economic development resources and they remain critical to creating jobs and growing the overall prosperity of our region and state for the long term. This is a program that was launched by Governor Bob Taft (R) and continued by Governor Ted Strickland (D). It had at the outset and continues today to have bi-partisan support. Through its several programs more than 500 new companies have been started and nearly 48,000 jobs created. Detailed information on the 3rd Frontier is available at www.unitedforjobsohio.com. Also, following are links to a column by JoAnn Davidson, co-chair of the statewide renewal campaign, and an editorial by the Lima News in support of the renewal: http://www.limaohio.com/articles/ohio-49250-spots-investment.html & http://www.limaohio.com/articles/program-49757-jobs-state.html

So, please take the time tomorrow to participate in our local and state elections. Important issues and the future of our community and state are in your hands. Thanks for your consideration.


Meet our 4 New Officers @ LPD
With the help of a substantial federal grant, the City of Lima has been able to hire 4 new police officers. They were introduced by Chief Greg Garlock at my recent weekly press conference.














Pictured from left to right are: Shane Huber, Nathaniel Garlock, Matthew Woodworth, and Aaron Rode. Welcome, Gentlemen!


During these tough economic times, we are grateful for the resources to add these officers. We are yet hopeful that similar funding will be available for us to hire some firefighters too.


Take care.
Dave



David & Linda Berger
1211 Lakewood Avenue
Lima, Ohio 45805
419-228-7498
dberger@wcoil.com

April 18 Update from Dave Berger

Greetings, Ladies and Gents:


The spring time weather has truly been delightful for the past couple of weeks. I hope you are enjoying it!

A Vision Of and For Our Downtown
(Photo below compliments of Jesse Sadiua)













While this aerial snapshot captures Town Square on a bright and sunny day, the work being undertaken by Downtown Lima, via the efforts of Jennifer Brogee, will help fashion a vision for its future.



Jennifer wears several hats. She is a co-owner of the Meeting Place on Market, an employee at HR Services, and a board member for Downtown Lima. In the latter capacity, she has undertaken to create a Marketing Plan for the downtown and wants feedback from you and others. The Lima News website is carrying Jennifer’s survey and it will run for the next 2 weeks.

Please take a minute to fill out the survey & forward this email to friends and associates.

Link: http://www.limaohio.com/sections/infocenter/downtownsurvey/

Also, Downtown Lima now has a Facebook fan page. If you're on Facebook, please become a fan. That way you will be notified as events take place in our central business district. Feel free to post events, information, memories of Downtown Lima to the fan page Wall.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Downtown-Lima-Ohio/112518775432855

Lima’s downtown continues to be a vigorous community center. You can add to its dynamism by partnering with us as we encourage ongoing positive change and development.


Now, tell me, how are you going to fill it?
Last night, I attended the Hall of Fame dinner for Lima Central Catholic High School, as 4 terrific individuals—John Bishop, Tony Lester, Brett DeCurtins and Dick Ireland--were inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame. (The following link describes the inductees: http://epaper.limaohio.com/Olive/ODE/LimaNews/Default.aspx?href=LMA%2F2010%2F04%2F17&pageno=9&view=document).

Following the dinner, a friend approached and began to comment in some amazement about Lima’s new 5.1 billion gallon reservoir under construction on the west side of town. As he concluded, he wondered aloud, “Now, tell me, how are you going to fill it? Are you just going to wait on the rain? Won’t that take a while?”

The answer is “No, rainfall by itself will not fill the new reservoir.”

Instead, we’ll help Mother Nature by pumping from the Auglaize River in order to fill the new containment, and it will take us most of a year in order to do that.

Below are several pictures of components for the new pump station just installed.

Photo 1: This is a surge tank, constructed in South Dakota and transported across 5 states at 35 mph. It regulates pumping pressures in 3 miles of pipeline connecting to the reservoir.














Photo 2: The surge tank being lifted into place next to the Auglaize River pump station.

















Photo 3: The original pump station (in brick), the new pump station (under construction), and the surge tank placed on the east side.



Lima’s 3 east side reservoirs—Lost Creek, Metzger and Ferguson—are fed by the Ottawa River. The Bresler and new reservoirs on the west side are fed by the Auglaize River. These five up-ground containments will provide us with over 15 billion gallons of storage, yielding over 40 million gallon per day for residential, commercial and industrial uses. A terrific resource for long term economic development!

Take care.

Dave


David & Linda Berger
1211 Lakewood Avenue
Lima, Ohio 45805
419-228-7498
dberger@wcoil.com

April 3 Update from Dave Berger

Greetings, Ladies and Gents!


Applause! Applause! For the LCC T-Birds
Last weekend’s OHSAA Division III State Championship victory by the Lima Central Catholic High School boys basketball team was a thrilling, heart-pounding experience! The team, the coaches, the school, all deserve our commendations and applause for a great season of disciplined, hard-driving team play.

You can check out some wonderful photos of the game, courtesy of the Lima News at http://varsity.limaohio.com/sections/slideshow/?pic=3&id=2628820


Lima City Council will be voting on a resolution of commendation for the team on Monday evening, 4/5. You can attend the meeting or tune in on GTV2 at 7:00 p.m.

Congratulations, Thunderbirds! You have made us proud!


Allen County, Ohio: 2 cities, 8 villages and 12 townships: What do we share?
Strength.

Real American Strength.

The kind of strength that just isn't about being powerful - it's about being steadfast and grounded.
It's about understanding who you are and where you've been.
And, perhaps, more importantly - where you're going.

We are more than a city, more than a county.

We are a place that's more than the simple sum of all its people and places.
Here, our strength comes from our Midwestern work ethic and values.
Our productivity, culture, and way of life are sacred gifts passed down to us from those who came before.

They're the kinds of things all Americans want - yet few actually possess.



When you have a moment, please visit www.realamericanstrength.com


Our Community: The Spring 2010 Edition



Here’s the link to the latest edition of Our Community: http://www.cityhall.lima.oh.us/ourcomm1004.pdf







ENJOY!




Take care.

Dave



David & Linda Berger
1211 Lakewood Avenue
Lima, Ohio 45805
dberger@wcoil.com

March 17 Update from Dave Berger

Greetings, Lads and Lassies!

I hope that this St. Patrick’s Day finds you and yours enjoying and sharing an Irish spirit of liveliness, generosity and hospitality!


Invitation to Google!
You may have heard a couple of weeks ago that Google announced it is looking for communities throughout the United States where it would consider investing in the development of high speed internet systems. Since then, the City of Lima has been working with a team to prepare our community’s response to Google’s RFP (Request for Proposals).

We have also prepared a website where you can join us in making our voice heard distinctly by the folks at Google. Please go to http://www.limafiber.com/ and click on the link where you can help nominate Lima for this investment by Google.

If you are a student, tell Google why you think that a high speed internet hook up would help your education.

If you are a business owner, explain to Google why your business needs higher transmission speeds to help you maintain or gain a competitive edge.

If you are a teacher, share with Google your perspective about the importance of a high speed information network for you and your students.

If you are a civic minded person, express to Google your hopes and dreams about how Lima will fit into the global marketplace via an ultra high speed hook up.

If you are a doctor or engineer, describe for Google the band width and speed that you need for your business activities or professional practice to succeed.

We need to show Google that there is broad support for this initiative in our community. Please take a few minute and help us do that in a very direct way by visiting the website and entering your thoughts and ideas. Please respond by March 26, when our proposal is due to Google.

Thank you very much for joining this team effort to Invite and Welcome Google to Lima, Ohio.


How big is 54”?
The City of Lima is currently building a $28 million above ground reservoir complex to the west of our existing Bresler Reservoir. We broke ground last September and have 3 major project components: a large pump station on the Auglaize River, situated adjacent to the present pumps; 3 miles of pipeline to connect the pumps to the new reservoir; and the 5.1 billion gallon reservoir itself. During the winter weather, grading for the reservoir had to stop due to freezing conditions. However, work on the pump station and the pipeline has proceeded largely unhindered by the weather conditions.

Below are several photos that attempt to capture the scale of this work.



















































So the answer to the question “How big is 54” inches?” is the Diameter of the Pipe being placed in the above photo!


Newsletters at the City’s Website
Without a doubt, VOLUNTEERS are energetically engaged in and on behalf of our community.

• Visit the City of Lima’s website to connect with Lima Allen County Neighborhoods in Partnership (LACNIP) @ http://www.cityhall.lima.oh.us/dept/community/NeighNotes1003.pdf. Please plan to join LACNIP for its 4th Annual Cultural Appreciation Festival this Sunday at the Veterans Memorial Civic and Convention Center!

• Check out the list of 2010 Volunteer Opportunities @ http://www.cityhall.lima.oh.us/dept/community/voluntopport2010.pdf. You, your family and friends can become involved in a wide array of activities that improve our community year round.
• The Lima Sister Cities Association has a full agenda for this year too. We are sending students from Lima to our Sister City in Harima cho, Japan in June and we are welcoming a delegation of 28 from Harima cho here in August. Click on this link in order to learn more: http://www.cityhall.lima.oh.us/dept/local/sistercity/Newsletter1003.pdf
  

Take care.

Dave


David & Linda Berger
1211 Lakewood Avenue
Lima, Ohio 45805
419-228-7498
dberger@wcoil.com

February 28 Update from Dave Berger

Greetings, Ladies and Gents:

I don’t know about you, but the Chilean earthquake, the threat of Pacific-wide tsunamis, and the blizzard in the Northeast made the couple of inches of snow we experienced in the past day or two seem fairly insignificant. Without a doubt, we should all be thankful and generous as the requests for help in Haiti, Chile and elsewhere are made.

City Finance Director Testifies

This past week, Steve Cleaves, the Finance Director for the City of Lima, testified before the Ohio House of Representatives concerning proposed legislation that would eliminate Ohio’s income tax. Because of the profoundly disruptive impacts that would be felt locally and statewide from such legislation, Steve prepared and delivered comments that argued forcefully against such a step. By virtue of his 28 year career in the international oil business and his half dozen years of service with the City, Steve’s expertise is broadly acknowledged. But his testimony was not an expression of mere opinion. He relied upon a longstanding resource—KPMG’s Guide to International Business Locations—to validate the relatively low tax burden in Ohio and its cities.

This is a subject that deserves some study time.

Please read Steve’s 2-page testimony at http://www.cityhall.lima.oh.us/dept/local/SCleavesOhioTestimony02242010.pdf

Also, you can download KPMG’s report at http://www.competitivealternatives.com/

The bottom line: There is no free lunch. Quality of life in local communities and in our state requires public expenditures and private investments. We need to do our part as tax payers if we expect to have high quality public services that serve us well and create environments that will motivate investors to keep our economy vibrant in a global economic system.

May 2010 renewal ballot for Ohio’s Third Frontier Program

The Ohio legislature has approved the placement of a renewal for the Third Frontier Program on the May 4, 2010 ballot. The Third Frontier program—begun by Governor Bob Taft--invests in research, commercialization and entrepreneurship in technologies in high tech industry clusters. This past year, the Ohio Department of Development contracted with SRI to conduct an independent economic assessment of the first 7 years of the program’s efforts. SRI concluded that the Third Frontier program created $6.6 billion in economic impact and 41,300 jobs by making grants of $681 million to research, development and commercialization projects at academic, research and development institutions and companies, entrepreneur-development organizations and venture capital funds. An important conclusion of the business case study: the Third Frontier program is likely to pay for itself by 2014 with income and sales taxes generated by organizations receiving its grants.

You can access a copy of the 2009 Annual Report at the following: http://development.ohio.gov/ohiothirdfrontier/Documents/RecentPublications/Third_Frontier_Annual_Report2009.pdf

If you go to pp 14-15, you’ll be able to read about Lima’s American Trim and Rhodes State College teamwork under the Third Frontier Program.

As May approaches, I expect to be working to highlight the investments made in our NW Ohio region from the Third Frontier program. There’s lots to talk about.

Take care. And be well.

Dave

David & Linda Berger

1211 Lakewood Avenue

Lima, Ohio 45805

419-228-7498

dberger@wcoil.com

February 14 Update from Dave Berger

Greetings, Ladies and Gents:

I hope this Valentine’s Day finds you well and comfortably surviving the winter snows that have fallen in 49 out of the 50 states. We have had enough snow here in Lima that yesterday I had to rescue my buddy, Smokey, from a snow drift that he got himself stuck in!

Positive News: $1 million Energy Stimulus award to American Trim

This past week, the Director of the Ohio Department of Development, Lisa Patt McDaniel, was in Lima to announce that American Trim was one of 18 companies around the state that had been selected for a grant of nearly $1 million for construction of a new energy efficient manufacturing line. (cf. http://www.governor.ohio.gov/Default.aspx?tabid=1510). American Trim will be spending $1.3 million of its own resources along with the grant for a state-of-the art coating line, which will save 95% of the energy used in prior technologies.

Steve Hatkevich, head of R&D, for American Trim, describes the new energy savings technology.

American Trim has been highly successful in rolling out new technologies from its laboratories and scaling them up for high-tech manufacturing. These efforts by American Trim are part of a

multi-year commitment by the Company to reinvent its manufacturing processes and pursue an agile manufacturing strategy with the express purpose of retaining jobs in Ohio and Lima in particular.

And this project illustrates the validity of that strategy: After several years in their labs, the company is now prepared to install a coating line that will apply a protective film to steel panels built for doors on appliances. This coating is cured in place using flashes of ultraviolet light, rather than the traditional heating and cooling processes. The energy savings are enormous, and the technology is entirely “green”, with no environmental emissions.

The announcement was made in the company’s Baxter Street facilities where millions of similar products were previously made using the old technology. These facilities are now vacant and unused, but the new energy efficient manufacturing line will create 40 new jobs and allow the company to once again compete globally.

Congratulations, American Trim!

Lima’s Sister City connection to the Winter Olympics (in Nagano, Japan, 1998)

With Friday’s opening of the Vancouver Winter Olympics, the Lima Sister City Association has launched a special fundraising effort, connected to the ’98 Winter Olympics held in Nagano, Japan.

Keiko Hahn, a co-chair of our Japan Committee, has a sister, a master quilter, who served as the Coordinator of the Olympic Quilt Exhibition in Nagano. As a part of this exhibition, quilts were created in the shape of kimono using antique kimono fabric by expert Nagano area Japanese quilters. These quilts were presented to each participating country in the spirit of international friendship. After the exhibit, two of these kimono quilts, one for the country of Yugoslavia (which no longer exists) and one for The Gambia, a small country in West Africa, were unclaimed. Keiko’s sister gave these quilts to Keiko and the Lima Sister City Association to be sold as fundraisers in the future.

These quilts were posted separately on e-Bay on February 7.

Bidders should know that 100% of the sale price will go to the LSCA Youth Fund, which provides opportunities for high school students to visit Lima's sister city, Harima-cho, Japan.

Below are links to the quilts' item description pages:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110491805576&ssPageNa

me=S

TRK:MESELX:IT#ht_1136wt_1167

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110491806821&ssPageNa

me=S

TRK:MESELX:IT#ht_994wt_1167

In the spirit of international friendship fostered by the Winter Olympics, I hope you’ll consider participating in this auction and supporting the efforts of Lima Sister City Association.

More Information concerning Ohio’s Passenger Rail Hub Plan

As you probably are aware, the City of Lima has been working for years to re-establish passenger rail service that once linked us to Chicago, Washington, D.C., and New York. That opportunity is closer with the federal commitments that are now moving ahead for the funding of high speed passenger rail recently announced. Ohio’s first corridor to be built will be along the 3’C’s and with the announcement of $400 million being available to actually begin its development, lots of debate has begun. And as always, debate is good.

So to help foster the debate I am passing along a link to information being provided by the Ohio Passenger Rail Association.

http://members.cox.net/ohiohsr/3C%20mythbusters.pdf

Hope you’ll take a moment and check it out.

Thanks.

Take care. And be well.

Dave

David & Linda Berger

1211 Lakewood Avenue

Lima, Ohio 45805

419-228-7498

dberger@wcoil.com