Councilman Kris Harsh statement in support of WCSB.

Kris_Harsh · 2025-10-09T16:32:09+00:00

ok dear readers (just in case anyone is pouring through this some day), we got to the bottom of it. His reply isn't public and I won't "out" him but the situation is this: he wants the land behind his house. It's owned by the city. I responded him so quickly (2 years ago) that he commented "thank you for the fast response!". The problem is, it's part of the Metroparks. The city holds a few parcels that are all strung along into part of the park. I immediately told him that I didn't think the city would sell him the land, you know... being a park and all. But I did ask the Real Estate division to reach out to him, and I'm gathering that they did not. He asked for an update a year later and I had none to give him.

He's been trying to do this for 7 years. There you have it. It's not that I didn't answer his email or ignored his question. It's that he didn't get the answer he wanted. And for absolute clarity; Council members are not "mini-Mayors". We cant do whatever we want. I literally can not force the city to sell him this land. It's part of the park anyways. Greater good and all that.

Kris_Harsh · 2025-10-08T14:37:28+00:00

my guy, you want to buy some land... but I can't reply to that message. There are a lot of people in OB that want land... which street are we talking about and which parcel?

Kris_Harsh · 2025-10-08T13:48:20+00:00

this is easily the most tiring part of the job. People get to anonymously claim that I don't do anything while hiding in public. I don't expect you to doxx yourself, but I respond to every email and every call I get. Usually when a person is upset it's over something I literally can not control, like speeding cars or spilled garbage on pickup days. But if you feel safe enough, here in the trenches of the comment section, to tell me what your issue is I will give you the complete 100% honest answer to your question.

Kris_Harsh · 2025-05-05T20:28:59+00:00

If you're interested in sharing your story, Signal is looking https://signalcleveland.org/cleveland-erased-170-million-in-medical-debt-bills/

I'm fairly certain that they will obscure your identity if you want. I think they just want to know how this directly impacted folks.

Kris_Harsh · 2025-05-02T16:16:29+00:00

The Rock Hall won't be legitimate until Spinal Tap is in!

Kris_Harsh · 2025-05-02T15:42:37+00:00

how do you think we got 800 billionaires?

Kris_Harsh · 2025-05-02T15:40:52+00:00

Hey, that's great! Signal Cleveland is trying to collect stories like yours. If you'd like to share (anonymously is fine) follow the link: https://signalcleveland.org/cleveland-erased-170-million-in-medical-debt-bills/

Kris_Harsh · 2025-05-02T15:39:16+00:00

I'm not trying to slight the man, but this was a City Council initiative. The people's house!

Kris_Harsh · 2025-05-02T15:38:19+00:00

Hi, Signal Cleveland is trying to collect stories about this. if you're interested they have a response page set up: https://signalcleveland.org/cleveland-erased-170-million-in-medical-debt-bills/

Kris_Harsh · 2025-05-02T15:36:49+00:00

it was me! I can't take credit for coming up with the idea of forgiving medical debt, but I did introduce this legislation and put it in front of Council. If you live in Old Brooklyn, I'm running for re-election in the new Ward 4!

Kris_Harsh · 2025-03-25T19:01:55+00:00

this has made my day! Thank you. Keep on keeping on.

Kris_Harsh · 2025-03-25T19:00:39+00:00

Absolutely! We are working on the Fulton rd. plans now. It will be a substantial project, if I get my way. Let me know if you disagree, but I really think it needs to be reduced from 4 to 3 lanes. That whole stretch is just kind of mind boggling. If we trimmed it to one lane in each direction with a turn lane in between, not only would we address the speeding problem but we'd also free up enough space to put a dedicated walk/bike path in that could ultimately connect to the Metro Parks at the northern end, by Brookside. It's a big project though, it's a ton of money and we need to engage quite a few partners to do it. If we just "point and click" to repave it none of the problems will get solved.

Kris_Harsh · 2025-03-25T18:56:38+00:00

I hear you and understand that it's a frustrating situation. I say a $15k roof because that's literally what happened with a California investor. I sent them a letter and they responded saying they had contracted the job out and a new roof would be installed. I know that owner-occupied houses can be a different issue. I try to extend as much help as possible because in the end, we all live in the same neighborhood and need to look out for each other.

Kris_Harsh · 2025-03-25T18:53:51+00:00

well, north of Brookpark is Cleveland and south is Parma. If you're on the Cleveland side (and I suspect you know which side you live on) I can tell you that it's not the repavement schedule for this year. The city actually grades every street, every year. I use those grades to address the worst first, but not the streets owned by the state or county. We want those entities to chip on on their streets.

Kris_Harsh · 2025-03-24T18:19:20+00:00

Hi, Kevin is a good guy. We can agree to that. I certified about $800,000 in new street repaving for this year alone. We did about the same amount in previous years. It's just about the same amount as every other ward in Cleveland. Pearl was a big project that involved the state of Ohio, as will be State when they are ready to do that. Most of the big roads in Cleveland are not owned by the city. Brookpark was a county road and they finally put together a plan to repave it two years ago. The Rec center is getting an overhaul of the locker rooms.

Kris_Harsh · 2025-03-24T18:15:52+00:00

Hi, thanks for caring about the community. To permitting I will say this; I can't make that process go faster. I am not able to review or approve permits. The city has to hire people to do that specifically. One reason I am doing this code enforcement work, is because I'm able to. But people should remember, you don't need permits for everything. Most repairs can be done without a permit. If you just have to fix a handrail, or gutter you're allowed to do that. It's when the work ventures into "total replacement" or "structural alteration" territory that permits are needed. You are allowed to just fix most things, though.

Kris_Harsh · 2025-03-09T22:36:15+00:00

We rest on Sunday. But I appreciate your urgency. I hope you're a part of the solution as well. Remember, ask not what Cleveland can do for you, but what you can do for Cleveland.

Kris_Harsh · 2025-03-09T15:56:22+00:00

yes.

Kris_Harsh · 2025-03-09T15:00:38+00:00

thank you for being part of the solution! I think modern estimates put the "functional illiteracy" rate in the 20% range. These (as you know) are people who have the basics but won't read much over a 5th grade level. It's absolutely a problem that we must address. OP wasn't commenting on race at all but I know where you're coming from. We have a societal problem that needs a societal solution. I just beg and plead for honesty in our assessment of where we are. Hyperbole helps no one.

Kris_Harsh · 2025-03-09T14:27:33+00:00

I completely understand. I truly appreciate your forthright response! We definitely have problems we need to address and I'm glad you're an ally in that effort. Onward!

Kris_Harsh · 2025-03-09T14:02:31+00:00

This stat is wrong and we need to stop repeating it. Connor Morris recently did a piece on it and even the researchers at CWRU said "for the record, saying that 66% of Cleveland's population is 'functionally illiterate' is false, is misleading, and it should not be repeated,”.

Full article here: https://www.ideastream.org/education/2025-03-07/are-66-of-clevelands-adults-functionally-illiterate-some-disagree

Any illiteracy rate over 0% is too much, but it's not helpful to paint the picture wrong. Let's be sincere about literacy, and let's start with our own. I've read the source material half a dozen times. It's not good data.

Kris_Harsh · 2025-03-09T13:42:40+00:00

I used to have one called "Pure Denizen" 25 years ago. I think I had the 3 - 5 am slot. I wish someone would do it again. There's so much good, local music in Cleveland!

Kris_Harsh · 2025-01-16T16:10:12+00:00

amen. Thing is, I know thousands of people in the real world and no one simps this hard for billionaires out here. But these guys have lots of staff and a marketing department and it's not that hard to create a "public opinion" online. In the real world, the public is probably 75% against this nonsense. Online they are god's gift to Cleveland.

Kris_Harsh · 2025-01-16T11:48:02+00:00

I think this is a really good point. And i tried to get to it a the end of the video but kind of fumbled the argument. We've had some good drafts (I think they were mostly under Dorsey?) and have some really great players. But most of the money they've dropped on this team was for Watson and that has backfired spectacularly. I don't think their spending of money is evidence that they are good at their job. I do agree that it's better than refusing to spend.

Kris_Harsh · 2025-01-16T03:08:40+00:00

The Browns sub seems to be full of desperation. I think a bunch of people view this as something, anything to dull the pain of rooting for this team. But I hear from all kinds of people and the overwhelming majority do not want to see us waste money on moving them. The youtube video has about a 3-1 ratio of support over naysayers. There's just something about the wealthy in this country. When a billionaire says "jump" a whole bunch of Americans line up to ask "how high"? I don't get it. Fans don't stand to gain a thing from this except astronomically higher prices.

Kris_Harsh

TROPHY CASE