Phil Ertel candidate for University Heights City Council
Biographical information
What neighborhood or area of the city do you live in?
I live at 2296 Miramar Blvd., 17 houses from JCU.
How long have you lived in Cleveland Heights? What brought you here?
I’ve lived in University Heights 51 years – all my life. I am part of a 4th generation University Heights family. I’ve stayed here because it’s a great place to raise a family and make lifelong friends.
Tell us about yourself.
Married 35 years to Susan. Two children. Cleveland Heights High grad. Graduated from Ohio Univ., cum laude with a degree in communications. Groups I’m involved with are as follows: Long-time Chairman of the University Heights Memorial day parade, Board of Directors of the Bellflower Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse, National Family Justice Alliance, founding member of the National Campaign for Tolerance, Habitat for Humanity, Cleveland Council of World Affairs, Greater Cleveland Growth Assoc., Greater Cleveland Suburban Council Assoc., past President of the North East Ohio Municipal Court Clerks Assoc.
If elected, how would you encourage citizens to participate in decision making?
Regular town hall meetings
Describe one innovative idea that would transform the city.
A weekly farmers market at Garity School.
Who are the community stakeholders in University Heights? What ideas do you have for how these stakeholders can work together toward common goals?
Primarily the residents and JCU. Honest dialog that identifies issues that can mutually benefit city and univ.
What is your plan to develop the local economy?
Take the bull by the horns by the city filling the empty retail space instead of relying on the developers.
What are the best qualities of University Heights and what would you do to sustain them?
The neighborhoods. I would immediately address the issue of foreclosures thru successful county programs.
Describe one way that you think the city could realistically work cooperatively with other local governments to reduce costs and/or improve services.
City employee health and retirement benefits are 70% of the city’s costs. We should form a coop with other cities to get reduced rates.
What would you tell a current resident of University Heights who was thinking of leaving town?
Why are you leaving?
How would you market the City of University Heights to a prospective resident?
By featuring our neighborhoods as a great place to raise a family.
Please give one concrete example of how you propose to address one of the following real or perceived quality of life issues: crime, litter, vacant storefronts, disengaged youth, foreclosures/vacant houses, population decline, public school performance, high taxes.
I believe home foreclosures are a crisis that current UH city council members are ignoring. This is an unprecedented crisis of historic proportions that is killing our neighborhoods. As a city, why aren’t we doing all we can to help families keep their homes? And once a house is vacant, to fill that home with another family as soon as possible - so that families don’t have empty houses next door to them, ruining lives and depreciating the quality and value of our neighborhoods. There are successful county and state programs in place that could be utilized, such as the “Save the Dream” statewide program. Last year it assisted more than 3,220 at-risk families, enabling them to keep their homes. And the Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Cleveland organization offers $40,000.00 loans to individuals purchasing foreclosed homes. The loan is entirely forgiven if the purchaser lives in the home for ten years.
How would you work together with the CH-UH City School District to address the issue you identified above? Please restate the issue you are addressing.
Thru joint meetings.
How would you work together with John Carroll University to balance its needs with those of residents?
Very skeptically.
Do you support the proposed changes to the University Heights Charter as approved by University Heights City Council? Please explain your position.
I do not support the charter amendments to re-organize the city government, as approved by City Council. University Heights is a well run city. It is not broken. It does not need an overhaul. City Council’s time would be better spent working on more productive and less political issues. And I am against merging University Heights into Cleveland Heights.