Archive for Mariemont at Large

A new Maslow Model

Common Pathways in the Brain’s Environment

Five Bins

  1. Emotive core: gratitude and enmity , nostalgia and empathy, compassion and cruelty, joy and anger, humor and irony, regret and jealousy,
  2. Environmental Circumstances: advantage and disadvantage, addictions and lifestyle choices, positive and negative influencers
  3. Basic survival needs: food, water, shelter, safety, stimulation and affection
  4. Aspirational: ambition and achievement, work, marriage and children, sacrifice and narcissism, providence and determination, stable and unstable
  5. Intrinsic Limitations: Genetics and epigenetics; predispositions and natural abilities, sexual identity, curiosity, intelligence and health.

The five blends together to punctuate the journey and offer the possibility of achieving self-actualization

 

 

Two Local Student Athletes Sign Letters of Intent

Two Mariemont High School seniors recently signed national letters of intent to participate in athletics at the collegiate level. Corinne Fanta signed with the University of Tampa for cross country and Rebekah Justice signed with Iona College for basketball.

Rebekah is a four-year varsity starter at Mariemont High School, two time 2nd team CHL and two time second team all city. She was 1st team CHL and all city and honorable mention all southwest Ohio as a junior.

“Rebekah has been the inside scoring attack for the past three years and the team has had great success,” said Tom Nerl, district athletic director. “She has been a great asset to her team, as a leader both on and off the court.”

Corinne was a regional finalist in cross country and has been named a CHL champion. Nerl said she “took off her sophomore year, following Coach Thomas’s lead, and never looked back. She’s an incredible athlete.”

Corinne said she knew she wanted to run at the collegiate level before she knew anything else. She plans on studying allied health at the University of Tampa, where she said she fell in love with the school and everything else clicked.

“Corinne is probably the most self-motivated student athlete I have worked with in all of my years of coaching,” said Terri Thomas, coach of the Mariemont High School cross country team. “She does her best to make her team better, and she is incredibly driven and well rounded. I have never seen anything like it, and I mean that from my heart.”

Corinne Fanta, her mom, Amie, her brother, Chad, and Coach Terri Thomas enjoy the moment with the entire girls cross country team.

Corinne Fanta, her mom, Amie, her brother, Chad, and Coach Terri Thomas enjoy the moment with the entire girls cross country team.

From left to right (front): Carson Fields, Rebekah Justice, Audrey Theye. From left to right (back): Coach Spreen, Coach Weilbacher, Amanda Lewis, Danielle Bryant, Ashley Rothert, Coach Franklin

From left to right (front): Carson Fields, Rebekah Justice, Audrey Theye. From left to right (back): Coach Spreen, Coach Weilbacher, Amanda Lewis, Danielle Bryant, Ashley Rothert, Coach Franklin

The Barn: Art Roadshow & Showcase of Arts

Cowan's Art RoadshowCowan’s @ The Barn: “Art Roadshow”

Friday Dec. 2 from 9 am – 12 noon

Have you always wondered about that painting, vase, or quilt that was handed down to you, discovered in an attic, or bought at a yard sale? Bring that piece of art or decorative art to the Barn on Friday, Dec. 2 from 9am to noon, where professionals from Cowan’s Auction House evaluate your item and give you an estimate of how much they would expect it to sell for at auction if it were put up for sale today. Fee is $25 per item, all proceeds to benefit the The Barn (Woman’s Art Club of Cincinnati Foundation).

Complete information and registration here.

 

 


Finish your Holiday Shopping at Our Annual Showcase of Arts

Saturday, Dec. 3rd, 10 – 5 pm, and Sunday 12 – 5 pm

Grab lunch at the “Fire on High” food truck!
Click here for list of participating Artists & Artisans 

showcase_of_arts

Opportunities to lower your Village taxes

Indian Hill and Madiera are considering sharing police and public works. Isn’t it time for Mariemont and Fairfax to do the same?

To understand the opportunities, we must first review the budgetary cost structure for the Village of Mariemont. In 2015, total disbursements were $3,243,322 and income was $3,139,322 making a deficit of $104,000. The largest item in the budget was for police services costing $1,108,066 with fire services adding $467,138. The two taken together equated to 49% of the entire operating budget.

The Village of Mariemont has about 3400 residents living in a land area of .89 square miles. Area wise, Fairfax is even smaller with .82 square miles. And yet both communities have a police force of 10 officers and independent, fully equipped fire departments. Surely, there must be some cost savings to sharing or even combining services.

My estimate (that is reinforced by opinions of other Village leaders) is that a savings of 40 percent in police and fire services could be achieved. With the combined police and fire costing $1,575,204 in 2015 that equates to cost savings of $630,000 per year.

What could be done with annual savings of $630,000?

How about:

  1. Eliminate garbage collection fees for residents of the Village (cost $282,527 in 2015)
  2. Hire a Village Administrator ($70,000)
  3. Eliminate the Tennis Association fees for all Mariemont residents (cost $4,612 in 2015)
  4. Eliminate the Swim Club fees for all Mariemont residents (cost $81,161 in 2015)

Longer Range Strategic Initiatives:

  1. The construction of a 200 car parking garage behind the theatre (cost $4 million or $20,000 per space)
  2. A formal tree management program for the aging maple tree stock in Mariemont
  3. Evaluate additional ways to evolve the South 80 into a recreation park and relieve the pressures on Dogwood Park
  4. A million dollar renovation of the Municipal Building to make it into a Municipal Center with better meeting rooms and bring it up to code for the disabled. (This would be in addition to the $400,000 for the Indian Artifacts Museum)

Taking major steps like this to reduce taxes is never easy and requires strategic leadership. I suggest we raise this issue in public discourse and with Council.

Important articles posted on Mariemont.com

Links to the more important articles posted on the Mariemont.com blog during the past 12 months.

 

Mariemont Rankings fall in Cincy Magazine in May

The new Mariemont Firetruck

The South 80 in Mariemont: history, transformation and future April

Missed Opportunities come home to roost April

Does Village Government cede too much power to the Mayor? April

Can Mariemont’s chronic shortages of parking be solved?

Should the Village of Mariemont have a Village Administrator? March

How can local governments cut expenses? January

What if the Village had a budget surplus? January

Is the old Mariemont Steam Plant finally coming down? Nov 2014

A further look at Electric aggregation Oct 2014

A Vision Statement for Mariemont: All Parts July 2014

Showcase of Arts

ShowcaseOfTheArts
You can “window shop” on our Pinterest page here.
The “Fire on High” Food Truck will be on site to serve hungry shoppers – menu here.

 

Mariemont Players Presents: Radium Girls

January 8 – 24, 2016

A drama by D W Gregory

Inspired by a true story, Radium Girls tells of the girls who painted radium numerals on watches to make them glow in the dark at a time when few realized how dangerous radioactivity could be. Written with warmth & humor, Radium Girls has been hailed by critics as a powerful & engrossing play.

Things to Consider for the Future of Mariemont

Things to Consider for the Future of Mariemont

If you are progressive in your views about the future of Mariemont, I believe that you would support many of the following initiatives during the next four years.

  1. Cooperative agreements with adjoining communities to share police and fire services to reduce redundancy and cut taxes.
  2. Development of the South 80 into a more complete recreational destination.
  3. A long term solution to the chronic parking shortage in Mariemont.
  4. See new agencies emerge like 3CDC in OTR in Cincinnati to spur economic development and the rejuvenation of Old Town.
  5. Electric aggregation for Village residents.
  6. The hiring of a City Manager/ Village Administrator.
  7. New Village Ordinances that imposes term limits, reinstitutes the elected position of Village Treasurer, and increases the number of Council Members.
  8. A balanced budget without erosion of the Capital Improvement fund.
  9. Renovation of the Municipal Building
  10. A comprehensive tree management program
  11. Continued trash collection in the back.
  12. Revision of the Murray Intersection and support for Columbia Township to improve the Southern gateway to Mariemont.
  13. A revisiting of Mariemont Preservation’s Vision 2021 plan.
  14. The demolition of the Steam Plant with condo development. (Work in progress?)
  15. A better rating for Mariemont in Cincy Magazines’ Best Burbs.
  16. Measures to decrease the polarization of the electorate in Mariemont with a more democratic and participatory Village Government.

Best Regards.

Dick Wendel MD, MBA

Next stop: STATE!

IMG_0569Another Mariemont High School record was shattered in track & field at the regional semifinal meet. The girls team of Lauren Croll, Carson Fields, Shelby Cresie and Aislynn Hartman qualified for finals, breaking the 2008 record of 50.99 with a 50.42. Other MHS regional finalists include Corinne Fanta (mile), Charlie Jordan (800m), Carson Fields (100m and 300 hurdles) and Ryan Fields (200m).

Next stop: STATE!

Junior Tennis Programs Staring This Month!

Junior Tennis Programs Staring This Month!

Download this pdf for more information: Junior Tennis Program Information