Pencilstorm Post UA Election Interview: Next Steps For Rebuilding The Schools

Now that Upper Arlington's School Levy (Issue 43) passed with 54% of the votes, Pencilstorm reached out to Upper Arlington Superintendent Paul Imhoff  and Treasurer/Chief Finance Officer Andy Geistfeld with five questions about what will happen next. Their unedited answers are posted below.  

Paul Imhoff, Superintendent

Now that the levy has passed, what are the next steps?
It’s important to remember that none of the projects has been designed yet.  The next step is launching a community-based design phase for the six schools that are to be renovated or rebuilt.
 
Community involvement was the key to the success of our master planning process, and we believe that will be true with the design phase, too.  We’re sticking with the theme “your voice matters,” and we’ll be holding community meetings and asking for volunteers to be on building design teams and a district-wide green team.
 
The design phase will last about 12 to 15 months, and only then, once we have community-developed design plans for each of the six buildings, will we break ground — tentatively in early 2019.
 
In terms of timeline, which buildings will be worked on first? Do you have an estimate on when each will be finished? In addition, when will all day kindergarten start?
Tentatively, in early 2019, we’ll break ground first on a renovated Barrington and Tremont elementary school; a new Greensview and Wickliffe Progressive elementary school; and a new high school. The exception there is Windermere. We won’t be able to break ground on Windermere until the fall of 2020. And that’s because we’ll build a new Windermere on the footprint of the old building.
 
A renovated Barrington and Tremont and a new Greensview and Wickliffe will open to students tentatively in the fall of 2020. While the new Windermere is being built, students from that school will be educated in the old Wickliffe building. Then, a new Windermere and high school will tentatively open the next fall, in 2021. All construction on the high school site will be finished by the fall of 2022, with the athletic fields and support spaces completed and the old building demolished.
 
The plan is to add enough space at the elementary schools through these projects to accommodate both our enrollment growth and a future all-day kindergarten program.
 
How can the community get involved in the next stages of planning?
We’ll be having community-wide meetings to launch the design phase in December, and we’ll be setting the date for that in the coming days. We’ll offer both a morning and an evening option as we did during the master planning process. Community members can watch their mailboxes and our website, www.uaschools.org/facilities, for more information.
 
We will also be reaching out to community members about more opportunities to get involved, including building design teams and a “green team” that will explore environmental best practices for the new or renovated buildings. Neighbors living in close proximity to the buildings can also join a neighbor committee to share feedback and offer guidance throughout the design phase and construction process.
 
Which high school sports will be impacted by the construction and at what point will they need to be moved to a temporary facility?
Our goal is to minimize the impact the construction will have on our extracurricular activities.  The new turf field, baseball field and softball field to be built on the land behind Tremont Elementary School will definitely help with that.  However, we do anticipate that baseball, softball, tennis, and track and field will have to be temporarily relocated during construction.

Andrew Geisfeld, Treasurer/Chief Financial Officer

Let’s talk money. How will you look for savings and if there’s any extra money, what will you do with it? (Answer from Andy and Paul)
We will look for savings during each step of the community design process.

If funds remain after the projects are completed, those funds would be used to reduce the amount collected from residents to pay annual debt amount.

Pencilstorm would like to thank Paul and Andy for taking the time to answer our questions. For more information about the construction visit: www.uaschools.org/facilities.

Local UA Politics coverage provided by Wal Ozello. You can email him at Pencilstormstory@gmail.com or try to catch him at Colin's Coffee.

JD McPherson @ Skully's, Boss on Broadway and Random Stuff - Colin G.

Hey all. This is really more of a glorified Facebook post in between customers at the coffee shop but I wanted to touch base on a number of subjects to clear out my brain. Here goes.

- If you don't want to read any further I am still playing Four String Taproom in Grandview EVERY Thursday so we can chat over some Four String Brew. One set. 9pm. No Cover. 

-CD1025 has started streaming online. If you want to give it a test spin, I'll be on air with Brian Phillips Wednesday November 24th 8-10am. www.cd1025.com has the goods. 

- I recently returned from seeing Springsteen on Broadway and hope to have a review of sorts posted soon. I need some serious Ricki C. editing help on this project. 

- The League Bowlers record "Some Balls Deluxe" is being mastered and should be shipped off for production soon. I'm really excited for everybody to hear it and dig the groovy artwork. As soon as I know when it's arriving we are going to try and schedule some sort of release party ASAP. Mike Parks is giving cancer a helluva fight but time is still limited. 

- Tonight, Wednesday November 15th, I'm going to see JD McPherson at Skully's. I fell in love with his last record Let the Good Times Roll and his latest, Undivided Heart and Soul is in heavy rotation at Colin's Coffee. If you can't make the show give these records a listen. Good Stuff. 

Thanks to Wal Ozello for spearheading the Upper Arlington City Council interviews. That was some wild ride. 

Note to self: future story ideas-

CD1025 is Streaming Again and Has a New Program Director

Did Ray Davies Win the British Invasion with Americana?

Bon Jovi is the Steroid Kings of Hair Metal

My Nominations for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 

Uh-oh. Customer. Got to run. Not a story idea, but for real. Thanks for visiting Pencilstorm! - Colin Gawel. 

PS - You can contribute too! Send us an idea at pencilstormstory@gmail.com

Will Sparty Capitalize on Buckeye's Hawkeye Hangover? Baver Answers

Colin: Wow. Nobody saw that coming. Have you ever seen a worse defensive performance from a highly ranked Buckeye squad?

Baver: No; it was disgraceful. Iowa was averaging 25 ppg prior to last Saturday, and Ohio St should have been the best defense that the Hawkeyes had faced all year. Iowa had TD drives of 63, 80, 89, 78, 60, and 47 yds…mind blowing. It’s been a long time since I can remember a Buckeye defense being that confused. Hard to believe Greg Schiano allowed that to happen.

Colin: 5 TD passes allowed. Four to tight ends and one to a fullback. That is no coincidence. What did the Hawkeye coaches see on film that Penn State didn't?

Baver: I think the Buckeyes were well prepared for Penn St, having that game circled for 12 mths and the extra week to prepare. And Iowa was certainly well prepared for Ohio St. Ferentz and son obviously re-watched the OSU-Oklahoma game and thought the OSU LBs could still be had in pass coverage. Iowa was able to get their TEs matched up with Buckeye LBs, and create confusion with stacked or bunched receivers. Iowa’s fundamentals on offense trumped OSU’s athleticism on D. And Nathan Stanley picked apart a baffled Buckeye defense all afternoon. I definitely underestimated Stanley, as did the Buckeye defense.

Colin: Meanwhile our vaunted D-line got pushed all over the field. WTF?

Baver: And against two freshmen Iowa OTs to boot…so disheartening. I think much of it was just heart….the Iowa O-line simply wanted it more. And the Hawkeyes early success on offense fed off itself, with the confidence of their O-line sky-high by mid 3rd quarter. And the OSU D-line seemed tired….even in the first half. I wonder if Urban has burned these guys out a bit. There were whispers that he worked the team too hard leading up to the Clemson debacle. I don’t know if that’s true, but the burnout theory seems feasible to me.

Colin: Has this offensive under Barrett run out of fresh ideas? Is it fixable with this personnel or will it have to wait for next season?

Baver: I wouldn’t go that far, in terms of being out of ideas. Less than two weeks ago, this Buckeye offense torched a Penn St defense that at the time was giving up an NCAA-best 9.6 ppg. I think it was a major hangover emotionally coming off that game...a bigger hangover than one would expect. But I am worried about JT and his confidence right now. (Yeah, we are back to that topic again.)

Colin: Sparty comes to town excited for the opportunity to win the Big Ten East title. We come in sulking because we are out of the college football playoff. Is this a problem?

Baver: That’s the big question….how does this Buckeye team respond to that drubbing. I tend to think they bounce back emotionally, maybe a bit like they did against UM in 2015, after the heartbreaking loss to Sparty the prior week. But this OSU team has way more problems than that ‘15 team had; thus they could play with a lot of energy tomorrow and still lose.

Colin: What do the Bucks need to do to win this game?

Baver: On offense, JT mentally has to bounce back.  And they have to find a way to get JK Dobbins more carries…rinse and repeat. On defense, the Bucks will need to contain Brian Lewerke, which is no easy task. You might see Lewerke sneaking out of several would-be sacks and making big plays, and that would make things very hard on this Buckeye D. I think the 16 ½ pt spread is too high…no Urban vs Dino matchup has had a margin of victory that big, and Saturday should be no different. But I like the Bucks to bounce back and get a big win. I’ve got Ohio State 27 Michigan State 20.

Colin: Give us an update on your picks to date and other games you will be keeping an eye on the weekend?

Baver: 17-10 against the spread after a rough week. I love TCU catching 6 ½ at Oklahoma. I just see a letdown after the Bedlam game, and I think these 2 teams are evenly matched; should be a tight game. Notre Dame at Miami….playoff elimination game? Might be. Notre Dame was probably caught looking ahead last week in their 11-pt victory over Wake, but I think they will be focused in this one. I like the Irish laying the 3 ½ on the road.

How I am Voting on the UA School Levy (Issue 43) and Why - by Colin Gawel

Editor's note: To those of you new to Pencilstorm, we mostly shy away from political commentary as the world already has too much of it and takes precious time away from our debate about who belongs in the rock n roll hall of fame. However, as a citizen with a family and small business in Upper Arlington, I do go on the record before every election day. You can agree or disagree or whatever, but this is where I stand. - Colin Gawel

I'm not going to get into numbers. To me, that is irrelevant. I've read all the stuff and yes, building and fixing the Upper Arlington Schools is going to cost money. A lot of money. It's going to cost you and it's going to cost me. There is no way around that fact because accomplishing great things takes sacrifice. Nothing worth doing comes easy. 

Sacrifice is the key word. Somebody built the original schools before us. And the roads. And the sewage and the power grid. And the parks, pools, tennis courts, and the libraries. And half the sidewalks. That took sacrifice. 

Recently, I was up late and caught the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan on some random channel. Charging out of the boats into machine gun fire on D-Day was sacrifice. First responders charging up into the World Trade centers on 9/11 was sacrifice. We are quick to praise Americans who sacrifice for the greater good but when the time comes for us to do our part do we answer the call? Or do we just sing the National Anthem and wave mini flags at the 4th of July Parade?  

Or more specifically, do I answer the call? 

Yes, the extra money is a bite. But I welcome and accept the opportunity to give something back to a community that has been so good to me and my family. I am ready to roll up my sleeves and chip in a little extra for a project that would benefit the kids of Upper Arlington for the rest of my lifetime. I've never been asked to storm a beach or charge into a burning building so this is my chance to stretch out of my comfort zone and contribute to a greater good. 

Imagine one day standing in front of that glorious, new Upper Arlington High School and looking around at your neighbors and saying "It was hard, but we did this together." Seriously, imagine how amazing that would be. The legacy that would live in the community. 

We have a chance to make history on November 7th. Real history with real buildings and real kids. I say we take it. It's a little scary no doubt, but I'll help you if you help me. We can do this together. It just takes a little mental toughness. A little grit. A little teamwork.  It takes sacrifice. Please join me in voting "yes" on Issue 43 and I'll see you standing in front of that new high school one day. - Colin G. 

Colin Gawel plays in the band Watershed and is the owner of Colin's Coffee. He is the founder of Pencilstorm and his favorite two records are Dream Police and Darkness on the Edge of Town. You can read about his life in the book Hitless Wonder. 

Pencilstorm U.A. Council Summary: All The Interviews and Question Rationale

As promised, here is a compilation of all the Pencilstorm interviews with Upper Arlington City Council candidates, as well as an interview with Superintendent Paul Imhoff about Issue 43. As a reminder, we published responses unedited.

In addition, it's come to our attention that Pencilstorm was recently quoted in attack ads circulating in Upper Arlington. Pencilstorm had no involvement with these ads, nor were we aware of them before distribution.  We disapprove of these negative attack ads.

Pencilstorm is an independent new source. We do not endorse any individual city council candidate and we wish all of them good luck on November 7.

ISSUE 43
Interview with Superintendent Paul Imhoff about Issue 43.

UA CITY COUNCIL INTERVIEWS - WHY PENCILSTORM ASKED THESE QUESTIONS

Our intent was to ask questions more specific to Upper Arlington. We had some discussions with other voters and reviewed various posts on Facebook.  We also wanted to keep it short and simple.  Here’s why we settled on the questions we did.

If the election were today, would you vote for or against the school levy and why?
While the city council has no jurisdiction over the schools or school board, this levy could have an impact on city finances.  If the levy doesn’t pass and the school system makes job cuts, this will mean less income tax collected by the city since the Schools are the number one employer in Upper Arlington.  If the levy does pass, residents will incur a large tax increase which may impact the Council’s ability to generate new taxes in the future, not to mention the infrastructure, traffic and construction that the city will need to deal with. Both the Schools and City pull from the same tax base.  In the 2017 Community Survey conducted by the city, 21% of the respondents cited “School Infrastructure and Facilities are Aging” as the most important problem facing Upper Arlington and 14% responded with “High Taxes.”  This question was asked to see how the candidate view the importance of the school system to the City of Upper Arlington both fiscally and as an attractor to new citizens.

What qualifies you to be on Upper Arlington City Council?
Just like a job interview, we wanted to know what life and professional experiences the candidate has so they can make the tough decisions they’ll face in the upcoming years.

If you had a magic wand and an unlimited budget, what infrastructure project you would implement?
There’s a finite city budget and we can’t pay for everything everyone wants. We can have endless debate about what’s the best way to spend our money. Instead, this question was intended to understand what infrastructure project the candidate is most passionate about. 

Looking around Central Ohio, give an example of a community you think is doing it right and one that’s doing it wrong. What could Upper Arlington could learn from both?
You grow and improve by learning from others.  This question was designed to see if the candidate was looking at other communities in Central Ohio to understand if there were things we could implement here or pitfalls to avoid.

At Pencilstorm, we all have a love of music. In that vein, what's your favorite album and why?
Music is a great way to make an emotional and human connection.  This question was designed to get to know the candidate beyond the issues and if any of them had a passion for a particular album, artist, genre of music, etc. 

Below are links of each of the Upper Arlington City Council Candidates to their individual blog:

Michaela Burriss

Brian Close

Bob Foulk

Omar Ganoom

Francis “Kip” Greenhill

Michele Hoyle

Jim Lynch

Lowell Toms

Pencilstorm also encourages you to watch the Livestream of Leadership UA's October 19 event with all eight city council candidates and school board candidates, as well as Google the candidate names and visit their websites.

Thanks to the community for their interest in our blog.  Local UA Politics coverage provided by Wal Ozello. You can email him at Pencilstormstory@gmail.com or try to catch him at Colin's Coffee.

Was JT's Performance the best in OSU history? Baver answers Colin's Questions - Iowa Week

Colin: Where does that win over Penn State rank in all time great Ohio State games?

Baver: It’s hard to believe what Ohio St overcame to win that game. They trailed for the first 58 minutes, committed 10 penalties, were minus-2 in TOs, were down 18 pts twice, had 3 colossal kickoff gaffes, and although they intercepted two passes in the end zone, both calls were overturned, with Penn St instead scoring 14 pts. Oh….and the Bucks were down 38-27 with the ball at their own 24 with 5:37 left on the clock. Certainly one of Ohio St’s greatest comebacks and finales ever, and they did it against the #2 team in the land. But so much of it was painful to watch. Still, this one ranks right up there.

Colin: All things considered, was that performance by JT Barrett the best in the history of Ohio State football? What even comes close? 

Baver: JT put on a clinic Saturday….one for the ages. It probably tops three other Buckeye performances that come to my mind…those being: freshman Ted Ginn scoring on a reverse, a punt return, and a 58-yard game winning TD catch-and-run against Sparty in ‘04; Eddie’s George’s 314-yard rushing effort against Illinois in ’95; and Chris Spielman’s 29-tackle game against Michigan in ‘86.

Colin: How much better is this OSU offense than the one that struggled against Oklahoma? What's different now?

Baver: Light years better. JT, the O-line, and the WRs have come so far. These guys weren’t in sync with the offensive coaches early on this year, but they clearly are now. It’s gone from “Bench JT” to “Barrett deserves the Heisman.” I know I had my doubts about him after the Oklahoma game. Wow…what a transformation.

Colin: Is this defensive line really as special as it appears? Does the D have a weakness that can be exposed?

Baver: The D-line is ridiculous. Their depth wore down Penn State’s O-line, to the point where it was a mismatch in the 4th quarter. The Buckeye defense registered 13 tackles-for-losses, which someone told me was the most in a Big Ten game since 2008. The weakness is still OSU DBs in pass coverage, and yes….if they face a good passing offense, they can certainly be had again. But will they face a QB with a big arm again this year? Maybe in the Playoff, if they get there.

Colin: Special teams WTF?

Baver: You called it. You asked if Urban would be stupid enough to kick to Barkley. I guess I was naive. The Buckeye kickoff coverage is “…a joke right now” ….Urban’s words, not mine. It’s both the personnel and the scheme. OSU has been using 4 current or former walk-ons on this unit, which may be part of the problem. And the Buckeyes appear to be sorely missing Eric Glover-Williams. EGW was probably the best coverage guy they had. As for the scheme, Penn St saw that once you create a crease on the right side, there’s little help to the left in this uncommon Buckeye scheme. With Saquon’s speed, the crease was all he needed….bingo, 6 points.

Colin: Iowa City is a tough place to play. Should Buckeye fans be worried?

Baver: Iowa and Kirk Ferentz can be pesky…at the very least. And a Penn St hangover is a real concern. The Iowa defense, led by LB Josey Jewell, DE Anthonly Nelson, and DB Josh Jackson is stingy. While I tend to think Iowa will hang around for awhile, I think Ohio St puts them away in the 2nd half, wearing them down on both sides of the ball, much like they did against Penn St. Iowa starts freshmen at both OT spots, as both of their preseason starting tackles are now lost for the season. The frosh are going to be no match for Bosa, Hubbard, and company. I like Ohio State 34-13. If I’m a bettor, I would lay the 17 ½ pts here.

Colin: Does this first Playoff Poll mean anything?

Baver: No.

Colin: Give us an update on your picks and other games around the country you will be keeping an eye on this weekend?

Baver: 17-7 against the spread – still knockin’ ‘em dead. I think Miami’s magic runs out against the Hokies. I like Va Tech to win and cover as a 2 ½ pt favorite at Miami. Notre Dame is a very good football team; I like the Irish to cover the 14 pts at home against an improved Wake Forest team. No real feeling about the Bedlam game….Okie State laying 2 ½ at home against the Sooners seems about right to me - that game could go either way. And I think Penn State laying 9 in East Lansing seems about right as well.