Port Clinton Garage Expected to Reopen Soon
Sprinkler repairs almost done in garage; theater will be trickier.
Photos
Our first priority is public safety.
As you know, the City-owned parking garage at Port Clinton and the Highland Park Movie Theater were closed two weeks ago after an independent fire inspection revealed that their sprinkler systems were not functioning.
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We know that the temporary closure of this parking garage impacts residents and local businesses and it was not an easy decision. It was, however, a necessary one from a safety standpoint and we are currently making every effort to get the garage re-opened quickly. I was over at the garage Sunday morning and they are making good progress.
We currently expect one level of the garage to be reopened within the week and the second level to follow shortly thereafter.
Regarding the Highland Park Movie Theatre, the situation is more complex as the old theater has both sprinkler and emergency exit issues to address. I hope to have an update for you later this week. Our goal is to re-open the theater safely as quickly as possible.
Neither of these fire safety projects were included in our 2012 Budget. We are fortunate, however, to have healthy reserves to appropriately rely on in emergency or unforeseen circumstances such as these. We went to the lowest responsible bidder for the garage project. Appropriate and efficient use of tax dollars is always a goal and we will approach the movie theater similarly.
Again, our first priority is to ensure your safety. Despite assurances that both buildings were safe, we received reliable tips that an independent inspection was necessary. Luckily, we were able to identify the problems, stabilize the situations before an emergency occurred and had money available to address mistakes of the past. As improvements are now within reach, we want to know how this happened and you deserve that answer.
We are scrutinizing our processes to ensure that history will not be repeated. You have my word.
Nancy Rotering
Highland Park Mayor
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David Greenberg
6:58 pm on Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Thank you Mayor.
However, I remain skeptical of putting any more money into the Theater. What's our ROI on the improvements or indeed our original investment? If someone comes along and buys the building and tears it down - will our investment have been for naught?
Daniel
11:40 am on Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Mayor:
How did the garage and theater get into this condition without anyone noticing? Where inspections done in a professional manner? How come the city had an outside entity perform inspections? Who in the city was supposed to be doing the inspections?