February 17, 2011
Marble Cliff
Landlords’ reports due by March 15 By ALAN FROMAN ThisWeek Community Newspapers The village of Marble Cliff will send out notices to landlords this week, reminding them they are now required to send the village a list of their business or residential tenants. The lists of tenants are due in to the village by March 15, fiscal officer Cindy McKay said.
The mandatory occupancy report was part of an ordinance approved by village council in December. The legislation also enacts mandatory (or universal) filing of income tax forms in the village, beginning with the 2011 tax year. Requiring landlords to report who is occupying their properties is a way to make sure the village is collecting all the tax revenue it is owed, McKay said.
“Other municipalities have similar requirements, so we are not doing anything extraordinary,” she said. Landlords will be required to send the village occupancy reports twice a year, McKay said. The reports are due on March 15 and Sept. 15. “A simple letter listing your tenants is all we need,” she said. The penalty for failing to file a report is $5 per day, with a maximum fine of
$100, McKay said. “Certainly, with this being the first time out of the gate, we’re not looking to penalize people,” she said. “We want to let owners of rental properties know, though, that this is now a requirement.” It is the landlord’s responsibility to make the report, not the tenants themselves, McKay said. Since the mandatory income tax filing begins with the current tax year, most
taxpayers won’t file their first village income tax form until April 2012, she said. “The universal filing requirement impacts a couple of things,” McKay said. “People who own rental properties in the village , their income from those properties is taxable. So if you own a property and collect rent, you may owe village income tax. See VILLAGE, page A3
NCR breaks ground for $8M FCV expansion By ANDREW MILLER ThisWeek Community Newspapers
By Chris Parker/ThisWeek
Lily Nault looks over one of the projects on display during the Brain Blast event at Edison Intermediate/Middle School on Feb. 10.
Student creativity on display at Brain Blast By ALAN FROMAN ThisWeek Community Newspapers The commons at Edison Intermediate/Middle School was turned into an exhibition hall Feb. 10 at the annual Brain Blast creativity fair. Students in kindergarten through third grade displayed their artistic, scientific and creative interests at the event, which is sponsored by the Grandview K-3 PTO. Third-grader Josh Keil’s display featured information and trivia about his favorite game, Scrabble. “I just love this game,” he said. “The great thing about Scrabble is that it’s a lot of fun to play, but it’s also so educational. You can learn a whole lot of new
words.” Keil said there are a lot of fascinating things about Scrabble. “One of the most amazing things is that the inventor of Scrabble, Alfred Butts, was really bad at playing it,” he said. “I don’t know why or how he invented if he was so bad at it. “Another interesting fact is that there are 109 permissible two-letter words in Scrabble and the only letter that’s not used in any of them is v,” Keil said. His favorite two-letter word? “Za. As in, piz-za: ‘let’s order some za,’” Keil said. While Keil was celebrating his favorite game, third-grader Olivia Gamble’s display paid tribute to her favorite candy,
Dum-Dum lollipops. “I think I like them so much because they have so many flavors,” Gamble said. “I wish I could eat them all day long.” “My favorite is root beer,” she said. Her display included a lot of information to make one smarter about DumDums, including a list of flavors no longer made. “They used to have flavors like chocolate, lemon and banana that they don’t make anymore,” Gamble said. “I’d like to have the chance to try a chocolate DumDum.” Last summer, Gamble visited the factory in Bryan, Ohio, where her favorite See BLAST, page A3
After assuming the role as sole sponsor and operator of First Community Village in December, National Church Residences has followed through on its promise to expand the campus. At a groundbreaking event Feb. 11 that included NCR and city officials, NCR announced a new, $8-million expansion project at First Community Village on Riverside Drive. The project will include 32 independent-living manor homes, along with another 13 buildings, which will include additional dining and recreation options. The new patio-style homes will range in size from 1,525 to 1,667 square feet. “The expansion of the manor homes will enable First Community Village to continue to provide an array of senior living resources across the comprehensive continuum of care,” CEO Thomas Slemmer said. Columbus-based Corna Kokosing Construction Company will head the project, which is expected to be completed by the end of summer 2012, according to NCR spokesman Patrick Higgins. “The revitalization of First Community Village is an opportunity for us to expand our service offerings and start the next chapter,” Higgins said. “We are very excited to finish out the original scope of the campus.” Higgins said that he currently has a list of 50 people who have shown interest in the new
A closer look The project will include 32 independent-living manor homes, along with another 13 buildings, which will include additional dining and recreation options. The new patio-style homes will range in size from 1,525 to 1,667 square feet.
units, several of whom have already made deposits. Emma Speight, Upper Arlington deputy city manager for community affairs, said that the expansion is another great option to allow Upper Arlington residents to age in place. While the city is expecting to see a small increase in revenue from the project, Speight said the increased quality of life for seniors that this expansion will bring is the real value. “This project is great news for UA and we are glad NCR is moving full steam ahead,” Speight said. NCR is based in Upper Arlington and is a partner with the city on the STAY UA program, which connects residents with needed social services and healthcare to allow them the option of aging in place in their own homes. The company is the nation’s largest nonprofit developer and manager of affordable senior housing and services, according to its website, with more than See PROJECT, page A3
Board may consider revision Trinity’s Legacy of Learning to 2011-12 school calendar fundraiser set for March 5 By ALAN FROMAN ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Superintendent Ed O’Reilly presented the Grandview Heights Board of Education Feb. 8 with a potential revision to the 2011-12 school year calendar that would maintain the earlier than usual start of school but include two changes in an attempt to address concerns some parents have raised about the calendar the board adopted at its January meeting. O’Reilly said he would wait until the board’s March meeting before recommending whether the previously adopted calendar should be retained or whether the
revised calendar should be accepted in its place. Waiting a month will give parents time to conEd O’Reilly sider the revised calendar option and give their feedback and for him to take that feedback into account, he said. Under the calendar adopted by the board last month, the 201112 school year would begin on Aug. 17, a week earlier than usual. The winter break would begin on Dec. 23 with students returning to class on Jan. 10.
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The later start of winter break would allow semester exams to be held before the break, which is one of the major reasons for the earlier start of the school year. The last day of school for students would be May 30. The revised option O’Reilly presented would maintain Aug. 17 as the first day of school. But students would begin their winter break on Dec. 22 and return to class on Jan. 5. A professional development day would be moved from Jan. 9, as scheduled in the adopted calendar, to Dec. 22 in the revised See BOARD, page A3
By ALAN FROMAN ThisWeek Community Newspapers Trinity Catholic School’s Home and School Association will hold its 2011 Legacy of Learning fundraiser March 5 in Memorial Hall at the Plumbers and Pipefitters Union, 1250 Kinnear Road. Doors will open at 6 p.m. The event serves as the main fundraiser for the home and school association, essentially the school’s PTO, Legacy of Learning chairperson Lisa Gentile said. The organization provides funding for items that aren’t included in the school budget, she said. “To me the biggest and best thing about the Legacy of Learning is that all of the proceeds go to benefit the school and for the enrichment of our students,” Gentile said. The evening’s activities will include a catered
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dinner, open bar and silent and live auctions, she said. Entertainment will be provided by Columbus singer-songwriter Chris Logsdon. “We’re really excited to have Chris Logsdon performing at our event,” Gentile said. Among the items offered in the auctions will be a Gretsch guitar and art items created by each grade level at the school, she said. Sports memorabilia, vacation packages and items and gift cards donated by area restaurants and businesses will also be up for bid, Gentile said. The evening will include raffles of prize baskets and other door prizes, she said. Tickets to the Legacy of Learning cost $50 per person. They can be purchased via a form available at www.trinity.cdeducation.org or by e-mailing Gentile at lgentile@trinitycatholicschool.org.
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