January 13, 2013
SHAD's Annual Meeting

The Shaker Square Area Development Corporation (SHAD) held its annual meeting on January 13, 2013. It was in the same room at Our Lady of Peace school where eleven months before SHAD's former president ended the meeting saying that it would be closing its doors in two weeks.

The annual meeting was efficiently and democratically run by SHAD's new president, George Palda, who had previously served as president from 2001 - 2004. The Bylaws were amended and new board members elected. SHAD had retained two experienced employees. moved to smaller quarters in the Reid Robbins Building, and resumed publication of The Connection newspaper. Amazingly - the result of tough cost controls and some fundraising - SHAD had broken even financially.
 

February 24, 2013
Buckeye Area CDC wants to take over Shaker Square area

Though SHAD is working hard, as we write this on February 24 our view is that its prospects are cloudy at best. We say that after reading Mark Naymik's report in today's Plain Dealer. He tells us that the Buckeye Community Development Corporation (BADC) is moving ahead to take over the SHAD service area. It has changed its name to the Buckeye - Shaker Square Area Development Corporation. (The Ohio Secretary of State database shows the name changed on August 27, 2012.)

Federal and state funds pass through the city for allocation among the CDCs. We expect that the Buckeye area CDC is taking steps to re-direct to itself the share that now would go to SHAD. Councilman Ken Johnson will support that; he has always been close to the BADC. (For years they've run his annual leaf collection campaign which uses city-provided funds intended for community-building, not vote-getting, with trucks bearing his name in big letters driving around in the weeks before elections.) With the foundation funding that flows from Neighborhood Progress Inc. already cut off, and with the end of funds that flow through the city, SHAD will probably have to close.

What will that mean for the Square? We expect that SHAD's employees will be absorbed into a new combined Community Development Corporation (CDC).

A strong, well funded Buckeye - Shaker Square Development Corporation can be an advantage for the Square. We hope so.

But history gives us caution. The History page on this website shows how Friends of Shaker Square was established. It was in 1976, when there already was a CDC for the combined Buckeye - Shaker Square area.

Those who cared for the Square, hundreds of them living in Shaker Heights, felt strongly that the Square was being neglected. They formed Friends of Shaker Square (FOSS). Years later FOSS became a community development corporation, changing its name to SHAD, its service area being carved out of the Buckeye CDC's service area. (Little-known fact: BADC's recent name change was a reversion to its original name!) 

Bottom-line: with only one-third of the combined CDC's board from the Shaker Square area and no assurance of that share continuing, we think many of the Square's needs are going to be ignored, as they were before.

Perhaps the answer is to welcome the combining of the two CDCs. While doing that, let's start an organization that doesn't try to do the hard work of a CDC, but focuses on bringing people to Shaker Square and building community.

We might even call the new organization Friends of Shaker Square. 

Arnie Berger February 24, 2013

• Most people who live near Shaker Square are Clevelanders, but in the Shaker Heights school, library and recreation district. They pay city taxes to Cleveland and school taxes to Shaker Heights. (The result is Ohio's highest property tax rate.) To learn how that happened more than 100 years ago, click here.

• To read Mark Naymik's report on the Plain Dealer website , click here.