Around the Emerald Necklace DECEMBER 2012

VOLUME 21, #12

A NEWSLETTER FOR CLEVELAND METROPARKS EMPLOYEES

Director's Corner

Storm Water Gets Ready to Take Center Stage For the past couple of years there has been a lot of talk about storm water and its effects on the environment. This coming year a number of events take us from the talking stage to the action stage. Those managing the natural resources and infrastructure of the park system know the results of uncontrolled storm water: degraded streams: loss of riparian habitat; and damage to bridges, culverts, roads and trails. These major upcoming projects should make a positive impact:

• The Watershed Stewardship Center at West Creek The stewardship center is just about finished and staff and public programming will be moving into the facility by spring. The center will serve as a focal point for groups such as Cleveland Metroparks, the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD), West Creek Preservation Committee, watershed groups and others to spread the message of the importance of storm water management. In addition, the center will serve as a training location for groups as diverse as schools, citizen volunteers, storm water professionals and public officials. • NEORSD Storm Water Fee Beginning in 2013 NEORSD will collect a storm water fee from all property owners within the district. The fee will be based on the amount of impervious surface on their property. Owners will receive credit for having storm water controls installed on the property. Cleveland Metroparks is one of the property owners subject to the fee. Based on the acreage calculated, the annual fee will be in the $200,000 range. On the flip side, NEORSD will become respon-

sible for maintaining all facilities that drain over 300 acres. For example, NEORSD would become responsible for storm cleanup of some of Cleveland Metroparks river fords, streams and other structures. Cleveland Metroparks and NEORSD are currently working on an agreement that could have Cleveland Metroparks providing flood cleanup. The cost would be deducted from the annual storm water fee. NEORSD would use the fees for improvements, reducing flooding and storm water damage. • SWIF Projects Ohio EPA administers the Surface Water Improvement Fund that makes grants to local agencies to install storm water management facilities. In 2012, Cleveland Metroparks used one of these grants to install a water quality facility at the main Zoo parking lot. In 2013 Cleveland Metroparks will be using a grant to add storm water management to the parking lot at North Chagrin Nature Center. Cleveland Metroparks will also be cooperating with the City of Parma and The Friends of Big Creek to use a grant to install a water quality facility on a major storm sewer emptying into Big Creek at the Fernhill Picnic Area. • “Green Street” Improvements Cleveland Metroparks is using part of a USEPA grant to install storm water controls on two residential streets in Parma that drain directly into West Creek Reservation. The Storm Water – cont'd on page 5

Index 1.

Director's Corner

2.

Watch for Guides to OPERS Changes

3. 4.

Human Resources Notes

5.

Happy Birthday

Diversity Calendar

Watch for Guides to OPERS Changes Substitute Senate Bill 343, recently passed by the Ohio legislature, marks a major milestone for Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS). Provisions of the law, most of which take effect Jan. 7, 2013, will have an impact on all OPERS members except current retirees. Enactment of the provisions also enables OPERS to continue offering access to health care coverage for current and future retirees. Health care coverage is not guaranteed by law and will be offered only as long as there is no impact on the pension fund. Despite the funding allowed by pension legislation, OPERS still needed to make changes to the OPERS retiree health care program due to longer life expectancy and steadily increasing health care costs. The changes were recently adopted and will impact both current and future retirees beginning in 2014. To help you understand the changes and what they mean to you, you should have received the Comprehensive Guide to Pension and Health Care Changes by mail in mid-November. You are urged to read the guides carefully. They are designed to serve as a reference tool as you make decisions about your future in retirement.

Around the Emerald Necklace Published monthly for the employees of Cleveland Metroparks.

Copy DEADLINE: Copy is due to Afi Scruggs in the Marketing Division by the 12th of each month. Send submissions via email to [email protected]. Questions, call 216-635-3205.

You’ll receive one of two guides depending on your status as a member or a retiree. The guide labeled Current Member Guide will explain the changes as they relate specifically to members who have not yet retired. In addition, a chart will be included with the guide to help you determine your transition group (A, B, or C) with respect to the implementation of the pension plan changes. The guide labeled Retired Member Guide will detail the changes specific to retirees with an emphasis on retiree health care. OPERS – cont'd on page 3

2 Around the Emerald Necklace, December 2012

Human Resources Notes

Human Resources Changes New Hires

Michael Barr, Ranger - Rangers Theodore Byster, Store Associate (PT) – Hinckley Lake Boathouse Monica Hines, Public Information Specialist (PT) – Rangers Kirk Holmes, Ranger – Rangers Mary Ann Lyons, Desktop Support Specialist – Information Systems Chelsea McLellan, Deputy Ranger – Rangers Navaro Nation, Ranger – Rangers Blake Owen, Senior Technician – Building Trades Hope Peairs, Rangers - Rangers

Promotions

Kevin Bartley, Senior Ranger to Ranger Sergeant – Rangers Timothy Garris, Senior Ranger to Ranger Sergeant – Rangers Sharon Gehri, Animal Health Technician (PT) – Animal Health Technician – Zoo Animal Care Erik Mullins, Seasonal Maintenance Specialist – Fleet Operations to Ranger Clerk (PT) - Rangers Charlotte Petrie, Seasonal Interpreter to Education Specialist I (PT) – Zoo Education

Transfers

Jeffrey Chenoweth, General Maintenance – Zoo Facility Operations to Senior Technician – Building Trades Maria Clapp, Service Maintenance I – Zoo Facility Operations to Animal Keeper – Zoo Animal Care Marc Hayes, Senior Technician-Lead – Forestry (West) to Senior Technician – Big Creek

Separations

Colette Arraj, Lead Cashier (PT) – Zoo Guest Services Andrew Bellina, Senior Technician – Building Trades Frances Chung, Educational Media Assistant (PT) – Zoo Education James Fritsche, Admissions Assistant (PT) – Zoo Guest Services Ronald Gleske, Assistant Building Trades Manager – Building Trades Shane Good, Animal Keeper – Zoo Animal Care Janet Miller, Admin. Asst./Training Coord. – Zoo Guest Services Nicole Pflibsen, Golf Instructor (PT) – Golf Operations Administration Bradley Poynter, Animal Keeper – Zoo Animal Care Antoinette Rivera, Education Specialist I – Zoo Education Kenneth Schneider, Senior Technician–Lead – Building Trades Brian Squire, Senior Technician-Lead – Rocky River

OPERS – cont'd from page 2 You are also encouraged to visit the Special Coverage section on the home page of the OPERS website, www. opers.org for additional resources including: • Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) Calculator for future retirees in transition group A • Health Care Planning Tool that will help retirees and those considering retirement determine health care allowance percentages and estimated premium costs for the next five years • Spiking Calculator to help future retirees see if their benefit will be impacted by the cap on spiking based on their salary • Online versions of the guide you’ll be receiving in the mail Again, this important material should have been sent to you in a special OPERS envelope. Please review the information carefully. If you have questions after reviewing the information, contact OPERS Member Services department at 800-222-7377. Please note that call volumes are running high. 3

Park News

December Diversity Calendar 1 • Rosa Parks Day (U.S) Commemorates the arrest of Rosa Parks in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955 and the birth of the modern civil rights movement. Ms. Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus for a white passenger, an incident that led to a yearlong boycott of the city's buses and the end of segregation on municipal buses throughout the southern U.S. 5 • Ashura (Islamic)) For Sunni Muslims, a commemoration of Noah's leaving the ark on Mount Ararat, but for Shia Muslims, a somber day dedicated to the martyrdom of Hussein, the grandson of the prophet Muhammad, at the Battle of Karbala in 680 CE. The schism between Sunni and Shia Muslims dates from this event. Begins at sundown the previous day. 7 • Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day (U.S.) On this day in 1941, Japanese aircraft attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, damaging nearly the entire Pacific Fleet. The raid, which lasted only about an hour, left 2,403 dead and 1,178 wounded. The attack brought the U.S. into World War II and widened the European war into the Pacific. 8 • Hanukkah (Jewish) An eight-day festival commemorating the recapture of the Temple of Jerusalem in 165 BCE by the Maccabees from Syrian Greeks. When the temple was restored, only one day's supply of oil was found for the daily lighting of the menorah. This small supply lasted eight days. 8 • Bodhi Day (Buddhist) Celebrates the day of the Buddha's enlightenment. Siddhartha Gautama sat for seven days under a bo (fig) tree vowing to understand the meaning of life. On the eighth morning, he realized the Four Noble Truths of suffering and the way to overcome them by the Eightfold Path. At this moment he reached bodhi (a Sanskrit word meaning "awakening") and was named Buddha, or Enlightened One. 4 Around the Emerald Necklace, December 2012

12 • Fiesta of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Mexico) Commemorates the day the Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego, circa 1531, and instructed him to take roses to the local bishop. The church had refused Diego's request to build a shrine in the Virgin's honor because it did not believe the Virgin would appear to a simple native. Upon seeing the roses in the dead of winter, the bishop conceded. 21 • Solstice (International) In the Northern Hemisphere, winter begins today. In the Southern Hemisphere, today is the beginning of summer. Between the equator and the Arctic Circle, the sun rises and sets farthest south on the horizon for the year and the period of daylight is at its shortest: 12 hours, 8 minutes at the equator and decreasing to zero at the Arctic Circle. 25 • Christmas (Christian) A festival dating from the fourth century commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, the Christian Savior. Jesus' birth date is not known; the Western church selected this date, possibly to counter non-Christian festivals at this time. The joyful celebration, which includes family get-togethers, gift giving, and decorating, often begins the evening before, on Christmas Eve. 26 • Kwanzaa (African American) A seven-day celebration started in 1966. Kwanzaa means "fresh fruits of the harvest" in Swahili. Each day is dedicated to one principle: unity, selfdetermination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, faith. 31 • New Year’s Eve (International) The last evening of the Gregorian calendar, traditionally celebrated with parties to welcome in the New Year. Did we miss an important date? Let me know at [email protected].

Park News

December Service Anniversaries

Happy Birthday December

Congratulations to the following full- and part-time employees celebrating 5, 10, 25, 30 and 35 years of service: 35 Years of Service William Hausser, Senior Technician – Building Trades 30 Years of Service Robert McManamon, Senior Ranger – Rangers 25 Years of Service Eric Himmelman, Horticulturist – Zoo Facility Operations Kathy Monreal, Service Maintenance II – Zoo Facility Operations 10 Years of Service Robert Puntel, Lead Service Maintenance – Zoo Facility Operations Shelly Sudik, Ranger Dispatcher - Rangers 5 Years of Service Patricia Cayton, Manager of Zoo Grounds & Services – Zoo Facility Operations Shamar Young, Park Manager – South Chagrin NOTE: The employee’s most recent hire date without a break in service was used to determine the years of service shown above.

Storm Water – cont'd from page 1 “Green Street” Improvements project will construct residential scale improvements including rain barrels, rain gardens and bioswales on a combination of residential lots and tree lawns. The first phase of construction will be used as a demonstration to entice homeowners to make their lots available for additional improvements.

1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 29 •

Thomas Coles, Stacy DeChant, Karen Lakus Daniel Bader, Daniel Veloski Marc Hayes, John Mack Michelle Bondra, William Lamb Sharon Hallman, Gary Molle Dawn Bybee Leila Snodgrass Dominic Burton, Noreen Lazor Milton Calhoun Edith Ricchiuto, Janice Scigliano Angeline Reynolds, John Rode, James Rodstrom Michael Burcewicz, Renae Truelson Mary Drops, Pamela Krentz Nancy Desmond David Winkler Shan'ton Jones, Erik Shaffer Gregory Hromi, Jason Schafer, Sharon Simon, Sandra Tata, Denise Brown, Robert Kras Michele Hollan-Muss, Mary Liptak, Bruce Mitchell Fayza Panno, Nicholas Pulice, Kenneth Robinson Laura Andrews Jacob McCullough Tad Schoffner Ronald Ciancutti, Nicolas Kiehl, David Krahe Robert Brownfield, Cody Charles, Leroy Daugherty, Jennifer Hillmer, Margaret Kaminsky, Charles Moore, Don Sylvis Nakia Johnson, Robert Pofok Reinaldo Soto

Dick Kerber Director of Planning/Design & Natural Resources

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