![]() Council President Joel Arredondo ordered the front row of visitors, generally made up of Regina Avenue residents sitting directly behind the microphone, to move to another row of seats, or leave. Dertouzos cited previous case law in his letter to council stating the city officials should deny the petition to vacate.Īt times the speakers traded jeers and scoffs. Meanwhile, the school officials do not dictate to neighbors how to model their homes or property, he said. Horizon Science Academy has outperformed Lorain Schools since 2009, Sumer said. The best way to support property values is through job opportunities and good education. Horizon Science Academy has tried to reach out to neighbors so they understand the school, but none have, Sumer said. The Horizon colleagues agreed on the school’s family atmosphere. Sumer read a letter from a staff member who described the school’s dedication to best practices in education. The intention is not to send buses or students through the driveway, but is for emergency use for faculty. I thought, why not give back to them and make their lives a little easier?”īonilla apologized for any inconvenience, but said she is a taxpayer in Lorain. “They are molding or preparing our children for what the future holds in store for them. “These teachers give 110 percent of their time, effort, love to our children,” she said. ![]() The academy has grown from 90 students when it opened in 2009, to enrollment of 850 this year, with about 100 staff.īonilla, who had children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews in the school, proposed opening the street after she saw a teacher trying to get out of the parking lot gridlock when students were dismissing.īonilla said she was stuck in line too and wondered if the school could add a faculty driveway to Regina Avenue. Horizon Principal Daniel Sumer, Assistant Principal Jayson Bendik and board member Marie Bonilla all spoke, as did a number of educators from the school. The hearing grew contentious, with residents and school educators at times trading verbal barbs over the plans. 23, 2021, Lorain City Council held a public hearing about a petition to vacate a strip of Regina Avenue, a move by residents to stop neighboring Horizon Science Academy from opening the street to make a new driveway to the school. Residents made it clear to school staff in 2019 that they did not want the street open, she said. The driveway would be a convenience for the school but an inconvenience for the residents, Sharon Lewis said. “We’re getting older and we don’t want this on our street.” “The Council, you’re our watchdog, we rely on you to protect us from stuff like this,” he said. Horizon Science Academy is a guest in Lorain that wants to roll over the residents, Jack Lewis said. Dave Rogers also spoke against the proposal. Sharon and Jack Lewis and Lynette and the Rev. Mary Springowski read a letter on behalf of their son, Paul, who still lives there. Tom Springowski, who is the husband of Councilwoman-at-Large Mary Springowski, read a letter with his reasons opposing the new driveway. “Adding another driveway there is stupid, in my concern.”Īdding a driveway will cause drainage problems because the school’s property sits higher than the neighbors, she said.Įric Brock said he would do what he needed to do to protect his property, the neighbors’ and their property values. ![]() “I don’t want this street, I see no need for this street,” Shawver said. They were the first called to the microphone for the public hearing. It appeared that move would block access to Regina Avenue from the campus of Horizon Science Academy, which sits just south of there. Regina Avenue residents Brenda and Eric Brock and Mindy Shawver petitioned the city to vacate a strip of that street that exists on paper and as grass, but never was paved. About 27 people attended, along with council members Beth Henley, Rob McFarland, Pamela Carter, JoAnne Moon, Mary Springowski and Mitch Fallis, with President Joel Arredondo presiding. 23, council members pondered the issue in a public hearing that sometimes grew contentious as a scheduled 30-minute review stretched to just over an hour. Lorain City Council could make a decision when the governing board resumes regular public meetings in September. Neighbors say they don’t want loads of school traffic disrupting their quiet dead-end street. ![]() Leaders of Horizon Science Academy said a new Regina Avenue entrance would reduce congestion and improve emergency access around the school at 760 Tower Blvd. ![]()
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