Some mayhem for Mentor police & fire crews last week, and new open swim hours have been added at Garfield pool. That and more in the weekly city manager memo to council.

Manager Comments
• Detective Dan Radigan was awarded the Police Department’s Departmental Excellence Award and Detectives Collier, Collins, Malainy, Petro and Patrolman Ondercin were given Letters of Commendation for their 14-month investigation of an auto theft ring. Their thorough investigation has helped to resolve numerous cases of auto theft in Mentor and surrounding cities.
• At approximately 10 a.m. Friday, an electrical fire occurred behind HH Gregg on Mentor Avenue. Several major intersections to the west were affected, but back-up power did not allow traffic flow to be impeded. CEI was on the scene right away, but as of 3 p.m. did not yet have power restored. The Points East shopping center appears to be the only structure that lost power.
• Earlier Friday, a 29-year-old male jumped from the top of a 15-foot wall on the property owned by Osborne concrete. He sustained serious injuries to his torso and was transported to Lake West. It appears to be an attempted suicide.
• The Fire Department fought several minor mulch fires last week, three of which were on Memorial Day.
• The American Diabetes Association honors four fathers annually who have demonstrated the ability to balance their personal lives to serve as a role model for their children while helping to make a positive difference in the community. This year, mentor resident ad business owner Rob Kneen is one of the four (along with Mark Shapiro from the Cleveland Indians, Evan Koppel from United Airlines, and Robert Blackham from Roetzel & Andress).
• The pleasant weather has allowed us to make good progress with maintenance and capital activities. The annual road resurfacing program is approximately half complete, the Corduroy Streetscape improvement is nearly complete, and we are making great use of the new sewer camera. We will be mapping the areas reviewed and cleaned to keep visual documentation of the progress of our Maintenance Program.

Fire Department
• On May 28 at 8:30 p.m., fire crews responded to 7255 Bauer Lane for a garage fire. The fire was quickly brought under control with no fire extension into the house. Fire crews worked to isolate power to the garage area, ventilated the house and checked and installed smoke detectors so that the home could be reoccupied. Damages are estimated at $15,000 and there were no injuries. The initial investigation indicates that the fire started in the area of the freezer and was accidental in nature.
• On May 29 at 9:32 p.m., fire crews responded to Mentor Avenue and Old Johnnycake for a motorcycle versus car motor vehicle accident. One patient was transported to Lake Health Tri Point Hospital in stable condition. This was the second injury motorcycle accident of the week. The first occurred on May 24 at 3:42 p.m. on State Route 2 westbound entrance ramp from Heisley Road, where the cyclist lost control and crashed. That patient was treated and transported to Hillcrest Hospital in stable condition.
• On May 29 at 3:12 p.m., paramedics were called to Classic Ford construction site at 8150 Tyler Blvd. for an injured construction worker. Crews arrived to find a male who had been cut in the left shoulder when the power saw he was operating “kicked” back and struck him. The male was treated and transported to Lake Health Hospital West.
• On May 29 at 3:42 p.m., fire crews responded to State Route 2 eastbound just east of the Center Street entrance ramp for a dump truck versus Toyota compact car motor vehicle accident. The driver of the Toyota suffered minor injuries but had to be extricated from her vehicle. She was then ground transported to Lake Health Tri Point Hospital. The entrance 2 ramp from Center Street to Route 2 eastbound had to be shut down and was closed for approximately 7 hours.
• On May 31 at 12:56 p.m., and then a few minutes later, the fire department received two calls for smoke inside buildings at opposite ends of the City. The first for smoke in a house at 4729 Robinwood Drive; the second was for smoke inside of TJ’s on the Avenue 7485 Mentor Ave. The cause of smoke in the house on Robinwood was from a clothes dryer belt that burned and the cause for TJ’s was an exterior mulch fire that generated smoke into the building. Kirtland Fire was requested to relocate a rescue squad to the City line as Mentor had another EMS call on Tyler Boulevard and only one remaining squad in the City.
• Delivery of the new rescue squad to Fire Station #5 is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. Friday June 1st. Delivery of the second squad (damaged 1132 replacement) is anticipated for late June or early July 2012.
• The spring fire hydrant testing and inspections are complete.
• Five students from Mentor High School successfully completed their Senior Projects with the Fire Department. The students spent the past two weeks participating in various aspects of the fire service from Fire Prevention and Education to fire suppression and EMS.

Police Department
• On May 30, an adult female was shoplifting from Dillards. When stopped by loss-prevention she punched the loss prevention officer in the chest. He secured her and walked her back inside the store. She broke free from him and ran through the store, knocking over clothes racks before being apprehended again. She was charged with robbery and for punching the loss-prevention officer while stealing $1,179 worth of clothing.
• This is the second week for the national, “Click It or Ticket-What’s Holding You Back” campaign. It’s been proven that a high visibility enforcement of seat belt laws is some of the most effective ways to save lives. The police department is participating in this program, enforcing a zero-tolerance towards violations. The program continues through June 3.

Finance Department
• This week we made a debt service payment of $670,000 for our outstanding general obligation and special assessment bonds. The entire amount was interest only. Annual principal payments are due Dec. 1.
• This week staff from the City’s Finance department and the Law Director met with representatives from R.I.T.A. (Regional Income Tax Agency) to consider the feasibility of participating in a program that targets non-filing taxpayers. We also, covered a few recommended improvements to the City’s local income tax code.

Parks and Recreation Department
• Summer swimming season kicks off officially Saturday with the opening of all 3 pools and spray grounds. This summer is setting up to be a good year for the pools and our staff is looking forward to the start of the season. New this year, Garfield Pool will be open from 9 a.m. until noon for open swim time.
• We are now offering a new Stroller Shape-up program for moms and kids. The program involves a full body program and is held at Walsh Park. Check out the full explanation in the Summer Brochure.

Economic and Community Development
• Ron Traub met with Mike Keresman III, CEO for Cardinal Commerce regarding the company’s current and future status in the City. Cardinal Commerce is a global leader in facilitating and verifying online payments, secure transactions and alternative payment brands for both eCommerce and mobile commerce.
• The MEACO Loan Review Committee approved a SBA 504 loan for Bess Industries, LTD. The total project cost is $377,000. Bess Industries currently leases space in Mentor and is purchasing a building at 9475 Pinecone Drive to accommodate their continued growth. Bess Industries is a fabrication machine shop specializing in titanium and the chlor-alkali industry.
• Ron Traub met with a representative of a financial institution regarding a new bank branch facility.

Public Works Department
• The Public Works activity highlights this week were: Crack sealed Mentor Ave. from Painesville line to Heisley Road; St. Peters Way, repairs on three curb inlet basins - in progress; St. Peters Way, slab-jacking concrete road
slab; 7635 Settlers - storm sewer repair; 6113 Thistlewood - storm sewer repair; R/W between 8095 and 8119 Lakeshore - restoration; Park Maintenance, mowing and lining of baseball, soccer and football fields; Sign reflectivity upgrades and mapping - 151 signs upgraded to date; Center Street lighting maintenance - replaced nineteen power splice kits; and North side of Bellflower Road - storm sewer cleaning and inspections.

-- Betsy Scott, BScott@News-Herald.com, @ReporterBetsy