This morning Ed and a few of us went to the Cleveland City Landmarks Commission to request that they nominate the Broadway Mills/Strong Cobb/Gillotta Fuels Building for landmark status. It is take #19 for the northern bridge alignment and sits right at the end of the old Central Viaduct west of the Marathon Station. But guess what; they voted to table the decision to nominate the building for Landmark status because of an email from John Motl at ODOT that was forwarded to them by Debbie Berry — City of Cleveland Planning Commission. Sounds familiar, eh? ODOT wants to be able to address the Landmarks Commission. I don’t understand. We are not asking for a decision, but that they begin a process. What will ODOT say? It is not historic, not important?

Anyway, I am intrigued. The issue will be taken up again at the Landmarks Commission meeting on April 27 with ODOT there. I can’t wait to be there. In the meantime, ODOT officials were purported to have a meeting with City of Cleveland officials in the “red room” this afternoon. Who was invited to that meeting? There was no mention of it in the ODOT meeting schedule. What? More closed door politics?

Hauser’s letter outlines where ODOT has stepped away from a public process, so unannounced meetings in the red room are just par for the course, I guess. Maybe you guys who are “in the know” can educate me about this process where we are about to spend a billion dollars on a roadway…. I sure hope so. We can ask for edification from our elected officials here: http://www.neobridge.net/take_action