MasonBuzz.com

The city of Mason has partnered with local organizations to help provide food and clothes to struggling Mason families.

The city is teaming up with the Mason Food Pantry and the Schuh Center at St. Susanna Church to collect non-perishable food items and clothing.

“The summer months are typically lean months for area food pantries and the pantries in Mason are no exception,” said Jennifer Trepal, Mason’s public information officer.

“Donations are down, but the need is still there. In particular, the need for families whose children receive free or reduced cost school lunches is greater in the summer while the children are home,” she said.

Collection bins have been placed at:

• Mason Municipal Center (between 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.), 6050 Mason-Montgomery Road;
• Fire Stations 51, 135 Mason-Montgomery Road;
• Fire Station 52, 5500 Cedar Village Drive

Donations can also be dropped off year round at the Mason Food Pantry, 406 4th Ave., or St. Susanna Church, 616 Reading Road.

The pantries are in special need of boxed macaroni and cheese, Sloppy Joe sauce, pancake mix, syrup, peanut butter and jelly, canned fruit, beef stew, chili, spaghetti sauce, pasta, rice, cereal and soup.

Posted in: Community, Events |

Tags: Tags: city of mason, clothing, drive, food, jennifer trepal, mason, mason food pantry, needy families, schuh center, st. susanna church, summer

Crowd members enjoy watching fireworks during the Mason Festival “Red, Rhythm & BOOM!” at Corwin M. Nixon Park Saturday July 3, 2010 in Mason. The Enquirer/ Joseph Fuqua II

The city’s popular Red, Rhythm & Boom fireworks show, which has drawn crowds as large as 60,000, has again fallen victim to budget cuts.

For the second year, Mason City Council suspended the popular summer festivities due to financial constraints.

“It’ll be quiet in Mason on July 4,” confirmed Jennifer Trepal, Mason’s public information officer.

When announcing last year’s cancellation, city officials said they predicted a 4 percent drop in general fund revenues this year and a general fund budget down by 5.5 percent from 2010.

Residents have long considered Mason’s fireworks display a local treasure, but the nod to patriotic nostalgia — and the police, entertainment, tents, stage and all the rest of the accouterments — doesn’t come cheap.

In past years, the city paid bands like Huey Lewis and the News, Grand Funk Railroad, Kansas and Styx upwards of $140,000 to headline Mason’s event.

Mason spent $400,000 on Red, Rhythm & Boom in 2009, according to city officials. Faced with dwindling income tax receipts, the city scaled down its festivities in 2010 to about half the cost.

When budget concerns fizzled last year’s Independence Day celebration, community members stepped up.

Employees of Prestige Fireworks rallied local businesses and residents to raise the $20,000 needed to put on a show. The Mason-based pyrotechnic business has about 20 employees, many of whom live in Mason and several who live on same block.

The scaled-down version didn’t include big-name entertainers, but did offer snack vendors and a shorter fireworks show with less explosions.

But the company says fundraising stalled and that it incurred losses preventing it from sponsoring a display again this year.

“Last year we did not come close to raising enough money to put together a show that met our high standards, so we took a large financial loss,” said Prestige representative Ken Shaner.

“Our goal was to help the city where most of us live put together a family-oriented patriotic celebration. I believe that we accomplished that goal, but as a small business we cannot financially afford to take the loss in 2012.”

News of the festival’s cancellation sparked disappointment among many residents, who say that Red, Rhythm & Boom allowed the community to come together and build up town pride — even if only for a few hours.

“[Red, Rhythm & Boom] has always been such a fun tradition with our friends and an event that really brought the whole community together for a fun celebration,” said Kelly Lippincott King. “It also brought people into Mason from the outside and allowed us to showcase what a great place Mason is to live.”

“It’s sad for our city,” echoed Sandra Spring. ” We need to keep attracting new residents and new business to our area–and we just lost a giant trophy we used to have.”

Other residents say fireworks are a luxury the city can no longer afford.

“It is a very smart financial decision,” said Brian Timson via Facebook. “Didn’t we just get rid of some teachers? Ask them if they would like a fireworks show or to have a job for another year.”

Some say they plan to watch shows at Blue Ash’s Red, White & Blue Ash, Lebanon’s Independence Day Festival or Kings Island.

Kings Island says its fireworks display will be “10 times” the score of its traditional nightly fireworks display. The Mason amusement park will stay open to midnight on July 4.

• Four parties for the 4th

City council has not yet discussed whether next year’s budget will allow for Red, Rhythm & Boom, said City Manager Eric Hansen. Those conversations will likely be held in November or December as next year’s budget is determined, he said.

However, a string of high-profile development deals in Mason, including Seapine Software’s new $7 million technical center on Western Row Road, and headquarters expansions by AssureRx Health Inc., Rhinestahl Corp., Intelligrated and Top Gun, have helped ease the city’s budget crunch, said Hansen.

“We’re seeing positive signs of revenues stabilizing,” he said.  “That doesn’t mean we haven’t taken several declines over several years.”

Shaner said his company is also still looking for corporate sponsors to fund an event next year.

“We hope that we can provide a patriotic fireworks display for the citizens of Mason in the future,” he said.

Posted in: City Council, Community, News |

Tags: Tags: budget, cancellation, cancelled, city council, city of mason, fireworks, independence day, jennifer trepal, july 4, ken shaner, kings island, mason, prestige fireworks, red, red rhythm & boom, red white & blue ash, rhythm & boom

Jennifer Edwards-Baker reports:

Douglas Boucher, 39, of Mason died after a 2009 tasing incident with Mason Police. Boucher's family has filed a a lawsuit in federal court against the city, police department and two officers involved. . Provided photo

The family of a man who died in 2009 after Mason police shocked him with Tasers has filed a lawsuit in federal court against the city, police department and two officers.

The suit alleges Officers Daniel Fry and Sean McCormick used “dangerous” and “excessive” force by essentially torturing Douglas Boucher, 39, who was mentally ill when he died on Dec. 13, 2009, after he was Tased in the parking lot of a Speedway gas station. He fell and struck his head on the pavement.

Filed by renowned Cincinnati civil rights lawyer Al Gerhardstein, the suit demands a jury trial and seeks compensative damages and legal costs.

It also asks for punitive damages against the officers, not the city.

“They tortured him when he was on the ground and obviously incapacitated,” Gerhardstein said Tuesday. “They gave him a command, he did not comply and rather than check and see if he had a medical problem, they kicked him and used a (baton) on him. They also Tased him five times in a a row before they realized he was incapable of responding to commands, and that’s what torture is.”

Gerhardstein also alleges in the suit the officers failed to “spark test” their Tasers before they used them so the current that ran through Boucher’s body may have been higher than the manufacturer specifies.

He said he obtained the download off of the devises and it shows the officers’ Tasers hadn’t been sparked tested for 10 days.

Boucher’s autopsy results showed he died from a skull fracture from the fall.

The report did not blame the use of Tasers for the cause of death.

City and state investigations into the incident cleared the officers of wrongdoing in Boucher’s death.

Former Warren County Prosecutor Rachel Hutzel determined that the state investigation and evidence in his death indicated the officers did not commit a criminal act during the Dec. 13 incident.

Neither officer faced internal discipline because they were found to have followed the police force’s policy and procedures, Mason spokeswoman Jennifer Trepal has said.

Calls to Mason’s city manager and police chief were not immediately returned Tuesday.

In in a court filing, a lawyer for the city, Gary Becker, denies all allegations the officers violated Boucher’s constitutional rights and asks that the suit, which was filed on Dec. 9, be dismissed.

(more…)

Posted in: City Council, Crime, News |

Tags: Tags: al gerhardstein, city of mason, death, douglas boucher, gary becker, jennifer trepal, lawsuit, mason, mason police, officer daniel fry, officer sean mccormick, police, rachel hutzel, speedway, taser, tasing, west chester

While leaders in Washington are scrambling to vote on a debt ceiling deal that would head off a default on the nation’s debt, the city of Mason’s bond rating remains steady.

Moody’s Investors Service, which gave the city its highest bond rating of Aaa in May, has notified city officials that Mason will not be included in its pending review of local governments as the nation faces a downgrade of the federal debt rating.

The rating agency announced Thursday that 162 local governments across the country would have their bond ratings reviewed for a possible downgrade.

Mason has “healthy financial operations supported by sound reserves and a diverse income tax base, and a manageable debt burden with limited future borrowing expected, ” according to documents received by city officials from Moody’s.

The rating will help reduce the city’s overall debt service cost through lower rates, saving Mason around $250,000 a year, or up to $2.3 million in savings over the life of the debt, said Jennifer Trepal, Mason’s public information officer.

Trepal points to action taken by City Council on significant debt transactions to improve the city’s overall debt structure. In March, council authorized the city to:

• Refinance existing bonds and convert short-term notes into long-term bonds. This action secured a low 3 percent interest rate for an extended period and will save the city at least $260,000 over the next eight years. The bonds are for the U.S. 42 Widening Project, the Mason Road Widening Project, and Stormwater Improvement projects.

• Convert short-term notes for the golf course acquisition. The city locked in a 3 1/4 long-term rate for the next 12 years. The bonds retain the flexibility to allow the debt to be paid as early as 2016.

• Re-issue a 1-year bond anticipation note for city-owned property on State Route 741. The effective rate of less than 1 percent secured an historically low rate while maintaining needed flexibility. This property is targeted for eventual use as a business park and financing options must retain some flexibility to retain the attractiveness of the property to potential developers.

According to Trepal, the above actions and the city’s aggressive debt reduction strategy will decrease the city’s debt of $99.5 million by $4.2 million in 2011 and another $4.4 million in 2012.

Only 7 percent of the city’s outstanding debt is exposed to rising rates and refinancing risk, she said.

More than half of the outstanding debt is secured by revenue-generating operations such as utility fees and other non-tax sources. The remainder is paid through the city’s General Fund. Income taxes make up about 80 percent of the General Fund, according to Trepal.

“We are paying down our debt in a big way and we’ve got some excellent locked-in long term rates,” said Mason Mayor Don Prince.

Posted in: Board of Trustees, Business, News |

Tags: Tags: aaa, bonds, city of mason, credit ratings, debt ceiling, default, don prince, general fund, investments, jennifer trepal, mason, mason public information officer, mayor, moody's investors service