April 18, 2010… Here are some questions I would appreciate answered from the Cuyahoga County Commissioners and/or their attorney Jeffery Applebaum. I don’t believe any of the questions would interfere with the sticky problem of negotiating the best prices for the project. That’s the excuse being used to keep the public in the dark, it appears.

Presumably, proper plans and a proper lease would answer these questions.

Here are my questions. Somehow I ended up with 13 categories of questions. I hope I didn’t jinx the project:

- Will Cuyahoga County taxpayers pay for the site and construction of the medical mart to be used as a private business of MMPI of Chicago? (Actually, we already know. The answer is yes.)

- Will Cuyahoga County taxpayers consider the MMPI Medical Mart a property tax exempt building? In other words, will it ever pay any property taxes? (I think we already know this answer, too. It’s yes.)

- Will Cuyahoga County taxpayers finance the furniture, furnishings, telephones, computers and all the other office equipment needed for the MMPI Medical Mart? (Don’t know but quite likely it will happen.)

- Will Cuyahoga County taxpayers finance any new restaurants in the Medical Mart or Convention Center – restaurants that will serve not just conventioneers but the general public?

- Will Cuyahoga County taxpayers pay for the restaurant furniture and bar equipment, etc.? Chairs and tables? Knives and forks?

- Will Cuyahoga County taxpayers pay for the full array of kitchen equipment, stoves, refrigerators, pans, pizza ovens and other incidental kitchen equipment?

- Will Cuyahoga County taxpayers allow these restaurants to compete with other downtown restaurants? By this I mean could these restaurants not only serve conventioneers but the general public on a daily basis though they will be tax-subsidized and property tax free?

- Will there be any housing – apartment – allowed in the Medical Mart building for MMPI executives jetting out of Chicago and into Cleveland at sundry times?

- Will Cuyahoga County taxpayers provide and fund any executive food service facilities in the Medical Mart for MMPI?

- Will Cuyahoga County taxpayers provide free parking for MMPI employees or any other executives hired to operate this project?

- Will Cuyahoga County taxpayers be responsible for upkeep and/or funding capital improvements?

- Will Cuyahoga County taxpayers share in any of the profits of this venture? Yes, I jest.

- Will Cuyahoga County taxpayers pay for the salaries of any MMPI Chicago executives once the project is completed? If so, how many, at what cost and what percentage of their time will be spent in Cleveland?

You can email the answers to Laura Johnston and Henry Gomez of
The Plain Dealer since they seem to believe you people are keeping secrets from us all. Now why would they think that?