John's usual--
I hope that everyone had a good weekend. I have 1 more parental duty to get my son set up in his first off-campus apartment at OU, then I'm officially an empty nester. To be honest, I'm not sure that I'm quite ready to have that much discretionary time again. I'm going to need another project to ease me into my new reality.
This will be a busy fall work-wise at CLI though as we start fundraising & light ADA renovations at Kenilee Lanes. CLI was awarded 2 grants to pay for a wheelchair ramp this fall-- and we're planning some pretty cool updates for the Norwalk High School Bowling Team's locker room upstairs. I'm meeting with an engineer later this month to work on the construction plans to raise the floors, add a large, accessible downstairs bathroom, and make the kitchen wheelchair accessible. Once we have legit plans/drawings, we'll be able to start fundraising in earnest.
James Johnson & I start our rounds this month, talking to community groups to see if CLI can find a investor/partner for Firelands Local LLC. It’s not considered proper practice for CLI to be both the provider of services and also the direct employer of our clients. This is the number one reason why CLI spun off our non-provider functions (shredding, assembly, recycling, etc.) a few years ago. There is also a strong second reason. We believe that by spinning Firelands Local off-- and allowing separate staff to focus exclusively on Firelands Local operations (not CLI’s provider stuff)-- James & his crew will be able to grow revenues more effectively. More revenues mean more jobs and better pay for those jobs-- and allow further investments in our local communities.
James & I are looking for other companies and/or agencies that see ROI in investing in Firelands Local’s operations. CLI was awarded a grant last fall by the Ohio Department of DD to develop our business plan for both CLI and Firelands Local to become stand-alone companies. A partial sale will help both CLI and Firelands Local by giving us a little more cash to invest in both companies-- and will help CLI comply with the Ohio Department of DD’s best practices of no having the provider agency (CLI) be the direct employer-- assuming that CLI is able to sell off 51% of our ownership of Firelands Local. We're working on our pitch.
That's all I have. Enjoy the outdoors while you can & keep those hands clean.
John
