17 Days of Un-returned Phone Calls
A Saga of the Batting Tee Eaten by City Street Sweeper
by David Miller
Loveland, Ohio - This LOVELAND MAGAZINE HD VIDEO is an interview with Greg Ramsey on Saturday morning. He talks about going to the council meeting on August 14 to express concern that it took 17 days to get phone calls returned and when he did; the “un-professionalism and rudeness” he received. He had contacted City Manager Thomas Carroll and Public Works Director Scott Wisby, just hoping to get back the tube part of a batting tee that was eaten by the city street sweeper.
Ramsey’s reaction to how he was treated at the council meeting was, “I was kind of shocked at that. They just kinda sat there. They didn’t ask questions. They didn’t say they would look into it.”
The story began on July 17 when neighborhood children were playing Tee-Ball in the Cul-de-sac. Ramsey said, "They play it every day." He saw the sweeper heading down his street. He told them to “move their stuff” and put their batting tee in the grassy berm next to the sidewalk. He, and a neighbor mom, witnessed what happened next; the sweeper left the pavement, came onto the grass and ate part of the tee. He stopped the driver because he wanted to find the missing piece. The driver stopped, but the tube part of the tee was already in the machine.
Thus, began a 17 day saga of City Hall not returning phone calls. First, a call to Wisby. All Ramsey wanted was to perhaps get the piece back when the sweeper was emptied. Day after day of no returned calls, Ramsey finally bought a new tee for the children.
Ramsey continued his journey of frustration however, just to see why no one would talk to him. On the tenth day he decided to take his concerns to Wisby’s boss, Tom Carroll, but again no returned calls until the 17th day. The receptionist said she delivered hand written notes to the City Manager with Ramsey’s name and number.
According to Ramsey, when he finally got on the phone with the City Manager, “He insinuated that I was lying when he said that he didn’t find the story plausible that this happened.”
Ramsey said that what then most bothered him was some of the things Carroll brought up in the conversation. He said that the phone conversation turned strange when Carroll expressed dismay about the complaint, “He was surprised I was complaining because I was brought up on Loveland income because my father was a Loveland police officer.” Greg Ramsey’s father is retired Loveland Police officer, Ed Ramsey.
Then, Carroll asked if the complaint about the tee was being made because of an unresolved grievance his now deceased grandfather expressed at a council meeting six years ago. Ramsey said he did not even know his grandfather had ever complained to city hall about anything until he asked his grandmother about what Carroll might be referencing. It turned out that former school board member Frank Ramsey, Greg’s grandfather, told council that the street gutter in front of his home was suddenly painted bright highway yellow. He said it was unsightly and asked if it could be removed. Frank Ramsey served on the Loveland School Board for 23 years. He died in March, 2011.
Last Thursday Loveland Magazine e-mailed Carroll and Wisby asking if they would like to respond (See E-Mails Below) to Greg Ramsey’s talk at the council meeting. In this video, Ramsey reacts on Saturday morning after reading the responses from Carroll and Wisby. Ramsey said, It sounds like from that e-mail that Tom gets to investigate his own complaint on him.” He added, “To me it looks like Scott and Tom are covering up for each other.”
When asked what else he would do about his complaint of rudeness and not getting phone calls returned, Ramsey said on Saturday morning, “I got nothing else to do the way city council responded to me... which was nothing. They just sat there. They’re not going to do nothing, so it is what it is, I guess.”
Carroll said in his E-mail that he considers the case closed.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
David: I offered to reimburse Mr. Ramsey for his baseball T, and he declined. I have completed my review of this
matter and consider it to be closed. Tom -----Original Message----- From: David Miller [mailto:lovelandmagazine@cinci.rr.com] Sent: Thursday, August 23, 2012 5:25 PM To: Tom Carroll Subject: Re: Greg Ramsey tomorrow would be fine thanks David Miller, Publisher Loveland Magazine 251 Wall Street Loveland, Ohio 45140 513-305-6071 www.lovelandmagazine.com On 8/23/12 4:53 PM, Tom Carroll wrote:
David: What is your deadline? I do not think I can finish a response before tomorrow. Tom -----Original Message----- From: David Miller [mailto:lovelandmagazine@cinci.rr.com] Sent: Thursday, August 23, 2012 11:41 AM To: Tom Carroll Subject: Greg Ramsey Tom At the last council meeting Greg Ramsey spoke about an incident at his house with the street sweeper. I am publishing the video of Greg speaking at the meeting. Do you want to respond to Ramsey's statements... your side of the story? Thank you,
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
David
Good morning, David! Thanks for the chance to respond. I have no record of Greg Ramsey
calling and leaving any voicemails for me. I did make a site visit with the City Manager after
Mr. Ramsey made a complaint to the City Manager. We saw no apparent damage to the grass,
or other marks outside the edge of the roadway. The City of Loveland's street sweeper
operated by Public Works was not being used in the subdivision, but was contracted out to
a company called Contract Sweeper. I followed up with Contract Sweeper about the incident.
Their receptionist claims no calls were made to their office about the incident either.
The manager at Contract Sweeper also reported that he spoke to their two drivers who
were in Loveland & neither one had any knowledge of the incident. -----Original Message----- From: David Miller [mailto:lovelandmagazine@cinci.rr.com] Sent: Thursday, August 23, 2012 11:38 AM To: Scott Wisby Subject: Greg Ramsey At the last council meeting Greg Ramsey spoke about an incident at his house where the
street sweeper hit a tee ball tee. He said he left messages for you, trying to retrieve a
piece that was sucked into the sweeper. He said you never returned his phone calls. I am publishing the video of Greg speaking at the meeting. Do you want to respond to Ramsey's statements? Thank you, David-- David Miller, Publisher Loveland Magazine 251 Wall Street Loveland, Ohio 45140 513-305-6071 www.lovelandmagazine.com
Recent Comments