When Chardon Park Estates was developed in the 1960s, installation of two signs announcing the name of the neighborhood was planned as the finishing touch.Somehow,…
When Chardon Park Estates was developed in the 1960s, installation of two signs announcing the name of the neighborhood was planned as the finishing touch.
Somehow, it never happened.
But, half a century later, through support of neighbors and officials, Chardon Park Estates resident Phillip Hlabse is celebrating the moment.
“This was 50 years in the making,” he said as he touched the black iron gate behind the small sign in the yard of Leah Mintus at 209 Irma Drive. Hoisting his black pug, Elvis, in his arms, Hlabse noted there is a duplicate sign in the yard of Scott Neumore at 381 Karen Drive up the hill from Hlabse’s home.
The two signs mark the north and south boundaries of the neighborhood of about 300 homes, but he sees their placement as just the beginning for an area in the eastern sector of Chardon that has been known for too long as The Allotment.
The nickname of the development is an unfortunate label that carries negative connotations harmful to the community and those who live there, Hlabse said.
Comprising medium-sized homes on quarter-acre lots, the neighborhood is home to many retirees, like Hlabse, and younger families.
He said he probably knows about a quarter of the residents because people tend to move in and out and some of the homes are rentals, as well.
However, through his efforts to re-identify Chardon Park Estates with the sign project, Hlabse, 62, became acquainted with more people who responded to the flier he put out seeking funding.
“I met some people I never knew and they’re just as nice as the people I’ve known forever,” he said, sitting in his kitchen and holding Elvis in his lap.
One of those people was Chardon Councilman Jeff Smock, who took an interest in the community a couple of years ago.
While running for council, Smock visited with Chardon Park Estate residents and heard they wanted some kind of entrance sign to the neighborhood.
Once he was on council, Smock became the unofficial liaison for the movement.
“When I saw Phillip had approached the planning and zoning department to get permits to put up the signs, I wanted to make sure everything went smoothly,” he said, adding he also had a hand in the design of the signs.
“I wanted to make sure he got what he really wanted,”he said.
In September, Hlabse distributed yellow fliers to about 268 homes explaining his campaign, the history of Chardon Park Estates and asking residents to donate at least $3 per home to help cover the $150 permit fee and variances.
With former Councilman Jim Pruce donating the vinyl signs, valued at $850, made at his Bedford business, Northcoast Signworks, Hlabse’s project was underway.
Over the next few weeks, he collected $1,037 to help pay for fees and materials to install the signs. His brother-in-law, Scott Skrjanc, of Willowick, welded the iron gates and neighbor Alan Spielman arranged for them to be powder coated, Hlabse said.
“I was real impressed he collected $1,000,” Smock said.
When it came time to do the physical help, several people from Chardon Park Estates chipped in, drilling holes for the posts and helping with the concrete work. A neighbor has offered to provide perennials for under the signs come spring and mulch is already in place.
“People were real excited. I had a lot of impromptu help,” Hlabse said. “It was fun.”
He estimated the homes in Chardon Park Estates range in value from $95,000 to $150,000 and were originally designed and built for low-income buyers.
Hlabse bought his home 36 years ago and raised three sons there. Never being recognized as a proper development has hurt the pride people take in their homes, and having the terms “allotments” and even “ghetto” applied to the neighborhood has been tough on the many youth there, he said.
“Given the longevity of this disrespect, these titles are not indicative of our fine development and, even more important, of our resident citizenry who have bought homes, paid taxes and are Chardon-involved,” he wrote in his flier.
The re-education effort is familiar to Hlabse, who worked in the probation system for about 20 years, has a local ministry and helped establish a mission outside Bogota, Columbia, where he will be visiting soon.
“I appreciate the Lord’s given me organizational and relationship skills. They have helped in everything I do,” he said.
Partially disabled from three cancer surgeries and other health issues, Hlabse has a knack for pulling people together to accomplish projects that are too much for one person.
“People generally respond favorably if you give them something to respond to and the tools to do it,” he said, adding a lot of credit is due to many people who helped, if only with encouragement.
Now, residents have to keep correcting those who use the pejorative misnomers for Chardon Park Estates.
“Hopefully, its not going to take another 50 years to re-educate the community,” Hlabse said.
