Minutes of a Regular Council Meeting - Olmsted Falls, Ohio



City of Olmsted Falls

Minutes of a Regular Council Meeting

Tuesday, February 23, 2016, at Olmsted Falls City Hall

26100 Bagley Road – Council Chambers, 7:30 p.m.

The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. Mayor Ann Marie Donegan Council called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. Roll call was conducted. Councilmen Jay Linn, Linda Garrity, Jim Haviland, Bob Sculac, Paul Stibich, Terry Duncan, and Kyle Miller were present.

Also in attendance: Gregory Sponseller, Law Director, Mike DeSan, Asst. Finance Director, and Joe Borczuch, Service Director. Audience: 3.

Approval of Minutes:

Ms. Duncan moved to approve the minutes from the Special Council Meeting of February 9, 2016; Mr. Linn seconded. Poll: 7 ayes; 0 nays. Motion carried.

Ms. Duncan moved to approve the minutes from the Regular Council Meeting of February 9, 2016; Ms. Garrity seconded. Mr. Miller had suggested changes for the discussion regarding the purchase of concrete. Mr. Haviland indicated a typo. Poll as amended: 7 ayes; 0 nays. Motion carried.

Consideration of Amendment to the Agenda

Mayor Donegan indicated that an amended agenda was distributed regarding the addition of an executive session at the end of tonight’s meeting pursuant to O.R.C. 121.22(g)(3).

Mayor’s Report and Appointments

Mayor Donegan indicated that for the first time since her term began the Park and Recreation Board will have a full membership.

Mr. Linn moved to appoint Ms. Shirien Muntaser to the Park and Recreation Board to fill an unexpired term until 12/31/2016; Mr. Haviland seconded. Poll: 7 ayes; 0 nays. Motion carried.

Architects – Mayor Donegan indicated that over the course of the last couple of years the City has had a need for architects. She stated that she believed it was good business to keep with the spirit of requesting quotes. She, with the help of Ms. Mancini, sent approximately 12 to 15 architects an RFQ last November, she received three in return; those being Pusti, the current firm we are utilizing and AVG. We received extraordinarily competitive rates for some of the build outs that the city is currently working on. She indicated that AVG performed some tuck pointing on the building as well as some window retrofits in 2013. She wanted to keep Council informed as she completes the due diligence regarding this issue. She stated that upon request for any Council member, she would be happy to forward a copy of the information.

Bagley Road Bridge – There was a small stumbling block with a couple of the affected homeowners and she is happy to report that everything is moving forward. The County advertised last week for the bridge work and we are on schedule for an entire replacement. Please contact Mr. Borczuch or her with any questions you may have. We are looking at a start date around the end of the school year through the summer and this will be a complete closure. Since we will be closing the bridge rather than keeping one lane open we were able to negotiate additional road improvements.

ALICE Training – She stated that Council’s training will take place on March 22nd. It will take approximately ½ an hour and she asked members to submit their time preferences to the Clerk as she is not sure if Council will have any kind committee meetings on that particular day. The administrative staff received their training with Sgt. Odis Rogers which includes drills and educational material to show if something should happen here how we keep people safe and minimize casualties. Her preference is to have the training before a Council meeting but, again, let her know if there will be any committee meetings that day.

Strategic Plan – the executive team is reviewing and as everyone knows we spent a significant amount of time in September and October putting the plan together. She would welcome an opportunity to present what the executive team put together and would appreciate Council holding a work session independent from administration to see if Council’s initiatives are the same. She requested that a work session be held within the next couple of months.

Evaluations/Merit raises – every individual in the organization will receive an evaluation in February which will allow for an opportunity for the non-collective bargaining employees to receive a merit raise.

Master Plan – The final public meeting has been held. She is proud of everyone that has been working on this project. The City’s plan is outdated and a lot of people spent a lot of time this past year working on this. An update was mailed out which we believed was important information as this is a critical plan which shows how the city will be developed. She will be asking Council and the Planning Commission to hold a joint meeting in order for the County to review the plan in one presentation. She would ask the Clerk to help coordinate this meeting. She stated that some Council members have attended the public meetings, which she has appreciated.

She indicated that she has met with St. Andrews Presbyterian Church and First Congregational United Church of Christ. The latter church is in Berea and St. Andrews is within our community. These two parishes have now merged and are wrapping up their mission, constitution and bylaws. They hope to have this wrapped up by May 15th. This is a merger of two different religions and both churches are very community oriented.

She distributed a brochure from the Ohio State Highway Patrol. This information is the Top 10 things to do for policy makers and government officials. This informational brochure includes information from Homeland Security.

She indicated that she has the annual report from Olmsted Recreation. There are two new members of this organization and includes Trustee Zver and Joe Bertrand takes the place of Mr. Weisbarth who has retired. This report will be available in the Council Work Room.

She stated that there is still one position open on the ABR, Environmental Protection Board and Ethics Board. Please forward any names of residents that Council members believe would be interested in serving on one of these boards.

She stated that the administration has received numerous railroad complaints recently. One of the residents who attended the master plan meetings indicated that there was nothing included on the railroads and asked what we were going to do. She stated that the fact of the matter is we are not moving and they are not moving but, in the last couple of years the city has aggressively cited, and aggressively met with them which is the most we can do. We have created revenue from the citations and will be utilizing those funds to put together some possible electronic signage which would identify a time frame for a crossing closures versus attempting to get around the trains. She wanted to up-date Council since complaints seem to be on the rise and indicate that we are still managing to keep pressure on them.

Mr. Haviland stated that at the master plan public meeting one of the residents asked if the City could put a phone number on a sign that would indicate who should be contacted for blocked crossings. She suggested placing a small sign under the air quality signs indicating who should be contacted as an early notification of a stopped train. Mayor Donegan indicated that Chief Gilles and Director Borczuch have worked diligently to reduce sign pollution, but, she would ask that Director Borczuch look into this suggestion. She stated that she has put this information in the previous City newsletters but will consider placing the non-emergency dispatch number in the March publication she is and is currently working on.

Mr. Haviland indicated that there was a lot of good input from the public during the last master plan public meeting and would like to request that the County forward recommendations before Council meets with them even if it is just an executive summary. He believes this will give Council time to review and develop questions which will make the meeting more worthwhile. Mayor Donegan asked that the Clerk send a memo to Ms. Jones requesting that information.

Communications from Residents – None

Approval of Bills:

Mr. Sculac moved to approve Pay Ordinance 2016-04; Mr. Miller seconded.

Mr. Sculac indicated that under Makovich and Pusti there is an amount of $5,600.00 and asked if they were hired to produce the CDBG grant. Mayor Donegan replied yes. Mr. Borczuch indicated that there was an issue with the fire rating of the brick wall that was missed and the fee between the city and the contractor Sterling was re-negotiated because of this mishap. Mr. Sculac asked if the City was paying them an additional $5,600. Mayor Donegan indicated that the City should have paid a little more but because of the mishap Mr. Borczuch negotiated a lower price. She stated that Ms. Jeanine Colozza was hired to be the project manager and even though she did perform some duties she never invoiced the city because she obtained full time employment and indicated that she did not feel comfortable invoicing the City so those funds were never expended. Mr. Sculac asked if this was the reason for the patch work that was completed. Mayor Donegan replied yes. Mr. Sculac asked if the $1,900 invoice was related to this item. Mayor Donegan indicated that the City had a bricklayer come in and patch the wall. She stated that Pusti’s total fee was supposed to be $14,500, we were paying Ms. Colozza an additional $7,500, which was not expended, and Pusti’s invoice was reduced to $5,600.

Mr. Sculac stated that the pay ordinance indicates that the City is paying Mari Alice Zacharyasz for January of 2015 and asked if the City was that backed up on paying invoices. Mayor Donegan stated that she believes that is a typo. Mr. Sculac indicated that the City should have paid her long before now for January 2015. Mr. Sponseller stated that he believes that is clearly a typo. He stated that Ms. Zacharyasz did differ billings in 2015 because the amount of work was not that significant. He stated that he is fairly confident this is a simple typo but, she has been doing significantly more work because of the number of issues the City has had regarding personnel matters over the past three months. Mr. Sculac indicated that he hopes the city did not ask her to wait a year to be paid. Poll: 7 ayes; 0 nays. Motion carried.

Officials Reports:

Mayor Donegan stated that Ms. Jones has been doing significant work purchasing furniture for the senior center and wrapping up that project. She is happy to report that Mr. DeSan will be re-joining the City in a full time capacity in two weeks.

Joe Borczuch, Service Director

Mr. Borczuch indicated that he is requesting approval for the purchase of road salt from Cargill. He indicated that the city currently has approximately 300 ton in reserve, but, not knowing what the rest of the winter season will be he would like a larger reserve.

Mr. Linn moved to approve a requisition to Cargill Salt for the purchase of 500 tons of rock salt for the 2015-2016 winter season in an amount not to exceed $25,525.00; Ms. Garrity seconded.

Mr. Miller asked how the price per ton compares to last year’s costs. Mr. Borczuch indicated that the increase was $1.00 per ton. Mayor Donegan asked how many years was left in the current contract with Cargill. Mr. Borzuch indicated that the city has two additional option years due to the fact that when this contract was bid it was for five years with a $1.00 increase per year. Mayor Donegan indicated that the city was also involved in the class action suit and received approximately $5,200.00. Poll: 7 ayes; 0 nays. Motion carried.

Mr. Borczuch stated that he is also requesting approval of a requisition to Wolf Brothers for the purchase of an external sump pump for the administration building. He stated that there have been numerous floods in the police department. Through some exploratory work he has discovered that one of the roof’s scupper’s was tied to an old footer tile and ended up in a shallow drain on Bagley Road which always gets overcharged with storm water, which makes water back up against the building. He has installed a backflow but we still need to repair the footer tile around the building. This sump pump will help with the situation. This purchase covers the external sump pump and all the piping, there will be an additional charge for the electrical work that will need to be performed. Mayor Donegan stated that since moving into the building in 2001 there have been five or six major floods in the basement with two or three inches of water. One of the reasons the server was moved from the basement is because all of our electronics was located in the coldest and wettest area of the building. As we look to potential rent out areas downstairs as we retro-fit the department, since dispatch has moved, this is one of the steps needed to help resolve flooding.

Mr. Stibich moved to approve a requisition to Wolff Brothers Supply for the purchase of an external sump pump, central box, alarm, and piping for the administration building in an amount not to exceed $5,525.31; Ms. Duncan seconded.

Mr. Linn stated that he has spoken with Mr. Borczuch who indicated to him that the infrastructure around the building is already in place with a bedded gravel area that will collect the majority of the water and this sump pump will be placed into this bed. Mr. Borczuch indicated that it will be placed four feet deeper than the gravel. Mr. Linn stated that the water will then be transported to the front of the building in the onsite detention area that is already located on the property. He stated that one of the floods did cost the city over $25,000 to mitigate. Ms. Duncan asked if there were plans to dig up around city hall to install or connect the pump. Mr. Borczuch indicated that the digging has already been completed and located in front of the second set of doors on the front of the building. He will need to dig down approximately another three feet to install the pump, after that they will need to dig along the sidewalk to the onsite detention area. Ms. Duncan asked if there would be any adjustments to the landscaping. Mr. Borczuch indicated that the landscaping has already been removed. Mayor Donegan stated that the bushes have been removed. Ms. Duncan asked if this area could be consider for a pollinator area. Mr. Borczuch indicated that it was possible.

Mr. Haviland asked if Council would receive another request to hook up all the electrical components. Mr. Borczuch replied that was correct and believes the cost would be approximately $2,000 to $4,000. Poll: 7 ayes; 0 nays. Motion carried.

Mike DeSan, Asst. Finance Director

Mr. DeSan stated that he will begin drafting an annual financial report that will be sent to the residents. Mr. Miller asked when the report would be sent to the residents. Mr. DeSan indicated approximately June or July.

Mayor Donegan stated that before moving on with official’s reports she would ask Council to table Ordinance 07-2016. She asked Mr. Sponseller to review the purple heart parking space legislation in order to make sure that it is clear that the space can be utilized by all veterans.

Councilman, Kyle Miller, Ward IV – No Report

Councilman, Jim Haviland, Council-at-Large

Mr. Haviland asked if the Olmsted Township Trustees made their appointment to the JEDD Board. Mayor Donegan stated that she is unsure if the appointment is official but as she understands it Ms. Tiffany Fischbach has accepted the position. Mr. Haviland asked if a meeting would be scheduled in the near future. Mayor Donegan indicated that she will contact the Chairman, Mr. Engelmann.

Mr. Haviland asked when residents would be notified about the detours for the Bagley Road Bridge. Mayor Donegan stated that Mr. Borczuch is currently working on the detour schedule and will include that information in the city newsletter, as well as a Ready Notify, Facebook, Twitter and the website. Mr. Borczuch stated that the detour schedule is an aspect of the bid package and once those are received that information will be available.

Mayor Donegan stated that with the help of Clerk Mancini and Director Borczuch a construction brochure was developed last year and is left at a variety of places all over town. This keeps the residents informed as to what projects are upcoming.

Ms. Garrity stated that when this project was previously discussed she suggested alternate routes for certain areas, like Falls Pointe, and asked if this is still a consideration. Mr. Borczuch indicated that part of the situation is that the Stearns railroad project is still ongoing, the county will also be completing a lot of work on Bronson, he is unclear as to what routes will be available for that request as most of the north south routes will be under construction. Mr. Linn stated that during construction residents find the path of least resistance. Mayor Donegan stated that if Council has any suggestions or ideas, please contact her.

Councilman Charles R. Sculac, Ward I

Mr. Sculac stated that he is asking Council to table Ordinance 07-2016. He stated that he was considering a finance committee meeting on March 22nd but does not want to hold a meeting prior to the ALICE Training. Therefore, he would ask that the finance committee meeting be moved to March 8th to discuss Ordinance 07-2016 and the Mayor’s salary increase that was not followed through last year. The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m.

Mr. Sculac stated that he is appreciative of whomever handled the garage issue on Magnolia with Republic Services. He stated that when the city was changing over to automated pickup Mr. Kidder indicated that he was amenable to providing special services for a resident who moves out and dumps a lot of garbage on the tree lawn. Mayor Donegan indicated that it was the Clerk of Council who made sure this was picked up.

Councilwoman, Terry Duncan, Ward III – No Report

Councilwoman Linda Garrity, Council Pro-Tempore

Ms. Garrity reminded everyone that the annual Open House will take place on Sunday, March 20th from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. We will be honoring individuals, up to the graduating class of 1968, when this building was the high school. Ms. Jones is working on obtaining information from the Alumni Association and we are hoping this brings in a fair number of previous graduates. There will also be door prizes and tours of the building, we are also looking for someone to play the piano. The food will be set up in the senior center and would like a little music back. She stated that Ms. Duncan will be helping set up the food. Mayor Donegan indicated that she would contact BW. Ms. Garrity stated that Ms. Jones has already contacted them and was informed that the individual who was at last year’s Open House was unavailable.

Mayor Donegan indicated that April 21st is the recognition of DARE throughout the state. She previously mentioned that she attended the heroin overview that was held at Falls Lenox with Judge Astraub, Dr. Joan Papp and Mr. Brandt, who lost his son to an overdose. She has asked Chief Gilles, DARE Officer Bob Swope, and Ms. Garrity to plan some sort of external recognition. She believes it is important that we have a conversation about heroin no matter how disturbing or uncomfortable it may be particularly with the epidemic of heroin and the availability of narcan. She stated that if any other member of Council would like to join please contact her. She also believes some sort of sign needs to be posted in front of the city hall and suggested “DARE to talk about it.”

Councilman Paul Stibich, Ward II – No Report

Councilman Jay Linn, Council President

Mr. Linn thanked Mr. Sculac for requesting Ordinance 07-2016 be tabled.

He stated that he has visited the new service garage site and suggested that everyone take a look at the progress. The roof is completed and the doors need to be installed and the building will be undercover. He stated that when he was at the location he noticed that all the service department employees were working to install the infrastructure to the building. Once again, as Mr. Sheehy quoted some time ago, our department performs a lot of in-service work which saves the city a tremendous amount of money.

He stated that he will be forwarding information to Council regarding a plan to re-structure some of the boards and commissions which includes how Council members interact with those boards and/or commissions, and streamlining of the processes. He welcomes any and all input on the template he will lay out and forward. This is an attempt make things smoother with people going to less meetings. One of his suggestions is to bring in the chair people prior to the Council meetings to report what is going on in their board and/or commission and to ask if Council needs help with anything or if the chairman themselves need help.

Gregory M. Sponseller, Law Director

Mr. Sponseller reminded Council that the open meeting seminar will take place this Thursday downtown for those who signed up.

Secondly, as you recall the city received funds from the county for demolition of blighted structures which included a property on Cranage. The contractor not only received his permit but the property has been demolished.

Old Business

Ordinance 07-2016

AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING A COMPREHENSIVE PERSONNEL ORDINANCE FOR WAGES AND COMPENSATION FOR NON-UNION POSITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT FOR EMPLOYEES IN THE CITY OF OLMSTED FALLS IN ORDER TO ELIMINATE REDUNDANCIES AND INCONSISTENCIES IN INDIVIDUAL ORDINANCES AND STREAMLINE THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE PERSONNEL PLAN, AND REPEALING ALL LEGISLATION INCONSISTENT HEREWITH Second Reading (Referred to finance committee on 01/26/16)

Mr. Sculac moved to table; Ms. Duncan seconded. Poll: 7 ayes; 0 nays. Motion carried.

New Business

Resolution 09-2016

A RESOLUTION EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR ISSUE 23, A CUYAHOGA COUNTY HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES 4.8 MILL RENEWAL LEVY AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY First Reading

Mr. Sculac moved to suspend; Mr. Miller seconded. Voice Vote: 7 ayes; 0 nays. Motion carried. Mr. Linn moved to waive the reading in its entirety; Mr. Stibich seconded. Voice Vote: 7 ayes; 0 nays. Motion carried. Mr. Linn moved to adopt; Mr. Stibich seconded.

Mr. Miller stated that he would encourage Council to support this resolution. Each year this levy benefits approximately 200,000 Cuyahoga County residents and those include the most vulnerable, particularly the elderly, children and those will mental health illnesses.

Mr. Haviland stated that he strongly supports this issue but he is employed by the MetroHealth System and would like to know if he is permitted to vote for the resolution. Mr. Sponseller responded that he could vote for the resolution as he has no financial interest. Again, the fundamental rules are always disclose and either recuse or abstain, if appropriate. Mayor Donegan stated that she also took the liberty of adding “Council as a Whole.” She stated that she will send this resolution to the Campaign Manager. Poll: 7 ayes; 0 nays. Motion carried.

Ordinance 10-2016

AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO A REGIONAL STORMWATER MANAGEMENT PROGRAM SERVICE AGREEMENT WITH THE NORTHEAST OHIO REGIONAL SEWER DISTRICT AND DECLARING AN EMEGENCY First Reading

Mr. Linn moved to suspend; Mr. Stibich seconded. Voice Vote: 7 ayes; 0 nays. Motion carried. Mr. Linn moved to waive the reading in its entirety; Mr. Stibich seconded. Voice Vote: 7 ayes; 0 nays. Motion carried. Mr. Linn moved to adopt; Mr. Stibich seconded.

Mayor Donegan stated that a meeting will be held next week regarding Phase V. She has asked Mr. Linn to attend that meeting at which time we will discuss the steps we need to complete. We will also discuss problem solving for some of the flooding in our areas. These areas include Cook and we previously received a proposal on the most cost effective way to deal with about five or six areas. There are some other core areas that we still need to make decisions on and how to mitigate those issues. She indicated that Mr. Sponseller believes we have about $38,000 in this program as of January.

Mr. Sculac would ask, if there are issues in this instance or any other instance, that involves a specific ward that the ward council person be included in any meetings related to the issue as that is the person, in most likelihood, that will receive some phone calls. Mayor Donegan agreed. We have the key areas of Pineway, Mapleway and Metropolitan/Holton. Mr. Linn stated that last year he met with Joe Desanto who is a resident on Cook Road who is “the governor” of the waterway that runs from Myrtle Avenue across Cook Road and through the German Club property. The city has not had a lot of success with the German Club working with us. They have even cut down multiple trees and left the remains laying in the creek that runs through their property and this water is now backing up all the way to Myrtle. He explained to Mr. Desanto that he would attempt to resolve these issues and feels that this legislation will give the Mayor the tools she needs when we sit down next Tuesday and meet with the Phase V people. Poll: 7 ayes; 0 nays. Motion carried.

Miscellaneous New Business

Mr. Linn stated that he has been informed by Mr. Sponseller and Mr. Incorvaia that they are in agreement that neither Mr. Miller nor Mr. Haviland should take the position on the Southwest General Hospital Board. Mr. Miller graciously checked into his status in taking the position and appreciates his inspiration. He stated that Mr. Incorvaia and Mr. Sponseller felt that even if there was not a true conflict there could be the perception of a conflict because of these gentlemen’s positions within the medical field. Therefore, at this time he has to be prudent and say that he appreciates the input but he does have to listen to the law director and assistant law director. He then asked Ms. Garrity is she would be interested in the position. Ms. Garrity stated that she has always been interested in this position but when Mr. Miller expressed interest and since this was his area of expertise she believed he would be the better choice. She does regret the decision by Mr. Sponseller but understands this is his legal opinion. She is a nurse and would be more than happy to accept the position. Mr. Sculac indicated that he formerly served on the Board and it contains a wonderful group of people to work with and believes Ms. Garrity will enjoy serving.

Mr. Sponseller stated that he applauds Mr. Linn, Mr. Miller, and Mr. Haviland. He would reiterate that the fundamentals are disclosure, evaluation and then recusal. In this case, there is no actual conflict of interest but more importantly it is important that the perception of fairness also be the reality. In order to avoid any misperception of a potential conflict or to put either of these gentlemen in a position where someone may claim a conflict this is his suggestion. He wants to stress that no actual conflict of interest exists in the appointment but as Mr. Linn correctly pointed out he and Mr. Incorvaia suggest that it would be more prudent to appoint someone other than Mr. Miller or Mr. Haviland in light of their day jobs.

Such other business that may come before Council

Mr. Linn moved to adjourn into executive session pursuant to ORC 121.22(g)(3) conference with legal counsel regarding pending and imminent litigation; Mr. Stibich seconded. Poll: 7 ayes; 0 nays. Motion carried.

The meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m.

Mr. Sculac moved to adjourn into regular session; Mr. Miller seconded. Poll: 7 ayes; 0 nays. Motion carried.

Mr. Sculac moved to adjourn; Mr. Miller seconded. Poll: 7 ayes; 0 nays. Motion carried.

The meeting adjourned at 8:53 p.m.

____________________________

Ann Marie Donegan, Mayor Angela Mancini, Clerk of Council

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