Minutes of a Regular Council Meeting - Olmsted Falls, Ohio



City of Olmsted Falls

Minutes of a Regular Council Meeting

Tuesday, January 26, 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, Steve Presley, Finance Director, Mike DeSan, Asst. Finance Director, Rosann Jones, Manager Business & Community Services, John Cheatham, Building and Zoning Official, and Dan Gilles, Police Chief. Audience: 6.

Approval of Minutes:

Ms. Duncan moved to approve the minutes from the Council Work Session of January 12, 2016; Mr. Stibich seconded. Mr. Presley indicated a typo; Ms. Garrity amended line 35 page 5 to read: “Northeast Ohio City Council Association had indicated that many community Councils are currently using I-pads and are investigating the use of I-pads.” Ms. Garrity stated that page 5 line 36 should read “she stated that she would like to see the information on Friday before her packet arrives, if she has plans to be out of town for the weekend.” Mr. Linn indicated a typo. He also requested that on page 5 line 24 the language of “one time infrastructure expense” should be added to the dollar figure of $3,000 to $4,000. Poll as amended: 7 ayes; 0 nays. Motion carried.

Ms. Duncan moved to approve the minutes from the Regular Council Meeting of January 12, 2016; Ms. Garrity seconded. Poll: 7 ayes; 0 nays. Motion carried.

Consideration of Amendment to the Agenda - None

Mayor’s Report and Appointments

Mayor Donegan indicated that Council packets included a brief bio from Fran Migliorino and is on the agenda for an appointment to the Planning Commission. She indicated that Ms. Migliorino has been a resident for approximately 40 years. Ms. Migliorino has worked for Governor Taft and Strickland in the economic development area. Recently she was the Director of Economic Development for the City of Brooklyn and has recently retired. She stated that Ms. Migliorino established the Citywide Community Reinvestment Area during her tenure as one of the governor’s regional representative. It is with great enthusiasm to appoint an individual with a lot of the experience to the Planning Commission but another woman. It was wonderful to promote a woman to a board that has been primarily filled by men. Mr. Sculac asked which member of the board Ms. Migliorino would replace. Mayor Donegan indicated that she would replace Mr. Craig Allan whose term expired on 12/31/2015.

Ms. Garrity moved to appoint Fran Migliorino to the Planning Commission term to expire 12/31/2020; Mr. Haviland seconded.

Mr. Linn stated that he had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Migliorino during the Economic Development Committee meeting. She is very knowledgeable in planning phases from her experience in her previous positions. He has found Ms. Migliorino to be very congenial and believes she will be a great asset to the Commission. Mr. Haviland stated that this appointment is great for the city. Poll: 7 ayes; 0 nays. Motion carried.

Police Department Overview: Chief Gilles stated that it was a pleasure meeting the two new members of City Council. He has worked as a police officer for the City of Olmsted Falls for 31 years. He was appointed to a full time position after serving four years as a part time officer. He has been the Chief for the past 10 years. His department is currently staffed with one lieutenant, as he had one lieutenant retire in the last two weeks. The other lieutenant will retire in March. His department has three shift sergeants, unfortunately one is currently out on personal injury leave. He hopes that she will return by the end of next month. There are three full time officers; 14 part time officers; 2 community officers. The community officers are not sworn officers and handle school crossing duties, run paperwork back and forth to Berea Municipal Court as well as the Strongsville Dispatch Center, they also help with traffic control during any accidents and are an asset to the department. He currently has two reserve officers, who are sworn officers but are volunteers. The department has eight auxiliary officers and are civilian component. These officers are volunteer civilians, uniformed and help the department with traffic control and parades.

He stated that as Chief Munteanu mentioned the department went to a regional dispatch center in December of 2014. He is very pleased with this transfer. One of critical components to this switch was with our jail facility downstairs. When the dispatchers moved to Strongsville one officer would bring in prisoners and there was always a concern that they could be overpowered or attacked by the prisoner if they acted up. Now we take our prisoners directly to the City of Strongsville’s Jail and their jailers handle the booking process so essentially the jail facility downstairs is now closed.

We are included in a radio COG with seven other communities for the 800 radio system. He is very pleased with that system and has excellent coverage except for this building. Mayor Donegan indicated that the Chief did mention this previously and that wi-fi would help boost that coverage. She asked that he discuss this topic later in his report as Mr. Presley had to step out of the room and she would like him to be involved in that discussion.

His department is also part of the Southwest Council of Governments which is the Southwest Enforcement Bureau which includes the tactical and bomb units. We have tactical medics, a command post, armored vehicles and a variety of other vehicles including x-ray machines, and bomb kettles. For the last five or six years he has been chairman of the SEB chief’s. He runs the chief’s organization that approves all the expenditures for the SEB portion. Currently our SEB unit has just under 100 officers which includes tactical medics that are paramedics out of the fire departments. These individuals train and deploy with the officers in case of medical emergencies or gunshot wounds. These medics were a blessing during an incident in Brunswick a couple of years ago. There was a gentleman holding a woman hostage, we found out after three days into this that he had shot her, our officers engaged him and unfortunately he was killed in the process. The tactical medics immediately began working on both of these individuals which was a blessing rather than have them come in at a later time.

In addition to normal police work, all officers have additional duties which have been spread out from full time officers to sergeants and command staff. Two sergeants are firearms and tactical training officers. We used the third floor of this building last year for intense training and something that we had missed for a number of years. This training included moving down hallways and entering doorways. The entire department was trained as a team so regardless of who you were working with you knew how you would enter the doorway, clear the doorway and enter the room. These officers train for pistols, shotguns, and rifles with annual and continuous training. The unfortunate part is that we have to beg, borrow and steal range time. Currently we use the City of Avon’s range which includes a small amount of travel time. We have used Brunswick’s range and a variety of different cities in the past. One officer acts as the juvenile officer and runs the diversion program which is funded by a grant. He has to travel to the regional office in Parma to criminal charges and if the juvenile completes the program his/her record is clear. This program has worked out well and we have not seen a lot of juveniles come back. We also have officers trained in baton and Taser and everyone is re-certified annually. One sergeant is trained in ALICE training, which the city hall staff went through recently. This training covers what to do, how to secure yourself, how to make yourself safe, if there is an intruder or someone comes in in a hostile fashion. This training would also be good for Council to go through that for an event that would happen in Chambers. One of our officers takes care of the 11 vehicle fleet which includes a motorcycle and 10 cars. We are currently looking to replace two cruisers this year and if that happens three older vehicles will be removed from the fleet which will reduce the fleet by one. One officer has a critical and very time consuming task which is filing the Uniform Crime Report with the FBI. Unfortunately the sergeant that is off on injury leave is that individual. She also supervises our auxiliary unit and is the liaison between the auxiliary officers and the department, she keeps the officers on track with their training and up-to-date on everything that is going on in the department.

Last year the department purchased Lexipol which writes all the department’s policies and procedures. The conversion has been time consuming and we are getting to the end. One of the sergeants has been the primary on this process and the Chief gives final approval. Lexipol keeps the department up to date and is made according to the State of Ohio especially with the new restrictions on the use of deadly force.

There are four officers, three sergeants and one patrolman who are field training officers. They train the new officers in the department which is quite an extensive process. The training covers fueling the cars, learning the streets, learning the process, learning Strongsville, and how to talk on the radio. This training covers everything from your academy training to making you function on the street.

One officer works on crime prevention trying to reach out to the community. His time is limited as he is also a juvenile officer and works the road so he tries to do a multiple of tasks. He has reached out and done some with the community and businesses.

Mayor Donegan stated that during one of her staff meetings the Chief did discuss the $3,000 to $4,000 one-time infrastructure expense for wi-fi at least a year ago but we were trying to defray some costs. He had mentioned that wireless would actually help boost the radio signal so there could be a compelling reason besides being a customer service friendly here and for the senior center. Chief Gilles stated that under the new fire code if you build a building which recently happened when Southwest put on their new addition they had to install wireless repeaters for the radio systems. The department’s 800 radios do not work in this building. With the senior center moving into this building if the fire or police departments are on this floor conducting a program we will not have contact with the outside world from our radios. The thickness of the walls in this building make it impossible to get a signal unless you are standing towards an outside and a wireless signal would help. It would actually take two repeaters one for the public safety radio and one for cellular phones. Mayor Donegan asked if the finance department could work up some prices so Council could discuss during the next council meeting. If any member of Council has research ideas please share them through your clerk.

Ms. Garrity asked if ALICE training could be offered to the community. Chief Gilles stated that the officer trains the teachers at St. Mary’s on an annual basis. The department could do that for any business and is free through community policing and crime prevention. Mayor Donegan stated that the list of homeowner’s associations needs to be updated and would ask Clerk Mancini to follow up in order to make the list current this could be something that Council could market.

Mr. Haviland stated that when he worked with MidTown Cleveland we worked with the Cleveland Police to hold brown bag seminars. Employees would come in and the officers would train them on safety. He asked if this was an issue of manpower for the police or could this be something that we can start implementing with businesses. Chief Gilles indicated that he could very easily handle that he would just bring in a part time officer to backfill the full time officer’s shift. Mayor Donegan asked Ms. Jones if she could work with the Chief on this project.

Ms. Garrity asked for a status regarding the body cameras. Chief Gilles indicated that the department has the camera’s. Currently all of our camera’s, body camera’s and car camera’s feed into a server that then prints out on cd’s so we can keep everything filmed from the day the program started. Unfortunately, the printer is broken but is being shipped back as we speak. This breakdown has caused the server to back up which has caused all the recordings in the cars to back up and not download onto the system automatically. Once the server is repaired and received we can remove all recordings from the server. The department has its policy in place and the officer’s will need to go through training. We have also discovered that when you place a camera on an officer that is under 6 feet then on an officer who is over six feet tall you see the roof of the car so we are trying to figure out if we will use a lanyard system to fix this issue. The biggest issue now is the printer. Mayor Donegan asked for an estimated timeframe for implementation since this issue has been discussed over the last year. Chief Gilles stated that once the printer is back in service and the server and cars cleared we will need to have the cameras automatically download onto the same server and the training portion will take a couple sessions with the officers.

Building Department Overview – Mayor Donegan indicated that she will distribute a copy of the Safebuilt contract to the new members of Council.

Mr. Cheatham indicated that Safebuilt has finished their first full year with the City. The total permits issued last year were 743; single family dwellings were 37; the valuation of new homes was roughly $6,170,000.00; the total valuation of all permits, commercial, residential, new structures, remodels, alterations was $19,626,838.00. The total number of inspections was conservative as the total of 1521 is what he can back up with the software. He knows for a fact that there were at least 200 more inspections. Total revenue for the year was $176,167.00; the revenue that went directly to Olmsted Falls according to the software as he has not checked with the finance department was roughly $62,965.49. He stated that in Safebuilt’s contract with the City there is a clause that states when Safebuilt is earning a million dollars in revenue per year in this market, the City’s portion will increase by 5% and this will happen soon. When Olmsted Falls signed the contract with Safebuilt you were the second jurisdiction, Safebuilt now has 22 jurisdictions. He stated that he signed a contract with Columbia Township valued at $440,000. The Township does not currently have a building department and this contract is for Ryan Homes who will be building a development with a couple hundred homes. Safebuilt is in Berea; handles all the schools for Lakewood; and approximately 16 or 17 cities on the East side. Safebuilt has increased its revenue numbers and is certain that within the next couple of months we will hit the million dollar mark. For the record, only Olmsted Falls and Bay Village received that language in their contract.

He stated that Safebuilt has also prepared numerous adjudication orders, performed many additional inspections were permits were not involved, performed hundreds of plan reviews, attended meetings, as requested, appeared in Cleveland and Berea Court’s numerous times for the City, obtained compliance with owners who were behind, for example the German Club, he has performed research for litigation matters, we researched the codified ordinances for compliance with state law, submitted new ones for adoption, which is on the agenda this evening, and we have performed a lot of duties that there is no way to track, just part of the job.

He stated that with regard to the ordinances on the agenda this evening, a lot of the codified ordinances for zoning and building, primarily building, were not in compliance with state law. A lot of laws changed in 2007 and have never been updated. For example, the city was still enforcing BOCA codes, which have not been a legal entity since late 90’s or 2000, there were some codes that were simply either not clear or missing altogether. For example, there is nothing to specify where air conditioners or generators should be placed. He stated that we are looking for good things this year. His inspectors enjoying working in the City and he is not aware of any complaints.

Mayor Donegan stated that Mr. Cheatham is in his office every day and we are customer service oriented and with the software program we are able to track data in order to make decisions. We are offering a service which is generating slight revenue. She would also like Council to consider some sort of program in the near future to create interest from homeowner’s to help upkeep their properties. For example, for a month or two during the course of the year encourage waive permit fees to encourage up keep. Obviously, this is where the money comes from but she thinks as we move forward and the Heritage Home Loan Program gets more traction we want to give back to the community who pays fees and taxes.

Mr. Linn stated that he understands that the $63,000 doesn’t sound like a lot of money but when you put that against the roughly $275,000 per year expense we had three years ago that $63,000 becomes a $325,000 plus rather than funds in a minus column. He stated that some time ago the city had a run of variances for air conditioning units even if they were replacing an existing unit and believes that should be revisited. Mayor Donegan stated that as the Master Plan moves forward Mr. Cheatham and Mr. Smerigan will review the codes. Mr. Cheatham stated that he did review that issue as there was no clarify and it is addressed in the ordinance before Council. He stated that any time there is a lot of variances something is wrong and should be reviewed.

Mr. Haviland asked if the Mayor was suggesting that Council look at a program to implement that homeowner’s can use for improvements, for example, a paint fund. Mayor Donegan suggested a paint fund or if residents want to perform improvements on the exterior of their home the permits are 50% in April, May, and June. She indicated that other cities have different types of programs and is something she has wanted to do for many years. She believes that the City is in at least a financial position to begin discussions.

Ms. Duncan indicated that her son lives in Brook Park and has taken advantage of the program they offer which is permits are free during the months of July and August. So, if you want to roof your home, put siding on your home, or add a deck you still have to file the permit but you do not have to pay the costs. Mayor Donegan stated that she believes this is a good opportunity to take a portion of the revenue from the department and reserve it in a fund to start some type of program for the residents. Mr. Haviland stated that it could be a waiver of permit fees or funds you can tap into to help.

Manager of Business & Community Services Overview – Mayor Donegan indicated that Ms. Jones has been locked in her office working on four grants for the City. Ms. Jones stated that she will be starting her 17th year with the city. She stated that her position is different because there is very little routine tasks performed as her position is all project oriented. She provided Council at the beginning of the month, which will continue, a project plan the Mayor suggested we all complete which outlines everything she is working on. We have a very energetic Mayor who is attempting to take advantage of a lot of opportunities and we are doing the best to keep up. A lot of her position deals with grant writing; in 2014 the city received a lot of grants and in 2015 we did not get quite as many. The grant work does not end when you receive the grant, there is follow up work that also has to be done, for example, applying the grant and reporting. We have gotten off to a good start this year as the Mayor stated she is working on five grants, two have already been submitted. She also wrote a request to the Harding Foundation for new equipment for the senior center as it was unfortunate that we brought a lot of worn out equipment from the Jenkins Center. The individual from PNC who handles the foundation was kind enough to call the trustees and ask if we could submit a grant as they normally do not review them until the end of the year. The trustees agreed to review, she submitted the grant last Friday and Monday evening she received an email indicating that a check for $10,000 was placed in the mail. Currently she is working on the submission of three Transportation for Livable Communities Initiative Grants through NOACA; two are planning grants and one is an implementation grant; one involves Columbia Road and two involve the downtown area. We also submitted a grant to the Solid Waste District for the City’s shredding events held in May and September. Over the last year the projects accomplished are the logo, which was a big project, we are currently wrapping up the master plan which is a large ongoing project, and the banners and sign toppers. The banners have been received we are just waiting for the service department to have the opportunity to place them in intersections. The banners include our logo and we will get spring and summer ones as well. The Kiwanis and Chamber of Commerce helped with funding for the banners and brackets. The sign toppers were purchased from a history fund grant. She stated that the history fund grant receives 99.7% of the money they fund grants from what Ohio residents donate from their State of Ohio tax return. There is a box on your state tax return to donate to the history fund. She received an email indicating that the Society needs to raise $150,000 and have only raised $75,000 so far. She received a packet of magnets, book markers and little tablets please take some so when you speak with residents you can mention donating. The City has taken advantage of this funding and there are definitely things a historic community like Olmsted Falls can take advantage of moving forward.

She indicated that she is always available to discuss what she is working on with any member of Council as well as any suggestions you would like to see happen that she would speak to the Mayor about.

Mayor Donegan stated that Ms. Jones was the Economic Development department but and we took a fresh new look and there is alot to do for the business community as well as the residents that it was important for us to make that a roll and department in and of itself. We have had great success and she is the reason for Evening In the Falls and WDOK was here a couple of winters ago. We are also anxious to get input from Mr. Miller and Mr. Haviland because of their experience.

Phase V Update – Mayor Donegan stated that she sent a letter to all affected residents in the Phase V project indicating that the drawings would be completed and the project rolled out by the end of March. The City did receive the letter indicating that we have secured the $4.236 million dollar grant. The idea is to have a shovel in the ground by July so we are going to get the project started quickly.

She stated that Mrs. Tomasch, the Chairman of ABR, had indicated that ABR would like to waive the second monthly meeting of the board, which is optional because there is very little on their docket. Mr. Incorvaia has indicated that the change would be appropriate but ABR would need to update their rules. Again, her point is that you cannot slow down a resident’s or businesses request and wanted to bring this issue to Council’s attention. She stated that Council also received an email which included the 2015 ABR board report which is a requirement from the codified.

Lastly, Ms. Mancini forwarded a memo regarding a JEDD appointment. Mayor Donegan indicated that she would like to appoint Mr. Haviland as her appointment to the JEDD board.

Mr. Linn moved to appoint Jim Haviland to the Joint Economic Development District (JEDD) to fill an unexpired term to 12/31/2017; Ms. Garrity seconded.

Mayor Donegan stated that she believes Mr. Haviland’s reputation with the Midtown Corridor will be an asset to the JEDD Board. Poll: 6 ayes; 0 nays; 1 abstain (Haviland). Motion carried.

Communications from Residents - None

Approval of Bills:

Mr. Sculac moved to approve Pay Ordinance 2016-02; Ms. Duncan seconded.

Ms. Garrity asked if the psychological evaluation is what is used for background checks, etc. Mayor Donegan indicated that there are different levels and this charge was for the firefighter recently appointed. Ms. Duncan asked if the city would be reimbursed for the Mapleway road improvement. Mr. Presley replied yes. Cleveland Water will be reimbursing for the project. He stated that he does not know the exact amount but believes it is around $326,000. Mayor Donegan indicated that she also has some over time reports she would like to discuss with Council as it relates to the pay ordinance at one of Council’s work sessions. Mr. Presley indicated that on the payroll distribution report there are a couple of lines where it states insufficient funds, which is not the case. They are having problems loading the 2016 information into the software package which is the reason the report shows insufficient funds. He is hopeful that this will be corrected by the next time Council sees the report. Poll: 7 ayes; 0 nays. Motion carried.

Officials Reports:

Rosann Jones, Manager Business & Community Services

Ms. Jones stated that she would like to call Council’s attention to Resolution 05-2016. This resolution authorizes the submission of the grants she spoke about previously. She would request that Council suspend and adopt this legislation this evening as the grants are due by Friday.

Mr. Sculac stated that he understands that the OPA is moving from the Columbia Road property. Ms. Jones indicated that OPA has moved to the Helwig Whistlestop area where their classes will take place. The last time she spoke with an OPA representative they were unclear were their performances would be held. She stated that the relationship OPA had with Hope Church fell apart quickly. Mr. Haviland indicated that his daughter stated that OPA was hopeful that they could utilize the church for performances but may not be possible so they are actively looking for new locations. Mayor Donegan stated that the city never received any communication regarding this issue. Ms. Jones indicated that the High School does have an appropriate stage and theatre but they do have their own theatre company and is unsure if OPA has ever contacted them for performances.

Mr. Linn stated that during OPA’s approval process through Planning Commission there was a lot of verbiage included in the approval for their conditional use. The conditional use was ownership driven and required that the new owner or succession owner came back to the Olmsted Falls Planning Commission to seek a new approval. He inquired if Hope Church has contacted the City. Mayor Donegan indicated that a contingency group met with Mr. Incorvaia, Ms. Jones, Ms. Schneider and Mr. Cheatham. This is something that was brought forward to the administration and adjudicated. Mayor Donegan asked Mr. Sponseller to follow up on this issue. Mr. Linn stated that during the Planning Commission approval process there was a discussion regarding any entity failing on the property they had to restore the property back to residential condition.

Joe Borczuch, Service Director

Mayor Donegan indicated that Mr. Borczuch is on vacation.

Steve Presley, Finance Director – No Report

Mike DeSan, Asst. Finance Director – No Report

Councilman, Kyle Miller, Ward IV

Mr. Miller stated that he spoke with one of his residents within the Plum Creek area and her son belongs to the Olmsted Travel Baseball Association U9 Bulldogs. This team is offering sponsorships for local business and individuals who will be place on a banner that will be displayed during the 25 to 30 baseball games. He stated that all the funding goes directly to uniform and equipment costs, registration fees, and practice facilities. No one is enriching themselves except for the kids themselves.

Councilman, Jim Haviland, Council-at-Large

Mr. Haviland stated that during the holidays he had individuals contact him regarding bulk pick-up. These individuals asked if the city could have multiple pick up’s per month. Residents were concerned because bulk pick-up occurred after the Christmas holiday as opposed to before the holiday. He requested that at some point Council review the contract to see if there is any way to modify bulk pickup to indicate that if bulk pick up falls on a holiday it will be changed to the week before or immediately after the holiday. Mayor Donegan stated that the contract was negotiated and controversial for Council. She stated that Republic needs to remember that they are in the service industry as well and perhaps this issue could be placed on a utilities or service committee agenda.

Councilwoman, Terry Duncan, Ward III – No Report

Councilwoman Linda Garrity, Council Pro-Tempore

Ms. Garrity stated that Council received a set of ordinances to review and her understanding is that these ordinances do not necessarily line up with the new master plan. This was discussed when the County was here last week during the master plan meeting. She believes it would be appropriate to forward those ordinances to legislation committee for review. Mayor Donegan asked if Ms. Garrity was referring to the building code ordinances. Ms. Garrity replied no. Mayor Donegan stated that she is unclear what Ms. Garrity is referring to. Ms. Garrity indicated that there were a set of ordinances the gentleman from the county presented during the proposal for the new master plan. He had stated that certain ordinances would have to be rewritten in order to align with the master plan, if adopted. Mayor Donegan indicated that she was not in attendance at the meeting but is aware that it is time to look at some of those things but nothing is being asked of Council to vote on this evening except the building codes which Mr. Cheatham spoke about as we have been out of compliance since 2000. Ms. Garrity stated that Mr. Hewitt could have had the ordinances at the meeting, he indicated that it could be upwards of 50 ordinances that will need to be reviewed in order to make sure the city is in compliance and she believes this would be a good place for legislation committee to start. Mayor Donegan stated that we will contact Mr. Hewitt in order to obtain copies of this information and does believe this would be appropriate and proactive.

Ms. Garrity stated that she and Mr. Linn have been looking at committee preferences and there are still a couple of members that have not responded. She asked that they speak with her or Mr. Linn prior to leaving tonight’s meeting. Our intent is to match people where we believe they would best be served for committees and liaison positions. There has also been some discussions regarding streamlining some committees. We discussed combining some of the committees, for example, service/utilities as well as making safety committee an ad hoc committee so they meet as necessary. She and Mr. Linn would like input from Council members regarding these possibilities. Another example is Community Development and does that committee need to meet now that Ms. Jones is the business/community contact person. Mr. Linn stated he has spoken with Ms. Garrity regarding restructuring the timeframes as to when meetings happen because they are not conducive with a smooth transition. He would suggest if a board or commission foresees that a variance will be necessary he would like to restructure it so that BZA meets after the second Planning meeting of the month. For example, if they foresee the possibility of a variance request Planning can make that determination at their second meeting of the month and BZA can meet the day after in order to streamline the process for a developer or business owner. He does not feel that these issues should stretch out for two or three months. If we restructure these meetings we can expedite approvals. Last evenings Economic Development Committee is a perfect example. They are planning their own schedules, and most of their suggestions will require code changes or variances, but if we can streamline this process, especially when start implementing the master plan, he thinks we can take the whole process and cut the timeframes in half, if not better. Mayor Donegan stated that she believes it is always good to take a fresh look and it’s timely to help move their requests along whether it’s a resident or business.

Ms. Garrity stated that she believes ABR should also by in sync with BZA and Planning because there have been many times when residents would come before ABR just to find out that they have to go back to BZA and now they are waiting another calendar month. Unfortunately if that request was at the end of July the volunteers are on vacation in August the resident and/or business would now have to wait two months. She stated that she and Mr. Linn discussed his check list which would help applicants navigate through the committees. Mr. Linn stated that he has put together a small flow chart that Bob McLaughlin started years ago but his was just in text. He has revised this chart to include “where you start” and “where you end up” should various things happen. For example, if this happens you would go here, or if this happens go there. He believes this should be handed out to every applicant that comes into the building department when they start their application process. This would allow Mr. Cheatham or the secretary to show the path an applicant has to follow and from that point forward the process that comes after is where he would like to work with Ms. Garrity to streamline. Mayor Donegan indicated that the information should go to Mr. Smerigan, the City Planner, who is directing that to create an overall efficient system. Mr. Linn stated that the first faces an applicant sees will be Mr. Cheatham or Ms. Stone and he would like them to have the chart and if that tells them they have to see Mr. Smerigan then they move forward. A lot of these requests are a one-time visit to Planning but some of them may have to appear before Planning, BZA and sometimes ABR. If they have to appear before all three this is where we need to structure the meetings so they can take place in unison. He stated that in certain communities Planning and BZA meet back to back; if Planning determines they need a variance the BZA is already aware of that and they make it happen in one night, if it is feasible.

Ms. Garrity stated that any changes made would have to be then adopted into our Rules of Order. She again reiterated that she would like input from members of Council regarding these suggestions.

Ms. Garrity reminded Council that the annual NOCCA dinner is Thursday, February 11th. The speakers include Sheriff Pickeny along with other members of the safety forces regarding different safety topics that all of the suburbs can become involved in to promote safety. This is a dinner meeting and since the city’s pays the dues everyone is invited and you may bring a guest.

Councilman Paul Stibich, Ward II – No Report

Councilman Charles R. Sculac, Ward I – No Report

Councilman Jay Linn, Council President – No Report

Gregory M. Sponseller, Law Director

Mr. Sponseller stated that as Mr. Cheatham referenced earlier, before Council are Resolution 02-2016 and 03-2016. After we finalized the exhibit and identified the guts of those we cleaned up and finalized the resolutions and would ask that Council consider amending both resolutions by substitution.

Secondly, Council has before them Ordinance 06-2016 related to some Civil Service Ordinances that exist in light of the Commission moving forward with testing. This ordinance clarifies and eliminates any doubt about the fact that it is not required that these positions all be filled nor does it identify a specific timeframe. Therefore, he would ask that Council consider suspension and adoption.

Lastly, consist with our executive session meeting last week regarding the Lane matter he is requesting a motion from Council ratifying and affirming the full, final and complete settlement agreement release between the City and David Lane, a retired Olmsted Falls K-9 officer and his attorneys for $30,000 on his Fair Labor Standards Act claim against the city filed after his retirement, where he was seeking in excess of $98,000 for years of uncompensated care of the City’s K-9 animal.

Ms. Garrity moved to ratify and affirm the full, final and complete settlement agreement release between the City of Olmsted Falls and David Lane, retired Olmsted Falls K-9 officer, and his attorney’s in an amount not to exceed $30,000.00; Mr. Sculac seconded.

Mr. Sculac asked if the city would pay out in one lump sum or spread out over a period of time. Mr. Sponseller indicated that this figure is the total amount but under the terms of the settlement agreement there may be a couple different checks written. Mayor Donegan indicated that some members of the audience look confused. This claim came from a K-9 officer that has been with the city for about 15 years, or a little more, until last June when he retired. This officer had a K-9 and the Fair Labor Standards Act states that this officer should be compensated for the care of that animal. The department had no policies and procedures in place all this time and the officer was able to come back to the City, post-retirement in June, for collection on the past three years. This case has now been adjudicated and settled. Poll: 7 ayes; 0 nays. Motion carried.

Old Business

Ordinance 02-2016

AN ORDINANCE AMENDING AND UPDATING TITLE TWO, BUILDING STANDARDS, OF PART FOURTEEN, BUILDING REGULATIONS, OF THE CODIFIED ORDINANCES OF THE CITY TO BRING THE CITY’S BUILDING REGULATIONS INTO COMPLIANCE WITH THE OHIO REVISED CODE AND ADMINISTRATIVE CODES BY AMENDING AND ADOPTING CERTAIN SECTIONS AND REPEALING EXISTING CHAPTERS 1420 AND 1424 OF THE CODIFIED ORDINANCES OF THE CITY AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY Second Reading

Mr. Linn moved to amend by substitution; Mr. Stibich seconded. Voice Vote: 7 ayes; 0 nays. Motion carried. Mr. Stibich moved to suspend; Mr. Linn 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. Poll: 7 ayes; 0 nays. Motion carried.

Ordinance 03-2016

AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 1240.09(a)(1), ACCESSORY USE REGULATIONS, TO PROVIDE SPECIFIC REGULATIONS FOR PLACEMENT OF ACCESSORY EXTERIOR EQUIPMENT FOR RESIDENTIAL STRUCTURES AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY Second Reading

Mr. Stibich moved to amend by substitution; Mr. Linn seconded. Voice Vote: 7 ayes; 0 nays. Motion carried. Mr. Stibich moved to suspend; Mr. Linn 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. Poll: 7 ayes; 0 nays. Motion carried.

New Business

Resolution 04-2016

A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING, RATIFYING AND AFFIRMING THE MAYOR ENTERING INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH CHAGRIN VALLEY ENGINEERING, LTD, INC. TO PROVIDE FOR ENGINEERING SERVICES TO THE CITY OF OLMSTED FALLS AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY First Reading

Mr. Linn moved to suspend; Ms. Garrity seconded.

Mayor Donegan indicated that the informational sheet provided with this Resolution indicates that there will be no increase in costs in this contract which is unheard of in our engineering to-date.

Voice Vote: 6 ayes; 1 nay (Sculac). Motion carried. Mr. Linn moved to waive the reading in its entirety; Mr. Haviland seconded. Voice Vote: 6 ayes; 1 nay (Sculac). Motion carried. Mr. Linn moved to adopt; Ms. Garrity seconded.

Mr. Linn stated that he spoke with Mr. Sheehy who indicated to him that the contract pricing and structure would remain the same as the last two years. Mr. Linn also spoke with Ms. Garrity as they are the remaining members of the Utilities Committee at this time, and with the costs and structure remaining the same, as well as his involvement with the Phase V Sewer Project, the garnishing of a $4.2 million dollar grant, and feels that the continuity of the Phase V sewer project would be in jeopardy if the city did not re-hire Chagrin Valley Engineering. The Phase V Project failed once three years ago under the previous administration and he does not feel it would be just or fair to the residents, and some are in dire situations, and with this project failing once he feels this project needs to move forward. This project includes the final areas of the city to sewer. He could not find any adverse reasons not to reappoint Mr. Sheehy. These are his reasons for making the recommendation to prepare legislation. Mayor Donegan stated that she would like to enter into the record that the city has worked with Mr. Sheehy and CVE Engineering since 2014 on numerous projects. Mr. Sheehy and his firm have proven to be an asset to the city. When she started as Mayor in January of 2014 we were at risk of losing an opportunity to apply for the turnpike mitigation on Redwood, this is something that Ward III residents have been waiting for over a decade. Mr. Sheehy provided pro-bono service, we applied for the turnpike mitigation barrier for a million dollars and he was successful in getting that grant. Mr. Sheehy has also been instrumental in obtaining numerous grants including the $4.2 DOPWIC grant. Mr. Sheehy has knowledge of Olmsted Falls and provides a very creative, innovative, and reasonable approach to solving our problems with infrastructure flooding. Mayor Donegan stated that she and Director Borczuch would really appreciate confirmation of this appointment. Mr. Sculac indicated that he does not object to Mr. Sheehy or Chagrin Valley, his objection is to suspension. He has no issues with Mr. Sheehy or Chagrin Valley. Mayor Donegan replied that she respects the waiver, suspension as well. Poll: 7 ayes; 0 nays. Motion carried.

Resolution 05-2016

A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE SUBMISSION OF A TRANSPORTATION FOR LIVABLE COMMUNITIES INITIATIVE GRANT APPLICATIONS TO THE NORTHEAST OHIO AREAWIDE COORDINATING AGENCY (NOACA) AND ACCEPTING THE GRANTS UPON AWARD TO THE CITY, AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY First Reading

Ms. Duncan moved to suspend; Ms. Garrity seconded. Voice Vote: 7 ayes; 0 nays. Motion carried. Ms. Duncan moved to waive the reading in its entirety; Ms. Garrity seconded. Voice Vote: 7 ayes; 0 nays. Motion carried. Ms. Duncan moved to adopt; Ms. Garrity seconded.

Mr. Haviland stated that these are great and very important and a step in our efforts. He asked if the city felt comfortable providing a match requirement or will we need to find it. Ms. Jones stated that there is no match requirement. However, they give extra points for your match. She feels that the implementation grant will be relatively easy for us to say that we have a portion and she has spoken with Mr. Sheehy about this and we will be able to, with the parties we have to work with downtown, get that in kind. Mayor Donegan stated that the 20% match is the highest points obtainable and we are attempting to maximize that through in kind. Ms. Jones stated that with regard to the planning grant she does not know but we will certainly look for ways to do that but Mr. Sheehy said go for the high points. Mayor Donegan stated that we have taken a look at the different departments and streamlining those budgets. We also have an economic development budget that she is primarily responsible for and that money will get added as we invest more in the economic development. Ms. Jones stated that these are not huge dollar projects; the two planning projects are $45,000 and $50,000 respectively. Mr. Haviland stated that you need them in order to get those big dollars and believes we are taking logical steps which is fantastic. Mayor Donegan thanked Mr. Haviland for those comments. Poll: 7 ayes; 0 nays. Motion carried.

Ordinance 06-2016

AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 240.03, “SERGEANT AND LIEUTENANT,” OF CHAPTER 240, “POLICE DEPARTMENT,” AND SECTION 242.05, “ASSISTANT FIRE CHIEF/LIEUTENANT,” OF CHAPTER 242, “FIRE DEPARTMENT,” OF TITLE SIX, “ADMINISTRATION” OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE CODE OF THE CODIFIED ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF OLMSTED FALLS TO PROVIDE FOR LIMITS ON APPOINTMENTS TO CERTAIN SUPERVISORY POSITIONS IN THE CITY POLICE AND FIRE DEPARTMENTS AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY 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.

Mr. Sponseller stated that as previously indicated there is some ambiguity in our current ordinances as well as the Civil Service rules which will be addressed separately. Under our codified ordinances there is some ambiguity in terms of when promotional tests are required or permitted to be given. There is also ambiguity in terms of whether or not one or more of the appointments are mandatory or discretionary. In order to elevate and eliminate the concerns over when promotional tests must be given and to eliminate any ambiguities associated with what positions may or must be appointed these proposals have come forward through the Civil Service Commission and through Assistant Law Director Santo Incorvaia. Specifically an email Mr. Incorvaia sent last week indicating that there is currently a vacant lieutenant/assistant fire chief position and there is a suggestion that perhaps the test must be conducted within sixty days of the creation of that vacancy which is ambiguous and potentially subject to different interpretations and this would eliminate that ambiguity. Additionally, it would make clear that one or more of those positions may be filled but is not required necessarily to be filled as Council has to look at the budget. This gives you greater discretion making those appointments and the goal is to give the appointing authority flexibility to fill or not fill based upon the pragmatic needs of the department and the finances of the City. Mayor Donegan stated that more will be brought forward as the Civil Service Commission works on eliminating redundancies and things that are not necessarily lawful as they revise rules that are in conflict and this is the first one. Poll: 7 ayes; 0 nays. Motion carried.

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 First Reading

Mr. Sculac requested that this Ordinance be referred to finance committee.

Miscellaneous New Business - None

Such other business that may come before Council – None

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

The meeting adjourned at 8:54 p.m.

____________________________

Ann Marie Donegan, Mayor Angela Mancini, Clerk of Council

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download