Minutes of a Regular Council Meeting s3

Approved Minutes 03/10/2015 Page 49

City of Olmsted Falls Minutes of a Council Caucus Meeting Tuesday, March 10, 2015, at Olmsted Falls City Hall 26100 Bagley Road - Council Chambers, 6:30 p.m.

Council President Kathleen Fenderbosch called the Caucus Meeting to order at 6:32 p.m. Roll call was conducted. Councilmen Jay Linn, Linda Garrity, Bob Sculac, Kevin Roberts, Terry Duncan, and Sam Pulice.

Also Present: Ann Marie Donegan, Mayor, Gregory Sponseller, Law Director, Steve Presley, Finance Director, Mike DeSan, Asst. Finance Director, Joe Borczuch, Service Director, Dan Gilles, Police Chief, and Cornel Munteanu, Fire Chief.

Service Committee: Chaired by Sam Pulice

1. Service Director Report

a. Street Sweeping Bids – Mr. Borczuch indicated that street sweeping bids were opened and the information has been distributed to Council. He will request that Council approve Southwest Sweeping for 2015 during the Council meeting.

b. 252 Underpass – Mr. Borczuch indicated that he is attempting to get bids for trees, shrub plantings and stone work on the remaining two sides. He is reviewing some older information and believes this project can be expedited and completed by Fall for less than what is currently in the fund. He indicated that there will be maintenance until the shrubs and trees grow enough to shade the area. Mr. Pulice asked if there have been any further discussions regarding lighting. Mr. Borczuch indicated that he does not believe the pass under the bridge is long enough for more lighting. He is still currently looking into wording being placed on the bridge.

He indicated that pears will be eliminated in the downtown area and replaced with Ivory Silk’s which was also completed on the other side of the street. In conjunction with that project the municipal lot on Columbia will need to be seal coated and re-striped. He advocated for angle parking the last time re-striping was completed which will indicate the entrance and exit of this lot. He will be advocating for the same angle parking this year as well. Mayor Donegan indicated that Mr. Sheehy will be providing comments to Council. The downtown restoration will be a work in progress. One idea which will be presented to Council is if the service garage is moved what would be the highest and best use of the property. She stated that looking at needs of the downtown area may be turn the property into a municipal parking lot with a walking bridge to the downtown area. Mr. Sculac stated that there will be better ingress and egress out of this lot if there was angled parking.

Mr. Roberts stated that the bottom of River Road a pipe burst and with the orange barrels surrounding the damage River has been turned into a one lane road. He would like to know when the City of Cleveland would be repairing the pipe. Mr. Borczuch indicated that River is currently a Approved Minutes 03/10/2015 Page 50 one lane road and Cleveland will not fix the pipe the service department will but Cleveland will give the city details to fix the damage, just as they have done in the past. He indicated that once spring comes and asphalt plants re-open Cleveland will give the ok to complete the work. The barrels have been placed there because the berm area is too soft and if someone drives off the edge it will damage their vehicle.

Safety Committee: Chaired by Kitty Fenderbosch

1. Fire Chief Report

a. Southwest Council of Governments – Chief Munteanu and Chief Gilles presented a power point presentation (see attached). Ms. Fenderbosch asked if the dues collected were used for the purchase of equipment. Chief Munteanu replied yes. He indicated that a budget is distributed each year to the cities involved. Chief Gilles indicated that the police portion of the dues is used for equipment, training, body armor, and weapons. Ms. Fenderbosch asked where all the equipment was housed. Chief Gilles indicated that there is not one particular location but they are actively looking for a building that would be large enough to house all the equipment and reduce response time. Mayor Donegan indicated that this could be one of the options as the city looks at the different specifics for the new service garage.

Mr. Pulice indicated that his concern is the response time and asked if consideration was given to the building at the end of Tyndall Falls to house equipment. Chief Munteanu indicated that service department utilizes that building and there is no further room to house equipment. Mr. Borczuch indicated that the garage height for that particular building is eight feet and most of the equipment used would not fit through the doors.

Mr. Roberts asked if the County abandoned the building located in the Township. Mr. Borczuch stated that the building is deteriorating and the height inside the building is not conducive with the city’s property. The building would not house half of our equipment and he does not feel it would be worth putting money into a facility that could not house most of the city’s equipment. He indicated that the area also still houses fuel tanks and the Township is moving through the environmental steps to eliminate those. Ms. Fenderbosch indicated that in her opinion she would prefer that the city’s assets stay within the city limits.

Chief Munteanu indicated that in 2014 there were 67 fire investigations completed. The fire side used 108 firefighters to complete these investigations. This type of investigation requires a lot of training hours.

2. Police Chief

a. Miscellaneous – Mr. Pulice asked if there was any further updates regarding Aces Bar. Chief Gilles indicated that the only information he has is what he has read in the newspapers.

Mr. Roberts asked if there has been help in determining who hacked the City website. Chief Gilles replied no and has received no further information. Approved Minutes 03/10/2015 Page 51

b. Drug Mart Plaza – Chief Gilles indicated that he has reviewed all the traffic accidents involving the plaza exit onto Bagley Road. From January 1, 2014 to March 9, 2015 there has been one accident involving this exit. Mayor Donegan indicated that she believes this issue can be removed from Council’s agenda as these figures have drastically been reduced.

Utilities Committee: Chaired by Jay Linn

Mr. Linn indicated that he is currently awaiting a meeting with the County regarding the Phase V project. Mayor Donegan indicated that letters are being sent to the 325 plus residents affected by this project indicating that the City will apply for Issue One funds by the end of summer or beginning of September. The City will apply for funds to complete the entire project but may complete the project in phases. She is also looking at the addition of more roads on the Township side of the project by the County. We are also going to be completing more water and soil testing.

Personnel Plan: Mayor Donegan indicated that she will discuss this issue during the Council meeting.

Discussion regarding Legislation – Mr. Roberts stated that he would like to discuss the demolition program and there was concern when the German Club demolished the home on Columbia Road. His concern is what type of power will the City be giving the County under this agreement? He does not want to see the County circumvent the safeguards the City has in place to prevent demolition. Mr. Sponseller indicated that the program is a countywide program. The agreement has been attached to the legislation for review. The City needs to complete a process prior to demolition. Once all processes have been completed the agreement gives the County the authority to demolish a structure to eliminate blight in the neighborhood. In this case, the City is only demolishing one residence. This will not eliminate the obligations of BZA, Planning Commission and ABR. If and when the property sells, the County would be entitled to a lien. The City assigns the right to obtain that lien for the cost of demolition to the County. The property is not a historic structure or a residence that would need to be before Planning Commission or BZA.

Mr. Roberts indicated that he would like the Cresco contract modified in order to be clear on which properties could be sold or leased. He would like to request that the old library and Jenkins Center be referred to as leased properties and not sold. Mayor Donegan stated that she does not believe Council is ready to determine the option of leasing buildings or the costs associated with rehabbing the old library. She indicated that any offer, whether lease or purchase, must be presented to Council for approval. Mr. Sponseller indicated that an addendum has been prepared and was attached to the listing agreement. That addendum spells out that everything is subject to Council review and approval and that the provisions of the addendum supersede any conflicting provisions within the body of the listing agreement. Mr. Roberts inquired if the addendum also covers any deal offered to the public. Mr. Sponseller indicated that as a practical matter Cresco will not offer something to the public that is an option the City will not consider.

Ms. Fenderbosch indicated that Council ultimately makes the final decision and Cresco has already been informed as to the certain properties the City does not want sold. Mr. Sponseller indicated that was correct. Mr. Roberts indicated that he does not want to sign a contract that offers these properties for sale as he does not want to sell the Jenkins Center or old library. Mr. Sponseller stated that the objective of this authorization is to allow Cresco to market the properties but to be Approved Minutes 03/10/2015 Page 52 aware that the City is not inclined to even consider selling certain properties. The City is open and willing to speak with any individual or individuals who come forward. Again, nothing can be approved until presented to Council. Mr. Roberts stated that his concern is that it is stated that someone can purchase everything for $1.5 million and someone accepts that amount. This would allow the buyer to state that a deal has been accepted and there is no language in the marketing agreement states the deal is subject to City Council approval. This agreement gives Cresco written authority to make offers on the City’s behalf and if someone meets that offer they have a deal which would be upheld in court. The City is signing an agreement which allows Cresco to sell or lease any of our properties. Mr. Sponseller stated that if Mr. Roberts would prefer the administration can request that any documents sent out indicate that any and all proposals are subject to Council approval. Mr. Roberts indicated that the City should have control over the terms in which Cresco is marketing the property whether sell or lease and the dollar amount. Mr. Sponseller indicated that if you market the properties for a price you will in turn limit the potential creative proposals that may come forward. That is one of the reasons pricing has not been discussed. Mayor Donegan indicated that nothing has changed in the City within the last 30 years. The City sold North and South Halls with no issues. Ms. Fenderbosch indicated that the legislation also indicates that Council must approve any proposals.

Miscellaneous – Mayor Donegan indicated that she would like to discuss Allied Waste. She would like direction from Council regarding if this issue should be placed on the ballot for the City to take over billing. If not, in the next newsletter she will state that the City has reviewed the prospect of taking over billing and simply cannot afford this option and the billing will remain as is on the tax duplicate. Mr. Roberts indicated that he does not this issue on the ballot as the current cost to the city is $2.00 with a 100% collection rate as opposed to 65% collection rate and the expenditure of $70,000 in order to collect delinquent accounts. Ms. Fenderbosch indicated that she has not heard hardly any complaints with the current collection system and would so no to placing on the ballot. Mr. Sculac indicated that the issues with past collections and repeat offenders who would come into court and promise to pay but would not. He would say no to a ballot issue. He indicated that in order for the city to begin collections an additional staff person would be needed as well as software and those costs would need to be passed on to the residents. Mr. Linn stated that if the City goes back to the 65% collection rate than those who do pay their bills on time could be penalized in order to recoup costs. If the City keeps collections through the County it will remain uniform. Ms. Duncan indicated that for those individuals who need to keep their budgets at a certain amount and would prefer paying monthly they can contact the County and request that their tax bill be placed on monthly payments.

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

The meeting adjourned at 7:43 p.m.

Kathleen Fenderbosch, Council President Angela Mancini, Clerk of Council