Approved Minutes 12/22/2015

Page 379

City of Olmsted Falls

Minutes of a Regular Council Meeting

Tuesday, December 22, 2015, 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 7:32 p.m. Roll call was conducted. Councilmen Kathleen Fenderbosch, Jay Linn, Linda Garrity, Bob Sculac, Kevin Roberts, Terry Duncan, and Sam Pulice were present.

Also in attendance: Gregory Sponseller, Law Director, Steve Presley, Finance Director, and Mike DeSan, Asst. Finance Director. Audience: 11.

Approval of Minutes:

Ms. Fenderbosch moved to approve the minutes from the Regular Council Meeting of December 8, 2015; Ms. Duncan seconded. Ms. Duncan indicated a grammatical correction. Poll: 7 ayes; 0 nays. Motion carried.

Consideration of Amendment to the Agenda - None

Mayor’s Report and Appointments

Mayor Donegan welcomed Representative Mike Dovilla who would like to present the outgoing Council members with proclamations.

Representative Dovilla indicated that he has the privilege this evening of presenting commendations on behalf of his office. He would like to thank the three local elected officials that he has had the privilege of working with for their service to City Council. He stated that the State of Ohio is a home rule state but we are partners whether at the state or local levels and our various local units of government under the revised code are divisions of state government and the work that we do is truly in partnership with one another to try and represent the residents of our local communities. He would like to thank Council President Fenderbosch, in particular, as well as Councilmen Roberts and Pulice for their collective years of service to the City of Olmsted Falls. He would like to present them with the commendations on behalf of Speaker Rosenburger and the 11 ½ million people of the State of Ohio. Thank you for your service.

Ms. Fenderbosch moved to appoint Patrick Grau to a full time firefighter/paramedic position with the City of Olmsted Falls Fire Department; Ms. Duncan seconded.

Mayor Donegan indicated that she distributed Mr. Grau’s resume. She indicated that Mr. Grau was number one out of the 10 civil service candidates who took the test. Mr. Grau grew up in the city and has been a part time fireman/paramedic since he graduated from high school. Mr. Grau is also a registered nurse, which is an added benefit. This appointment is pending the results of his background check, polygraph, and physical. Poll: 7 ayes; 0 nays. Motion carried.

Mayor Donegan welcomed Council-Elect Jim Haviland and Paul Stibich.

She stated that she distributed the overtime report she received from the Police Department for the 3rd quarter of 2015.

She indicated that Mr. Borczuch is requesting approval of a change order for the Wilson Sanitary Sewer Project and would request a motion from Council.

Mr. Linn moved to approve a change order to S & S Plumbing for the additional boring needed for the Wilson Sanitary Sewer Project in an amount not to exceed $1,800.00; Ms. Garrity seconded. Poll: 7 ayes; 0 nays. Motion carried.

Mayor Donegan indicated that the city has purchased new letterhead and envelopes with the new logo added.

Paper Streets – Some of the returning Council members are familiar with the paper streets debate which were discussed 2009 and 2011. We have asked year after year what the city’s strategy was for paper streets. She stated that this issue came up during the master plan process and the city’s engineer indicated that there is no strategy but the city does not need to do anything with them. If anyone would like a clearer explanation please contact the city engineer to get some more information.

TLCI – We are finishing up the master plan process which is a 150 page document. She would encourage Council to review this document. A mailing will be sent to the residents which will include everything that has gone into the development of the master plan in order to generate any further comments. She is hopeful that the master plan will be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2016. We will then have opportunities to apply for grants through NOACA. For example, TLCI, bike paths, sidewalks, etc. She indicated that the city will aggressively apply for these types of grants. The city has not been able to apply for these types of grants due to the fact that you must have an updated master plan.

Dog License – Every December 1st through January 31st is dog license renewal season. This is a law and this information will be posted on the city website as well as Facebook and Twitter.

She was remiss in not mentioning the Jenkins Center opening earlier this month which was well attended.

Lastly, she would like to inform Council that the city has secured the grant funding for the Phase V project. The appeals process has taken place and the city remained with its funding. She will be sending a letter to the residents in the footprint of the project indicating this information in order to keep them apprised of the project.

Communications from Residents

Ann Reichle, 8155 Columbia Road, wanted to express, from the business community, that we understand that Council has an incredibly difficult job trying to represent the citizens as well as the local businesses in this community. She knows it is a small community but to all of us it is still individual people with individual needs. She thanked them for navigating the tough choices and questioning when they felt necessary and completing their due diligence to provide equitable representation for all citizens. She thanked them on behalf of the greater business community of Olmsted Falls and may their passion for this city follow them into the next journeys of their lives. Thank you all very much for the job you are doing.

Approval of Bills:

Mr. Sculac moved to approve Pay Ordinance 2015-24; Ms. Fenderbosch seconded. Poll: 6 ayes; 1 nay (Pulice). Motion carried.

Officials Reports:

Joe Borczuch, Service Director

Mayor Donegan indicated that he was not present this evening. She wanted to inform Council that she has taken a tour of the new service garage construction and thanks to El Nino it looks as if this building will be under cover in approximately three to four weeks. For those who have not been inside the old service garage she would encourage them to take a small tour and see the conditions inside the building because has received a couple of phone calls inquiring why money is being spent to construct a new garage.

Steve Presley, Finance Director – No Report

Mike DeSan, Asst. Finance Director – No Report

Councilman, Sam Pulice, Ward IV – No Report

Councilman Charles R. Sculac, Ward I

Mr. Sculac moved to approve the supplemental appropriations distributed by Mr. Presley dated, 12/22/2015; Ms. Fenderbosch seconded. Poll: 6 ayes; 0 nays; 1 abstain (Pulice). Motion carried.

Mr. Sculac thanked the service department for the extra brush pick up that took place due to the nice weather.

He wished everyone a Happy Holiday Season and would like to thank Ms. Fenderbosch, Mr. Roberts and Mr. Pulice for their service on City Council. He stated that everyone is richer for them having been here.

Councilman Kevin Roberts, Ward II

Mr. Roberts indicated that he distributed a letter regarding the JEDD Board and SWG Board. His law practice has gotten extraordinary busy in the last five or six months, which is a curse and a blessing at the same time. He has found that although the amount of time spent on these two boards is not enormous he is finding it very difficult to devote as much time as needed to the JEDD Board and the Southwest General Health System Board. Therefore, he is asking for a replacement for both boards. He will remain on both boards until a replacement is named by the Mayor and City Council.

He stated that the day after Christmas two of what he calls “best citizens” will be moving to Connecticut, Andrew and Marilyn Sparks. These two individuals have been residents of Olmsted Falls for 53 years and has as many years of service to the City that anyone can imagine. He stated that Mr. Sparks helped write the City Charter and was a member of the Planning Commission for decades. He stated that everyone seems to know what Mrs. Sparks role has been for the last 30 or 40 years. He wants to thank Mr. and Mrs. Sparks for their years of volunteer service.

He would like to thank the residents of Ward II for giving him the opportunity to serve the City and learn the inner workings of how things get done behind the scenes. He intends to stay involved in local politics, not formally as a member of Council, and does appreciate the opportunity to serve. He wished Mr. Stibich well.

Councilman Kathleen Fenderbosch, Council President

Ms. Fenderbosch stated that when she first began on Council 16 years ago she had no clue as what to do as a freshman. She remembers the six other Council members arguing during the meeting and yelling at each other and then Council would take a break and go outside and act like nothing ever happened. She wondered how everyone could be that angry and then go outside and be friends. She now understands how everyone is entitled to their opinion and then be able to talk respectfully to each other. She learned a lot by being at City Hall which she attempted to do daily. She has a lot of people to thank, for example, Marilyn had her under her arm from the time she was appointed, and she guided her in different ways. She had Bev Smith, former Mayor Blomquist, Ken Knuth, Bob McLaughlin, Mike Radigan, Kathy Lowery and so many others helped her become a better Council person. She knows that people say she talks a lot, and she is the first to admit that. When she was first appointed she hardly spoke, with the 16 years on Council it has not only given her self-confidence but has also helped her esteem. Now it is time for her to take back her life and spend time with her grandson and join a book club. She loves this city and any decisions she has ever made was what she felt was best because it is her city and for that she will never apologize. She stated to Ms. Mancini that she has been a blessing and kept her in line, when she was wrong the Clerk let her know that she was wrong. She has always maintained staying in the middle and not taking sides which is a very difficult job for the Clerk of Council. She thanked her for all of her help. She wished everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Councilman Jay Linn, Council Pro-Tempore

Mr. Linn would like to thank Mr. and Mrs. Sparks for all the education he received from Mr. Sparks on the Planning Commission over the 20 year plus period as well as the guidance received from Mrs. Sparks regarding Architectural Board of Review issues. These two individuals were a motivating force for this community for years and years. He stated that the two smartest men who have ever walked the streets of this community are Mr. Merv Ault and Mrs. Andrew Sparks. Once they permitted him to begin speaking at Planning Commission, which was about three years, he always said that if he ever wanted to find out what made them tick those would be the first two heads he would like to look into. These individuals did not just know the code, but they wrote the code. If you asked either of them a question about the code, they not only told you the answer but also told you why it was written in that way. These are two outstanding individuals.

Mayor Donegan stated that the administration put a basket together for the Sparks as we are quite appreciative of their service to this City.

Councilman, Terry Duncan, Ward III

Ms. Duncan would like to thank Mr. Pulice, Mr. Roberts and Ms. Fenderbosch for their service. She was the freshman on Council this term and she would like to thank Ms. Fenderbosch for taking her under her wing as the Council President and member and appreciates the guidance she received.

Linda Garrity, Council-at-Large

Ms. Garrity requested that Proclamations be sent to Mr. and Mrs. Sparks at their new address. She stated that she worked directly with Mrs. Sparks on the Architectural Board of Review. She thanked her for her many years of hard volunteer work. Mrs. Sparks had years of leadership with the ABR and in fact initiated the ABR. She had an eye for creativity and her knowledge of historic architecture no one could surpass. She stated that she also spoke with Mr. Sparks on several occasions as well.

She also introduced Mr. Jim Haviland who will be a Council-at-Large member beginning 2016 and welcomed him.

She wished everyone a happy and safe Holiday season.

Mayor Donegan stated that a basket was put together for the Sparks family.

Mr. Linn stated that the new Ward IV Council member Mr. Miller had an attack of acute appendicitis over the weekend and was unable to attend tonight’s meeting.

Gregory M. Sponseller, Law Director

Mr. Sponseller stated that every once in a while you are struck by people that you have the privilege of encountering and Mrs. Sparks is certainly one of those people. The legacy that she leaves in Olmsted Falls will make the city better and also because of Mr. Sparks. These are special individuals and will certainly be missed. It has been a privilege getting to know Mrs. Sparks.

In his two years with the City, despite all the machinations and other activities he feels proud and privileged to be a part of the City and appreciates Council’s support of his initial appointment. He thanked Mr. Roberts, Mr. Pulice, and Mrs. Fenderbosch and stated that he appreciates working with them and wishes them and their families their very best. He wished Mr. Roberts good luck with his continued law practice, to Mrs. Fenderbosch he indicated to spent as much time with her grandkids as those times will be special, to Mr. Pulice he will speak to in private.