REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES-JULY 14, 2015
EASTLAKE CITY COUNCIL
REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
JULY 14, 2015
The Regular Meeting of the Eastlake City Council was held at Eastlake City Hall, 35150 Lakeshore Boulevard. The Meeting was called to order by Council President
Mr. D’Ambrosio at approximately 7:07 p.m.
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
ATTENDEES
Members of Council in attendance were Mr. Evers, Mr. Licht, Ms. DePledge, Mr. Hoefle, Ms. Vaughn and Council President Mr. D’Ambrosio. Mrs. Quinn-Hopkins was absent and excused. Also in attendance was Council Clerk Mrs. Cendroski.
Those attending from the Administration were Mayor Morley, Law Director Klammer, Finance Director Slocum, Service Director Rubertino, CBO Menn, City Engineer Gwydir, Police Chief Reik and Fire Chief Whittington.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Regular Council Meeting– June 23, 2015
MOTION: Ms. Vaughn moved to approve the minutes of the Regular Council Meeting of June 23, 2015. Mr. Licht seconded.
ROLL CALL: Yeas unanimous.
Motion carried. The minutes were approved.
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COUNCIL PRESIDENT’S REPORT – Mr. D’Ambrosio
Meetings Scheduled
Mr. D’Ambrosio: Due to the Council Break the next Council-as-a-Whole Committee Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, August 25, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. The Regular Council meeting will be convened immediately following the adjournment of the Council-as-a-Whole Committee meeting.
COMMUNICATIONS & PETITIONS
A Conditional Use Permit recommendation was received from the Planning Commission for Great Lake’s Exposition to operate a carnival in the City of Eastlake. Mr. D’Ambrosio explained that this was discussed in Council-as-a-Whole Committee and will be added to the evening’s agenda.
A communication was received from the Administration regarding a Fire Protection Contract with the Village of Timberlake.
Mr. D’Ambrosio: This was discussed in Ordinance Committee and is pending approval from the Village of Timberlake. Mr. Slocum?
Mr. Slocum: During the meeting we came up with the thought that in the event we would ever charge the residents the current contract for Timberlake would not permit us to do that for the Timberlake residents. The day after the meeting I got the signed contract without that provision. I replied back to the Timberlake Mayor and put the issue on the table and explained you would be on break until the end of August. I am waiting to hear back from them and I have not yet heard from Lakeline.
A communication was received from the Administration regarding the purchase of Glock firearms and accessories for the Eastlake Police Department. Mr. D’Ambrosio explained that this was discussed in Council-as-a-Whole Committee and will be added to the evening’s agenda.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Mr. D’Ambrosio: An Ordinance Committee meeting was held:
ORDINANCE COMMITTEE – Mr. Hoefle, Chair
Mr. Hoefle: The Ordinance Committee met a couple weeks back with all members of the Committee present with the exception of Mr. Licht and Council President D’Ambrosio. In attendance from the Administration were Mayor Morley, Finance Director Slocum and Fire Chief Whittington. We had one issue on the agenda – Chapter 505 “Animals and Fowl.” This is what we have been talking about over the last several months in regards to a Cleveland ordinance passed in December or January. This was brought to our attention by a resident, Kim Hope, who was very instrumental in keeping me going on this. We gathered all the information and moved it forward. Basically, it is making sure that if someone is tethering their dog or do not have the right kind of shelter that it gives our Police Department something to stand by and they will contact the Humane Society to take it to the next step. We also discussed the fire protection agreement with Timberlake which Mr. Slocum just discussed. This concludes my report.
There were no questions of Mr. Hoefle.
Legislative Recommendations
Legislation No. 07-14-(02)
Mr. Hoefle moved to add Legislation No. 07-14-(02) to the evening’s agenda authorizing the issuance of a Temporary Conditional Use Permit to Great Lake’s Exposition, Inc. to operate a carnival on property owned by the Brixmor Property Group, 34400-34750 Vine Street, Eastlake, Ohio. Mr. Evers seconded.
ROLL CALL: Yeas unanimous.
Motion carried. Legislation No. 07-14-(02) is added to the evening’s agenda.
Legislation No. 07-14-(03)
Ms. Vaughn moved to add Legislation No. 07-14-(03) to the evening’s agenda authorizing and directing the Mayor and Director of Finance to enter into a Contract with Atwell’s Police and Fire Equipment Company, the sole provider, for the purchase of Glock Firearms and accessories for the City of Eastlake Police Department for the amount of Twenty-Four Thousand One Hundred Thirty Dollars ($24,130.00) with a trade in value of Eighteen Thousand Eight Hundred Fourteen Dollars ($18,814.00) for the final total cost of Five Thousand Three Hundred Sixteen Dollars ($5,316.00). Ms. DePledge seconded.
ROLL CALL: Yeas unanimous.
Motion carried. Legislation No. 07-14-(03) is added to the evening’s agenda.
Legislation No. 07-14-(04)
Ms. Vaughn moved to add Legislation No. 07-14-(04) to the evening’s agenda authorizing and directing the Mayor and Director of Finance to enter into a Contract with T.C. Construction Co., Inc., the most responsible and lowest and best bidder,, for the Base Bid for the Willowick Drive Concrete Joint and Slab Repair Project and Alternate Bids A and B in the total amount of Six Hundred Fifty-Nine Thousand Three Hundred Twenty-Three Dollars ($659,323.00). Ms. DePledge seconded
ROLL CALL: Yeas unanimous.
Motion carried. Legislation No. 07-14-(04) is added to the evening’s agenda.
RECOGNITION OF THE PUBLIC
Mr. D’Ambrosio recognized the public input at this time; he reminded the speakers that there is a 3-minute limit for their comments; all comments are to be directed to the Chair and not include any personalities or individuals.
Angelo Trivisonno, 34186 Waldmer Drive, Eastlake
Mr. Trivisonno: Mr. President, I respectfully request that the usual three minutes to speak be extended to ten minutes, and that I may say my remarks without interruption and that responses be held until the end – if that is alright?
Mr. D’Ambrosio: Let’s see what the subject matter is going to be.
Mr. Trivisonno: I promise to be concise and on point.
Mr. D’Ambrosio: Let’s see what happens, okay?
Mr. Trivisonno: Thank you, Mr. President.
Once again I must thank the Clerk of Council, Deb Cendroski, and all of the committee secretaries for their efforts to accurately record and document the business of this Council and the various commissions. I would also like to point out how incredibly helpful Deb is–no matter what assistance I need, she has always made sure that my questions are fully answered. She is an excellent resource in this community, and I was sad to learn that she intends to retire soon.
When I last spoke in May, I explained that I am trying to familiarize myself with how the City operates and that the documents I found were quite clear and informative. Now, however, I must express a few concerns I have.
After reading the 2009 Comprehensive Plan, which I found buried in the Eastlake website, I tried to locate the Vine Street 2020 plan that is repeatedly cited in the Comprehensive Plan. Both studies are meant to guide the City’s future development. I sent informal requests to multiple officials for assistance in locating this document with no luck. Considering how critical the proper development of Vine Street is to this community, and the City’s somewhat limited progress thus far in rejuvenating it, I hope it’s clear to all how important these documents are for our City’s planners and our community members, and that they are located quickly. This leads to my second topic of concern: the Planning Commission.
Before heading out to the June 25 Planning Commission meeting, I searched the City’s website for an agenda, though, none was posted.
As you all know, the Planning Commission approved the carnival conditional use permit that is before you tonight. During the Commission meeting, I was told that the Vineyards property in question is zoned B-1 retail. When I asked whether a carnival was a legally permitted use in this zone, I was told that a carnival probably fell within the “similar use” provisions. I left the meeting somewhat dissatisfied with this answer.
After the meeting I checked the ordinances for more information. Section 1147.02 defines the conditional and permitted uses in business districts. The ordinance does not allow outdoor amusement events in business districts, and in B-2 and B-3 districts an amusement or entertainment event could be permitted, but only in a “completely enclosed building or garden center,” according to Section 1147.02(e). The City could plan to put any future outdoor amusement events in M-2 industrial zones, which expressly permit this use.
Now, please know that I am not against carnivals. I enjoy carnivals. And I understand that this City is trying to make do with zoning ordinances that are difficult to change. I don’t have a strong opinion one way or the other on how you should vote on the carnival application.
What concerns me is the level of scrutiny I witnessed at this most recent commission meeting. A Planning Commission is intended to make sure that all property use conforms with the zoning ordinances and the Comprehensive Plan. However, the only question about the legality of the carnival came from me, a resident. This application should have immediately raised red flags and at least prompted further discussion on how, specifically, it qualifies as a similar use according to the ordinances.
I attempted to attend the next Planning Commission meeting on July 9 to learn more. Yet when I arrived before 7PM, the doors to City Hall were locked.
All of this leads to my final and most important concern. This November, the Council will ask residents to amend the City’s Charter to remove the mandatory referral provision that requires voter approval for changes to the zoning ordinances and map.
So far I have identified only three ways that a resident could have learned about the Charter change: first, by going to or reading the minutes from the Ordinance Committee meeting; second, by doing the same with the City Council meetings; or third, by being tipped off by Councilwoman Vaughn’s mention of the Charter change in the July Gazette. This Charter amendment is important, and I hope that more detailed information is provided to residents in the coming months.
Now, the only substantive discussion I can find on the record regarding the proposed Charter Amendment was in the May 5th Ordinance Committee meeting minutes. In the minutes, the Mayor notes that this provision is handcuffing the City’s economic development. I don’t disagree that mandatory referral handcuffs the City— however, I sometimes question if this charter amendment will actually help solve our development problems.
The minutes mention two businesses that expressed interest in the vacant Walmart building—an assisted living home and medical offices. Quoting the Mayor from these same minutes, “as soon as we told them they had to go for a referendum they walked away.” The vacant Walmart building is zoned B-1. The ordinances already list medical clinics and professional offices as permitted uses, and nursing homes and long term care facilities as conditional uses within this zone. I don’t understand why these two potential businesses were told that they needed to pursue a referendum when assisted living facilities and medical offices are already permitted in B-1 zones.
These have been only a few of my recent experiences learning more about the town I grew up in. You might sense a feeling of frustration, and yes, sometimes I look around and shake my head wondering how we got to where we are today. I can completely understand the similar frustration that many of you must also feel at times. I recognize that each person here today is working hard, and that our departments are making do with resources far too limited.
I truly appreciate each of you and your service. Please know that my comments today are intended to be helpful and not an attack or criticism against any particular person. If I’ve come to the wrong conclusion somewhere, or missed some key piece of information, I sincerely apologize, and hope you will make any correction part of the record tonight so that all may be properly informed.
If I can suggest anything at all, I strongly recommend that we take another look at our Comprehensive Plan, study it carefully, and follow it closely wherever possible. I believe that it contains several excellent suggestions and action steps that the Council and Administration might take to aim the City’s development in a constructive direction.
I hope that we can reconsider plans to connect the Chagrin River Park trails, Woodland Park, and Erie Road Park to our inaccessible beach so that residents can finally walk along our mostly hidden shores and riverbanks. I hope that we can establish our own Children’s Memorial Butterfly Park along Lakeland Boulevard west and east of Route 91 to form a recognizable and natural border with our neighboring cities so that people know where Eastlake begins.
I hope that we can re-formulate our zoning codes and ordinances so that our buildings and roads are built in ways that improve walkability, perhaps by encouraging or prioritizing mixed use development where feasible. We must ensure that further development along the lake and waterways also provides space for public access so that we do not continue to lock other residents out of our most valuable natural spaces and views.
We also cannot simply allow any random business to move in and build giant structures only to watch them leave soon after and then be forced to grapple with the vacant monstrosities they leave behind. We must make it clear that, yes, we are open for business, but only for those that match our community’s values and can contribute to our City’s positive development. We can no longer afford to merely be “creative” with our zoning ordinances. We must firmly take action and make our expectations clear of what we want to look like as a City in the decades to come. I hope that all of you here are willing to consider these ideas in more detail.
I recently heard someone say that you shouldn’t need to move out of your neighborhood to live in a better one. I don’t want to move out of Eastlake to live in a better neighborhood.
Thank you all for your time and attention.
Mr. President, if you find it appropriate I am open for comments or questions about specific points I have raised here.
Mr. D’Ambrosio: As far as the Vine Street 2020 plan – I don’t know who you asked but we have it right here. If you get together with Mrs. Cendroski we will make it available to you. Does anyone else have any questions at this time?
There were no questions or comments.
Ted Beres, 36706 Lakehurst Drive, Eastlake
Mr. Beres: I have recently become quite concerned about the growing disrespect for police officers in our country. If you listen to certain leaders and the President of the United States who are demonizing our police officers and standing up for people who are essentially criminals – I find that disturbing. When the bad guys now become the good guys and the good guys become the bad guys we are in serious trouble. We do have crime in Eastlake but fortunately not like Cleveland or Chicago. And, our undermanned police force has been doing a great job to keep us safe. The other day I saw Chief Reik pulling a motorist over. I think it is crucial that residents pass that levy in November so we can have more police officers as well as fire and service and we can keep Chief Reik behind his desk. I am sure he can administrate better behind his desk rather than in a patrol car chasing down speeders, drunks and other law breakers.
There was no one else who wished to speak.
Additional Comments
Mr. Slocum: As a point of clarification the only thing that is on the ballot in November right now is a renewal of the road levy which will not be used for any police officers. There is no other issue on the ballot affecting the City directly.
LEGISLATION PROPOSED – First number will be 2015-057
ORDINANCE NO. 07-14-(01)
Requested by: Administration An Ordinance Amending Chapter 505
Sponsored by: Ordinance Committee “Animals and Fowl” of the Codified
Ordinances of the City of Eastlake,
and declaring an emergency.
MOTION: Mr. Hoefle moved to suspend the rules requiring separate readings and
reading in full. Mr. Evers seconded.
ROLL CALL: Yeas unanimous.
MOTION: Mr. Hoefle moved to adopt. Mr. Evers seconded.
ROLL CALL: Yeas unanimous.
Motion carried. Legislation is adopted as Ordinance No. 2015-057.
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ORDINANCE NO: 07-14-(02)
Requested by: Planning Commission An Ordinance authorizing the issuance
Sponsored by: Council of a Temporary Conditional Use Permit to Great Lake’s Exposition, Inc. to operate a carnival on property owned by the Brixmor Property Group, 34400-34750 Vine Street, Eastlake, Ohio, and declaring an emergency.
MOTION: Mr. Hoefle moved to suspend the rules requiring separate readings and
reading in full. Mr. Evers seconded.
ROLL CALL: Yeas unanimous.
MOTION: Mr. Hoefle moved to adopt. Mr. Evers seconded.
ROLL CALL: Yeas unanimous.
Motion carried. Legislation is adopted as Ordinance No. 2015-058.
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RESOLUTION NO.: 07-14-(03)
Requested by: Administration A Resolution authorizing and directing the Mayor Sponsored by: Council and Director of Finance to enter into a Contract with Atwell’s Police and Fire Equipment Company, the sole provider, for the purchase of Glock Firearms and accessories for the City of Eastlake Police Department for the amount of Twenty-Four Thousand One Hundred Thirty Dollars ($24,130.00) with a trade in value of Eighteen Thousand Eight Hundred Fourteen Dollars ($18,814.00) for the final total cost of Five Thousand Three Hundred Sixteen Dollars ($5,316.00), and declaring an emergency.
MOTION: Ms. Vaughn moved to suspend the rules requiring separate readings and
reading in full. Ms. DePledge seconded.
ROLL CALL: Yeas unanimous.
MOTION: Ms. Vaughn moved to adopt. Ms. DePledge seconded.
ROLL CALL: Yeas unanimous.
Motion carried. Legislation is adopted as Resolution No. 2015-059.
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RESOLUTION NO.: 07-14-(04)
Requested by: Administration A Resolution authorizing and directing the Sponsored by: Council Mayor and Director of Finance to enter into a Contract with T.C. Construction Co., Inc., the most responsible and lowest and best bidder, for the Base Bid for the Willowick Drive Concrete Joint and Slab Repair Project and Alternate Bids A and B in the total amount of Six Hundred Fifty-Nine Thousand Three Hundred Twenty- Three Dollars ($659,323.00), and declaring an emergency.
MOTION: Ms. Vaughn moved to suspend the rules requiring separate readings and
reading in full. Ms. DePledge seconded.
ROLL CALL: Yeas unanimous.
MOTION: Ms. Vaughn moved to adopt. Ms. DePledge seconded.
ROLL CALL: Yeas unanimous.
Motion carried. Legislation is adopted as Resolution No. 2015-060.
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LEGISLATION PENDING
There was no Legislation Pending.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
There was no Unfinished Business.
NEW BUSINESS
There was no New Business.
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS:
MAYOR/SAFETY DIRECTOR – Dennis Morley
Mayor Morley: Thank you, Mr. President. Welcome everyone to this evening’s meeting. We are close to an agreement with the library so we may ask for a special meeting during Council break – if that is possible. Mr. Slocum is in touch with the library. I will be off the next few days. We will see if there is something we can possibly come up with the library and get back to you. We have been having a ton of power outages in the Surfside area. I, as well as Councilman Licht, have been talking with First Energy. They are meeting with their directors and supervisors to come up with a plan to fix these areas. When that happens we will meet with the residents. We are still trying to catch up from the last storms with the cutting of grass and pot hole repairs. We have received numerous complaints over the last few weeks. We continue to have neighbor wars in our City which we deal with on a day to day basis. On July 23rd Mr. Gwydir and I will meet with Stormwater Management’s Tim Miller to go over what we handed in – the items we talked about a month ago regarding the use of the stormwater money to do some repairs. Mr. Trivisonno, I agree with you whole heartedly. This City will continue to strive to get better. We know we have to get better. We use the resources we have. There is no complaint from me or any other Director – we all wear 10-15 hats a day. I agree there should be more on my end for economic development. We will continue to do that and we will continue to look through the ordinances. Any help you can be we are more than open for those comments and help – if there is anything you see that you can help us with. We are not like the rest of the cities. I wish I had three or four people I could call every day and say do this and do that like our surrounding cities. We do not. That is not a complaint from me but is a way of life in Eastlake. We want to move on but we have what we have. This is what you have. These are your Administrators. These two guys are consistently out on runs. They are not like other Chief like Mr. Beres said – they are officers, they are paramedics. The Service Director does service work. We all do what we can. This is what we have in our City. We will still continue to strive to get better and I appreciate the comments. I am open for questions.
Mr. Evers: Mayor, do you want to touch on the Red Cross?
Mayor Morley: With the library possibly coming in here we had to move the Red Cross which comes in here every other month. With the help of Mr. Evers we are going to transfer the blood drives to the Community Center. The next one will be September 3rd and we will get the word out. Thank you, Mr. Evers. We met with a group from the Red Cross today to continue that for the people of our City and the surrounding area.
Mr. D’Ambrosio: If you need us to have a special Council meeting just let us know.
Mayor Morley: Mr. Slocum will be in touch with the library – we will go from there.
There were no further questions of Mayor Morley.
FIRE CHIEF – Ted Whittington
Chief Whittington: I have been working with the Mayor. The County is going through their five-year hazard vulnerability assessment they must have in place in order for us to be eligible for federal funding and the County. Today was their first meeting. They break down projects and risks that might exist and try to come up with a plan to address those. Each City has a chance to put something in that may be a risk and something they may be concerned about. In working with the Mayor the one thing – when you get back from break I would like to meet with the Safety Committee so you have a chance to review the current plan and add anything you may want me to present to the plan for Eastlake. Our current vulnerability specific to Eastlake was the generators that were lacking at City Hall and the Police Department. We actually have 50% of that project complete because the Police Department has a generator at their place. I do have some ideas but have not had a chance to sit down with the Mayor and I know you are on break. I am probably premature with this but the next meeting is September 15th and at that time I do have to have something for our City as far as vulnerability or risk we want to get addressed. There are no guarantees a project would be addressed. The interesting thing I have found is there is a section of the project that addresses flooding and other things. I thought that may be something we can look at as a group. I would ask that when you get back – even at the next Council meeting – however you want me to do it – I can give something to the Clerk so before the September 15th meeting so we can have a Safety Committee meeting. I think it is important as a community that I can hear your input as well as the Mayor’s input so when I do make a presentation I am doing it – it really is the Mayor who is responsible but he has asked me to attend the meeting. So, everyone understands most cities are sending Fire Chiefs to do that so it is not like the Mayors are there and Mayor Morley is not. I think the Director when putting the letters out said basically said the committee should be made up of safety forces. So, I am actually there as the Mayor’s representative. It is something to think about until you get back from break. We ended up with another small grant – $3,500 – from the State. It is typically a $2,500 grant so we got an extra $1,000 this year. That money is strictly for things we put on the rescue squad – stethoscopes, pressure cuffs, special kinds of equipment we carry in the squads. I was just letting everyone know because I know my guys work real hard trying to get grants. I want to make sure I recognize them to you guys and put it on record that we are out there doing our best to try to get grants. I am open for questions.
Mr. D’Ambrosio: When did you say the next meeting was in September?
Chief Whittington: September 15th would be the next meeting scheduled at the County. However you want to do it because it would be very interesting to hear what your thoughts are on it. I do not think anyone has seen the plan. If you got to see some of the ideas they have because they address flooding as a County and they actually have some people who could look at flooding specifics. This is not a funding resource. It is more or less a project generation and maybe something for us to look at to take to someone who to get some stuff done.
Mr. D’Ambrosio: You want this in Safety Committee?
Chief Whittington: Yes, unless you think there is another appropriate Committee.
Mr. D’Ambrosio: No, that would be the Committee. Our next meeting is August 25th. Maybe we can have it before that. We will see what we can do.
Mrs. Cendroski: You are usually back from break the week before the Council meeting.
Mr. D’Ambrosio: That is what I was thinking – maybe the 18th we can do something.
Chief Whittington: In fairness I need to get with the Mayor to make sure what his ideas and my ideas are and get something preliminary together to give to you so you will have it in your packet before the meeting.
There were no further questions of Chief Whittington.
POLICE CHIEF – Larry Reik
Chief Reik: I thank Mr. Beres for his comments. Like the Mayor said Mr. Rubertino, Chief Whittington, CBO Menn and Finance Director Slocum are all doing jobs that are not typical of our position for the size of the City but we have all come to approach it is it is what it is now and we have to manage the best we can. I would like to thank Council for approving the purchase. I think it is money well spent. I think we are pretty well trusted with the money in our budget and tried to answer the questions that came up when this was being put together. I appreciate it being approved. That concludes my report.
There were no questions of Chief Reik.
CHIEF BUILDING OFFICIAL – David Menn
Mr. Menn: We are still moving forward on the land bank to demo the homes. They will be posted in the paper Wednesday if not Thursday. They will be posted at each house and all the mailings have gone out. I will also be coming to Council at some point for the resolutions.
Ms. Vaughn: How many houses are we talking about?
Mr. Menn: Six.
There were no further questions of Mr. Menn.
SERVICE DIRECTOR – Nick Rubertino
Mr. Rubertino: To touch on what the Mayor said – we are 99% done with the debris cleanup. We have a couple of areas in the harbor still. We did some major flushing down there to alleviate some of the water issues we had down there which really turned out to be pretty good. We have a few issues we need to touch down there. We cleaned Corporation Creek today – the major area we have on Erie Road. We are working status quo. We are on the bike path and on potholes. Grass is finally getting caught up. We will see where the next storm takes us. But, I think we are pretty good right now. I am open for questions.
There were no further questions of Mr. Rubertino.
CITY ENGINEER – Tom Gwydir
Mr. Gwydir: Thanks for awarding Willowick Drive. I look forward to getting going on that. As the Mayor noted we are working with the Administration on the stormwater issues that are before us with a focus on the Glen, Iris, Bertha, Freed and Grovewood area followed by the harbor area. Hopefully we will have something rolling real soon here after our meeting with the County. I am open for questions.
Mr. D’Ambrosio: Chief Whittington, would the stormwater stuff be something you that you would want to…
Chief Whittington: This is an interesting dynamic – this plan addresses hazards with the County and as I was reading it addresses flooding and stormwater. I think it give cities and communities a real strong document when they go out for bidding or grants that it has been recognized as a County issue. That is what the plan does. It gives anyone that would be looking for help somewhere – especially with federal grants – you have a federally accepted document to say Lake County problem is here – that is what the document is set up for – it gives us a document to present.
Mr. D’Ambrosio: This is a good project we have.
Mayor Morley: We have been talking with the Watershed also. I am going on a tour of the bio-retention areas on the 29th. I have been talking to the Engineer about it – about some possible things for North and South Riverview. Everything is in the beginning stages but we are trying to look at everything we have and every opportunity to use all the organizations.
There were no questions of Mr. Gwydir.
FINANCE DIRECTOR – Mike Slocum
Mr. Slocum: We need to report that the conversion to RITA is well underway. We anticipate that starting on Monday RITA should be in a position when our residents call that they will have our records on their system. We delivered them a tape a couple of days early last week and they are in the process of actually converting that now. We had a meeting this afternoon and anticipate everything will be up and running and by the end of the month when we will have the Income Tax Department shut here. We are in the process right now of moving actual physical records to RITA who will be responsible for the records. We are closing the Department. I am open for questions.
There were no questions of Mr. Slocum.
LAW DIRECTOR – Randy Klammer
Mr. Klammer: Nothing earth shattering to report. Mr. Slocum and the Mayor are still working on how to handle these garbage collections and see if the Auditor will provide us support in that regard. Just on this Planning Commission thing. I do not like when the written record suggests someone was being cavalier in their official duties especially when the Planning Commission members are not here to defend themselves in that regard. Maybe it was not taken that way but I am sure that the written record would suggest that it was meant that way. But I have been the legal advisor for them for some 10-12 years at this point. The Planning Commission in its current formulation and various formulations before that have always taken their job real seriously. They do not always agree. They look at properties on their own time and ask appropriate questions. They have the support of the City Engineer at every meeting we need him at. I am at every meeting. The Service Director is an official member of the Board and on this particular occasion the Chief Building Official came as well although he is not typically required to be there. They ask all the right questions. They ask questions we do not expect and questions we do expect. This CUP for this fair or festival was a pretty simple thing to address and even then they had some questions. They asked about Fire – I think there was a report that Fire was going to look or wasn’t going to look. We talked about electrical safety in light of the loss of that child at the Lake County Fair. There are a lot of questions that were asked and everything was appropriate. They used a clear intent to balance allowing a property owner – in this case a commercial property owner – to have a productive use of a rather non production portion of their property – that being the parking lot to provide a fair to the residents that is clean, healthy and fun – a service that we are not providing anymore with our annual fair. It was, I think, in my estimation an appropriate use of the CUP process and I think they did everything right to make sure it was safe. I know you guys do a lot. The Comprehensive Plan was discussed with them and has been over the years – not regularly because as you folks know there is only so much money to go around and just Willowick Drive, the firearms for the police officers, the salt barn – those three projects alone are going to get you to $1 million. So, you folks have done a remarkable job of balancing the Comprehensive Plan with the resources we have. I want to make sure the record sees that side of the perspective. I am open for questions.
There were no questions of Mr. Klammer.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at approximately 7:44 p.m.
______________________________________
JOE D’AMBROSIO, COUNCIL PRESIDENT
APPROVED: __________________________
ATTEST: _____________________________
DEBORAH A. CENDROSKI,
CLERK OF COUNCIL