EASTLAKE CITY COUNCIL REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES JANUARY 27, 2015
Due to a malfunction with the recorder a portion of the minutes have been transcribed via notes
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 7:01 p.m.
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
ATTENDEES
Members of Council in attendance were Mrs. Quinn-Hopkins, Mr. Hoefle, Mr. Licht, Mr. Evers, Ms. DePledge, Ms. Vaughn and Council President Mr. D’Ambrosio.
Those attending from the Administration were Mayor Morley, Law Director Klammer, Finance Director Slocum, CBO Menn, Service Director Rubertino, City Engineer Gwydir, and Fire Chief Whittington. Police Chief Reik was absent and excused.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Regular Council Meeting– December 16, 2014
MOTION: Mr. Licht moved to approve the minutes of the Regular Council Meeting of December 16, 2014. Ms. DePledge seconded.
ROLL CALL: Yeas: Mr. Licht, Ms. DePledge, Mrs. Quinn-Hopkins, Mr. Evers,
Mr. Hoefle, Mr. D’Ambrosio.
Abstain: Ms. Vaughn
Motion carried. The minutes were approved.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Regular Council Meeting– January 13, 2015
MOTION: Mr. Licht moved to approve the minutes of the Regular Council Meeting of January 13, 2015. Ms. DePledge seconded.
ROLL CALL: Yeas unanimous.
Motion carried. The minutes were approved.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
COUNCIL PRESIDENT’S REPORT – Mr. D’Ambrosio
Meetings Scheduled
Mr. D’Ambrosio: The next Council-as-a-Whole Committee Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, February 10, 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
There were no communications and petitions.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Mr. D’Ambrosio: Committee meetings were held:
FINANCE COMMITTEE – Ms. Vaughn, Chair
There was no recording of Ms. Vaughn’s report.
ORDINANCE COMMITTEE – Mr. Hoefle, Chair
Mr. Hoefle’s report was recorded in process
Mr. Hoefle: …the local municipalities. I am doing my research on it and once I have all the information together we will be presenting it into Committee so we make sure we take care of those animals. This concludes my report.
There were no questions of Mr. Hoefle.
ECONOMIC & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL – Mrs. Quinn-Hopkins, Chair
Mrs. Quinn-Hopkins: We just had our ECDC meeting tonight at 5:30 p.m. Basically we are regrouping after the holidays and reviewing our previous issues. We have received an update from the Mayor about different businesses coming into town. This concludes my report.
There were no questions of Mrs. Quinn-Hopkins.
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.
Yvonne Marn, 272 Heather Lane, Eastlake
Mrs. Marn: You are all doing a great job at this start of the year. Happy New Year to everyone. I would like to discuss the circus situation that is going on in our neighboring City of Willowick. There are a lot of pros and cons and I am sure it would be that way no matter where it was. I was thinking since Willowick is having all this concern with it and they are having problems – usually they have it at Dudley. Is there any way – since we have done things with Willowick like the Captains fireworks and we are trying to initiate mixing services – is there a way we could have the circus where we have Erie Road. We used to have our carnivals there. Of course you would have people who would be for or against it. But there is much more space there. It is out of the way and on good grounds with more parking. Naturally Willowick would want the profits or however that goes. Is there a way we could share between the two communities – a Willo-Eastlake circus? Would it be very expensive? Usually a circus is pretty much self-sufficient. We may have to provide a few garbage cans but I am sure you would have volunteers who would be glad to do that. And it would bring some entertainment to our area too. And, if we share? I wondered if you thought of that.
Mr. D’Ambrosio: That would definitely bring some entertainment. Mayor, I know you talk to Mayor Bonde?
Mayor Morley: I do talk to Mayor Bonde. I know they have one more meeting. I will not comment on how he believes his City will vote. But they are having their third meeting I the next couple of weeks. We will see what happens after that. I think they are voting on whether it stays at Dudley. They have had a good amount of people attend their meetings – pro and con. They have one meeting left. We have talked and I have talked with the Captains who are doing the fireworks again with us and probably the Christmas event at the stadium. I have not talked to them about a joint festival yet. The Mayors of Willowick, Willoughby, Willoughby Hills, Kirtland, Wickliffe and Eastlake have been meeting more and more to try to look at some things for the future that can help all of us. Willowick and Wickliffe are going to start to feel the pain of Eastlake in the next year or so. If you have read the paper Willowick is projecting about a $300,000 – $400,000 deficit at the end of next year or so. I think they are picking our minds – me and Council – to try to stay ahead so they don’t fall into where we have unfortunately been. They are trying to find out the best ways to do that at this point.
Mr. Evers: Eastlake Alliance Helping Hands is working with the Captains at this time to hold another festival at the stadium. It will be in June but we have not yet locked in the dates.
There was no one else who wished to speak.
LEGISLATION PROPOSED – First number will be 2015-002
RESOLUTION NO.: 01-27-(01)
Requested by: Council President D’Ambrosio A Resolution appointing Deborah
Sponsored by: Council Cendroski, Clerk of Council, effective
February 2, 2015, as provided in Section
145.381 of the Ohio Revised Code, 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. 2015-002.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
RESOLUTION NO.: 1-27-(02)
Requested by: Administration A Resolution authorizing and directing
Sponsored by: Finance Department the Mayor and Director of Finance to enter into a Contract with Burn’s Industrial Equipment, Inc., the lowest, best and most responsible bidder,, for the purchase of a Backhoe Model 3CX-14M4CA for the total cost of Sixty-Eight Thousand Three Hundred Seventy-One Dollars and Seventy-Two Cents ($68,371.72), and declaring an emergency.
MOTION: Ms. DePledge moved to suspend the rules requiring separate readings and
reading in full. Mr. Licht seconded.
ROLL CALL: Yeas unanimous.
MOTION: Ms. DePledge moved to adopt. Mr. Licht seconded.
ROLL CALL: Yeas unanimous.
Motion carried. Legislation is adopted as Resolution No. 2015-003.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
RESOLUTION NO.: 01-27-(03)
Requested by: Administration A Resolution authorizing and directing Sponsored by: Finance Committee the Mayor and Director of Finance to contract with Angelo’s Carpet Service for the Flooring Replacement at the Eastlake Senior Center for the total amount of Twenty One Thousand Nine Hundred Seventy-Nine Dollars ($21,979.00), and declaring an emergency.
MOTION: Ms. DePledge moved to suspend the rules requiring separate readings and
reading in full. Mr. Licht seconded.
ROLL CALL: Yeas unanimous.
MOTION: Ms. DePledge moved to adopt. Mr. Licht seconded.
ROLL CALL: Yeas unanimous.
Motion carried. Legislation is adopted as Resolution No. 2015-004.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
ORDINANCE NO.: 01-27-(04)
Requested by: Administration An Ordinance amending Section 125.08, Sponsored by: Finance Committee “Petty Cash,” of the Codified Ordinances
of the City of Eastlake, and declaring an
emergency.
MOTION: Ms. DePledge moved to suspend the rules requiring separate readings and
reading in full. Mr. Licht seconded.
ROLL CALL: Yeas unanimous.
MOTION: Ms. DePledge moved to adopt. Mr. Licht seconded.
ROLL CALL: Yeas unanimous.
Motion carried. Legislation is adopted as Resolution No. 2015-005.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
RESOLUTION NO.: 01-27-(05)
Requested by: Administration A Resolution authorizing and directing Sponsored by: Finance Committee the Mayor and Director of Finance to enter into a Lease Agreement between the City of Eastlake and the Eastlake Police Athletic League for the exclusive use of the City of Eastlake Community Center, and declaring an emergency.
MOTION: Ms. DePledge moved to suspend the rules requiring separate readings and
reading in full. Mr. Licht seconded.
ROLL CALL: Yeas unanimous.
MOTION: Ms. DePledge moved to adopt. Mr. Licht seconded.
ROLL CALL: Yeas: Ms. DePledge, Mr. Licht, Mrs. Quinn-Hopkins, Mr. Hoefle,
Mr. Evers
Abstain: Mr. Evers, Ms. Vaughn
Motion carried. Legislation is adopted as Resolution No. 2015-006.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
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: Welcome, residents. Some of you have been getting your tax bills and we have been receiving calls about the storm water bill. The storm water bill will be on the taxes this year because if you remember in July we entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Lake County Storm Water Management to take over that duty. We agreed to go with the County instead of charging $6 per year. When we joined in July the fee was initially $15 but since Eastlake and Willoughby joined with our enormous wish list that we need to do to help control our flooding the Commissioners agreed in November to increase it to $42. When you get your tax bill you will see $21 for each half. We joined because the EPA mandates are too stringent and we and Willoughby, who has all the resources, decided to go with the County. We would not want to get an EPA violation that would cost us millions of dollars. Mr. Gwydir and I are meeting with County Storm Water Administrator Mr. Miller to start going over our list that we handed in and get a game plan. The residents I have spoken to are not happy about going from $6 to $42 but all the Cities in Lake County with the exception of Wickliffe are in the program. We are looking at things that will help our residents and unfortunately it costs more to get things done that we need in the City – and, going with the County will help that happen. The difference is us going to the residents with a referendum and the County which has the power of the pen. They need more money in that account so they changed it from $15 to $42. I have had conversations with them about this but I believe we would have still joined but it would have helped if we had known at the time that it was going to increase from $15 to $42 – that is an enormous change.
Mrs. Quinn-Hopkins and I met with the Heather Elmer of the Watershed, Lake County Port Authority, Lake County Soil and Land Conservation to talk about numerous items – the Erie Road Park plan where we are trying to get the Metro Parks involved. The Lake County Soil and Land Conservation has given us some ideas of what we can do to receive more grants and a larger amount of money. We spoke about the Community’s needs – storm water management, stream maintenance for Corporation Creek, some public access to our rivers and lakes, economic development and the areas that have the flooding issues – Erie Road, Admiral, North Island. We spoke about funding opportunities from Clean Ohio Green Space, Coastal Management, Cooperative Boating Facility, Safe our Great Lakes, Lake Erie Production Fund and NatureWorks. After Mr. Gwydir and I meeting with the Storm water Management I will meet with the Watershed again to try to do an overlay to look at areas where they can help – possibly installing some swales along Erie and North and South Riverview. We will be utilizing these programs for since we will be with them. Mrs. Quinn-Hopkins do you have anything to add?
Mrs. Quinn-Hopkins: Ms. Elmer is so organized and an amazing help to our Community.
Mayor Morley: I spoke with the YMCA – so far they have put out a discount of 25% which will lower the fees for the swimming pool from $150 to $125. At the moment we have one family that has joined. Please get the word out there. With the YMCA doing this again and one of our businesses donating $15,000 – $20,000 we have to sell more pool passes than last year. I feel bad taking the businesses money that he is will to donate. We need to get some more excitement for the pool. We are aware of the issue of not having a kiddie pool. The YMCA is going to try to get a grant to install a spray area – it may be happen this year but they continue to work on it. I am on the RNC Committee for when the Republican Party comes in for their convention next year. It is Republicans and Democrats – all Lake County – our next meeting is next week at City Hall. Lake County is ahead of the game to try to get some things here. The Captains have been asked to block off the week of the convention and we are trying to get a major concert. We have talked to Mr. Fellows, the Lake County Republican Chairman, and if they can give us some information on entertainers that are with the party. I am not saying this will happen but this is what we are working on. We are working on a watch party with the Captains and with the Croatian Home – all of our businesses – to try to get ready for the convention and bring people to our City. The Party believes hotels will be filled all the way to Geneva. The Radisson has blocked off the whole building for that week and will probably be sold out. We need to get people to come into our City. I continue to work with one of our residents on economic development and getting our business lists. I will be meeting with Chief Reik this week to go over Safety Town. I have talked with EPal and the Captains about the Easter Egg Hunt. January has been a transition again with all the Departments. I am glad to have the Directors and the work force I have. They do make my job a lot easier. This concludes my report and I am open for questions.
There were no questions of Mayor Morley.
FIRE CHIEF – Ted Whittington
Chief Whittington: We have a unique opportunity. I approached the Willoughby Fire Chief several months ago regarding the ladder trucks. Willoughby’s ladder truck has a cracked frame and it will probably not be able to be repaired and they are in the process of seeking what a replacement would cost – it is up to about $1.1 million. I approached the Mayor – it was my idea and he has been very supportive – but I want everyone to know that I brought it to him. The idea would be to lease our ladder truck to Willoughby. They would staff it and assume the maintenance costs and essentially become the Eastlake Fire Department ladder truck – which is what they are actually doing now. I use the term “casualties of downsizing” and we have done a couple of different things. Operationally it does not make sense for me to try to maintain a piece of equipment that we are not going to be able to use. A lot of details need to be worked out – Councils, the Mayors, the Law Directors – we are in the beginning phases of the talks. However, I think that this is promising and would benefit both communities. I am open for questions.
Mr. D’Ambrosio: The meeting is the 4th?
Mayor Morley: There will be a Joint Safety Committee meeting February 4th, here at 6:00 p.m.
There were no questions of Chief Whittington.
CHIEF BUILDING OFFICIAL – David Menn
Mr. Menn: I distributed something we are going to try to do this year – a contractor registration list. We will try to update this on the web site every 2-3 months. It is not on there yet because the registrations are coming in so fast we wanted to build the list up first. This will be available to us who always call us and ask for contractors – which we cannot recommend – but this way they will have an idea of who has actually registered with the City to do work. Hopefully this will be a convenience for our residents.
Mr. D’Ambrosio: Is this available for walk-ins?
Mr. Menn: Yes.
Mr. D’Ambrosio: I think this is good. It is self explanatory – in alphabetical order and lists their trade.
Mr. Menn: We may do it by trade instead of alphabetical order.
Mr. D’Ambrosio: Whatever you decide having the information is a good thing.
Ms. Vaughn: What does general mean – roofs, sidings…?
Mr. Menn: Yes. We ask what they want to be classified as – plumber, electrician. General will be more like the home remodelers – a little bit of everything. In no way are we recommending these people. It is just a list for convenience.
Ms. Vaughn: They are registered and bonded?
Mr. Menn: Yes.
There were no questions of Mr. Menn.
SERVICE DIRECTOR – Nick Rubertino
Mr. Rubertino: The only thing I have is – pothole season is back. We are working 3 shifts and there are at least 2-3 guys out on a nightly basis and trying to get where we can with what we have. The only thing I would ask is if you get a call you can contact me directly or leave a message on my work phone in insure the residents that if there is an area they have an absolute problem with we will address it immediately but we are trying to go systematically street by street. We did Vine Street Sunday night and had calls on a couple of areas that popped up today. With the weather going up and down and the freezing zones we will continue to have that problem. We are on it as best we can be. I am open for questions.
Ms. Vaughn: A resident in my Ward wanted me to share with you that they appreciate the fact that you are not salting the side streets because it makes them easier for people to go up and down and streets and is saving the City money by not using the salt. He wanted me to be sure to bring it to your attention.
Mr. Rubertino: There are going to be instances. We had one the other day when it turned to ice. It takes a phone call and we will get out there to take care of it. It is saving the City costs on the salt. The roadways are clear. That is our objective.
Ms. Vaughn: They are very pleased with the job you have been doing.
There were no further questions of Mr. Rubertino.
CITY ENGINEER – Tom Gwydir
Mr. Gwydir: It has been generally quiet. I can report that they have poured the slab for the salt barn and I expect the concrete work for the apron to be finished this Thursday and the steel and cover I am expecting in early February. I am open for questions.
Mrs. Quinn-Hopkins: Is the cement in the foundation going to have some type of coating on it?
Mr. Gwydir: A coating will be placed on the concrete.
Mrs. Quinn-Hopkins: I was thinking cement and salt would not last too long.
Mr. Gwydir: That is not a good combination. But all the steel is coated and they put the spray on. They protect it as best as they can. It will eat steel and concrete.
There were no further questions of Mr. Gwydir.
FINANCE DIRECTOR – Mike Slocum
Mr. Slocum: We had a meeting with the State Auditor yesterday – myself, the Mayor and Mrs. Vaughn representing the Finance Committee. Unfortunately, what we had reported back to us was what we thought we would hear. That is that they don’t believe at this time that they will be able to offer any service to us. They went through our stats for the last 10 years and he was very quick to point out that in our General Funds we have $5 million less than what we had 10 years ago – on an annual basis for spending. They will be reviewing the situation with Columbus and I expect them to finalize. I asked them to put on the table anything they have. If there is something they can do to help the City I am fully interested. But, I don’t think we have a problem with the proper utilization of the assets that has been given to us. The managers here have been doing far more with far less than any other manager in the surrounding communities. I don’t expect there will be any positive outcome from the State Auditor. But, who knows. I will keep an open mind to it. I am open for questions.
Mr. D’Ambrosio: Will they supply us with something in writing – whether they think it is worth doing or not doing?
Mayor Morley: They will provide something in writing and come to a Council meeting.
He was going to meet with Auditor Yost and have an answer for us in a couple of weeks. But, he believes it is a regional problem – not a problem of ours. There is another city down the road from us with the same type of problems. He said if Mr. Slocum needs to talk to Auditor Yost he can do so.
Mr. Slocum: We will keep you posted.
There were no further questions of Mr. Slocum.
LAW DIRECTOR – Randy Klammer
Mr. Klammer: Just day to day stuff. The strip club lawsuit is still pending – there is briefing due on it. I am open for questions.
There were no questions of Mr. Klammer.
POLICE CHIEF – Larry Reik
Chief Reik was absent and excused.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at approximately 7:38 p.m.
______________________________________
JOE D’AMBROSIO, COUNCIL PRESIDENT
APPROVED: __________________________
ATTEST: _____________________________
DEBORAH A. CENDROSKI,
CLERK OF COUNCIL