EASTLAKE CITY COUNCIL REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES JANUARY 28, 2014
Due to a recorder malfunction the minutes were recorded in part and have been partially 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 7:06 p.m.
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
ATTENDEES
Members of Council in attendance were Mr. Licht, Mrs. Quinn-Hopkins, Mr. Evers, Ms. DePledge, Mr. Hoefle, Ms. Vaughn and Council President Mr. D’Ambrosio. Council Clerk Mrs. Cendroski was absent and excused.
Those attending from the Administration were Mayor Morley, Law Director Klammer, Finance Director Slocum, Acting Service Director Rubertino, City Engineer Gwydir and Fire Chief Whittington. Police Chief Reik was absent and excused. CBO McReynolds was absent.
RECOGNITION OF MILLENNIUM CONTROL SYSTEMS, LLC ON BEING NAMED A FAST TRACK 50 ESTABLISHED COMPANY FOR 2013
Mayor Morley and Council President D’Ambrosio presented a Certificate of Recognition and Key to the City to G. Patrick Gallagher, President and Chief Sales Officer of Millennium Control Systems, LLC on being named a Fast Tract 50 Established Company for 2013.
RECOGNITION OF SUBURBAN MANUFACTURING COMPANY, INC. ON BEING NAMED A FAST TRACK 50 ESTABLISHED COMPANY FOR 2013
Mayor Morley and Council President D’Ambrosio recognized Suburban Manufacturing Company, Inc. on being named a Fast Tract 50 Established Company for 2013. Richard E. Grice, CEO/President could not be present.
RECOGNITION OF T & D FABRICATING, INC. ON BEING NAMED A FAST TRACK 50 EMERGING COMPANY FOR 2013
Mayor Morley and Council President D’Ambrosio presented a Certificate of Recognition and Key to the City to Todd Adkins, Vice President of T & D Fabricating, Inc. on being named a Fast Tract 50 Emerging Company for 2013.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Regular Council Meeting – January 14, 2014
MOTION: Ms. DePledge moved to approve the minutes of the Regular Council Meeting of January 14, 2014. Mr. Licht 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 11, 2014 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 fee waiver request was received from Girl Scout Troops 71805 and 70743 for use of the Community Center on Sunday, February 23, 2014 from 12:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. for their Girl Scout World Thinking Day. Mr. D’Ambrosio explained that if there are no objections this will be approved by Motion.
Fee Waiver Request
Ms. Vaughn moved to approve the fee waiver request from Girl Scout Troops 71805 and 70743 for use of the Community Center on Sunday, February 23, 2014 from 12:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. for their World Thinking Day. Ms. DePledge seconded.
ROLL CALL: Yeas unanimous.
Motion carried. The Fee Waiver Request is approved.
A Liquor License Permit Transfer Request was received from Jaliscos Restaurant, Inc., 35757 Lakeshore Blvd. & Patio, Eastlake, OH 44095 to Jaliscos Mexican Grill, Inc., 35757 Lakeshore Blvd. & Patio, Eastlake, Ohio 44095. Mr. D’Ambrosio explained that as there were no objections from the Administration or Police, and if there are no objections from Council, a motion will be made to approve this transfer request.
Liquor License Transfer request
Mr. Hoefle moved to approve, and send back to Columbus, Ohio with no objections, the Liquor License Permit Transfer Request from Jaliscos Restaurant, Inc., 35757 Lakeshore Blvd. & Patio, Eastlake, OH 44095 to Jaliscos Mexican Grill, Inc., 35757 Lakeshore Blvd. & Patio, Eastlake, Ohio 44095. Mrs. Quinn-Hopkins seconded.
ROLL CALL: Yeas unanimous.
Motion carried. The liquor license transfer request is approved.
A communication was received from the Eastlake Port Authority regarding river sticker fees. Mr. D’Ambrosio explained that this matter would be placed in Council-as-a-Whole Committee and that he had discussed this in Council-as-a-Whole Committee meeting and spoke with Law Director Klammer and Port Authority Liaison Ms. DePledge. They will try to get together with the Port Authority’s attorney to work this out and see what needs to be done.
Ms. DePledge: After our conversation today – and, I do not know if Mr. Klammer has had time to look at the ordinances but there is nothing currently in the City ordinances in regards to the fees. I guess the question is if this is just a Port Authority thing do they have their own ordinances? The Port Authority will have to figure this out. I do not think the City will be involved.
Mr. Klammer: I spoke with the Port Authority’s attorney earlier. My quick answer is that they are a political subdivision and have the authority to issue those fees. I always want to respect the fact that we have done things differently in the past and want to make sure we are consistent.
Ms. DePledge: How did they do it in the past?
Mr. Klammer: I do not know. I think they have the authority to do it. I do not think there is an ordinance on it but in those instances I usually lean on the Clerk because those fees can wind up anywhere in the ordinances and if you don’t know where they are they can be hard to find. When Mrs. Cendroski gets back I will double check with her. If the City is not involved my recommendation would be that the Port Authority has the authority to issue those fees. If the two organizations would like to reach an understanding that you will approve them by motion that may be a nice way of doing it because the residents will complain to the City and not the Port Authority. Once we get through the Lease Agreement the City could always make a determination in the Lease Agreement that any fees be approved by the City. But we have never gotten past the hump on the Lease Agreement.
Ms. DePledge: The Port Authority can have its own public meeting – that may be ultimately where this is heading.
Mr. D’Ambrosio: This item will be placed in Council-as-a-Whole.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Mr. D’Ambrosio: Ordinance and Finance Committee Meetings were held.
fINANCE cOMMITTEE – Ms. Vaughn, Chair
Ms. Vaughn: The Finance Committee met Wednesday, January 22, 2014 with all members of Council in attendance. In attendance from the Administration were Mayor Morley, Finance Director Slocum and Police Chief Reik. The first item on our agenda was the review of last year’s budget and discussion of the carry-over in the amount of about $800,000. The Department Heads did an excellent job and Council should be given credit too because we are going to need every penny of that plus more to run this year. In the last four or five years we have lost $3 million in revenue and right now we have no long term plan for economic development to recoup it. We have had seven levies on the ballot and they have all been defeated. Therefore, we will be an austerity program for several years. As for our discussion on the revenue Mr. Licht came up with a suggestion which we will hopefully follow through with regarding an increase in the storm water management fees – not to the residents so much but to the businesses because they have vast areas where storm water runs off and stresses the system. With the recent flooding and water problems Council would like to take a look at that. We had no legislation under discussion. Mr. Slocum did raise the issue of the Captains parking tickets. They are considering selling pre-paid tickets for our lot after their lot is sold out. They will submit their receipts and a payment to the City on a monthly basis. I will be having several other Finance Committee meetings and we will get into the heart of the matter which is this coming year’s budget. I will talk to the Council Clerk and members of my Committee to see which nights they are available and we will break it into Departments with the first being the Mayor’s office, Council office, Finance Department and probably the Law Department. Then we will go into the Police, Fire and Service Departments at the next meeting. Service Department is not only service but parks, recreation, sewer, road repair and buildings and lands. This concludes my report and I am open for questions.
Mr. Slocum: If I could clarify – you indicated we have lost $3 million over the last couple of years. That $3 million is not accumulative over three years – that is $3 million a year that we are continuing to lose comparing to operations a few years ago.
Ms. Vaughn: Thanks for clarifying that.
There were no questions of Ms. Vaughn.
ORDINANCE COMMITTEE – Mr. Hoefle, Chair
Mr. Hoefle: The Ordinance Committee met Wednesday, January 22nd with all members of the Committee and Council present. In attendance from the Administration were Mayor Morley, Finance Director Slocum and Police Chief Reik. One item was on the agenda – an amendment to City Ordinance Section 155.03 “Holidays.” As I mentioned before this was in regards the Police Union and working holidays – and, Police Chief Reik and Fire Chief Whittington had stepped up to the plate – when something was taken away during Union contract negotiations they were willing to take the hit as well. If something was given back it was only fair that they got it back as well. One of the items was in regarding to working holidays. The Committee moved it forward to this evening’s meeting.
Fire Chief Whittington: Just to clarify – the Fire Union does not have this right with the holidays so I will not be utilizing that for me – this is basically for Chief Reik.
There were no questions of Mr. Hoefle.
EASTLAKE PORT AUTHORITY – Ms. DePledge, Liaison
Ms. DePledge: The next Port Authority meeting is scheduled for February 12th at 7:00 p.m. here at City Hall. I wanted to thank Mayor Morley for your Face Book posts during the storm and any time there is an emergency in the City. It is information we have never had before – you did it as Council President and are continuing to do it as Mayor. People say bad things about social media but in these instances it has been invaluable to get the information out to the residents. The communication and feedback I receive has been very helpful and I think it is great thing you do when you publish that information to all of us so we can share it with the residents. Thank you for that.
Ms. Vaughn: I will add to Ms. DePledge’s comments. Thank you for letting us know about the late garbage pickup. I had calls on it and for a change I did not have to call all around to see what is going on. If you continue in the manner you have started with it will be an excellent four years.
Mayor Morley’s comments could not be understood as he inadvertently was not speaking into the microphone.
Ms. DePledge: The garbage pickup was delayed today – is it delayed tomorrow too?
Mayor Morley’s comments could not be understood as he inadvertently was not speaking into the microphone.
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.
There was no one who wished to speak.
LEGISLATION PROPOSED – First number will be 2014-001
ORDINANCE NO.: 01-28-(01)
Requested by: Administration An Ordinance amending Section 155.03,
Sponsored by: Ordinance Committee “Holidays,” 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. 2014-001.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
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’s comments could not be clearly understood as he inadvertently was not speaking into the microphone. They have been transcribed in part.
Mayor Morley: I would like to thank Mr. Rubertino for what he is doing with the Service Department… I went out on one of the trucks on Saturday to see how the snow plowing goes and unfortunately that was the day we had the very bad accident at S.R. 91 and Roberts Road. I was there and the Police and Fire Chiefs were there. I received a call from the resident’s husband on Monday telling me to thank our Police and Fire for saving his wife’s life. She is in intensive care still from her injuries. It took 50 minutes to get her out of the car. She has a long recovery. Over the last month we have had three or snow storms and an almost flood… We have had three staff meetings now – the Directors are doing their best to help me as I am on a learning curve and I cannot thank them enough. I think we are moving in the right direction. Obviously the budget will be tough but I think working together we will get through it and try to do the best we can for our residents. Mr. Gwydir, Mr. Rubertino, Mr. Evers, Mrs. Quinn-Hopkins and I have met with residents in the flood areas and have a plan and have looked at what we can accomplish in those areas. This concludes my report and I am open for questions.
There were no questions of Mr. Morley.
FIRE CHIEF – Ted Whittington
Chief Whittington: We internally named our Firefighter of the Year Frank Kovasik. He is one of the guys who spearheaded the projects you so graciously supported last year – including roofs, carpeting and tiling and things to make the Fire Station look better. He was named by his peers as Firefighter of the Year. As the Mayor mentioned – the contingency for cold weather – there are things beyond the Senior Center where we have a place. If we would have a large section of the City that needed power and things along those lines we actually have areas beyond the Senior Center. I worked with the Mayor closely on that. I am open for questions.
Mrs. Quinn-Hopkins: Would it be alright for you to tell us the reasons that accident happened?
Chief Whittington: I think I will leave those specifics to the Police Chief. If everyone remembers it was one of those mornings when it was icy and slushy and bad conditions. I think the victim ultimately lost control and hit the pole. It was a devastating crash and was something I have not seen. It took about an hour to get her out of the car. She actually had a dissected aorta among other things. Usually in the field when something is dissected at any level they do not make it to the hospital. We had a hospital meeting today and met with our Director because some of the patient care that was being done was under his direction and we were radioed so we could start giving her medications while she was pinned. We gave here fluids. That it was so cold probably helped her – becoming hypothermic as much as we were trying to keep her warm. She has a long recovery and has several fractures and a head injury among other things. At this point she is stable. It was amazing because I turned around and there was a Service truck there with salt if we needed it. The Police Department had most of their resources and were supported by Timberlake. The Willoughby Hills crash team came in – they have the County response team that came in. Willoughby Fire had some extra guys come. It was a collective effort to get her out of that car. Sometimes it is a very lengthy thing. I noticed when talking to the Mayor that there were a lot of onlookers. We essentially had to take the car apart piece by piece. It worked out and we are grateful and glad she has been able to get to this point.
Mr. Licht: Has the generator that was purchased for the Senior Center been installed?
Mayor Morley: I had Mr. McReynolds check on it. They pulled the permit.
Mr. Slocum: The permit has been pulled. The generator is on order. I spoke with the owner of the company and he said during the next bad weather day they will try to do the internal wiring. When we originally ordered the generator in early December they had told us it would probably be late February before installation. I stressed what we are using the building for and I think he will try to move it up if he can. They have had to order the generator and it takes time for that size of generator to come in.
There were no further questions of Chief Whittington.
POLICE CHIEF – Larry Reik
Chief Reik was absent and excused.
LAW DIRECTOR – Randy Klammer
Mr. Klammer: There is nothing all that exciting. I have streamlined some things for the Building and Tax prosecutor. As far as litigation goes – there is the slip and fall case at the pool and there was a shooting at the Police Department that we are going to end up bickering about at some point but no really new litigation – that stuff is still pending. I am open for questions and thank Mr. Rubertino for his hard work too. It has been a pleasure working with him.
There were no questions of Mr. Klammer.
FINANCE DIRECTOR – Mike Slocum
Mr. Slocum: The State Auditors are now visiting us – starting yesterday. They will probably not be fully done with the audit until sometime in June. They are trying to shoot for a little bit earlier but they are auditing 2012 now. The financials for 2013 have not been published. They do not audit the cash financials I give you but the financials that apply all the gaps and like. Those have to be done before they can audit them so they will be here a couple of weeks and be gone for a while and back a couple of weeks. We are working through it. I am open for questions.
There were no questions of Mr. Slocum.
CITY ENGINEER – Tom Gwydir
Mr. Gwydir: As the Mayor noted I have been working with him on flooding issues. That is moving forth. We also just received a response to the USEPA. The WPCC in Eastlake is a satellite community and they sent a questionnaire requiring about 60 different responses on how the system is operated. That will be mailed to the EPA this week and we will await a response. I am open for questions.
Mr. D’Ambrosio: Mayor, I will email those residents from Freed Drive like we spoke about and we will try to set up a meeting.
There were no questions of Mr. Gwydir.
ACTING SERVICE DIRECTOR – Nick Rubertino
Mr. Rubertino: I have no new business and would like to thank you for your compliments on behalf of the Service Department. We are all doing our jobs. That is what we are here to do. It is pleasure and hopefully that continues in that manner. I am open for questions.
Mr. D’Ambrosio: I think you are doing a great job – the whole Department.
Mr. Hoefle: Some of the cul-de-sacs where snow is being piled in the center – is there anything where we can come in with a backhoe – we just continue to get more snow. One was the Valleyview development.
Mr. Rubertino: I believe we had that situation several years ago where we did take in heavy equipment to remove it. At this point we have not had a break. The snow just keeps coming. Today is just about the best day we have had no continuous snow until this morning. I will be happy to look into it. I am not sure where we would put it but we could truck it out of there. At this point I do not know if it is a nuisance other than that people may find it offensive that it is such a large pile. If we can contain it in the center of the area it is in and make it so traffic is passable I think it is a positive. As long as it does not obstruct the view of drivers coming in and out of the driveways I think at this point it is probably let well enough alone. But, we can look into it.
Mr. Hoefle: It looks okay right now. I was just questioning if we can be proactive and have plans to move it.
Mr. Rubertino: There is no plan in place and is something that could be done if needed. We would just have to find a location and I am sure we would be able to do so. We would have to truck it out of there and go from there.
There were no further comments for Mr. Rubertino.
CHIEF BUILDING OFFICIAL – James S. McReynolds
Mr. McReynolds was absent.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at approximately 7:35 p.m.
______________________________________
JOE D’AMBROSIO, COUNCIL PRESIDENT
APPROVED: __________________________
ATTEST: _____________________________
DEBORAH A. CENDROSKI,
CLERK OF COUNCIL