University Heights City Council - meeting highlights

MONDAY JUNE 15, 2009

All council members present.

Ordinance on cats

Elisabeth Englehart of 2328 Glendon Road asked council to publicize the University Heights’ ordinance requiring that all cats must be kept within their owner’s property. She has a certified wildlife refuge in her back yard and cats have been coming into her yard and killing the wild animals (birds, rabbits). Law Director Ken Fisher explained that she should go to the Building Commissioner or the Animal Control Officer for assistance.

Split election result

Henry Zucker of 2461 Claver Road asked Law Director Ken Fisher to explain what would happen if the public voted both against the changes to the city’s charter and for Mr. Murphy as a part-time mayor. If Mr. Murphy resigned due to his full-time job, would council be allowed to appoint a replacement mayor? Mr. Fisher said he would wait to comment until after the first week of September, which is the filing deadline for the mayoral election.

Improvements at Bellefaire

Council approved the continuance of capital improvements at at Bellefaire JCB at 22001 Fairmount Blvd. with new exterior lighting throughout the campus. Through funding from the state of Ohio, the lighting would be standardized and controlled by sector. Light pollution into neighboring properties would be negligible.

Variance for a shed

Mr. and Mrs. Joel Libava of 14408 E. Carroll challenged the variance granted to Matthew and Jennifer Bauman of 14398 East Carroll Blvd by the Board of Zoning Appeals on June 10. Due to a miscalculation, the structure exceeded the zoning requirements by 0.82 percent. The Libava’s concern was that, at fifteen feet tall, the structure was more like a barn than a shed and too large for the small yard. Council agreed that the structure was too big and the appeal to the zoning variance was approved. The Baumans would have to reduce the size of the structure’s footprint. The Baumans also planned to move it more toward the center of their yard, away from the Libava’s property line. They could appeal this decision with the Court of Common Pleas.

Leaf collector

Council approved the purchase through State Purchasing of one leaf collector for the service department not to exceed the amonut of $36,261. Councilman Frank Consolo voted no on this budgeted item.

Fingerprint system

With the exception of Councilman Frank Consolo, council approved an ordinance authorizing the purchase of an electronic fingerprint system for the police department. The system would enable prints to be shared with the state crime lab and the F.B.I.

Anthony Ianiro –new finance director

Council approved the appointment of Anthony Ianiro as director of finance on a part-time basis; he was finance director for University Heights before Mr. Ochoa. Mr. Arman Ochoa has been on an unpaid leave of absence since the beginning of June due to an investigation by state auditors.

Charter Review Commission’s final report

Council accepted the final report of the Charter Review Commission and approved submitting the proposed charter amendments to the electorate on November 3, 2009. Vice-Mayor Adele Zucker abstained. Councilman Peter Bernardo noted that they were only voting to place the issues on the ballot, not to endorse the amendments. The proclamation Councilman Steven Sims had written was not available for presentation, and Mayor Rothschild said it would be looked into for the next meeting.

Senior Transportation Connection

An ordinance to contract Senior Transportation Connection was presented on first reading. The previous provider (TC3) would be out of business at the end of June. STC is run by a county agency and would be taking over the services provided by TC3.

University Parkway reconstruction

The resolution to contract Mr. Excavator for University Parkway Roadway reconstruction was tabled because the application for funding submitted to the State Committee had not been approved yet. Council has sixty days to approve this contract.

Tax budget

Council approved the 2010 tax budget, thus allowing the county to set the correct millage.

House on Ashurst

Building Commissioner Menn reported that Farrow Group had been hired to clean out the house on Ashurst Road for $1,372. Once cleaned, the engineers would determine if the house needed to be torn down. Mr. Menn planned to meet with Gus Frangos of the Cuyahoga County land bank regarding the disposition of this property. Councilman Steven Sims suggested that if the house was determined to be sound, there should be an open house for the neighbors to enable them to see the house and dispel their concerns. Mr. Menn was also seeking Neighborhood Stabilization Funds from the County for this property; the application deadline is June 30. It was suggested that a grant writer be hired to help.

Trees

Service Superintendent Chris Vild reported that more than 150 trees had been planted thus far in University Heights, exceeding their initial plans for 2009

LWV observer: Wendy Deuring

Special Meeting

MONDAY JUNE 29, 2009

Councilman Kevin Murphy excused.

Kudos to Charter Review Commission

Council approved a resolution that recognized the work of the members of the Charter Review Commission.

Update on 2603 Ashurst

City engineer Joe Ciuni and Building Commissioner David Menn toured the vacant house at 2603 Ashurst and found the house to be structurally sound and recommended rehabilitation for resale. Mr. Menn suggested that the city hold on open house so that neighbors could see that the underlying structure was sound.

Law director Ken Fisher pointed out that although the house could be rehabbed, council hadn’t decided whether to rehab or raze it and then put it on the market. Councilman Steve Sims stated that whoever bought the property would be required to show the city that they would complete the rehab work. Many other communities, such as Shaker Heights, have this requirement.

University Heights resident Linda Johnson commented that there had been no discussion on any other option such as razing the building and making the property into green space and part of a storm water drainage management plan. Furthermore, she stated that it would take a significant amount of money to rehabilitate the house while 20 percent of the city’s housing stock currently can’t be sold or rented.

Resident Terry Gilbert suggested that council ascertain what the cost of tearing down the house would be vs. rehabbing. City Engineer Joe Ciuni stated that recent costs to raze homes in the city had been $8,500 and $10,000. Councilman Steve Bullock indicated that if and when he’s presented with several options and their respective costs, he would then make a decision.

Ashurst Road residents saw no need for an open house since they all had been in the house, but felt that council should take a tour of the property. Council decided an open house would be held on Thurs. July 9 from 5-7 p.m.

University Parkway

Council contracted Mr. Excavator for the University Parkway reconstruction project at a cost not to exceed $679,508.

Senior Transportation Connection

Council addressed many issues involving the Senior Transportation Connection before they decided whether to contract this company. Councilman Peter Bernardo was concerned about the high cost of the service since his parents could take cab rides that cost about $10 per one-way trip. Councilman Frank Consolo was concerned because of Plain Dealer articles about their finance director. He also noted contradictions in the contract, inconsistent language and a referral to an appendix that was not included. The contract provided to council on June 15 had to be signed or service to seniors would terminate on July 1, therefore inconveniencing or harming those who rely on this service. Councilman Steve Bullock stated that council needed to be more proactive rather than simply taking the proposal handed to them. Councilwoman Frankie Goldberg agreed and stated that she wished the STC representatives were at the meeting to answer questions. Vice Mayor Adele Zucker stated that both Shaker and Mayfield had had questions, investigated the service, and chose to contract with them.

Mr. Consolo requested two promises from the mayor: that she would continue to search for good options for this service, and, that if other good options were found, she would exercise a 90-day-out option in the contract to end the city’s association with STC. Mrs. Goldberg added that within 90 days, council should receive a report from Mr. Stinson, University Heights Community Coordinator, with details about other alternatives.

Council passed a motion for a one-year contract with STC with a 90-day out clause where the mayor must provide options to council or terminate the contract.

Purvis Park tennis courts

Council authorized submission of an application for stimulus funds through the Community Block Grant Development program to rehabilitate the Purvis Park tennis courts.

Assessments for streetlights, trees, sewers

Council authorized the continuation of a tax levy for a special assessment for streetlights with no increase. Council authorized the continuation of a tax levy for a special assessment for trees with no increase. Council authorized the continuation of a tax levy for a supplementary assessment for sewers with no increase.

Information technology services

Council authorized the mayor to enter into a contract with the Loyola Group for Information Technology services for $2,800. The Loyola Group will help identify vendors to provide technical support for the city’s computer hardware and software.

LWV observer: Susan D. Pardee

This is an expanded version of the report published in the printed Heights Observer.

These meeting summaries are abstracted from LWV observers’ written reports. The summaries have been edited and prepared by Charlene Morse, Marilyn McLaughlin and Maryann Barnes. To receive email postings of full reports, send an email to mbarnes9515@gmail.com or join through google groups using “lwv-chuh observer reports” as a search phrase. 

These reports contain member observation and selected highlights of public meetings and are not official statements of the Heights Chapter of the League of Women Voters Cuyahoga Area.  This disclaimer must accompany any redistribution of these reports.