University Heights City Council meeting highlights 1-3-12

 JANUARY 3, 2012

• Oaths of office
• Leap Day at Shaker Heights court
• Appointments
• Director of finance
• Emergency sewer repairs
• Yard nuisance
• Water line repairs
• New assistant clerk of council
• Shared fire services

All council members were present.

Oaths of office

Judge K. J. Montgomery of the Shaker Heights Municipal Court administered the oath of office to the recently-elected council members: Pamela Cameron, Thomas A. Cozzens, Steven Sims, and Adele H. Zucker. Council elected Councilwoman Frankie Goldberg as vice mayor and reappointed the mayor as safety director.

Leap Day at Shaker Heights court

Judge Montgomery issued an invitation to the “Leap Day” session at Shaker Heights court on Wednesday, Feb. 29. It will cover the court’s relationship to the community, and how the court works. The court serves five communities: Shaker Heights, University Heights, Beachwood, Pepper Pike and Hunting Valley.

Appointments

Council amended the agenda to reappoint Law Director Kenneth J. Fisher in an interim capacity, with Councilman Sims dissenting. Responding to Sims’s inquiry, Vice Mayor Goldberg explained that members of the newly constituted council expressed a consensus that they wished to be part of the process of appointing the law director.

Mayor Infeld announced the reappointments of Chief of Police Steven Hammett, Service Director Robert Jamieson, Building Commissioner David Menn, Aquatic Director Evan Luzar, and Parks Director Melissa Canowitz. She appointed David Rodney interim fire chief.

The following council members were appointed as representatives: Zucker to the board of zoning appeals, with Cozzens as an alternate; Goldberg to the planning commission, with Sims as an alternate; Pardee to the parade committee; and Ertel to the City Beautiful commission.

Council committee assignments for 2012-13 are:

• Building: Zucker (chair), Ertel, Cameron, Cozzens (alternate);
• Civic Information: Pardee (chair), Ertel, Goldberg, Sims (alternate);
• Finance: Cozzens (chair and liaison to Citizens’ Financial Advisory Committee), Pardee, Zucker, Cameron (alternate);
• Government Affairs: Ertel (chair), Sims, Cozzens, Goldberg (alternate);
• Safety: Goldberg (chair and liaison to Community Emergency Response Team), Cozens, Cameron, Ertel (alternate);
• Service: Sims (chair) Goldberg, Pardee, Zucker (alternate);
• Recreation: Cameron (chair and liaison to Citizens’ Recreation Advisory Committee), Zucker, Sims, Pardee (alternate).

Director of finance

Council appointed Anthony Ianiro as director of finance on a part-time basis. Compensation is biweekly at a rate of $1,350, but not to exceed $35,100 per annum. He is the full-time finance director in Highland Heights, and this is the second time he has filled in on a temporary basis. Mayor Infield said internet postings have resulted in 25 to 30 submitted resumes.

Emergency sewer repairs

Council authorized advertising for bids for a two-year contract for emergency sewer repairs for 2012 and 2013. This is necessary when repairs are beyond the ability of the city crew to repair. The price will hold for the duration of the contract.

Yard nuisance

Council authorized advertising for bids for a two-year contract for general yard nuisance abatement for 2012 and 2013. The cost will be added to the homeowner’s tax bill.

Christmas tree collection

Christmas tree collection will continue through January. The trees are recycled/composted. Information will be put on the city's website.

Water line repairs

The city has accepted a check for $30,000 from the Cleveland Water Department to assist with road repairs on Fenwick Road following the collapse from a water line break last summer.

New assistant clerk of council

Vice Mayor Goldberg introduced Janet Giles, the new assistant clerk of council.

Shared fire services

A special council meeting was scheduled for Jan. 9 to discuss a proposal to study the possibility of a shared initiative for fire services between Shaker Heights and University Heights.

LWV observer: Patricia C. Solomon.

These meeting summaries are abstracted from LWV observers’ written reports. The summaries have been edited and prepared by Anne McFarland, Charlene Morse and Maryann Barnes. To receive e-mail postings of full reports, send an e-mail 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.