University Heights City Council meeting highlights 6-18-12 and 6-21-12
JUNE 18, 2012
- Tree trimming
- Distribution of casino funds
- John Carroll Boulevard
- Purvis Park concession stand
- Assistant finance director
- School facilities Plan C
- CYO City Baseball Championship
- Hazard mitigation plan
- Fuchs Mizrachi
All council members were present.
Tree trimming
Phyllis Sage of Traymore Road, with the backing of ten neighbors whose signatures she had collected, expressed her concern about the tree trimming on Saybrook Road. Now that the tree trimming has been contracted out, she feels that the trees have been trimmed in an unnecessarily severe manner. She asked who is supervising the contractors. Mayor Infield explained that the city contracted out the trimming of tall trees for many years because the city doesn’t own the equipment needed to reach these tall trees. No change has occurred in this process.
Distribution of casino funds
Sunny Simon, county council representative for University Heights, asked the city council to sign a resolution, which she will send to the clerk of council, in support of casino tax revenues being distributed to surrounding suburbs. There was no immediate response to her request.
John Carroll Boulevard
North Park Boulevard is now officially renamed John Carroll Boulevard north of Fairmount Boulevard.
Purvis Park concession stand
Having received no bids to run the concession stand at Purvis Park for this summer, the city will take over running the stand. They are currently hiring a few people to work at the stand, which will open shortly.
Assistant finance director
An open position in the accounting department, which is vacant due the unexpected death of the employee, has been revised to assistant finance director and is being advertised.
School facilities Plan C
At a meeting tonight, the school board plans to submit Plan C as its final proposal, except it intends to revise the high school building first, followed by the middle schools and finally the elementary schools. Mayor Infeld hoped the board would reject this plan and save Gearity School, and urged those present to go to the school board meeting and ask to speak.
CYO City Baseball Championship
Certificates of recognition were distributed to the members of Gesu’s eighth grade girls’ baseball team for winning the CYO City Baseball Championship with thirteen consecutive wins after a slow start to their season.
Hazard mitigation plan
Council adopted the countywide All Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan for Cuyahoga County (2011 update). Fire Chief David Rodney explained that every jurisdiction in Cuyahoga County is being asked to review and approve the guidelines designed to mitigate problems caused by natural weather and geological disasters before they happen, such as moving key city services outside of a flood range when flood warnings are issued. The city must approve the plan to remain eligible for federal hazard mitigation funding.
Fuchs Mizrachi
Finance Director Larry Heiser reported that the city had closed on the Fuchs Mizrachi real estate transaction.
LWV observer: Wendy Deuring.
JUNE 21, 2012
- Department of Energy funding
- Used rubbish truck purchased
Councilmen Thomas A. Cozzens and Steven Sims were excused.
Department of Energy funding
Mayor Susan Infeld explained that this special meeting was called because grant funding had suddenly been made available by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), but application required a council resolution. Council approved the resolution authorizing the mayor to apply to the Cuyahoga County Municipal Energy Program for DOE funding for energy efficiency and conservation projects. The projects all have to be completed within five years. Eight projects have been identified including installing motion sensors to turn off lights, converting exit signs to more energy-efficient models, and installing LED lighting in the fire department dormitory area. The total cost of the proposed projects is less than $3,000.
Used rubbish truck purchased
Council approved the purchase of a used rubbish truck from Holtz Industries, for a cost not to exceed $41,900. The truck, a 2000 Mack LE truck with 63,000 miles, will replace a 1991, heavily rusted, Leach 31-cubic-yard truck with unknown mileage, as the odometer broke years ago, and which needs hydraulic systems repairs. The Mack LE truck was initially $49,900 but the price was reduced $4,000 by removing unneeded equipment and an additional $4,000 for trade-in value for the Leach truck. Holtz Industries will deliver the Mack LE truck and remove the Leach truck at no additional cost.
LWV observer: Wendy Deuring.
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.