University Heights City Council meeting highlights 2-18-14
FEBRUARY 18, 2014
- Public comments
- Planning and zoning code
- Finance legislation
- Street repairs
- Sewer repairs
- Copy machines
- Road salt
- Council e-newsletter proposed
- Finance committee
All council members were present.
Public comments
Candidacy: Carol Roe introduced herself as a candidate for County Council District 10, which includes University Heights. She is a nurse and an attorney, and currently works for a dialysis center. Her passion to make healthcare available for all is what she wants to run on. She was also a lobbyist for the Ohio Nurses Association.
New city park: Resident John Riebel opined that the new park should be completed in one phase. He suggested bond financing.
Planning and zoning code
The city is updating its planning and zoning code. A meeting will be scheduled in March
Finance legislation
Council approved appropriations for expenses for the 2014 budget and updated the annual compensation rate for appointed officials of the city, such as department heads and managers.
Street repairs
Council approved implementation of road improvements in conjunction with Shaker Heights. Seven streets will be repaired in the summer. Belvoir Boulevard will also be repaired but through the City of Cleveland funds. Councilman Steven Sims recommended adding another street to the plan if there are extra funds after the bidding process. Joseph Ciuni, city engineer, said that though he liked the idea, leftover funds were unlikely.
Sewer repairs
Council approved the 2014–15 emergency sewer repair program at a cost of $150,830. The work will be covered by an existing contract with Febreezy so bidding out for the repairs will be unnecessary. The city has an option to add an additional year to the contract.
Copy machines
Council approved the purchase of two new copy machines, at a cost of $17,019 for both, and opted not to lease them. The purchase price includes a 90-day trial and a maintenance plan.
Road salt
Council approved the purchase of an additional 1,000 tons of road salt from Cargill. Jeff Pokorny, service director, explained that the contract from ODOT was not fulfilled and [its] company, Morton, would not be able to fulfill due to this season’s inclement weather. The cost per ton is $65 as opposed to ODOT’s price of $29.40 but there is no choice. The city will continue to store the salt in the Cleveland Heights facility. Larry Heiser, finance director, assured [council] that the purchase would not endanger the budget.
Council e-newsletter proposed
Council’s Civic Information Committee wants to publish a city council e-newsletter on happenings in the city. The e-newsletter would be interactive, to permit citizen comments and council responses.
Finance committee
The finance committee currently has the following lay leadership: Michael Bohan; Thomas Finucane; Frank Navratil, Ph.D.; Patrick O’Shaughnessy; and Win Weizer. Councilwoman Susan Pardee invited Michele Weiss to join the committee as well. Weiss has 17 years of accounting experience and is currently the controller for Hebrew Academy of Cleveland.
LWV Observer: Michele Weiss.
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.