Cleveland Heights City Council meeting highlights 9-4-2018

SEPTEMBER 4, 2018

 

• Public comments
• Bond counsel
• Branding initiative
• PassportParking app
• Cedar-Lee SID public services plan
• 2018 Taxes
• Forestry and street expense assessments
• September observances
• Taylor Road-Superior Park Drive historic district
• Community Improvement Awards
• Heights Community Congress tour
• Mayfield multimodal plan
• University Circle shuttle
• Community Center fitness equipment
• Top of the Hill project design meeting
• Immigration task force
• Charter review commission
• Mayor’s report

 

Council members present were Mayor Carol Roe, Vice Mayor Melissa Yasinow, Mary Dunbar, Kahlil Seren, Jason Stein, Cheryl L. Stephens and Michael N. Ungar. The meeting lasted from 7:35 to 8:17 p.m.

Public comments

Deteriorated properties, sewer bills: Two homeowners presented their concerns and were referred to appropriate city staff members who were present in the chamber. One lives between two very deteriorated properties; he was referred to the building department manager. The other was confused about receiving two sewer bills, and the city manager explained the need for extra funds due to the consent decree with the United States Environmental Protection Agency. He was referred to the utilities department manager.

Bond counsel

City Manager Tanisha Briley was given permission to request qualifications for an attorney to provide counsel on issuing bonds and other debt instruments.

Branding initiative

Ms. Briley spoke about the city’s branding initiative and urged residents to go to the website and participate in the survey: clevelandheightsbrand.com.

PassportParking app

This app is now available on more than 900 meters around the city. The app can be found on the city website clevelandheights.com under “Residents,” then “Parking.”

Cedar-Lee SID public services plan

Council passed the plan and the financial assessment to fund the Cedar-Lee Special Improvement District (SID) in the amount of $155,888 per year for five years.

2018 taxes

Council approved a resolution requesting the county fiscal officer to advance 2018 taxes collected to the city and a second resolution accepting the tax amounts and rates, as determined by the county budget commission; authorizing the necessary tax levies; and certifying them to the county fiscal officer.

Forestry and street expense assessments

Council approved annual assessments for expenses of street, tree lawn, and street lighting maintenance.

September observances

Council declared September as Prostate Cancer Awareness Month and National Preparedness Month.

Taylor Road-Superior Park Drive historic district

Passed on third reading, this resolution authorizes the city manager to apply for a grant from the Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit Pipeline Initiative to nominate an historic district at Taylor Road and Superior Park Drive. This collection of Tudor buildings is in various states of physical or financial distress, and some are city-owned. They have been called “Stadium Square” or “Monroe Subdivision.”

Community Improvement Awards

Nominations for the awards are due Sept. 21. The form can be found here:

clevelandheights.com/DocumentCenter/View/1478/Community-Improvement-Award-Nomination-Form?bidId= or on the city website clevelandheights.com by searching for “community improvement awards nomination form.”

Heights Community Congress tour

This year’s tour is on Sunday, Sept. 16. Tickets are $25; there are discounts for those who bike the route. Information can be found at heightscongress.org.

Mayfield multimodal plan

On Tuesday, Sept. 11, at 5:30 pm, there will be a public meeting for the plan at the South Euclid Community Center. Cleveland Heights has joined with South Euclid, Lyndhurst, and Mayfield Heights to look at ways to benefit pedestrian and vehicular use of Mayfield Road. Details can be found at noaca.org/index.aspx?page=7597

University Circle shuttle

Ms. Dunbar announced the continuation of shuttle service connecting University Circle, Little Italy, and Coventry Road for a second year. Details are at: universitycircle.org/circlelink.

Community Center fitness equipment

New fitness equipment has arrived. Ms. Dunbar announced it is in place, and the air conditioning at the Community Center building is “awesome,” too.

Top of the Hill project design

Mayor Roe and Councilman Ungar spoke about the very positive, three-hour meeting held late August with a community-based group of 15 to 20 professionals to review the transformed design for the Top of the Hill project. They both feel the developer has addressed concerns and is on the right track. They praised the work of city staff and the developer. Ms. Dunbar added that everyone wants to see this project succeed.

Immigration task force

The next meeting will be Thursday, Sept. 13 in Council Chambers.

Charter review commission

Mr. Ungar viewed the video of the last commission meeting on the city website and commented on the tremendous service the members are doing for the community with their “granular” hard work. Videos of all meetings can be found on the city website, clevelandheights.com, under “Government” then “Charter Review Commission.”

Mayor’s report

Mayor Roe announced that the dedication of Barbara Boyd Park will be on Sunday, Sept. 30, at 1 pm. She commented that council will begin to discuss the topic of trash collection at an October meeting of the Safety and Municipal Services Committee. She commended the efforts of the Noble Gardeners and announced that their last market would be on Saturday, Sept. 8.

Future meetings

The next regular council meeting will be Monday, Sept. 17, 7:30 p.m. A joint meeting of council and the Cleveland Heights-University Heights school board will be held Monday, Sept. 24, 6:30 p.m. in Council Chambers.

LWV Observer: Blanche Valancy.

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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 of Greater Cleveland. This disclaimer must accompany any redistribution of these reports.