University Heights

APRIL 18, 2016

All council members were present.

Public hearing on joint dispatch center

The council meeting opened with a public hearing to discuss the Regional Council of Governments (COG) agreement among the cities of University Heights, Cleveland Heights, South Euclid, and Shaker Heights for the purpose of forming and operating a joint dispatch center for police, fire and EMS (emergency medical services) response.

APRIL 4, 2016

• Purvis Park
• Annual base pay range
• Joint dispatch center
• CompManagement
• Street improvement
• State audit

Councilman Phillip Erterl was absent.

MARCH 21, 2016

• March 7 minutes
• Master planning survey
• Free tax preparation
• Water main break
• Tree trimming
• Payroll service
• Mayor’s spending limit
• Disposition of city property
• Purvis Park
• Library expansion
• Purchase of Ford Escapes
• Pavement marking
• Utility refuse vehicle
• Coyote sightings
• Senior recreation program
• Cedarbrook Road
• Summer camps

Councilman Steven Sims was absent.

MARCH 7, 2016

• Compensation range of specified staff positions
• Saybrook Road property
• Mayor’s expenditure limits
• Traffic signal replacement
• Consortium purchase
• Truck purchase
• Waterline replacement
• Cleveland Heights Senior Activity Center
• Land bank funding

All council members were present.

FEBRUARY 16, 2016

• Recorded comments
• Q & A sessions
• Plowing
• Reaching Heights spelling bee
• MLK Jr. speaker Kari Queen
• Compensation range
• Transfer of funds
• New vehicles
• Green Road traffic light

All council members were present.

FEBRUARY 1, 2016

• Park construction
• Employee compensation
• Conflict of interest
• Community survey
• Garbage scooter
• 2016 street repair
• Processing payroll

Vice Mayor Susan D. Pardee was absent.

JANUARY 19, 2016

• State of the city address
• City employee compensation
• Pedestrian safety and roadway improvements
• Bellefaire parking area
• Website
• Inspection fees

Councilman Phillip Ertel was absent.

DECEMBER 21, 2015

• Farewell party
• Departing council members
• Geraci family honored
• Bronze medal winner
• Gesu cross country teams
• Law director
• Mutual aid agreement
• City engineer rates
• Cuyahoga County Planning Commission
• Sewer cleaning
• Emergency sewer repairs
• 3901 Silsby Road

All council members were present.

On Jan. 4, UH City Council voted to appoint John Rach to the city’s open council seat, which was left unfilled when only three candidates stood for four open seats in the November 2015 general election.

Earlier in the meeting, three council members took oaths of office: re-elected council members Pamela Cameron and Steven Sims, and newly elected Michele Weiss. Council also re-elected Sue Pardee as the city’s vice mayor.

Rach, 31, is a registered architect who has lived in University Heights since 2011. He has served the city in various capacities since 2012, as a member of the board of zoning appeals, a committee member for the new master plan (ongoing), a steering committee member for the NOACA Pedestrian and Bike Friendly Lane Project, and a steering committee member for the new zoning code commission.

University Heights honored three members of the Geraci family, owners of Geraci’s restaurant on Warrensville Center Road, as the University Heights 2015 Citizens of the Year at the city council meeting on Dec. 21. “Their restaurant has contributed tremendously to the charm of University Heights,” said Mayor Susan K. Infeld. “They are a very warm and generous family.”

“The restaurant will be celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2016, and it’s really a staple of our community,” noted Infeld.

Michael Geraci and his wife, Frances, opened the restaurant on July 2, 1956. Both worked at the restaurant until they were well into their 80s. Michael died in 2013, at the age of 94, and Frances died on July 26, 2015, at the age of 93.

Their three daughters—Martha Geraci Spoth, Frannie Geraci and Toni Leonetti—who currently run the restaurant, received the award. “All three daughters are continuing in their parents’ footsteps,” Infeld said.

DECEMBER 7, 2015

• Tree work
• Zoning appeal denied
• Finance proposals
• Fire department equipment
• Police vehicle purchase
• IT policies
• Finance disaster minimization
• City services
• Executive session

Councilwoman Adele Zucker was absent.

NOVEMBER 16, 2015

• Public comments
• Mayor’s appointment to the municipal league board
• Tax board appointments
• 3478 and 3509 Raymont Boulevard
• Purvis Pool
• Water and gas lines
• Vicious dog laws

All council members were present.

OCTOBER 19, 2015

• Leaf season
• Fenwick Road closed
• Municipal income tax
• County public health services
• Sewer camera system
• Dump truck purchases
• Payroll service
• Pool painting
• Sanitary and storm sewer systems
• Council committee meetings

All council members were present.

SEPTEMBER 21, 2015

• Public comments
• New park
• City’s website
• TIFF appointments
• Painting Purvis Pool
• Backyard camps
• Council seat
• Activity around Wiley
• Next meeting
  
  

Councilman Phil Ertel was absent.

On Nov. 5, University Heights City Council will begin accepting letters of interest and resumes to fill a vacancy on council that will occur on Jan. 1, 2016. University Heights has four city council seats open for the Nov. 3 election, for which only three candidates submitted petitions. Vice Mayor Susan D. Pardee has announced that residents of University Heights who wish to be considered for appointment to the open position are invited to send letters of interest and resumes to City Hall, c/o Clerk of Council Kelly M. Thomas, 2300 Warrensville Center Road, University Heights, Ohio, 44118, or by e-mail to kthomas@universityheights.com. Letters of interest and resumes will be accepted until 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 19.

The city charter gives council 30 days to fill the vacancy after Jan. 1, 2016; otherwise, the Mayor is responsible for the appointment. Because the vacancy is established following the results of the Nov. 3 election, city council will accept letters of interest and resumes between Nov. 5 and Nov. 19. City council will acknowledge each application and provide opportunity for interviews with selected candidates.

OCTOBER 7, 2015

• JCU food drive
• NORMA insurance partnership
• Income tax code changes
• Payroll process outsourced
• Tennis court rehab
• Tree services
• Sidewalk plow
• Park construction
• Leaf collection, paper shredding
• Open council seat
  
  

Councilman Phil Ertel was absent.

SEPTEMBER 8, 2015

• Public comments
• Road repairs
• Housing crisis program
• Dunkin’ Donuts zoning appeal
• Backyard camps
• Charitable donation
• Kollel Yad Chem Mordechai
• Nuisance properties
• Recycling
• Solid waste disposal
• Sewer camera
• City trees
• Tennis courts
• Special assessments
• Solid waste services and recycling
• Appointments
  
  

All council members were present.

AUGUST 17, 2015  

• Community public park bid
• New equipment
• Hardware
• Computer-aided dispatch
• Medical examinations
• Bombardier sidewalk snowplow
  
  

Vice Mayor Susan D. Pardee and Adele Zucker were absent.

More than 120 curious neighbors, community members, retired teachers and Heights family members attended the Aug. 20 open house at the newly renovated, temporary Heights High on the Wiley campus in University Heights. University Heights City Council and UH Mayor Susan Infeld hosted the event, to give community members a chance to tour the renovated building and learn more about the school’s programming.

Mayor Infeld, Talisa Dixon, superintendent of Cleveland Heights-University Heights schools, and Zoraba Ross, Heights High’s administrative principal, spoke briefly to the attendees.

The race for four open seats on University Heights City Council is a bit of a yawn this year. Four of the seven council seats are up for election this year, including those of council members Pamela T. Cameron, Steven Sims, Nancy English and Adele Zucker, but only three candidates will be listed on November’s ballot: Cameron and Sims, who are both running for reelection, and newcomer Michele Weiss.

University Heights’s Beautiful Home Awards committee is currently seeking nominations for the city’s home award program, which recognizes the city’s homes and gardens. Nominations are due by the end of August for the 2016 awards.

"In my opinion, the beautiful home awards are a charming tradition highlighting the outstanding efforts of residents to maintain their properties," said University Heights Mayor Susan Infeld.

The annual awards comprise various categories, including: best front door, best backyard garden, best curb appeal and best "sit a spell"—i.e., seated gathering area in the front of the house.

JULY 13, 2015

• Heights Jewish Center (HJC)
• Kollel Yad Chai Mordechai
• Ciuni and the tennis court project
• Workers comp management
• Bonds issued
• Permit parking near Wiley
• Tower leases
• Tax budget
• Paving change order
• Public park
  
  

All council members were present. Councilwoman Pamela Cameron arrived after roll call so was officially listed as excused.

JUNE 15, 2015

• Public comments
• First Energy
• University Square
• City’s symphonic band
• Zoning variance
• Electronic signage
• Compmanagement contract
• Issuance and sale of bonds
• Resident permit parking near Wiley
• Street resurfacing
  
  

Councilman Phil Ertel was absent.

MAY 18, 2015

• All Geared Up bike event
• Gas line replacement
• Purvis Park
• Water department
• Clear Wireless
• Waste processing and disposal
• Anti-poaching
• New park
• Cuyahoga County Planning Commission
• LifeForce
• 2547 Ashurst Road
• Auditors
• University Square
• Police body cameras
• Fire department
  
  

Councilwoman Nancy English and Councilman Steven Sims were absent.

APRIL 20, 2015

• Announcements from the mayor
• Medical director
• Purvis Park
• Arborist
• City’s engineer
• Aspen Energy
• Authorized signatories
• Assistant finance director
• Council’s iPads
  
  

Susan D. Pardee, vice mayor, was absent.

Many University Heights residents have contacted city hall with questions about their polling location for Election Day voting on Tuesday, May 5. University Heights has three polling locations that will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m:

• John Carroll University, Dolan Science Building Reading Room. Enter the campus at the guardhouse gate nearest Fairmount Circle, at the intersection of John Carroll and Carroll boulevards. Parking is plentiful; follow the signs to access the voting location.
• Gearity Elementary School, 2323 Wrenford Road. Parking is available in the parking lots, on Groveland Road and on University Parkway.
• University Heights Library, 13866 Cedar Road. Parking is available in the parking lot and on Fenwick Road.
  
  

If you are unsure where to vote, visit the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections website at www.boe.cuyahogacounty.us and click on the Where Do I Vote link.

Edmund Rothschild, the husband of former UH Mayor Beryl Rothschild, passed away after eight days of hospice care. His funeral is 11 a.m. tomorrow, May 1, at the Berkowitz-Kumin-Bookatz Memorial Chapel, 1985 S. Taylor Road in Cleveland Heights.

Mayor Rothschild and family will be receiving friends tomorrow from 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Fairmount Temple, located at the corner of Fairmount Boulevard and Buckhurst Drive in Beachwood.

MARCH 16, 2015

NOTE: No LWV observer was available to cover the March 16 city council meeting.

APRIL 6, 2015

• Mayor’s report
• Medical director
• Purvis Park
• Staffing contracts
• Braun & Steidl Architects
• Cedar Road resurfacing
• Playground project
• New police vehicles
• Pavement marking contract
• Garage doors
• Meritech
  
  

All council members were present.

FEBRUARY 17, 2015

• Cuyahoga Harbor dredging
• Law director
• Funds
• Home inspections
• Ford Fusion
• Community park
• Resurfacing program
• Four bay doors
• Sale of rubbish truck
• SWAT team
• Police cars
• Senior transportation
• Council iPads to reduce waste
  
  

All council members were present.

The Heights Chapter of the League of Women Voters (LWV) of Greater Cleveland has a shortage of observers to cover the University Heights City Council. Unfortunately, this shortage will prevent full coverage of all University Heights City Council meetings. If you appreciate these reports, perhaps you would like to help LWV continue this service to the community by volunteering for its Observer Corps. Observers of University Heights City Council do not have to be University Heights residents, but they must be impartial and unaffiliated with any of the council members’ or mayor’s campaigns. Observers do not participate in public comments unless authorized to do so by the League board.  

JANUARY 20, 2015

• Jim Price
• WOW! upgrade
• Citizen committees
• The mayor’s state of the city address
• City jail medical director
• Community engagement committee
• Senior transportation
• Demolition project
• Street striping
• Sale for scrap
• Tree pruning and removal
  
  

All council members were present.

JANUARY 5, 2015

• Grants
• Deer
• Gas rates
• Demolition on Cedar and Fenway
• Home demolition through the Land Bank
• City engineer
• Council committee appointments
• Sinkhole
  
  

Vice Mayor Susan D. Pardee was absent.

DECEMBER 15, 2014

• RFQ for park design
• East Cleveland
• Dispatch consolidation plan
• Rick Jackson honored
• Gesu cross-country champions
• Budget legislation
• Distribution of council documents
• Committee appointment authority
• Council compensation
• Patrolmen’s contract
• Resolutions
• Community engagement committee
• Property split
• Sewer study
  
  

Councilman Phil Ertel was absent.

On Dec. 11, the City of University Heights posted the job of city law director as an open position on its website. Anthony Coyne, current law director, has held the position since Nov. 1, 2012.

The job posting states that applicants must be duly admitted to the practice of law in Ohio. It requires that applicants have experience in municipal law, with a preference for those also experienced in zoning and planning. The annual salary for the part-time position is $40,000–$50,000. A full position description can be found on the city’s website, www.universityheights.com.

Applications are due Monday, Jan. 12, at 4 p.m. Applicants should submit a resume to Kelly Thomas, Clerk of Council, City of University Heights, 2300 Warrensville Center Road, University Heights, 44118.

DECEMBER 1, 2014

• Public comments
• Wiley construction
• Wheel loader purchase
• Ladder truck repair
• Equipment sale
• Debt policy
• Tax collection
• Budget legislation
• Cedar Road sidewalk work
• Paperless council
• Community engagement committee
  
  

Councilman Steven Sims was absent.

NOVEMBER 17, 2014

• Debate on executive session
• Workers’ compensation administration
• Budget amendment
• Park fund
• Debt policy
• Public health services
• Police video maintenance
• Sale of property
• New park
  
  

All council members were present.

NOVEMBER 3, 2014

• Mayor’s vote questioned
• Workers’ compensation administration
• Vendor contracts
• Tree planting and maintenance
• Road salt
  
  

All council members were present.

OCTOBER 20, 2014

• Public comments
• Zoning changes
• 2240 Jackson Blvd.
• Grant approval policy
• Approval of written contracts
• Law enforcement hiring
• Ebola training
  
  

Vice Mayor Susan D. Pardee was absent.

Francine Goldberg, former University Heights city councilwoman and vice mayor, holds a slim lead over incumbent judge Janet Rath Colaluca in the race for Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Court Judge.

As of Nov. 5, unofficial election results provided by the County BOE showed that Goldberg, a Democrat, had received 116,409 votes (50.26 percent), compared with 115,212 votes (49.74 percent) for Republican candidate Colaluca.

Absentee ballots can be received up to 10 days after Election Day (if postmarked no later than the day before the election), and so have yet to be counted, and official election results, including provisional ballots, have not yet been certified by the BOE.

Voters in University Heights approved a $1.8 million bond issue to fund a new city park on the former site of the Fuchs Mizrachi School. By a vote of 1,688 (52.4 percent) to 1,531 (47.6 percent), residents narrowly passed the bond issue to fund the “constructing and equipping of a public park area and related improvements.”

The park bond issue is for a period of 15 years, and Mayor Infeld said it will cost homeowners $25 per $100,000 valuation—the same amount that UH residents have been paying to fund the construction of the Purvis Park pool 20 years ago. That bond issue will be paid off in December 2014.

Commenting on the bond issue’s passage, Infeld said, “I am very pleased that the community supported the establishment of a park at the former school site on Fenwick Road. A park will introduce a new community asset in University Heights and I look forward to seeing many happy people using the park in the future.

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014 
[Town Hall Meeting]

• Public comments
• Responses regarding fire and ambulance issues
• NOCCA Award
• Commercial zoning request
• Equipment grant
• Public nuisance
• Less restrictive hiring
• Leaf collection contract
• Direct deposit
• Health insurance
• University Square parking garage
• Sewer cleaning
• Lawsuit
  
  

All council members were present.

OCTOBER 6, 2014

• Muscular dystrophy collection
• Renovation meeting
• Leaf pickup
• Hazardous waste
• Bond issue
• Library levy
• First Energy
• Rezoning application
• Grant acceptance
• Insurance
• Financial assistance
• Master plan
• Other cities’ grants
• Ambulance sale
• Legislation for administrative expenses
• Vendor contracts
• Auxiliary police
• Minute Men Staffing
• Direct deposit
• Tree service
• Street repaving
• Tree planting bid
• Garage lighting
  
  

All council members were present.

SEPTEMBER 2, 2014

• Public comments
• Bellefaire parking lot
• Meritech contract
• Special assessments for 2015
• Technical Assistance award
• Lawn mower
• Vendor contracts
• EMS staffing
  
  

Councilman Phil Ertel was absent.

JULY 28, 2014

• Meritech contract
• Credit card policy
• Bond issue for park
• Community Development Block Grants (CDBG)
• ODNR grant for tennis courts
• Vendor payments
  
  

Councilwoman Adele Zucker was absent.

SPECIAL MEETING - JULY 14, 2014

• Bonds for park
• Public comments
• Architectural cost estimates
• Credit card security policy
• Computer support
• AAA Flexible Pipe Inc.
  
  

All council members were present.

SPECIAL MEETING – JUNE 30, 2014

• Architect’s hiring
• Approval of other expenditures
  
  

All council members were present.

JUNE 17, 2014

All council members were present.

Park at Fuchs Mizrachi

Mayor Susan Infeld opened the meeting with a discussion of the resolution to develop a park at the site of the former Fuchs Mizrachi school. The proposed bond issue to fund the park would cost $1.8 million. Throughout the last two-and-a-half years, the city has held meetings to discuss the acquisition of the land and demolition of the building. Through three meetings with residents and the architect Braun & Steidl, the architect developed a plan as step one of the development phase. Step two would be placing a bond issue on the ballot for residents to vote on. If a bond issue were approved, requests for proposals would be solicited from architects. The bond issue would dovetail with the December expiration of the 20-year pool bond issue, for which residents pay $25 per $100,000 housing value. Consequently, passage of the new bond would not cause an increase in taxes. Furthermore, the new bond issue would expire in 15 years, instead of 20.

June 16, 2014

• Public comments
• Architects’ hiring
• Certificates of recognition
• Concession stand prices
• Park bonds
• 2015 tax budget
• Service dept. agreement
• Recycling
• Council chambers
  
  

All council members were present.

The City of University Heights plans to improve walking and bicycling along its most traveled roads with planning expertise from the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA). The Warrensville Center and Cedar Roads Sidewalk Improvement Project will focus on creating safe, attractive and easy-to-navigate pedestrian and bicycle transportation corridors between Fairmount Circle and Cedar Center on Warrensville Center Road, and between Taylor Road and Fenway Drive on Cedar Road. It is one of the first projects to receive technical assistance from NOACA for this purpose.

Currently, the high traffic volume and speed on Cedar and Warrensville Center roads keep many pedestrians from using the sidewalks along the roadway. No barrier separates the sidewalk from the street, placing pedestrians uncomfortably close to high-speed traffic.

University Heights City Council will hold a special meeting on Monday, July 28, 7 p.m., in council chambers.

The meeting agenda includes a resolution "determining to proceed with the submission to the electors of the question of issuing $1.8 million of bonds for the purpose of improving the city's park and recreational facilities by constructing and equipping a public park area and related improvements, and declaring an emergency."

The deadline for council to send the bond issue to the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, for it to be placed on the ballot this November, is Wednesday, Aug. 6.

University Heights City Council passed Resolution 2014-12 at its July 14 meeting, which will enable voters to determine whether the city can issue $1.8 million in bonds to improve the city’s parks and recreation facilities. The bond issue would fund construction and equipment for a new park and related improvements on the site of the former Fuchs Mizrachi School, bordered by Fenwick and Saybrook roads. Councilman Mark Wiseman cast the only dissenting vote.

Council approved the ballot language at a special city council meeting on July 28 so that the issue could be placed on the Nov. 2 ballot. The vote was 5-1, with Wiseman again voting no. Councilwoman Adele Zucker was absent. The deadline for council to send the bond issue to the board of elections is Aug. 6.

Approximately 50 University Heights residents, along with the city’s mayor and seven council members, came together for a June 17 town meeting on a proposed $1.8 million bond issue to fund a new public park on the former site of the Fuchs Mizrachi school.

Opinions at the meeting ranged from skeptical to supportive. The largely free-form dialogue between council members and residents covered a range of topics, including the amount of the bond issue, the city’s ability to appeal to young families, and a looming Aug. 6 deadline—the date by which council must send the bond issue to the board of elections for it to be placed on this November’s ballot.

Elizabeth “Libby” Ellis is the new community development coordinator for the City of University Heights. Ellis, whose first day on the job was May 19, said that the city has had similar positions in the past, but that hers is an expanded role.

“My goal is to advance the quality of life in University Heights,” she said. Her role includes both attracting new businesses to the city and cultivating and supporting the many small, local businesses that are already located there. She will work to cultivate financial support through grants and other means, represent the mayor at community functions, build relationships and develop new programs.

With the closing of Wiley Middle School, the longtime home of University Heights’s annual free Summer Concert Series, the city has moved this summer’s performances to John Carroll University, in front of Grasselli Library.

Concerts take place on Thursday evenings at 7 p.m., through Aug. 14, with the following performers scheduled for July and August:

[Editor's note: This is a letter to University Heights residents from Mayor Susan Infeld, announcing two upcoming meetings about the school district's plans to convert the site of the now-closed Wiley Middle School to a temporary location for Cleveland Heights High School. The first meeting, of the city's planning commission, will take place on Wednesday June 25, at 7 p.m.; the second, a meeting of the board of zoning appeals, is scheduled for July 9 at 7 p.m. The full text of the Mayor's letter appears below.]

Dear Residents,

As you are likely aware, Wiley Middle School closed permanently earlier this month and the students have been reassigned to Monticello or Roxboro Middle Schools.

On June 17, at 7 p.m., the City of University Heights will hold a town meeting to discuss the proposed $1.8 million bond issue for the development of a public park on the former site of the Northwood/Fuchs Mizrachi school on Fenwick Road. The meeting will take place at University Heights City Hall, in Council Chambers.

In the June issue of the University Heights newsletter, Mayor Susan Infeld reported that “the park planning process is nearing completion,” and noted that the plans are posted on the city’s website, www.universityheights.com.

JUNE 2, 2014

• Public comments
• Recognition
• Concession stand
• Purchasing policy
• Bond issue
• Rubbish scooter
• Leaf vacuum truck
• Garage fire
• Fire hydrant maintenance
• Kerwin Road paving
  
  

All council members were present.

MAY 19, 2014

• Public Comments
• Pool
• Memorial Day parade
• Gesu Boys’ Cross Country Team
• Transfer of funds
• Purchasing policy
• Sewer cleaning
  
  


Councilwoman Nancy English was absent.

Francine Goldberg, former University Heights councilwoman and vice mayor, won the May 6 Democratic primary for Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Judge. Goldberg won 72 percent of the vote, defeating John McIntyre, a lawyer and Lakewood resident, 59,536 to 22,867.

She will next face incumbent Republican Judge Janet Rath Colaluca in the November general election.

“I am absolutely delighted and overwhelmed by this show of support," Goldberg said via e-mail. "I am gratified that the voters entrusted me with the responsibility of representing the Democratic Party for this important judicial position.”

Goldberg was a University Heights councilwoman for 12 years, serving as vice mayor for four of those years, until term limits brought an end to her service to the city in December 2013.

May 5, 2014

• Public comments
• Composting
• Wiley Challenge Choir
• School transition
• Delinquent debt
• Funds transfer
• Purchasing policy
• Clerk of Council
• Street resurfacing contract
• Service director’s updates
• Repaving project

All council members were present.