LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS / University Heights City Council meeting highlights
JANUARY 21, 2025 regular meeting
- Public comments
- Mayor’s report
- City council reports
- Directors’ reports
- Council actions
- Council committee reports
- Other agenda items
Present were Mayor Michael Dylan Brennan and council members Michele Weiss (vice mayor), Christopher Cooney, Brian J. King, Threse Marshall, John P. Rach, Sheri Sax, and Win Weizer. Also present were Clerk of Council Kelly Thomas, Law Director Bradric T. Bryan, Finance Director Dennis Kennedy, and City Engineer Brenda Mockbee. The meeting ran for one and one quarter hours.
Public comments
A resident and graduate of Benedictine High School spoke on behalf of the high school football team, which had used the John Carroll University (JCU) field as their home field but, because of agreements with the community about Friday night games, could not this year and had to travel to Brooklyn. The resident requested this be changed to benefit the high school team.
Mayor’s report
Mayor Brennan noted his recent statement that he would not seek a third term. He said he was unaware of the issues with Benedictine games at JCU and pledged to find a solution.
Thanks to the efforts of his staff, particularly mayoral assistant Deanna Bremer Fisher, the Environmental Protection Agency has recognized University Heights with a Silver Medal for Superior Service for its efforts encouraging community environmental excellence.
The mayor, city prosecutor, and housing director appeared in common pleas court as witnesses in the city’s lawsuit to have a receiver appointed for a nuisance claim for the property at 4394 Groveland.
The mayor challenged council regarding the status of salaried positions in the building and community development department, which he states is understaffed. He claimed council’s Building and Housing Committee, chaired by Councilperson Weizer, has not been doing anything to resolve the situation; if there was a reason for the ongoing delay, he would like to know why. He requested removal of the issue from the Building and Housing Committee and its referral back to either the Committee of the Whole or a regular council meeting.
City council reports
Responding to the mayor’s challenge, Weizer said there are open positions that the administration had not filled for at least three months and when those positions are filled the Building and Housing Committee will consider the mayor’s concerns. Her committee has been working on other matters, some of which are now complete making it possible to begin a discussion on staffing. She noted that the current and previous directors of Housing and Community Development have been helpful in dealing with the concerns of residents and working with the committee and council.
Directors’ reports
Finance Director Kennedy said that, at the end of 2024, $1.27 million unencumbered funds remained unspent in the overall budget. Responding to a question by Vice-Mayor Weiss, Mr. Kennedy recommended not moving any of that into an investment account at this time, as property tax revenue from the county would be delayed again this year due to the county’s late billing on property taxes. The timeline of when the proceeds would be directed to the city was unclear.
Service Director Allen Pennington reported that trash collection would be delayed a day for the safety of the workers due to the extreme cold.
Council actions
Council approved a finance committee motion to authorize the guidance statement from city council to the municipal complex project committee. Mr. King voted no, claiming the proposal was vague. The specialized architect retained to create the programming to present preliminary plans for the complex will not move forward without a guidance statement containing the proposed working budget. The proposed figure is $30 million, $26.5 million of which would come from bond sales. The architect is preparing plans for the city’s bare bones necessities, i.e, new fire and police facilities. Mr. Rach said consideration of a new city hall would be over-budget. The law director noted that the $30 million budget, approved by the Finance Committee, did not include a new city hall or a site for the service garage. Mayor Brennan said the plans were fiscally reckless and unadvisable according to bond counsel. Vice-Mayor Weiss, after speaking with bond counsel, said the plans were possible. The mayor is conversing with the Cleveland Heights-University Heights Board of Education about obtaining ownership of Wiley, but council appeared uninterested.
On second reading, council approved an ordinance establishing unsafe dog standards.
An update of the ordinance stating fees for special trash collections was presented on first reading.
Council approved the purchase of two 2025 Ford Explorer Interceptors and related equipment for the police department including trade-ins resulting in savings of up to $10,000.
Council renewed subscriptions for manuals and training software for the police and fire departments and for the TAC computer services for the police department.
Council committee reports
The Building and Housing Committee will continue to discuss staffing. At their Jan. 21 meeting, they finalized a schedule for apartment registration and inspection. The law director will prepare an ordinance to present to council.
The Community Outreach Committee reported that Starfish is still working with the school district for a schedule to install new software for streaming meetings.
A representative of John Carroll University will attend a Safety Committee meeting on Feb. 3 to discuss parking issues.
Vice Mayor Weiss reported that the Community Investment Corporation (CIC) met and is considering its next steps.
Other agenda items
Two new patrol officers, Travon Brown and Mason Lehmann, were sworn in.
Mayor Brennan attempted to bring up an ordinance related to the hiring of personnel for the Building and Housing Department, but no council member honored his request for a motion to discuss this issue.
LWV observer: Marilyn Singer
Meeting packets, legislation, and other information can be found on the city website at: https://www.universityheights.com/council/
Videos of council meetings can be viewed on the “City of University Heights” YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCA82j5L_CkQxK9cXP_qrXvw/videos