City Council Agendas / Approved Minutes

MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF COUNCIL CITY OF GARFIELD HEIGHTS, OHIO Monday, June 14, 2021 (Note: Due to the crash of a hard drive on a city computer and technical difficulties the meeting was not recorded.) MEETING CALLED TO ORDER AT 7:00 p.m. by Council President Michael Nenadovich. ROLL CALL: PRESENT: Council Members Dudley, Donahue, Nenadovich, Johnson, Blake, Tagliarini, Vaughn INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: By PRESIDENT NENADOVICH READING AND DISPOSAL OF MINUTES: CLMN BLAKE moved to accept the Minutes of the Regular Meeting of Council for the city of Garfield Heights for Monday, May 24, 2021. Clmn Tagliarini seconded the motion. AYES: Blake, Tagliarini, Vaughn, Dudley, Donahue, Nenadovich, Johnson The Minutes were approved by 7 Yes votes. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS TO COUNCIL: CLMN VAUGHN read two letters that were given to the Safety Committee. The first one was from Police Chief Kaye to Fire Chief Strope regarding the shooting on Alvin. The second one was from Fire Chief Strope thanking the staff at St. Rita’s Senior Housing concerning a fire. COMMITTEE REPORTS: None. REPORTS OF THE MAYOR AND THE DIRECTORS: MAYOR MATTHEW BURKE asked for a moment of silence in memory of former First Lady of Garfield Heights, Clara Stachewicz, wife of former Mayor Raymond Stachewicz. (Moment of silence.) The Mayor welcomed everyone back to the Civic Center. He reminded everyone of the upcoming hearing about rezoning the property of the old Kmart building and mentioned that only two Arthur Treacher’s restaurants remain—one being in Garfield Heights. He congratulated Mr. Scott and Ms. Exton, from Ward 6, for whom he performed a wedding ceremony. He thanked Jim Grenig of Aaron Signs for the beautiful hero banners he made and congratulated the Garfield Heights High School seniors. Mayor Burke then highlighted the main points of the evening’s legislation. Finally, he wished all a Happy Juneteenth and all the fathers a Happy Father’s Day. 1 There were no questions for the Mayor from Council. Reports from the Directors followed. POLICE CHIEF MARK KAYE announced the creation of a Citizens Police Academy, a 10-week course beginng on September 7, 2021, to teach residents what police do and why they do it. There would be a test for police chief soon so the Chief thanked Mayor Burke, Mayor Collova, Council and the citizens. He reassured everyone that the new Chief if not himself, would do a fine job. LAW DIRECTOR TIM RILEY had no report. CITY ENGINEER DAVID KROCK had no report. FIRE CHIEF KEN STROPE said he had received an AFG grant for $55,000.00. FINANCE DIRECTOR BARB BIRO requested support for Ordinance 52-2021, which eliminates the Human Resource Manager’s position, replaces it with a Human Resource Director’s position and adds a Payroll Clerk to make the department more efficient. Ms. Biro thanked Barbara Molin for all her help over the years in the Finance Department. Finally, she asked for support for Resolution 25-2021 appointing Jeannie Sowers as Human Resource Director. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR NOREEN KUBAN reminded everyone of a public hearing on June 17, 2021 at 6:30 p.m. to discuss the re-zoning of the Kmart property on Rockside Road and a vacant lot to the west. ICP owns it. BUILDING COMMISSIONER MARK MORO had no report. PARKS AND RECREATION DIRECTOR PAUL BIRK had a large turnout for the pool opening on Saturday. However, some children have been entering the pool after hours so he is working on ideas to prevent that. COMMENTS BY CITIZENS ON THE AGENDA: CLERK: Comments shall be strictly limited to brief statements not to exceed five minutes with comments limited to legislation on the current evening's agenda. No citizen shall speak more than once. PRESIDENT NENADOVICH opened the floor to comments. There were none. ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS: PRESIDENT NENADOVICH asked the Clerk to read the title of Ordinance Number 52-2021. ORDINANCE NO. 52-2021 AN EMERGENCY ORDINANCE AMENDING AND SUPPLEMENTING ORDINANCE 89-2020, THE CITY OF GARFIELD HEIGHTS’ PLAN OF CLASSIFICATION AND COMPENSATION OF NON-UNION PAY POSITIONS Moved by VAUGHN to CONSIDER BY TITLE: AYES: Vaughn, Dudley, Donahue, Nenadovich, Johnson, Blake, Tagliarini Motion to SUSPEND THREE READING RULE: AYES: Vaughn, Dudley, Donahue, Nenadovich, Johnson, Blake, Tagliarini Motion to WAIVE RULE 24: AYES: Vaughn, Dudley, Donahue, Nenadovich, Johnson, Blake, Tagliarini VOTE ON ADOPTION: AYES: Vaughn, Nenadovich, Johnson, Blake NAYS: Dudley, Donahue, Tagliarini 2 PRESIDENT NENADOVICH said that Ordinance number 52-2021 passed with 4 Yes votes and 3 No votes. ORDINANCE NO. 53-2021 AN EMERGENCY ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 136, COMMUNITY RELATIONS COMMITTEE, OF THE CODIFIED ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF GARFIELD HEIGHTS Moved by DUDLEY to CONSIDER BY TITLE: AYES: Dudley, Donahue, Nenadovich, Johnson, Blake, Tagliarini, Vaughn Motion to SUSPEND THREE READING RULE: AYES: Dudley, Donahue, Nenadovich, Johnson, Blake, Tagliarini, Vaughn Motion to WAIVE RULE 24: AYES: Dudley, Donahue, Nenadovich, Johnson, Blake, Tagliarini, Vaughn CLMN DUDLEY moved to place Ordinance number 53-2021 in the Legislative Committee. Motion to PLACE THE ORDINANCE INTO THE LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE: AYES: Dudley, Donahue, Nenadovich, Johnson, Blake, Tagliarini, Vaughn PRESIDENT NENADOVICH stated that Ordinance number 53-2021 was going to be moved to the Legislative Committee. RESOLUTION NO. 22-2021 A RESOLUTION BY THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL ON BEHALF OF THE RESIDENTS OF THE CITY OF GARFIELD HEIGHTS HONORING THE MEMORY OF DAVID L. MAYS AND EXTENDING SINCERE CONDOLENCES TO HIS FAMILY (PRESIDENT NENADOVICH read the resolution in its entirety at this time.) Moved by NENADOVICH to CONSIDER BY TITLE: AYES: Nenadovich, Johnson, Blake, Tagliarini, Vaughn, Dudley, Donahue Motion to SUSPEND THREE READING RULE: AYES: Nenadovich, Johnson, Blake, Tagliarini, Vaughn, Dudley, Donahue VOTE ON ADOPTION: AYES: Nenadovich, Johnson, Blake, Tagliarini, Vaughn, Dudley, Donahue PRESIDENT NENADOVICH said that Resolution number 22-2021 passed with 7 Yes votes. RESOLUTION NO. 23-2021 A RESOLUTION BY THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL ON BEHALF OF THE RESIDENTS OF THE CITY OF GARFIELD HEIGHTS COMMENDING MICHAEL CLYDE FOR HIS BRAVERY AND HEROIC EFFORTS IN SAVING A LIFE DURING A HOUSE FIRE Moved by DUDLEY to CONSIDER BY TITLE: AYES: Dudley, Donahue, Nenadovich, Johnson, Blake, Tagliarini, Vaughn Motion to SUSPEND THREE READING RULE: AYES: Dudley, Donahue Nenadovich, Johnson, Blake, Tagliarini, Vaughn 3 (The Clerk read the resolution in its entirety at this time.) VOTE ON ADOPTION: AYES: Dudley, Donahue Nenadovich, Johnson, Blake, Tagliarini, Vaughn PRESIDENT NENADOVICH said that Resolution number 23-2021 passed with 7 Yes votes. RESOLUTION NO. 24-2021 A RESOLUTION ON BEHALF OF THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL HONORING CLERK OF COUNCIL, BARBARA MOLIN FOR HER 18 YEARS OF OUTSTANDING AND DEDICATED SERVICE TO THE CITY OF GARFIELD HEIGHTS Moved by BLAKE to CONSIDER BY TITLE: (The vote was not taken.) Moved by VAUGHN to HAVE MAYOR BURKE READ THE RESOLUTION IN ITS ENTIRETY: AYES: Vaughn, Dudley, Donahue Nenadovich, Johnson, Blake, Tagliarini (MAYOR BURKE read the resolution in its entirety at this time.) Motion to SUSPEND THREE READING RULE: AYES: Blake, Tagliarini, Vaughn, Dudley, Donahue Nenadovich, Johnson VOTE ON ADOPTION: AYES: Blake, Tagliarini, Vaughn, Dudley, Donahue, Nenadovich, Johnson PRESIDENT NENADOVICH said that Resolution number 24-2021 passed with 7 Yes votes. (The Clerk thanked Council for their good wishes.) RESOLUTION NO. 25-2021 AN EMERGENCY RESOLUTION RATIFYING THE APPOINTMENT BY THE MAYOR OF JEANNIE SOWERS TO ACT AS THE HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR FOR THE CITY OF GARFIELD HEIGHTS, OHIO, DURING THE PERIOD COMMENCING JUNE 14, 2021, TO SERVE AT THE PLEASURE OF THE MAYOR. Moved by NENADOVICH to CONSIDER BY TITLE: AYES: Nenadovich, Johnson, Blake, Tagliarini, Vaughn, Dudley, Donahue Motion to SUSPEND THREE READING RULE: AYES: Nenadovich, Johnson, Blake, Tagliarini, Vaughn, Dudley, Donahue Motion to WAIVE RULE 24: AYES: Dudley, Donahue, Nenadovich, Johnson, Blake, Tagliarini, Vaughn VOTE ON ADOPTION: AYES: Nenadovich, Johnson, Blake, Tagliarini, Vaughn NAYS: Dudley, Donahue PRESIDENT NENADOVICH said that Resolution number 25-2021 passed with 5 Yes votes and 2 No votes. MISCELLANEOUS COMMENTS BY CITIZENS: CLERK: Comments shall be restricted to any problem a citizen has which has previously been submitted to his/her Councilperson or to the city hall department directly involved. If submission of a problem to a city hall department or a Councilperson is made and there is a lack of service rendered in this regard, the problem may then be presented during Comments from Citizens at a future meeting. It is the intention of 4 this rule that no request of a first nature is presented on the floor at this time. Comments shall be limited to five minutes. No citizen shall be heard more than once. PRESIDENT NENADOVICH invited residents to comment. Mike Caretti, 9713 South Highland, complained about how drivers ignore stop signs and speed on residential streets. He worried about the safety of unsupervised young children and said the city was not like that in the past. POLICE CHIEF MARK KAYE said that a traffic car was parked there to monitor the situation, but he had only one traffic officer at that time. The Police were doing their best. Mildred Whitmore, 13154 Forestdale Drive, needed clarification about dog walking in the playground. Two years ago, the Animal Warden told her people should not walk dogs there and Mayor Longo had installed signs, but only one remains. Dog walkers ignore the new small signs. Dogs should not be on a playground. SERVICE DIRECTOR MARK SIKON was unaware that dogs were prohibited there when he put the small signs up and intended to take care of it the next day. Marina Palomino-Bach, 5032 East 117th Street, was a member of the Community Relations Committee whose members have been getting acquainted with each other. They are to plan a community survey and have other projects. She felt that Council did not recognize/appreciate their efforts. She described her background and said she did not know much about the Ohio Revised Code or Roberts Rules. They had closed meetings and complained that Council did not reach out to them. Mrs. Palomino-Bach said that Clmn Dudley attacked them and tore their efforts so she told him to stop but she wanted to stay on the committee. PRESIDENT NENADOVICH explained that all meetings had to be open to the public and if she had notified Council of their meetings, they would have gladly given input, but there was no transparency. The Directors, also, would be happy to steer her in the right direction. He recommended that she read the Garfield Heights City Charter Section 121.2, the Ohio Revised Code on Sunshine Law and Congregating the majority of the committee. In her case the majority would be four since there are seven members. CLMN DUDLEY stated that a video of the meeting he had tried to attend existed, which showed that he remained calm, as Mayor Burke had confirmed. Mrs. Palomino-Bach’s accusations were not true and the Councilman deserved an apology. She ordered him to be disconnected from Zoom. MAYOR MATTHEW BURKE commented that none of the members were elected officials, none of them had taken an oath of office and they did not know Roberts Rules of Order. Some of the other Community Relations Committees in Northeast Ohio were having the same issues. He was glad to see this going into the Legislative Committee to get some things tightened up. The Mayor emphasized that Clmn Dudley did not get out of line in the video that he viewed. PRESIDENT NENADOVICH stated that the Legislative Committee meeting to discuss the Community Relations Committee would be scheduled as soon as possible and made public. Bob Stemnock was sorry for the misunderstanding with Clmn Dudley, but they did not expect anyone to come to their meeting. They were not trying to disrespect him and were blindsided by his approach. They want to work with Council and he did not believe Mrs. Palomino-Bach was lying. 5 Ian Cox, 10920 Elmwood, felt the problem was Clmn Dudley’s demeanor and thought the solution would be to video their meetings. He understood the committee was not under the Sunshine Law because they were not elected. PRESIDENT NENADOVICH asked the committee members to rise because Council had never seen them. They did rise. Toni Wanderstock, 10905 Mountview Avenue, a teacher, felt the committee was long overdue. She was proud of Chief Kaye and hoped he would become the permanent police chief. CLMN VAUGHN advised that he had put together Ordinance 53-2021 in hopes that things could be worked out in a series of Legislative Committee meetings. He recommended that the committee cease to meet until things were taken care of. Pastor Faulkner, 4568 East 104th Street, was a part of the committee and he had invited Clmn Dudley because he had a question and wanted the committee to hear the answer. Instead they voted to disconnect the Councilman. If this was how they behave, he was withdrawing his participation. PRESIDENT NENADOVICH encouraged the Pastor to stay. CLMN VAUGHN asked the Mayor to provide Council with copies of all the Community Relations Committee meetings and notes. The Mayor was not sure that there were any notes, but he agreed to distribute copies of the meetings. Edith Faulkner said thank you and was nervous because of the way the members acted like a gang and disrespected both her husband and Clmn Dudley. She said that ignorance was no excuse and they lacked common courtesy. In her opinion, the committee needed new members, one from each Ward. MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS: CLMN DUDLEY asked everyone to pray that the violence would stop and wished a Happy Father’s Day to all the real fathers. He then congratulated the Garfield Heights and CMSD seniors and was glad to be back in Council Chambers again. CLMN DONAHUE congratulated Barbara Molin on retiring and encouraged her to enjoy it. PRESIDENT NENADOVICH congratulated all the high school seniors and wished all the fathers a Happy Father’s Day. He wished Acting Chief Kaye good luck on the test and hoped he would be present in July. He congratulated Barbara Molin for her years of service as Clerk. He appreciated her efforts and the work she had done for Council for 18 years and wished her good luck. CLMN JOHNSON said that residents need to participate and a Community Relations Committee was a new concept to him. He said that he was new to his Council position, it was hard and he was learning as he went along. He asked the committee to keep their original focus. He congratulated the graduates and Ms. Molin and wished a Happy Father’s Day to everybody. CLMN BLAKE agreed with Clmn Johnson’s comments about the Community Relations Committee. He wished Barbara Molin congratulations for all her years of service, hoped she would enjoy her retirement and thanked her for all her help. He wished everybody a Happy Father’s Day. Clmn Blake thanked everyone who put effort into the Memorial Day Parade, namely the Polish Veterans, American Legion Post 304, the UPS Store, James Grenig with Aaron Signs and Hastings for their contributions for the parade. Mayor Burke, Pat Salemi, the Police, Fire and Service Departments for their support. Special thanks went to Father Haren, Oliver Boyet and Nathan Wicker, who participated in the 6 ceremony at the Veterans Plaza. The Councilman also thanked numerous citizens who helped stage the parade: Bill and Sondra Douglas, Sherri Rasmussen, Anne Marie Messner, Carrie Bergholz, Lisa Leonard, Joey Leonard, Mia Leonard, Roseanne Snopol, Alexa Snopol, Andreanna Snopol, Bonnie Glover, Wendy Williams, Wayne Williams, Janet Waterbury, Frank Tagliarini, PJ Neurones, Janice Tubbs, Michael Dudley. The person who deserved the biggest thank you was Jennifer Neurones, the driving force behind it. CLMN TAGLIARINI commented that he had served on several committees and every time the situation was like that of the Community Relations Committee members, whereby he was not informed of any rules and did not know what was expected of him. He felt there ought to be a guide regarding every city committee. The Councilman was sure that everyone could work together successfully and had asked the Mayor for a guide to each committee. MAYOR MATTHEW BURKE remarked that the guide was there and training was all that was needed. He was calling on the legislators to spell things out and put it in legislative form. CLMN TAGLIARINI thanked Chief Kaye for taking control in desperate times. Next, he thanked Barbara Molin for helping him out and wished her a wonderful retirement. CLERK thanked Clmn Tagliarini and all of Council for the resolution and everything. CLMN TAGLIARINI asked residents to stop blowing grass into the streets because it clogs the sewers and wished everybody a Happy Father’s Day. CLMN VAUGHN invited the Clerk to speak. CLERK thanked Council and Mayor Burke for the gorgeous flowers and for the honor. CLMN VAUGHN was pleased to see 40 people attending the Council meeting. He wished Barbara Molin good luck, all the best and to enjoy her retirement. He reminded everyone that Council would meet only once in June, July and August so the next meeting would occur on July 12, 2021. He invited everyone to his Block Watch at St. Monica’s Pavilion on June 29, 2021 at 7:00 p.m. The Councilman encouraged everyone to spend time with or pray for their father. In closing he asked people to be careful with fireworks and keep down the noise. Lastly, Clmn Vaughn moved to adjourn the meeting. Clmn Donahue seconded. The President asked for a roll call. AYES: Vaughn, Dudley, Donahue, Nenadovich, Johnson, Blake, Tagliarini PRESIDENT NENADOVICH declared the meeting adjourned at 8:45 p.m. APPROVED: RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED: _____________________________ __________________________ Michael T. Nenadovich Barbara Molin President of Council Clerk of Council 7