City Council

MINUTES City of Geneva Council Meeting April 8, 2024 6:00 p.m. President John Barbo opened the Council meeting at 6:00 p.m. Roll Call – John Barbo, Robert Rosebrugh, Jeffrey Griffiths, James Baehr, William Baker, Dana Schenk, John Travis Pledge of Allegiance to the flag was said and prayer was offered by Pastor Harry Pishcura, New Life Assembly of God. Motion was made by James Baehr to approve the minutes of the March 25, 2024 regular council meeting, seconded by John Travis. Roll call, 6 yeas, (Rosebrugh, Griffiths, Baehr, Baker, Schenk, Travis), 1 abstention (Barbo). Motion duly passed. Presentation – Fire Department, Chief David Shook Presenting Chief Shook distributed the Geneva Fire Department 2023 Annual Report. Highlights from the report include that for 2023 the fire department responded to 566 requests for service. Forty-five calls were fire related and 126 calls were hazardous condition related. Requests for service in 2023 increased by 9 runs from 2022. The department responded to 183 calls in the Township versus 180 last year. Service calls are higher in the summer months when there tends to be more accidents. The peak in calls in November were due to the storms that came through. Wednesday is always the busiest day of the week for the department. Chief Shook went over the Mutual Aid / Automatic Aid Incidents by Jurisdiction. The most requests were received from Madison at 30. Of the 30 requests, 10 were actual fires that the City assisted on. The City also requests and receives mutual aid from other departments including Madison. In 2023 the Chief estimates loss to property at $242,000 and value of property protected at just over $2 million. Good intent calls are calls in which someone sees a wire down and reports it believing it is an electrical wire but it is actually a cable wire. False Alarm calls are system related. The Fire Department’s role during storms is to keep the area safe until the energy company arrives to secure the power. 1 The Geneva Fire Department levy will be brought up again in November. The Fireman’s Club will assist along with others to get the word out. Citizens: Lowell Beaudoin 160 Raymond Drive, Geneva, Ohio Mr. Beaudoin commended Mr. Griffiths on a wonderful job running the Spelling Bee on Saturday. The City of Geneva Council Meeting time and place was not printed in the public notices in the Star Beacon. City Manager Report: The City received an updated project schedule summary for the West Main Street project as well as a contractor letter to West Main Street residents. Copies were provided to Council. Lane closures will begin April 15th. The City received official word that the City’s OPWC Round 38 project, Austin Road, has been approved. A work authorization has ben signed for the City’s engineer. The City looks to put the project out to bid in May with the intent of being ready to award the project in July or August. The goal is to have the project complete before school begins. The City met with the Community Center Event Planner to finalize terms of the proposed contract. The City anticipates the contract being signed as soon as this week. The City hopes to have the Event Planner at the next council meeting to do the official introductions. A Stormwater Master Plan work session is scheduled this week. The work session will include a review of information to date and discussion of next steps. The City is currently seeking a qualified person for the City’s Planning Commission, a seven member board. This is a five-year appointment. The candidate should have a general understanding of zoning and/or a background in construction. Signature Health is planning to have their mobile van service on site at the Community Center. The van will park for a few hours one day a week for several weeks in the lot behind the Community Center, back west section. Services include Narcan, infectious disease testing, hygiene kits, assistance with getting set up for services and a Community Nurse that may be able to provide some medical services. Myke Dowd, Recreation Direction will be the department presentation at the next council meeting along with Chief Camper. The summer concert series is all set. Concerts will run from June 20 to August 15. Mr. Varckette is having ongoing conversations regarding grant writing services. Mr. Varckette is also looking at the Safe Streets for All to start the process of working on a larger collaboration with other communities. 2 Items for Consideration of Council: Resolution No. 3599 – Second Reading. A Resolution in the Matter of the Approval of the Solid Waste Management Plan for the Ashtabula County Solid Waste Management District, and declaring an emergency. Unfinished Business: Councilman Baehr noted the City’s Codified Ordinance 661.07(d) in the Safety, Sanitation and Health Code which provides hours when trash cans can be at the curb. Violation of the code can carry up to a $150 fine. The DORA Ordinance is anticipated to be on the next agenda. The design for the sign is underway. New Business: Council re-appointed James Gerger, James Miller, IV, Steve Gala and Frederick Pollutro and appointed Andrew “Drew” Raymond to the Architectural Review Board. Council Reappointed Phil Anderson, Scott Carley, Mike Palinkas, James Restad and appointed Rebecca Kerns and Sean Lane to the Soccer Board. Mr. Griffiths presented a Letter Request to hold the Latino Fest at Memorial Field on July 20, 2024 with a parade, the route to be determined. Latino Fest is a non-profit which holds the proper insurance for this event. John Barbo made a motion to allow the use of Memorial Field for the Latino Fest on July 20, 2024; Dana Schenk seconded the motion. Roll call on passage, 7 yeas (Barbo, Rosebrugh, Griffiths, Baker, Baehr, Travis Schenk). The motion duly passed. A dinner is scheduled for Saturday to honor the 100th Anniversary of the Geneva Rotary. Mr. Rosebrugh will present a City Proclamation at the dinner. Mr. Barbo will present the proclamation at the next council meeting. Payment of Bills – None. Committee Reports - None Citizen: Lowell Beaudoin 160 Raymond Drive, Geneva, Ohio 3 Mr. Beaudoin stated that a letter should be sent by the City to all residents to complete a form to provide their cell phones to the city in the event of an emergency. There are a number of homes in the City of Geneva that do not have visible address numbers. Fire and Police need to have those numbers posted. Mr. Varckette will talk to Fire and Police regarding the issue of house numbers. Council only meets once in the months of June, July and August. The newspapers should be notified of this so that people do not come to council when there is no meeting scheduled. James Baehr made a motion to adjourn William Baker seconded. Council meeting adjourned at 6:36 p.m. Recorded by: Phyllis Dunlap Clerk of Council _______________________________ President of Council __________________________________ Clerk of Council 4