City Council

MINUTES FEBRUARY 1, 2023 SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING PARMA CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS 5:10 P.M. The Special Council Meeting was called to order by Acting President of Council Mark Casselberry presiding: COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: ROB EUERLE LINDA A. KOHAR KEVIN KUSSMAUL KAMMY SHUMAN KELLY ZACHARIAS ALLAN DIVIS COUNCIL MEMBERS EXCUSED: VITO DIPIERRO, PRESIDENT OF COUNCIL DEBORAH LIME Mrs. Saban – Mr. Chairman, the Roll of Council has been called and I find a quorum of Council Members present. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ NOTICE OF MEETING OF COUNCIL ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The State of Ohio ) Cuyahoga County ) ss: Clerk of Council Kristin L. Saban: Greetings City of Parma ) WHEREAS, it appears that the public business of this City requires that the Council meet in Special Session to consider such business as may come before it, and, WHEREAS, I have convened and do hereby convene said City Council to meet in a Special Session on the 1st Day of February 1, 2023 , at 5 PM Eastern Standard time, at the Council Chamber in said City, to consider such matters as may come before it as fully and completely as might be done in regular session of said Council: - WARD 1 COUNCIL CANDIDATE INTERVIEWS You are therefore commanded to summon: Council President Vito Dipierro, Mark Casselberry, Allan Divis, Rob Euerle, Linda Kohar, Kevin Kussmaul, Deborah Lime, Kammy Shuman, Kelly Zacharias and Kristin L. Saban, Clerk of said Council, to meet in Special Session as aforesaid for the purposes aforesaid. Hereof fail not and have you then and there this Writ, with your return thereon in what manner you have executed the same. In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Corporate seal of said City to be hereunto affixed, this 31st day of January, 2023. 1  /seal/ /s/ Vito Dipierro City of Parma COUNCIL PRESIDENT VITO DIPIERRO ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE NOTICE OF SPECIAL MEETING OF COUNCIL I, Lisa Beeble, Chief Deputy Clerk, of the City of Parma, Ohio, do hereby certify that on January 31, 2023, I received the notices of a Special Meeting of Council, a copy of which is attached hereto, and that in accordance with the instructions given to me, I have served each person named in the notice with the notice by Electronic Mail (e-mail) with the notice on January 31, 2023, at 11 a.m., which date and time is more than twelve hours prior to the time of the Special Meeting. Signed Lisa Beeble Lisa Beeble Chief Deputy Clerk ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Councilwoman Saban – I would like to note for the record that applicant Anthony Stastny is not present, and I had made several phone calls to him on Monday as well as text messages because his voice mail was full. He had an emergency with his dog. I did send out an email to the other four applicants at 4 P.M. on Monday, and I followed up with two additional phone calls and text messages to Mr. Stastny but have not received a response as of this evening. I just want that noted for the record. Mr. Casselberry – We will note that for the record. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DISPENSE WITH REGULAR ORDER OF BUSINESS Motion made by Councilman Casselberry seconded by Councilwoman Shuman to dispense with the regular order of business and to waive the Rules of Council, at this time, in order to hold this Special Council Meeting. Motion carried. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ WARD 1 COUNCIL INTERVIEWS Mr. Casselberry – The interviews for the Ward 1 Council seat will be conducted as a panel interview. First, you will have an opportunity to tell us about yourself. After that, the question portion of the interview process will take place. When your name is called, please come up to the podium and state your name and address for the record. We ask that you please keep your comments to 5 minutes. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- My name is Russell Potoma. I am 33. I live at 8006 Fernhill. I have been in Parma for the last 10 years. I am married. My wife works at Parma City School District. She is a Kindergarten teacher for Dentzler. I have 5 young children, 4 of which go to the school district; 2 are at Ridgebrook and 2 are at the preschool, 1 is still a baby. I have been a Corrections Officer with the City of Solon for 7 years now. Six of those I have been a Field Training Officer and I am also the OPBA Union Rep for my Collective Bargaining for the last 5 years. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- My name is James Miller. I live at 11470 Richard Drive in Parma. I purchased my house there in 2016. I am married with 2 kids. My wife is a Registered Nurse at Metro Health. She is in Labor and Delivery. I have a 17 year old daughter, a 13 year old son soon to be in February. I am 43. I have lived in Parma since 2007. I am very active in Parma Parks and Rec. I am a baseball and football coach. I am very active in the Greenbriar 2 Football program. My son is a linebacker for Greenbriar Football. I currently work as a truck driver, I do concrete, mason work stuff like that. On the side, I am a trained professional wrestler. So, I am very active with the kids and very active in whatever position I am performing in whether it is in Akron, Cleveland, Parma, upper Michigan where I am born and raised. I have been married to my wife for 14 years this past January 29th. We will be together 20 years in August. After seeing all the issues on the news with the Police and community relations, that is one thing I want to try to look at and try to help the City of Parma become better and make Parma a better place for everybody for future generations to come. That’s pretty much it. I am pretty self-explanatory, I am very easy going, I am an Independent Republican, in between, I am not Democratic or Republican, I am pretty much an independent. There’s some democrats stuff I like, there’s some independent stuff I like and there’s some republican stuff I like. So, it all depends on how it affects not only my life but everybody around me. So, I am just hoping that I did something to persuade you in order for me to become part of City Council. Thank you for your time. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I am Monica Wilson. As a Parma resident for over 30 years, I know the value of this City Council position with respect to creating meaningful policy and public engagement. Growing up in a working class union household, along with the values instilled in me by my mother and father, has prepared me for this opportunity to address the concerns of the citizens of Parma. Upon moving to Ohio, I utilized my B.S. and M.S. Chemical Engineering Degrees in the Paints and Coatings Industry where I work now. I currently work as a Global Product Manager, a position that requires an advanced level of expertise and the proficiency to work across languages and cultures to successfully manage global multi million dollar projects. This corporate experience and aptitude to work with people from all backgrounds positions me as a qualified applicant to make the right decisions for our citizens. I listen and act to resolve problems and implement solutions that will address the issues for everyone’s benefit. All people must be at the table for us to create a better community. I want to be the voice of Ward 1 and I humbly ask for your support. Thank you. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I am Dan McCarthy. Anyone who knows me knows I have deep roots in Ward 1. I was nearly born in the house at 11180 Snow Road I have lived in all my life. I am 1 of 8 children, I attended St. Bridget’s Church, School along with my brothers and sisters, Greenbriar, Valley Forge. I have many family and friends who still live in Ward 1. I have a long diversive history, many occupations since 1976. I worked for the Police Union, manufacturing and retail, I was a skilled plumber, security and six years in the wine industry. I started publishing a newspaper here in 2009 and we are in our 14th year of printing. So, it has led to hypo local activism for the past 15 years. I was in the Citizen Police Academy in 2009. I have always been in Parma politics going back to Victor Labutta and Kate Hoffman our past Ward 1 Council people. In 2010 I was elected to the Central Committee of the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party; I have been a Precinct Committeeman for Ward 1 A that I am in my fourth 4 year term starting in 2022. Also, on the Executive Committee, we have had many key votes since 2010. So, in the 14 years we have published the paper, I have published nearly 5,000 stories from over 650 writers in the community. We chronical our times, but it also provides a platform which allows people to see what is possible in our community. So, we tend to believe that independently it is the only place left where average people can have their voices heard through that forged relationship with many people of the Tri City area, especially Ward 1. I am a Parma Chamber member since 2010. I think most importantly, I spent 13 years attending Council meetings. I’m not going say every last one, but I say 90% in the past 13 years, including Budget Hearings when there was maybe 2 to 3 people, I was one of them here. I have watched and learned, I am very familiar with the 3 procedures and processes here, I have had interactions with all the Council members past and present. To illustrate that I understand what goes on here, in 2010 there was a hearing here where every seat in this Council Chambers was filled. There was at least 150 people standing outside. It was over basement flooding, and everyone stood here yelling at everyone. I realized, boy that is a hard job. It’s not always a walk in the park, I understand that because I haven’t seen that occur since but that was very intense. So, just to wrap up and say I have enjoyed success and making a difference and having an impact in the community I have lived in all my life, and I’ve experienced the satisfaction one gets from helping others. So, I am confident that I can do even more as a Council member. I would very much like you to consider me when you do finally vote. I would like to blend my talents with this team. So, I am hoping on that time that you will choose me out of all the very fine candidates we have from Ward 1. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mr. Casselberry – Now, we will proceed with questions from Council to the candidates and we ask that your responses be no longer than 2 minutes. So, we have some questions that were kind of scripted out and we are going to go around to each Council member and then if Council members have their own individual personal questions, we may ask you as well. Once questions are asked, each of you will get a chance to answer. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Councilman Divis – I have a question for Russell Potoma. My question is, why do you feel that you are the best candidate out of our candidates here? Mr. Potoma – Since adopting Parma as our new home, I am concerned because my children are here now. I want to be able to help out with, like on my street there are a lot of speeding drivers, people who run stop signs. I am just concerned for my kids and other kids on my street. So, I just want to be able to have a voice in there. I’m probably not the most qualified in terms of my background because I just work for the Police Department, but I have a very strong interest and investment in Parma, like I said with my wife working for the school district now. I just thought I would throw my hat in the ring and see if I can help out in some way. Councilman Divis – I do have a question for each of the candidates. I am going to keep it the same as we just heard from Russell. The question is, why do you feel you are the best candidate to run. Mr. Miller - Like I said, I am a trained professional wrestler. So, I am very active, I can be out in the public, I can go door to door, I can ask them what issues they are having in Ward 1. Is it, speeding, is it theft, is it police relations? It could be a plethora of things. Like Russell said, I may not be the best candidate, but I am trying to be one of the candidates that would like to be appointed as Ward 1 Councilman. Basically, the same thing, my kids go to school here, me and my wife made roots here in 2007, we have been here ever since I moved here from Detroit, Michigan. That is pretty much it, community relations, any kind of police issues and just make sure the community is safe. Ms. Wilson – I have demonstrated my commitment to this position having run in 2021. I was an official candidate, official democratic candidate. I canvassed, I interacted with about 1,600 people as I canvassed twice that year. I took the time, I spent the money, I raised the money, so I have the experience of campaigning. I have demonstrated my commitment to that I did campaign, and I did take the time to get on the ballot and run. I have been a member of this community for over 30 years, practically my entire adult life. I am committed 4 to the City of Parma. I could have had any choice to live, and I chose to live here because it is a terrific community. Mr. McCarthy – Besides what I mentioned, over the years I fielded many calls from people that need things, I guide them to resources that they need, I am familiar with who to call, what goes on in my Ward, the boundaries the geography of the ward is very important. One thing that was really important when I talked to people is homeownership. They wanted to know, do I own a home, which I do, and it is free and clear, and I am debt free, personally debt free. This is important to people because they want to know that you understand what it is like to own a home, pay property taxes here and what that all comes down to. So, I have a good relationship with business here also with the police which is really important. Like the gentleman said, when I see what is going on and what we see on tv today with what is happening in Memphis, I thank my lucky stars that we have a police department that is very effective, very supported by the community and I just want to build that. I attended the Citizens Police Academy myself, so I understand how important it really is not just for the safety of our citizens but to market our community. People who might want to move here are going to choose it based on things like good schools, definitely a safe place. We are one of the safest cities in the country of our size. I know that. I want to help keep that. That’s why I feel I am the best person. Councilman Kussmaul – I can start with James. What do you believe are the responsibilities and duties of a Council person? Mr. Miller – The responsibilities are to be at every meeting on time, be very active in the Council meetings, take questions from anybody who has questions for you and just be open to everybody in my ward. I will have that open door policy like my boss does. If you need a hand with something, come talk to me. I have an open door. I will give my number out to anybody in my Ward. If you have an issue, please give me a call, let me know so I can take it in front of Council and ask them what I can do to help to get whatever issues are being taken care of resolved. Ms. Wilson – I believe the primary responsibility of a Council person is to understand what the citizens in their ward need, anticipate what they need and bring that back to Council and create solutions. You also have to be proactive in understanding what the overall arching issues are so you can bring policy and create policy to help your community and to grow the community. So, I think understanding what the people need, having to anticipate what they need and have a sound understanding of the city itself and how it operates. Mr. McCarthy – Of course, attending all meetings is mandatory. You pass legislation, review the budget of the city which is really important. I have a shoestring hypo low budget; I am used to that. My mom put that in me growing up. I definitely can manage a tight budget and it is important. Engage residents, explain policies to people because a lot of people don’t understand, they don’t have time and they need you to explain what might be happening. I know how to have people meet the resources that they need for the problems they might have. Of course, supporting the schools is really important too, it is very important. So, even though the school board is a separate entity it has to be hand and glove and we learned that over the years. There is going to be a lot of changes. We hope to stay ahead of that and it’s really again marketability. That’s very important. Our schools are super important, and I am concerned that what we seen, and I am hoping to influence in some 5 way. Let’s face it, we need to build new school eventually and I hope that we can see that happen sooner than later. Mr. Potoma – I think we need to be honest, fair, and open minded. We need to know our neighborhood, we need to know the businesses, the schools in the neighborhood and just knowing the issues in the city, in particular, our area. Councilwoman Kohar – As we witness what is going on today with our federal and state level and how we become so polarized and people can not work together, being on Council isn’t ideological but it is important to work together. What people skills do you bring to make an effective member of Council who can work well with your colleagues? Ms. Wilson – When I first started working as a chemical engineer, I left home. My hometown is Detroit, Michigan. So, I had to move to West Virginia and start interacting with the operators in the chemical plant to get things done and then that group into having to work with my colleagues in order to bring products and to bring projects. As my job grew, I had to interact not only with colleagues locally where I live, but colleagues in different plants across the nation and then when it became global across the globe. So, I had to trans in cultures, languages to create projects that then came to fruition and worked. So, I have a lot of experience working across cultures, across languages and with different types of people to get things done. So, that is in my professional as well in my personal life. Mr. McCarthy – My negotiation skills have been honed pretty well over the years. Not only with my publication for all these years but when I worked for an office automation company we had 150 employees, I was the assistant operations manager. Just to get everything done it took a lot of teamwork with people and a lot of people that didn’t agree with, maybe not even liked each other, but I had to get results for my employer and our employer here would be the taxpayers. So, the same thing, we have issues and people might disagree but, in the end, we are going to have to move forward with a plan and get results. So, that’s kind of what I think I bring, most of all. Mr. Potoma – In my current position, I have to deal with a lot of different diversities and backgrounds and communications skills is a must. I have to work with a variety of different types of people and be able to achieve the results that I am looking for and I also have to work with other coworkers that might have different ideas on how to do things and in my field training back ground I have to be able to work well with the new hire and communicate effectively with them so that they understand what they need to be doing. For me, its just a lot of different diversity in my job obviously. So, I feel I have some experience there. Mr. Miller – I work in concrete. So, if one of my guys, its about a 4 to 5 man crew, is out of sync that puts the whole job out of whack. So with being on City Council its just like a normal job. If Mr. Casselberry is out of sync and Mr. Euerle is out of sync, then there is a big riff. One thing I can do, especially with professional wrestling, is I can bring people together. I can get a big ole group, get people together to get things resolved or fixed or what have you. Like I said, I try what I can to get things done. I am not one of those guys that just sits there. I am a go getter. I want to get stuff done and get it out of the way, whether it be community relations or getting Ridgewood taken care of or Brookpark Road or what have you. I just want to get stuff done, get it out of the way, get the next issue up so everything is all set and ready to go. 6  Councilwoman Zacharias – What is the best or favorite job that you have had and why? Mr. McCarthy – Believe it or not, I like the wine business. I have done a wide variety of things. But that probably was my favorite past employment even though I do like what I do now and that is why I have doing it for 14 years. Mr. Miller – I would have to go with Cedar Point. Cedar Point was just a really fun time. In my job, I was dealing with people from Russia, Ukraine, Czechoslovakia. So, I had to make sure everything was ready to go for whoever was there. I was part of Ride Operations. So, I had to make sure people were buckled in, strapped down and ready to go. And also, my favorite other job that I am doing currently is, well it’s not really a job it’s more of a hobby, but it’s professional wrestling. That’s another community thing. I put shows on at the Parma Armory for all little kids to come out and have some fun. They get in the ring and do their little thing. I would have to say Cedar Point and professional wrestling. Mr. Potoma – My favorite job would be my current job. I enjoy being able to work with the community and the people that come in. It’s not a simple you come in and you are locked up. We have to talk to them every day, we help them get through their court, we help them get mental health if they need it, whether it be other medical stuff that they can’t get on the outside, sometimes coming to jail helps them. It is rewarding for me to feel like I am helping people less fortunate or in a bad place do better. Ms. Martin – About 5 years ago I used to manage a pilot plant and the pilot plant is where you pilot a chemical process before you take it into manufacturing. So my job was to take processes from research and development into manufacturing. The reason why that was my favorite is because I got to do it all over the world. So, I went to Brazil, I put processes in China, put them in Thailand, it was pretty fabulous. That was my favorite. Councilwoman Shuman – First, I just want to thank all of you for coming. This is not an easy thing to do, and you are giving up your time. So, thank you so much for coming. My question would be, right now I am dealing with an issue in my ward. Right now there is a vape store that went into my ward and you not only have to run for this position and go door to door and deal with all of the residents in your ward and pass legislation, but then you have to also defend what is happening. It is a difficult thing to do. What would be your response to a resident that came to you and said, “I don’t agree with this establishment going into our Ward”. How would you handle that, what would be your response. Mr. Potoma – I think it would be important to understand what their reason is for why they don’t want it, listening to them, getting their side of it, maybe giving them both points as to why it could be a good thing. But it would be just the back and forth communication with them. Mr. Miller – Mine is pretty much along the same lines as Russ’s. Find out what the good and bad, positive and negative and what their input on what we could do to make whatever is coming in that ward better; whether it is a vape shop, or a CBD or whatever it is. Ask them, “Mr. Euerle, you are having an issue with this. What can I do to help you put this in place?” Or, “Mr. Casselberry, what can I do for this in your ward? What can I do to help 7 you put this into law?” Or vice versa, pretty much get information, do my research and then bring it to whoever I need to. Ms. Wilson – So, the first thing I would do is listen very closely to what that resident had to say, why they felt that way and even before that I would have to educate myself as to why that vape store went into place, what was the reasoning and have my knowledge so that I can answer the question. I wouldn’t necessarily defend it, but I would listen and if they had something that maybe I can address or bring to the Council I would. Mr. McCarthy – I think obviously patience is a virtue and definitely is called for there. Sometimes people don’t want things in the community and yet it has to square with the law. For example, not that many years ago, the city wanted to limit the amount of auto loan places like auto title loan but ultimately, they had to rescind the law because it wasn’t in the scope and a lot of people didn’t understand that. They would say I don’t want this but sometimes your hands are tied and that’s where it comes to explaining policies and the law to residents and they probably still are not going to want the vape shop. But sometimes you can not legally exclude a business. If its legal there is only so much you can do, I understand that. I also understand that people aren’t going to like that. We have had issues with different taverns and stuff. My precinct, when I was a kid, was voted dry for decades over a particular bar. There was a stabbing there and it took a long time. So the law has to come to play too, but that is why you have to have patience, I am sure, because they don’t necessarily want to hear it that way. Councilman Euerle – If you were the Council person today and waive a magic wand, what would be the first two things you would do immediately in your ward? Mr. Miller – Well, in my ward we have Miller Park. About 3 years ago, I sat down with Vito for about 45 minutes to an hour because we still had play stuff from the 80’s or 70’s there. There’s that metal, like in the summertime you slide down it and you feel like you have third degree burns. I would probably upgrade that park for some kids, because we really don’t have basketball hoops or tennis courts or anything. I would probably put that in, because my son is really big into basketball and football, so I would put up maybe a tennis court or a basketball court or do a little mini flag football field or something and then just try to lay that line and get everybody in sync and get whatever issue you have and get it resolved quick. Ms. Wilson – So, when I was canvassing the two major subjects that I heard were flooding throughout the ward. So, I would waive the magic wand, I would definitely address that through engineering, through some studies and to understand what is causing it and then fix it. The second would be security. Apparently drag racing is an issue, especially in the summer and I would want to work with the police and figure out a solution to solve that problem. Mr. McCarthy – I would agree with everything. Sadly, there are other things. There is a bit of a list of things that Ward 1 could use. My part of Ward 1 has no supermarket, no school. We used to have a school, they tore it down, there is a 10 acre lot there now. There is no park. The last bank in my part of Ward 1 closed this past summer. The nearest bank is miles away. So, I would advocate and try to use my business connections to attract these businesses here for everyone in Ward 1. It actually affects people in Parma Heights across Snow Road. That was their school, their bank, their supermarket that closed. So, it affects a 8 lot more people than even in Ward 1. I would do what I could to use the connections that I have made over all these years to hopefully get that going and fill those empty stores. And when they do build new schools, I personally think it should be built right on the 10 acres that Hanna School sat on because I think we need new schools. They have 10 acres of land and they do want to sell the property, but they might want to consider hanging on to it because when we do finally build new schools years down the road, it might be hard to get that kind of land yet they do own it. If I had a magic wand which I know we don’t. Mr. Potoma – I would want the streets to be improved. I know, mine in particular, I can’t even tell you in the 10 years having them do anything with it other than fill a couple of potholes and then slowing people down. On my particular road, a lot of people like to cut through from the parkway to Pearl or they come up 78th and they run the stop signs. Like I said, there are a lot of kids in my immediate area. I have 5 kids, they all like to play out there and its nerve wracking every time they are out in the front. Other than that I would say the safety aspect, but I guess that kind of touches on it as well. So, safety and roads would be my concern. Councilman Divis – I think we might have touched on this, but being a Councilman you are involved in the community. One of the questions I think all of us faced when we became a councilman is how we get really involved. It is a part time job, but you are on call 24/7 sometimes when there is a flood and that. So, I guess the question is, if you are selected how do you arrange your schedule so that you can commit yourself beyond the time required for just the council meetings? Ms. Wilson – The good thing is that I work from home and so I have a lot of flexibility in my schedule, and I can create my schedule very often. So, creating time for extra and other things is not an issue. The Council Meeting and things are in the evenings, that is not an issue either and because I am able to take off for community events, even sometimes during the week and during the afternoon, I can do that. I work for PPG, and they do allow for that. Mr. Miller – My kids are older, my wife is a nurse, I have pretty much open availability. I do concrete so our jobs are here and there. Our jobs are mainly during the summer months. Usually, I can open my schedule pretty quickly if there are any emergency meetings that need to be done. Mr. Potoma – Currently the way my schedule works is I work 7 days then I am off 7 days. So, I am pretty open, I already have to jumble a pretty busy schedule with my kids and their sports and the girl scouts, boy scouts all the stuff they do. My wife, being able to do her after school meetings. So, I’ve never really had trouble making all my engagements. I worked last night until 7 this morning and I am here now. If it is important, I will make it work. Mr. McCarthy – I can see how that could be an issue sometimes. But, luckily for me my business is hypo local. There have been weeks that I didn’t leave Parma literally for weeks. I own the place, so I don’t have to ask the boss for time off. Confidence is high, I am available all the time. I know with a degree of confidence that there is not going to be a time where if you call me, I’m not going to be available immediately. 9  Councilman Casselberry – You guys had a lot of tough questions and a lot of great answers. I was struggling to find a question after what I prepared. One thing is, besides all your council duties, there are a lot of volunteer opportunities in this city, a lot of need for it, there are food banks, food distribution, there are several in the city, several civic organizations. Can you tell me a little bit of any of the activities you may have been involved in that benefited our community and what are you most proud of for what you have done for the City of Parma and our residents. Mr. Potoma – As far as volunteering, unfortunately I have not been able to do much volunteering in Parma, but I had been an Auxiliary Patrolmen for Solon. That is how I actually got into the jail because I started at that. I also volunteer for my girls’ girl scouts. I am very open to doing things in the community, that is why I am here trying for this. Councilman Casselberry – I will have to plug our Auxiliary Officers in Parma. They do a great job. So, that is a great thing you did. Mr. Miller – Some of the volunteer stuff that I have done is, one of my fellow professional wrestlers does kind of a Toys for Tots, it’s a Christmas giving tree. He has been on Fox 8 quite a bit, his name is Daryll Riccardi. I donate at least $100 to $150 every year to children in need. One of my other friends, Laura, she runs a food pantry at Holy Name. I go there sometimes and help volunteer with that stuff too. Ms. Wilson – So I do a lot of activisms such as ACLU, Ohio Poor People’s Campaign and I also am involved with the Cleveland Museum of Art as an usher and general volunteer. So, I have a lot of activism background as well as some County civic duties. Mr. McCarthy – I have been involved in a lot of volunteer activity, including the food distribution which some people might be familiar with because they were involved. What is interesting is that our business is, we publish volunteer citizen journalism. So, I am used to organizing and motivating volunteers and some people compare it to herding cats but its like I have to fit the most amount of people that want to write and have their voices heard in our publication in any given month. So, it takes a lot of behind the scenes prodding where you finally have the story, but a lot of people don’t know the story behind the story, but I enjoy that immensely and get a lot of satisfaction from helping people that felt that they couldn’t be heard but then in the end they were heard. Relationships result, they meet somebody and now it has a life of its own. I enjoy that a lot. Councilman Kussmaul – What is the number 1 thing that you love/like about being a Ward 1 resident or Parma resident in general? Ms. Wilson – It’s hard to say just one thing, but it’s a manageable life here, its very secure, I live in a very nice place and the people are friendly and I can depend on my neighbor. Mr. McCarthy – As I mentioned, Ward 1 has been my home all my life. I am 61 years old, and I have been in the same house. When my parents moved there, Snow Road was a 2 lane road, there was no houses all the way to Brookpark Road. So, I have seen the whole place been built and become what it is. So, its my home, that is all I can really say. I love my home; I am not planning on leaving my home except in a pine box. There have been many 10 people who have come and gone, some people we remember like Woody our friend Woody. When they are gone, we miss them, but I have always loved living where I live and that is why I still live here. My brother has moved back from Florida to here, he hasn’t lived here in 40 years. I am very attached to Ward 1. Mr. Potoma – One thing that drew us to Parma was the proximity to parks, stores. No matter where you live in Parma it seems like you are very close to what you need. So, another thing that we liked was the different cultures. We have the Ukrainian Village and Polish Village, its nice to have the diversity. On my street a lot of our houses are close together which some people may not like but me and my neighbor a lot of times help each other with different things, snow blowing or mowing or whatever. Especially with my schedule it helps to have neighbors who are willing to help you out. So far, I very much enjoyed living here and like I said, I am invested in staying here. Mr. Miller – When I moved into my house in 2016, I instantly fell in love with my neighborhood. I have lived in Parma since 2007, I lived in Westview Acres Apartments and when I decided to buy a house on Richard Drive, we weren’t even unpacked yet, and our neighbors already brought us food, hey welcome to the neighborhood. That just made us fall in love with Parma. I like all the awards that people get like the beautification, Christmas lights, it’s one of my favorites even though I don’t have the money to do the lights but still, I love the Christmas lights. I like seeing all the uptick in Parma, all the new businesses coming in, all the diversity. Polish Village, I love going there and getting some food, Ukrainian Village, I love that place. I love Parma and me and my wife plan on staying here until we die, I guess. Councilwoman Kohar – How would you handle; you have to make a decision that might not make you politically popular but it’s a decision that you know is necessary for the overall good of your community. It might make you unelectable. How would you handle it? Mr. McCarthy – That’s part of I guess the downside of the job but its necessary. I know this, I have been through it and going through it. Sometimes it’s a hard thing to do and either you are a person of principal or not I guess when it comes down to that. Either you stand by what you believe, or you bend so you don’t break but those are tough things. Anytime you come to that part of the road when you have to make a decision that is not going to make you popular with people maybe even will cost you your job, either you respond, I think it was the way I was raised when it comes down to that, I was raised by good people and that is my foundation so I am always going to make decisions based on that not what is expedient or what is going to please someone or not. I am going to do what is right. Mr. Miller – I would probably take a bullet. If it came down to pulling my dad’s lifeline or having him be a vegetable for the rest of his life. If Mr. Casselberry wants to pass this statute and I don’t agree with it, then I will ask him what can I do to help you improve this? What can I do to help Mr. Euerle improve this, what can I help Ms. Kohar to do this? I want to say that I am a people pleaser, but I am also not a people pleaser. I want to do it for the good of everybody. If I have to take a few punches and give a few punches back, then that’s what I’ve got to do. 11  Ms. Wilson – I think it comes down to moral and ethics. If its unpopular but ethically you know you have to vote in one way, I would just have to do it because at the end of the day I have to do what is morally and ethically correct. Barbara Lee, a Congresswoman, was the only congressperson to vote against the bombing of Iraq and she was celebrated not too long ago because she ended up being correct. It didn’t cost her her job it could have, and I know I would just have to do the right thing. Mr. Potoma – I feel like if you can’t compromise on it and improve it like you said, you have to pretty much vote what is the best vote. Whether its popular or not it just would have to be done. Mr. Casselberry – I do want to thank everybody for coming out. Its tough. You have to put yourself out there when you are doing that, you are campaigning you are putting yourself out there, you will take some punches. You will take punches from people who don’t even know you or don’t know anything about you. We have all found that out, but I appreciate everyone coming up here tonight and letting us know a lot about you. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- EXCUSE OF ABSENT OFFICIALS Motion made by Councilman Casselberry seconded by Councilwoman Shuman to excuse Council President Dipierro and Councilwoman Lime. Motion carried. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ADJOURNMENT Motion made by Councilwoman Shuman seconded by Councilman Euerle to adjourn said meeting at 6:07 P.M. Motion carried. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CERTIFICATION I, Kristin L. Saban, Clerk of Council for the City of Parma, Ohio, do hereby certify this to be a true and correct copy of the Minutes from the Special Council Meeting held on Wednesday, February 1, 2023. _/s/ Kristin L. Saban _____ _/s/ Mark Casselberry _ KRISTIN L. SABAN MARK CASSELBERRY CLERK OF COUNCIL ACTING PRESIDENT OF COUNCIL 12