Safety & Public Works Committee

SAFETY AND PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE MINUTES THURSDAY MAY 2, 2024 8:00 AM VIA ZOOM MEETING Members Present: Anne Williams, Council Chair Tres Roeder, Council Member Nancy Moore, Council Member Sara Schiavoni, Citizen Member James Sammon, Citizen Member Jonathan Hren, Citizen Member Others Present: Jeri Chaikin, CAO Jeff Demuth, Interim Director of Public Works Patrick Sweeney, Chief of Fire James Heath, Assistant Fire Chief Annette Amistadi, Mental Health Clinician William Gruber, Law Director Anna Mates, Planner Jon Cole, Commander Kara Hamley O’Donnell, Principal Planner The meeting was called to order by Council Chair Anne Williams at 8:00 am. APPROVAL OF APRIL 4, 2024 MEETING MINUTES Council Chair Williams requested a motion to approve the April 4, 2024 Safety and Public Works minutes. A motion was made by Citizen Member Jonathan Hren, and seconded by Citizen Member Citizen Member James Sammon. The motion carried. Acceptance & appropriation for grant funding for CALL Program Annette Amistadi, Mental Health Clinician The Shaker Heights Police and Fire Departments are seeking authorization for acceptance and appropriation of funding from Cuyahoga County for $275,000 for the Crisis Assistance and Local Linkage (CALL) Program for the period of May 1, 2024 - May 31, 2025. This funding of $275,000 will go towards the overall budget for Mental Health Clinicians and peer support to respond to eligible crisis calls, as well as having somebody in dispatch. Council Chair Williams opened the floor for questions and there were none. A motion to approve was made by Councilman Roeder and was seconded by Citizen Member James Sammon. The motion carried. Bike Month Anna Mates, Planner Anna Mates, Planner, presented an update on Bike Month in Shaker Heights. On April 29th, 2024 the City of Shaker Heights passed a resolution proclaiming May, 2024 as Bike Month. Sponsored by the League of American Bicyclists, May has been nationally designated as bike month for 68 years to showcase the many benefits of bicycling and to encourage more people to try bicycling. In 2024, the League will recognize Sunday, May 5 as National Ride a Bike Day, May 13 – 19 as Bike to Work Week and Friday, May 17 as Bike to Work Day. The League of American Bicyclists, Bike Cleveland, the Heights Bicycle Coalition, and bicyclist enthusiasts throughout Shaker Heights and other cities will be promoting greater public awareness of bicycling during this time. Council Chair Williams opened the floor for question and or comments, and there were none. Council Chair also advised that this item is informational only and does not need action. County 9-1-1 Plan James Heath, Assistant Fire Chief The Fire Dept. is requesting that the Safety and Public Works Committee support the request to establish a City Ordinance adopting the Cuyahoga County 9-1-1 Plan, per the new Ohio Revised Code requirements. In light of recent State-level legislative updates, Cuyahoga County has urged us to enact a City ordinance to adopt the Cuyahoga County 9-1-1 Plan. They've emphasized that this ordinance must be approved by Council and forwarded to them before May 17, 2024, to comply with the new Ohio Revised Code mandates. Cuyahoga County has maintained an active 9-1-1 plan since March of 1986. This plan was created under the direction of the 9-1-1 committee which consists of representation from the Cuyahoga County Executive Office, the Mayor of the City of Cleveland, a representative from the largest suburb in Cuyahoga County (Parma), a member of the board from the Township Trustees and a representative from the Cuyahoga County Mayor’s Association. The 9-1-1 plan is routinely updated as changes in operations or enhancements in technology occur which allows for Cuyahoga County to stay at the forefront of 9-1-1 communications. In section 1.28.06, a change was made that altered the name of the committee from the 911 Planning Committee to be officially called the 911 Program Review Committee which is staffed by the County Department of Public Services and Justice Services. The committee must meet periodically throughout the year. After the change, it was agreed upon that each municipality will create a resolution nominating and voting for their representative out of the Mayors Association to the Planning Committee. Fire Chief Patrick Sweeney added that the Mayor of Euclid, Kristin Holzheimer-Gail is the current president of the Mayors Association and desires to be their representative and that Bill Gruber, Director of Law, will be drafting an ordinance to go to council, identifying her as the City of Shaker Heights representative. Bill Gruber, Director of Law stated that was correct. Chief Sweeney followed up with stating there are two ordinances coming forth to council. One accepting the 911 plan and one naming the city of Shaker Heights representative for the position on the Advisory Board. Bill Gruber, Director of Law added that a substantial portion of the community must vote in favor of a specific candidate to fully establish the committee. Citizen Member, James Sammon asked if there is a way to go to the board and say, in addition to whoever the Mayor picks, we think five other municipalities should be on this board. Bill Gruber, Director of Law stated since it’s mandated by state law, in order to change it, we would need approval of both the General Assembly and the Governor. CAO Chaikin emphasized, that again, this is governed by state law and even with the new requirement for voting, our involvement remains consistent with the established practices we’ve had for years. Citizen Member Jonathan Hren asked if something happens to the person that is elected, will the voting process have to be done again. Bill Gruber, Director of Law stated he doesn’t know the process for replacing an appointee but assumes the voting process will have to be done again. CAO Chaikin added, right now, we are in a good position because Mayor Holzheimer-Gail is also the elected chair of Chagrin Valley Dispatch which we are part of so we have an extra advocate with her representing us on this group. Council Chair Williams opened the floor for any comments and or questions and there were none. A motion was made by Citizen Member Jonathan Hren and seconded by Council Member Tres Roeder. The motion carried. Lee Road Parking Pilot Project Recommendation for Amendment to Design and Engineering Contract Kara Hamley O ’Donnell Our suggestion is for the Safety & Public Works Committee to recommend that Council approve, a modification to the $56,300 design and engineering contract with GPD Group, incorporating an additional allocation of up to $12,000, for the Lee Road Parking Pilot Project. This added engineering support is crucial to facilitate construction within the stringent timelines specified by the 2024 CDBG/CDSG construction grants. The City adopted the Lee Road Action Plan last year, with planned public infrastructure construction beginning in 2027. As recommended in the Plan, a strategic first action is to develop shared parking and access to improve the district, generate excitement, and create a highly visible and positive impact. As Planning and Economic Development staff strategize to implement the plan, this project has risen to the top due to the importance of eliminating curb cuts prior to roadway reconstruction. Early this year, the City secured $200,000 in County CDBG and CDSG grants to implement the project. Spring 2024 bidding and summer/fall construction is planned due to County CDBG grant requirements mandating substantial completion by September 2024. Since that time, Economic Development and Law Department staff have been working to finalize binding participation and easement agreements. As negotiations continue with the property owners, we need to move forward and engineer two alternative plan drawings. Due to grant requirements that most construction be completed by this September, we cannot delay engineering drawings and we must work simultaneously to finalize both drawings and final agreements. We recommend the Finance Committee recommend that Council amend the $56,300 design and engineering contract with GPD Group to add a not-to- exceed amount of $12,000. Additional engineering now will permit construction during the tight timeframes mandated in the awarded 2024 CDBG/CDSG construction grants. The funding for this supplementary engineering will be drawn from the 2024 Economic Development Operating budget. Council Chair Williams opened the floor for comments and or questions and there were none. A motion was made by Citizen Member James Sammon and seconded by Citizen Member Jonathan Hren. The motion carried. The meeting adjourned at 8:41am. Respectfully, ________________________________________ Anne Williams, Council Chairperson Safety & Public Works Committee