City Council

RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MONDAY, JANUARY 12, 2015 – 6:30 P.M. MAYOR MATTHEW E. BRETT PRESIDING MEMBERS PRESENT: Binder, Carroll, Dishong, Koons, Porter. MEMBERS ABSENT: Kostura. OFFICIALS PRESENT: Fiscal Officer Romanowski, Police Chief Rizzo, Street Commissioner Johnson, Building Inspector Heilman, Solicitor Ondrey, Engineer Haibach, Fiscal Auditor Lechman VISITORS: Barbara Stiebeling, East Bel Meadow Lane; Faith Pescatore, Novelty; Cindy Nairn, Whitetail Drive; Patty Mills, Manor Brook Drive; Ed Pyle, Potomac Drive; Ted Kruse, Bell Road Mayor Brett called the Regular Council meeting to order and led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. Fiscal Officer read the roll. Regarding the December 8, 2014 Council meeting minutes, Koons brought attention to amending the year of Karvo’s completion date on page 2 from 2014 to 2015. Koons moved to approve the regular meeting minutes of the December 8, 2014 Council meeting as amended, seconded by Dishong. Roll call – ayes, all. Motion carried. Binder arrived at 6:35PM. VISITORS: Pescatore and Stiebeling presented some additional information to Council concerning their disinterest on having the circus return to South Russell Village. They mentioned the petition that was previously presented to Council with about 500 signatures from people that would also like to see circuses banned from the Village of South Russell. They have been attending meetings since July and have invited some of the people that signed the petition to come to the January 26th meeting. Stiebeling stated that she hopes if the Jaycee’s ask for approval to use the park for another circus that Council would tell them they aren’t ready to make a decision until they hear from the public. More discussion will be held at the January 26th meeting. Cemetery Committee members Pyle, Nairn and Mills attended the meeting to address any questions or concerns regarding the price list presented. Dishong said he would like to double the lot cost for the cemetery because he feels that if people want to be buried in the Village that they will pay whatever is required. He feels that the Village can always lower the prices if Council feels that the market isn’t as high as expected. Binder added that the Village is providing a service for eternity and the Village will run out of funding within 20 years for maintenance of the property, so he would like to see the extra income as well. 1/12/15 COUNCIL MEETING Page 1 of 6 Pyle reviewed previous proforma’s presented by the Cemetery Committee. He stated Council has changed some of the plans presented by the Cemetery Committee, which showed a positive cash flow for the first year when including non-residents and a columbarium. Mills said this was intended to be a service to the community and Nairn said she has concerns about the negative cash flow in the future but she feels smaller increases in the future is better than doubling the prices now. Mayor said the prices are able to be amended as needed but the Village should try to avoid the changes unless necessary. Binder stated that Council appreciates all of the Cemetery Committee’s dedication but Council is concerned that the cemetery may fill up too fast if opened to non-village residents. Dishong added this is going to be a first-class cemetery and that Council wants to make sure the cemetery has longevity. The concept of different pricing for more desirable lots was debated. Porter feels Council should approve the Cemetery Committee’s recommendation on pricing and increase the prices depending on the demand of the sales. Mayor would like to have a decision made at the February 9th meeting but further discussion will be held at the January 26th meeting. MAYOR’S REPORT: Mayor reported in his 2014 State of the Village Report that it was a good year with many projects completed. The duty room at the Police Department was updated as well as an additional bay at the service garage. The Building Commissioner, David Hocevar retired and Building Inspector Heilman was appointed as a Department Head with Hocevar continuing to work for the Village Building Department as a contractor. The Village reappointed Davis to the Fire Prevention Officer position, which he served on years ago. The Administrative Assistant position was changed from part-time to full-time and three new part-time patrolmen were hired. The cemetery construction occurred with a few items to finish in 2015. The Bell Road project is very close to completion as well. The Safety Levy was renewed by the voters and several of our yearly services such as trash and shred day were continued. The Mayor said that a few upcoming 2015 projects include the Lantern of South Russell project, Police Department roof and siding, the repair of the Village Hall front porch, lighting and electrical updates. The Mayor asked that the Building Committee report back to Council regarding the changes in the structure of the Building Department and how it is working. Mayor is interested to see how House Bill 5 will impact the Village. The Village will have to review contract renewals and Mayor asked that the Utilities Committee review the options of providing one trash hauler in the Village. The Mayor would like to hold a mock disaster in order to be prepared if the need arises. The year-end financial numbers will be presented at the January 26th meeting. 1/12/15 COUNCIL MEETING Page 2 of 6 Mayor asked for approval to the minor updates of the Rules and Procedures of Council. Carroll moved to approve the Rules and Procedures of Council as amended, seconded by Koons. Roll call – ayes, all. Motion carried. Dishong moved to appoint Bill Koons as President Pro-Tem, seconded by Binder. Roll call – ayes, all. Motion carried. Mayor reappointed David Maistros to the Zoning Board of Appeals. Mayor asked for approval to reappoint Cindy Nairn and Patricia Mills to the Cemetery Committee. Dishong moved to reappoint Cindy Nairn and Patricia Mills to the Cemetery Committee, seconded by Koons. Roll call – ayes, all. Motion carried. Mayor asked for approval to reappoint Danielle Romanowski as the Tax Administrator and Jim Davis as the Fire Prevention Officer. The website updates were completed by the Street Commissioner in the past but this responsibility has been added to the Administrative Assistant’s job description starting this year. Koons moved to reappoint Romanowski as Tax Administrator and Davis as Fire Prevention Officer, seconded by Dishong. Roll call – ayes, all. Motion carried. Mayor reviewed the 2015 Committee appointments as follows: Building Committee: Bryan Kostura, Chairman John Dishong Emergency Operation Planning Committee: Mike Carroll Mark Porter John Dishong Finance Committee: Bryan Kostura, Chairman Bill Koons Human Resource Committee: John Dishong, Chairman Mike Carroll Park Committee: Bill Koons Planning Commission: Bryan Kostura Properties Committee: Bill Koons, Chairman Jack Binder 1/12/15 COUNCIL MEETING Page 3 of 6  Public Utilities Committee: Mark Porter, Chairman Mike Carroll Safety Committee: Mike Carroll, Chairman Jack Binder Streets Committee: Mark Porter, Chairman Jack Binder Koons moved to approve the Committee appointments, seconded by Dishong. Roll call – ayes, all. Motion carried. Mayor gave an update on the Lantern of South Russell project and said that summer rains created muddy water to flow into the Chagrin Lakes. Mayor met with the owner and Hocevar and it was determined that there is a potential of using the construction deposit to fix the issues. Last year, Gates Mills had a lot of activity with fracking and drilling and has been discussing how this situation should be managed. A group from that community will be meeting in the near future and Carroll has volunteered to be involved with them. The Farmer’s Market submitted an agreement to continue using Village property for the Farmer’s Market in 2015. Dishong moved to approve the Mayor and Fiscal Officer to enter into an agreement with the Farmers Market, seconded by Carroll. Roll call – ayes, all. Motion carried. The Mayor stated that due to the light salt usage in December, the Village could probably sell some excess salt to local communities. The Village is obligated to purchase at least 1,700 tons of salt. The Mayor said the Village will need to formalize a process for this at the next meeting. FISCAL OFFICER’S REPORT: The Fiscal Officer reviewed her monthly report. The year- end financials will be ready at the next meeting. The Fiscal Officer reported that SiteTech has submitted a request for payment for the cemetery fence and the website changeover is running smoothly. Requests for reimbursement of tuition for Dahlhausen and Romanowski were presented to Council. Porter asked if there is a limit of how long an employee has to work for the Village before they are eligible for the tuition reimbursement. Fiscal Officer stated there is no limit in the handbook but the employee has to continue to work for the village for two years after the reimbursement or they will have to pay the Village back for half of the amount paid to them. Dishong moved to approve the request for tuition reimbursement from Jennell Dahlhausen and Danielle Romanowski, seconded by Koons. Roll call – ayes, all. Motion carried. 1/12/15 COUNCIL MEETING Page 4 of 6 FISCAL AUDITOR’S REPORT: The Fiscal Auditor presented his report to Council and reported that he and the Fiscal Officer balance to the penny on all funds. The revenue for 2014 was higher than past years. ENGINEER’S REPORT: The Engineer presented a new contract from CT Consultants. BUILDING INSPECTOR’S REPORT: The Building Inspector has scheduled for the Police Department roof and siding repairs to be completed this spring and she is waiting for some additional quotes for other Village projects. The Lantern of South Russell is continuing with their construction and is in the process of pouring concrete footers. POLICE CHIEF’S REPORT: Chief referred to his year-end report and requested approval to send out bids for a new cruiser. Binder moved to allow the Police Department to send out bids for a new SUV cruiser, seconded by Carroll. Roll call – ayes, all. Motion carried. Cable Communications is still working on a quote for the campus camera system. They would like to give Council a small presentation about their equipment in the beginning of February. STREET COMMISSIONER’S REPORT: The Street Commissioner referred to his monthly report and stated that December was a mild month for snowfall. Salt for this year has been ordered. Trash day has been scheduled for May 2nd, with cooperation from the Department on Aging to assist the elderly residents. Holiday decorations will be taken down before the end of the month. SOLICITOR’S REPORT: The Solicitor has been working on updating the Zoning Code and Subdivision Rules and Regulations so they can be added to the Village website. There were several changes over the years that needed to be included into one electronic version. COMMITTEE REPORTS: Binder, Carroll, Koons and Porter had no report. Dishong reported that the newsletter is at the printer and will be sent out soon. ORDINANCES/RESOLUTIONS: Binder gave second reading to an ordinance enforcing a curfew in the Village of South Russell. Binder introduced a resolution for the Mayor and Fiscal Officer to enter into contract with CT Consulting for Engineer services for the Village of South Russell from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2016. 1/12/15 COUNCIL MEETING Page 5 of 6 BILLS LIST: Dishong moved to approve the December 2014 Financial Statements as submitted, seconded by Koons. Roll call – ayes, all. Motion carried. Dishong moved to ratify the December 15, 2014 bills list #2 in the amount of $4,379.10, seconded by Koons. Roll call – ayes, all. Motion carried. Dishong moved to ratify the December 30, 2014 bills list in the amount of $40,523.52, seconded by Koons. Roll call – ayes, all. Motion carried. Dishong moved to approve the January 15, 2015 bills list in the amount of $29,047.05, seconded by Binder. Roll call – ayes, all. Motion carried. NEW/OTHER: Binder, Carroll, Dishong, Koons and Porter had no new business. ADJOURNMENT: Being that there was no further business before Council, Dishong moved to adjourn, seconded by Binder. Roll call, ayes - all. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 8:07 PM. ______________________________ ______________________________ Matthew E. Brett, Mayor Danielle Romanowski, Fiscal Officer Prepared by Jennell Dahlhausen 1/12/15 COUNCIL MEETING Page 6 of 6