We started the evening with three committee meetings. I was the Chairperson for Service and Safety. I opened the meeting for discussion with our our Road Superintendent, as it relates to this year's budget Council was presented that is a $270,000 General Fund deficit. We discussed replacing service garage 6 doors, raise headers and make down to 3 doors. Advised him to acquire multiple quotes. Add a plow truck for this year, to replace truck #2, one of the older ones. We should be in good shape for about 5 years then.
Spoke about 4-5 stormwater projects: Pleasant Valley, Dodd Rd “cage”, Rockefeller Rd and Graylock Rd SW repair and footbridge by Graylock and eliminate that footbridge. Lots of asphalt patching to do. 99% complete on Community Center being switched over to LED lights. The rest of the Police, City Hall, outside Service, all done. This summer for next year's budget, making the salt dome larger or build a new one. 1000 ton capacity, some issues with getting salt. Cargill supplied delays. 300 tons on hand, major event, needs 400-500 tons. We had to skimp. 3 snowstorm events, goes through fast. Had a couple situations Cargill could not supply, we could not store. Guesstimate was $125-150 with existing. Road Paving projects this year: Red Fox; Kenelley, May friars...was not exact but he will stick with the list. Signs for Pleasant Valley road bridge, hang PVC pipe to obstruct truck traffic, as a deterrent, like McDonald's has. Council President Nancy Fellows asked about new plow truck, it has an issue, it's done, but some delay for computerized issue. Will get back to us, next week for sure. (Since this was mentioned at the meeting, we heard we would have it Friday. It was delivered and is in our service garage! (see photo) WH uses 3200-3600 tons usual usage per year. WH can only hold 1000 tons in storage. Our neighbors Wickliffe and Kirtland can hold 4500 - would be looking for 2800-3000sf to house WH salt. Council Vice President Plecnik asked about a resident concern, stormwater, recurring Red Fox Pass, various grate sizes. Pipe size restrictions. Ran out of money to pave Red Fox last year, will use the Street Rating list. I asked “How are we on personnel?” Two eligible for retirement in 4 years, good for now. They work hard. Accomplish a lot. I extended compliments, and shared a few concerns that residents have had about snow events. Discussion about 4 truck routes that divide WH in quadrants midpoint at Rts 6&91. I talked about making adjustments to deal with weather changes within the city, and moving resources as weather permits. More drivers still wouldn't do it. Lack of salt was an issue. Feel free to call him, he said. Mayor had nothing to add. We were open to public comments and then adjourned. Starting just after 6p, I had a Safety Committee meeting - to discuss the budget proposed by the Mayor that is a $270,000 General Fund deficit. I thanked all, introduced and welcomed newly sworn in AFC Serazin and asked him about staffing levels, to help Council plan the budget for the upcoming year. Stable staffing, some overtime issues due to sickness and scheduling, has been cut down. Cutting down on overtime can be accomplished by adding part time personnel. We go to overtime when we staff at 5 because one call off we immediately go to overtime. Hiring full time offers continuity, a full time fire prevention officer, could eliminate half the overtime. We discussed fire equipment needs and then moved on to Police Chief Collins, who noted that adding full time officers was a great help. Some wish list going forward, 911 phone system, to be replaced, digital recording system and police phone system, all need to be changed. Still a little short on replacement plan for cars, should be 4 year. Now only 2-3. Radios need updated to digital countywide. I brought up how there have been some casual discussions about the Dispatch center in the past, communities are looking at a Central location, like Lake County. We should plan ahead, the cost of technology is “putting us out of business”. Forming a committee to explore, and to transition because there are full time people who need to plan ahead. Councilwoman Majka thanked Chief Collins for keeping Council in the loop on recent chase into Euclid and others issues, drug and theft, Mazda dealership, discussed a substation near her district. Collins working with owners of closed First Merit bank building to operate out of there daily, costs, negotiation this week. Operating computers, security alarms, call boxes, working with Mayor and owners to decide what costs involved. Also with our manpower and day shift are doing more checks, at the west side, more aggressively using automation license plate readers, patrol activity. A substation could help, with high presence. Adding two full time is the first increase in service that anyone can remember in a long, long time. Thanked them for being here and thanked them for their service to our community. Vice President Plecnik held a Finance meeting, I am a member along with President Fellows and Councilwoman Pizmoht. We reviewed the budget that has been presented to Council from the Mayor and it is in a deficit of $270,000 in the General Fund. The consensus was to not raise taxes to cover this but to find ways to balance the budget for this year. The budget is due to be passed at the last meeting in March. The regular council meeting began just after 7pm. We set aside 4 vetoes of the Mayor. The first was to hire a firm to investigate collusion between the former law director and Mayor with a newly formed “secretaries” union. Next was to clarify rules for email addresses and expending city funds for appropriate mass communications. Also set aside was the ordinance to engage the services of a firm to do a forensic audit of records to ensure funds are spent appropriately. Finally, the suspension of funds allocated from the WHISPER fund created by the Mayor and his secretary to give aid and personal service to senior citizens, without rules, regulations, and records that were acceptable to review. I asked our law director for legal guidance on the Mayor's objections, and he found them without merit. Council heard from the Lake County Engineer's office and Mr. Exley informed us that there is a proposed $5.00 license plate fee that would go to the Engineer's office for bridges and repair work. We thanked him for stopping by. Council left the Prosecutor hire on hold on third reading. There will be more clarity at the outcome of the Mayor's lawsuit against Willoughby Hills. A trial is set to begin on Monday March 5th. We again reiterated that all the conflict that has been created can be stopped, with the Mayor dropping his case against the city. A Mayor must follow laws that are passed by a Council. It's as simple as that. The budget is on first reading, the sports league contract on third reading was not able to be passed because the Council's Recreation Chairman Hallum has not held a meeting to review it. We also authorized gravel and asphalt purchases so our roads will be patched. Council recognized the heroic actions in the line of duty for two police officers. The entire Resolution was read and applauded by all. Council meeting audio link. It's about an hour. http://www.willoughbyhills-oh.gov/mtg.0222.18.MP3 Comments are closed.
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Dave's Notes from the MeetingsThis is an effort to keep my constituents informed, check this page for updates. Archives
January 2020
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