Council Welcomes The University Of Akron To Lakewood

Council Vice President Mary Louise Madigan called the May 7, 2012 Council meeting to order at7:31 P.M. She then asked Council to excuse the absence of Council President Brian Powers, who was missing due to a family matter, and they did so.

Councilwoman Madigan (Ward IV) then asked Council to pass a resolution welcoming the University of Akron to Lakewood. She said that the University of Akron Lakewood is just the most recent of Lakewood's community treasures worth celebrating.

Councilwoman Monique Smith (At-Large) congratulated the board of the University of Akron Lakewood and thanked them for choosing Lakewood for their new campus. She continued, saying that she thinks it is a great combination, especially with the strong younger demographic Lakewood has and the programming the UA is planning to offer. Her final remark was a suggestion that they look into adding IT training to their courses offered as she knows that this field is in dire need of good candidates right now.

The Director of the University of Akron Lakewood, and Lakewood resident, Suzanne Metelko, then got up to say a few words. She began by saying that it all started with the Community of Lakewood University Project which was searching for a a college to team up with as an economic development partner who understood the value of innovation and entrepreneurship partnered with higher education.University of Akron, she said, is that partner. She wanted to be very clear that this was not Lakewood's community college, but the University of Akron in Lakewood and that they will be delivering a strong academic offering.The programs being offered starting this fall include a Masters in Business Administration, a Masters in Social Work, a Bachelors of Organizational Supervision and an RN to BSN program. In addition there will be a wide range of undergrad courses available, many of which are prerequisites for the other programs. There will also be freshman and sophomore classes for newly graduated high school students who are interested in getting some of their entry level college classes out of the way while still living at home. Lastly she mentioned, for those who are life-long learners, there is the 60+ program.

She finished up her remarks by saying that classes begin in August and that they have just begun their open enrollment process.

She then introduced the members of her advisory council, Gary Fix, CEO of First Federal of Lakewood; Lou McMahon, UAL executive commitee, Mike Sherman, Senior Vice Provost of the University of Akron, Dr. Robert Weil, CEO of Lakewood Hospital, John Myers from the University of Akron Research Foundation, Dr. Kevin Bright, Lakewood City Schools Assistant Superintendent, and Chairman Dru Siley, Director of the City of Lakewood's Planning and Development Department.

After Ms. Metelko's statement, Council passed the resolution.

Next Councilman Shawn Juris (Ward III) asked Council to pass a resolution congratulating St. Edwards High School's wrestling team on their 27th state wrestling crown. He continued saying that since he wrestled in high school himself he understands how hard it is to get even one wrestler through to state and seeing how their program has been such a dominating force in the sport he said he is gaining a new sense of appreciation for St. Edwards. He then again congratulated Coach Urbas and his wrestlers.

Law Director, Kevin Butler, then asked to say a few words. He pointed out that Coach Urbas was his first coach in organized athletics in High School, as he himself is a St. Edwards alumnus. He thanked the coach for the impact he had on him and for everything the coach does for all of his students and athletes.

With no more comments, Council passed the resolution.

Coach Urbas then said a few words. He said that this is his 34th year coaching at St. Edwards and that he wanted to thank Lakewood for all of their support. He commented on the stellar team that they had this year, saying that they missed their record by a point and a half. He then announced where all the seniors were going off to college, among them Ohio State and Virginia Tech. All of them will be wrestling in college.

Finance Director Jennifer Pae then asked Council to consider an ordinance that would change fees for the abatement of high grass and weeds violations. The change would eliminate the imposition of minimum defined cost in favor of actual costs. Therefore when the city has to cut someone's grass instead of charging a flat rate the city will figure out how much it cost in man hours, supplies and machine wear and tear and charge the property owner that cost instead. The cost, per cut, would be around $200.

Council referred the matter to the Finance Committee for further discussion.

A representative of the Police Department then read a communication from Police Chief Malley asking Council to pass a resolution allowing the City to accept $1,275 from University Hospitals of Cleveland to help the city participate in both the Click it or Ticket and Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over initiatives. The grant funds would go towards paying overtime for officers who work on the two initiatives throughout 2012.

Council passed the resolution.

A representative of the Fire Department then read a communication from Fire Chief Gilman asking Council to pass a resolution proclaiming the week of May 21-25 as Emergency Medical Services Week. It is a week dedicated to the medical teams that handle immediate decisions about emergency treatment and are committed to making the community stronger. On May 24th, in conjunction with Emergency Medical Services Week, the Fire Department and the American Red Cross will be hosting a blood drive a Lakewood City Hall.

Coming to the end of the agenda, and with no public comments or further comments from Council or the administration, Vice-President Madigan adjourned the meeting at 8:18 P.M.

Council meetings are held every first and third Monday of the month at 7:30 P.M. in the City Hall Auditorium. The next regularly scheduled council meeting will be held on May 21, 2012. For a copy of the agenda or for any other information regarding the LakewoodCity Council, you can find it at onelakewood.com/citygovern_council.html.