Council Returns From August Recess With Full Agenda

Upon returning from their August summer recess, Council President O’Leary called the Tuesday, September 6th meeting to order with all members of council in attendance and quickly disposed of the July 18th meeting minutes.

Old Business

Committee of the Whole (COW), O’Leary (Ward 2): The COW report discussed two main items. First, a potential weatherization program presented by Councilman Bullock and Mayor Summers. The COW is recommending immediate adoption of the program on first reading due to the time sensitive nature of the program. Second, IT Program Director Mick Polletta presented on the audio-visual technology updates that are now available for Council Meetings, including the video-feed that will be published to the City’s website here: http://www.onelakewood.com/councilvideos/.

Finance Committee, Bullock (At-Large): The Finance Committee report also contained two main items – a discussion of the Community Development Block Grant and Emergency Services budgeting process and proposed Ordinance 33-16, which was discussed later in the meeting.

Health & Human Services Committee, Marx (At-Large): Councilwoman Marx summarized the discussion of the July 25th meeting with representatives from the Cuyahoga County Board of Health (CCBH). The focus of this meeting was on the efforts to improve lead safety among children in Lakewood. Marx noted that the rate of children in Lakewood with elevated lead levels (5.8% in 2014) has been declining, but that they are working with the CCBH to improve outreach to vulnerable populations to further address the issue.

Rules & Ordinances Committee, Litten (Ward 3): Councilman Litten briefly mentioned the committee’s suggestion to replace the existing city ordinance regarding auto insurance coverage for contractors to better reflect industry standard. The existing amount is seen as onerous and, in the opinion of the committee, should be reduced.

Planning Commission, Senior City Planner Bryce Sylvester: Sylvester introduced substitute language regarding an existing proposal to make changes to the sanitary and zoning codes related to family swimming pools. Council accepted the minor changes and passed the ordinance unanimously as this was the third reading.

New Business

Weatherization Agreement, Bullock (At-Large): Expanding upon the mention by Councilman O’Leary (Ward 2) in COW, Bullock explained that he, along with Mayor Summers, were requesting emergency approval to enter into an agreement with Empower Gas & Electric to help expand the understanding and options available to Lakewood residents for weatherization and improvements to the energy efficiency of residential buildings. The City would pay for Empower to research and follow-up with homeowners across the entire city with a $20,000,000 Cleveland Foundation grant. Councilpersons O’Malley and Anderson both expressed concerns about entrusting Empower, a fairly unknown private entity here in Lakewood with data on private homeowners as well as how the follow-up (aka “sales-pitch”) would work once possible improvements to a residence have been identified. Mayor Summers assured them that these concerns were discussed at length and that the City would monitor the program carefully. The resolution was adopted unanimously.

Citizen’s Advisory Committee, Bullock (At-Large): Bullock officially reappointed Troy Bratz to a 1-year term on the CAC.

Official City Reporting Language, Bullock (At-Large): Bullock suggested removing outdated references to the use of mimeographs from City ordinance language. His suggestion was deferred.

Lakewood Park Skate House, Mayor Summers: The Summers’ Administration, in partnership with Lakewood Historical Society, would like to revisit options for improving the Skate House. His communication was referred to Public Works Committee for further discussion.

Amendment to FY2016 Appropriation Ordinance, Director Pae: Director Pae requested an amendment to the Appropriation Ordiance in the amount of $15,000 for fitness equipment as part of the City’s ongoing wellness initiative for City employees. It was referred to Finance Committee.

Amendment to the FY2016 Membership Ordinance, Director Pae: Pae requested the addition of the membership dues for the professional association of The Ohio Mayor’s Alliance to the existing Membership Ordinance.

Fedor Manor Service Coordinator, Director Gelsomino: Director Gelsomino requested emergency approval of a revised agreement between the City and SS C&M Haven for funding for an existing position based out of Fedor Manor and serving the Birdtown neighborhood at large. After brief discussion of the history of the contract with the City, the resolution passed unanimously.

Community West Foundation Grant, Fire Chief Gilman: Chief Gilman presented Council with notice of a grant from the Community West Foundation in the amount of $72,471.76 to replace EMS Life Paks (in ambulances) and AEDs (in police vehicles). Gilman presented a video of the capabilities of the new devices to Council and explained that this grant will complete the updates on front-line vehicles for Lakewood’s fleet. Additional replacement equipment for use in other areas/vehicles will be part of the regular budgeting process.

Obsolete Turn Out Gear, Fire Chief Gilman: Chief Gilman requested and received approval of his resolution requesting the donation of old Turn Out gear that has since been replaced to the Western Reserve Fire Museum for educational purposes.

Cove & Wagar Park Planning Updates, Senior City Planner Sylvester: After over 6 months of planning and collecting feedback from residents Cove & Wagar Parks are close to 80% designed. From surveys to community meetings to online feedback, Sylvester (and several council people), noted that residents, as well as the YMCA and Recreation Department have been very engaged in the process thus far. Next, the Planning Commission will review the designs and Sylvester is aiming to have final designs for both parks by year’s end. This will allow for an informed budgeting process. Councilman Anderson asked about a discussion that has come up about closing off a portion of Rosewood Ave by Grace Presbyterian. While this would add 11% more park space to the existing Wagar Park footprint, the concept has received mixed feedback from residents. Changes to traffic patterns and emergency vehicle access are also being evaluated as part of the concept.

Division of Engineering Project Submission, Director Beno: Director Beno submitted 2 projects for review that are being submitted for consideration for the 2017 Program Year to the Ohio Public Works Commission. Beno explained that these projects (if funded) are still about 2 years out from the start of construction.

Liquor Permits, O’Leary (Ward 2) and O’Malley (Ward 4): Several liquor permit changes were requested and approved by their respective Ward Council representatives. These changes included Birdtown Beverage, Walgreens on 117th St., and the Walgreens at Madison and Warren.

After a brief public comment session by Tom Monahan regarding some concerns he had heard from residents over their recent experiences at the Lakewood ER, the meeting was adjourned.