CITY OF ROCKY RIVER

JUNE 4, 2007

The Committee-of-the-Whole was called to order by Mr. Hagan, President of Council, at 8:15 p.m.

Council Members Present: Mr. Gollinger, Mr. Moran, Mr. Hunt, Mr. Hurtuk,

Mrs. Bartolozzi, Mr. Long, Mr. Hagan

Administration: Mayor Bobst, Mr. Linden

Law Director: Mr. Bemer

Press: Mr. Saylor

The meeting was opened with the Pledge of Allegiance.

MAYOR'S REPORT:

The Mayor's first topic was the Lakewood Dog Park. Noting that several residents have expressed their dissatisfaction about the barking and the noise generated by the park, the Mayor indicated that she has placed a call to Lakewood for discussion with Mayor George. Last fall new signage was added; Mayor George met with supporters and organizers of the park to explain concerns and the need to cooperate; Lakewood police and animal control officers were made part of the enforcement process, but none of those steps has been effective. Although there has been some change, there has not been relief for residents. This will be the fifth summer that the Mayor, Councilman Gollinger, Councilman Hurtuk and, Law Director Bemer have dealt with this issue, and the Mayor stated that she is now prepared to explore other options to be certain that Rocky River residents are not impacted as in past summers. She and Mr. Bemer will meet with Lakewood officials to discuss options and alternatives and she will report on those next week. Mayor Bobst acknowledged that she appreciates Lakewood's efforts, but she noted that the buffer they proposed has not been placed, and signage has not been effective, so it is time to explore other options to stop the noise.

Letters have been sent to 14 consultants regarding proposals for revising the City's Development Code.

Councilman Gollinger will present information from last week's meeting held at the airport.

The Mayor is pleased to note, through the Law Director's office, that Norfolk-Southern has received the City's Notice of Intent to establish a Quiet Zone and has forwarded it to the appropriate departments.

The 90+ birthday party at the Senior Center was a great success, and Director Calladine was very happy that so many Council members were able to participate. By way of statistics, the Mayor reported that Rocky River has identified 279 individuals aged 90+, and the Mayor's office produced proclamations for 166 of them; 222 are women and 57 men; 115 are in assisted living facilities or nursing homes and 164 are living independently; three residents who attended are over 100 years of age. The Mayor acknowledged their many contributions over the years and expressed pleasure at being able to celebrate with them.

On Friday morning, the first hearing will be held for the Wooster-Bonnie Bank property.

On June 27 at 7:00 p.m., the public meeting for the reconstruction of Lake Road will be held at the Civic Center. Residents, property owners and business owners will be notified, but all are welcome for the presentation of some of the final alternatives.

More than 900 persons attended the opening of the outdoor pool on Saturday, June 2. Pool pass sales totaled more than $25,000 on that day.

The Rocky River Community Band and Community Chorus will entertain at the first concert of the season this Sunday at the Civic Center, beginning at 7:00 p.m.

On Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. Kensington's DARE graduation will begin at the school and continue with a celebration at the pool.

On June 16, a job fair will be held at the Don Umerley Civic Center from 9:00 a.m. until noon in anticipation of the opening of the newly enlarged Don Umerley Civic Center. Applications for part-time employment will be accepted.

Discussion: Mr. Gollinger expressed hope that next week would bring news that the noise will stop because residents are entitled to enjoy their property without being imposed upon by noise from the neighboring community. The Code of the City of Lakewood, 505.13 prohibits barking or howling. Despite a Council resolution and Lakewood's good intentions, the barking continues. He suggested that at the end of this week's meeting, there should be an understanding that barking will be terminated until a solution for the problem is brought forth. In the past, barking has continued while new plans, which have proved to be ineffective, have been formulated. Leaders of both cities need to respond to the needs of citizens. He hopes for nothing less from this meeting than that the barking will stop until there is a solution that will keep the noise off.

Mr. Moran noted that all on Council and many within the City administration have heard from residents on this issue. He expressed support for the Mayor in her communications with Lakewood. Residents have been as patient as they can, but the time has come to seek solutions to the problem.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS:

Resolution No. 10-07: This resolution will continue on hold until clarification is received from Norfolk Southern stating definitively that additional traffic, if it occurs, will not impact the City's requirements for the Quiet Zone.

• •Law Director Bemer has had a verbal communication with the legal counsel for Norfolk-Southern who was committed to present the Norfolk-Southern's position to the City in writing. This position is that the integrity of the agreement would not be impacted by commuter rail. The 13.9 limitation on freight trains would remain intact, and the agreement would not be abrogated with the addition of commuter rail, but any commuter trains would be over and above the freight trains per day. Mr. Gollinger confirmed that it would have an impact on the safety requirements by the FRA to maintain the Quiet Zone.

Ordinance No. 36-07 and Ordinance No 37-07: Both of these ordinances deal with sign regulations. Mr. Gollinger indicated that both he and Mr. Hunt have had concerns about the wording of the ordinances.

• •Mr. Hunt commented that he has had an opportunity to review Mr. Gollinger's comments responding to his concerns about subsection (e) in Exhibit "A" which is attached to Ordinance No. 36-07. He suggested a meeting to look more specifically at the language and re-draft the exhibit as necessary.

MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS:

Mayor Bobst noted that the most recent issue of SIGNLINE discusses the conspicuousness and readability of signs which is affected by many factors such as motor vehicle speed, sign size, lettering, etc. It is a more scientific approach which leads to interesting conclusions. The publication will be in packets on Friday.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

S.A.F.E.: Mr. Gollinger rreported on the quarterly meeting held last week at the airport. Because the Director, Ricky Smith was unable to attend, Mr. Szabo, his senior administrator presided. There is a potential increase in air traffic during the summer months because of increased travel which will be combined with construction on the property. Mr. Gollinger indicated that runway 624 center will be decommissioned. Runways will also be reconfigured where there is overlap so that there will be a decreased possibility of accidents. Information on noise complaints was received: Rocky River remained constant. Mr. Gollinger has asked for more specific information, but the 14 complaints received for the quarter appear to come from a limited number of individuals. Although noise is unavoidable, Mr. Gollinger indicated that he feels that it is under control. The City's website has a telephone number to report excessive noise if the date and time are noted. The airport staff has pledged follow-up to be sure regulations are being observed.

Safety Committee: Mr. Moran indicated that Section 339 of the Code has been reviewed by Director Bemer, Chief Wagner and Officer Hine regarding truck traffic. By next week, information should be available concerning an update to that chapter.

Also, Mr. Moran was pleased to report the good news that some residents of Heritage House condominiums, site of the 2006 fire, are preparing to return to their homes in October. At the last meeting, Mr. Moran was glad to see that plans are moving forward at a strong pace; he thanked members of the City administration, particularly Kevin Beirne for all the work that made this possible.

Environmental Committee: Mr. Hunt reported that the Cuyahoga County Solid Waste District has issued its 2006 annual report which contains breakdowns on solid waste disposal tonnage, new programs, services, and recycling activities. He will encourage discussion and dissemination of information about the City's recycling services.

• •The Mayor agreed about the importance of the recycling program and residents' cooperation with the program which reduces the volume of the landfill stream for which the City pays and recycling which generates revenue. For special recycling, e-updates are sent and announcements are made on the website.

NEW BUSINESS:

Ordinance No. 58-07. Mr. Hurtuk explained that the Charter requires an independent audit annually. This ordinance will authorize the hiring of the Auditor of State to complete a financial examination. Director Thomas has prepared an analysis of the costs over the last three years which shows that the cost is virtually unchanged, and Mr. Hurtuk asked for distribution to Council members.

Mr. Hagan noted that an ordinance will be presented to provide for Council's recess in August.

As there was no further business by members of Council, the meeting was adjourned at 8:40 p.m.

________________________________ ______________________________

Brian F. Hagan Misao Kurokawa

President of Council Clerk of Council