CITY OF ROCKY RIVER

JUNE 16, 2008

The Committee-of-the-Whole was called to order by Mr. Moran, President of Council, at 8:03 p.m.

Council Members Present: Mr. Hunt, Mr. Shepherd, Mr. Mylen, Mr. Furry,

Ms. Arabian, Mr. Long, Mr. Moran

Administration: Mayor Bobst, Mr. Linden

Law Director: Mr. Bemer

Press: Mr. Saylor

The meeting was opened with the Pledge of Allegiance.

MAYOR'S REPORT:

Community Challenge, the City and the schools will sponsor a forum this Wednesday at the Don Umerley Civic Center from 7:00 until 8:30 p.m. The forum, entitled "One Child is Too Many" will focus on how Rocky River is proactively addressing youth drug and alcohol issues.

A new ordinance, No. 80-08, which authorizes a contract for the 2008 paving program, will be added to this evening's agenda for discussion. This contract will allow the paving projects for Gasser, Cottonwood and full depth replacements in parts of Christensen Estates to move forward.

Any Council comments regarding the draft of the Development Code update should be forwarded to Economic and Community Development Director Kory Koran who will, in turn, forward them to consultant D.B. Hartt. The next meeting with Mr. Hartt will be July 8 at 7:00 p.m.

Charter amendments are on Council's agenda for discussion this evening and will be addressed by Law Director Bemer. The Mayor also noted the presence of Kate Straub, who works in the Building Department and also served as secretary to the Charter Review Commission and thanked her for helping the process to move forward smoothly and effectively.

Regarding the outdoor aquatic facility, 2455 passes have been sold to date, generating $98,630. A number of programs are also in session, including Learn-to-Swim, recreation teams, and camps. Registration and attendance have been excellent, and the Mayor complimented to the Recreation Department which evaluates each program to be certain that it meets the needs of residents, which insures a good enrollment response.

Sunday's newspaper discussed a recent FAA grant received by the airport to study noise. Details of the study and its impact on Rocky River will be discussed at the airport noise meeting scheduled for June 30.

The Senior Center van has arrived and is being outfitted. This fuel-efficient van will be accessible for residents and will support the Senior Transportation Program. The Mayor thanked Safety-Service Director Linden who worked tirelessly to design a van that would meet seniors' needs. The van should be in service by mid-week.

The Greek Festival is this weekend at St. Demetrios Church on Center Ridge Road. Festivities begin on Thursday and continue through Sunday. The Mayor noted diners can call ahead for take-out and pick up at the drive-through. She recommended that residents attend and enjoy all the cultural activities and fun that are planned.

This morning, Building Commissioner Beirne indicated that the Tartine Bistro, a new wine bar on Old Detroit in the historic city hall building, will open this week.

A concert will be held on Sunday in Rocky River Park. Revolution Pie, a Beatles tribute band, will perform.

New playground equipment has been installed at City Hall Park. There will be a second phase next month when Early Childhood PTA's donation of two additional pieces will be installed.

Mr. Moran added his thanks to those of Mayor Bobst to Kate Straub for keeping Council updated on the work of the Charter Review Commission. The Mayor added that Mrs. Straub served in the position in addition to her regular position at City Hall.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS:

Ordinance No. 36-08: This ordinance adds right-of-way administration to the City's Code. Mr. Shepherd indicated that Council has received a revised exhibit noting changes made to the chapter. He commented that the changes are relatively minor; references to "reconstruction" have been deleted, but that has been covered by other wording. He expects to move to amend the ordinance at the next Legislative Meeting, request a third reading and move for passage.

• •Mayor Bobst added that AT&T is anxious to begin construction for Project Lightspeed. She noted that this ordinance does not have emergency wording in the title, although it is stated in Section 2. She asked the Law Director if the title of this ordinance should be amended or if Section 2 is sufficient to allow the ordinance to take effect immediately rather than following the 30-day waiting period. Mr. Bemer said that for clarification purposes, it would be a good idea to add the change to the title when the ordinance is amended.
• •Mr. Furry asked if agreement has been reached with Mr. Spellacy, AT&T counsel. Mr. Bemer responded that he had spoken with him twice last week and once the week before and he had suggested changes, some of which were implemented and others not included. Most of the revisions involve clarifications to be certain of consistency, particularly in 913.05 and 913.06. AT&T's request for bond reduction which was not adopted. This exhibit was e-mailed to Mr. Spellacy and other utility counsels last Tuesday with notification that it would be discussed this Monday with an anticipated vote next Monday. No further comment was received.



• •Mr. Furry further asked whose definition of "emergency" would be acceptable. He was referred to the definitions at the beginning of the chapter. Mr. Bemer explained that the notice requirement was placed so that the City would have advance warning when service would be disrupted and the Police Division would know when traffic could be disturbed.



• •Mr. Long asked about 913.06 (f) on the landscape buffering requirement for new facilities. He wondered if existing Lightspeed facilities would be considered new or old. Mr. Bemer said that if it is there, it is an old facility. The Mayor indicated that she understood Mr. Long's concern that this legislation was not in place during the last buildout when the large boxes were placed. She said that even when the buildouts are on private easements, AT&T is willing to do additional landscaping. For some, it will not be practical to add landscaping because of location, but in residential areas, e.g. Bonnie Bank, the company will be asked to add landscaping. Mr. Long said that the gentleman who is renovating the corner house has put a lot of effort into the project and landscaping would soften the appearance of the boxes in front of his property. The Mayor said that while the company is not required to add landscaping, in the spirit of moving forward with this project, they will be asked to look at these locations again.



• •Mr. Mylen asked how many installations are planned for Project Lightspeed. The Mayor said that the plan is to have 35 cabinets. At one time, more than 50 were planned, but because technology has evolved, the company is able to cover the area with fewer boxes. The Mayor has discussed with Commissioner Beirne a protocol for those projects as they arrive at the Planning Commission: if cabinets are in the right-of-way, they must go through the Planning Commission. There will probably be a general presentation by AT&T regarding Project Lightspeed and the equipment necessary. Then they will present clusters in the same general area. Prior to that presentation, the Building Commissioner will review the sites in the field in cooperation with the Police Division for safety, line of sight, construction and landscape issues. By the time the issue goes to Planning, the locations will have been seen and issues resolved. The City is working with AT&T to find as many private easements as possible to move them off the public right-of-way.



• •Mr. Moran mentioned that during earlier discussions, a map was produced which showed the proposed locations. The Mayor said that the map should still be accurate, and proposed buildout coincides with other AT&T equipment locations. Very few are new sites, and they are using a lower profile box.

Ordinance No. 63-08: Mr. Furry explained that this ordinance will add Chapter 1311 to the Codified Ordinances addressing the storm water management program, erosion, sedimentation, and the quality of storm water runoff. The Planning Commission will meet tomorrow when certification of their minutes is anticipated. The third reading, then, will be next week with a vote to follow. Mr. Furry added that in a weekly title report, he read that three or four national builders had been fined $4.3 million for violations of similar regulations.

Ordinance No. 64-08: Mr. Furry noted that this is a companion ordinance to Ordinance No. 63-08and adds Chapter 1315 which deals with illicit discharge and illegal connection control. As with No. 63-08, he anticipates that the Planning Commission will certify its minutes and he anticipates a third reading and vote on passage next week.

Ordinance No. 66-08: Mr. Mylen noted that this ordinance will be considered for passage in conjunction with Ordinance No. 67-08 in New Business. This ordinance authorizes the purchase of tandem axle cabs and chassis; Ordinance No. 67-08 authorizes the purchase of the bodies. Mr. Linden said these will replace two 1996 vehicles in the fleet. The budget vehicle list provided for the purchase of three packers, but the Service Division will try to do its job with just two new vehicles. Mr. Mylen noted that this purchase is at last year's prices and includes the trade-in of the old vehicles.

MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS:

Ordinance No. 80-08: Mr. Hunt explained that this ordinance will authorize the City's annual paving program for selected streets. This year the lowest and best bid was submitted by Fabrizi Trucking and Paving as shown in the exhibit attached to the ordinance. Their bid is $232,000 below the Engineer's Estimate. (Consent Agenda)

• •Mr. Linden added that two areas were reviewed for repaving. This ordinance will allow the rehabilitation of Cottonwood and Gasser with repairs for some streets in Christensen Estates as well as Struhar and Jameston. He said that it was decided to go forward with these additional repairs because good bids were received. This project will last until October (120 days) so he would like to see it move forward as soon as possible.



• •Mr. Furry asked about bids which were shown as being adjusted for errors. Mr. Linden said that they were errors in addition which were corrected. Further, he added that Fabrizi has done work for the City for years and has proved to be very reliable.



• •Responding to a question from Mr. Hunt, Mr. Linden acknowledged that these streets were taken from the Street Evaluation list. In fact, on Struhar and Jameston, the concrete base has been lost and must be replaced.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

Parks and Recreation Committee: Ms. Arabian indicated that the City Hall Park playground is scheduled to be completed by Wednesday, but Director Patterson has indicated that in the preschool area, there will be some delay because they are waiting for funding. Everything should be complete for summer, however.

NEW BUSINESS:

Ordinance No. 67-08: Mr. Mylen noted that this is a companion purchase to the tandem axle cabs and chassis discussed earlier. Mr. Linden reiterated that the City used to purchase the trucks in one piece, but now the cabs and chassis can be purchased through the State, which saves money. (Consent Agenda)

Ordinance No. 68-08 through Ordinance No. 77-08: Mr. Bemer explained that these ordinances were debated in a diligent fashion by the Charter Review Commission. He continued by explaining the modification proposed by each ordinance: (Consent Agenda for all)

Ordinance No. 68-08 and Ordinance No. 69-08: respectively address the qualifications for mayor and council deleting the same language concerning the prohibition against serving in the military in excess of one month. He noted that Section 3 of each Ordinance specifies the Charter language to be reviewed by the Board of Elections.

Ordinance No. 70-08: concerns the qualifications for Law Director. The Commission believed that the qualifications were too strict and the provisions concerning the statewide qualifications for judges are more appropriate. This adds an alternate qualifier of five years' experience in general legal practice.

Ordinance No. 71-08: clarifies the fact that the operation of the Civic Center is not to be included in the jurisdiction of the Parks & Recreation Commission, similar to the existing language concerning the ice rink and the outdoor swimming pool. He emphasized that no powers were being removed from the Commission, only clarification of their charge.

Ordinance No. 72-08: concerns the timing of the Parks and Recreation Commission's recommendation of budgetary needs to City Council. This clarifies the language and allows their budget to be presented with other budget reports.

Ordinance No. 73-08: concerns the ability of the Finance Director to invest City funds more in line with provisions of the Ohio Revised Code, giving a bit more discretion to investments which are secure, but not underwritten by the state or federal government.

Ordinance No. 74-08: allows for the statutory maximum for bids to be modified from the current level of $15,000 to whatever is provided by the current state law. At present, that figure is $25,000. With this ordinance, a modification need not be requested every six years and the Commission felt it would be more prudent to allow the Charter to be consistent with the State Code.

Ordinance No. 75-08: concerns nominations and elections. The language was suggested and highly encouraged by the Board of Elections and endorsed by the League of Women Voters (LWV) to hold primary elections on the second Tuesday in September rather than the seventh Tuesday before the regular elections. This suggestion was made so that there would be one primary day throughout the County which would result in great savings for all municipalities.

Ordinance No. 76-08: concerns making the last day for declaration of party candidacy to run concurrent with state law. This means changing the deadline in the Charter from 60 days for the primary to 75 days before the primary.

Ordinance No. 77-08: was suggested by a Commission member, Rick Manoloff, who had participated in Lakewood's Charter Review Commission several years ago. This language was suggested there at that time, but was not adopted. It would allow City Council to correct spelling errors, obsolete language, and make non-substantive changes rather than going to the ballot for every change. This was welcomed by all members of the Commission.

Discussion: Mr. Shepherd asked if the last ordinance, making changes to the Charter has been tested. Mr. Bemer said that it has not, but there is precedent for allowing for councilmanic for those items that are provided some degree of specificity in home rule communities for Charter provisions.

Ms. Arabian asked for an example of an application of Ordinance No. 77-08. Mr. Bemer reported that a sister community added a primary election to their process, but did not provide a date for the primary. According to their Charter, Council had the ability to set the date. The Mayor pointed out that there are typographical errors in the Charter, or the use of a word which does not impact intent, but is incorrect. This Charter Review Commission was focused on correcting many errors, but sending them all to the ballot would be too cumbersome.

Mr. Moran commented that he had heard discussions at Charter Review meetings concerning one or two words which would not impact meanings, but should be changed.

Mr. Bemer introduced Linda Bartolozzi, a former Council member who served as co-chairman of the Charter Review Commission. She came forward and explained that there are a fair number of instances in the Charter where the message is not clear. When it was originally written, word processing was not yet available, and typographical errors or poor word choices may not have been modified because of the labor involved. This ordinance would give the Charter a better image and allow it to say what is meant without typographical errors or archaic wordings. Council would have the flexibility to improve on the appearance of the Charter without having to submit every change to the ballot. The Commission felt this could be a helpful vehicle to make these changes. It may be that in six years, if this is approved, the next Charter Review Commission will propose changes of this kind.

Mr. Long asked if there is any difference in handling these ordinances which have come from the Charter Review Commission. Mr. Moran responded that they must be passed without change. Mr. Bemer suggested that they be placed on the Consent Agenda.

Mr. Mylen asked about the use of "his" in referring to the Mayor. The Mayor and Law Director pointed out that it is addressed in the Charter which indicates gender neutrality.

• •Mrs. Bartolozzi reported that the issue was raised by Charter members. If read from the beginning, he or his is used throughout. This is not addressed until Article X.

Mr. Moran commented that it is not for Council to approve of what is said, but to acknowledge that Commission meetings were held, recommendations made, and to pass the ordinances.

The Mayor added that there will be considerable community dialogue regarding various changes. In the past, the LWV has presented information on all ballot issues either in a forum or in print.

As a final comment, Mr. Bemer said that minutes were crucial to keep the Commission on track. He thanked Mrs. Straub for her excellent scrivener abilities.

Ordinance No. 78-08: Mr. Hunt observed that this legislation will authorize the sale of vehicles in the City's fleet which are no longer needed for a public purpose. Mr. Linden has provided details on the public bidding process. Monies that will be collected will go to the General Fund except for the proceeds of the pickup truck from the WWTP which will go to the WWTP Utility Fund. (Consent Agenda)

Mr. Moran thanked Mr. Connelly, present this evening and other members of the Building Department for the updates sent regularly to Council members.

Ordinance No. 79-08: Mr. Hunt noted that this ordinance which authorizes the hiring of a contractor for cutting grass helps keep the housing stock well maintained and properties from becoming unsightly. The Building Department identifies these properties and owners are then notified. If no action is forthcoming, the weeds and mowing are handled by a contractor, engaged by this ordinance for this season. The funds that are expended are assessed to the tax duplicate of the property for collection. (Consent Agenda)

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

The Mayor indicated that a resolution has been prepared acknowledging the services of the Charter Review Commission and the work of Council. This will be on next week's agenda, and the members of the Commission will be invited to attend the meeting.

Mr. Moran also reminded everyone of the St. Demetrios Greek Festival which presents a great opportunity for residents to come together.

• •Ms. Arabian seconded his comments and observed that people of the church have been meeting and cooking every week since February to make this festival a success. She invited everyone to attend.

As there was no further business by members of Council, the meeting was adjourned at 9:03 p.m.

______________________________ ______________________________

James W. Moran Misao Kurokawa

President of Council Clerk of Council