CITY OF ROCKY RIVER

SEPTEMBER 28, 2009

The Regular Meeting of Council was called to order by Mr. Moran, President of Council, at 8:00 p.m. in the David J. Cook Council Chambers.

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

Mrs. Arabian Whitman, Mr. Long, Mr. Moran

Administration: Mayor Bobst, Mr. Linden, Mr. Thomas

Law Director: Mr. Bemer

Press: Ms. Toth

The meeting was opened with the Pledge of Allegiance.

MOTION:

Moved by Mr. Moran, seconded by Mr. Furry, that the reading of the minutes of the Legislative Meeting of September 14 and the meeting of the Committee-of-the-Whole of September 21be waived, and that the minutes be accepted as submitted.

Vote: Hunt - aye Shepherd - aye Mylen - aye Furry - aye

Arabian Whitman - aye Long - aye Moran - aye

7 ayes 0 nays PASSED

MAYOR'S REPORT:

The Mayor thanked all who planned and participated in the activities of September 19, acknowledging the many efforts which made the Art Festival, Junk in the Trunk, Community Health Fair and the shredding event so successful. She said that the events generated a great deal of positive comment from businesses and residents.

Last weekend's homecoming was also very successful, and the Mayor thanked individuals and civic organizations which participated.

The budget process is proceeding according to schedule with departmental drafts due on September 30. Finance Director Thomas will compile those drafts and meet with the Mayor. This will be followed by meetings with the directors, already scheduled for mid-October. She expects legislation to reach Council in the packets of the first Friday of November with budget books distributed on the following Monday.

Any questions on the tree planting program reported by Safety-Service Director Linden last week should be directed to the Administration.

A letter will be sent to last year's participants in the City's apron snow plowing program. Council members will receive copies of the letter and the application in Friday's packets. Letters will be mailed Friday with additional applications delivered to the Senior Center.

The Mayor has received some e-mails from residents who are concerned that train traffic has increased recently. She noted that in July, the average number of trains per day was 1.8, and in August, 2.4. The perceived increase may be due to the fact that railroad cars being stored on the tracks were moved to other locations.

Mayor Bobst then thanked Jim Toth, a mechanic in the Service Department who has been teaching a car maintenance course, Auto Care 101, which has received rave reviews at the Senior Center. He is also the mechanic who cares for the City's beautiful vintage fire truck used for the homecoming parade and other civic events.

City Music Cleveland will present a free program of chamber music at the Rocky River Methodist Church on October 18 at 7:30 p.m.

Discussion: Mr. Hunt asked how many participants can be accommodated in the apron snow plowing program. The Mayor responded that the limit is 200, and the Safety-Service Director noted that the number was not reached last year. The Mayor added that one requirement is an income of no more than $40,000 along with other criteria.

LAW DIRECTOR'S REPORT:

Regarding Ordinance 48-09, the revision of the Development Code, the Planning Commission will continue to discuss the changes in October. The anticipated meeting with the consultant, David Hartt, is being delayed because of Mr. Hartt's planned trip out of the country. It appears, therefore, that there will be no recommendation to Council before mid-November.

The Civil Service Commission will meet this Friday morning, October 2, at 7:30 a.m. to discuss eligibility lists for the Fire Division.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

Parks and Recreation Committee: Mrs. Arabian Whitman indicated that the Parks and Recreation Commission met last week. At that meeting, it was reported that the membership revenue for August was up 33% from last August. She also noted that the Recreation Department has a reciprocal agreement with both Fairview Park and Westlake for members to use facilities in the other cities when centers are closed for maintenance. Under this agreement, 700 Fairview Park members visited the Rocky River facility as well as 200 from Westlake. Civic Center usage was down a bit, partly due to the fact that the facility was closed for two weeks this August compared with one week last August.

The new cycling room has 15 new top end models of high speed stationary bikes. Instructors underwent a ten-hour training session yesterday to become qualified to lead classes on the bikes. Mrs. Arabian Whitman commented that these bikes are so new there are only three locations in Ohio where they are in use.

COMMUNICATIONS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS:

President Moran noted that the homecoming last weekend was very successful: the football team won, 13-0, and the parade and dance were very well attended.

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION: NONE

ORDINANCE NO. 48-09 BY THOMAS T. LONG

AN EMERGENCY ORDINANCE TO AMEND, REORGANIZE OR DELETE VARIOUS TITLES AND CHAPTERS WITHIN PART ELEVEN OF THE CODIFIED ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF ROCKY RIVER CONCERNING LAND USE PLANNING AND ZONING AND FURTHER KNOWN AS THE DEVELOPMENT CODE, AND DELETE PART THIRTEEN, BUILDING CODE SECTION 1331.01 OF THE CODIFIED ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF ROCKY RIVER

As reported by the Law Director, Mr. Long noted that this ordinance is under discussion by the Planning Commission, and will continue on hold until the Commission's recommendations are received.

ORDINANCE NO. 58-09 BY THOMAS T. LONG

AN ORDINANCE TO CHANGE THE DISTRICT CLASSIFICATION OF CERTAIN REAL PROPERTY KNOWN AS AUDITOR'S PERMANENT PARCEL NO. 303-23-037 FROM ITS PRESENT CLASSIFICATION OF SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL (R-1, F-1) TO GENERAL BUSINESS (GB), IN ITS ENTIRETY, AS FURTHER DESCRIBED IN EXHIBIT "A"

1^ST READING

Mr. Long explained that this ordinance, a rezoning, will be on the Planning Commission agenda for October 20. As with Ordinance No. 48-09, Council will act when their recommendations are received.

MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS: NONE

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION:

James Fleger, 24387 S. Oxford Oval, North Olmsted, Ohio came forward to discuss his sewer bill. He said he did not know what criteria are used, but for his two-family income property at 2299 Westmoor, his quarterly bill shows a double maintenance fee. He said that there is one water meter, one water bill, one sewer line and that water usage for the two units is no more than the average of any single home in the western suburbs. He feels it is unfair that he has to pay a fee for each of the two residences.

• Mr. Moran explained to Mr. Fleger, who does not live in Rocky River, that beginning in 2006 until the vote to implement the fees in 2007, there was much discussion, and the ordinance was read, as required, giving residents an opportunity to comment. It was decided that charges would be made according to household which was thought to be fair to the most residents. The fee was first implemented with the June billing in 2008.

Mr. Fleger reiterated his feelings that he should not pay more than a single home with similar usage. He said that usage charges are very low, that the rates are unheard of, but the fees should not be double that of a single home.

• The Mayor explained that the fees are placed in a Sewer Rehabilitation Fund which finances the Comprehensive Sewer Maintenance and Rehabilitation Plan, formulated three years ago, which the Administration and Council believe is essential. Everyone in the community shares in the infrastructure that is the sewer system-pump stations, interceptors, etc. and $55-$60 million is required to keep the system going. In prior conversations, the Mayor acknowledged that she and Mr. Fleger have agreed to disagree about the fairness, noting that the Administration reviewed many plans, comparing them to North Olmsted, among others, and the Northeast Sewer District. Rocky River believes that this plan is equitable.

• Mr. Fleger repeated that he feels the sewer bill is too high, and Mr. Bemer explained that when this was passed in December 2007, there was a provision for a review every two years. He further stated that any government body has the authority to allocate costs of maintenance and rehabilitation, both to the actual operation of the finance department which sends out the bills, to the allocation of WWTP maintenance and personnel, as well as to allocate the cost for rehabilitation. There is a $50 million rehabilitation project in progress and the cost is being allocated across the board. The fee is part of the sewer bill and is a legitimate charge because the system must be maintained. The hope is to generate $750,000/year so that a little at a time, the sewer system can be rehabilitated.

The other part of the bill is the mcf charge for actual usage. There are different ways of allocation, e.g. category or usage. He said the fee structure is now under review for more equity in certain residential situations. There are many categories such as single dwelling, multiple dwelling, senior housing, public facilities and businesses, and there are different ways of calculating fees, e.g. by category, linear feet, square footage. All have been determined by the courts to be legitimate, reasonably related charges to the property. This community-wide approach cannot be equal, but it is considered to be fair because it bears a reasonable relationship to the value of having a sewer system. City Council and the Administration have determined that using categories is the fairest way to allocate costs.

Mr. Fleger suggested that it should be a tax and voted upon by the community. He said again that the City is charging him double for no reason.

• Mr. Bemer said that those day-to-day operational decisions are made by the Administration together with City Council to allocate funds.



• Mr. Moran said that this has been explained to Mr. Fleger by the Mayor, the Finance Director and the Council President, but that Mr. Fleger did not like the explanations and does not feel it is a fair system. Mr. Moran said that everyone uses the sewer system because there is rain and the sewers need to be repaired.

Mr. Fleger said that he did not know that all residences are charged the sewer fee and he will conduct his own survey.

Tim Storch, 21353 Lake Road applauded the City for the work that has been done on Lake Road and came to ask questions about the traffic, particularly about ODOT's role in the signage on Lake Road.

• Safety-Service Director Linden said that ODOT does not wish to have a sign indicating that Lake is a four-lane road, and there is confusion about having a sign indicating two lanes (two lanes on each side or a total of two lanes). There will soon be "no passing" signs which should solve much of the problem, and there is also a sign at Morewood and Lake that denotes that through traffic must keep right. If drivers recognize that a basic rule from drivers' education states that the lack of a white line down the middle of the street indicates a two-lane highway, it will also help.



• The Mayor added that there will be signs indicating no parking during peak traffic times, and drivers will better understand where and when parking is permitted. Once the section from the Marion ramp to the clock tower is complete, many issues will be resolved.

Mr. Storch commented that he uses Lake Road frequently and approaching the Marion ramp, cars stay in that lane and don't move over until they are around the bend. Mr. Linden said there will be an arrow painted on the street to help motorists, but ODOT did not want more signs on the bridge.

Mr. Storch again expressed safety concerns about driver behavior, and Mr. Linden agreed, but said the situation should improve as drivers adjust to changing patterns.

As there was no further business by members of Council, the meeting was adjourned at 8:34 p.m.

____________________________ _______________________________

James W. Moran Misao Kurokawa

President of Council Clerk of Council