CITY OF ROCKY RIVER

OCTOBER 15, 2007

The Committee-of-the-Whole was called to order by Mr. Hagan, President of Council, at 8:00 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 announced that the pool is open and being enjoyed by residents of all ages. Approval by the Board of Health was granted on Friday.

The Business to Business Expo was very successful and well-attended, with approximately 120 exhibitors. Through the Chamber of Commerce, they will be evaluating the ongoing success of the Expo including additional business generated and satisfaction expressed by exhibitors.

Information and applications for this year's Apron Plowing Program for seniors have been mailed. Last year the program was very successful and the Mayor is confident of success for this year's program.

This morning, the Mayor, the Law Director, several directors and members of the City's management team attended the open records seminar sponsored by the Attorney General's office. For Council's information, she noted that all elected officials are required to attend a three-hour informational session regarding open records and the Sunshine Law. Times and dates are available on the Attorney General's website. Responding to a question from Mr. Hagan, the Mayor indicated that the requirement is attendance once each term, or attendance by a designated representative. The Law Director will investigate requirements since members of Council have not been notified, nor do they deal with records requests.

Fairview Hospital's Adult Day Care Center celebrated its 20^th anniversary of serving residents and caregivers with a very festive event on Friday attended by a gala crowd including student and adult volunteers. The Mayor extended the City's best wishes and congratulations on serving the community so well for 20 years.

A letter was received early Tuesday morning from the Rocky River Brewing Company following the City's call regarding the testimony received at last week's Council meeting. The restaurant owners acknowledged their pledge during the BZA process and expressed willingness to work with the Administration on this issue and others which arose during the summer and are expected to recur next spring. The Mayor has communicated with the representatives who spoke at last week's meeting and requested that they share any additional complaints they receive.

The Mayor has received a press release regarding the Avon interchange. If Council agrees, a joint economic agreement, which encompasses revenue sharing and a number of other issues dealing with payrolls exceeding $750,000, will be implemented. Avon will put into place some limits on tax incentive and abatements. Cleveland Clinic is exempt up to 500 jobs; currently, Westlake has 450 Clinic jobs. Some dollars generated by the agreement will be put to use for infrastructure improvements such as roadways which approach the Lear-Nagle interchange. There will also be a concerted effort to advocate for both state and federal funding to help finance improvements. Additional details will be presented to Council in the future with an opportunity to join the joint economic agreement.

Thanks to the efforts of Safety-Service Director Linden, County Engineer Bob Klaiber has agreed to extend County assistance to help finance the reconstruction of Westway between Wagar and Detroit. This critical area needs to be upgraded, and Director Linden was able to convince the County to pay 80% of the total cost up to $80,000; the construction estimate is about $113,000. The Mayor thanked Mr. Linden for his hard work and congratulated him on his success in persuading the County to contribute to the cost of the project.

At an earlier meeting which discussed the Avon interchange and the District 12 ODOT projects, information was also disseminated on the timely issue of the state's bridges. In the County, there are 1872 bridges: 902 are ODOT's responsibility and 970 are the responsibility of the County. Of the total 1872 bridges, 194 have a poor rating. In Ohio, bridges are inspected every year and ranked. ODOT does exercise some oversight with respect to County bridges, doing inspections on a random basis. Bridge inspection information will soon be available on line. In addition, the City expects a letter on the bridges in Rocky River which the Mayor will forward to Council.

Candidates in the November election will receive another communication from the City regarding signs. This letter will clarify some regulations:

• •Only one sign per candidate or issue is permitted per lot, including corner lots.
• •The sign size must conform with Section 1163.10.
• • If signs are placed in the public right-of-way, including tree lawns, along train tracks, and along freeway ramps, they will be removed by the City.
• •On private property, a letter or notification will be sent to the candidate who will have a short period of time in which to remove the sign or the City will remove the sign and hold it at the Service Garage for three days.

On Thursday, the School Board will honor Ben Saylor, the City's reporter from the WestLife for his excellence in reporting. He has been named to the 2007 Ohio School Board Media Honor Roll. The Mayor extended the City's congratulations and noted that the honor is well-deserved.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS:

Ordinance No. 95-07: This ordinance, which regulates projecting and temporary business signs, will be discussed at tomorrow evening's meeting of the Planning Commission. Mr. Gollinger indicated that he plans to attend the meeting.

MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS: NONE

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

Parks and Recreation Committee: Mrs. Bartolozzi reported that the Parks and Recreation Commission will meet this week at 8:00 a.m. in the pavilion. Class fees will be discussed.

NEW BUSINESS:

Ordinance No.97-07: Mr. Moran indicated that this ordinance, which authorizes the purchase of meals for the jail facility, is a housekeeping ordinance. For the past several years, the successful bidder has been Michael's, and again this year it was the only bidder. Mr. Linden noted that one other form was returned, but without a bid. (Consent Agenda)

Ordinance No. 98-07: Mr. Hurtuk explained that this ordinance was prepared at the recommendation of the state auditors to rebalance accounts and to be certain that transactions are documented on a timely basis. If Council members have specific questions, he invited them to address them to him or to Mr. Thomas. (Consent Agenda)

Resolution No. 99-07: This is a cash management resolution, and Mr. Hurtuk explained that it will request tax revenues be sent to the City by the County Auditor as they are collected. This will help the City's interest income. Mr. Bemer noted that, with Director Thomas, some modifications may be made. (Consent Agenda)

Ordinance No. 100-07: Mr. Moran indicated that this ordinance will amend the Codified Ordinances regarding right-of-way administration. He called upon Law Director Bemer for his comments.

Mr. Bemer explained that this ordinance came about through the efforts of a number of individuals at City Hall, including the Mayor, Economic Development Director Koran, City Engineer Mackay and Building Commissioner Beirne. He said that this presentation will address the City's needs for all utility use providing for safety, esthetic buffering and will also provide necessary regulation of any new construction or installation and waivers for emergencies or maintenance work to currently-installed facilities. Responding to Mr. Moran, Mr. Bemer noted that the ordinance provides that if the City has contracts with utilities at the present time, contract language would supersede.

Mayor Bobst thanked the Law Director who has worked a long time on this ordinance. She noted that today, right-of-way management legislation was received from the City of Cleveland. She has not yet had an opportunity to review it, but a cursory view shows similarities with Rocky River's proposed ordinance.

The Mayor enumerated some key points about this legislation:

• •It is a way to manage, administer and regulate the City's public right-of-way, which is a limited and valuable resource.
• •It will not only help promote public health, safety and welfare but also help meet the technology needs and utility needs of residents. She noted that the City wishes to manage access, encourage provision of advanced and competitive utilities and services for residents, businesses and institutions, promote efficiency and lessen public inconvenience.
• •It is also important to recoup direct and indirect costs for work in the public right-of-way, providing a protocol for licensure requirements for building in the public right-of-way.
• •The section on landscaping and buffering is very important. The Planning Commission will have the aid of the police to be certain that landscaping does not adversely impact safety.

Mr. Bemer added that although it may seem insignificant, the section regarding obligations of the utility to report specifically the location both horizontally and vertically of their lines is very important. This comes from a situation where this was not done which resulted in litigation and unnecessary cost. This requirement is not included in the state statute.

• •Mr. Moran asked about the Cleveland right-of-way legislation and the Mayor indicated that she will forward the document to Council members via e-mail. Regarding Mr. Bemer's comments about mapping the exact location of utilities, the Mayor added that it is extremely important for the GIS system to have accurate data that can be layered on the GIS. In that way, if work is done on the roadway or in the right-of-way, the exact location of the utilities can be pinpointed. This will enhance the usefulness of the system.

Mr. Hagan asked if the ordinance will require Planning Commission approval. Mr. Bemer said that it will and he will add the necessary language.

As there was no further business by members of Council, the meeting was adjourned at 8:27 p.m.

________________________________ ______________________________

Brian F. Hagan Misao Kurokawa

President of Council Clerk of Council