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Boston Heights Overlook

This is a publication of Boston Heights Overlook. Not an official public document by, of or for the Village of Boston Heights OH.

*[All council members were present except Mr. Jim Hudson; also present were Mayor Ray McFall, Clerk-Treasurer Carol Zeman, Engineer Steve Schreiber & Solicitor Russ Pry.]

*[Mayor McFall noted a correction, in that Mr. Wolstein's group "would like to" put in a 20,000 seat stadium, not "have put in...". See last month's notes.]

*[Clerk-Treasurer Carol Zeman announced a Public Meeting to consider the proposed ordinance on tree cutting: 11 June 2003, 7PM at the Village Hall.]
*[Ms. Zeman mentioned a request from Summit County's Child Guidance FACTT Program (Family Academic Collaborative Treatment Team) for donations of supplies, and said she would publicize the requests in the Boston Heights Reports newsletter.]
*[Ms. Zeman announced that Councilor Paul Palumbo was a "super shooter" due to his recent hole-in-one at Boston Hills County Club. Mr. Palumbo's golf prowess received a hand from the audience.]

*[Solicitor Russ Pry reported an upcoming meeting, 15 May 2003, with Mr. Greg Baka of Omni Development, to discuss the consortium's plan for the derelict hotel at Hines Hill and Route 8.
Note: Last word was that the hotel was likely to be demolished and a new business/retail development put in its place. See last month's notes.]

*[Engineer Steve Schreiber stated that he had prepared cost estimates on four road repair projects in the Village (including repair of Colesbrooke; see below). He would present further information at the Road Committee meeting on 27 May 2003.]

*[Mayor McFall announced the upcoming resignation of Fire Chief Bill Baldwin, effective 30 June 2003.]
*[The Mayor also stated that he had informed the Hudson Hub-Times of a misstatement in their recent article on the proposed soccer stadium facility at the Boston Hills Country Club. The paper had quoted the Mayor as stating that the golf course was zoned "Residential-Recreational", while in fact it was simply "Residential". The paper will be publishing a correction.]

*[A contingent of irate citizens turned out from the Ashbrooke West neighborhood, off of Walters Rd., to complain about the deteriorating condition of Colesbrooke Drive, the main road in that development. This situation has continued for some time -- see notes on Council meetings of February 2002, June 2002, and especially September 2002. Extensive roadway damage is visible in this 2000 Aerial photo.

... Ms. Joani (Genet-)Hedderick, of 7093 Colesbrooke, referring to a discussion at the recent Finance Committee meeting, asked Mayor McFall whether he had made contact with Mr. Darrel L. Seibert, President of the Ashbrooke Development Corporation, the original developer of the Ashbrooke neighborhood. The Mayor replied that Mr. Seibert had not returned any of his several calls.

Note: On 12 Jan 2001, Ashbrooke Development was "merged out of existence", into Kingsbury Trace Development Co. Ltd., an LLC of which Mr. Seibert was also a member. On 11 June 2001, this company was in turn "merged out of existence", into:
Seibert Development Corporation, 1340 Corporate Drive Suite 500, Hudson OH 44236 - Phone: 330-689-1930 - Fax: 330-689-1937.

... Engineer Schreiber stated that he had pulled the original plat drawings and had walked the roadway with the Mayor and Road Supervisor Jim Robinson. The Mayor produced pictures of the damaged areas, and agreed that the road was in poor condition. In Mr. Schreiber's view, the current drainage and ditches along Colesbrooke were defective, at a few points due to recent culvert installations. He was arranged to have a survey crew gather information along Colesbrooke and compare this to the original roadway and drainage plans, and expected to have an assessment and recommendation by the next Roads Committee meeting, 27 May 2003 7PM.
... Ms. Hedderick asked whether the developer's insurance or bonding might be liable for repairs. Solicitor Russ Pry stated that he was looking into the insurance angle, but that construction bonds had been released many years ago. He stated that the the Village itself carried no insurance that would be relevant to this situation.
... Ms. Penny Tschantz, of 7076 Colesbrooke, asked how the necessary repairs would be financed. Clerk-Treasurer Zeman replied that such repairs would be financed through the Village's current Road Levy, which raises about $160,000 per year.
... Mr. Bill Morgan (?), of 7124 Colesbrooke, noted that at a meeting with several council members, several months ago, it was agreed that Colesbrooke had been improperly constructed. Note: He was probably referring to the Road Committee meeting of August 2002; see Councilor Hudson's report at the September 2002 Council meeting. Mr. Morgan observed that the roadway was unsafe for chidren and and dangerous to traffic. He objected to attempts to attack the problem too cheaply and temporarily.
... Mayor McFall suggested that the cul-de-sac island may have to be modified to allow better truck access.
... Mr. Morgan asked for a time frame for repairs to Colesbrooke, preferably before summer was over.
... Engineer Schreiber gave his preliminary opinion that the drainage and roadbed required rebuilding, with an early cost estimate of $57,000. He and Solicitor Pry noted that the Village bidding process would allow construction bids to be accepted by July at the earliest. Various citizens chimed in with observations that this problem had been well-discussed for over a year, without any tangible results, and that they wanted the road fixed permanently, and soon. The conversation got a little heated at this point, with allusions to lawsuits etc.
... Councilor Bill Goncy asked how soon the necessary ground survey could be completed. Engineer Schreiber replied that it would be within two weeks. Mr. Goncy noted that drainage must be repaired before the roadbed was addressed.
... Ms. Hedderick asked whether a repair plan would be ready by the 27 May meeting of the Roads Committee, and whether the planning and bidding processes could be expedited. Councilor Mike Cheung explained that some parts of the process were mandated by Ohio law, not the Village; e.g. 15 days for bidding.
... Mr. Steve Blong (?), of 7092 Colesbrooke, asked whether the Colesbrooke repair project was the lowest priority of those mentioned by Engineer Schreiber (above). Solicitor Pry stated that it wasn't up to the Engineer, but rather to Council, to set these priorities.
... Councilor Terry Slane weighed in to assure the residents that the problem was being addressed, and that Colebrooke was not the lowest priority project. She suggested that the Village consider further temporary repairs for the summer, to alleviate the worst hazards. This option was not well received by the residents on hand.
... There was further conversation among Council and officials as to expediting the repair program. Dr. Cheung noted that further information would be at hand by 27 May, whereupon a repair plan and bid package could be prepared, and let for bids. If warranted, special Council meetings could be called on 24-hour notice to expedite the legal processes.
... In answer to a resident's question, Engineer Schreiber stated that swale (ditch?) modifications would be included in this future bid package.]

*[Mrs. Sandra Buckey, of 160 W. Hines Hill Rd. asked for an update on the drainage problem discussed at last month's meeting. Engineer Schreiber stated that the problem was still being looked into.]

*[Councilor Terry Slane reported that she had reviewed the Village's expenditures through April 2003.]

*[Clerk-Treasurer Carol Zeman noted that a survey on water service had been completed in the northwest portion of the village. Of 109 survey forms sent out, 30 expressed positive interest in the water mains project (and presumably in sharing the costs).]