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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.

VILLAGE OF BOSTON HEIGHTS

45 E. Boston Mills Road
Hudson, OH 44236

REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING - August 11, 2004 - 8:00 P.M.

AGENDA

[and Editor's Notes on Council Meeting. Of special interest: Council Notification Rule.]

ROLL CALL

All council members were present: Bill Goncy (President Pro Tempore), Mike Cheung, Jim Hudson, Annette Miller, Janet Miller, and
Paul Palumbo (who arrived after roll call).
Also present: Mayor Ray McFall, Clerk-Treasurer Carol Zeman, Engineer Steve Schreiber & Solicitor Russ Pry.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

APPROVAL OF AGENDA

MINUTES PRESENTED FOR CHANGE, CORRECTION OR ADOPTION

Minutes approved for the July regular meeting, and for the July 27 Special Meeting.

CORRESPONDENCE

Village Engineer Steve Schreiber reported:

• He and Councilor Bill Goncy had met with the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) on the proposed rebuilding of the Akron-Cleveland Road bridge. The Village, in conjunction with the County, will be seeking over $1M in Federal funds to finance this project. He projected the project to begin in 2006 or 2007, with bids possible in 2005. Solicitor Pry asked Mr. Schreiber to confirm that the Village had the necessary legalities in place to supervise this project; he replied that it did, but that the County, which is working on the plans for this project, continues to increase its cost estimates.
  Mr. Schreiber noted that a recent inspection show continuing deterioration of the bridge, and erosion around it. He would notify the Village Streets Department to do something, temporarily, about the erosion.
• The sewer line construction project along Olde Eight Road, for Meghan's Lane subdivision, was proceeding -- but slowly, and possibly for two more weeks. The contractors had hit many utility lines and had to repair them.
• The grading contractor at Meghan's Lane had been cited for allowing eroded runoff to run into an adjacent property's pond. This was fixed (and the owner, Mr. Dick Donley, sends his thanks, according to the Mayor.)
• Road paving should begin next week in the Annabelle Lake Estates subdivision, north of Ashbrooke West. A few more "soft spots" in the roadbase needed to be dealt with, first.
• The Colesbrooke Road repaving project appears to have ended about $27K under budget, pending a final accounting by the contractor, Tri-Mor Paving. Mr. Schreiber has asked for their quotation on fixing the worst areas of Norbury Drive (and, according to the discussion at the recent Finance meeting, possibly a few other soft spots in the neighborhood).
• Karvo Paving would be performing their contracted crack-sealing along Olde Eight Road at the end of August. This was part of the contract for that paving last year. Mr. Schreiber would also be negotiating closing costs for Karvo's abortive paving project on Colesbrooke last summer.
• The proposed new septic system for the Village Hall and Fire Station is still pending approval of plans.

Mayor Ray McFall reported that he visited Omni's derelict hotel at Route 8 and Hines Hill Road, formerly the Days Inn, last Friday. A contractor had been engaged by the owner to pump out the basement, where there was 6-8 feet of standing water. Removal of black mold would then begin. The Mayor stated that he had received assurances that, after 4-6 weeks of cleanup and asbestos remediation, the entire hotel would then be demolished by about 1 October.

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION

Mrs. Jane Robinson, of Olde Eight Road, offered thanks to Solicitor Russ Pry for the successful resolution of the Brumfield zoning dispute. She also applauded Engineer Steve Schreiber for resolving the runoff into the Donley pond (see his report, above). And she thanked Street Commissioner Jim Robinson for resolving the blockage of her property's drainage culvert by the sewer construction crew working on Olde Eight Road.

Mrs. Robinson also asked about the status of the rumored relocation of South Pointe Meridia Medical Center from its Sagamore Hills location. The Mayor has previously stated that he got in touch with their management to offer to discuss Boston Heights locations. Mayor McFall reported that the latest word from their Medical Director was that they were "assessing" the information they had already gathered; he will stay in touch.

Ms. Mary Griffiths, of Olde Eight Road, complained that Council routinely passed legislation with no explanation other than the title. She asked Village officials to make a practice of offering some brief explanation of each item. She also complained of the lack of final landscaping at the Liberty Harley-Davidson site on Hines Hill Road, and called for more overview of landscaping in the Village planning process.

A little later, Ms. Griffiths asked more pointedly whether the Village was doing anything to enforce landscaping plans for new development. Councilor Mike Cheung, who represents Council on the Planning Commission, pointed out that the Zoning Code does require landscaping plans, and even a bond for their completion. He admitted that the Village could probably do a better job in following up such plans. He added that Liberty Harley-Davidson had been originally proposed as just the initial stage of a larger development, and that no interim landscaping plan had been offered or approved, nor bond required. Mrs. Robinson suggested that such landscaping plans were often not required, when they should be. Councilor Paul Palumbo noted that Hudson was very emphatic in its demands for such plans.

Ms. Jenny Krivicke, of 7781 Olde Eight Road, complained that a damaged fire hydrant in front of her property had remained unrepaired for about 10 months. She asked what the Village was doing about it, adding that Cleveland Water and the Village Fire Department were "pointing fingers at each other". Clerk-Treasurer Carol Zeman said she would take the matter up with Fire Chief Jim Robinson and find out what could be done to resolve this.

Mr. William Hinkle, of Boston Mills Road, stated that he had objections to Ordinance G-2004 (below), which he had offered to Council in writing and email. (These were regarding the proposed ordinance's lack of limitation on required mowing area, and inconsistencies with the rest of the effected Chapter 521). He also asked whether proposed Ordinance H-2004 (below) had been evaluated by Council as to its agreement, or conflict, with similar language in the Zoning Code Section 1157.09(b).

Finally, Mr. Hinkle asked whether the Village would perform any inspection overview of the cleanup and demolition of the derelict hotel (see the Mayor's report, above). Engineer Schreiber replied that this process was the domain of the Building Department (so he would not be providing inspectors). He added that certified abatement contractors must be used, and registered with the Village. Mayor McFall stated that Jerry Seifert's firm, which is handling the hotel remediation, was such a contractor.

Mrs. Jane Robinson stated that she had compared the Village's handling of nuisance abatement to that of neighboring communities. She felt that the Village should put "more teeth" into its handling of such matters. Solicitor Pry took the opportunity to explain the process of the Village's Nuisance Abatement Board, and pointed to the promised demolition of the derelict hotel as a successful outcome of that process. He also pointed out that in some cases, the Village would be strapped for the cash necessary to remediate nuisances, even if billed back to the owner; for example, the hotel's demolition costs were estimated at $800K.

ORDINANCE G-2004 [Third Reading] [Referred back to Finance Committee]	AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 521.12(a) OF THE CODIFIED ORDINANCES OF THE VILLAGE OF BOSTON HEIGHTS TO PROVIDE FOR A NEW CHAPTER 521.12(a) REGARDING "WEED CUTTING" AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. See Solicitor Pry's remarks on this at the June meeting. Some objections were raised by the audience (above) as to a lack of limits on required mowing area and other details of the proposed ordinance. Upon a motion by Councilor Cheung, the matter was referred back to Finance for further consideration.
ORDINANCE H-2004 [Third Reading] [Approved as Ordinance 14-2004, as amended]	AN ORDINANCE CREATING A NEW CHAPTER 1375.05 OF THE CODIFIED ORDINANCES OF THE VILLAGE OF BOSTON HEIGHTS ENTITLED "MAXIMUM TIME FRAME FOR INSTALLATION OF LANDSCAPING FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION". This is intended to enforce the installation of landscaping per approved plans, within eight months of issuance of an occupancy permit. In view of the audience inquiry (above) as to how this meshes with similar language in Zoning Code 1157.09(b), Councilor Cheung proposed an amendment that served to make this provision in the Building Code subject to any other requirements elsewhere in the Code. This amendment was approved, and the ordinance approved as amended: 1375.05 Maximum Time Frame for Installation of Landscaping for New Construction. Unless otherwise directed by the Planning Commission or Council, or otherwise provided for by these Codified Ordinances, any landscaping required to be installed pursuant to these Codified Ordinances, plans approval by the Village Engineer, or Building Inspector, or pursuant to any variance, conditional use, or other order or directive from the Planning Commission or Council, shall be completed and installed within eight months from the date of issuance of the occupancy permit for the premises.
ORDINANCE P-2004 [Approved as Ordinance 15-2004]	AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 183 OF THE CODIFIED ORDINANCES OF THE VILLAGE OF BOSTON HEIGHTS AND PROVIDING FOR A TWO PERCENT (2%) LEVY ON INCOME TAX FOR THE PURPOSES OF GENERAL OPERATIONS, MAINTENANCE, NEW EQUIPMENT, EXTENSION AND ENLARGEMENT OF MUNICIPAL SERVICES, INCLUDING CONTRACTED EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES, FACILITIES AND CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS WITHIN THE VILLAGE OF BOSTON HEIGHTS AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. Answering a question from Councilor Bill Goncy, Solicitor Pry explained that the ballot language is dictated by the Secretary of State. In view of concerns that this would be taken as an entirely new, additional, 2% tax, Mr. Pry said that the Village would be petitioning the SoS to permit ballot language that would specify that this is an increase from the current 1.5% rate. This measure, in conjunction with Resolution 33-2004 (FF-2004) below, puts the 2% income tax rate back on the November ballot, at the General Election.
ORDINANCE Q-2004 [Approved as Ordinance 16-2004, as amended]	AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE PERMANENT ANNUAL APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE VILLAGE OF BOSTON HEIGHTS FOR THE YEAR 2004 AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. This ordinance enacts the budgeting changes that have been mooted at various special meetings over the past month. See: Special Finance Meeting, 20 July 2004, and Special Council Meeting, 27 July 2004. Clerk-Treasurer Zeman asked for an amendment to correct a typographical error in her documentation of the amended appropriations. This amendment was approved, and the ordinance approved as amended. Here are the new appropriations (from Exhibit A): GENERAL FUND Program I Security of Persons and Property 526,322.00 Program IV Community Planning and Zoning Other Community Environment 14,000.00 15,000.00 Program VI Street Maintenance and Repair Street Cleaning, Snow & Ice Removal 151,700.00 - - - Program VII Legislative Activities (Council) Mayor's Court Clerk-Treasurer Solicitor Other General Government Contingencies 8,700.00 53,300.00 45,000.00 46,000.00 80,000.00 - - - ROAD LEVY 308,000.00 L.E.T.F. 3,500.00
RESOLUTION FF-2004 [Approved as Resolution 33-2004]	A RESOLUTION SPECIFYING THE DATE OF THE ELECTION ON ORDINANCE 15-2004, AND DIRECTING THE BOARD OF ELECTIONS OF THE COUNTY OF SUMMIT TO CONDUCT THE ELECTION. This measure, in conjunction with Ordinance 15-2004 (P-2004) above, puts the 2% income tax rate back on the November ballot, at the General Election.
RESOLUTION GG-2004 [Approved as Resolution 34-2004, as amended]	A RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING A RULE FOR NOTIFICATION OF MEETINGS OF THE COUNCIL, COMMITTEES, AND SUBCOMMITTEES , COMMISSION AND BOARDS OF THE VILLAGE OF BOSTON HEIGHTS, OHIO. Here is Council's notification rule. This rule establishes a means for citizens and media to be notified of Council meetings, whether regular or special, and what they are about. This is required by the state's Sunshine Law (Open Meetings Law). A Village resident raised this issue at the previous Finance Committee meeting, and offered a model resolution and rule; the actual rule approved was a version reworked by Solicitor Pry. Mr. Pry asked that the language "Commisions and Boards" be struck from the title of this measure, as he would be offering a generic rule for adaptation and approval by those other bodies. This amendment was moved and approved, as was the amended resolution.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Councilor Mike Cheung had no report on the Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals meeting of 4 August 2004, as he had been unable to attend. Solicitor Pry briefly recapped: a zoning request was rejected due to lack of anyone to speak to it, and for the applicant's apparent lack of standing; a sign and gatehouse at Meghan's Lane subdivision was withdrawn pending submission of the homeowners' association agreement.
The next meeting of the Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals will be on 1 September 2004.

Council President (Pro Tempore) Bill Goncy reported that he had reviewed the Mayor's Court bank reconciliations through July 2004. He had also reviewed the Clerk-Treasurer's bank reconciliations, and fund balances, through July 2004.

Mr. Goncy also added that he had attended the ODOT meeting on the Akron-Cleveland Road Bridge project, and had voiced the Village's concerns about the continuing deterioration of that bridge.

Councilor Jim Hudson reported that the Roads Committee had met and reviewed the usual doings of the of the village's Streets Department. In addition, that committee had held a special meeting on 2 August to consider an ongoing dispute over a drainage ditch created in Ashbrooke West, to channel stormwater from the new Annabelle Lake Estates subdivison. (At that meeting, the Road Committee took no new action, deferring to the decisions of the Village Engineer.)

Councilor Janet Miller recapped her recent visit to a Hudson City Council meeting, where they had adopted their new Comprehensive Plan without proposed language that had called for the Hudson School district to be limited to the City of Hudson. Instead, Hudson added language calling for growth management planning with adjacent communities. Ms. Miller added that she had discussed this further with Mayor Currin, City Manager Elliot, and some council members, and that Hudson was eager to begin these discussions with the Village. They had suggested an initial Mayor-to-Mayor meeting to "kick off" the discussions. Councilor Goncy added his observation that Hudson's immediate concern was with the increasingly-large residential development proposed for for the former Tamsin Park, in Boston Township but also in the Hudson School District. He suggested that the Village might offer support for the Hudson Schools with a letter to Cuyahoga Falls and Boston Township.

OLD BUSINESS

NEW BUSINESS

Councilor Bill Goncy announced that information on the Village's Storm Water Management program would be on display at this Saturday's Flea Market at Matthews-Thomas Park.

Mayor Ray McFall noted the Fire Department's upcoming Clambake on 11 September, stating that tickets were available from the firefighters and some Village officers.

ADJOURN