Index Home Contact Us!

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 - April 13, 2005 - 8:00 P.M.

AGENDA

[and Editor's Notes on Council Meeting.]

[with notes from the Finance Committee Meeting of 22 March 2005]

[Note: in most cases, Council votes to "suspend the rules" and dispense with the three readings of each ordinance otherwise required by ORC 731.17.]

ROLL CALL

Council members present: Bill Goncy (President Pro Tempore), Mike Cheung Jim Hudson, Annette Miller, Paul Palumbo, and Janet Miller.
Also present: Mayor Ray McFall, Clerk-Treasurer Carol Zeman, Solicitor Russ Pry. Mr. Edward A. Franks PE of ACLA sat in for Engineer Steve Schreiber.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

APPROVAL OF AGENDA

MINUTES PRESENTED FOR CHANGE, CORRECTION OR ADOPTION

Minutes of the March 2005 meeting were approved, as were those for the 14 March 2005 special meeting (a mysterious executive session meeting). Also approved were minutes from the 25 February 2005 special meeting and 24 February 2005 special meeting. These were held to railroad through expedite approval of the Meghan's Lane subdivision plat and improvements.

CORRESPONDENCE

Mr. Edward Franks noted correspondence from Village Engineer Steve Schreiber to the Mayor:
The EPA has written to the Village recommending that it do an intensive assessment of the septic facilities at the Village Hall & Fire Station complex. Otherwise the EPA will do such an assessment itself. The agency notes that regardless of who does the assessment, expensive repairs may be required. Note that the Village is trying to obtain permission (and funds) to entirely replace these septic systems with a single new consolidated facility. Mr. Schreiber suggests waiting for some further information from the County Sewer District.

Repairs to a storm sewer on Colesbrooke Drive are substantially complete.

State Issue 2 funding applications are due in June; Mr. Schreiber will discuss applications for the long-proposed water mains project (in the northwest Village) and the Akron-Cleveland Road Bridge rehabilitation project.

Mr. Schreiber has also directed a letter to the Mayor regarding the recently-solicited bids for immediate repairs to that same Akron-Cleveland Road bridge. Solicitor Russ Pry, however, suggested that Council refer that agenda item (Resolution P-2005) back to the Finance Committee "for financial reasons". (Ed. note: These reasons appear to amount to a lack of funds to actually pay for such repairs.)

Mayor Ray McFall announced the Park Board's Senior Dinner would be held Saturday, 16 April. The Fire Department would be holding its annual Steak Dinner fund raiser on Saturday, 21 May 2005. The Mayor reported that Dominion East Ohio Gas had notified the Village that it must pick a natural gas supplier by 2007, as the company would thereafter stick to just delivering gas, not selling it.

Mayor McFall also noted that Fire Chief James Robinson had been selected to an award for his work in saving a man's life last summer at the Boston Hills Country Club. Chief Robinson would be receiving a 2005 EMS Star of Life "You Gotta Have Heart" Award.

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION

No one in the audience had anything to say this month, but see Sara Fenderbosch's remarks below, in New Business.

LEGISLATION

ORDINANCE N-2005 [Adopted as Ordinance 14-2005]	AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 1305.01 AND 1305.02 OF THE CODIFIED ORDINANCES OF THE VILLAGE OF BOSTON HEIGHTS AND UPDATING THE NATIONAL ELECTRICAL CODE OF THE VILLAGE OF BOSTON-HEIGHTS TO COINCIDE WITH THE REVISIONS TO SAID STANDARD CODES. This brings the Village's electrical code into compliance with the newly-updated 2005 National Electric Code (NEC, NFPA-70). The new code will go into effect in 30 days.
ORDINANCE O-2005 [Adopted as Ordinance 15-2005]	AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 137.02(d) OF THE CODIFIED ORDINANCES OF THE VILLAGE OF BOSTON HEIGHTS REGARDING BENEFITS FOR AUXILIARY POLICE OFFICERS AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. This ordinance clarifies that auxiliary police officers are not covered under the Village's health care policy (unless otherwise required by the state), and will not accumulate sick leave nor be entitled to holiday pay.
ORDINANCE P-2005 [Adopted as Ordinance 16-2005]	AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 137.20(g) OF THE CODIFIED ORDINANCES OF THE VILLAGE OF BOSTON-HEIGHTS REGARDING COMPENSATION OF AUXILIARY POLICE OFFICERS AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. This ordinance strikes out the provision that required all auxiliary police officers to work only within the Village, and as volunteers receiving only $1.00 annually. Presumably this is intended to remove some statuatory conflict and allow auxiliary officers to be paid real wages.
ORDINANCE Q-2005 [Adopted as Ordinance 17-2005]	AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE 2005 APPROPRIATIONS ORDINANCE (ORDINANCE 8-2005) AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. Clerk-Treasurer Carol Zeman explained this item as follows: Summit County's recent certification of property tax revenues came in about $2,000 less than expected. Therefore appropriations had to be similarly reduced. Fortunately, the Village's insurance bill came in much less than expecting, more than covering this shortfall. Therefore that account, A1-7E-230 in the General Fund, was adjusted to $55,900.
RESOLUTION O-2005 [Adopted as Resolution 14-2005]	A RESOLUTION ACCEPTING THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF THE VILLAGE OF BOSTON HEIGHTS FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY, 2005. There was no mention of who on Council, if anyone, had actually reviewed the various financial statements.
RESOLUTION P-2005 [Referred to Finance Committee]	A RESOLUTION ACCEPTING THE BID OF _________________ FOR THE REPAIR WORK TO THE AKRON CLEVELAND BRIDGE. On the advice of Solicitor Russ Pry, Council voted to refer this matter back to the Finance Committee. Apparently they're not quite sure how to pay for these repairs, regardless of the bids.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Councilor Mike Cheung reported on the Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals meeting of 6 April 2005. A sign was approved for Spa Palace on Akron-Cleveland Road, along with a new site plan for additional outside pool displays and stock. A sign modification was approved for the Comfort Inn. The Planning Commission recommended to Council a rezoning request that would permit Omni Realty to build a 57A shopping center and a 20A office park on Boston Mills Road. This was contingent on the PC's recommendation of Omni's profferred development agreement, with specified modifications and caveats. Dr. Cheung thought that a Public Hearing would be held on this matter before the June 2005 Council meeting.
The next PC/BZA meeting is 4 May 2005 at 7PM.

Council President (Pro Tempore) Bill Goncy reported on the vast number of meetings that he attended in the past month: Summit County Plan (county planning, public walkways promoted); Storm Water Management Program (riparian setbacks); AMATS (more noodling over high-speed rail); Cuyahoga Valley Nat'l Park and MetroParks (Akron-Cleveland Road bridge vs. right-of-way re-routing); yet another AMATS meeting; a Cuyahoga Valley Communities meeting; a Route 8 Marginal Road meeting; a Fairview Cemetery Board meeting. The latter resulted in a recommendation that vault trucks be prohibited from entering through the antique decorative archway.

Councilor Janet Miller noted that a Safety 2 Committee meeting was needed to discuss plans for expanding the Fire Station.

OLD BUSINESS

NEW BUSINESS

Councilor Bill Goncy, noting that Fire Chief Jim Robinson had joined the meeting, offered him Council's congratulations on his award. Council and the citizens gave the Chief a round of applause.

Sara Fenderbosch, owner of Rainbower Gallery on Olde Eight Road, and also a resident there, addressed Council on her concerns about the newly-dug roadside ditches along her part of Olde Eight. She pointed out that these ditches were much deeper and steeper than they had been for many years. This was posing a problem for pedestrian traffic, notably her daughter. She asked whether anything could be done to ameliorate this or otherwise provide a pedestrian walkway. There was some discussion on earlier proposals to stripe Olde Eight with a bike lane, but apparently the road had been found to be too narrow. Mr. Goncy noted that the ditches had been restored to their design specifications for proper road drainage; previously they were just ineffective. No one on Council had any proactive suggestions to offer; Mr. Goncy pointed out that the Village had no funds to undertake any projects of this scale, but said they'd keep the problem in mind when looking for other funding.

ADJOURN

FROM THE FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING OF 22 March 2005

Oddly enough, only Council President Pro Tempore Bill Goncy showed up for this meeting, along with Clerk-Treasurer Carol Zeman and Solicitor Russ Pry. Lacking a quorum of the Finance Committee, there was no official business transacted. However, a few points were mentioned informally:
- Fire Chief Jim Robinson: The Fire Department's investigation into pricing for a new fire truck found that dealer pricing was running 1-2% lower that state bid pricing, for the time being.
- Clerk-Treasurer Carol Zeman: regardless of the bids received for repair of the Akron-Cleveland Road Bridge, there is no money available in the Village budget to pay for it -- not until September or October. The first half of this year's Road Levy receipts must go to repay the loan taken for last year's repairs to Colesbrooke Road in Ashbrooke West.
- Police Chief Joe Varga: the 25MPH speed for Akron-Cleveland Road near the broken bridge south of Route 303, adopted back in February, cannot yet be enforced because the the speed change warnings had not yet been posted for 30 days.
- Road Superintendent Jim Robinson: wants to advertise for summer help. Solicitor Russ Pry: talk to the Mayor.
- Councilor Bill Goncy: there is a possible buyer for the old Ohio Roll Form factory on Chittenden Road. They may be looking for a tax abatement.