Council Meeting Minutes
January 14, 2008
The
All in attendance stood for the Pledge of Allegiance.
Mayor Dodaro said that two members of council need
to be sworn into office. Keith Riedel
was re-elected and Ray Olexa has agreed to be appointed for the next four year term that replaced Hank Smitley’s
chair. The Law Director, Allan M. Michelson,
swears both Riedel and Olexa into office.
They received a round of applause from all.
Present:
Mayor Joanne Dodaro, Clerk-Treasurer Cathy Osborn, Law Director Allan M.
Michelson, Council Members Keith Riedel, Katrina Sommers, Terry Gray, Debbie
Bican, Ray Olexa and
Barb Hunter.
Motion made by Gray to accept the minutes
from the December 10, 2007 council meeting.
Olexa seconded.
6
Ayes. Motion approved.
The Clerk-Treasurer reported
the following bills to Council:
Engineering
Associates 386.46
Elite
Excavating
C Martin Trucking 42.90
Cathy Osborn 863.78
Joanne Dodaro 218.45
Robert Locher,
Jr. 409.83
Allan M.
Michelson 277.70
Ohio Treasurer of
State 127.31
Peters
Professional 4,160.00
Treasurer of
State 465.00
Bureau of
Workers’ Compensation 251.00
Verizon North 58.01
Medina County
Sheriff’s Office
3,339.97
Bill Zweifel 1,025.00
Total Of All
Bills $19,845.20
Motion made by Riedel to pay the bills
from their proper funds. Sommers
seconded. 6
Ayes. Motion approved.
Mayor Dodaro opens the floor for
nominations for President of Council.
Motion made by Bican to nominate Keith Riedel as President of
Council. Gray seconded. 6 Ayes. Motion approved. Motion made by Sommers that the nominations be closed. Hunter
seconded. 6
Ayes. Motion approved.
Mayor Dodaro
gives her State of the Village Address.
Mayor Dodaro wished everyone a Happy New Year. She said that the village is entering into
2008 in good shape. The village has had
many changes and we seem to have survived them all. The biggest change was probably the sale of
the lake. It is her belief that there is
a feeling of trust between the village and the Medina County Parks District as
they keep us “in the loop” of everything they are
doing.
The village finally got its storage
facility built by the town hall and there is more work ahead of us. Katrina has done a fine job working with
Kerry Illes of Illes Architect. Mayor
Dodaro gave her personal thanks to Katrina for all her time devoted to this project.
Parks and
Mayor Dodaro said that the village has
been working real well with the Sheriff’s Department
and Deputy Jim Harhay to keep our village safe.
She thanked Deputy Harhay and Terry Gray for the extra time and effort
they have put in lately. Mayor Dodaro
asks them for help in looking at the security system on a more regular
basis.
Of course, our roads project has had a few
snags which was no fault of the village. The village owes Keith Riedel a debt of
gratitude for the many hours he puts in.
Engineering Associates has also done a lot of good work for us.
There were two council resignations this year which were Hank Smitley and Mary Leahy. The village was lucky enough to replace them
with Ray Olexa and Barb Hunter. Barb is
the new community relations representative and she is busy trying to attend
local meetings whenever possible. Ray
had his work cut out for him when he started as he went right into zoning. There were a lot of
big issues going on in zoning. Ray has
done an outstanding job looking into and researching every issue. He is not alone doing that as his Zoning
Board has also stepped up to the plate this year. The Zoning Board: Brent Osborn, Don Bican, Paul Vereb and
Shelly Wharton have all researched the variances, deed restrictions and other
issues brought before them and came to some very good conclusions. The village is very fortunate to have them on
our Zoning Board and she hopes for an easier year for them than they had this
past year.
Mayor Dodaro said she would be remiss not
to mention how much the village relies upon Bill Zweifel. He is always there to help with whatever job
needs to be done.
The village is very fortunate to have Bill available to us and we don’t know what we would do without him. Thanks Bill!
Mayor Dodaro also thanked Allan Michelson
for all his help this year. Allan has
been extremely valuable in helping with many issues that have come up. Allan is the person many members of village
council go to for answers to their questions.
Unfortunately, no members of the public
were present at the financial planning meeting prior the council meeting to see
what a great job Cathy does with the budget and keeping our money straight
every year. She teaches us what we can
and can’t spend as hard as we try to spend every penny…….she
won’t let us. She keeps the village in
good financial shape and we all thank Cathy for what she does.
Mayor Dodaro couldn’t let this address go by
without mentioning the ski team as she has a fondness for them. The village is now home of three national
champions on the ski team which gives us an obligation
to support them. We are lucky to have
this unique organization in our village that no one in the state has.
The last thing that happened in this
village that was great was the voters passing a levy on the first try. Mayor Dodaro said the passage of the levy on
the first attempt means, or she hopes it means, that the voters think we are
doing a good job for them.
In closing, Mayor Dodaro said that all of us have done well and believes we will do just as well
if not better in 2008. She
received a round of applause for her words of praise and the update on the
village.
Safety:
Gray asks Deputy Harhay to read the patrol report for the month of
December. The patrol report was read as follows:
2.75 hours at calls & working on reports, 5 calls assigned by
dispatch, 2 self-initiated calls, 57 vacation watches, 95 citizen contacts, 8
traffic stops, 1 citation issued, 7 warnings issued and 3 assists to other
departments. The deputies worked 119.50
total hours for the month of December.
They logged 670.10 miles on the cruiser using 66.40 gallons of
gasoline.
Mayor Dodaro told Deputy Harhay that she
has a question. She recently was out of
town and when she got back there were a couple of
phone messages for her. One message was
from
Bob
Locher who was calling on behalf of a Deputy Phillips. He
has calling about some rock throwing incidents on New Year’s Eve on
Gray said that
he got a call from Bob Locher and the first thing he asked Locher was does Jim
Harhay know about this. He said no and
that struck Gray a little strange. Gray
who was also out of town did go look at the security system when he arrived
back home. Deputy Harhay said that
whenever he works the village he does go in and look at the security
recordings. Mayor Dodaro said that she
is surprised and disappointed that Deputy Harhay didn’t
know anything about what happened in our village, but Bob Locher did. Mayor Dodaro asked
Gray to schedule a Safety meeting soon as some changes need
to be made. Mayor Dodaro asks Deputy
Harhay to provide extra patrol for 115 Clover Cliff. The broken windows and the doors have been boarded up.
Bican reports that it appears someone has broken the basement windows
now. Police patrol needs to be
concentrated in that area immediately.
Deputy Harhay said that only the owners of that property can place a “NO TRESPASSING” sign in the yard. If
anyone sees anything at any location…….. call the police at 330-725-6631. The Law Director will continue his
efforts to determine who is the owner of this property.
Zoning: Olexa reviews the minutes from the January 2,
2008 zoning meeting. Olexa reports that
the Kissling garage appears to be done. Locher reported that the Law Director has
filed charges in the Moats common driveway violation. No court date has been set yet. Wendy James’ variance was
approved, but no building has begun yet. Hugo Byers of Briarwood Blvd received a
fence variance.
Olexa reported that the property owners at
171 Rockridge went to court regarding their trash cans always being by the
road. The owners were
given many warnings before charges were filed in court. The village won the case and the owners were
fined $50.00 plus court cost for this violation.
Keith Riedel brought up issues of trash,
lawn mowers and other items being stored in yards. Olexa asked if council could propose an
ordinance prohibiting the storage of yard maintenance equipment being stored
outside. All storage of this kind of
equipment should be inside a building or storage shed. Sommers thought that there was an ordinance
on the books stating that if equipment of this type were stored outside that it
had to be covered. The Law Director
believes the ordinance being referred to is in the
property maintenance code, but he will check for sure. Council will review an ordinance that was passed a couple of years ago and make changes to it if
necessary.
Olexa said we have already discussed 115
Clover Cliff and that he had Bill Zweifel board that house
up to secure it.
Olexa said that he also had Bill remove a
dead deer at the corner of
Olexa said that he stopped and talked with
a homeowner on the corner of Briarwood and Garman about cleaning up his yard of
leaves. He said he was the renter and
would speak to the owner of the property about getting them cleaned up.
Olexa has compiled a list of properties
that he wants Bob Locher to take a look at. They are: 271 Rustic Rook;
unlicensed flatbed truck and numerous lawn mowers and riding tractors, 117
Clover Cliff; unlicensed auto, 118 Clover Cliff; unlicensed auto and other
items such as bathroom sinks stored in plain view, 473 Shorefield; unlicensed
auto, 470 Shorefield; unlicensed auto, 529 Lee Lore; unlicensed auto, 54 Willow
Wood; wood piles on the village right-of-way, 273 Rustic Rook; inoperable and
unregistered boat hull and 429 Northvale; fallen cut up tree stumps. Olexa spoke with Bob Locher on the day that
Olexa emailed the list of properties he wants checked out. Locher told Olexa that he and Zickefoose
would look at these properties. Olexa
said he would like Locher to report back to him before
the council meeting so he could give members of council an update. He did not hear back from Locher. The Law Director states that the zoning
inspector, mayor or any police officer for the village may give notice to the
owner of an unlicensed vehicle. There is
a form that should be given to the owner and they must
be given a hearing. The Zoning Inspector
should have those forms.
Olexa said he would like to see all
properties display their address on the house.
Most addresses are displayed on the mailbox,
but they should also be on the house itself.
The fire department, rescue squad and post office would also appreciate
this.
Finance:
Cathy said that she doesn’t have a lot to
report on. Olexa said that is because we
heard it all. Cathy said that is right
they heard it all at the Financial Planning meeting that was held one hour
prior to tonight’s council meeting . She prepared the suggested 2008 village
appropriations for council’s review. She
said unless there are any changes to the suggested appropriations she asks
council to approve them as submitted. An
ordinance needs to be passed so that Cathy can
continue to set the accounting system for 2008. Motion made by Olexa to waive
the 3 reading requirement for Ordinance #659-08. Sommers seconded. 6 Ayes. Ordinance #659-08 “2008 Village Appropriations.” was
read by title only. Motion made by Olexa
to adopt Ordinance #659-08 as an emergency.
Riedel seconded. 6 Ayes. Motion
approved. Keith as President of
Council signs the appropriation booklet along with the Clerk-Treasurer. Cathy will submit the 2008 village
appropriations to the county auditor.
Mayor Dodaro thanked Cathy for the good job.
Cathy said that she has prepared copies of
the bank statement ending December 31, 2007 along with the accounting
reconciliation showing all balances are reconciled. There are no adjusting factors on the
accounting reconciliation as the bank interest was entered
in the system before closing for the year 2007.
There are only two outstanding checks and Cathy has sent letters asking
them to either cash the check or advise her and she will void and reissue.
Cathy reports
that W2shave been mailed out along with all other
fourth quarter reports. Cathy did mail
Bill Zweifel a 1099 Miscellaneous Income as suggested in the last audit.
Cathy just mailed in the village’s annual
financial report to the state auditor on CD.
She has also sent a fax to the Gazette to publish a notice that we have
completed our annual financial report which is a
requirement. The annual report can be
reviewed by contact the Clerk-Treasurer’s office for an appointment.
Cathy has received the audit contract back
with all signatures from the State Auditors and Varney, Fink &
Associates. The audit work should begin
in February sometime.
Cathy said she has a Request for Advance
of Taxes Collected that needs council’s approval by resolution. Motion
made by Sommers to waive the 3 reading requirement for
Resolution #418-08. Gray seconded. 6 Ayes. Resolution #418-08 “Request for Advance of Taxes
Collected” was read by title only.
Motion made by Gray to adopt Resolution #418-08 as an emergency. Olexa seconded. 6 Ayes. Motion approved.
Cathy said that
she included in the paperwork distributed tonight a copy of the certificate she
received from the Board of Elections recently.
The certificate shows that out of 157 voters that 99 of them were in favor
of the levy. Cathy thought that the voters passing the levy on the first try was a “vote of
confidence” and gives them her thanks.
She said that the voters may not agree with
everything that we do, but they agree with a lot.
Sommers added that she thought that the levy
passed on the first try because of the article Cathy wrote for the village
newsletter. Sommers thought the article
was well written and explained why the levy was
necessary. Cathy thanked Katrina for her
compliment.
Cathy said the last thing she has to
report is that she did receive a check from Progressive insurance in the amount of $403.00.
This check is a reimbursement for damage to a guardrail on Lee Lore which the village repaired right away. The Law Director added that his office had to
send the paperwork to Progressive three times.
They claimed to have lost the previous paperwork mailed to them….twice.
Parks:
Bican said she didn’t have anything to
report. Mayor Dodaro said that she
received an email from Tom James of the Medina County Parks District. He said that the Parks District will be looking at the recommendations submitted by the
committee who met most of 2007. Mr.
James did state that the Parks District has met with representatives of the
Division of Watercraft to begin discussions relative to a launching ramp at the
lake. The grant deadline was April 1st and was approved, but the funds are not
available until October 1st.
It appears likely that the Parks District will not complete the ramp in 2008. (See attached letter). The Parks District has
completed a topo survey of the lake and adds that the
deepest point of the lake is significantly higher than reported in the past.
Streets:
Riedel reports that the village is maintaining Circle Crest with gravel
to keep it passable for the residents who live on that street. It is planning to finish Phase Three in the spring as weather permits. The village is asking Columbia Gas to
reimburse us for some of the cost involved with the delay of this project. The Law Director is handling this case and said that Columbia Gas wants invoices and cancelled
checks showing that delay costs were actually paid. Cathy will forward all invoices and proof of
payment so far to the Law Director as requested. The Law Director said there are three
components of damages. Elite Excavating
was paid to winterize the road, maintenance material
over the winter and then in the spring there will be an increased cost of
material. At this point, the village doesn’t know what the total claim will be.
Sanitary Engineers are contacting Columbia
Gas ahead of time so there is no delay with the
Community Relations:
Hunter reports that CBRE has suspended their purchase of the
Bican said she really was impressed with
Karen Shoonover who is the Lafayette Zoning
Chairperson. She seemed very sincere
and concerned about many issues when Bican spoke with her.
Hunter reported that the golf course on
Route 162 (Medina Country Club) is planning an expansion. On a scale of one to ten for water absorption
a forest would be a ten, a paved driveway would be a zero and a golf course is
a three. There is a real concern about
where the water will go.
Once again the
issue of the outlet needing to be cleaned out comes up again. Riedel has discussed getting in touch with
the county commissioners and people from the state about getting the outlet
cleaned up. There is
a lot of debris and beaver dams in the creek.
Riedel said it is important to get the water moving through so
Buildings:
Sommers said that Kerry Illes dropped off a proposed drawing for the
addition on the town hall. Sommers said
that she would set up a Buildings Committee meeting in the near future. The cost of what we can afford to build is
again the issue. Sommers
shows the drawing that was completed by Illes Architect. Everyone thought the building was
beautiful.
Law Director: The Law Director said that he had one case pending which is the Moats zoning violation case.
Cathy asks who receives the $50.00 fine
money from the garbage can violations case that the village recently won in
court on December 10, 2007. The Law
Director said the fine money goes to the village from municipal court. The judge gave the defendant thirty days to
pay the fine.
Riedel said that the village has applied for
Phase Four funding.
Mayor Dodaro said that we will find out in July
if this money will be awarded to the village.
If the village is granted this money, then the Phase Four
project will begin in the spring of 2009.
Riedel said that no more projects will be
started in the fall because of the delays the village has experienced in the
past.
The Law Director has not heard anything
further from the Gildersleeves about their offer to
donate land to the village. A letter was sent stating that the village would accept their offer,
but no reply yet.
Old Business: None
New Business: None
At 9:00 pm, Motion made by Gray that the
meeting be adjourned.
Riedel seconded. 6 Ayes. Motion
approved.
Next Meeting: Monday, February 11, 2008 at 7:30 pm in the
community room of the National City Bank,
____________________________
Joanne
Dodaro, Mayor
____________________________
Cathy
Osborn, Clerk-Treasurer