CITY
OF TWINSBURG, OHIO
REGULAR
COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
TUESDAY,
JANUARY 25, 2005
Mr. Steve Murphy President of
Council called this meeting to order at 8:06 PM.
INVOCATION & PLEDGE OF
ALLEGIANCE:
Mrs. Studer bestowed the
Invocation. Council led in the Pledge
of Allegiance.
ROLL CALL:
Present: W.
Hon, B. McDermott, S. Murphy, A. Romito, S. Scaffide, J. Studer & B. Furey
Also Present: Mayor
Katherine Procop
Charles K. Webster, Law Director
Cynthia A. Kaderle, Clerk of Council
PRESENTATION OF HOLIDAY
LIGHTING AWARDS:
Sally Shaffer of the
Beautification Committee presented the awards to the winning families of the
Holiday Lighting Displays. The winning
families are:
The
Best Family
The Maikut Family
The
Marotta Family
The
Olaughlin Family
The
Caplice Family
The
Demagall Family
Katherine
Tyler of the Beautification Commission presented the special award to the
Bailey Family.
Mayor
Procop congratulated all of the residents for making the City of Twinsburg so
festive during the Holiday season. She
also thanked the Beautification Commission for all of their hard work.
Mr. Murphy
also thanked all of the residents for coming tonight to receive their
award. He stated it is fun to drive
around the City and look at all of the decorations.
Mr. Hon stated on page 7 he wanted the minutes to be clear
where he states he would like to see words added to the Economic Development
Director’s job description. He wants to make it clear that his intentions have
always been that since Mr. Finch will be interfacing with the business community
and commercial community that it is important that it be written into his job
description.
The minutes of the January 11, 2004 meeting stand approved
as amended.
DEPARTMENT HEAD REPORTS/COMMUNICATION (MAYOR’S
REPORT):
Finance Department:
§
City Income Tax receipts as of January 20, 2005 totaled
$703,799.00 compared to January 20, 2004 in the amount of $551,608.00. This reflects an increase of 28% for the
beginning of the year.
Fire Department:
Mayor Procop congratulated the
Service Department for all of their hard work during all of the storms
especially the last major snow storm. They worked around the clock and they
expanded their routes from 8 to 10 to keep up with the snow. We appreciate their work.
Fire Department:
Police Department:
Parks and Recreation Department:
COMMITTEE AND/OR COMMISSION
REPORTS:
§
Reported the Environmental
Commission held a meeting January 13, 2005 and it was very productive. They are looking for direction possibly from
Council, as to what they should be doing with regards to historic preservation.
They have some idea as to what to do but if anyone on Council has a direction
they would like them to go, they would like Council’s feed back. They are looking at changing the 50-year
mark for historical homes that is currently in place.
§
Discussed the recommendation of
combining the Recycle and Environmental Committees. It was the consensus that they remain separate committees.
§
Reviewed 14 ordinances dealing
with environmental issues and presented their recommendations to Amy Mohr, City
Engineer.
§
Stated the Commission would like
an e-mail address on the City’s website so residents can contact them with
environmental issues. They can then
meet and get answers to the residents.
§
Announced they will be touring the
Coca Cola plant in March.
§
Recommended having a meet the
commission’s night where residents can meet and ask questions of the different
commissions.
§
The next meeting will be February
10, 2005.
§
No report from BZA as no meeting
was held.
§
Reported there has been no Finance Committee meeting
since the last Council. They will
schedule a meeting when they have the finalized 2005 budget and salary
ordinance.
§
Capital Improvement Board met January 13, 2005 with 5
residents on the Board, one from each ward.
They discussed the 2005 Capital Improvement budget as each Department
Head presented their requests in order of importance. Their next meeting will be February 10, 2005 where they will
discuss the finalized list.
§
The Golf Course Advisory Board met January 12, 2005 and
discussed several options to help improve the course and the City’s market
share of the practice facility. The
revenue for 2004 was equal to that of 2003.
They are also planning to add a sand trap to the 15th hole to
move the trajectory of some golf balls from the residents on Alling Dr.
§
They discussed the possibility of bidding out the food
service to a local restaurant.
§
The next meeting will be March 23, 2005 at 7:00 PM.
§
Reported the Parks and Recreation Commission met on January
19, 2005. Mr. Seikel discussed his suggestions for the budget. They also discussed the possibility of
adding an employee to Mr. Seikel’s staff as he lost 2 employees. The Commission recommended 6 – 0 to hiring
someone. Mr. Hon would like the request
to be discussed in a committee, possibly finance.
§
Stated Meredith Shreve was recognized as the 2005 person of
the year.
§
Announced per Meredith Shreve, that there will not be a
Youth Theatre production in 2005.
§
Stated the National League of Cities spoke about teens being
involved in the Parks and Recreation department. There are two students on the Commission and Mr. Hon will share
some of the suggestions from that convention with them.
§
The next meeting will be February 16, 2005.
S. Murphy – Planning Commission:
§
Planning Commission met January 24, 2005. They recommended for approval the following:
1. Conditional
use for a gas station, Sheetz, located at Route 82 & Twin Hills Pkwy.
2. A fast
food restaurant at the same location.
3. The
preliminary site plan for the gas station.
4. The lot
split of the Higgins property on Connotton.
§
Obliged a developer that had a question about a comment made
stemming from his plans for the Abrams Farm Phase 4 and put him on the agenda
to talk about where a line is that specifies R-3 building codes from R-2.
AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION
Randy Simplican, 2443 Sandalwood
Dr.:
§
Stated was before Council to speak on the
new fire station. Stated the most
riveting thing said about the fire station from one of the Council members was
“I think we (the City) needs to build a $800,000.00 fire station because that
is what the City can afford”.
§
Stated he remembers the square footage
cost of $140.00 if accurate, lets get it done.
The faster the City starts the faster the City can save lives. One bay
is all right because it is better than having no fire station there at all.
§
Asked how long is the interconnect road?
Mayor Procop stated it is not quite 1
mile.
MOTION: TO RECESS INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION.
Moved by S. Murphy, seconded to A.
Romito. Upon roll call the motion
passed unanimously.
Council reconvened at 9:20 PM and Mr.
Murphy reported union negotiations and litigation were discussed.
LEGISLATION:
ORDINANCE 163-2004 – REZONING – COURTAD PROPERTY (Stands on
second reading)
Read by S. Murphy.
MOTION: TO ADOPT ORDINANCE 163-2004 AS READ.
Read by S. Murphy, seconded by A.
Romito. Upon roll call the motion
failed unanimously.
ORDINANCE 164-2004 – REZONING – CONWAY PROPERTY (Stands on second
reading)
Read by S. Murphy.
MOTION: TO ADOPT
ORDINANCE 164-2004 AS READ.
Moved by S. Murphy, seconded by B. Furey. Upon roll call the motion passed
unanimously.
ORDINANCE 165-2004 – REZONING – SORACE PROPERTY (Stands on
second reading)
Read by S. Murphy.
MOTION: TO ADOPT ORDINANCE 165-2004 AS READ.
Moved by S. Murphy, seconded by J. Studer. Upon roll call the motion passed
unanimously.
ORDINANCE 166-2004 – AMENDING
SECTION 339.02 (c) OF THE CODIFIED ORDINANCES (Stands on second reading)
Read by S. Murphy.
MOTION: TO ADOPT ORDINANCE
166-2004 AS READ.
Moved by S. Murphy, seconded by B.
McDermott. Upon roll call the motion
passed unanimously.
Mayor Procop stated she
appreciates Council voting for this ordinance.
Stated she wants to make sure that that residential area is protected
from truck traffic in case the transfer station goes in.
ORDINANCE 04-2005 – CONTRACT FOR
ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY (Stands on first reading)
Read by S. Murphy for second
reading.
MOTION: TO SUSPEND THE RULES AND PLACE ORDINANCE 04-2005 ON THIRD AND
FINAL READING AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY
Moved by A. Romito, seconded by S.
Scaffide. Upon roll call with a vote of
4 – 3 with Mr. Murphy, Mr. Furey and Mr. Mc Dermott dissenting the motion
failed.
Mr. Murphy stated Ordinance
04-2005 stands on second reading.
RESOLUTION 05-2005 – SUMMIT COUNTY
BOARD OF ELECTIONS AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY
Read by S. Murphy.
MOTION: TO ADOPT RESOLUTION
05-2005 AS READ
Moved by S. Murphy, seconded by J.
Studer. Upon roll call the motion
failed unanimously.
RESOLUTION 06-2005 – SUMMIT COUNTY
BOARD OF ELECTIONS AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY
Read by S. Murphy.
MOTION: TO ADOPT RESOLUTION 06-2005 AS READ
Moved by S.
Murphy, seconded by J. Studer. Upon
roll call the motion passed unanimously.
RESOLUTION 07-2005 – SUMMIT COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS AND
DECLARING AN EMERGENCY
Read by S.
Murphy.
MOTION: TO ADOPT RESOLUTION 07-2005 AS READ
Moved by S.
Murphy, seconded by B. McDermott.
Mr. Hon inquired
about the cost of putting issues on the ballot?
Mayor Procop
responded the City pays for it. The
County back bills the City from its revenues.
Upon roll call
the motion passed unanimously.
ORDINANCE 09-2005 – ABOLISHING THE PLANNING COMMITTEE OF
COUNCIL AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY
Read by S.
Murphy for first reading.
ORDINANCE 10-2005 – ABOLISHING THE COMMUNITY RELATIONS
COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY
Read by S.
Murphy for first reading
RESOLUTION 11-2005 – APPOINTMENT TO CIVIL SERVICE AND
DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.
Read by S.
Murphy.
MOTION: TO ADOPT RESOLUTION 11-2005 AS READ
Moved by S.
Murphy, seconded by A. Romito.
Mayor Procop
stated she received another request from a resident who had over 12 years on
the Civil Service Commission. He
requested he be considered to fill the vacant term and the legislation was
drawn up with his name on it. In the
mean time another communication was received to change the name from the one on
the legislation to another resident.
This is not right without having an interview with both applicants for
that position. Whenever there are two
people applying for a position interviews are conducted.
Mr. Murphy
stated the position was advertised according to the Charter. There was no applicant for that position so
Mr. Murphy stated when he got the note on the resident being chosen he checked
and found that person serves on another committee and that prohibits him from
serving on Civil Service.
Mayor Procop
stated it does not prohibit him, as he is willing to remove himself from the
other committee. He should have been
interviewed so he could have explained his desire to leave the other committee
and get back onto Civil Service.
Mayor Procop
stated applicant’s turn in their requests to the Clerk of Council; they do not
contact Council members. He followed
instructions and to be denied an interview is not right. Both applicants should be interviewed and a
decision be made.
Upon roll
call the motion passed with a vote of 5 –2 with Mr. Scaffide and Mrs. Studer
dissenting.
ORDINANCE 12-2005 – ENTER INTO CONTRACT WITH TEAMSTERS LOCAL
#436 AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY
Read by S.
Murphy for first reading.
RESOLUTION 13-2005 – APPOINTMENTS TO BOARD OF BUILDING AND ZONING
CODE AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY
Read by S.
Murphy
MOTION: TO ADOPT RESOLUTION 13-2005 AS READ
Moved by S.
Murphy, seconded by B. McDermott.
Mr. Scaffide
stated he would like to move that Council remove Gabriele Cianci from the
resolution and appoint Gary Wilner. Mr.
Scaffide stated he does not know who Gabriele Cianci is as well as no one on
Council. No one has met this person.
There was an applicant who served for many years and did a good job that
re-applied and Council did not appoint that person. To appoint someone Council does not know or never met, he would
like to see his name removed and then go ahead with Resolution 13.
Mrs. Studer
stated she sits on BZA and the person that Council took off to put Mr. Cianci on
instead, has done an excellent job.
Stated unless we meet Mr. Cianci she doesn’t understand how Council can
go ahead and vote for this person.
Stated Council should go back and do interviews again.
Mrs. Studer
stated Mr. Cianci did not show up for the interview and Mrs. Hollows advised
she could not be there that night either.
It is not fair to pick him without interviewing him. Mrs. Hollows has done an excellent job on the
Board. Stated all of Council was not
there that night for interviews and it is not right to take the word of one
Councilperson that Mr. Cianci would do a good job.
Mr. Hon stated
if both persons were not available in Ward 3 and for whatever reasons were not
interviewed, he feels they both should be interviewed.
Upon roll call
the with a vote of 4 –3 the motion passed with Mrs. Studer, Mr. Hon, and Mr.
Scaffide dissenting.
RESOLUTION 14-2005 – APPOINTMENTS TO ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW
BOARD AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY
Read by S.
Murphy.
MOTION: TO ADOPT RESOLUTION 14-2005 AS READ
Moved by S.
Murphy, seconded by A. Romito. Upon
roll call the motion passed unanimously.
RESOLUTION 15-2005 – APPOINTMENTS TO ENVIRONMENTAL
COMMISSION AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY
Moved by S.
Murphy
MOTION: TO ADOPT RESOLUTION 15-2005 AS READ
Moved by S.
Murphy, seconded by A. Romito. Upon
roll call the motion passed unanimously.
RESOLUTION 16-2005 – APPOINTMENTS TO PARKS AND RECREATION
COMMISSION AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY
Read by
S. Murphy
MOTION: TO ADOPT RESOLUTION 16-2005 AS READ
Moved by S.
Murphy, seconded by B. Furey. Upon roll
call the motion passed unanimously.
RESOLUTION 17-2005 – APPOINTMENTS TO PLANNING COMMISSION AND
DECLARING AN EMERGENCY
Read by S.
Murphy
MOTION: TO ADOPT RESOLUTION 17-2005 AS READ
Moved by S.
Murphy, seconded by B. McDermott.
Mr. Hon
commented that some commissions serve 2-year terms and this one serves a 3-year
term. Stated he wants Council to make a
decision in the future discussions to make all of the terms the same. Stated he also feels Mr. Murphy should stay
on the Planning Commission.
Upon roll call
the motion passed unanimously.
RESOLUTION 18-2005 – MODIFY RECYCLE COMMITTEE
Read by S.
Murphy
MOTION: TO ADOPT RESOLUTION 18-2005 AS READ
Moved by S.
Murphy, seconded by B. Furey.
MOTION: TO ELIMINATE SECTION III FROM RESOLULTION 18-2005
Moved by B.
Furey, seconded by S. Murphy.
Discussion on
amended resolution.
Upon roll call
with a vote of 4 – 3 the motion passed with Mr. Scaffide, Mrs. Studer and Mr.
Hon dissenting.
Upon roll call,
the motion to adopt as amended with a vote of 5 – 2 passed with Mr. Scaffide
and Mrs. Studer dissenting.
MOTION: TO ADD ORDINANCE 19-2005 TO THE AGENDA
Moved by S.
Murphy, seconded by B. Furey. Upon roll
call the motion passed unanimously.
ORDINANCE 19-2005 – 2005 SALARY ORDINANCE
Read by S.
Murphy for first reading.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS, NEW BUSINESS, MISCELLANEOUS:
Mayor Procop:
Mayor Procop reminded Council that
Resolution 13-2005 regarding BZA appointments did not pass on emergency so the
Board will be lacking those two members for the next 30 days.
Stated she has a memo from Lt.
Michael Nakata requesting legislation for police cars. She passed the memo out to Council. Mayor Procop asked that this be put on the
Finance Committee as an item and discuss it there.
Stated she spoke with Mike Brown
about the golf course and some improvements.
Mayor Procop stated the course would not be going to a food service it
will keep its own concessions. Stated
she would like to have a meeting about Gleneagles with Council before the
Council meeting at the end of February to discuss long term planning for the
golf course.
Stated she needs a motion to
authorize to go out for bid for Laurel and Lawnfield Drives for reconstruction.
Reminded everyone about the
Academic Boosters fundraiser. The third
Monday of the month at Mavis Winkles a portion of the bill goes to the Boosters
for their fundraiser. They are also looking
for corporate sponsorship to help out students in an academic way by rewarding
them. Anyone interested in helping should contact the schools.
Announced the Relay for Life is on
June 3 & 4th and the kickoff meeting is February 7, 2005 at the
Hilton Garden Inn at 6:30 PM.
Announced there will be a Health
Expo at the Fitness Center, this Sunday from 12:30 to 3:00 PM.
J. Studer:
Wished to thank the Service
Department for the great job done on the roads during this tough winter.
S. Scaffide:
Stated that Council has made a
mockery out of its appointment authority tonight. Stated he feels it is
unfortunate that residents can serve on a committee for a number of years, do a
good job and then be replaced by someone that no one on Council has ever
met. There is no incentive for any
resident to serve on a Board when it doesn’t matter that you can be taken off
and replaced. Stated he feels Council has sunk to a new low and it is
unfortunate that had to happen. The
residents are the losers.
B. McDermott:
MOTION: TO AUTHORIZE THE MAYOR TO GO OUT FOR BID FOR LAUREL
AND LAWNFIELD DR. RECONSTRUCTON.
Moved by B. McDermott, seconded by
S. Murphy. Upon roll call the motion
passed unanimously.
Reminded everyone that the
Twinsburg Athletic Boosters will be holding a Super Bowl party as their
fundraiser on February 6, 2005 at Catered Elegance in Bedford.
A. Romito:
Stated he understands Mr.
Scaffide’s comments.
W. Hon:
Stated regarding the democratic
process, what he likes is the fact that these items can be discussed in
committee, on television and in person.
Stated the committee appointments are very important to him but Council
is all over the place with this.
Sometimes Council interviews them and sometimes they don’t. Stated terms need to be discussed soon.
Stated he likes the timely minutes
Council receives from some of the Commissions.
Most of them are done in 1 to 2 weeks however, some Commission minutes
take as much as a month and he feels this is not correct. Mr. Hon has asked the Clerk of Council to
send his comments to all commissions that their minutes should be more timely
and 1 to 2 weeks is acceptable but one month is not.
B. Furey:
Reminded everyone that the
deadline for the Twinsburg Baseball League registration is Monday January 31,
2005. Memberships can be taken on line at www.twinsburg.com/tbl.
Commented on Lt. Anderson being
charged with war crimes in Iraq and that the charges have been dropped but
there is still a pending investigation.
There is still support for troops on the web at www.defendourtroops.com. as well as
the petition the VFW has been passing around.
S. Murphy:
Attended the opening of a new
business in town called “Eatza Pizza”.
Stated it is a great place to take the kids.
Stated that at the first meeting
in December that the committees and liaisons to the committees are to be
appointed by the President. Stated he
would keep the same committees Council had but reserved the opportunity to re-adjust
as the new committees are formed.
Stated he asked the Clerk to pass out the new assignments and the only
adjustment is that Mr. Romito has asked if he could stay with the
Beautification Committee for the next three months and then it will go to Mr.
Furey. These appointments start
February 1, 2005.
MOTION: TO HAVE
COUNCIL GIVE 50% OF THE BED TAX COLLECTED IN THE CITY OF TWINSBURG TO THE
TWINSBURG VISITOR CENTER.
Moved by S. Murphy, seconded by B.
McDermott.
Mr. Murphy stated the amount is
$52, 191.54.
Mr. Furey stated he thought the
amount was going to be raised to the $60,000.00 level.
MOTION: TO AMEND THE MOTION TO RAISE THE AMOUNT OF BED TAX
TO $60,000.00 FOR THE TWINSBURG VISITOR CENTER.
Moved by B. Furey, seconded by S.
Murphy. Upon roll call the motion
passed unanimously.
Mr. Murphy stated that one of the
Council members pointed out that Council has reached a new low and he disagrees
with that. There is nothing new about
what happened with the appointments.
ADJOURNMENT:
This meeting unanimously adjourned at 10:17 PM.
ATTEST:
__________________________________ ______________________________
Cynthia A. Kaderle, CMC Steve,
Murphy
Clerk of Council President of Council