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Vermilion City Council Minutes
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Vermilion City Council: Fred Ostrander, President; Dan Roth, Council At Large; John Gabriel, Ward One; Heidi Strickler, Ward Two; Barb Brady, Ward Four; Madio Rossini, Ward Five; Gwen Fisher; Certified Municipal Clerk. Absent: Steve Holovacs, Ward Three
Administrative Staff: Dan Squires, Service Director; Carl Schmidt, Safety Director; Chris Howard, City Engineer; Wayne Hamilton, Finance Director; D. Zaleski, Law Director. Absent: Jean Anderson, Mayor;
CALL TO ORDER:
F. Ostrander called the Tuesday, January 22, 2008 Vermilion City Council meeting to order.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE:
The members of Council, administrative staff, and audience participants recited the Pledge of Allegiance. A moment of silence followed.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
The Vermilion City Council approved the minutes of the January 7, 2008 meetings as recorded in the journal.
CORRESPONDENCE: None.
PRESIDENT OF COUNCIL’S REPORT: No report.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Zoning Board of Appeals:
B. Brady reported that the next meeting is scheduled for January 29, 2008 at 7:00 p.m.
Utilities Committee:
H. Strickler reported that the next meeting is scheduled January 28, 2008 at 7:00 p.m.
Streets, Buildings & Grounds Committee:
D. Roth reported that the next meeting is scheduled for January 28, 2008 at 7:00 p.m.
Historic, Design & Review Board:
D. Roth reported on the meeting held January 16. The next meeting is scheduled for February 20, 2008 at 7:00 p.m.
Port Authority:
F. Ostrander reported that the next meeting is scheduled for January 24, 2008 at 7:00 p.m.
Legislative Committee:
J. Gabriel reported on the meeting held January 14. The next meeting is scheduled for February 11, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. He publically apologized to Bob Kurtz since his name was brought during discussion on empty lots, and for the fact that he was not notified ahead of time that a broader discussion on zoning would take place.
Planning Commission:
J. Gabriel reported that the next meeting is scheduled for February 6, 2008 at 7:00 p.m.
Health & Safety Committee:
M. Rossini reported on the meeting held January 14. The next meeting is scheduled for February 11, 2008 at 7:00 p.m.
MAYOR’S REPORT: Not Present.
SAFETY DIRECTOR’S REPORT:
C. Schmidt reported on a safety measure called “ICE” (In Case of Emergency). He suggested that residents put “ICE” into their cell phone with their emergency contact number so that the safety forces can get a hold of someone during an emergency. He also reported that the pumper tanker is in service and they now can transport water to a fire.
SERVICE DIRECTOR’S REPORT:
D. Squires reported that the street crew is continuing to repair potholes with cold patch. The water treatment plant improvements are nearing completion. He stated that he met with ODOT last week on the upcoming Urban Paving Project and they discussed some of the responsibilities that the city will need to complete for the project. He stated that he received approval from the Lorain County Metropolitan Parks for a “right of entry” so they can repair the 16” water main break under the river.
H. Strickler asked if there was a timetable for repairing the 16” line. D. Squires replied that he is securing three proposals. They do have the materials list but are awaiting the construction service proposals to do the work since they can’t do the work in-house because of the line being under water. H. Strickler asked what the water level is in the tower. D. Squires said they are able to maintain 12 to 15 feet in the tower which is approximately 250,000 gallons of water. He said this is well below what they would like to maintain. However, with the 16” water main being down they only have a 16” feed line to the tower. H. Strickler asked if the city has been experiencing a lot of water main breaks this winter. D. Squires said they have been very minimal.
M. Rossini asked if the city will be able to tell the capacity to indicate whether any water is leaking once they fix the 16” water main. D. Squires said it is hard to say how long water was pumping into the river from the 16” water main break. He said this along with the fire hydrant flushing and the VOL overflow project he feels they will see a reduction in the 37 percent of lost water.
F. Ostrander asked D. Squires if he was able to talk to the Corp. of Engineers about the pier. D. Squires said no but he sent an email to them. He said this may be something the Port Authority may be helpful in pursuing. F. Ostrander thought this might be a good place to start.
FINANCE DIRECTOR’S REPORT:
W. Hamilton addressed the 2006 audit report which can be viewed on the Auditor of State’s website. He said he also provided council with the 2005 and 2006 management letter which will help in comparison, in that not a lot has changed. He said they are within a few days from closing year-end. He said it is going a lot better this year and he feels the outcome will be better in terms of knowing where things are.
H. Strickler asked when the auditors will be in the city to do their fiscal watch review. W. Hamilton said that he spoke with Unice Smith last week because she inquired as to where the city was at this time with year-end. He said he told her that once they close out and have a cash report then he will send her a copy, and then she will set up a time after that. He said in the meantime they will reconcile bank statements for year-end in time for her audit.
H. Strickler asked the finance director if he had an idea of what the carryover is from 2007 or when they could anticipate seeing a budget for 2008. W. Hamilton said the budget is still in process. He said it looks like the water fund and sewer fund will be in the negative. He reported that the general fund carryover is about half a million dollars at this point. He said he has some other adjustments but he feels the amount is in this neighborhood.
CITY ENGINEER’S REPORT:
C. Howard stated that the administration is requesting approval to go out to bid for the East Liberty Watermain Extension Project. This project involves installation of 580 feet of 12” waterline on the south side of Liberty up to the eastern edge of the city. The engineer’s estimate is $73,042, which includes a $7,000 contingency.
He noted that a preconstruction meeting for the Downtown Watermain Replacement Project will be held on Wednesday, January 23. He said the contractor is looking at starting as earlier as February.
LAW DIRECTOR’S REPORT:
D. Zaleski reported that they will adjourn into executive session to discuss the Gammons lawsuit and he will also update council on the Linwood Corporation lawsuit, and the Lizsak lawsuit.
He said in speaking with the city prosecutor he noted that the city’s DUI code is out of date so they will amend this legislation, as well as look at the legislation on boating. These amendments will be prepared by D. Zaleski for review at the next Legislative meeting.
RESPONSE TO THE AUDIENCE:
F. Ostrander stated that Ken Cassell had asked the city about water supply questions in general. D. Squires said that some of the questions asked are beyond discussion that council can have tonight. He felt that this issue should be placed on the Utilities agenda regarding the cost in purchasing water, the impact it would have to the residents since the city would have to pay for the 37 percent of water that is leaking. He asked Carl Schmidt to answer what safety and health hazard this presents to the citizens of Vermilion.
C. Schmidt said that during a boil advisory they have a protocol that is followed. He stated that he is first notified by the service director and then he begins calling the police department, the fire department, Tom Kelley of the EMA who posts it on the radio and television programs. He said he contacts St. Mary’s School and Bruce Keller of the Vermilion Local Schools. He said he also contacts the following: Lee Mayer of Channel Two; Childcare – YMCA; UCC Nursery School; Kids Center; Vermilion Township; ODOT; Brownhelm Township; the nursing homes; and, all the restaurants. He stated that Chief Stempowski has told him that he can fight any fire with the fire trucks and pumper tanker. He said the Chief also contacts the township to put them on call. He said there is 5,500 gallons of water in the tankers that can respond to a fire.
D. Squires said he would like to address at the next Utilities meeting the question of the added cost when the city loses one million gallons of water. He said he cannot answer the question relative to the cost to the businesses that have to shut down because of no water. He said he will also address in Utilities the last question relative to the added cost to the residents to cover the reported approximately 37 percent water loss in the system.
H. Strickler said she is anticipating discussing water supply in Utilities for the next couple of months. She felt council should have a good dialogue about this.
B. Brady asked C. Howard how close the City was going to be to the Lorain water line. C. Howard said it will be within 25 feet of the corporation line.
F. Ostrander asked if the city billed for the water that was lost when the person hit the hydrant in December. D. Squires said he would need look into this. J. Gabriel asked if there was a water meter on the main line to the township supply. D. Squires said there is a meter. J. Gabriel asked if the city could roughly estimate how much they typically use versus when this event took place. D. Squires said he would imagine they could do this.
OPEN TO THE AUDIENCE:
Jim Machkoff of 1087 Nautical Drive addressed four different subjects with city council. He encouraged council to pass the ordinance on accessory buildings, and then after passage he would like council to look into reversing any rulings made by the law director or city prosecutor by looking into the county prosecutor’s office or the state offices. Secondly, he requested council to vote completely against the Clemans and Nelson contract. He requested council to vote completely vote against the Johnson Controls Ordinance. He requested council to do nothing about the streetscape and associated costs until council can figure out exactly how much money the city has and whether the city is in debt, or whether the city has sufficient funds to take care of these situations. Lastly, he urged a no vote on the Clemans and Nelson contract and the contract with Johnson Controls.
OLD BUSINESS: None.
NEW BUSINESS:
Gene Rigby of Underground Utilities gave a presentation on addressing private lateral issues relative to illegal tap ins to the sanitary sewer or I/I through these private laterals. He showed council graphs on collected information they took at the VOL lift stations. Council was provided with correspondence dated December 27, 2007 relative to a proposal for a leak detection survey, as well as correspondence dated January 8, 2008 relative to a proposal for developing draft plans/specifications and legislation for dealing with the private sewer lateral problems. He didn’t see that the city had an option because it has to be addressed. He said he provided council with a rough draft concept of how to handle these issues along with a detailed plan of action.
H. Strickler stated that the proposal dated January 8, 2008 has a cost estimate of $8,000. She said that council in good conscience can’t vote to spend one more dime until they know where the city is financially. She asked the administration if the money could come out of the storm water fund for this particular project since it deals with storm water issues. She said the other proposal is for the water line leak detection survey and realizes this can’t be paid from the storm water fund. D. Squires stated that council already appropriated $190,000 to get started with the elimination of the VOL overflow. He said he brought this to council as a courtesy to advise them of the next step in eliminating these private issues.
J. Gabriel stated that the proposal dated January 8 is defining a piece of legislation to accommodate what they have to get done and he thought since they have Chris Howard and Don Zaleski they could look at other communities and accomplish this in-house so it saves the city money. He asked what the EPA mandated deadline is for this VOL lift station. D. Squires said it is August of 2008. J. Gabriel agreed that this is a short window. He asked if the city could develop this legislation because he would like to see the city cut costs where they can. C. Howard said they can look into this but asked if he could get a copy of Mr. Rigby’s letter. F. Ostrander asked the law director if he has ever done anything like this. D. Zaleski said he has never worked on anything like this and it is all new to him. G. Rigby said this doesn’t just include legislation but it includes the plan and how they are going to attack the problems and procedures.
H. Strickler said she is comfortable with going with Underground Utilities because of the expertise they have in dealing with the issues in VOL and with the fact that the city has to have this corrected by August of 2008. She said she is comfortable with them preparing the legislation and then having Chris and Don reviewing it. B. Brady said in the end they need help and an advisor of some sort whether it would be Chris, Don, or Gene. She said at least Gene Rigby is coming to the city with experience from other communities. She asked if the city can meet the August deadline. G. Rigby said they need to get started identifying the problems. H. Strickler noted that this legislation will benefit the whole community. D. Squires said he brought this to council as a courtesy as they move toward the next process with the VOL overflow.
D. Roth MOVED; H. Strickler seconded to adopt the Vermilion City Council Rules and Regulations as recommended by the Finance Committee at their January 14, 2008 meeting. Roll Call Vote 6 YEAS. MOTION CARRIED.
B. Brady MOVED; D. Roth seconded to authorize the administration to go out to bid for the East Liberty Watermain Extension Project. Discussion: H. Strickler said she understands the city is not going to incur any costs here, but she strongly feels council needs to put a break on all spending until they know where they are financially. She said they need to stop taking on new projects, whether it would be just for a month until they know where the city is financially. She said they need to be more prudent and regrets voting last week for the Downtown Watermain Project because she wonders how they will pay for it. She said at next week’s utilities she wants to talk about a list of projects they have been discussing. She said council needs to have a grand plan in knowing how to fund all these projects. Roll Call Vote 6 YEAS. MOTION CARRIED.
J. Gabriel MOVED; M. Rossini seconded to authorize Walter Drane Company to update the Vermilion Codified Ordinances in the amount of $5,300. Roll Call Vote 6 YEAS. MOTION CARRIED.
B. Brady MOVED; M. Rossini seconded to reappoint Lon Sanborn to the Zoning Board of Appeals to a new term expiring in 2010. Roll Call Vote 6 YEAS. MOTION CARRIED.
H. Strickler MOVED; M. Rossini seconded to adjourn into Executive Session after the reading of the ordinances to discuss pending litigation. Roll Call Vote 6 YEAS. MOTION CARRIED.
J. Gabriel MOVED; H. Strickler seconded to table the third reading of Ordinance 2007-100 (Johnson Controls H.B. 300 Performance Contracting) until after such time as the fiscal audit has been completed. Discussion: H. Strickler stated that she is not against Johnson Controls but there is a $48,000 risk to hold off until the city knows where they are. Roll Call Vote 6 YEAS. MOTION CARRIED.
READING OF THE ORDINANCES:
Second Reading – Ordinance 2007-112: AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO A CONTRACT WITH CLEMANS AND NELSON ASSOCIATES, INC. TO REPRESENT THE CITY OF VERMILION IN THE MATTER OF LABOR NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE FOP, OPBA, AND LOCAL 860, AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.
B. Brady MOVED, M. Rossini seconded to adopt this ordinance by emergency. Discussion: J. Gabriel asked what the current total the city is obligated to pay Clemans and Nelson to date. Secondly, he asked for a basic understanding of an appropriation because if the amount is as large that has been bantered around in public, then he wonders how the city got this far without prior approval of council. He said his concern with the ordinance tonight is that there is no end amount. He said council has an hourly fee schedule but there is no cap and it basically is a blank check in his opinion. W. Hamilton said that when they began the process with the FOP and OPBA over a year ago it was not anticipated that negotiations were going to drag on as long as they did. He said they were looking somewhere in the neighborhood of $25,000 max. He said $25,000 is the threshold at which council has to approve. He said the process went beyond that as a matter of strategies on the part of the unions. F. Ostrander asked how much the city has paid them to date and how much the city stills owe them. W. Hamilton said in accounting they have something called “make buy decision” and the city does a lot of those. He said Walter Drane is a perfect example, as well as Squires, Sander & Dempsey. He said they recognize there are times that they have to have an outside expert. He said they have been doing this for years as a process because it is obvious that they need outside experts. He said it is in these situations when they haven’t traditionally had an outside expert like someone to evaluate the legislation relative to water runoff, or in the case of sitting down at the negotiating table. He said these are all outside experts who provide a service to a specific part of the general service they are trying to provide to the public. He said many times they can do it better than what they can because of time and experience. He said he had written to council on August 21 and at that time they had $42,325 in the negotiation process. This was after fact-finding and prior to conciliation and he doesn’t have the bill for this yet. He stated that historically the city has gone into negotiations and the other side has brought their experts and the city was represented by someone in the local makeup. As indicated in his memo of August 21, the last three-year contract cost the city $215,000, so this becomes his point of comparison that he reflects off of. He said that he knows that the mayor and council have taken some heat over having an outside negotiator since they never had one in the past. He said in terms of dollars they have an idea of what the benefit package will be and they also know what the city got in return. Historically, the process was to negotiate the list down to something less than what was originally requested. He said that instead of beating the mayor and council up, the public should be thanking them because by having their own professional negotiator the city goes in and has its list of demands and things the city would like to get in return. He said this is the way this process proceeded. He said in all fairness to the union this was a new process for them which contributed to why it took so long. He believed they recognized too that health care at some point would be something the city would get in return for dollars and salaries. He said the longer they dragged this out the longer they had the old health care plan. He stated that the new health care plan will be more beneficial to the taxpayers. In looking at the conciliation agreement the city now has control of the health care plan which will apply to the FOP, OPBA, and the non union employees. He said that Local 860 is still in the wings. He noted that last year with health care without that control, it cost the taxpayers $967,000. Once they got the conciliation agreement he drafted a couple of proposals for health care plans and just got a response today and the mid range is about $684,000 for a complete 12-month year. He said this gives them an idea of the variance. This is gross savings of $295,000 in the health care plan. He said they gave up about $202,000 in salaries and about $50,000 for Clemans and Nelson to cover conciliation. Adding these numbers together the taxpayers are still $43,000 better off under this contract then what they were on the two previous contracts. He said this is the value this council and the mayor brought to this community by hiring a professional negotiator. He said that now the city is beginning to gain some ground and balance with the salary package in return for the services they are giving to the taxpayers.
F. Ostrander asked if the whole bill for Clemans and Nelson was $50,000. W. Hamilton said this includes the savings. He said he is estimating this because he hasn’t seen the bill. F. Ostrander asked what account this money was coming out of since council didn’t appropriate this money. W. Hamilton stated that the money was appropriated last year. F. Ostrander said not directly and asked if the city would be writing a check to them for $50,000. W. Hamilton said the $42,325 figure is a known and he is guessing at high end what the conciliation for both unions may have cost the city. H. Strickler asked if this was counting the Local 860 negotiations. W. Hamilton said no and that he doesn’t have the savings for Local 860 either. H. Strickler said her issue isn’t with what they saved but it’s the principal that the administration went ahead and spent the money without council authorizing a contract. She said she doesn’t know how they can appropriate money or the administration can spend money that they never agreed to go into a contract with. She said she will be voting no. W. Hamilton said that H. Strickler was absolutely right and he would not take issue with that. He said their estimate was that it would come in around $20,000. He said next time it probably will because there is a process in place.
B. Brady said that she doesn’t like the money spent either but questioned how they were going to handle the 860 contract. She said they all heard the changes and a lot of them on both sides were fair. She said it gave the union guidance on how to negotiate and how to handle grievances. She asked who would take the lead on the 860 contract. She said she agrees that the $40,000 should have come to council before now to get a contract, but they are where they are and they have the 860 contract coming in front of them quickly. She said they can’t leave this as voting this down. If they vote this down then they need to come up with a solution on how they will handle these negotiations. F. Ostrander said the solution would be for the administration to be upfront and tell council ahead of time that this is what they are planning to do, and not just say, “Look what we just did, you go pay your money”. B. Brady agreed but at this point of time they are in a situation where they need to negotiate with the 860 contract and they have to move forward.
J. Gabriel said there is a system in place and in his view it has been violated. He said the administration can’t spend this sum of money without coming to council at the $25,000 mark, and saying they have got into this situation and need council to be on board because this is where they are taking it. He said this ordinance is a blank check and they can’t vote for this. B. Brady agreed but asked what they should do. J. Gabriel said if $25,000 is what they believe they need for the 860, then he would start with a $25,000 cap in the ordinance. B. Brady said she would make that motion to do this. J. Gabriel said the problem is that this ordinance deals with the previous expense and it is not fair. D. Roth said even though the negotiations supposedly went well they don’t know whether they went better had they been done a different way. He said at the same time even had they not gone well they would have still been back to council asking for the same money and expecting them to approve it. He said to him there should have been plenty of opportunities to come to council earlier when they hit the $42,000 mark on August 21 to keep council informed on where the spending was at. W. Hamilton said this is why they shared the information with council in August. He said he could have been well ahead of the curve on requesting it but they were busy with the process. He apologized to council for this and if somebody wants to take the heat then he would take it. He still thought the city had a good outcome and result. He said, “Done the right way? No!” He told John and Heidi they were right. He referred council to Steve Holovacs because he amongst the council members has been the one who has been most closely associated with what they have been going through with union contracts, and he is a good source of information for council. He said that council has met with Clemans and Nelson and this has been an ongoing process. He said admittedly it was not in the right order but still a good outcome for the city.
B. Brady stated that the administration said they did it wrong but now if they don’t pass the ordinance who are they punishing. She asked if they would be punishing the people of Vermilion because they don’t get as good of a contract, or are they punishing the administration because they will have to find another way to negotiate the contract. She asked who hurts by this. J. Gabriel said they are saying follow their rules or else. B. Brady said they still need to negotiate with 860. She asked if they could pull the 860 out of this ordinance and pass an agreement to negotiate with them. She asked where they are with the rest of the bill. J. Gabriel said if she wants to pull the 860 out and if somebody wants to come up with a cap number then he would be open to a suggestion along these lines, but as it stands now, he absolutely would not support this.
M. Rossini said in August of 2007 council was told it was $42,000 so didn’t somebody have a question then. H. Strickler said absolutely. M. Rossini asked what the answer was. H. Strickler said nothing. F. Ostrander said they were never asked for council’s support of this but were basically told upfront that they were hiring these guys and it would be around $20,000, but in August it was $42,000 and no big deal. He said now all of a sudden it is a big deal and the administration wants it. He said he will vote no to any of the modifications to the way it is written. M. Rossini said that negotiating with unions can be very difficult and he can see why the professionals came in. He respected the fact that they brought somebody in and questions the moral value of the $25,000 cap. He felt that somebody should have said something but didn’t think council should throw the water out of the pot and start over again.
B. Brady asked what the time schedule was with the Local 860. W. Hamilton said they are setting up dates later this month and in beginning of next month.
H. Strickler stated that for two years she has sat and watched council lose their Charter given power by multiple instances. She said it is about time that they take back control and do what the Charter calls them to do. She said the results may have been great, but the process was wrong. She wants the people that come after her to have a strong council. She said it has got to stop where they just go and do what they want to do when it is clearly wrong, but “Oh, council will just vote because they will bow to pressure”. She said it is time that things are done right and in the correct manner.
D. Roth asked what happens if this ordinance does not pass and this works has already been done. H. Strickler said it has already been done and it has already been paid.
Roll Call Vote. 2 YEAS (Brady, Rossini); 4 NAYS (Gabriel, Roth, Strickler, Ostrander). MOTION FAILED.
First Reading – Ordinance 2008-2: AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING A VIDEO SERVICE PROVIDER FEE TO BE PAID BY ANY VIDEO SERVICE PROVIDER OFFERING VIDEO SERVICE IN THE CITY; AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO GIVE NOTICE TO THE VIDEO SERVICE PROVIDER OF THE VIDEO SERVICE PROVIDER FEE, AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.
H. Strickler MOVED; J. Gabriel seconded to suspend the rules. Roll Call Vote 6 YEAS. MOTION CARRIED.
H. Strickler MOVED; B. Brady seconded to adopt this ordinance by emergency. Roll Call Vote 6 YEAS. MOTION CARRIED.
Third Reading – Ordinance 2007-113: AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE 2004-41 ADOPTED SEPTEMBER 7, 2004, TO ESTABLISH A PAY SCHEDULE FOR THE FIRE DEPARTMENT OF THE CITY OF VERMILION, OHIO.
B. Brady MOVED; H. Strickler seconded to adopt this ordinance. Roll Call Vote 6 YEAS. MOTION CARRIED.
Second Reading – Ordinance 2008-3: AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING AND DIRECTING THE MAYOR OF THE CITY OF VERMILION, OHIO TO APPROVE THE CONTINUATION OF THE CONTRACT PASSED ON DECEMBER 21, 1998, PURSUANT TO ORDINANCE 98-89 TO RECEIVE A SUBSIDY FROM BROWNHELM TOWNSHIP, LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO FOR SUBSCRIPTION AMBULANCE SERVICE THROUGH THE CITY OF VERMILION’S CONTRACT WITH NORTH CENTRAL EMS OF MILAN, OHIO FOR THE PERIOD OF JANUARY 1, 2008 THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2008 AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.
Second Reading – Ordinance 2008-4: AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING AND DIRECTING THE MAYOR OF THE CITY OF VERMILION, OHIO TO RECEIVE A SUBSIDY FROM VERMILION TOWNSHIP, ERIE COUNTY, OHIO FOR SUBSCRIPTION AMBULANCE SERVICE THROUGH THE CITY OF VERMILION’S CONTRACT WITH NORTH CENTRAL EMS OF MILAN, OHIO FOR THE PERIOD OF JANUARY 1, 2008 THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2008 AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.
First Reading – Ordinance 2008-6: AN ORDINANCE CONFIRMING THE APPOINTMENT BY THE MAYOR AND THE VERMILION PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD OF DALE DAWSON AS RECREATION DIRECTOR TO THE CITY OF VERMILION FOR THE 2008 RECREATIONAL PROGRAMS; ESTABLISHING A SALARY FOR SUCH APPOINTEE; ESTABLISHING COMPENSATION OF CERTAIN AUTHORIZED POSITIONS WITHIN THE VERMILION DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION AS HAVE BEEN FAVORABLY RECOMMENDED BY THE CITY’S PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.
H. Strickler MOVED; J. Gabriel seconded to suspend the rules. Roll Call Vote 6 YEAS. MOTION CARRIED.
B. Brady MOVED; H. Strickler seconded to adopt this ordinance by emergency. Roll Call Vote 6 YEAS. MOTION CARRIED.
First Reading - Ordinance 2008-7: AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 1260.06(1) OF THE CODIFIED ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF VERMILION ENTITLED “DEFINITIONS; ACCESSORY USE OR BUILDING”.
First Reading – Ordinance 2008-8: AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING AND DIRECTING THE MAYOR OF THE CITY OF VERMILION, OHIO TO MAKE PAYMENT OF FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($500.00) TO MAIN STREET VERMILION FOR THE 2008 PROMOTIONAL BROCHURES AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.
First Reading – Resolution 2008R-1: A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO FILE AN APPLICATION AND ENTER INTO AGREEMENT WITH THE LORAIN COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS THROUGH THE LORAIN COUNTY SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT DISTRICT FOR THE PURPOSE OF ACQUIRING FUNDS THROUGH THE RECYCLING AND COMPOSTING GRANT PROGRAM PURSUANT TO THE LORAIN COUNTY SOLID WASTE PLAN.
H. Strickler MOVED, J. Gabriel seconded to suspend the rules. Roll Call Vote 6 YEAS. MOTION CARRIED.
H. Strickler MOVED; J. Gabriel seconded to adopt this resolution. Roll Call Vote 6 YEAS. MOTION CARRIED.
H. Strickler MOVED, J. Gabriel seconded to adjourn into Executive Session to discuss personnel matters. Roll Call Vote 6 YEAS. MOTION CARRIED.
Tabled Ordinances:
Third Reading – Ordinance 2007-63: AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE 2007-10, ADOPTED MARCH 26, 007 TO MAKE APPROPRIATIONS FOR CURRENT EXPENSES AND OTHER EXPENDITURES FOR THE CITY OF VERMILION, OHIO FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2007 AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. ($400.59 – moral claim).
Third Reading – Ordinance 2007-76: AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE 2001-31 ADOPTED JULY 16, 2001 TO ACCEPT THE MAJOR CHANGE TO THE FINAL PLANS KNOWN AS VERMILION SHORES DEVELOPMENT, WHICH WAS PREVIOUSLY REZONED TO A PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT.
Third Reading – Ordinance 2007-100: AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO A CONTRACT WITH JOHNSON CONTROLS OF CLEVELAND, OHIO TO PROVIDE HOUSE BILL 300 PERFORMANCE CONTRACTING SERVICES TO THE CITY OF VERMILION AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.
Third Reading – Ordinance 2007-102: AN ORDINANCE ENACTING CHAPTER 1048 OF THE CODIFIED ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF VERMILION ENTITLED “CONSTRUCTION SITE SOIL EROSION, SEDIMENT, STORM WATER RUNOFF AND STORM WATER QUALITY CONTROLS AND REGULATIONS” AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.
Third Reading – Ordinance 2007-104: AN ORDINANCE ENACTING CHAPTER 1043 OF THE CODIFIED ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF VERMILION ENTITLED “GREASE INTERCEPTORS” AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.
MISCELLANEOUS:
W. Hamilton reported that in estimating the general fund carryover of half a million dollars, a couple things that should be included with this is some revenue sources, such as inheritance tax which has bumped up the revenues over anticipation. Also, last year he put the year-end fund balance in days of operation and last year the general fund was about five or six days of operation, with the goal being 60 to 90 days. He said they are now up to 32 days of operation.
ANNOUNCEMENT OF MEETING DATES:
- Monday, January 29, 2008 – Streets, Bldgs. & Grounds; Utilities Committee Meetings – 7:00 p.m.
- Monday, February 4, 2008 – Vermilion City Council Meeting – 7:00 p.m.
- Monday, February 11, 2008 – Health & Safety, Legislative; Finance Committee Meetings – 7:00 p.m.
- Tuesday, February 19, 2008 – Vermilion City Council Meeting – 7:00 p.m.
- Monday, February 25, 2008 – Utilities & Streets, Buildings & Grounds Committee Meetings – 7:00 p.m.
ADJOURNMENT:
No further business was conducted, therefore, F. Ostrander, President of Council adjourned the meeting.
1/25/08
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