February 1, 2007
Council president Hofstetter called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. with the following members present: B. Blue, E. Davis, J. Jemison, S. Klein and B. Wallace. Mayor Poole arrived at 7:45 p.m.
Also present: C. Osborne – Fiscal Officer, D. Weir - Admin., Tom Lee – Village Solicitor, B. Provost – Village Engineer, S. Roessner – Zoning Inspector, Police Chief Stehlik, Carl Hornung, Victor Sudik, Ken Young, Jonathon Miller, Fire Chief Reed, and Jennifer McKevitt – News Herald.
Agenda: Add to 1st readings – Ord. 07-103
New business #3 – municipal parking lot improvements.
Minutes of January 18, 2007 meeting were presented for approval. Wallace moved to approve the minutes as amended. Blue seconded. Roll Call: All Yeas (6).
Payment of Bills Totaling $170,826.09 was presented for payment. Jemison moved to authorize the payment of bills totaling $170,826.09. Klein seconded. Roll Call: All Yeas (6).
Director of Streets & Utilities Report – January: Routine equipment maintenance at the WTP and the WWTP, routine vehicle maintenance, meter replacement and installation, snow plowing, and sidewalk cleaning. Because of the large amount of rain in the beginning of January, there were 2 serious storm sewer problems resulting in major repairs.
Police Report – January: Included in the council packet. Chief Stehlik stated this January showed a 10% increase in activity compared to January 2006.
Zoning inspector – included in the council packet. Roessner stated he attended the county-sponsored advanced training for the new zoning feature on the GIS system. This system is only available to county government, police and fire departments.
Bank Report – December: included in the council packet.
Financial Report – December: included in the council packet.
Investment Report – December: included in the council packet.
Detail Trial Balance Report – December: included in the council packet.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
Victor Sudik of Grant St. commended Chief Stehlik on the positive comments regarding the police department’s policy to drive those who have been drinking and don’t have a designated driver.
Sudik stated he’s noticed for some time there are no current committee minutes on the Village’s website. Weir stated we’ve been having difficulty with our web maintenance contractor and is considering various changes to the website. Lee stated minutes aren’t posted until they’re approved. Also, Lee stated there’s software that can assist with website maintenance.
Sudik stated the Wesleyan Church on W. High Street is for sale and requested council consider purchasing it as a public building. Sudik stated the church is probably the 2nd oldest building in the Village, and it also provides a buffer between the commercial and the residential area. Sudik stated he would rather see it used as a public building rather than a commercial building.
Sudik requested before council considers approving any annexation, to put it up for voter approval. Sudik noted he feels past annexations resulted in many mistakes and promises not kept.
Councilwoman Davis stated for those who have local cable, G-TV will re-broadcast of the Jan. 29, 2007 Town Hall meeting this week.
Carl Hornung requested he be permitted to comment on the proposed annexation when it is discussed under new business.
FIRST READING
Ordinance 07-103: Establishing the Compensation of the Village Crossing Guards, and Declaring an Emergency.
Davis introduced Ord. 07-103, read by title only, moved to waive the required readings and declare an emergency. Blue seconded. Roll Call: All Yeas (6).
Jemison moved to pass Ord. 07-103, seconded by Wallace. Roll Call: All Yeas (6).
SECOND READING
Ordinance 07-102: Authorizing the Fiscal Officer to Transfer the Unencumbered Balance in the COPS Fast Fund, in the Amount of $10,241.85, to the General Fund.
Klein introduced Ord. 07-102, read by title only, and moved to place it on second reading. Wallace seconded. Roll Call: All Yeas (6).
THIRD READING – none before council.
ENGINEER’S REPORT – included in the council packet.
OLD BUSINESS
1. Miller/Johnson Development and Annexation: Ken Young stated he’s been working on this project for some time and is requesting council act tonight. Lee stated council decided to wait until the revisions to the Village’s comprehensive plan were reviewed. The revisions have not been completed. Council advised they were not opposed to the annexation, but would be receptive to a proposal and recommendation from the planning commission. Klein stated the general consensus of the planning commission is that they were not in favor of the annexation. Davis questioned the reasons the planning commission is opposed to the annexation. Klein stated he won’t speak for the planning commission members. Klein stated he personally doesn’t want the annexation because there’s a lot of property in the Woodsong development and the Glen Valley development that hasn’t been sold, and doesn’t feel the Village is in need of another development. Also, the only ingress/egress presented is on S. Springdale Ave. and, even though there’s been discussion to have the ingress/egress on Lake Ave., he isn’t in favor of that option.
Young stated he believes it’s narrow-minded of council not to annex this property, and stated he’s going to develop this property regardless. Young stated he understands the concerns of the Woodsong residents, and is willing to work with them. Young stressed he wants this property annexed into the Village and believed the planning commission was in favor of the plan and had their approval. Mayor Poole stated the planning commission and council need to decide if this development is in the best interests of the Village. Lee stated it’s harder for developers to develop projects in the township because there are no water and sewer services. Lee reminded council because there’s no zoning in Middlefield Township, the Village will have no control over what Young constructs on that property. Davis stated there would be water and sewer services to the 17 acres of this project that are located in the Village, if Young wants to develop that portion. Lee agreed and noted the main issue is should the Village annex the remaining property for this project. Discussion held regarding the opposition from the Woodsong residents and the new septic regulations. Young stressed he’s moving forward with this project regardless of Village approval because there are on-site sanitary units that can be constructed on this property. Lee reminded Young Village officials stated they wanted to review the findings of the comprehensive plan update prior to making a decision and would contact him. Lee stated Village officials didn’t want to require Young to pay for several studies if they aren’t willing to move forward.
Provost stated the plan before council this evening is different than the one before the planning commission, and doesn’t know if the Village can support the infrastructure. Discussion held regarding the planning commission’s past practice of requiring developers to reserve tracts of land for potential road connection. This enables the planning commission to see how the project would look if future road connections are needed.
Wallace stated with Young’s determination to develop this project council
needs to consider all of the issues. Also, do the Woodsong residents realize if this property isn’t annexed and with no zoning laws in Middlefield Township, anything can be constructed on that property. Davis stated an in-depth study was performed in the county that determined the county is in need of alternate kinds of housing for seniors, persons with disabilities, and single-family homes - more specifically affordable housing. The study showed many seniors are being forced out of Geauga County do to the high property taxes, and believes Middlefield Village would be a good area to have senior housing. Davis stated she’s in favor of the annexation, but knows the township will fight it.
Weir stated the final comprehensive plan will be completed by May. Lee stated Young’s been very cooperative with the planning commission. However, this is a big project and advised council to consider all parameters of this annexation, i.e. opposition from the Middlefield Township Trustees, Woodsong residents, and the County Commissioners.
Mayor Poole requested Weir contact NorStar Planning to see if the housing portion of the comprehensive plan is complete.
NEW BUSINESS
1. Pay Request #1 – Tare Creek Traffic Signal: Weir stated Arcadis has reviewed this pay request and recommends it to council for approval, noting the retainage isn’t included with this total. Weir stated the grading will be completed once the weather is favorable, and stated has requested the striping be included with the Village’s routine striping. Hofstetter moved to authorize pay request #1 for the Tare Creek Traffic Signal at North State Ave., in the amount of $51,388.72, seconded by Wallace. Roll Call: All Yeas (6).
2. American Fireworks Community Days: Blue moved to approve the contract with American Fireworks Company for fireworks display for Community Days, at a cost of $5,250.00, seconded by Davis. Roll Call: All Yeas (6).
3. Municipal Parking lot improvements – Weir stated this project has been discussed several times over the years. Discussion held regarding requiring the adjacent property owners to pay a contributing portion for these improvements, and how to repair the parking lot without affecting those businesses. It was suggested to close the lot completely for one month, but fears that will cause hardship to the businesses. Weir proposed repairing sections of the lot over a three-year period. Hofstetter stated, as one of the adjacent business owners, this parking lot is a safety issue and it’s been discussed among the neighboring business owners to repair it and correct some drainage issues. Provost stated he’ll inspect the parking lot, and complete a simple bid package. The worst areas will be completed first.
Committee Reports
Safety committee– Chief Stehlik stated he received a favorable price from Midway for a new cruiser. This includes a trade-in, and will incorporate the flasher systems.
Streets and Sidewalks committee – Hofstetter stated the committee recommended flower contract similar to last years for hanging baskets with the possibility of having to buy new baskets.
Spring clean up is scheduled for May 19.
The committee discussed replacing the downtown traffic signals from those suspended on wires to installing traffic signals on mast arms.
Being no further business at this time, Klein moved to adjourn at 8:55 p.m.