Cleveland Heights City Council meeting highlights 1-3-12

JANUARY 3, 2012

• Oaths of office
• Committee assignments
• City liability insurance
• Parks and recreation 2012
• Additional soccer field work
• 1031 Greyton Road
• Aligning traffic and criminal offenses with state law
• Roethlisberger Foundation donation to K-9 unit

All council members were present.

Oaths of office

The first meeting of 2012 featured the administration of the oath of office to newly elected council members Mary Dunbar and Jason Stein (Stein had been previously appointed), and re-elected council members, Phyllis Evans and Dennis Wilcox. Council re-elected Edward Kelley mayor and Dennis Wilcox, vice mayor; they were also administered an oath of office.

Committee assignments

The new committee membership for each council standing committee will be as follows:

• Administrative Services: Mary Dunbar (chair), Cheryl Stephens (vice chair), Bonnie Caplan (member);
• Community Relations and Recreation: Phyllis Evans (chair), Caplan (vice chair), Jason Stein (member);
• Finance: Stephens (chair), Dennis Wilcox (vice chair), Dunbar (member);
• Municipal Services: Caplan (chair), Stein (vice chair), Evans (member);
• Planning and Development: Wilcox (chair), Evans (vice chair), Stephens (member);
• Public Safety and Health: Stein (chair), Dunbar (vice chair), Wilcox (member).

City liability insurance

Council authorized an agreement with Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. for continuation of its protected liability self-insurance program for the city, for the period of Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2012, at a cost not to exceed $334,554.

Parks and recreation 2012

Council approved entertainment and recreation programs in Cain Park and other locations for the year 2012, and established use regulations and admission rates for the described activities. Council established use regulations and admission rates for other services, such as for Cumberland Swimming Pool, and the provision of indoor swimming programs at the Cleveland Heights High School pool for the year 2012.

Additional soccer field work

Council approved two change orders with Marous Brothers Construction for a contract for the Denison Park Soccer Field project. Additional work was necessary because of unexpected site conditions, resulting in a price increase of $22,851, bringing the project’s total cost to $678,220.

1031 Greyton Road

Council declared the property at 1031 Greyton Road to be a nuisance and authorized abatement at an estimated cost of $10,450.

Aligning traffic and criminal offenses with state law

Council amended specific sections of the Traffic Code, and the General Offenses Code to make them consistent with current state law.

Roethlisberger Foundation donation to K-9 unit

A grant from Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, and the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation at The Giving Back Fund, to the Cleveland Heights Police Department's K-9 division will be used for the purchase and training of a new canine, as well as a K-9 ballistic vest.

LWV observer: Katherine Solender.

These meeting summaries are abstracted from LWV observers’ written reports. The summaries have been edited and prepared by Anne McFarland, Charlene Morse and Maryann Barnes. To receive e-mail postings of full reports, send an e-mail to mbarnes9515@gmail.com or join through Google groups using “lwv-chuh observer reports” as a search phrase.

These reports contain member observation and selected highlights of public meetings and are not official statements of the Heights Chapter of the League of Women Voters Cuyahoga Area. This disclaimer must accompany any redistribution of these reports.