Cleveland Heights City Council meeting highlights 6-4-12

JUNE 4, 2012

• Phyllis Evans resigns
• Oakwood Country Club
• Kent Road waterline
• LGBT Pride Month
• CDBG funds
• Construction by service providers
• Mayfield and Lee traffic signals
• Cooking oil collection
• Townhomes on Euclid Heights Boulevard
• Citizens United Supreme Court decision
• 2549 Noble Road

All council members were present.

Phyllis Evans resigns

Mayor Edward Kelley announced that Council Member Phyllis Evans had resigned for personal reasons, effective May 31. Throughout the meeting several council members spoke of their sadness at her resignation.

Oakwood Country Club

Two residents spoke regarding the development at the former Oakwood Country Club. Rich Sones of Bainbridge Road spoke about a four or five-acre section of the Oakwood Property, owned by Mitchell Schneider, which is adjacent to thirty houses on Bainbridge. He knows that the shopping center coming in will change the area and hopes that this parcel behind Bainbridge can be kept green, especially as it is next to a park planned for the South Euclid side. The parcel is currently zoned residential. Garry Kanter of Cummings Road spoke about, and distributed handouts concerning, development of the Cleveland Heights part of the Oakwood development. He noted that mature trees have been toppled to make way for development.

Kent Road waterline

The Kent Road waterline replacement contract was awarded to Montay Construction in an amount just over $194,000.

LGBT Pride Month

Council approved a resolution declaring June to be Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Pride Month, and detailing the long tradition of valuing and seeking diversity in this community.

CDBG funds

Council approved four pieces of legislation allocating Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds. These include:

• An agreement with the Center for Families and Children for the period of July 1, 2012 through June 30, 2013 for $15,000 to assist its Pinpoint Program at the RapArt Center.
• An agreement with the Cleveland Tenants Organization for $4,500 for its telephone information service.
• Reprogramming and reallocating CDBG funds by removing $151,250 from the Commercial Loan Fund and putting $15,000 of this into the Streetscape Low and Moderate Income Fund and $136,250 into the Public Works Fund. This will provide increased funds for road rehabilitation and streetscape work.
• An agreement with the Home Repair Resource Center for $216,000 for the agency’s various home repair and home improvement programs.

Construction by service providers

An ordinance to revise the city code to ensure proper protection and restoration of public and private property during construction activities by service providers was presented on first reading. Early in the evening, during the period of public comment, Dave Gunning of Fairmount Boulevard, who represents Dominion East Ohio Gas, urged the first reading and asked council to take time to talk to utility companies. He claimed the ordinance is unnecessary because existing ordinances cover sidewalk replacement but do not hold utilities to different standards than homeowners. The utilities just received the proposed ordinance late Friday afternoon. Councilman Jason Stein expressed concern about sidewalks left looking like checkerboards, thus diminishing curb appeal.

Mayfield and Lee traffic signals

Council amended an agreement with CT Consultants Inc. for professional services for the Mayfield/Lee Signalization Improvement Project. The amendment approves an additional $2,519.88, raising total project compensation to $11,019.88. To be funded through CDBG funds, it was necessitated by the need to add sound to the signal near the temporary facilities of the Cleveland Sight Center.

Cooking oil collection

Council Member Caplan announced that used cooking oil will now be collected curbside in an original container or a marked two-liter bottle and will be recycled and sold for fueling specially adapted motor vehicles.

Townhomes on Euclid Heights Boulevard

Council amended a resolution allowing construction of the City Vision townhomes on city property on Euclid Heights Boulevard. The first two phases of the project are complete but the third phase will not be built due to the housing downturn, and the developer will return the property to the city.

Citizens United Supreme Court decision

Council Member Jason Stein introduced, on first reading, a resolution opposing the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the case of Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission regarding the constitutional rights of corporations. The resolution supports an amendment to the constitution to provide that corporations are not entitled to the protected rights of natural persons, specifically so that corporate money spent to influence the election process is no longer a form of constitutionally protected speech. The resolution calls on Congress to begin the process of amending the Constitution. This resolution was addressed by several citizens at the beginning of the meeting, who thanked council for it’s action, urged a first reading and more complete wording, and mentioned the Move to Amend movement.

2549 Noble Road

Council declared the property at 2549 Noble Road a nuisance and authorized abatement. The property is a gas station and no progress in correcting violations has been made for the past three years.

LWV Observer: Blanche Valancy. 

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.