University Heights City Council meeting highlights 10-19-2015

OCTOBER 19, 2015

  • Leaf season
  • Fenwick Road closed
  • Municipal income tax
  • County public health services
  • Sewer camera system
  • Dump truck purchases
  • Payroll service
  • Pool painting
  • Sanitary and storm sewer systems
  • Council committee meetings

All council members were present.

Leaf season

Leaf pickup has begun. The same trucks are used for leaf collection and snow removal.

Fenwick Road closed

Construction on the new park continues on schedule and Fenwick Road is now closed for the next five to six weeks.

Municipal income tax

Council modified the city code regarding municipal income tax to comply with RITA, the Regional Income Tax Agency model code, and changes mandated by Ohio House Bill 5. Only slight modifications are needed for University Heights’s tax ordinances to be in compliance.

County public health services

Council approved the Cuyahoga County Board of Health 2016 contract for public health services in an amount not to exceed $53,073. This rate is calculated on a per-person rate of $3.92, which is unchanged from last year. The rate is standard for all cities that use the county board’s services, which include home visits to newborns, restaurant inspections, travel clinics, lead paint exposure, and rabies control.

Sewer camera system

Council accepted the $9,800 quote from Jack Doheny Companies for a lateral sewer camera system with locator. This is for a small Viewtech camera, which can be pushed into a sewer line for inspections, is self-leveling, and includes a locator to show where the camera is within the pipe. Viewtech was the optimal camera for the need and Jack Doheny is the local distributor. Previously, an outside contractor was used to inspect sewers, or the pipe was dug up if the obstruction couldn’t be identified. Savings in outside contractors and unnecessary digging will offset the cost of the camera.

Dump truck purchases

Council authorized the purchase of two 2016 Freightliner 108SD 4x2 five-ton dump truck cab and chassis through the Ohio Department of Transportation Cooperative Purchasing Program from Cleveland Freightliner of Parma, Ohio, for $175,336. These two new trucks will replace two older trucks which are each 16 years old and have 80,000 miles. They are severely rusted and have been repaired many times. These trucks are used in the summer for hauling dirt and refuse and in the winter for spreading salt and plowing snow. The trucks will be received next year as they still need to be built to the city’s specifications. This purchase was included in the budget for 2015.

Council authorized the purchase of two stainless steel five-ton dump bodies with snow and ice control systems through the Ohio Department of Transportation Cooperative Purchasing Program from Concord Road Equipment Manufacturing of Painesville, Ohio, for $100,311. The dump body is manufactured separately, and installed onto the truck body, and includes the dump truck, hydraulics, salt sprayer and snowplow. If the trucks last 15 years, the cost averages out to $9,200 per year for each truck.

Payroll service

The city has received a quote from Paychex for payroll services and is getting a third quote shortly, but neither vendor is able to set up the city for this year’s processing. Only ADP, which was approved at the last meeting, has been able to guarantee the fast setup.

Pool painting

The city has solicited bids for painting of the pool, which will be done in the spring.

Sanitary and storm sewer systems

City Engineer Joe Ciuni, along with Service Director Jeff Pokorny, will attend a meeting of the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) to learn about the upcoming study of the sanitary and storm sewer systems for the Heights/Hilltop Interceptor sewer. The goal is to find ways to keep storm water from entering the sanitary sewer system. Councilman Steven Sims expressed concern regarding the high cost of the external study, as well as the likely improvement costs to likely be borne by the local communities, in spite of extensive rate increases by the NEORSD. Councilman Mark Wiseman asked Ciuni to find out if the district was considering green methods for water abatement instead of just laying more pipe.

Council committee meetings

The building committee will be meeting to discuss the issue of the backyard day camps. The civic affairs committee will meet to discuss possible changes to the city’s legislation regarding women and minority business contracts.

LWV Observer: Wendy Deuring.

NOVEMBER 2, 2015

No observer was available to report on this meeting.

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 of Greater Cleveland. This disclaimer must accompany any redistribution of these reports.

Read More on University Heights
Volume 8, Issue 12, Posted 3:38 PM, 11.16.2015