Council Supports Lakewood Schools
Council President Kevin Butler (Ward I) called the February 1, 2010 Council Meeting to order at 7:35 P.M. After the opening procedures, Councilman Butler recognized and welcomed Ohio State Senator Dale Miller who was sitting in the audience.
The first order of business was presented by Councilman Michael Summers (Ward III) and was asking Council to support the Schools 6.9 mill operating levy, which will be on the May ballot. Summers highlighted the sacrifices the schools have already made and the cuts they will still have to make even if the levy does pass. The communication supporting the resolution was signed by all members of Council, indicating the imminence of them passing it. Councilman Butler, Councilman Thomas Bullock (Ward II) and Councilwoman Nickie Antonio (At-Large) all made comments supporting the schools and thanking them for their excellent service to our city and its children, their responsibility in making a three year levy last seven and congratulating them on their excellent rating.
Council voted unanimously to pass the resolution. Since the Board of Education was holding their meeting at the same time as Council they sent Assistant Superintendent Jan Soeder to accept the Resolution and then deliver it to their meeting.
Next on the agenda, Councilman Bullock asked Council to recognize Julie Hutchison and Bobby Breitenstein’s Root Café. After years of being a warm and inviting place, welcoming all to experience the community that there was inside the Phoenix, Julie and Bobby expanded their business and grew it to fit its full potential, the new Root Café. The resolution recognizes the Root Café for all the community, love and hard work that went into revitalizing the space and making it into the wonderful café it is now. It also recognizes the warm inviting nature the Phoenix had that now carries on at Root, where people from every background can come together and enjoy conversation, reading or music in a comfortable atmosphere.
Councilwoman Antonio thanked the Root for being a continuing safe haven for Lakewood’s youth which can often be seen congregating out front, as well as inside. Council passed the resolution.
Finance Director, Jennifer Pae, introduced 12 ordinances granting contracting authority for several capital improvement projects that are to take place in 2010. The 12 items are mostly related to wastewater improvements, street signs and traffic signals, buildings and facilities and parks and pools improvements. The total is to be about seven million dollars. Council referred the 12 items to the Finance Committee for further consideration.
Sitting in for Director of Public Works, William Corrigan, Division of Engineering Manager, read a letter from Public Works asking Council to approve an Ordinance that would grant an easement to the City from Board of Education to allow the replacement of a traffic light pole in front of Garfield Middle School. The ordinance needed to be passed as emergency legislation so the work could begin. However, neither in the ordinance itself nor in the letter asking for the passage of it was it requested. However, after discussion between Council and Mr. Corrigan it was decided that it indeed needed to be passed on first reading. Therefore Council amended the ordinance with the help of the Law Director, Nora Hurley, and after two amendments and six votes, the ordinance was adopted.
Police Chief Timothy Malley then asked Council to approve an ordinance that would allow extra points be given on Civil Service scores for Lakewood’s part-time officers as well as rating those points for the amount of time the officer has been with Lakewood. Since this aspect of the hiring process had not been looked at since the addition of part time officers to Lakewood’s Police Force, Chief Malley thought it should be considered. Council referred the matter to the Rules and Ordinances Committee for further consideration.
Director of Human Resources, Jean Yousefi, asked Council to pass an ordinance that would allow the City to pay the salaries of two new positions created that were approved by the Civil Services Commission. The first position is a Finance Manager which will have supervisory duties over Income Tax, Water Administration and Vital Statistics Divisions. The second position is a Development Officer who would coordinate money for development projects. This would include seeking grants, overseeing development dollars coming in and the administering of what those funds need to be spent on. It is hoped that this position would help the City get the most out of the money received for special projects.
Although it was asked that this ordinance be passed immediately, Council was not to keen on the idea of appropriating money for two new positions without considering the impact they might have on the Budget. For that reason, Councilman Butler asked Director Yousefi if she would mind if Council took the matter under consideration before voting on it. She agreed and Council referred the matter to the Committee of the Whole for consideration.
After a relatively short meeting, despite the deceptively long Docket, Council President Butler adjourned the meeting at 8:37 P.M.