Council Discusses Changes To Clifton Boulevard West Clifton to the Rocky River Bridge

The City Hall Auditorium was once again packed the night of the July 20, 2015 Council meeting, however this time it was not completely due to those there to talk about the issue of Lakewood Hospital. The majority of the people in attendance were being recognized for their participation in the Fourth of July Parade.

Council President Mary Louise Madigan called the meeting to order at 7:36 P.M. and then proceeded to move on to the first order of business which was to recognize the previous mentioned groups. Mayor Summers took the podium and started out by thanking Lakewood Catholic Academy for being the Grand Marshall of the parade. He then recognized Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 387 for Best Color Guard, Halson Landscaping for Best Float, Beck Center for the Arts for Most Original Entry, Emerson Unicycle Club for Best Bicycle, and H2O for Most Spirit.

They were all presented with plaques commemorating their achievement.

Next Councilman David Anderson (Ward I) read a communication from Councilman Tom Bullock (At-Large), Councilwoman Cindy Marx (At-Large), Councilman Sam O'Leary, and himself. The letter was to update Council on a matter that Councilman Anderson and Councilman Bullock first made Council aware of in February. The Clifton Beach Improvement Association submitted proposed road improvements for the section of Clifton Boulevard from West Clifton to the bridge over the Rocky River. These suggested improvements included reducing the traffic to one lane on either side, adding bike lanes, a pedestrian sidewalk and crossings, upgrading the lighting, incorporating more trees, and improving stormwater management.

Councilman Anderson's communication was providing updates from the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA) and an Ohio Department of Transportation traffic study. Even though the study is still technically incomplete, officials from both organizations have felt comfortable going on record supporting the ideas proposed, including saying they believe there will be no impact to traffic from decreasing the number of lanes in that area. Both agencies actually went as far as to say that they were in favor of a “road diet” for this area. They were also informed that there is a likelihood that some funds may be available from ODOT to help cover the cost of the project.

As a final note, Councilman Anderson noted that they are aware that the section of Clifton pertaining to this proposed project is due to receive re-striping soon. Those presenting the letter asked the administration to consider postponing the work until the full study can be reviewed, which they said, should be early August.

There seemed to be some disagreement between Councilwoman Madigan and Councilman Bullock as to which committee the topic should be referred to for discussion. Councilwoman Madigan suggested it should go to the Public Works Committee since projects of this nature will have a heavy impact on the City's Public Works Department. Councilman Bullock wished it to go to the Public Safety Committee (which he chairs) since he believes the areas of the issue that deal with pedestrians and cyclists should be discussed in his Committee. When the question was posed to Councilman Shawn Juris (Ward III), the Chair of the Public Works Committee, he said that he agreed with Madigan that the topic seemed more suited for the Public Works Committee, however, he said that if it is believed that the issue has big enough public safety concerns to warrant it being sent to the Public Safety Committee, they can do what they have done in the past. After it has returned to Council from the Public Works Committee it can be referred to the the Public Safety Committee for further discussion.

Councilman Anderson chimed in and said that he appreciates the points Councilman Bullock is trying to make, and he has the same concerns, however at the current point he said, for him, this issue is primarily a public works one.

The matter was sent to the Public Works Committee with a vote of 6-1.

Next the Mayor asked Council to consider making changes to the resolution which created the Clean Water Lakewood Integrated Planning Task Force. It was initially felt that there would be modest interest from volunteers who were asked to discuss the City's sewer infrastructure and how to move toward complying with the Clean Water Act of 1972. However, there has been overwhelming public interest from “remarkably able and informed...citizens,” the mayor said. He asked Council to expand the Task Force from 11 members to 25, who have already been selected. He hopes by doing this the City will be able to expand creative input, create a large group of informed citizens to aid in communicating this complex issue to others, and also make a bold statement to the Federal and State EPAs about the significance of the City's citizen engagement in helping to solve the issue.

Since the issue dealt with a resolution, the compulsory three readings that are necessary for a ordinance did not apply. Therefore Council moved forward with a vote and adopted the resolution.

Director of Public Works, Joe Beno, then asked Council to consider allowing the City to accept a 0% interest loan from the Ohio Public Works Commission in the amount of $676,500. The loan would help fund the 2016 Watermain Project which includes redoing the watermains on portions of Alameda Avenue, Lakeland Avenue, Morrison, and Robinwood Avenue. The City initially planned to budget the whole project from city coffers, but since the State has offered this loan, it would allow the City to take 20 years to pay off the project easing the impact of the project on the Public Works and Division of Water budgets. Since the 2016 budget has yet to be done, this information, and money, will come in handy during that process.

Council passed the resolution unanimously.

Coming to the end of the meeting agenda, Council President Madigan opened the floor to public comment. There was still a substantial crowd in the Auditorium, many of whom were waiting to speak. The main topic of discussion was the same as it has been for several months now, the discussion over the future of Lakewood Hospital. Both sides of the debate were represented in force. One of the board members of the Lakewood Hospital Association Board of Trustees was there to speak in support of the Mayor's plan to work with the Cleveland Clinic to develop a new medical center in Lakewood.

Two people came to discuss safety issues in their neighborhood. They shared a long list of issues that have arisen in recent years and described the increase of nuisance properties in the area. They wanted to bring this to the Administration's attention to see if there was anything more that could be done to address the situation.

Lastly there were two people there to talk about the proposed project on Clifton Boulevard mentioned above.

After more than an hour of public comment, everyone who wished to had a chance to speak. With no further business before Council, Council President Madigan adjourned the meeting at 9:41 P.M.