Prior to our meeting on Thursday we had an organizational meeting on January 2, 2020. At this meeting, I was grateful to be selected unanimously to serve as the President of Council for the 2020 year. Mr. Jeremy McIntire was selected as the Vice-President of Council and Mr. Dennis Altieri was selected as President Pro Tem.
- The meeting on January 9th started out with a Public Hearing to re-zone the Baummans Properties site at 4563 Hudson Drive to C-2 Limited Retail. This site was previously the Baummans Florist location and since that business re-located, the property owners are looking for another use of this property. This re-zoning was supported by Planning Commission as it would provide a buffer between industrial zoning and residential zoning. This item did move on to Council and was passed 7-0.
- During our committee of the whole we discussed a request from the administration for Council to support the application for a state capital improvement grant for the city center project. In the end, the vote to move this on to council failed 3-4, Feldman, Hailer, Shaw voted yes while Altierie, Fiocca, McIntire and myself voted no. I personally do not feel this project is far enough along to request state money and there are several other issues that need resolved on this project before it moves forward. Here is a summary of my concerns, many that I feel need resolved before we should ask for any grant funds or approve any project of this size:
- The total estimated cost for this project is estimated at $1,380,000. I feel this is a very large project and I do not want to see this project start until there is funding to complete it. The estimate from the administration was IF we did receive state grant funds the project is still estimated to be $640,000 short to complete. I do not want to see a project started when we do not have funds to complete it. This could end up being an eyesore in the city or become a tax burden to the citizens to finish.
- The administration wants to name a private organization as the fiscal agent for this project vs. having donations come directly to the city. I feel if this is a city project then the money should be held by the city and do not see a need to have all the money pass through a private organization.
- There is no estimate of maintenance cost associated with this project. It was proposed that a full time employee be dedicated to upkeep this site during the peak season of use, however there was no amount included in what that would cost. It is important to me that we understand the on-going financial burden of any project and I believe that information is required before we commit to a project.
- There are a lot of parks already in our city that need maintenance—before we commit to any new project I would like to see a list of the current park needs and the cost of those projects. We already received a $165,000 from First Energy as part of our signing an energy aggregation agreement. I would like to see how that money could address current issues before committing it to a project that has not been approved or funded yet.
- Council also approved the promotion of a Captain in the Fire Department, and two (2) Lieutenants, (one based on retirement, one based on the promotion to Captain).
- We also approved the hiring of the following positions (the names of these new employees will be shared after they have time to give their proper notice to their current employers):
- Deputy Law Director
- Golf Course Superintendent
- Billing Clerk II in Finance
Our next meeting will be January 23, 2020 at 7 PM. There will also be 3 public hearings on January 23rd starting at 5:30 PM in Council Chambers—this is for the rezoning of various properties across the city to conservation zoning.