MINUTES
OF A REGULAR MEETING OF COUNCIL
Monday, April 28, 2008
INVOCATION
BY: Councilman
Vincent Liotta
Council Members Dudley,
Marincic, Liotta,
Sarnowski, Suster, Mahoney, Abella
Moved
by Clmn SUSTER to accept the minutes of the regular meeting of City Council of April
14, 2008 as submitted. The minutes were accepted with seven YES votes.
WRITTEN
COMMUNICATIONS TO COUNCIL: None.
LEGISLATION OUT OF COMMITTEE: None.
REPORTS OF THE MAYOR AND
DIRECTORS:
MAYOR
THOMAS LONGO: Good evening, Mr. Wagner and Members of
Council. A couple of items to share with you. The Police Chief has put out a
memo:
“During the past two weeks I have attended meetings
in Clmn Liotta’s Ward, Clwn Marincic’s Ward as well as the Garfield Heights Democratic
Club. Those in attendance were very supportive of the Police Department (by the way this went out to all his
personnel. This is a continuation of what he did last year and before) and
voiced their appreciation for what you do for them. They complimented you on
your visibility and quick response to their calls. As the weather gets warmer they’re
asking for our help with the ongoing problems of daytime and nighttime curfews,
juveniles walking, skating, playing in the streets and loud music coming from
vehicles outside of homes. As I recall, each of us, when asked why we wanted to
become a police officer answered “to help people”. The citizens of this
community are asking for their Police Department to help them. Violations of
these quality of life issues cannot and will not be tolerated. Enforcement
action shall be taken against those who continue to violate these ordinances.
The vast majority of citizens in this community speak well of and support you.
This support will continue by your responding positively to their concerns. Bureau
Shift commanders, it is your responsibility to deliver the context of this memo
to those under your command.
Thomas Murphy”
I
thought you guys would enjoy hearing that.
As
a reminder, on May 8th at 7 p.m. our Community Discussion on Race
vs. Perception will continue. This is at the Performing Arts Center at the high
school. I encourage all elected officials and everyone, as far as that goes, to
attend. It’s interesting but you have to sit and listen. This is not something
that you just come in and speak your mind. You’ve got to listen because
somebody will get up and respond to those things that are spoken.
Mark
your calendars. On May 6th at 7 p.m. we’ll have a meeting on Senior Transportation
Consortium here at the
In
referring to tonight’s legislation, Ordinance 11 of course terminates the tax abatement
for Audiopack. They never applied for it. So it came out of a recommendation
that there’s no sense in continuing it. Let’s get it off the books and we ask
your support on this. This concludes my report.
LAW
DIRECTOR DAVID MACK: No report.
PRESIDENT
WAGNER: Any
questions for Mr. Mack?
CLWN SARNOWSKI: A few meetings ago, Council put up a Resolution
to look into taking property by eminent domain around the Snider-Cannata
property. Around there. How come the City is evicting someone in Court? Did we
approve that?
LAW
DIRECTOR DAVID MACK: Are you talking about the Lifeline case?
CLWN SARNOWSKI: Yes.
LAW
DIRECTOR DAVID MACK: That is in the property that the Snider trust,
David Snider’s family, owns and if you recall, we had discussions and no one
was real anxious about putting that road through the two buildings because it would
do a substantial amount of damage. So David finally said well the only way to
do this is to go through my own building, which I guess we all tended to agree
with since we passed it. Now under the terms of the development agreement that
was long ago accepted between the City and the developer, Dave felt that it was
necessary to move this tenant at this time. It’s my understanding that the
lease expires in November and they are in the process of negotiating that today.
They were at Court today. Unfortunately I didn’t get here till about 5:45 or
6:30 p.m. I did not get the results. I’ll be talking to them tomorrow. I think
our engineer is meeting them tomorrow. That’s what that is.
CLWN SARNOWSKI: Why would the City evict them and not David Snider?
LAW
DIRECTOR DAVID MACK: It’s actually Snider under the terms of the
development agreement because we’re taking the property by eminent domain but
the City is not paying for it under the development agreement. Snider pays for
the property. Snider pays the attorneys. Snider pays all expenses. That was our
development agreement with the Snider people as it was across the way with
Boyas originally.
CLWN SARNOWSKI: Why is the City’s name in it?
LAW
DIRECTOR DAVID MACK: They’re taking it in the name of the City because
it’s part of the eminent domain act, which we have authorized them to file in
our name as long as Council passes the appropriate legislation, which Council
did, on the eminent domain. Now they’re following it up to remove that particular
tenant.
PRESIDENT
WAGNER: Any
other questions? How about a clarification on that, Mr. Mack? The ordinance
that was passed a couple meetings ago, was that not, to my understanding, was that
an intent to give notice of eminent domain? I think the question was asked in
the Council Caucus. You can look at the minutes. I think the response was just
giving notice that we’d have to come back to Council to actually do the eminent
domain? Or is it not?
LAW
DIRECTOR DAVID MACK: I don’t remember off hand, Frank, but you’re
probably right. But they still have the right to do this. They’re in Common
Pleas Court already also.
PRESIDENT
WAGNER:
What’s going on there?
LAW
DIRECTOR DAVID MACK: As part of the eminent domain proceedings. I’m not
going to speculate why they’re here and there. That’s between the different
lawyers, but I did have a conversation with Mr. Diemert’s office and they said
they were very hopeful of trying to reach resolution at some point today.
That’s where that’s going. It’s all in the terms of the development agreement that
was passed.
SERVICE DIRECTOR TIMOTHY
McLAUGHLIN: No report.
PARKS
AND RECREATION DIRECTOR JAMES BUKAC: I have no
report other than the ice rink is closed for the season.
BUILDING
COMMISSIONER WILLIAM WERVEY: No report.
ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR NOREEN KUBAN: As the Mayor had mentioned
Ordinance 11-2008 refers to the termination of a tax abatement agreement for
Audiopack Technologies. They’ve never performed and never applied for the tax
abatement so we just need to terminate that. That concludes my report.
PRESIDENT
WAGNER: Any
questions of the Economic Development Director? I have one. Ms. Kuban, Lifeline
Screening. We are in the process of evicting them out of the City/building?
R.I.T.A. says that they paid the first quarter $54,000.00 in payroll taxes over
four quarters. That’s $216,000.00/year that they paid to the City. Is your
office doing anything to try to keep them in
ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR NOREEN KUBAN: I’ve
contacted them repeatedly over the years to keep them in
LAW
DIRECTOR DAVID MACK: At 2% City income tax that figure can’t be correct.
PRESIDENT
WAGNER:
That’s what R.I.T.A. reported.
LAW
DIRECTOR DAVID MACK: That would be an over $200 million payroll.
MAYOR
THOMAS LONGO: Their income taxes are about $150,000.00. We
have already gone on record to offer them all kinds of different locations.
PRESIDENT WAGNER: To keep them in
MAYOR
THOMAS LONGO: Absolutely. There’s space available in
several buildings right through that area. There’s something going on between
this company and the owners, the corporation and they’re looking to squeeze
everything they can to get whatever monies they can. I’ve been able to nose
around through different businesses down through that area and everything that
I’ve been told, everything’s leaving. Come November they’re moving out. There’s
some excellent things on the table right now for them to take into
consideration. It’s a business decision and they’ll make that decision.
PRESIDENT WAGNER: That’s good to know that we’re doing something
to try to keep them here.
CITY
ENGINEER DAVID NEUMEYER: No report.
FINANCE
DIRECTOR RICHARD OBERT: No report.
PRESIDENT
WAGNER: Any
questions of the Finance Director?
CLWN MARINCIC: Richard,
is there anything that this City Council could be doing and is not doing to cut
expenditures in our City?
FINANCE
DIRECTOR RICHARD OBERT: You have your appropriation
process which we started with. In the Courts it’s basically, I’m going to say
the management; it’s nothing you personally are going to do. It’s going to be
the management of the City that’s going to make these reductions. I’m sorry.
CLWN MARINCIC: If there is something that this City Council
should be doing, you would let us know immediately, right?
FINANCE
DIRECTOR RICHARD OBERT: It’s the extreme measures which
you really can do. You probably won’t be re-elected. I have no comment on that.
Leave it go at that.
CLWN MARINCIC: OK. As I said I would hope that you would let
us know as soon as possible if there is anything that we need to know and what
our options are.
FINANCE
DIRECTOR RICHARD OBERT: OK.
CLWN MARINCIC: Thank you.
FINANCE
DIRECTOR RICHARD OBERT: You’re welcome.
CITY ARCHITECT DAVID
SPEHAR: Absent.
COMMENTS BY CITIZENS:
PRESIDENT
WAGNER:
That concludes the reports of the Mayor and the Directors. Next we’ll move on
to Comments by Citizens. Comments shall be strictly limited to a brief
statement not to exceed five minutes with comments limited to the legislation
on the current evening Council agenda and no citizen shall speak more than
once. Is there anyone wishing to address Council on tonight’s agenda? (None.)
COMMITTEE REPORTS: None.
PRESIDENT
WAGNER: Next we’ll move on to Ordinances and
Resolutions.
ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS:
PRESIDENT WAGNER: We’ll begin with Ordinance number 11-2008.
Will the Clerk please read the title?
ORDINANCE NO. 11-2008
AN EMERGENCY ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING AND
DIRECTING CITY COUNCIL TO TERMINATE THE TAX ABATEMENT AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE
CITY OF GARFIELD HEIGHTS AND AUDIOPACK TECHNOLOGIES, INC./NOOM ENTERPRISES LLC.
Moved by SARNOWSKI to CONSIDER
BY TITLE:
AYES: 7
Motion to SUSPEND THREE READING RULE:
AYES: 7
VOTE
ON ADOPTION:
AYES: 7
COMMENTS BY CITIZENS:
PRESIDENT WAGNER: Next
we’ll move on to Comments by Citizens. Comments shall be restricted to any
problem a citizen has which has previously been submitted to his or her
Councilperson or to the City Hall department directly involved. If the
submission of a problem to a City Hall department or a Councilperson is made
and there is a lack of service rendered in this regard the problem may then be
presented during Comments by Citizens at a future meeting. It is the intention
of this rule that no request of a first nature be presented on the floor at
this time. Comments shall be limited to five minutes and no citizen shall be
heard more than once. Is there anyone wishing to address Council this evening? (None.)
MISCELLANEOUS
BUSINESS:
PRESIDENT
WAGNER: There
being none, we’ll move on to Miscellaneous Business. I’d just like to remind
everybody this Wednesday, April 30th is the second Foreclosure
Prevention Clinic in the City of
CLMN SUSTER: I have a question for Mr. Wervey. Bill, could
you tell us how many vacant houses and foreclosures we have in
BUILDING COMMISSIONER WILLIAM WERVEY: As of today there are
around 500 houses in the foreclosure process and there are about 970 that are vacant.
They are vacant for any number of reasons.
CLMN SUSTER: That’s it.
This is for Council President Wagner. Last Thursday you had a meeting in
regards to Community Preservation and Foreclosures and I know Ms. Kuban was
there and I had talked to her at length about the meeting and it seemed that there
was nowhere in the meeting where foreclosures were discussed. It was basically
complaints from the citizens? I thought that this summit was to discuss foreclosures
and the preservation of the community?
PRESIDENT WAGNER: The whole conception of the entire summit
was to bring together community leaders, of which there were very few of those
there, civic leaders, there were many of those there, businesses, residents and
organizations to talk about concerns that they had to start dialogue going and moving
the City of Garfield Heights forward in addressing concerns that people have within
the community. Approximately 100 people showed up. There was some discussion on
foreclosures. In fact, one of the things that came out of the meeting was
development of a task force to address some of these issues including foreclosures.
CLMN SUSTER: I’m sorry if I’m
not correct. Even Judge Nicastro had mentioned in the course of the meeting
that foreclosures were not discussed.
PRESIDENT WAGNER: They were. You weren’t there.
CLMN SUSTER: I know I wasn’t
there.
PRESIDENT
WAGNER:
They were discussed. There were people that are in the audience that were
there.
CLMN SUSTER: OK. All right. That’s all I have. Thank you.
CLMN ABELLA: I would like to discuss a motion that we
adjourn.
PRESIDENT
WAGNER: On
the motion to adjourn?
AYES: 7
MEETING ADJOURNED AT 7:16
p.m.
APPROVED: RESPECTFULLY
SUBMITTED:
__________________________________ ____________________________
Frank
J. Wagner Barbara Molin
President
of Council Clerk
of Council