Cuyahoga Falls City council meets on the second and fourth Mondays of each month and council committee meetings are held on the first and third Monday to publicly discuss pending legislation that will be voted on by council as a whole during its regular scheduled meetings. The public is free to comment on pending legislation during the allowed time on the night of committee meetings.
On Monday, September 27, city council met at the Natatorium for its regular meeting. The meeting began with the invocation led by Councilperson Spinner and the pledge led by Scout Troop 155. After the pledge, Council President Brillhart took a moment to thank the troop for leading the pledge and for their contributions to the community, including the recent clean-up they did at Lions Park and their clean-up efforts in the county metro parks as well.
Minutes we approved from the Aug 9 and the Sept 12 city council meetings and new ordinances and resolutions were introduced and assigned to the proper committee for discussion next Monday. That legislation may be found here.
The reports of council’s standing committees went quickly with planning and zoning committees passing B-65 and B-66 with 11-0 votes.
Likewise, the finance committee unanimously passed with all seven pieces of the legislation which they discussed last week.
Public and industrial improvements passed B-75 and B-76 with 11-0 votes. In public affairs, B-77 and B-78 passed unanimously. Finally, in community development, B-79 also passed.
During the miscellaneous portion of the meeting Council President opened the floor for city council members to give a “shout out” to anyone or anything in particular happening in their wards.
Ward 8 Councilman Frank Stams wanted to give some praise to David Brown and all those who pushed to have the historic Keyser-Swain Farmhouse saved. “When Dave first met with me in November of 2020, I hoped that we could somehow find a way to help them with their vision,” Stams explained.
Council at Large Russ Balthis wanted to relay a story that a constituent had shared about the driver of a sanitation truck stopping and picking up trash from an overturned wheelie bin. “The resident saw that and said it gave her a good feeling knowing that our city employees were that caring.”
Jeff Iula, also council at large, wanted to share that next Monday, October 4, will be the last day to register to vote in the November general election.
Councilwoman Penta added a reminder of the city-sponsored Fire Truck Pull on Sunday, October 16 at 11 am. All proceeds will benefit a local food pantry, The Pantry on The Corner.
Ward 2 Councilwoman Susan Fogle Spinner gave her shout out to all that participated in National Public Lands Day. She mentioned she spent part of it with ward 4 Councilwoman Mary Nichols-Rhodes and enjoyed the presentation at High Bridge Glens Park given by Akron Honey. The event at the park was sponsored by HiHo Brewing.
Ward 4 Councilwoman Mary Nichols-Rhodes wanted to give her shout out to all that attended the ribbon cutting for a new business in Cuyahoga Falls named Closet of Caring, a nonprofit that provides clothing for people in need. Ward 1 Councilperson Rachel Loza and Councilman Jerry James were also in attendance.
Ward 6 Councilman Adam Miller also wanted to share that the audio from city council meetings is available on the city’s website for those unable to attend meetings.
Finance Director Bryan Hoffman mentioned that he had distributed “Report 21” to all members of council. Report 21 is a printout of where the city’s finances stand for our lawmakers to review and ask questions, which city council receives once a month from the finance department. Mr. Hoffman pointed out a few high points, one being that reappraisal growth was about 12% and state slated taxes were also up. The admission tax we receive from Blossom is also down from previous years due to COVID-19. The city’s Leisure Time fund (Waterworks, Brookledge, Natatorium) is still in decent shape, but he expects it to return to normal levels as more people start coming back out.
The next council committee meeting begins at 6:30 pm at the Natatorium on Monday October 4.
