Cuyahoga Falls City Council holds regular meetings on the second and fourth Mondays of each month. Council committee meetings are held on the first and third Mondays in order to allow council members to publicly discuss pending legislation that will be voted on at regular meetings. The public is free to comment on pending legislation during the allowed time set aside as part of committee meetings.
Finance Committee:
A-92: An ordinance authorizing the director of public service to enter into a contract or contracts, without competitive bidding, with Go Sustainable Energy, LLC for the evaluation of distributed energy resources such as solar and battery storage.
Michael Dougherty presented this legislation, explaining that the city currently uses Go for consulting for solar matters and this legislation would allow the city to use them for battery storage as well. The committee voted to bring this out for a vote of all of city council next Monday.
A-93: An ordinance establishing the OneOhio Fund #228 as part of the OneOhio Opioid Settlement.
Law Director Janet Ciotola went over this legislation for the finance committee, saying that in August of 2021, city council voted to participate in this program. Earlier this summer the state auditor requested that any city receiving funds from the program needed an ordinance to regulate how those funds were to be spent; this legislation calls those restrictions out. The committee voted to bring this out for a vote of all of city council next Monday.
A-94: An ordinance providing for supplemental appropriations for capital expenditures of the City of Cuyahoga Falls in the electric, sewer, and water Funds in relation to the Automated Meter Reading Project.
Finance Director Bryn Hoffman stated that this legislation will add monies to the appropriate utility services for the purchase of meters that will be a part of the remote meter reading program. This legislation covers the purchase and warehousing of the meters, the extensive testing and installation will be covered in other legislation. The committee voted to bring this out for a vote of all of city council next Monday.
A-95: An ordinance authorizing the director of public service to enter into a contract or contracts, without competitive bidding, with Glendhill Road Machinery Company to purchase the dump body, hydraulics, and electronic controls to complete the new #948 tandem axle cab and chassis for the Street Division.
Garage Ssupervisor John Campbell presented this legislation, letting the committee know that they did go out to four vendors for bids but Glendhill was the only one who responded and their price was within the amount budgeted for this vehicle. The committee voted to bring this out for a vote of all of city council next Monday.
A-96: An ordinance providing for the issuance and sale of bonds in the maximum principal amount of $3,875,000 for the purpose of paying the costs of the acquisition and installation of water system meters for use by the water and sanitary sewer systems, together with all necessary appurtenances thereto.
A-97: An ordinance providing for the issuance and sale of bonds in the maximum principal amount of $3,335,000, for the purpose of paying the costs of the acquisition and installation of electric system meters, together with all necessary appurtenances thereto.
Finance Director Bryan Williams explained that these bonds will be used to pay for the upgrades to the meters used in both utilities and will be taken out for a ten -year period to cover the costs for a citywide replacement program. This program is finally moving ahead now that a settlement has been reached between the city and Johnson Controls due to an earlier purchase of meters that did not perform as advertised. The litigation caused several delays in the implementation of the program and the administration has confidence the new vendor will put us back on track to completing the upgrade. The committee voted to bring this out for a vote of all of city council next Monday.
Public & Industrial Improvements:
A-98: An ordinance authorizing the Parks and Recreation Board to enter into a contract or contracts, with Rain Drop Products LLC, for the purchase and installation of splashpads at Quirk Cultural Center and Indian Mountain Park.
Park Director Sara Kline presented this legislation to the committee. She explained that the local wading pools are starting to come up on their life cycle and are due for replacement and the splash pad has far more advantages over the wading pools, they can operate longer into the season because they do not require the supervision that a pool does. They are also more inclusive when it comes to wheelchair access. The infrastructure for both locations would be installed over the winter and the pads themselves would go in next spring. Both locations would be set up so that they will be turned on and off at specific times, limiting use after dark. The committee voted to bring this out for a vote of all of city council next Monday.
A-99: An ordinance authorizing the Parks and Recreation Board to enter into a contract with GameTime, Inc. for the purchase of play equipment to be installed at Water Works Park.
According to Kline, the current playground equipment in Waterworks Park is 24 years old and in need of updating. One of the big features of the replacement being sought is the handicapped accessibility provided by the manufacturer, and that there is concrete path within the structure to allow for wheelchairs and strollers. Kline also noted that this will be the largest “play booster” in the city’s park system. The committee voted to bring this out for a vote of all of city council next Monday.
A-100: A resolution consenting to the inspection of municipal bridges within the City of Cuyahoga Falls, by the State of Ohio.
City Engineer Tony Demasi explained the state regulates that every bridge in city over 10 ft. tall must be inspected once a year, and over the years either his office or the state has performed these inspections. Since 2014 the state has held an agreement with the city that they provide the inspection and the city may observe. This resolution renews that agreement for another year. The committee voted to bring this out for a vote of all of city council next Monday.
Community Development:
A-101: A resolution accepting the recommendations of the Tax Incentive Review Council and the Community Reinvestment Area Housing Council concerning Enterprise Zone and Community Reinvestment Area tax exemption agreements within the City of Cuyahoga Falls.
Deputy Director of Community Development Mary Spaugy explained what the review council looks at to make its recommendation, showing that all of the residential properties included in the CRA are still owner-occupied and the businesses receiving exemptions are meeting the payroll expectations required to remain in the program. The committee voted to accept the finding of the Tax Incentive Review Council and to bring this out for a vote of all of city council next Monday.
