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.
Planning and Zoning Committee:
Temp. Ord. A-72: An ordinance authorizing and approving the Preliminary Subdivision Plat for The Glens on Parcel Numbers 0204665, 0204666, 0204667, 0204668, 0204691, 0204817, 02040818, 0204819, and declaring an emergency. The presentation on this legislation was started by Director of Community Development Diana Colavecchio who introduced all of the players in this development plan for South Front Street. Descriptions of the nine 3-story buildings were made by Planning Director Rob Kurtz, who also let the committee know that the preliminary plan for this $14 million project has already been approved by the planning commission. He also gave a timeline for the projects, citing milestones such as the completed demolition of the former Elm Radiator building and the upcoming demolition of the Pro-Mold site. Developer Joel Testa spoke next, giving a short history of his family’s ties to the area and why “The Glens” was the name chosen for the project– his parents were engaged at a restaurant named The Glens located at 1832 Front Street. Testa, in response to resident Kathleen Arthur’s question concerning the affordability of the units, stated that the project will be considered market rate housing and depending on options the units will sell for $275,000-$400,000; the Watermark project further up Front Street satisfies the need for senior income-based housing. After minor discussion, the committee voted to bring this out for a vote before all of council on Monday July 25.
Finance Committee:
Temp. Ord. A-73: An ordinance amending Ordinance 125-2021, authorizing the director of public service to enter into a contract or contracts, according to law, for the purchase of annual requirements of certain materials, supplies and services for use by the water and sewer divisions during 2022, making the necessary appropriations for the same. Russ Kring, water utilities superintendent, described the cost increases and supply line shortages his department has faced in the first half of the year purchasing the day-to-day items his department uses to service its customers. The amount that was budgeted for the year was $821k; this measure will increase that by $275k to get the water department through the year. Those monies will come from the water department fund. The committee voted to bring this out for a vote before all of council Monday July 25.
Temp. Ord. A-74: An ordinance authorizing the director of public service to enter into a contract or contracts with Core & Main LP, East Jordan Iron Works, Ferguson Enterprises Inc., and Trumbull Industries, without competitive bidding, for the purchase of services, materials, supplies, and equipment for supplies and equipment to be used in infrastructure projects. Russ Kring stated that all the items on this list have been shopped for best pricing and they will be used on new infrastructure projects. The committee voted to bring this out for a vote before all of council next Monday.
Temp. Ord. A-75: An ordinance authorizing the director of public service to enter into a contract or contracts, without competitive bidding, with Superior Drain for emergency storm water repair assistance in the city right of way. Kring also gave the committee a quick history of the relationship between the city and Superior and that they have always been able to provide quality work in a timely manner. He also noted that even though the city has been open to new vendors to qualify to do this type of work in recent times, the number of those seeking qualification has dropped. The committee voted to bring this out for a vote before all of council Monday July 25.
Temp. Ord. A-76: An ordinance authorizing the Park and Recreation Board to enter into a contract or contracts, according to law, for the renovation of Brookledge Golf Club Clubhouse. Parks and Recreation Director Sara Kline made the presentation on this legislation. She began with some background information on the golf course, showing that the current clubhouse and pro-shop date back to 1987 and are both in extreme need of updates. Both Kline and Brookledge manager Scott Nickol are elated that Brookledge is rated as one of the top 25 courses in Ohio and they would like to see the clubhouse and pro-shop as highly rated as the course itself. Nickol stated that on a regular basis they are asked by patrons to provide more than the current offerings from the clubhouse, which consists of wrapped sub sandwiches from a local grocery store and pizza. There was discussion from both the committee and council members, including the question as to staffing shortages everywhere and whether Parks and Recreation really wants to get into the restaurant business. Kline assured council that the food part would be simple air fryer-type meals and her staff could comfortably handle it. The estimated cost for this project would be $1.9 million and would come out of the Leisure Time Fund. The construction and design period would put this project some time in 2023. The committee voted to bring this out for a vote before all of council Monday July 25.
Temp. Ord. A-77: An ordinance authorizing the Mayor, as director of public safety, to enter into a contract or contracts, without competitive bidding, with International Armored Group US, Inc. to purchase a tactical van. Police Chief Davis began the discussion on this legislation by making sure city council and the public understood that this is merely a van with armored plating and its appearance would be that of a delivery van; he wanted to make sure that this wasn’t construed as the police department purchasing a tank. The vehicle would be used in conjunction with the department’s SWAT team and could provide cover for the officers in an active shooter/hostage type situation. The presentation continued with Captain Norfolk (SWAT Team commander) explaining the reasons the department went with International Armored Group US and what features their product had which set it apart from others on the market. This was a budgeted item for the Police Dept. The committee voted to bring this out for a vote before all of council Monday July 25.
Public and Industrial Improvements:
Temp. Ord. A-78: An ordinance authorizing the director of public Service to enter into a modification of Contract No. 8533 with the Thrasher Group, Inc. City Engineer Tony Demasi spoke on this legislation, starting with some history about the traffic study that was done last year. The study found that the number of accidents at that intersection was significant and Thrasher Group was hired to make recommendations to make the intersection safer. After reviewing their recommendations, Thrasher Group was awarded the contract for the design phase of the project and this modification will reflect the cost of the design. This item was also budgeted in the 2022 budget. The committee voted to bring this out for a vote before all of council Monday July 25.
Temp. Ord. A-79: An ordinance authorizing the director of public service to enter into a contract or contracts, without competitive bidding, with Cartegraph for the installation and annual subscription costs associated with their web-based software. The software package will be used with the water department and as EPA regulations tighten it will help keep the city on compliance. The current system utilizes Microsoft Access and is extremely outdated. Kring told the committee that the price not only includes training for his staff but will also include importing the current city database into the new software. The committee voted to bring this out for a vote before all of council Monday July 25.
Temp. Ord. A-80: An ordinance authorizing the director of public Service to execute the 2022 Solar Energy Schedule with American Municipal Power, Inc. and taking other actions in connection with solar generated energy purchases. The presentation on this measure was made by American Municipal Power representative Paul Beckhusan and the city’s electric service superintendent Michael Dougherty. As Beckhusan worked through his PowerPoint presentation he answered questions from the committee and council, showing what costs would be for AMP customers over the next 15 years. There was much discussion and both Beckhusan and Dougherty fielded multiple questions from the committee and council and in the end the committee voted to bring it out for a vote next Monday. For more information on AMP and their solar power projects, visit https://www.amppartners.org/generation/solar-power and for information on the Wild Grains Solar Project visit https://www.wildgrainssolar.com.
Temp. Ord. A-81: An ordinance authorizing the director of public service to enter into a contract or contracts with Emerald Transformer for PCB Remediation in the electric vault at 2800 13th Street. Deputy Electric Services Superintendent Rod Troxell explained that this measure will cover removing this transformer and properly disposing of it and its contents and is something his department typically contracts out due to EPA regulations concerning PCBs (Polychlorinated biphenyls). This will be one of the last steps needed to begin the demolition of Newberry School. The ordinance is capped at $130k. The committee voted to bring this out for a vote before all of council Monday July 25.
Public Affairs:
Temp. Ord. A-82: An ordinance authorizing the Mayor to enter into an agreement with the Ohio Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, Sergeants and Lieutenants bargaining unit, effective July 1, 2021. The committee voted to bring this out for a vote before all of council Monday July 25.
