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:
A-125: An ordinance approving a zoning map amendment for property located at the intersection of Clyde Avenue and Buchholzer Boulevard, from C-1, Commercial to R-5, Mixed Density Residential. The planning and zoning committee is holding this legislation pending a public hearing January 3, 2023.
Public & Industrial Improvements:
A-127: An ordinance authorizing the director of public service to enter into a contract or contracts, after publicly advertising for bids, for the Lippman Parkway storm sewer replacement. City Engineer Tony Demasi presented this legislation, saying that the existing 36” culvert is in disrepair and no longer adequate for this 36-acre drainage area. It will be replaced by two 48” conduits and the best and lowest bidder for this project out of 11 bids was Karvo Company at $331k. The project will take approximately 75 days to complete and will begin next year. This item was budgeted and the committee voted to bring it out for a vote before all of council next Monday.
A-128: An ordinance authorizing the director of public service to enter into a contract or contracts, after publicly advertising for bids, for the storm sewer improvements in Preston Park. Demasi explained the goal of this project is to eliminate flooding on Lynn Drive and in areas within the park Demasi said. The lowest and best bidder was H M Miller Co. at $128k and the project would take approximately 30 days to complete with a start date to be determined. Ward One Councilwoman Rachel Loza thanked the administration on behalf of her continuants who live in that area. The committee voted to bring this out for a vote before all of council next Monday.
A-129:An ordinance authorizing the director of public service to enter into a contract or contracts, with SSOE Group, without competitive bidding, for engineering services related to upgrades at the CF1 and CF2 generators. Electric service Supervisor Rodney Troxell presented this legislation as a budgeted item and will be part of ongoing service and upgrades to the city’s backup generators. The committee voted to bring this out for a vote before all of council next Monday.
Finance & Appropriations:
A-126: An ordinance authorizing the director of public service to enter into a contract or contracts with Siemens Energy for the purchase of three 833kVA regulators. Electric Service Supervisor Rodney Troxell presented this legislation as budgeted and will provide backup parts for the electric service. These regulators have an extremely long lead time and it is important that we have spares on the shelf in the event of a failure. The committee voted to bring this out for a vote before all of council next Monday.
The finance committee also continued budget hearings pertaining to A-121.
A-121: An ordinance establishing annual appropriations of money for the current expenses, capital expenditures and other expenses of the City of Cuyahoga Falls for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2023.
This week’s discussion centered on capital improvements and the city’s 5-year plan. Finance Director Bryan Hoffman discussed there being $3 million in street resurfacing, along with another $350k to pave streets in the valley in unison with Akron as they pave in the same areas within their city limits. The example given was near Akron Peninsula and Smith Rd.
$3.5 million has been budgeted for the upgrade of the State/Seasons/Wyoga Lake intersection along with new vehicles for both the police department and the fire department. The street department will also see new vehicles also including 5-ton trucks and the continued lease on their street sweeper along with new roofs on both of their salt barns. Community Development has money budgeted in 2023 to further promote the South State Rd area and Community Development Director Diana Colavecchio passed around a copy of the completed logo that will be used in that area’s branding in the upcoming year. She reminded council that the city still has matching funds available for business owners and commercial property owners in that targeted area.
Another item discussed was that the city’s sidewalk program would remain at the same rate as in years’ past: $18.00 per foot for sidewalks and $8.00 per foot for driveway approaches. Budget discussions will continue after the November 28 regular city council meeting.
