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:
A-116: An ordinance accepting the planning commission’s recommendation for the approval of a conditional zoning certificate for a wireless communication facility on city property located at 4175 State Rd. Planning Director Rob Kurtz presented this to the committee by confirming that it was approved by the planning commission on October 4 with the stipulation that it was enclosed and screened. The tower will be located near the city’s water tower on State Rd . The committee voted to bring this legislation out for a vote before all of city council Monday October 24.
Finance Committee:
Temp. Ord. A-106: An ordinance authorizing the director of public service to enter into a contract or contracts, with Independent Diesel Services to repair the CF1 #6 diesel generator located at 2550 Bailey Rd. Assistant of Operations Electric Service Rod Troxell presented this legislation to the finance committee, stating that earlier in the year the engine in this generator suffered a catastrophic failure and this legislation will allow his department to proceed with the repairs needed to bring this generator back on line. The approximate cost was $85k from the estimate received. The committee voted to bring this legislation out for a vote before all of city council Monday October 24.
Temp. Ord. A-107: An ordinance authorizing the director of finance to enter into a contract or contracts, without competitive bidding, with Wichert Insurance Services, Inc. for the professional services necessary to manage the city’s Risk Management and Insurance Program and for the purchase of public entity insurance coverage. Finance Director Bryan Hoffman listed all of the services Wichert provides under this yearly contract, including shopping around for different providers to give the city the best value for the money spent. There is an overall 7% increase in this year’s price due to property values increasing and more equipment insured by the various city departments. He did mention that insurance rates on our IT system actually went down due to preventive measures the city has done in-house. Ward 8 Councilman Frank Stams questioned the “without competitive bidding” aspect of the ordinance, for which Hoffman explained that Wichert sent all policies out for bid to get us the best rates. Stams has asked whether in the future Wichert’s role in this process should be sent out for bid, citing that competition is good for everyone. This measure was voted on in a special city council meeting held later Monday evening and passed 10-1 with councilman Stams dissenting.
Temp. Ord. A-108: An ordinance authorizing the mayor to enter into a real estate purchase agreement for the sale of certain real property known as 1863 Second St., 1869 Second St., and 1877 Second St.. Diana Colavecchio, director of community development, presented this legislation to council as the next step in the South Front St. redevelopment plan the city is engaged in with the Summit County Land Bank and Testa Builders. She explained this legislation will allow the city to sell three properties to the land bank in compliance with ordinance B-107 that council passed last year around this time. The committee voted to bring this legislation out for a vote before all of city council Monday October 24.
Temp. Ord. A-109: An ordinance amending Ordinance 36-2022 to authorize the mayor to enter into a modification of Contract No. 8542 with Dant Clayton, making the necessary appropriations for the same. Assistant Park Director Michael Fallis stated that the project is soon to be completed, however the initial project’s bid did not allow for back rests on the bench seating. Dant Clayton has offered them as an option, as the bench seating is part of the project to make the amphitheater more accessible. The extra $10k will come from grant monies the city received as part of this project, and not from the Parks and Recreation budget. The committee voted to bring this legislation out for a vote before all of city council Monday October 24.
Public Affairs Committee:
Temp. Ord. A-110: An ordinance amending Chapter 181, Contracts and Competitive Bidding, of the Codified Ordinances of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio to update the definition of lowest and best bid. Mayor Walters began the discussion about this piece of legislation by thanking everyone involved in this legislation and explained there are things we should have as a city that go along with the price on the bottom line of a bid to provide services to Cuyahoga Falls. We would prefer to do business with companies within the city; we want safety on the job; we want contractors who pay their local taxes when working in our city. Sometimes this can fall between the cracks, he said, and this measure will tighten things up so we will be getting the best contractor for the tax dollars we spend.
Law Director Janet Ciotola listed the group that worked with the city to put this together, which included Abe Bruner from the Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters, Maddy Millingham –a fourth-year law student who helped review the ordinance, Mark Douglas from the Tri-County Building and Construction Trades Council, and council members Russ Balthis, Mary Nichols-Rhodes, Frank Stams, Brian Ashton, Rachel Loza, Tim Gorbach, and many city staff members. Ciotola explained how the ordinance contained input from all city departments from engineering to the law department. Under Ohio law cities are required to be able to find lowest and best bidder. To accomplish this goal many cities have passed what is commonly referred to as a responsible contractor ordinance. The purpose of these laws is to establish uniform laws and procedures for choosing contractors deemed to be the lowest and best to provide services to the city. This procedure will look at the bidders’ familiarity with a project, past performance on other projects, compliance with federal state and local laws, and also pay prevailing wages to employees. After hearing from all concerned, the committee voted to bring this legislation out for a vote before all of city council Monday October 24.
Temp. Ord. A-111: An ordinance amending the Traffic Control File by providing for installation of various traffic control devices. Captain Shafer presented this legislation as approved by the city’s traffic committee. The measure will remove all signage pertaining to the school zone around the former St. Joseph School located on Broad Blvd. The committee voted to bring this legislation out for a vote before all of city council Monday October 24.
Community Development Committee
Temp. Ord. A-112: An ordinance authorizing the mayor to enter into an agreement with the Community Improvement Corporation of Cuyahoga Falls to administer a Brownfield Remediation Grant, appropriating the necessary funds to administer the grant.
Temp. Ord. A-113: An ordinance designating the Community Improvement Corporation of Cuyahoga Falls as an agency of the City under Ohio Revised Code Section 1724.10, authorizing the execution of an agreement and plan for industrial, commercial, distribution and research development.
Temp. Ord. A-114: An ordinance authorizing a grant to the Community Improvement Corporation of Cuyahoga Falls and authorizing the execution of a grant agreement with the Community Improvement Corporation of Cuyahoga Falls.
Committee Chair Brian Ashton read all three ordinances, opening the floor for discussion due to all three ordinances being somewhat intertwined. Community Development Director Diana Colavecchio gave a brief description of what the Community Improvement Corporation is and history of properties that have been owned by the entity, such as the former Falls Theatre, and that it has a board of directors and trustees whose meetings and minutes are open to the public. She explained that even though the CIC has existed since the 1970s there was never an ordinance that gave it a mission statement and purpose— A-113 does that.
For A-112, the committee recalled the resolution passed recently to apply for a Brownfield grant for the remediation of what was once The Mud Run Gun Club. Having been successful at obtaining the grant for this ordinance, this would allow loaning the CIC, the entity which currently owns the property, the matching funds of $348k in order to receive the $1.39 million grant necessary to finish the cleanup of this property.
For the third CIC-related ordinance, A-114, Colavecchio reminded council of the $2 million set aside from the Federal ARP monies received at the beginning of the year to create a revolving loan fund for local businesses. The hope is that local businesses can borrow from these funds if they meet the criteria and when those funds are paid back, they will be available for other businesses to use when needed. She said the list of conditions for the loans and guidelines are available from the Community Development office if anyone is interested. Upon further discussion the committee voted to bring all three pieces of legislation out for a vote before all of city council Monday October 24.
Miscellaneous Business:
City Engineer Tony Demasi reminded everyone that October 31st at 6 pm at the Natatorium there will be an informational meeting concerning the demolition of the Gorge Dam for all who are interested to attend.
