Council Meeting - Tuesday - 8/4/09

Council met in regular session Tuesday evening and for the record it was the longest Council meeting I have ever attended. Council people Rosie Goss, Don Brown, Joe Soldano, Randy Allmon and Tony Cataldo were all present. Councilman John McMahon was excused. Speedy recovery John. Also present was Fiscal Officer Dale Davis, Mayor Joe Surace, Village Administrator Jim Saracco, Village Solicitor Andy Beech & Zoning Administrator Rick Williams.

After approving the minutes of previous meetings Council took a roll call vote and retired to an Executive Session for a personnel matter. Returning 23 minutes later no comment was made in regards to that session.

The Public Speaking portion was led off by Mrs. Opal Lombardozzi speaking about the recent developments with the Village owned house at the Cemetery. That house was the second one acquired by the Village "to provide a suitable residence for the caretaker of Springhill Cemetery". It was purchased in 1972 and since then the Lombardozzis were the fourth family of Cemetery Superintendents to reside there. In 2007 the Village Fiscal Officer had it inspected by an engineering firm who made several recommendations of needed repairs to make that residence suitable for the caretakers family to live there. As of last Friday nothing had been done to make any of the repairs. As a result the Village property insurance carrier advised Village officials that if no repairs have been made they will be forced to drop the coverage on the house when the policy is renewed in September. At a Special Council meeting last week Council voted to rescind a previous motion requiring the Superintendent to reside there as a stipulation for that job. Council members stated that there was no funds available to make the recommended repairs.

Mrs. Lombardozzi stated that they received the keys to the house in 2006 and had hoped to live there until her husband planned to retire in 2022. She further stated that they "have been evicted" and are presently packing up to move out. Because of the recent developments not only is her family being up-rooted but a second one is suddenly having to move out of the Lombardozzi owned house in town. Mrs. Lombardozzi tearfully stated her kids are distressed and only one Councilman tried to correct the situation. She thanked Don Brown for his efforts. After making her remarks Mrs. Lombardozzi left the meeting.

Second up for Public Speaking, Sharon Buswell of the Alley Cat Aid Brigade advised Council that so far they have had 134 cats either spayed or neutered. She also advised that the pet food supply has nearly "dried up" with the current economy. The next planned food give away is planned October 3 as part of the Harvest Moon Festival. It will start at 11 A.M. at their place on Commerce Street with crafts, food vendors and activities. The fee for the the food or craft vendors is "one large bag of pet food".

Next up was Marlene Corbisello of Lincoln Avenue once again addressing Council about the unkempt residence next door. She stated that there is a dumpster in place there but it's not filled up and the garage is still three quarters full of junk. She further stated that the place is "rat infested". The Mayor stated that in consideration of Garfield School across the street starting up in three weeks he got Dailey Refuse to donate that dumpster. Councilman Joe Soldano also stated that he felt since the owner has been given three letters from Village officials and 15 days to clean the place up he should be cited under Village ordinances to Magistrate Court.

Following that Council candidate Cris McNicol addressed Council on "three gripes" he wanted to discuss. First was about Council's vote to declare the 10th Street Extension Repair project an emergency to by-pass the necessity of having the job bid out. He stated that he has detected this becoming a pattern in the last two or three years. Councilman Tony Cataldo stated that to be eligible for the grant money for this project it was classified an emergency. Earlier in the year WPD Chief Joe Scarabino had told council that area is an accident waiting to happen and it should be considered a priority to get it fixed.

McNicol's second gripe was that the whole $60,000 grant was being used on one project that mostly only benefits residents of Russell Heights & Wilson Addition. He said he travels that road daily without any trouble and felt that it only needed patched. Some of that money would be better spent on projects in the Village proper such as the road surface on the Wells Avenue bridge or Main Street between 17th & 18th Streets. That grant had to be engineered and a bid submitted with the application. There is going to be work done to improve the hillside run-off which is especially hazardous with rain and snow melt freezing on the road surface in winter. From what I understand any grant rewarded has to be used specifically for the project stated on the application.

Candidate McNicol's third "gripe" was the Administration's treatment of Cemetery Superintendent Mike Lombardozzi. McNicol stated it was "ridiculous" and felt there might be a vendetta going on.

Following McNicol was Tim Long & son of Commerce Street asking for Council's blessing to run an October 3rd "Dash for Mat's Bash" . This event is to raise funds for the Mathugh Johnston Scholarship Fund. In memory of Mathugh a scholarship fund was established and each year a scholarship is awarded to a graduating senior athlete. The "Dash" is a mini marathon/walkathon requiring the route to be closed off for approximately 45 minutes. Council voted to approve this request. We'll have more on this event in a few days.

Next up was Mary Bucher of Center Street addressing Council about the no response she experienced with a vicious dog attack incident awhile back. She stated she is still waiting to hear back from any Village official but in the meantime understands that two Village firemen have been disciplined for this incident. Bucher further stated she heard that her calls were not logged on the day of the incident. She wanted to know if this is typical. Mayor Surace advised he will arrange a meeting at her convenience with himself, WFD Chief Smith and her to attempt to answer her questions.

Former Mayor Nunzio Lombardozzi followed asking Council if the Cemetery house was stated as one of the reasons for going into Executive Session at last week's Special Council Meeting. He stated that he entered politics in 1960 and has remained active every since in volunteering for Village projects whether being in office or not. He stated that he felt is was disgraceful with what happened and how it was handled with the that housing situation. He said in all his years he's never seen a clerk with so much power. Part of the Village Fiscal Officer's duties is being Council Clerk. He also questioned that since only four councilmen were present if their 3 - 1 vote on the matter last week was considered a majority of a six member Council and if it was legal under state statues.

Councilman Cataldo said the Cemetery House was covered under "other pending matters" for the Executive Session. Soldano stated that Council only voted to reverse an earlier motion requiring the caretaker to live there. They did not vote to order him out. Cataldo added with no money to make repairs on the house the insurance will be dropped on the house by the carrier. Fiscal Officer Davis stated he knew he was going to be blamed for this situation and advised he had nothing to do with it. He reminded everyone that back in 2007 he was the one who arranged for an engineer to inspect the house and also got an architectural firm to work up a bid for the recommended repairs. Davis said don't make me the bad guy. After the meeting Village Administrator Saracco advised the care taker that with no money to make the repairs and the insurance company dropping the coverage he will have to move out. Village Solicitor Andy Beech advised the 3 - 1 vote was legal for a motion. If it was an ordinance if would require at least a 4 - 2 vote to pass.

The last Public Speaker was Commerce Street resident Anthony Lombardozzi asking what the Village intended to do with the vacant lot at 12th & Main. Surace responded that they hoped to have it black topped and make it a parking lot for the time being. Then Lombardozzi asked if consideration has been given to providing security at the cemetery once the caretaker's family vacates the premises up there. Surace said they have to look into that.

For Administrative Reports Village Administrator Jim Saracco stated that the 10th Street repair project was very important and time was of the essence with school starting in three weeks. That road is also a school bus route. If it hadn't been declared an emergency it would take five or six weeks just to get the bids in. He especially felt the risk of a school bus accident is unconscionable.

Zoning Administrator Rick Williams reported that $415 was taken in for zoning permits for the month of June.

Under Committee Reports Street Committee Chairman Joe Soldano added that 10th Street is also heavily used by the Village's Little League and High School teams that play and practice baseball & soccer at Hammonds Park from early spring through fall.

For Water, Sewer & Refuse Chairman Randy Allmon got motions approved to pay two invoices. The first was to pay Pusateri Excavating for the sewage force main line repairs for $6,900. The second invoice was to pay GG&J $2,489 for engineering for water flow monitoring for 10th & 15th Streets.

For the Property Committee Village officials reported that the vacant lot mentioned above was purchased Monday at Sheriff's Auction for back taxes. A motion was passed to pay the $2,100 for that acquisition.

For the Mayor's Report the only thing Surace mentioned was he wanted to commend Jennifer Allen for the outstanding job she is doing in collecting back fines owed the Village. Since October, 2007, Ms. Allen has collected over $50,000 in back fines and she only works part-time. July collections totaled $2,985.

Under New Legislation, Resolution 09-06 was adopted authorizing the Mayor to submit an application to Ohio Public Works and to execute contracts as required for the proposed 2010 repaying of Commerce Street from 9th to 15th Streets.

Being no New Business the meeting was adjourned at 7:18. This was the only scheduled Council Meeting for this month. The next schedule meeting is Tuesday, September 1 at Village Hall at 6 P.M.

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