04/18/1989 Meeting Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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• ~ . _ Council Minutes of 4/18/89 -3- Law Director Gareau reported: 1) With respect to Dingess versus the City of North Olmsted, after the filing of numerous motions and setting up depositions, etc., the plaintiff finally hired an attorney and the case was dismissed.. 2) In the matter of the Kostrek School Guard Case, Law Director has made appli- cation to the Bureau of Employment Services to exclude that position and declare it to be a summer, part-time employment - seasonal employment. Recently, a Franklin County Court of Appeals ruled this way and consequently Mr. Gareau filed an appeal with the Board of Review for another rehearing on the issue. He feels it is a pretty good law and the city, in fact, can have that position declared "seasonal" and therefore not subject to the payment of unemployment compensation. Will keep council advised. 3) As indicated by the Mayor, a meeting was held regarding the EPA. Right around the time the city was seeking its license, and the plant was being completed, the Ohio EPA started coming up with new regulations dealing with cadmium and copper content of the effluence that was being discharged into Rocky River; the standards were being set up and the city was asked to reduce the copper level of the discharge into Rocky River which is no different than the copper level of tap water coming from the pipes in homes. There is no technology today to remove that copper. Despite that fact, the Ohio EPA came up with this order after the city had spent $13,000,000 for improvements to its Treatment Plant; basically, spending $3,000,000 more to achieve something that is unachievable. City had basically appealed their decision with respect to putting that requirement on its license; the appeal was ignored and issued a license with those requirements. If the city fails to meet the license requirements, it can be fined $25,000 a day for each portion of the permit it is required to meet; the prospect of being fined on a daily basis is out- rageous. Law Director has requested assistance from Squire, Sanders and Dempsey because this is a specialized area and they have been working on it. C ity is now ready to go into a hearing which will require employing an engineer to show that the Ohio EPA abused its discretion. Law Director is working with Squire, Sanders and Dempsey, the administration, Superintendent Harry Crider to put this all to- gether. By the end of the week, should know how we stand and will come back to council after making some decisions and advise just what is being done. Does not believe the city can stand by; feels this is a winable case; Ohio EPA is already starting to modify its requirements but if a city is already licensed, it is caught in the middle and even if they change a little bit later on - the city is still required to meet the license that was issued rather than the new require- ments. Finance Director Boyle reported: 1) Council is now considering three note issues totalling $500,000, one of which pertains to traffic signalization. This may or may not be acted on tomorrow at the special council meeting; council may decide not to sell in 30 days. This is the 30 day referendum period; it must be done correctly, in conjunction with the .Ohio Department of Transportation, or the $138,000 for thirty-two signals will become the city's expense.. It would move the signalization up one year but NOT be applied against the city's share so that the city's total share would then become $276,000. The decision could be reversed at a later time and may not be out for notes for $500,000. The notes will be one year duration, maturing next year. Finance Director discussed with Finance Committee about timing the notes differently and placing the city in a better position to go to the bond market in a year or two. The short term note market right now is such that it would be better to stay out for one year an:d position ourselves in 1990 or 1991. City would get a better rate if all its notes came due at the same time and were converted to bonds. Finance Director has tried to do this over the past eight years. Notes have been sized according to records and testimony of the department heads and percentages applied to accommodate inflation, anticipated interest rates and anticipated legal fees. There will probably be some extra money then, which will help on paying them down next year; city will be able to arbitrage that money; arbitrage being in investing the monies that the city is not spending. None of the projects demand total payment on the 30th day afterlpedsagains WtheeSaadown.there will be interest earnings on that which will be apP g p y