05/03/1995 Meeting Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Council Minutes of 5/3/95 Council President Boehmer accepted the petitions from Mr. Kessler and explained that the -~' matter would be taken under consideration in the Legislative Committee. Jack Kiuchi, 22962 Maple Ridge Drive, president of the North Olmsted Senior Center Advisory Council, asked that the cuts in the senior van service be restored. Mr. Kiuchi said that the reduction in van service means that social activities would no longer be served, and he feels that this is not a viable option. Seniors need to socialize with their friends and peers--this is a necessary part of daily living. Seniors who rely on van transportation will be home-bound--all for a mere $11,000 deficit reduction. The seniors deserve better. This is not anice-to-have service but shave-to-have service for senior citizens. Mr. Limpert asked Mayor Boyle if the van service could be restored as soon as Friday because the seniors were having a hmcheon in recognition ofvohmteerism. Mayor Boyle explained that he could not promise that the vans would be running that quickly because he would have to discuss the situation with Mr. Copeland. If the drivers can be located and scheduled, the service will be restored m time to transport seniors to the Friday hmcheon. Seniors can begin calling City Hall at one o'clock Thursday afternoon to inquire about the service and to make reservations. Doug Urban, Westwood Lane, Olmsted Township, a representative of the Olmsted Action Committee, presented a petition asking that North Olmsted withdraw its proposal to annex Olmsted Township. He said that on March 23, Mayor Boyle had spoken at a meeting attended by several hundred Township residents. At that time, he and Berea Mayor Trupo promised to ask their respective city councils to withdraw the annexation proposal if it continued to meet with opposition. Mayor Boyle commented that Mr. Urban was correct, and he welcomed the petition. He and Mayor Trupo had talked about the situation as late as this afternoon and will make the determination in late spring or summer. Mayor Boyle still believes the partnership is a great idea, but it may be too large an idea to disseminate the information and have it digested in the short time available before the November election. Joseph Sepesy, 4368 Phunwood Drive, spoke about the proposed cuts in senior van service. Mr. Sepesy acknowledged that Mayor Boyle had already restored the cuts. However, since he had spent so much time preparing his thoughts, he wanted to share them Mr. Sepesy said he feh seniors were getting "the s1~ort end of the stick in the city's budget constraints" because the Senior Center's activity coordinator position was eliminated, the new administrator's salary was cut, the outreach worker's hours were reduced and two part-time custodians were laid off. The home-bound seniors had relied on the van transportation to participate in voh~nteerism, fundraising, recreation and socialization. He said that the van transportation was not free--that seniors were required to pay a dollar for a round trip. Mr. Sepesy also mentioned his displeasure over the small amount of information about Senior Center activities in the Spring/Summer Recreation booklet. 4