11/16/1999 Meeting Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Council Minutes of 11/16/1999 meetings when they weren't here and there was one person here asking why the tennis courts weren't open or why the city doesn't have a basketball court. President Saringer said that she did not think any Council members were opposed to the skate park. However, everyone must realize that, when entering into a contract, all the is must be dotted and all the is must be crossed. We have to be cautious, and we want to do the right thing. Mr. Miller said he would echo Mrs. Saringer's comments with regard to Council's support of the skate park. He is not aware of any member of Council that does not support having the skateboard park in North Olmsted. Also, he does not feel it would be accurate to say that the athletes are feared or disliked. He attended an exhibition of skateboarding and BMX riding and was absolutely mesmerized by the athletes. He supports the park and feels that the rest of Council also supports it. However, it has to be done correctly. Sometimes that is problematical and sometimes it doesn't go as fast as we would like it to. It is Council's intention to go about this cautiously. Mr. O'Grady said he did not share Mr. Miller's observations that all members of Council are in favor of the skate park. He believes, if you want to find out where an elected representative stands, watch how they vote. On another matter, Mr. O'Grady moved to appeal the decision of the chair with regard to limiting his ability to speak earlier in the meeting. Mr. Limpert seconded the motion. Mr. O'Grady said he felt the position of the chair of the City Council is to ensure the smooth conduct of the meeting and also had the responsibility to properly facilitate interaction between the elected representatives and the public. He felt there has been a trend towards editorializing from the chair and that Council members had been restricted in their ability to be recognized and to speak to their constituents. President Saringer answered that she had not denied Mr. O'Grady a chance to speak, but she had asked him to wait until the residents who were in line had a chance to speak. Roll call: O'Grady, yes; Limpert, yes; Gareau, no; McKay, yes, with explanation that he felt the motion was a little late and should have been brought at the time Mr. O'Grady was asked to wait. It has always been his position that any member of Council has a right to respond to any of the residents. Roll call continued: Miller, no; Nashar, no; Kasler, no. The motion failed with four negative votes and three affirmative votes. LEGISLATION Ordinance No. 99-143 introduced by Mayor Musial was given its third reading. An ordinance authorizing the Mayor of the City of North Olmsted to enter into an agreement with Sandhu & Associates, Inc. to provide engineering services for the design of the Police Station HVAC improvements and declaring an emergency. Mr. O'Grady moved for adoption; second by Mr. McKay; motion passed unanimously. Ordinance No. 99-143 adopted. 12