02/20/2001 Meeting Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Council Minutes of 2/20!01 communications with various property owners, but no agreements for the purchase of land have been finalized. 4) On February 16, the Law Department provided a written legal advise to the Civil Service Commission concerning the removal of a firefighter applicant from the eligibility list due to his failure to meet the visual acuity standards as established by the Commission's rules and regulations. 5) On February 19, he and Assistant Law Director Dubelko and City Prosecutor O'Malley attended an annual workshop/seminar with the Cuyahoga County Law Director's Association. Jim Dubelko was elected president of the County Law Director's Association for the year 2001. 6) He is in the process of preparing the final paperwork for the purchase of Pine Tree Beverage, which is the Community Block Grant project for this year. Finance Director Copfer: 1) Last week, the Regional Income Tax Agency sent out subpoenas for non-filers and late filers. Each subpoena requires some action on the taxpayer's part. The taxpayer should contact RITA at the number listed (440-526-0900) if they have any questions or concerns or cannot make their scheduled subpoena date. Two RITA auditors will be located in Council Chambers from Monday, March 5, through Friday, March 16, during City Hall hours. People can come up even if it is not their scheduled time and ask for assistance and help if they have questions. 2) We are issuing bonds for this year's capital improvements as a result of the low rates that have been obtained on recent deals since the Fed has begun lowering the prime rate. Additionally, the fixed issuance costs are being shared with the library bonds and Springvale's capital improvement bonds along with a potential refunding of the piece of the 1992 debt that it currently makes economic sense to do so. We will achieve a savings and be paying a lower interest rate on it. Mr. Miller requested that Finance Director Copfer include in the appropriations her analysis of how the elimination of the estate tax will impact our city. Mr. O'Grady, chairperson of the Public Safety, Health & Welfare Committee: 1) The committee met jointly with the Transportation Committee on February 12. Present were Safety Committee members O'Grady, Limpert and Kasler; Transportation Committee members Dailey, O'Grady and Kasler; Council members Saringer, Miller, Nashar and McKay; Mayor Musial, Service Director Bohlmann, Finance Director Copfer and Traffic Engineer Griffith. The committee discussed Ordinance 2001-11, which authorizes the Director of Public Service to advertise for bids for the installment of an in-ground caution light system at the crosswalk closest to Butternut School on Butternut Ridge Road. The purpose of this ordinance was to begin the process of evaluating whether an in-ground caution light system would increase the level of safety for school children and other pedestrians in our community. Traffic Engineer Griffith was asked to make comments, and he raised some concerns with the system. He stated that he had traveled to Strongsville to evaluate the in-ground system that they have. During his time there, he stated that cars were not yielding to the system and that he was almost struck by a car turning onto a side street. He further stated that he feared young children might put too much trust in this system making them more at risk of being struck. During the rather 2