08/20/2002 Meeting Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Council Minutes of 8/20/2002 ~~ be moved by August of next year and asked the Mayor for an estimated date of >r-~ completion of the wetlands project. Mayor Musial said the City Engineer could provide that information. Mr. Strnad said he wholeheartedly agrees with Mr. Dolance's comments regarding testing of elderly drivers. If he were writing a state law, he would ask that drivers 65 years and older be tested annually. Patricia Deis, 26893 Sweetbriar, attended the Finance Committee meeting last night where the budget Guts were discussed. She is concerned about the loss of the crossing guards. It occurred to her that, when the school needed the levy passed, they took aim at the children and stopped busing. When the administration of the city needs money, they take aim at the children and reduce the crossing guards. She finds it hard to believe that six months ago it was critical that we have 20 crossing guards to manage the children, and now we suddenly only need half of those. Her question to the Mayor last night was: How do we determine which children are less valuable to the city? Under no circumstances does she think it is morally right to reduce in any way the safety of the children. She does not believe the suggestion from the Mayor that this was arrived at voluntarily by the Service Director, the police, the crossing guazds and Officer Wozniak. She thinks this occurred because they were told to cut their budget by 50% at the expense of the children. It occurred to her that the reason children aze the tazgets of administrations is because they cannot vote. They have no voice in the city, and it is up to the adults to protect the children. We have a moral responsibility to think, protect and provide for the children. This goes to the very core of their safety by removing a layer of protection for them in light of the nationwide breakout of abductions, rapes and murders by predators of our children. We have 16 predators in North Olmsted. They are known by fact not to try and abduct children under the direct supervision of adults. If the adults are removed from very busy intersections, avenues are opened up that she would even hate to think about. She begs that the reduction of crossing guards is reconsidered. She noted that a Councilperson had suggested that the responsibility of reducing the budget should start with the top administration. She started figuring out the cost of the Mayor's administration needs in his office. The reduction of one staff member in his office would replace six crossing guards, insuring a better path to the schools and safety for our children. Mayor Musial said he is not aware of any order being given to the Police Department to reduce the budget by 50'/0. With regards to other aspects regarding the crossing guards, as he has indicated before, this was a joint decision by a committee that was established. In addition, the police officers aze going to be monitoring these crossing areas during the first days of school to make a final judgmern decision. Mrs. Deis said that the cost of a police officer per hour to monitor this would pay the weekly salary of several crossing guards, and then only to finally amve at the decision that an error had been made. She does not believe that the city employees voluntarily chose to reduce spending in their departments by 50%. That didn't happen, and there is nothing anybody can say in the administration that is going to make her believe that Officer Wozniak, the Safety Director and everybody else involved suddenly awoke one morning, and like getting religion, the idea occurred that we don't need half as many crossing guards. That does not wash 14