06/04/2002 Meeting Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Council Minutes of 6/412002 10) An ice show was held at the Rec Center on May 30, 31 and June 1 for participants in the Learn to Skate program. Jeff Marshall produced and choreographed the show. Attendance was almost 700 people for the four shows and drew rave reviews. 11) The city is working closely with NOSO on the soccer tournament to be held over the Fourth of July weekend at the BartonlBradley fields. The Service Department is cooperating on the field preparation. 12) The annual North Olmsted employees appreciation picnic is scheduled for Friday, June 14. It will be held next to the Old Town Hall from 11 to 1:30 p.m. Members of City Council aze invited to attend to share their appreciation of the fine employees of the City of North Olmsted. 13) As reported at the last Council meeting, the city is out from under the Ohio EPA and U. S. EPA consent decree. With the unknowns associated with the consent decree being eliminated, the city is in a position to control and direct the expenditures of the Sewer Revenue Fund. The task force is in a position to very shortly provide him with a final report. He has reviewed a preliminary draft. With the current cost saving technology and continued efI•iciencies, sewer rates should be able to be held steady through the year 2006. Further, the current North Olmsted sewer rate structure is a water consumption based structure that has essentially been in place since at least the early 1980's. Thus, the disproportional problem associated with sewer billings for consumption of less than one thousand cubic feet of water per quarter has been with us since then. The difficulty being that the Cleveland Water Department is unable to electronically adjust rates for users of less than 1 MCF of water per quarter. They aze not inclined to do so because they use a minimum billing service and consumption chazge of one thousand cubic feet of water for their billing purposes. However, it was determined that manual print-outs could be obtained per quazter showing usage of water less than one thousand cubic feet per quarter. Through the insight of the task force, they were able to devise a method of by- passing the lack of electronic proportional billing of less than one thousand cubic feet of water for sewer charges and after satisfying bond counsel concerns of an impact on bond covenants, provided the substance of Ordinance No. 2002-76. Also, they looked at Homestead types of allowances for seniors and single pazents and overall rate decreases. He appreciates and knows the residents of North Olmsted appreciate the approval given by Council members to the requests of money which were approved for the technology improvements such as the centrifuge which has saved hundreds of thousands of dollars in capital improvement expenses because the Zimpro units did not have to be replaced. The centrifuge has saved us money and enabled us to comply with the requirements of the consent decree which enabled us to get out from under and provide us with the monies to provide to a small measure of sewer rate relief for those residents using less than one thousand cubic feet of water per quaver. He also appreciates the fine legal work by former Law Director Michael Gazeau, and the follow-through by current Law Director Jim Dubelko in the lifting of the EPA consent decree. Thank you to all the members of the task force for their due diligence, expertise and commitment to the city in the analysis of rate reduction. The committee was chaired by Dennis Long and members were Ralph Bohlmann, Jack Eustace, Jack Kiuchi, Councilman Michael Gazeau Jr., Councilman George Nashaz, Rudy Spagnuolo, Jce Bouman and bond counsel John Larson of Squire, Sanders & Dempsey. 3