05/07/2003 Meeting Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Council Minutes of 5/7/2003 Patricia Deis, 26893 Sweetbriar ^ She was posted at the Community Cabin during yesterday's election collecting signatures when she noticed a frail elderly lady waiting on the sidewalk. She offered her chair to the lady and struck up a conversation. The lady was Mrs. Dore Hatton who said she was burying her husband that day but felt she had to come to vote as that is what he would have wanted her to do. This is certainly a tribute to an ethical man and an honest politician whose influence stretched to his entire family, including a wife of seventy years who felt so strongly bound to his ideals that she showed up to vote on the very day of his funeral. Dan Coyle, secretary of Local 1267, 8625 Brentwood Drive, Olmsted Township ^ On January 1, part of the ceiling in the dayroom in Station 2 fell in. There is a large hole in the ceiling and paint is peeling due to the fact that the roof has been leaking for the past 10 years. A short-term fix was attempted, but it didn't work. The administration had promised during a meeting in February to do a temporary fix until either a replacement of or a repair of Station 2 could take place. However, nothing has been done. It is not a safe or healthy environment for the fire fighters, and they are wondering when the roof will be fixed as there is a lot of mold and moss on the roof. Safety Director Jesse said that he had met with Chief Klecan and various bids have been received. It was difficult to get bids for this project, and all bids that were received exceeded $15,000. We will probably have to go out for bids with formal specs. A decision has to be made whether to do a total replacement of the roof or just get by on a band-aide basis until it is determined if a new fire station will be built. Kris Bosworth from the County Health Dept. has been in to assess the health risks, and so far it is a fairly clean bill of health. It is not a beautiful building and not a source of pride for the city, but it is being worked on and there are issues related to cost factors. Councilman Gareau suggested that this be considered an emergency situation and that there possibly can be a suspension of bidding. Law Director Dubelko said that this would require a recommendation by the administration that an emergency condition exists. Council would then legislatively determine there was an emergency and could authorize a contract without competitive bidding. Council members Kasler and Miller expressed their feelings that this indeed was an emergency situation and should be taken care of immediately as the problem has existed since January. The former Service Director had indicated that it was going to be done. Mrs. Kasler suggested this issue be put on the Public Safety Committee agenda in an effort to move this project along. Mr. Coyle said the inspection by the County Health Department was just a cursory look, and the fire fighters are very concerned about the health risks associated with mold. There are strict guidelines that have to be followed in buildings that have water leaks, especially in areas that are not ventilated very well. Councilman Gareau said he had spoken to Richard Mongelly, the architect who purchased the other fire station. Mr. Mongello indicated that he wanted to donate to the city the plans and the analysis that had been done on the former fire station as he believes the buildings were identical. Those plans may be of some use, and Mr. Gareau will try to secure them. 13