03/21/2006 Meeting Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Council Minutes of 3/21/2006 Angie Cadwallader, 2996 Walter Road, Westlake, president of Olmsted Historical Society, said the Society has been on the ground floor of planning for the Stearns house. It is always sad when a city is faced with an issue like this-having a historical home and what to do when it is in the way of progress. They have been working side-by-side with the city on the issue and how to resolve it. Mr. Bouman's proposal is not a bad one. But it's too bad it's too late. Something Like this tikes a year's worth of punning. If we could have come up with an idea like this in plenty of time, it would have been wonderful for the city. Whatever decision will be made, the Historical Society is trying to preserve as much as they can. They intend to take as much of the ald wood as possible from some of these old homes and create a historical school house. It is their way of preserving some of the history of the city. Thank you for all the help and support to the Society and also to North Olmsted citizens. The. Society is struggling hard to maintain the historical aspects of Olmsted Falls, the Township and North Olmsted. In answer to a question by President Kennedy, she noted the Society has numerous fundraisers during the year and invited everyone to attend and support these events. 6) Dennis Lambert, 2505? Carey Lane, commented he did not believe the Mayor should have gone to Washington, and he would not need an assistant if he did not attend so many political functions. We need ahands-on mayor. Regazding a recent newspaper article about the safety forces, he believes the former director should have been kept as he had been on the cusp of resolving some of the labor issues. He has been reading about a serious matter of the possibility of getting rid of the STOP program. He believes the program, as conceived by Carolyn Kasler and other Council Members, is one of the best ideas there was. The officers are put on the street and are paid overtime from the tickets they write. That frees up officers in this community to do their job. He believes the Police Dept. is doing their job in this community. This is a tough community to police as we have several freeway entrances and criminals can come on and off the freeway, and the business district is vulnerable. If Council is funding positions within the Police Dept. and cutting back on an administrative assistant far the Mayor, thank you very much. We have to live within that and do more with less. Mayor O'Grady felt Mr. Lambert's comments demonstrated a lack of understanding. He is here first thing in the morning until the last thing at night. In his inaugural addresses, he stated that he would be involved and active. He is involved in the Cuyahoga County Mayors and Managers Association, in NOACA and the Senior Transportation Connection. He plans to bring North Olmsted back to a position of prominence in the area. He intends to be active on a national scale because that is what we need. We need to act locally, but we need to think globally. If we don't, we miss out. With regard to STOP, the program began in Parma. From its inception, he had a philosophical objection along the lines of making a direct connection between law enforcement and pay. Officers who write more tickets, get more dollars in overtime. That is not the police officers' fault. When we saw the 400% increase in the first year, we didn't change it. That's wrong. We did not have a 400% increase in traffic recklessness in one year. It needs to be reined in. 11