09/02/2008 Meeting Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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~:. Council Minutes of 9/2/2008 2) On August 21, he attended a meeting of the Westshore Council of Governments Law Directors to talk about a regional Civil Service testing initiative, which bears some hope and promise of providing for lower testing costs for the member communities. 3) Assistant Law Director O'Malley's report on city litigation: • On August 29, 2008, the city filed its brief of appellate in the City of North Olmsted and International Association of Fire Fighters Local 1267 Court of Appeals case. • City of North Olmsted v. Donald Patel in Rocky River Municipal Court, a nuisance case. On August 20, 2008, the defendant appeared with counsel for sentencing following his nuisance conviction which arose as a result of the lack of maintenance of a metal staircase at the Knight's Inn on Lorain Road. The magistrate had previously warned the defendant that, if repairs were not performed, she would impose per diem penalties dating back to the initial notification date of February 25, 200$ and impose jail time if necessary to collect the fine. The court reviewed the lack of progress on abatement to date and imposed per diem penalties for a total of $15,000. The court effectively stayed execution of this fine granting the defendant until November 26, 2008 to complete the repairs. The court indicated, if abatements were not completed by that date, then the entire fine would come due. 4) City Prosecutor Mike Gordillo reports 170 cases for August; 96 were General Offenses cases; 74 Traffic; one trial and one conviction. 5) To clear the air about rumors which have been circulating, he announced that he will not be seeking re-election to the office of Law Director in 2009. The reasons for his decision are multiple and complex, but essentially after a long deliberation process which actually began with the death of his father in 2006, he has come to the conclusion that, when this term ends, he will have worked for the city and for the city Law Dept. for as long a period of time as he realistically should. It will be a good time then for him to look for new and different life opportunities. For those who run for elective office, which is a tremendous honor, it should be remembered that we run for elective office solely for the purpose of serving the public, not to promote personal ambitions or to feather our egos. A decision to run for elective office given the importance of public service in a democracy should never be lightly made but only after careful consideration and with the good faith belief that we will be able to serve the public well if elected. It's the nature of the election process that candidates for public office must make a substantial time commitment to both the process of running for the office and, if successful, to serving the public for the length of the term of office they seek. To run for elective office in North Olmsted, a candidate must commit to make a five year commitment to the process and to serve the entire term. Those considerations were important to him in making his decision not to run for re-election. Good wishes and congratulations were extended to Mr. Dubelko. He was thanked for his years of service by Council Members and members of the administration. They will miss him and his wise counsel and they appreciate all he has done for the city. 4