06/17/2008 Meeting Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Council Minutes of 6/17/2008 Councilman Ryan inquired as to who had cast the dissenting vote. Councilman Barker said it was Councilman Kearney. Regarding the Finance Committee report, Mayor O'Grady said, as reported, there is no plan to do away with the position of secretary to the Mayor. However, it is his intent to not fill that position soon. He has been saying repeatedly that we must find ways of doing more with less. We must reduce the burden upon our taxpayers. It is his intent to, in effect, shaze a secretary with the Planning Director as an example at the very highest level of our city administration of finding ways to reduce costs to the taxpayers. Councilman Barker asked for a moment of personal privilege to talk about an incident that occurred in his wazd over the weekend. A ventilation fan in a new business was noisy and kept a neazby resident awake. Thanks to Safety Director Dr. Thomas, Police Lt. Flynn, several police officers, and Building Dept. inspectors for their diligent efforts in working to resolve the problem. Council Member Dailey Jones reported that the Fair Housing Review Board was sponsoring a forum on Thursday, June 19. The Heights Community Congress had contacted the North Olmsted Fair Housing Board and asked to host their last dialogue series in our city. The forum, "U. S. Society 1958-2008-How Far Have We Come?", is the final forum of the 2007-2008 "Perception Versus Reality" series. The series will look at the issues of race, class, and diversity in America and provide an opportunity for community-wide discussion about how we handled, and continue to handle, these issues as a country in terms of education, housing, employment and other areas that affect our lives as citizens. Participants in this discussion will include the Honorable Ronald Adrine, Judge, Cleveland Municipal Court; Diane Citrino, civil rights attorney and partner, Cooper & Wolinski; Kathryn M. Ha11, from The Cleveland Museum of Natural History; Carole Heyward, North Olmsted Assistant Law Director; Council Member Nicole Dailey Jones. The forum will be held this Thursday at 6:30 p.m. in the North Olmsted branch library. The Heights Community Congress is an advocate of social justice, a monitor of fair housing, and a facilitator of community building. Everyone is invited to attend as it will be a great educational opportunity. Councilman Ryan said that Urban Studies Dept. of Cleveland State University had recently conducted a study of the Wesishore area with regard to housing and their recommendations about the future of this area. He feels it would be useful for the Fair Housing Review Board, but he has not been able to obtain a copy of the study. Mayor O'Grady said he would try to get a copy as one of his directors is a professor in the Urban Studies Dept. of Cleveland State University. Councilman Kearney, chairperson of the Public Safety, Health & Welfare Committee: 1) The committee met Wednesday, June 11, at 6:30 p.m. Present were committee members Kearney, Orlowski, and Mahoney; Council Members Gareau, Barker and Jones; Safety Director Thomas and Law Director Dubelko. Agenda items were as follows: 5