04/01/2008 Meeting Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

O~ fir. ~ ~~~ Council Minutes of 4/1/2008 February 27, 2008 and consistent with all of the recommendations of the boards and commissions. The motion was seconded by Council Member Dailey Jones and passed unanimously. Council Member Dailey Jones, chairperson of the Streets & Transportation Committee, announced that a committee meeting would be held next Tuesday regarding the snow removal during the most recent large snowfall. There will be discussion on our plan, how that plan was executed, and other issues that came up during that week. Also, April is Fair Housing Month. On April 11, in celebration of the historic date when the Fair Housing Act was signed forty years ago, there is going to be a re-enactment of the signing at Martin Luther King High School in Shaker Hts. It is open to the public, and everyone is encouraged to attend. In addition, the North Olmsted Fair Housing Review Board will be hosting a fair housing seminar at the North Olmsted Library on Saturday, April 26. The topics are: Protecting Yourself From Foreclosure and Predatory Lending, which are timely for all residents in all walks of life. It is free, and refreshments will be served. The registration begins at 9 a.m., and the program will run from 9:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.rn. Councilman Mahoney announced that a Recreation Committee meeting would be held at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 10, in Council Chambers at which time the administration will present the Recreation plan, including improvements for city park and recreation facilities. AUDI'`1CE PARTICI~'ATI~N 1) Don Pangrac, 23470 Shazon Drive, asked the Law Director what it is costing the city in legal fees, etc. to address the Suburban issue. Law Director Dubelko answered there is no actual cost as the work has been done in-house. He doesn't know the number of hours spent on it, but he has commented previously that it's probably the single litigation-like issue that has taken the greatest amount of time out of the Law Dept. in the last three years. He personally thinks it's a very important issue in the community, so he prioritized it in the department. 2) Terry Smith, 2661 S Fairfax Lane, spoke about Ordinance 2008-44 and thinks the plan to fine residents $3S for grass being too long or cars parked on the lawn is going too far. To him, it seems like an encroachment on individual rights and property rights. He feels there are current laws that would protect him as a homeowner if his neighbor was having an impact on his property values. He suggested education as another alternative to fines. Councilman Barker explained warnings will be given first. If the resident does not comply, then a citation may be issued for the fine. This is to help certain areas of the city where we have certain residents who just don't cut their grass regularly. With the present system, it takes a long time to make somebody comply. It is up to the discretion of the inspectors, the Building Commissioner, and the Safety Director on how far to go in every individual case. He thinks this ordinance will promote better property maintenance issues throughout the whole community. 3) Charles Dial, 27959 Gardenia, spoke about housing and foreclosure problems. A large amount of foreclosure cases involve a subtle kind of fraud, and he is aware of numerous attorneys working on a pro Bono basis to help these individuals. He himself tried to come up with software that could ferret out the information, but concluded it is a massive problem that cannot be solved with a pro bono contribution. On another issue, he takes exception to Council Members who choose to vote no. He feels that, when Council gets together and works on a piece ~a~*b~w-ate, _ _ ~P•~+n-~_~-~rs..q~sk~k~. ~_ -s~