03/03/2015 Meeting Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Council Minutes of 03-03-2015 Councilman Barker made a motion to extend Groden's speaking time by four minutes. The motion was seconded by Councilman Limpert and passed unanimously. Groden's speaking time extended 6-0. Groden said this is a national problem. Recently, a district court in Missouri issued a $1 million judgment against a charter school in Missouri for doing the same thing that charter school is doing in Ohio. They are paying an exorbitant amount of money for rent; that money is going to a subsidiary of the charter school. Just yesterday, there was an article on cleveland.com titled Ohio's Charter Schools Ridiculed at National Conference Even by National Charter Supporters. The article says that the Ohio system was the butt of jokes at the conference in Denver including pro-charter voices. Groden cited various articles that criticized Ohio's charter schools and point out the need for overhauling these schools. Groden said that legislators, Governor Kasich and Auditor Yost have said they need to clean this up but not a single improvement has been passed yet. The Governor's budget proposes an additional almost $1 billion in funding for charter schools. The message should be fix the problem instead of throwing more money at it. Groden encouraged Council to share some of this information with constituents or have constituents speak to Groden themselves. Dennis Lambert, 25057 Carey Lane said he wants to qualify something in fairness. He was talking about Michael Gareau Sr. Lambert said he has been watching Michael Gareau, Jr. for quite awhile. He doesn't agree with some of the things he does, but he has never caught Gareau, Jr. in a lie, misrepresenting the Charter or any of the laws of the city. Back in November 1959, one or two of Gareau's relatives sat on that Charter Review Commission along with Christman and some other people in the community. They did an outstanding job of putting together a marvelous Charter for the City of North Olmsted. Lambert said he knows quite a bit about Charters, whether he has a law degree or not. Lambert said Gareau, Jr.'s family has a wonderful tradition of service to the community. The city no longer has a Charter Review Commission. The city has a Charter review advisory board. It's not a real Commission. If it was, it would be autonomous. Law Director Gareau Jr. said he appreciates Lambert's comment with respect to his family's service. He believes his grandfather and uncle served the community well. He also believes his father served the community well. He will not sit here and have his father called a liar because he's not. He had a legal opinion, which he agrees with, regarding Article XII. Gareau, Jr. said he believes it's time that Lambert moves on. LEGISLATION Resolution 2015-15 introduced by Council President Jones on behalf of herself and Councilman Schumann was given its third reading. A Resolution approving and adopting the 2015 Master Plan for the City of North Olmsted. Councilman Kearney moved for adoption. The motion was seconded by Councilman Barker and passed unanimously. Resolution 2015-15 adopted 6-0. Ordinance 2015-16 introduced by Mayor Kennedy was given its third reading. An Ordinance to make appropriations for current expenses and other expenditures for the City of North Olmsted for the year ending December 31, 2015, and declaring an 4