Council 2/14

I attended council 2/14 and here'ss what I saw.

Sorry to see Kim go. Shes been a supportive partner. Denise seems like a fine replacement. Worried about town meeting process being upheld.

Andy's no vote on Mowing Contract. I respect his opinion, and I welcome him as the newest member of the 5-1 club :) I think there are problems, yes, and we should continue to expect more of our contractors, however nothing I saw suggested a "do over" scenario for 2011.

I voted in the affirmative on all votes.

Cortney

Health and Rec Committee Meeting Feb 2011

I attended Health & Rec Committee Meeting and here's what I saw.

Toy Lot Fence is a good idea but is too high. I'm still sportive but worried about the view/aesthetics
Pool enhancements. I support overinvesting here because they had a strong revenue year last year and we received lots of negative feedback from residents in how outdated our offering is vs other communities.

Cortney

Attended Committee of Whole

I attended the Committee of the Whole to discuss annual appropriations. Here's what I saw.
-Trees. We under invest continually in tree replanting. We are at risk, increasing every year. However I'm not much of a salesman and got budget up only +$5000. We need much more focus here. We live within the canopy of a dedicated, focus effort in the 1920's. Without big, continued investments, we will lose the canopy.
-Turnout gear for fire. 40 people on a part time roster is fine until you factor in a need for personal gear for all. Gear costs $2000 per each. I'd like us to reduce this number to a minimum. Maybe 25? Rick and Jeff would need to sign off for sure, but we should crank up quality AND availability and reduce the list's members.
-Police cruiser. New Taurus interceptor is a nice fuel savings story. Would like to see us go 100%6 cyl engines for our fleet.

Cortney

1/24 Council recap

I attended 1/24 Council Meeting and here's what I saw:

Dumpster trash & unsightliness. MarieElders' complaints are valid in my opinion. I think we ought to do more and require commercial trash cans to be shielded and kept out of view (just like residents).

Fear of losing Estate Tax income. Paul T confirmed we on average get about 8% of our budget from this generous source. If Gov Kasich and the legislature eliminate, we'll have to plug that hole in a painful way: less services for more $$$.

West Street Parking. I appreciate Dan calling and giving me a heads up ahead of Council. After lots of thought (no data yet), I have real concerns about this. Why should government intervene when neighbors don't get along. Last time that happened, we lost a heritage tree south of Wooster Pike. Why should we spend $100,000 (estimate) of money better spent on real improvement. The Village should control LESS property, not more. Sidewalks will be lost since some of them will touch the adjacent buildings. These spaces aren't close enough to the Square to do any good. More parking/more backing means safety concerns. Why design for 3-5 days a year when the school is full of visitors? We will lose all 15 trees (most >18" Diameter). This change is a HUGE departure from Nolen's plan. And, it'll be unsightly. Unless I'm presented with compelling data to the contrary, I don't see the need for Council to get involved.

I voted in the affirmative on all votes. All were procedural in nature except for the salary ordinance. Increases seem reasonable, and position us to better retain employees ahead of the predicted economic recovery in 2011.

Watch video at icrctv.com


Cortney