Here is the video from the City Council Meeting:
https://youtu.be/KQXKaWhKTIQ
In the Work Session, we discussed:
- A new WEBSITE for the City. The Council has not seen the quotes yet but will be reviewing them over the next month.
- Increasing the parking fines. It was decided that parking fins would be changed to $25 if paid within 72 hours of getting a ticket and $50 after 72 hours.
- Discussing Amending the Vacant Properties List ordinance. We are looking to beef up the laws regarding vacant properties so that we can make it more of a pain to keep properties vacant. And if the property owner does not comply with the terms of the ordinance, the property would be assessed. If the assessment is not paid, it would be added to their taxes. This ordinance will either make it very annoying to keep a vacant property or very expensive. We hope that this will reduce the number of vacant properties on both commercial or residential sides or at least give us an avenue to hasten them to the auction block.Some suggestions were made and we will be further tweaking this ordinance based on those suggestions. If you would like to see the changes we are suggesting so that you can add your won comments, please let me know and I will provide those to you.
- We also discussed updating several of the “Welcome to Bedford” signs. The City Manager will be looking at grants to pay for updating those signs.
- We also discussed the Rain Barrel ordinance that was on the Regular agenda. It was agreed that it needs further tweaking and so it was only on 1st reading.
In the Reports:
- The City was awarded a grant for demolishing vacant properties. 5 vacant residential properties and the old Moonglow building will be demolished. The demolition will be handled by the Land Bank
- Summer Program is still taking children. The fee is $500 for the summer. Weekly field trips, weekly trips to the pool and hot lunches are included in this fee. Considering that most daycares cost $125-$250 a week for the same level of summer care, this is a steal.
- Public pool will open June 9th.
- Ellenwood Rec will remain closed until end of July. They are hoping to have a Grand Re-Opening during the Baseball Days and All Star Games.
In the Regular Session, we voted on or had a reading on:
- 2018 Tax Budget for the 2019 fiscal year. (passed)
- Approving that part of the collected taxes will go towards paying for trash removal (passed – 1 nay)
- Approving that part of collected taxes will pay for maintaining street lighting (passed)
- Approving that part of taxes collected will be used to repair some of the City streets (passed)
- CRA agreement with Motorcars Acura for their tax abatement – 10 years at 49% (passed)
- Authorizing more work to be done on Ellenwood Rec Center (passed)
- Changing an ordinance so that the City of Bedford specifically allows for rain barrels and rain gardens, which would make us eligible for certain grants and resources. (1st reading with the expectation of changes to the proposed ordinance)
In the Citizen Comments:
- Strategic Planning Committee gave an update.
- The Southeast Library gave an update. Among the items in the update, there is a new Children’s Program at the library. Please check it out if you have children. The Library is a summer free lunch location. Children 18 and under are eligible for free bagged lunches in the summer.