Here is the video for the City Council meeting on September 4, 2018.
In the work session, we discussed:
- Planning Commission Appointment – We will be setting up a small interview process at the next work session
- Deer management review – this will be where we get the statistics about the deer culling over the past year in terms of cost and deer culled. This review is mandated by the ordinance that allows the City to cull deer. Please contact me if you would like a copy of this report.
- Discussion of changing street parking ordinance
So, there are several strong opinions on both sides of the street parking allowances among those on City Council. We will be starting a discussion tonight about the possibility of banning street parking in all of Bedford. Because we have been doing it piecemeal, it has gotten complicated for issuing tickets. We will be looking at streamlining the parking rules. If you have feelings and opinions on whether parking should be banned on all Bedford’s streets, now would be a good time to contact your council person or the Mayor regarding street parking in Bedford.
- Discussion of the snow clearing ordinance.While we will be looking at the parking ordinances, we will also look at changing the snow clearing ordinances so that they can actually be enforced. Right now, they are too vague to be effectively enforced and it is also a ticket that you have to go to court for. We are going to look at making the ordinance more like the lawn mowing ordinance where the City can notify and then if the sidewalk is not cleared, the City could then clear the sidewalk and charge the cost back to the property owner.
In the regular session, we voted on:
- Changing the parking fine. (passed 6-1)
- Getting a new Service generator (passed)
- Having the generator installed (2nd reading)
- An increase in water and sewer rates for 2019 due to a change in what the City of Cleveland charges us for the Master Water Meter. The water fee will only go up minimally. The sewer fee will go up a little more. This is due to the fact that the City is expecting to have to take a out a loan in the next few years to upgrade the sewer treatment plant. The City expects that the EPA will require these improvements. You get better rates on loans if you have a good coffer built up. The sewer rate increase is primarily to help prepare for this future loan. The sewer rate increase adds a few dollars a month to the sewer rates. (1st reading)
- Updating the Senior Citizen & Disabled water discount to account for inflation on the household income. (passed)
- Hiring Gardiner to do an electrical audit of the City. The cost of the audit will go towards any work Gardiner will eventually do. (1st reading)
- To declare 43 Forbes Rd a nuisance and condemn it (passed)
- Updating (more) building code ordinances so that they are always in line with the current Ohio Revised Code. (passed)
- Adopting all replacement pages for 2018 so far for the Bedford Codified Ordinances (passed)
- Some increases and decreases in appropriations (passed)
- To declare 28 Leonard a nuisance and condemn it (passed)
- Accepting the rates for current tax levies (passed)
- Applying for Issue 2 funds to cover half of redoing Broadway and Union (passed)
- Motion to approve plans for a Type “A” daycare located at 113 Union. (failed 4-2)
In the reports:
- The City has sent a list of trees that they feel First Energy has killed due to over trimming and First Energy will be paying to have these trees removed.
- Salt prices have nearly doubled and this will affect us in the winter.
- The 50/50 Storefront Grant is almost distributed but some money is left. They will be doing a 3rd round.
- Shred day is September 15th.
- A talk on deer management will be on September 20th
- The Board of Elections has moved the polls for Wards 1, 5, 6 to Ellenwood
- The seasonal class guide for classes at the Southeast Library is now available. Types of classes include Homework Center after school M-F K-8, Hip hop coding class, Bullet journaling, College & Scholarship Workshop