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* PENDING APPROVAL * The meeting was called to order about 10:10am by Karla McIntosh. Minutes of the previous meeting were read by Ray Pesek and accepted without discussion. A sign-in sheet was passed around as a record of attendance. Agenda item #1- elections. Karla reviewed job descriptions and invited all present to run for an office in CFBB. Karla ran as president, Nicole McKinley as vice president, Donna Rehman as secretary, and the team of sisters-in-law Gloria Tews and Marge Spicka as co-treasurers. Paper was distributed and this slate voted on by secret ballot. While ballots were counted, members were invited to review and/ or make copies of letters and news articles Karla had collected concerning the group. The slate of officers passed unanimously. Karla drew our attention to the ‘Sunshine Laws’ quiz on the agenda, and the group was encouraged to order copies of the sunshine laws publication and read them…per Bob McCafferty each individual can order up to 4 copies, which can then be shared by the group as needed. Agenda item #2: reports from members who attended committee meetings in November. There are 7 committees, each headed by a council member and including two other council members plus department heads and appointed members of the community. Karla attended Kathy Malinak’s Safety/ Service committee, held as a tour of the city’s service dept. garage. Reports from employees included getting a good price on salt this year by ordering early in the year; the depreciation of the fleet of plow/ salt trucks; how each employee is responsible for a section of the city year round for road repairs, painting, plowing (encourages pride in their work). Note to CBB members to call in early each spring about road repairs because that is when priority lists are made. Ray Pesek noted that Greg Crane’s job as Safety/Service Departments director has grown enough to be split back into two jobs, and questioned whether all these maintenance tasks are actually done. He reminded the membership that the city tends to look at cost, not the value of work accomplished. Residents Fred and Mauren Marcis raised concerns about Maxwell Drive (proposed extension of Hadcock Rd). It will be quite close to their property and that of some neighbors…overall much closer to their development than their realtor led them to believe. Karla was able to answer one of their questions, why some neighbors on their street got notice of public hearings and others didn’t: it all depends on how close your property is to the proposed change or development. They and all members of CBB were encouraged to work through City Council (their area councilperson or one of the council at large) if they are having trouble getting service or answers, rather than through City Hall or Service garage. Donna Rehman suggested a future survey to assess overall citizen satisfaction with service requests. Michelle Mayer attended the Committee of the Whole (3rd Monday of each month), which in November lasted until midnight. There was much discussion on the bar/ restaurant formerly known as Hennigan’s. Police had put a hold on its liquor license following various emergency calls there; they were reporting to Council they had rescinded this decision, as new owner had remodeled and made many positive changes. Police and Fire Chiefs reported on readiness and response plans for current Homeland security issues such as anthrax. Council discussed actual police coverage…Ms. Malinak offered Chief Beyer more police officers but was told they were not necessary. Mr. Gordon questioned the crime rate in Brunswick vs. other communities. Ray Pesek indicated that current coverage means there are often no more than two officers on duty, and if both police cars are in attendance at an accident or traffic stop, officers wonder what criminals could do by actually creating such a diversion. Suggestion that future CBB meetings include invitations to the various committee chairs/ city employees (chiefs, etc) for question and answer sessions. Bob McCafferty brought up that the Northern Ohio Area Coordinating Agency (NOACA) representatives were to be elected officials of each city, yet council had taken special steps at Mr. Trimble’s request to make him Brunswick’s representative. Re: comments by retired finance director Joan Thesling at last council meeting that Mr. Trimble must be above board, because all city books were audited and Brunswick had always received excellent ratings. CBB members expressed skepticism that auditors looked closely at anything but the bottom line…the widely published Brunswick Comprehensive Annual report, a relatively thin document, is a summary, and thus all the numbers cannot be totally reconciled. The City Annual Report is a document several inches thick, and includes detailed reports from department heads. It is available at City Hall by request, perhaps with a copying fee; all members interested who can make time to do so are encouraged to obtain and review this document. Tom Miller is Chair of the Economic Development Committee which is to meet next week (2nd week of Dec). Tom Arnold is the Director of Economic Development for the city. The building department reports to him. It sounds like other departments (and/ or Skip Trimble) don’t work well together with him. He, as well as Murray McDade of the Chamber of Commerce, may have some common interests with CBB and be willing to work with us in some areas. Report on Planning Committee meeting by Karla, Nicole, & Donna: This meeting focused primarily on the new proposed outdoor sales and display ordinance. Murray McDade for Brunswick Chamber of Commerce reported the membership did NOT want the Chamber’s name included in the legislation, as it implied the Chamber’s endorsement/ approval when none of the Chamber’s ideas had ended up included. And the Chamber as a whole definitely did NOT like this ordinance. The owner of the Flowerama spoke passionately at several points re: how he had fulfilled the committee’s requirements initially and was concerned that they seemed to be changing the rules mid-game. This brought up a well accepted proposal by Collette Beineke that the legislation had omitted, and needed to have, some provisions for ‘grandfathering’ existing business plans. The owner further brought up that limiting his outdoor displays, due to the nature of his business, WOULD hurt his business; and he would be looking at laying off employees, most of whom are Brunswick residents. He commented on having left construction to become a floral shop owner. While the building and planning department had initially been very good to work with, he had not been able to get clear answers to his questions about this proposed law, and was very worried by reading it in its current form. This led the Sunoco station owner to comment that she owned stations in other well-off suburbs, and that of all them, Brunswick was the most difficult with which to work. The wording sounded like many outdoor storage areas/ and or pop machines would have to be behind 10-15 foot high brick/masonry walls. Chain link and landscaping were excluded as enclosures for outdoor storage. Many provisions seemed focused against Kmart and certain sidewalk blockages last summer, and public opinion favored having the Committee deal with Kmart re: laws already on the books that it had violated. The two gas station owners (Cenco & Sunoco) present protested the pop machine requirements. Karla McIntosh spoke and noted that some ‘architectural screens’ would actually make pop machine areas a focus of crime and hazardous to use…the whole purpose is as a convenience when the main business is closed. Various widths of entrances, usable sidewalk area, etc. were specified in the ordinance. Donna Rehman spoke and suggested it might be simpler to invoke state and federal law (fire code and the Americans with Disabilities Act) by reference regarding entrance/ exit/ pathway width restrictions, as any legislation passed would have to conform to these anyway. Later Mr. McDade of Chamber of Comm. indicated those very suggestions had been part of the Chamber’s previous suggestions that had been ignored. Frank Tibbitts added that there had been no time for the committee to hear his proposal on the Fuller property that night. He reported to CBB that since the land is contiguous to the city, it can be annexed. He further stated that since a Fire Department is NOT a charitable organization for a charitable purpose, he believed Skip Trimble did the right thing by not permitting them to collect for Sept. 11th victims. Bob McCafferty noted that the planning committee frequently held up Westlake as their example but that to his understanding Westlake is currently trying to change their outdoor display legislation. Karla noted that the city posts recently passed legislation on the website. Those interested in reviewing pending legislation must go to City Hall to read the single posted copy. She plans to write City Council about getting proposed/ pending legislation and committee agendas posted on the website as well. Agenda item #3: The initial CBB bylaws are finished. Karla encouraged members to read or make a copy of them at end of the meeting and bring questions and suggestions. She is meeting the attorney 1pm today to finalize non-profit status. Agenda item #4: Membership requirements, costs, brochure availability. Bob McCafferty suggested not all meetings be on Saturdays and mentioned Lester Reed whose work schedule does not permit him to attend then. General agreement that at least some meetings in the evening will be considered. General agreement that membership should be open to all Brunswick city residents and all owners of businesses located in the city (regardless of residence), but that one should be a member at least one month before allowed to vote. Regarding proxy voting, Marge Spicka suggested that a member should have attended at least some meetings during the year to have experienced discussion of issues before being allowed a proxy vote. Ray Pesek suggested a minimum of 2 meetings attendance within the previous calendar year. Consensus was that there is need for further discussion about voting rights. Bob McCafferty strongly objects to the $10 individual ($13 family) annual membership fee, lest the cost prohibit some citizens from getting involved. As no one can come up with a better way to fund the expenses of printing and mailing the newsletter, the membership fee stands and will be printed in the brochures. Concerns to look into in the near future include the prevalence of ‘emergency’ legislation to Council for apparently routine expenditures, and forming a committee to look into possible city charter changes. Karla has asked Sue Hambley to write an article for our newsletter re: why finance committee legislation often must be done as emergency ordinances. As it was after 12noon we adjourned with wishes for a good holiday to all. (italics added to clarify actual reporting on the various committee meetings) Respectfully submitted, Donna Rehman Secretary, CBB |
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