[8:21] Okay.

[8:23] Very good. I'm going to call to order

[8:24] the collective committee meeting for the

[8:26] city of Avon Lake Council for October

[8:27] 5th. It's 7:05.

[8:30] Uh the first item on the agenda is

[8:33] public input. Members of the audience

[8:35] shall be permitted to speak only once up

[8:37] to five minutes on any topics. If you'd

[8:40] like to come forward, please state your

[8:42] name and city you live in. Thank you.

[8:45] >> Gerald Phillips, Avon Lake. To the

[8:47] residents of Avon Lake, vote no on issue

[8:52] 16, acts the tax. Vote yes on issue 36.

[8:56] It'll give you the right to vote if we

[9:00] give a corporate subsidy to the

[9:02] developer for the power plant.

[9:05] Also,

[9:07] it'll give you the right to vote in case

[9:09] there's higher density on the

[9:11] development for the power plant. 60

[9:13] units per acre, 1,200 units, 2400 cars.

[9:19] You need the right to vote on that

[9:20] because you the taxpayer will ultimately

[9:23] bear a burden of any increase in

[9:26] property taxes for the schools because

[9:28] of the loss due to the tiff revenues and

[9:32] the increased cost to the city for the

[9:35] infrastructure caused by that

[9:37] development.

[9:39] Now I want to talk about the city uh

[9:42] forum. Uh on September 30th,

[9:46] I was cut off and I made a comment that

[9:49] Mayor Spzel is a liar and he is and I

[9:52] will prove it because I had the

[9:53] information that he prevented me from

[9:56] speaking at that meeting.

[9:58] He didn't allow me to make a comment to

[10:00] the public so they would be uh aware of

[10:03] the fact that our city income taxes have

[10:06] increased almost 100%. In 2015 it

[10:11] was9,992,454.

[10:17] 2025 it was 18 million158,155,000.

[10:25] Also, I was prevented from indicating

[10:28] that our employment in the city

[10:30] increased from 2021 of 271 full-time

[10:34] equivalent to 289 in 2025. 18 increase

[10:40] in our employment.

[10:43] Also, I was pre prohibited uh from

[10:47] correctly making a statement that the

[10:49] city by their ordinances allocate the

[10:52] city income tax every year and that

[10:54] percentage varies. It's not fixed.

[10:57] He indicated that in essence it's stuck

[11:00] by the city council and it can't be

[11:02] built. Well, he's wrong. In fact, I did

[11:06] a historical analysis from 2021 through

[11:10] 2025 and looked at the allocations

[11:13] between the city uh general fund and the

[11:18] uh capital improvement funds which is

[11:21] needed for the streets. 64% and 21 64%

[11:27] and 22 55 and 23 69 and 24 and 76

[11:33] and 25. for the general fund for the

[11:38] capital improvement fund 19% in 21 n 19%

[11:43] in 22 30 and 23 look at the decrease 16%

[11:49] in 24 and look at the decrease in 25 we

[11:52] allocated 4% of the city income tax for

[11:56] capital funds now you know why we need

[12:00] money for the streets because we

[12:02] underfunded it in previous years because

[12:05] we wasted money and mismanagement for

[12:08] this city 4% and I indicated previously

[12:12] in 2024 2025 and 2026 we drastically

[12:17] reduce the amount of capital

[12:19] expenditures for roads and streets. It's

[12:22] a self-inflicted harm caused by the

[12:25] mismanagement of the city administration

[12:27] and council over those periods of time.

[12:31] To make even matters even worse, this

[12:36] administration, past administration,

[12:38] past council, and this council have

[12:41] acted like drunken sailors. You received

[12:45] $2.4 million from the Arper Fund, the

[12:49] American Rescue Plan Act. $2.4 million.

[12:53] If the streets and the roads were that

[12:55] bad, why didn't you allocate it to that?

[12:58] Where did it go? Do you spend it like a

[13:01] drunken sailor? Is that fiscal

[13:03] responsibility? Is that fiscal

[13:05] management? Not according to me. I'm a

[13:09] certified public accountant. I know

[13:11] governmental accounting for

[13:12] municipalities.

[13:14] In my opinion, that's waste.

[13:17] That's mismanagement.

[13:21] In my opinion, that's administrative

[13:23] malpractice.

[13:25] In my opinion, it's legislative

[13:27] malpractice. And now you want more money

[13:31] to the taxpayers. Do you think that the

[13:34] city will be any better stewards with

[13:36] the money from this uh income tax for

[13:39] issue 16? Absolutely not. Also vote yes

[13:43] on 37. It will repeal the resident

[13:46] income tax increase.

[13:50] >> All right.

[13:50] >> Anyone else wishing to come forward?

[14:03] Good evening, William Zimmerman, my

[14:05] beautiful Avon Lake.

[14:07] >> As I've said many times before, you all

[14:09] forget that you work for us elected

[14:13] officials by the people.

[14:17] Not your own personal agenda, but what

[14:20] the citizens want.

[14:22] Just like this 30 I don't know if it's

[14:25] 36 or 37. I don't. Anyhow, my point is

[14:29] about the power plant. People want to

[14:33] have a final say in that. The citizens

[14:35] want that because they don't trust you

[14:37] all anymore because you as elected

[14:40] officials have let us down

[14:45] for a long time. 20 years between the

[14:48] two of them.

[14:52] from a long time.

[14:54] So, I'd like to also go on the fact that

[14:57] the mayor's a liar.

[15:00] I spoke with the woman at the League of

[15:02] Women Voter in Lurank County today and

[15:06] she recalls the fact that Mr. Shamir was

[15:08] told that he couldn't be on the panel.

[15:11] In fact, Kayla had to fill in. She was

[15:14] the last second fill in because she was

[15:16] supposedly had environmental knowledge.

[15:19] I believe that was quite limited,

[15:21] especially compared to Mr.

[15:24] So again, he wants to say

[15:27] it's not the truth. That's not right.

[15:32] He's a liar.

[15:34] Plain and simple. I have other people

[15:36] who are willing to come to these

[15:37] meetings. They'll be glad to stand up

[15:39] here at the podium and tell them the

[15:40] same thing I just said. He's a liar.

[15:45] Citizens of Avon Lake do not trust these

[15:47] people.

[15:49] So let's go on one other thing not to

[15:51] trust you about and that was the fact

[15:54] that today

[15:56] the Supreme Court ruled at moot about

[15:59] these issues in regards to the one

[16:02] item on the ballot. So 25 days have

[16:06] passed since this was we submitted our

[16:10] information to the board of elections

[16:14] and over

[16:16] I don't know half of that time we waited

[16:18] around while you guys tried to say we

[16:19] need to have three readings not

[16:22] necessary. Supreme Court ruled that

[16:24] today that was the point. So in my eyes,

[16:27] y'all colluded together to delay

[16:32] public election.

[16:34] That's a federal offense chargeable to 5

[16:38] years in prison.

[16:42] And she was the one who was supposed to

[16:44] give the information, chose not to. And

[16:48] when I spoke with her on Friday on the

[16:50] phone, she says, "Oh, I was going to

[16:51] wait a couple more days because there's

[16:53] going to be a special election or this

[16:55] was going to happen or that was going to

[16:56] happen." None of which is factual.

[17:00] None of which is occurring.

[17:04] So, she took it upon herself not to go

[17:06] and do her job.

[17:10] From my standpoint, she should be

[17:12] arrested.

[17:14] She didn't do her job.

[17:17] and she chose to delay it even more. So,

[17:20] delaying interfering with official

[17:24] election business, that's the crime

[17:32] all of you are guilty of cuz you all

[17:35] colluded together to try to do it.

[17:37] That's why you all were not voting.

[17:39] That's why it went three full readings.

[17:42] It wasn't supposed to. It was supposed

[17:44] to be taken to the board of elections

[17:46] the day that it was approved by them.

[17:48] They send it back to her. She's supposed

[17:50] to bring the paperwork to say what's

[17:52] going to be the issue.

[17:54] People aren't doing your jobs.

[17:58] Committing crimes while not doing your

[18:01] job.

[18:04] So, one last thing I would like to say

[18:07] is that I'd like to to thank Bob Brooks

[18:10] and Kowanas for putting on the little

[18:12] function that they did over the weekend.

[18:15] I was there had an opportunity to speak

[18:18] with many families,

[18:20] moms and dads of many little kids, all

[18:22] of whom are against the tax issue

[18:24] because they don't want to pay because

[18:26] they don't have extra money to pay

[18:29] because they don't think it's necessary

[18:31] because you all have mismanaged the

[18:33] money.

[18:35] It's an ongoing theme here. As Mr.

[18:37] Phillips said, mismanagement.

[18:41] These people were very kind. We laughed.

[18:43] We joked. We shared a lot of stories

[18:46] about stuff and they were interested in

[18:49] the information we were passing out.

[18:52] And I truly believe, like I said, no,

[18:54] I'll go somewhere else. So, we'll have a

[18:56] show that's going to be produced here in

[18:58] the next day or two. and then it will be

[19:00] out on Avon Lake Organizational

[19:03] Television so you all can view it.

[19:05] Concerned citizens, Gerald Phillips and

[19:07] myself.

[19:08] >> Thank you, sir. Anyone else wishing to

[19:10] come forward?

[19:20] » Stick around.

[19:21] >> Good evening. Hi, my name is Tony

[19:24] Tomminick and um I'm a 76-y year

[19:26] resident of this wonderful town of Avon

[19:29] Lake. Um I do want to say one word

[19:31] before I

[19:34] those two gentlemen do not represent me.

[19:37] They do not represent a large majority

[19:39] of the citizens of Avon Lake. So you can

[19:43] say whatever you want up here, but I

[19:44] want to share with you some thoughts I

[19:46] had about this weekend. Um, what a

[19:49] wonderful time to celebrate our

[19:51] community, neighbors, families in this

[19:54] beautiful city that we are so fortunate

[19:56] to call home, Avon Lake. This past

[19:59] Saturday, we came together for the third

[20:02] year of Fall Fest. I think it's

[20:04] important, excuse me, important to take

[20:06] a moment to recognize that what made

[20:09] that event so special. It just wasn't

[20:11] the activities, the decorations, the

[20:14] food, the music, the drinks, or the fun

[20:17] that made the day memorable. It's the

[20:19] people.

[20:21] The Avon Lake Kuanos was proud to make

[20:23] Fall Fest possible. The Kanians raised

[20:27] nearly $10,000 to fund this wonderful

[20:30] community event. And what makes that

[20:32] accomplishment even more meaningful is

[20:34] that every dollar came through donations

[20:37] from our community. And there's

[20:39] something truly remarkable about that.

[20:42] The people of Avon Lake came together,

[20:45] raised money, and then because of that

[20:47] generosity, Fall Fest was completely

[20:49] free to everyone who attended. The food

[20:52] was free, the drinks were free, the

[20:55] activities were free. Families could

[20:57] come together, enjoy the evening, make

[21:00] memories, and simply have a great time

[21:01] without having to worry about cost.

[21:04] That's what community is all about. It

[21:07] was generously given freely so that

[21:09] others could enjoy the day at no cost.

[21:12] And it says something pretty wonderful

[21:14] about Avon Lake.

[21:16] I've had the privilege of being part of

[21:18] this community for five generations.

[21:21] And when I think about

[21:24] what that means, I realize how fortunate

[21:26] I am. I've watched families grow here.

[21:30] I've watched children become parents and

[21:31] parents become grandchild grandparents.

[21:34] I've seen neighbors become friends and

[21:36] friends become treated like family. And

[21:39] through all those years, one thing has

[21:41] remained constant in the incredible

[21:43] sense of is the incredible sense of

[21:45] community. There's something special

[21:48] about a place where people can know one

[21:50] another and look out for one another,

[21:52] come together, and when there's

[21:55] something worth celebrating. And Fall

[21:57] Fest is a perfect example of that. It

[22:00] showed what can happen when a community

[22:02] comes together and everyone contributes

[22:04] what they can. Maybe $10, maybe a $100,

[22:08] maybe just some time. Maybe someone

[22:11] volunteered to organize an activity or

[22:13] set up something or clean something up

[22:15] or simply brought their family and

[22:17] supported the event. Every contribution

[22:19] mattered because communities aren't

[22:21] built by one person or one organization.

[22:24] They're built by thousands of small acts

[22:26] of generosity, kindness, and

[22:28] participation. And that's what I saw

[22:30] Saturday. I saw people who cared about

[22:33] Avon Lake. I saw parents creating

[22:35] memories with their children and saw

[22:37] grandparents passing those traditions

[22:39] down to another generation. I saw

[22:42] neighbors enjoying the afternoon. I saw

[22:45] a community that understands where we

[22:47] live is more than just an address. It's

[22:50] home. After five generations here, I can

[22:53] honestly say that I can't think of a

[22:55] better community to live in. There are a

[22:58] lot of wonderful places in this world,

[23:00] but there's something uniquely special

[23:02] about being part of this community. So,

[23:06] I want to say thank you. I want to say

[23:08] thank you to everyone who donated.

[23:12] I want to say thank you to everyone who

[23:13] volunteered. I want to say thank you to

[23:15] everyone who helped organize and create

[23:17] this incredible fall fest. And a special

[23:20] thank you to the Avon Lake Kanians for

[23:22] helping raise nearly $10,000 to make

[23:25] that event possible. But most

[23:28] importantly, thank you to the people of

[23:30] Avon Lake because every dollar that made

[23:33] this event possible came from you. You

[23:36] supported the community. You supported

[23:38] your neighbors and helped create

[23:40] memories that our families will carry

[23:42] from them with them for years to come.

[23:44] So, let's celebrate the third year of

[23:46] the Fall Fest. Let's celebrate Avon

[23:48] Lake. Let's celebrate the generations

[23:50] that came before us and the generations

[23:52] here today as well as those that will

[23:55] follow. And most of all, let's celebrate

[23:57] the spir spirit of generosity and

[23:59] togetherness that makes this place home.

[24:02] Five generations have given me a plenty

[24:04] of reasons to love Avon Lake. And after

[24:07] seeing everyone come together this past

[24:09] Saturday, I was reminded of one more

[24:11] thing. This is what a community does.

[24:15] Thank you, Avon Lake. And here's to many

[24:18] more years of FallFest friendship,

[24:20] family, and community. Everybody have a

[24:22] wonderful evening.

[24:23] >> Thank you, sir.

[24:27] » Anyone else wishing to come forward?

[24:31] >> Seeing no one else ready to come

[24:33] forward.

[24:34] >> Mr. Council President,

[24:35] >> um I have some comments that I'd like to

[24:37] add uh in response to some of the things

[24:39] that were said in public input. Would

[24:40] this be the appropriate time or towards

[24:42] the end?

[24:43] >> Certainly now would be a good time.

[24:44] >> Okay. Um,

[24:48] I thank Mr. Tomminick for his comments,

[24:51] uh, by the way, and I think that is, uh,

[24:53] reflective of a vast majority of this

[24:55] community.

[24:57] So, I'm not going to get into the

[24:59] comments that, uh, uh, Mr. Phillips made

[25:02] about the mayor. The mayor is a, uh, is

[25:04] a dedicated lifetime servant, uh, retired police officer,

[25:09] police chief, and elected mayor. he can

[25:11] respond in due in due kind next week to

[25:14] some of these allegations against him

[25:16] and I expect that he will knowing uh the

[25:18] mayor as I do. Um one thing that was

[25:21] brought up uh by Mr. Phillips was uh

[25:24] something about the ARPA funds and where

[25:26] that money went. um the ARPA fund money

[25:30] the major I don't have all the numbers

[25:32] in front of me the exact amount but the

[25:34] majority of the ARPA funds that we

[25:37] received um from COPA from CO um went

[25:41] back to the community in the form of one

[25:45] of the coolest neatest brand new parks

[25:47] that we have in the city and that is the

[25:49] new Alps that is located over here. It

[25:52] was council's decision at the time um to

[25:56] direct those funds to complete that park

[25:59] and not just create it as just a regular

[26:02] neighborhood park that we have had

[26:03] before, but to have something that has a

[26:06] um that has that wow factor, which is

[26:09] what I think the community envisioned

[26:11] and what uh council envisioned when we

[26:13] first started talking about it. Uh COVID

[26:15] was tough on the whole country, the

[26:17] state, and especially the city. So, we

[26:20] thought it was in the best interest of

[26:21] the city to um as a way of, you know,

[26:25] saying thank you for the community, for

[26:26] their patience and working through this

[26:28] together um with their neighbors and

[26:30] with their locals um to get through that

[26:33] time in our history. We wanted to give

[26:35] the public and the community back

[26:37] something um that they could be really

[26:40] proud of and that grandparents, parents,

[26:42] kids, grandkids um could all enjoy

[26:46] together and make new memories. So,

[26:47] that's where the majority of that um of

[26:50] the uh uh COVID funds went. Um there was

[26:53] also some that did go to infrastructure

[26:55] and I don't have all those numbers in

[26:56] front of me right now, but I know Mrs.

[26:58] Fenderbash is going to jump in here in a

[27:00] minute on that. Um but I wanted to put

[27:02] that part out first. Um the second part

[27:05] is we live in a we live in an amazing

[27:07] country and uh there's a reason that uh

[27:10] freedom of speech is the first amendment

[27:13] in the constitution. um because it

[27:16] allows you to say stupid and disgusting

[27:18] things. And I think what we heard

[27:20] tonight was probably the stupidest and

[27:22] the most disgusting thing I've ever

[27:24] heard. Um if you want to yell at me,

[27:27] fine. I was in the Marine Corps. You can

[27:30] stand in front of my face and scream and

[27:32] yell at me. but to insult, attack and

[27:37] threaten with imprisonment in a crime a

[27:41] dedicated public [snorts]

[27:43] servant like Valerie Ross Marin is

[27:46] disgusting.

[27:48] Thank you.

[27:50] >> Thank you. And why you brought that up,

[27:53] uh, that I believe had to do with the

[27:56] decision that they weren't very happy

[27:58] about from the Supreme Court that we

[28:00] recently received. And I'll turn this

[28:02] over uh to Mr. Eert because we have done

[28:05] everything very much according to how

[28:08] the law is written and so has Miss

[28:10] Rosmarian. So uh that was very uh

[28:13] disheartening to hear that. Uh

[28:15] unfortunately there's not a whole lot I

[28:17] can do to stop someone in the midst of

[28:18] such a thing. But uh Mr. Law Director,

[28:21] if you would explain uh our success on

[28:23] the Supreme Court, please.

[28:25] >> Yes. Thank you, Mr. President. Yes.

[28:27] Today the Supreme Court ruled the um uh

[28:30] dismissed the uh appeal red mandamus

[28:33] filed by Mr. Phillips concerning the

[28:34] income tax issue uh as being moot. Um it

[28:38] was always

[28:38] >> credit issue

[28:39] >> credit is income tax credit issue. It

[28:42] was always the intentions of this

[28:44] council to prove it on three readings.

[28:46] They didn't have to suspend the readings

[28:47] to have an emergency basis because of

[28:49] quite frankly when the petitions were

[28:51] circulated and submitted to the council did not have any time to even

[28:54] discuss it. you know, went right to

[28:56] committee, went right to the first

[28:57] reading, second reading. He knew he knew

[28:59] very well that there was going to be

[29:01] three rings and be passed and it was

[29:03] there was no basis for filing the

[29:05] writing that that matter which is just

[29:08] costing taxpayers more money every time

[29:10] all these lawsuits which are spurious in

[29:11] nature are filed by Mr. Phillips. Um so

[29:15] the issue concerning that will is moot.

[29:18] um whether he tries to file again that

[29:21] what what the council would be doing now

[29:22] is it be a special election within

[29:24] probably 120 days sometime in January

[29:27] probably you're not going to have the

[29:29] special election will be cost you know

[29:31] the council I mean I shouldn't say

[29:32] council taxpayers might have a special

[29:34] election based on how he formed this but

[29:36] it will be held probably sometime in

[29:38] January it's up to council to fit you

[29:40] know where they want to have it what

[29:41] time what's the basis of it but that rid

[29:44] of mandamus had no basis to be filed

[29:47] against the city knowing know full well

[29:48] the council was going to pass it in

[29:49] three readings.

[29:51] >> Thank you. And not only did we pass it

[29:53] in three readings, we also held a

[29:55] meeting earlier than we needed to to

[29:57] hear it. That is correct.

[29:58] >> So the Supreme Court did rule in our

[30:00] favor on this and uh that's appreciated.

[30:04] Uh but to say that things weren't filed in an expedious manner,

[30:09] it's just it's just not not the case.

[30:12] Yes, Mrs. Fenderbush.

[30:13] >> Um thank you and thank you for my

[30:14] colleagues. Um Valerie Ross Marin is the

[30:18] most dedicated um public servant that a

[30:21] council could ever have. When I attended

[30:24] the uh Northeast Ohio council's meeting,

[30:29] committee of councils, everyone came up

[30:31] to me and from others from other

[30:34] councils and said, "Wow, Valerie is

[30:37] yours. She is amazing." And we happen to

[30:39] agree. Um, I wanted I have in front of

[30:42] me what the ARPA distribution is and for

[30:45] those of you that want to look at it,

[30:47] it's it's fund number 218.

[30:50] Um, the expenditures were 2,827,6729

[30:58] and they were expended in the following

[30:59] ways.

[31:01] small business grants, city council,

[31:03] because we were there. Um, we felt that

[31:06] the small businesses really did suffer

[31:10] during COVID and the small business

[31:12] grants, we gave them $150,000.

[31:14] Cardiac Monitor replacement, $63,99742.

[31:21] City Fiber Connectivity Project,

[31:24] $87,877.75.

[31:28] Peter Miller House improvements $49227

[31:33] $49,227

[31:36] Senior Transportation van $46,877

[31:42] ambulance replacement $358,627.

[31:47] Then funds were then allocated to storm

[31:49] water outfalls 920,2

[31:54] 920,299.12

[31:59] pathmaster

[32:00] $296,354

[32:04] Elps $853,88

[32:09] and that is how they were expended.

[32:11] Thank you.

[32:14] >> Yes. One further thing I should probably

[32:16] say that uh concerning that matter that

[32:20] everyone knew by the time this petitions

[32:21] was actually filed ball had already been

[32:24] posted and sent out to the military. So

[32:27] it was not going to make the November

[32:28] ballot. Everybody knew that from the

[32:30] board of elections because I had several

[32:31] conversations with the chairman of the

[32:33] board of elections concerning the issue

[32:35] that it have to be a special election uh

[32:37] based on the timing of it when they were

[32:39] filed with the board of elections.

[32:40] Valerie did exactly what she had to do

[32:42] when they were submitted to things. G

[32:43] she emailed them over to the board and

[32:45] then took over manually the actual uh

[32:48] petitions also the ordinance as far as

[32:50] certified copy of the ordinance. So

[32:52] everyone knew that was in the process.

[32:54] There was no reason to file rid of

[32:55] mandame is concerned yet.

[32:57] >> Thank you Mrs. Goodwin.

[32:59] >> Thank you. Um and I just wanted to

[33:01] address the League of Women Voters

[33:02] event. Um I am not sure where I was a

[33:06] last minute addition to the panel. Um, I

[33:09] was, in case no one else noticed, the

[33:11] only woman on the League of Women Voters

[33:14] panel. Um, and that was done by design

[33:17] because I was because I am a woman and

[33:20] because um, all the other gentlemen um,

[33:23] that our representation were men. Um,

[33:26] and they felt that a female presence was

[33:30] desired on the board. And um, I'm also

[33:32] very close friends with a number of the

[33:34] women who helped put that on and who are

[33:36] members of the organization. So um I was

[33:39] actually an integral part in that from

[33:41] the ve very beginning. I was not a late

[33:44] addition and I addressed them with the

[33:46] caveat that I do not have the

[33:48] environmental experience that Mr. Shamir

[33:50] does. And um that was actually favorable

[33:52] to them because um I could explain how

[33:56] important it was that they be that

[33:58] everyone in the room could become

[34:00] involved in this project by attending

[34:02] committee meetings and learning more

[34:06] about the project and the process. So I

[34:08] just wanted to kind of set that

[34:10] straight.

[34:10] >> All [laughter] right. Thank you.

[34:13] All right. On to our agenda. There was

[34:14] no need for a finance committee meeting

[34:17] uh tonight.

[34:18] uh I didn't feel that the items required

[34:21] such a thing. We do see the tax rate

[34:24] resolution uh which sets forth our

[34:28] local government fund of approximately

[34:30] $52,000

[34:32] that we will receive from the county for

[34:34] the uh 2027

[34:37] year. Um and the other information with

[34:41] it. uh and uh that will be set on for uh

[34:46] a first reading and passage uh by

[34:49] suspension of the rule for our next

[34:51] meeting. Uh the reader report was there

[34:54] which everyone gets shows that we're

[34:57] behind on the tax collections

[35:01] uh approximately 1.41% 41%

[35:04] uh $218,000

[35:08] uh at present and uh from compared to

[35:13] last year

[35:17] uh the August financial report was also

[35:20] submitted uh and uh for your review

[35:27] and consideration.

[35:29] Um, I really didn't have anything major

[35:32] in that report as well to bring up. Does

[35:35] anyone have anything they want to talk

[35:37] about with regard to the financial

[35:38] report?

[35:42] And then the last thing is we've made

[35:44] some adjustments for the budget meetings

[35:47] uh due to some in availab unavailability

[35:49] of some folks. Uh so the first budget

[35:53] meeting is not going to be this Saturday

[35:55] morning. It will be the following

[35:57] Saturday, October 17th at 8 o'clock in

[36:01] the morning uh where we will have the uh

[36:04] we'll talk about it more at our council

[36:05] meeting, but we have moved that to the

[36:08] 17th of October.

[36:11] And anyone else have anything else with

[36:14] regard to the collective committee

[36:16] meeting for finance?

[36:20] All right, seeing none, the next item on

[36:22] our uh

[36:24] collective committee meeting is to

[36:26] discuss any legislation.

[36:29] Uh the first one is the uh become a

[36:33] power of clean future Ohio and adopt the

[36:35] goal of reduce greenhouse emissions. Uh

[36:38] Mrs. Goodwin, anything further on that?

[36:43] Um, no, we this is um not really just

[36:47] that a reminder that this is a

[36:49] opportunity for us to obtain some more

[36:51] technical assistance and open up some

[36:53] more pathways to grant funding moving

[36:56] forward.

[36:58] >> All right. And uh that will be just for

[37:01] the second reading.

[37:02] >> Second reading. Yep.

[37:03] >> Okay. Any questions?

[37:06] Uh the next item is resolution 26-93

[37:11] uh which deals with our decision which

[37:14] has been our decision throughout that

[37:16] should the point4% income tax in issue

[37:19] 16 pass which we certainly hope that it

[37:22] will that we will be uh eliminating uh

[37:26] and stop collecting on an existing 1.5

[37:29] mil property tax uh that is is in

[37:32] effect. Unfortunately,

[37:34] uh we will uh only be able to stop it uh

[37:38] in 200

[37:41] uh 20 well no 20 and 28 that will still

[37:46] be in effect through 2027 I believe. Um

[37:50] but uh hopefully that income tax 70% of

[37:54] which is to um fund fixing our roads uh

[38:00] which we have about a 40 over a $40

[38:03] million backlog on the road work that

[38:05] needs to be done. Uh that will be for

[38:07] six years. And uh if we do what we're

[38:10] supposed to, which I fully anticipate

[38:12] the city will do what they're supposed

[38:13] to should that pass to make sure our

[38:15] roads get get fixed, uh people will be

[38:18] able to uh weigh in on again in the

[38:21] future.

[38:23] Anyone else on this issue? Yes, Mrs.

[38:26] Fenderbos.

[38:27] >> Uh thank you very much. Um, I just want

[38:28] to make sure that the public understands

[38:30] that when this does pass, um, the

[38:32] collection of the money will start

[38:33] January 1st, 27, but it needs to

[38:36] accumulate before we can actually be

[38:38] utilizing it. So, the money will be

[38:41] utilized then for streets and roads

[38:43] beginning in 2028. Thank you.

[38:46] >> Yeah. And then, go ahead, Mr. Cos.

[38:48] >> No, no, go. I I was going to say

[38:50] additionally, not only will we not be

[38:52] collecting the 1.5 property tax, we will

[38:56] also not adjust the uh current credit

[38:59] that's in place.

[39:00] >> The credit

[39:00] >> the the current credit is is a full

[39:03] credit and we had reduced that by 1%

[39:05] should should because of the need and

[39:08] should that point4 pass we will not be

[39:11] going forward with the reduction in the

[39:13] credit.

[39:14] >> Yeah, Mr. K.

[39:15] >> Yeah. Thank you, Mr. Council President.

[39:17] um this issue that's in the resolution

[39:19] as well as the other issues um

[39:22] concerning the um issue 16 um were

[39:26] discussed at last Wednesday's uh town

[39:28] hall meeting. And I would encourage

[39:30] residents uh to go and watch that

[39:32] meeting. I believe it's now available on

[39:35] um Avon Lake ALCTV and on on the city

[39:38] website. If that's not correct,

[39:40] Stephanie, please let me know before the

[39:42] end of the meeting um and when it will

[39:44] be up. Um but all of this was addressed

[39:47] and uh you can see all also the

[39:49] questions and answers uh back and forth

[39:51] from a number of residents that brought

[39:53] some very good questions um about this

[39:56] issue. And uh also I think that it's

[39:59] worth addressing and it needs to be

[40:01] stated that with regards to

[40:04] how the money is spent, it is written in

[40:09] the in the law that where

[40:13] [clears throat] the money has to be

[40:14] spent. So this point4% doesn't fly off

[40:18] into some magical wasteland where

[40:21] nobody's going to know what it's going

[40:22] to be spent on or how it's going to be

[40:24] spent. It is going to be mandated that

[40:28] at least 70% of it is spent on the

[40:33] roads, streets, roads. At least 70%.

[40:38] And no more than 30% is to be spent on

[40:43] the other capital expenditures

[40:46] i.e. uh sewers, uh catch basins, uh

[40:50] culverts, capital equipment and such. So

[40:55] that is what the law says. It's not

[40:58] going to be um or it can't be um spent

[41:02] on anything else but those two things um

[41:07] at those percentages. So I encourage

[41:10] people to um to go back and watch that

[41:13] uh town hall or to contact their council

[41:15] person um if they have any additional

[41:17] questions on it. Thank you.

[41:19] >> Thank you. And what we're talking about

[41:21] is issue 16, which is the 4% uh tax and

[41:26] uh certainly would be very valuable to

[41:29] helping with our property values as

[41:31] well.

[41:32] Anyone else? Anything further? All

[41:34] right. Next is ordinance 26-94,

[41:38] which is our uh comprehensive insurance

[41:41] coverage. And that will be going through

[41:44] three readings. Uh as our insurance will

[41:47] have, we've already had one. It's a

[41:49] second reading which will uh we'll be

[41:52] able to conclude it before the November

[41:54] dead November 1st deadline.

[41:57] Anyone else on that? All right. In first

[42:00] readings, I think we have the tax rates

[42:03] resolution. I don't know if there's

[42:04] anything coming out of public service or

[42:06] public safety uh for next Monday or not.

[42:11] Any other first readings that we're

[42:12] thinking of?

[42:14] >> All right. Any miscellaneous business or

[42:16] announcements?

[42:18] Yes, Mr. Ca.

[42:19] >> Yeah, thank you, Mr. Council President.

[42:21] Um, so, uh, the 13th annual, uh, Boo by

[42:25] the Woods and Trail of Haunted Tales

[42:27] will take place on October the 17th. Um,

[42:30] the tickets, I believe, are now all

[42:32] completely sold out. Um, however, there

[42:35] are a number of free activities that

[42:37] residents are still encouraged to come

[42:39] out and enjoy. Um, those events will be

[42:42] taking place in the parking lot and

[42:43] inside the library. So, please uh come

[42:45] on out and enjoy the free activities as

[42:48] well too. Also, um there is a need for a

[42:52] few additional actors uh for the Trail

[42:55] of Haunted Tales. Um these roles have

[42:58] gone uh almost primarily to our Avon

[43:00] Lake High School students, specifically

[43:02] the drama club. However, if there are

[43:04] any confident um students here in the

[43:08] city of Avon Lake that would like to try

[43:10] haunt acting um and they're above the

[43:13] age of 14, uh we'd love to have you. We

[43:16] have a few spots available. Um these

[43:18] would be indoors inside the Avon Lake

[43:21] Public Library that we would uh find a

[43:23] place for them. So, we have a few spots

[43:24] available. If your teenage student would

[43:27] be interested, uh, please reach out to

[43:29] me um, directly at D as in David, KO S

[43:34] as in SAM at avonlake.org. That's my

[43:37] email or you can call me at 4407552985.

[43:44] All students that volunteer for this

[43:46] would get their volunteer credit hours.

[43:48] U, they also get the the official Boo by

[43:51] the Woods t-shirt. And it's it's

[43:54] official. It's the official shirt, not

[43:55] one of the bootleg ones, the official

[43:57] ones. Um so, and be a part of that boo

[44:00] crew. It's a great night. It's uh for

[44:02] anybody that ever wanted to try haunt

[44:03] acting. Uh there's going to be over

[44:05] 2,000 people um coming through that

[44:07] they'll be able to perform in front of.

[44:09] And uh I will also mention that uh these

[44:11] roles that we have these availability

[44:13] for are not anything complex that they

[44:15] would have to memorize some intense uh

[44:17] dialogue or anything like that. These

[44:19] are genuinely pretty easy roles um that

[44:21] I think that they would have a fun time

[44:22] doing. So, if you're a confident Avon

[44:24] Lake student, uh, please have them reach

[44:26] out. Please, uh, parents, please have

[44:28] them, uh, please reach out to me on

[44:29] their behalf. Thank you.

[44:31] >> Thank you, Mr. Cause. Anything else?

[44:34] Yes, Mrs. Fenerbash.

[44:35] >> Thank you. Um, at the homecoming fall

[44:38] fest, there was also the uh 34th

[44:44] 2026 Arbor Day celebration, and it was

[44:47] wonderful. There were eight little

[44:49] children that that that helped us spread

[44:52] um wood chips around and their parents

[44:54] were there. Um what what was so great

[44:57] was that there was a collaboration

[44:59] between Ava on the Lake Garden Club and

[45:01] the Tree Commission to purchase the

[45:04] seven red sunset maples. And the reason

[45:08] they're called sunset is that begin to

[45:10] go yellow, those leaves, then they go

[45:11] orange, they go red. They're absolutely

[45:13] gorgeous. The trees that were planted

[45:15] were between 18 feet and 20 feet tall.

[45:18] They're going to be growing to 60 feet.

[45:20] And what a beautiful, beautiful entry

[45:22] that will make going into Elps. I just

[45:25] want to thank all the people that

[45:26] attended. There were about 2,000 people

[45:28] at um the fall fest. And it was just a

[45:31] marvelous, marvelous experience. Um the

[45:34] council had their booth there that you

[45:37] could approach us. Um there was also the

[45:39] tree um commission. They had a booth

[45:42] there also and it was just very very

[45:44] positive, very very active. Thank you.

[45:47] >> Thank you. Anything further?

[45:50] All right. Oh, yeah. Go ahead, Mr.

[45:53] >> I did just want to say really quick that

[45:54] um I know Mr. Brooks was thanked for

[45:57] Fall Fest, but um Mrs. Spetzel did

[46:02] >> Christine Spetzel did a wonderful job

[46:03] putting that on. She's worked really

[46:05] hard to make this dream become a reality

[46:07] for the last 3 years and each year it

[46:09] gets bigger and better and the kids

[46:11] enjoy it more and more. So, I just want

[46:13] to say thank you for that.

[46:14] >> Thank you. Thank you for that

[46:15] acknowledgement.

[46:17] >> Anything else? All right, Mr. Ca.

[46:21] >> Um, I move that in compliance with Ohio

[46:24] Revised Code section 121.22G1, 22G1

[46:28] council will adjourn to executive

[46:30] session to conduct interviews for the

[46:32] appointment of a council ward 1

[46:34] representative.

[46:36] >> Please call the role.

[46:37] >> Mr. Reynolds,

[46:38] >> yes.

[46:38] >> Mr. Smith,

[46:39] >> yes.

[46:40] >> Mrs. Fenderb,

[46:41] >> yes.

[46:41] >> Mrs. Goodwin,

[46:42] >> yes.

[46:42] >> Mr. Cos,

[46:43] >> yes.

[46:43] >> Mr. Swagger,

[46:44] >> yes.

[46:46] >> And I say yes, too. I think I did that

[46:48] time.

[46:48] >> You did.

[46:49] >> All right. With that, we conclude the

[46:51] CCM and we're going to go into executive

[46:53] session. Thank you very much.

Avon Lake City Council: 10/05/2026

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