[0:03] Council work session, August 25th at 7:30.
Mr.
[0:06] Goodwin, please lead us in the pledge.
[0:08] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
United States of America and to the
[0:14] United States of America and to the
Republic
[0:14] for which it stands, one nation under God,
indivisible,
[0:18] with liberty and justice for all.
[0:21] Roll call.
[0:23] Mr. Goodwin.
[0:24] Here.
[0:24] Mr. Wolf.
[0:25] Here.
[0:26] Mr. Price.
[0:26] Here.
[0:27] Mr. Boldt.
[0:27] Here. Mr. Pavlica.
[0:29] Here.
[0:29] We recognize Mayor Alai, Mr. Ruffa, Ms.
[0:32] Hutchinson, Chief Hajek, Mr. Pak, Chief
Pollock, Mr.
[0:36] Schroedel, and Mr. Neff.
[0:37] Mayor.
[0:40] Thank you, Mr. President. There's been,
um, a little talk.
[0:44] Obviously Wallings Road Bridge is open,
everything's working, running in traffic,
[0:50] everything seems to be very smooth,
[0:52] and we're real happy down there at that
end of town.
[0:56] Talk about putting the name of Prairie
View Heights or logo on a bridge.
[1:01] Many, many discussions with Ethan and
ODOT.
[1:04] If we wanted to do something on that
bridge or any bridge,
[1:08] because do you put something on Wallings
Road Bridge facing southbound?
[1:13] You have Lacyland, then you have Harris
Road.
[1:17] Right.
[1:17] Harris Road, you do one northbound,
southbound, both.
[1:21] However, the issue we have, because ODOT,
you know,
[1:24] they're not doing that as part of it, it's
a separate contract you would have to do.
[1:29] You need $25,000 just to have an outside
engineering firm to come in and look at
[1:34] this, because they have to do structural
loads on the screws or the fence,
[1:38] because if a piece of something like this
flies off and hits a car in a storm—
[1:43] Yeah.
[1:43] There's a lot of liability. So just having
that alone is, is about a $25,000 bill.
[1:48] And then you're talking, because Broadview
Heights is not a short name, uh,
[1:53] one side of the bridge, you're talking
$95,000 on top of that just for one side.
[1:58] So we could be talking $150,000, close to
$200,000 to put a name on the bridge.
[2:03] So I just wanted the council to know that
it's not, uh, Yeah.
[2:07] an inexpensive endeavor.
[2:09] And, um, Ethan could give you a little
more insight because he's talked to
[2:14] more insight because he's talked to
engineer,
[2:14] uh, in Brecksville and he got some good
feedback. Maybe you want to hear that.
[2:19] Yeah, so these, these costs have
quadrupled over the past 6 years
[2:23] quadrupled over the past 6 years
seemingly.
[2:24] It would be 100% city funding.
[2:26] Um, like the mayor said,
[2:27] we have to bring in a structural
consultant to do some design, you know,
[2:32] on the brackets. Um, some CAD drawings and
handle all the ODOT approvals.
[2:37] It has to be a specific structural design
engineer.
[2:40] The sign then has to get custom pressed
and built,
[2:43] and this is only for one side of the
bridge.
[2:46] So if we wanted to do 2, then that costs,
you know, doubles, obviously.
[2:51] Um, we still have, you know, 27 different
sections of road that are rated poor.
[2:56] And a culvert that we're trying to replace
next year.
[2:59] So I'd recommend, you know,
[3:01] just continuing to utilize our budget on
some of these essential projects like
[3:06] roadways, culvert replacements, things
like that.
[3:09] I think we can all agree it's a good idea,
or a great idea,
[3:13] to put the name on the bridge, but it's
just a really large cost to consider.
[3:18] Okay, council, any comments?
[3:26] That's too bad.
[3:28] Okay, one other thing on that.
[3:31] This is all 100% local, so we can't find—
you know,
[3:34] there's no programs out there to help us
pay for that or anything like that.
[3:39] So there's no grant money to put your name
on a bridge, and if there is,
[3:44] we'll come back to council.
[3:46] But, you know, I'll speak for the
administration and We think we're better
[3:51] administration and We think we're better
off
[3:51] paving a road or two before we start
really looking at having our name and
[3:56] really looking at having our name and
lights
[3:57] out there. Thank you.
[3:58] Was there any thought about embedding it
in the concrete before the
[4:04] forms, and then when you pour it, to be
poured with the concrete?
[4:09] That was an ODOT thing that was part of
it,
[4:12] would have been an upcharge on the bridge.
[4:15] And again, that was something that wasn't
considered at that time because We,
[4:20] as you all know, original design was
somewhere around $7 million or more,
[4:25] so we changed the scope so it would be
less money.
[4:28] So again, having that name on there wasn't
as much of a consideration as doing what
[4:34] we needed to do on the project. So that
was not part of the scope.
[4:38] Maybe businesses want to get together and
fundraise or something like that
[4:43] potentially, and they could potentially
get a structural engineer to donate their
[4:49] services for this to happen. I think it'd
be beneficial for them, certainly.
[4:54] You know, that might be another way for
them to go.
[4:58] Thank you. I think you're going to have—
[5:01] you're going to have to have an engineer
that ODOT is going to be wanting to work
[5:07] with. But you also got the long-term
maintenance of it.
[5:11] And if it's attached to the fence and not
embedded, as you discussed,
[5:16] you have the potential of Any fastener on
a fence could be a source of vandalism,
[5:23] so I wouldn't encourage it.
[5:25] I, I don't think I would discourage it,
[5:28] but I'm not going to be waving the flag to
do it.
[5:31] Anyone else? Okay, we'll take those
[5:37] suggestions, move on to Mr. Paff.
[5:48] First item is just the annual community
diversion program that we run with the
[5:53] county. This is just a contract for that
for next year.
[5:56] There's no cost to us as they reimburse us
on a case-by-case basis for the youths
[6:02] that are in that program.
[6:03] Council, any questions on this? We'll put
that on, Dave.
[6:09] Okay, next item is the assessment for the
grass cutting delinquencies.
[6:13] These are the folks that we cut their
grass, haven't been paid yet,
[6:17] so we'll certify those to go on their
property tax bill.
[6:20] Council? We'll put that on.
[6:24] Next item is a bills resolution for an
item that we didn't have a
[6:30] purchase order, and this was for fire
extinguisher inspections.
[6:35] Cost was $4,502.
[6:41] No questions, so we'll put that on.
[6:43] And then the final item is the annual
rates and levies from the county that
[6:47] rates and levies from the county that
council
[6:48] approves on an annual basis.
[6:50] 2 things to note this year:
[6:51] the 3 mil general fund levy is not on
there because it's up for a vote this
[6:56] there because it's up for a vote this
year.
[6:56] If that passes, then they will send us an
amended one that we'll have to pass
[7:01] sometime in late November, early December.
[7:04] The other thing to point out is the
recreation bond levy that was passed,
[7:08] I think in 2015. It was at 1.42 mills.
[7:11] They are lowering that to 0.79 mills,
[7:13] which saves about $21.70 per $100,000 of
value for the residents.
[7:17] The rationale behind that is though, when
they set the original millage for that,
[7:22] it's based on the total debt service over
the 20 years.
[7:26] We refunded that issue in 2021, which
reduced that cost.
[7:29] At that time, I approached the county
about lowering it, and they said, no,
[7:34] we're just going to track how much overall
you need,
[7:37] and we'll stop the levy sooner than the 20
years that it was supposed to be on.
[7:42] There's been sort of a change in the
budget commission over there,
[7:46] and now they're saying, no, you can only
collect what is due each year.
[7:51] And so they're reducing it, which I'm fine
with. That's all we need to cover.
[7:55] And probably at some point we'll even be
able to still cut it off a little early
[8:00] because for the 5 years since we refunded
that,
[8:03] they had been overpaying us what we needed
each year.
[8:07] But I've been keeping that in the debt
service fund segregated from everything
[8:12] service fund segregated from everything
else.
[8:12] So how much is it per year prior to the
change?
[8:17] Um, it's that we're saving 21-something.
What was the full amount?
[8:25] I'm sorry, I have to do my math here.
Probably around $38 or so.
[8:32] But how much did we bring in?
[8:34] Um, before that?
[8:41] Yeah.
[8:41] Um, that's what I thought, it was
$400,000. And now we're going to go down
[8:46] $400,000. And now we're going to go down
to what?
[8:47] Well, it was 1.42 mills.
[8:49] The 0.79 mills will generate about
$775,000 a year.
[8:53] Okay, so we were generating over $1
million a year before that.
[8:57] Okay, that's what I was getting at, how
much the new money was going to be per
[9:04] much the new money was going to be per
year.
[9:05] Yeah.
[9:07] Okay, go ahead.
[9:08] Thank you. My apologies, Mr.
[9:10] President, for the other— uh, Dave, don't
we need, uh, we had discussed,
[9:15] I heard you, I think right after, maybe
you brought it up during finance, uh,
[9:21] to approve, uh, a purchase order for an
environmental services company for work
[9:27] that's being—
[9:29] I don't think we've gotten the invoice for
that yet, have we, Ethan?
[9:31] I've requested the invoice. We have not
gotten it yet.
[9:35] They haven't prepared the final report or
given us the invoice yet to date.
[9:41] Are there any other questions related to
that?
[9:45] Because I did call everybody last we
talked, um, likely around $30,000.
[9:57] Okay, that's the same quote you were
giving us this summer, so nothing's
[10:01] giving us this summer, so nothing's
changed.
[10:01] Yeah.
[10:01] And then there's other legal thing—
[10:04] legal avenues we're going to go with this.
[10:08] So this council should approve this, and
then eventually, hopefully,
[10:13] we will get reimbursed for it, so we'll
not Be any tax dollars, correct?
[10:19] That's the goal.
[10:21] That was the only reason I was
questioning, in case we had to come
[10:26] questioning, in case we had to come
forward with a,
[10:27] a purchase order or a, uh,
[10:29] an approval to spend in excess of $10,000
because of the emergencies, uh, that,
[10:35] that occurred.
[10:36] Yes, I just haven't received the invoice
yet. So once I do, that's the final
[10:40] yet. So once I do, that's the final
report.
[10:41] I'll attach them all, um, and then we'll
submit them to council.
[10:45] That was the only reason I was asking.
[10:47] I wanted to make sure in case that was a
consideration for next Monday.
[10:51] Yep. Thanks.
[10:59] Okay, Mr. Schroedel.
[11:01] Thank you, Mr. President. I have 2 items
on tonight.
[11:05] Um, the first one is for the edges for our
snowplow blades. For winter equipment.
[11:12] This is something we buy some of almost
every year,
[11:16] so we have 4 or 5 ones that need to be
replaced now and a couple for the shelf.
[11:22] Council? We'll put that on.
[11:27] Okay, second item is for a contract with
Kay Company for a 3-year contract.
[11:32] They're our current provider for our
building automation system.
[11:37] They've done a nice job for us in the
past.
[11:40] And we'd like to continue to utilize them.
[11:42] Seeing no questions, I'll put that on.
[11:48] Thank you.
[11:49] Ms. Hutchinson.
[11:53] Thank you, Mr. President.
[11:55] The first item is just the change in the
TruGreen contract.
[12:00] We're asking for an additional service for
tick prevention.
[12:05] We're having some issues with ticks on the
main campus and at the field,
[12:11] so Pete wants to treat each this fall.
[12:14] That's okay, we'll put that on.
[12:18] Wonderful. And then the second is the
Manta Fieldhouse agreement,
[12:21] which we've been doing the last few years.
[12:23] It's just rental of the facility for
indoor soccer program this fall.
[12:27] Amanda, has the rates gone up at all?
[12:32] Yes, just $10 per hour. Yep, it does every
year.
[12:36] Thank you.
[12:38] We'll put that on.
[12:39] Thank you very much.
[12:40] Chief.
[12:43] Uh, thank you.
[12:45] Just, just one item. We have a spatial
needs study.
[12:48] This is a study that would be done to kind
of determine the size of a new
[12:52] building that we could look at.
[12:54] Council.
[13:01] Chief, um, shortly before your
appointment,
[13:04] probably 7 to 8 months before your
appointment,
[13:07] we had Chief Rafin here and we were
discussing the final details on, um,
[13:12] the fire department, on which direction,
how large it was going to be,
[13:17] what we were going to spend.
[13:19] And so the question was asked of Chief
Rafe, uh, will the police department be
[13:24] Rafe, uh, will the police department be
next?
[13:25] Will the police department be wanting a
new building?
[13:29] And so, uh, Chief Rafe was asked, how
about that?
[13:32] And he stood over where he was sitting in
that chair over there,
[13:37] and he stood and he said, no, we're good.
We like it where we are.
[13:41] I don't see a need for a new police
station in the near Foresee—
[13:46] the foreseeable future.
[13:47] We haven't even finished and finalized the
fire department yet,
[13:52] and that's a concern of mine right now.
[13:54] Not that I don't love the police
department, because I don't want to hear
[14:00] department, because I don't want to hear
the,
[14:00] the rhetoric out there that we have
anything or any animosity.
[14:04] And, and you can't go anywhere in this
town without talking about how safe this
[14:10] community is, and, and we appreciate that
and attribute it to the work that you've
[14:15] done and your department has done.
[14:18] But I think we need to set the fire
station behind us.
[14:22] We need to see where we're at financially
at the end of it.
[14:26] We need to then figure out whether it
would have to go out to a levy or not.
[14:31] I don't think this is the time for that
right now, and I can see us funding in
[14:37] right now, and I can see us funding in
2027,
[14:37] which we've already had those discussions
here on council,
[14:41] the furniture and the assets and the
equipment needed in the fire department.
[14:46] Thank you.
[14:49] And from that standpoint, um, number one,
I,
[14:52] I think it's premature at this time based
on what we were told just 2 years ago.
[14:57] And number two, I'm not sold on the
company that did the last study because it
[15:03] seemed like more of a spattle want study
than a need study.
[15:07] And, and I don't know why we're not using
somebody locally in Ohio instead of going
[15:12] down to Orlando, Florida. So those are my
concerns.
[15:16] Thank you.
[15:17] I don't know how council feels,
[15:19] but surely everybody was here when those
comments were made by Chief Rake.
[15:23] Now, that's your predecessor, so I don't
know what has suddenly prompted this, um,
[15:28] but that was one of the discussions that
was bantering back and forth in regards to
[15:33] the fire station. For instance, we said,
[15:36] should we do a combined safety services
building?
[15:39] And it was, it was said that, uh, that
would not be a consideration.
[15:43] So Anyways, that's my opinion.
[15:45] I don't know whatever everybody else feels
about that.
[15:48] Mr. Pavlica.
[15:50] Thank you, Mr. President.
[15:51] Chief, also, um, we need to take
consideration we still have Fire Station 1
[15:57] consideration we still have Fire Station 1
that we
[15:57] have plans to refurbish to bring it up to
code,
[16:01] and that as soon as Fire Station 2 is
completed,
[16:04] and if there's any extras or additional
costs that we may incur,
[16:09] we don't know yet I don't know how many
things we could keep going at the same
[16:14] things we could keep going at the same
time.
[16:15] I think we need to go in order.
[16:17] The thought was the new firehouse, number
2, refurbished, bring up to code,
[16:23] fire station 1. And then at the same time,
[16:26] maybe perhaps as we're reviewing fire
station 1,
[16:29] we can start discussion of the police
station. That's just my thought for that.
[16:35] Mr. Goodwin.
[16:37] I, I feel exactly the same way as both
these, these my colleagues have brought
[16:41] these, these my colleagues have brought
up.
[16:41] I—
[16:42] it, it's not the time or the place to do
that right now.
[16:46] Um, I, I really truly admire the police.
[16:48] I've always had, uh,
[16:50] always appreciated the fact I think they
are the most important people up here at
[16:56] City Hall, without a doubt.
[16:58] And, uh, I, I think that they need the
best of things,
[17:01] but I don't think that that necessarily is
going to give them the best of things.
[17:07] I, uh, I, I think that we have to be
considerate of the taxpayers.
[17:12] And, uh, without knowing what it is, when
it goes forward with a spatial study—
[17:17] but that's exactly how we ended up with
the fire station.
[17:21] And a spatial study showed somehow that we
needed a museum in the front of the fire
[17:27] station. I, I, you know, I, I think, I
think the chief knows what he needs.
[17:33] He, he's a well-heeled, experienced, and
he could tell us.
[17:37] But, but, uh, I, I don't want to start
this ball right now.
[17:41] Myself personally, uh,
[17:42] would not be in favor of starting to study
until we get through completely paying
[17:48] for all of these fire stations and, and
we're done with that.
[17:53] I, I just Not the time for discussion
about it, but that's my opinion. Thank
[17:58] about it, but that's my opinion. Thank
you.
[17:58] Mr. Wolf, you want to bite on this?
[18:00] Yeah, I disagree. I mean, this is a
spatial study. He's not building a
[18:04] spatial study. He's not building a
building.
[18:05] He wants to know what he needs.
[18:07] So I think it's beneficial to know what in
the future we need and approximately how
[18:12] much it costs. Do you want to do that
right before you're going to build a
[18:16] right before you're going to build a
building,
[18:17] or you want to do it now and plan and know
what you're going to be bargaining for in
[18:22] a few years when— if decide to build
something.
[18:25] So I think knowing what they need and what
their deficiencies are is important.
[18:30] Okay, hold on one second. I'd like to
weigh in on this.
[18:34] I can— I believe in the future we're going
to need a police department.
[18:39] There's no doubt about that.
[18:41] Uh, what site, what size, I don't think we
should jump into yet.
[18:45] I mean, we talk about the jail. Are we
going to want a jail?
[18:50] We're going to house people. We don't do
it now. Is it more affordable not to?
[18:55] But my biggest thing is the Chief Hajek
and the mayor beat down that said both of
[19:01] these fire stations were not livable.
[19:04] I don't think I'm talking about a fire— a
police station.
[19:08] We asked the chief at the time, it was 2
years ago, he said he was fine.
[19:13] That was his point to say, hey, I have
issues. He did not say that.
[19:18] So I think we need to finish what the
chief and the mayor want in both fire
[19:23] stations. And when that's done,
[19:25] or at least we're under construction of
Fire Station 1,
[19:29] then I'll start talking about a study.
[19:32] Okay, but I believe, Chief, we need one
down the road.
[19:36] But right now we need to finish what we're
doing.
[19:39] Mayor.
[19:42] Thank you. So good comments and all,
[19:45] and we are not looking to build a new
police station today, next year,
[19:49] nor the year after. We want to properly
plan, as we have been,
[19:54] all of us together planning the future of
the city, the future of this campus,
[19:59] and what we can do. This is part of that
future.
[20:03] We would never— we've got enough going on,
I think we all know that.
[20:07] Building a new fire station, getting roads
fixed, getting this together.
[20:12] But we also can't just sit back and say,
wow, we had a nice fire station up there.
[20:18] We need to look to the future.
[20:20] I want to put together a long-range plan
for the safety of this city,
[20:25] and I think we all owe that to the
citizens.
[20:28] This ain't about building a police station
right now.
[20:32] This is only looking at what deficiencies
we may have And knowing what we need to do
[20:38] if we look at a 5, 10-year plan down the
road. That's all this is.
[20:42] This administration in this term will not
be asking about a police station being
[20:48] built, but we will finish Wallings Road.
[20:51] We will do these things before we even dip
our toe into what size a new police
[20:56] station is. But I think for the money It's
pretty smart to go out there and do a
[21:02] spatial needs study just to figure it out
so we know today what we may need in 4 to
[21:08] 6 or 8 years from now.
[21:09] That's all we're doing is planning for the
future,
[21:13] not trying to build a fire or police
station now,
[21:16] or certainly while we're doing Wallings
Road,
[21:19] or while we're in the middle of
construction of fire station.
[21:23] That's not what this is. This is planning
for the future.
[21:27] Well, I thank you for clarifying that
because I think that's the fear here is,
[21:33] you know, how many balls we're going to
have up in the air at a certain time.
[21:38] So, um, did we go out for bid or we just
pick this person again?
[21:42] So we picked this person again, the
company.
[21:46] So we picked this company again.
[21:48] Yeah, there aren't a whole lot of
companies out there that I could find,
[21:52] and I haven't been able to find one
locally.
[21:54] We have worked with them before Or we had
worked with them before with the fire
[21:59] station. Um, so there's not a whole lot
out there to choose from.
[22:02] So for example, if Mr.
[22:04] Price knows of a local one, let me know
who they are and maybe we can use them.
[22:08] Um, along the lines here, uh, I understand
the whole idea of this, that, uh,
[22:13] Chief Rafe may have said whatever he said.
[22:15] Okay, he and I have differences of
opinions on something.
[22:18] Yeah.
[22:21] The building that we're in, size— for the
size and things like that,
[22:25] is probably adequate. We have a jail
there, it's probably pretty adequate.
[22:29] The problem that I see though, that, uh,
maybe he didn't see,
[22:32] or maybe everybody here doesn't see,
[22:34] is that we have an aging building that's
going to need a lot of repairs put into
[22:38] going to need a lot of repairs put into
it.
[22:38] So if we do put all those repairs in, then
we're kind of stuck there.
[22:42] So I think it's money wasted and it's kind
of a foolish idea.
[22:45] Some of those repairs have included over
the past couple years.
[22:48] Pretty extensive repairs to the roof, the
AC units, the HVAC units.
[22:52] We have a moisture problem in the basement
because it's a gravel floor for most of
[22:56] it. So we have issues with pipes rusting
down there.
[22:58] That's the main electrical line there.
[23:00] We have a generator that's 25 years old,
[23:03] which is not a generator like you see at
your house. This is like a $100,000 item.
[23:07] These are very, very expensive things.
[23:09] We have a basement that leaks when it
rains that just literally pours through
[23:13] rains that just literally pours through
like a
[23:13] garden hose.
[23:14] Okay.
[23:15] So we can put it off and wait a couple
years and do these things,
[23:18] but if the basement caves in, you're going
to be building a new building anyway,
[23:23] right? And that's beyond my control or
anybody's control, right?
[23:27] And Chief, I wish you were here then.
[23:30] I wish I was here too.
[23:31] I am not questioning Chief Raymond. I
would never do that.
[23:34] I think what he was doing was what was the
biggest need at the time,
[23:39] but I think what council is saying is At
one point we were thinking maybe we would
[23:44] have a joint building.
[23:46] That way you could have the training
shared between the two,
[23:50] some of the facilities you could share
between the two.
[23:54] And that's why the questions were asked,
[23:56] because we know that the police station
was not built as a police station.
[24:01] It was modified, correct?
[24:03] Yes.
[24:04] So we knew that. So that's We were
thinking 5, 10 years out, and I get it,
[24:09] thinking 5, 10 years out, and I get it,
you know,
[24:10] decisions were made. I'm not going
backwards, there's no way.
[24:14] But, um, we'll entertain— I'll,
[24:16] I'll bring this back to council next week
because there's 2 other people that are
[24:22] not here— or not next week, I'm sorry, the
next work session—
[24:27] and we can discuss it then if anybody has
ideas as far as other Um, experts, uh,
[24:32] we can look at that and we'll have another
discussion in 2 weeks.
[24:37] But, um, I think we all agree up here
there needs to be a fire station.
[24:42] There's— I mean, a police station. There's
no doubt of that.
[24:47] It's just we want to make sure we finish
both fire stations before we even start
[24:53] talking about a police station,
[24:55] because we tried to do this 2 years ago
Decisions were made that we were only
[25:00] Decisions were made that we were only
going
[25:01] to do the one with the chief's approval,
and that's what we went by.
[25:06] But I agree with the mayor, you're going
to need one, 5, 10, whatever.
[25:11] And to your point, something can happen
tomorrow to speed up that process.
[25:16] So I would entertain going out for a
study, but I just want everybody to know,
[25:22] you know, we talked about the living
conditions of the firemen.
[25:26] Talked about it for weeks.
[25:28] I'm going to make sure that gets done
before we do the police station.
[25:33] Chief, I agree with everything, um,
Council President Boldt said.
[25:38] Um, I don't want— this by no means was on
you.
[25:42] I don't want you to feel that, you know,
um,
[25:45] we have anything other than your best
interest involved with this.
[25:50] But, um, one of the things in the ad hoc
committee that was created afterwards,
[25:55] there was a statement made by an architect
that there are firms here locally that do
[26:01] that, architectural firms that will
perform this type of work for us.
[26:06] Because the question was asked, why did we
select someone out of Orlando, Florida.
[26:12] And I felt that's exactly how I felt. So
it was like affirmation.
[26:17] Um, that's why I'm not excited about this.
So I said there's 2 things.
[26:22] Number one, I think it's too soon.
[26:25] And number two, uh, you know, I'd like to
have some other considerations.
[26:30] So take that back to your rank and file.
We appreciate them. We love you guys.
[26:36] And, um, don't take this as a negative
because we're on the same page.
[26:41] There is a need there.
[26:42] It was, it was discussed a couple years
ago,
[26:46] but we were waiting for a little bit more
time. That's all I have.
[26:50] Can I bring up one other thing?
[26:52] Yes.
[26:53] Um, and it pains me to say anything
negative.
[26:55] All my elected time since '99,
[26:57] I've never said anything negative ever
about the police force.
[27:00] Nothing but the greatest.
[27:02] And I think we have the greatest police
force that's out there.
[27:05] Absolutely.
[27:05] As a safest city, we should have a great
police force.
[27:08] And, and, and, uh, so it pains me to say
that,
[27:11] but what Concerns me anyway by doing this,
and I—
[27:14] and it's great that we're thinking of the
future because we always got to be ahead
[27:20] of the game, being proactive.
[27:21] But these needs change from time to time,
as you've seen probably in,
[27:26] in with even in within your, your time
there, certainly, Chief.
[27:30] And, and, uh, for instance, we used to
have a jail and now we don't have a jail.
[27:35] The one nice thing that we do have right
now We have the facilities in case
[27:40] something were to happen with North
Royalton or something would happen to
[27:44] Royalton or something would happen to
North
[27:45] Royalton, they have a fire there or
something, where would we house those
[27:49] something, where would we house those
people?
[27:50] We could make do, couldn't we potentially
make do with the jail?
[27:54] No, we couldn't.
[27:55] We still have those— we got rid of the 10
jail cells?
[27:58] No, they're there, but they haven't been
kept up.
[28:00] No, they would— it would be a quick
renovation.
[28:02] No, it wouldn't be a quick renovation
because we have a roof that's been leaking
[28:06] that's destroyed things prior to me taking
over.
[28:09] So there are more problems than you can
imagine.
[28:11] And one thing I would like to say is
everyone is invited to come and see the
[28:15] building for yourself.
[28:16] If you have any doubts or any questions
about what we have,
[28:19] come over and take a look at it. I'll give
you the tour.
[28:21] Yeah, because this is the first we hear
about that, because I'm sure—
[28:26] I don't know any elected person that would
go against fixing a roof.
[28:30] I mean, anywhere, you know,
[28:32] as far as any leaking roof We would
certainly find that money somewhere,
[28:37] without a doubt, you know, to fix that. So
please let us know.
[28:41] I mean, I would like to see these and see
these incidents because that's taxpayers'
[28:46] facilities. I mean, they're paying for it,
[28:49] and I want to make sure they're protected.
[28:52] But the needs change from time to time,
[28:54] and maybe in the next 10 years those needs
may change.
[28:58] You may need more, you may need less.
[29:00] The spatial study A spattle study would
potentially be money spent that may go
[29:05] potentially be money spent that may go
out.
[29:06] We, we don't have a site, you know, uh,
[29:08] we could buy too small of a site if we
bought some additional land, you know.
[29:13] Uh, it's just, it's a tough issue, to be
honest with you, you know.
[29:18] But like I say, it's tough for me because
I would not have one of my children if it
[29:23] hadn't been And I'll repeat this one more
time, I've repeated it before,
[29:28] that if there hadn't been a patrol officer
who ended up becoming chief later on,
[29:33] hadn't walked in the door at 3 o'clock in
the morning and got my child breathing
[29:38] again. So to me, there's nobody more
important in this city than the police
[29:43] department.
[29:44] Absolutely.
[29:45] So it, you know, it kind of sickens me
that I have to say this, but I, I, I just—
[29:51] the one thing that I've ever gone And I
think that it just— the timing is not
[29:56] think that it just— the timing is not
good.
[29:56] And I think that it's good to think about
it, that we know that now,
[30:01] that we have a different change of
thought, and we'll look forward, you know,
[30:06] to the future with that in mind,
certainly.
[30:08] Just to add one thing with respect to the
jail, so everyone's aware,
[30:13] we can't just open the jail up again.
[30:16] We have to go through this whole
certification process with the state,
[30:21] which is a very lengthy process and it's,
it's not easy.
[30:25] So I don't want anyone to think we can
bail out of a contract with North Royalton
[30:30] and—
[30:31] No, and I realize that,
[30:32] especially a facility that hasn't been
used in a while and the requirements have
[30:37] changed probably and things like that,
certainly.
[30:40] But it's something that would be done much
quicker than building something from the
[30:45] ground up, and the fact that those are
very expensive.
[30:49] And inspect— very expensive endeavors to
build jail cells, you know,
[30:53] obviously with the requirements.
[30:55] So, and to hire all the people there, to
add to Mr. Ruffa's comments.
[30:58] Yeah, but it's something that could be
done in an emergency situation.
[31:03] Mr. Price.
[31:04] Thank you, Chief. Just a closing comment.
[31:07] Uh, the spatal need study for the fire
department was done in 2021. It's now
[31:12] department was done in 2021. It's now
2026.
[31:13] We're building a fire department. I don't
want you to wait for the repairs.
[31:18] Whatever repairs need to be done, bring
them to us and we're going to fix it,
[31:23] because I, I don't want you to sit in that
building for 5 years.
[31:27] Even if we only get minimum use out of it,
[31:30] that's no excuse for us not performing
repairs, uh,
[31:34] the city performing repairs on the
building.
[31:37] So please do not hesitate to bring needed
repairs to us. Agreed.
[31:41] Safety is number one. Mr. Pavlica.
[31:44] Thanks, Mr. President.
[31:45] Chief, um, do you have any idea of what
kind of repairs or how many repairs need
[31:51] kind of repairs or how many repairs need
to
[31:51] be done within the next 2 to 3 years to
keep it afloat, or—
[31:55] Not really.
[31:56] You have no idea?
[31:57] So I have some idea.
[31:58] I mean, the, you know, smaller things here
and there are getting fixed,
[32:01] the day-to-day, you know, sinks,
countertops leaking, stuff like that.
[32:05] Bathrooms that don't work, those are all
getting repaired. That's minimal money.
[32:09] Right.
[32:10] The thing that concerns me is putting the
deeper thing—
[32:13] it's the bigger things that have been a
problem since we've been there.
[32:17] Windows that leak, that have leaked for
however long,
[32:19] that they can't seem to be repaired.
[32:21] A lot of that stuff is the bulletproof
glass,
[32:24] so it becomes difficult with keeping them
weatherproof.
[32:27] Frosting on the windows, which ruins
drywall, things like that.
[32:30] Those are smaller items.
[32:31] The roof is a big issue because, like we
were talking about the jail,
[32:35] repairing those areas are different.
[32:37] That's not the same as repairing It's not
repairing an area in a regular building.
[32:41] It's not regular drywall. It's not regular
construction.
[32:44] It has— every fastener is
tamper-resistant.
[32:47] It's very different and very much more
expensive than repairing a simple area.
[32:51] The biggest concern I have is the
corrosion in the basement of the
[32:54] corrosion in the basement of the
electrical pipes
[32:55] and the dampness that's down there.
[32:57] That can be a big problem when that does
come, not to mention a leaking wall.
[33:01] Leaking wall, to correct that would be
Excavation around the entire building.
[33:05] So that's a big thing, but probably
doesn't have to be done today.
[33:09] So if we could stretch that out, at least
in my mind, for a year, 2, 3, whatever,
[33:13] to get into a new building,
[33:14] then the foundation can cave in because
we're not going to use the building
[33:18] we're not going to use the building
anymore.
[33:19] But it doesn't make sense to me to invest
money in these repairs if we're not going
[33:23] to stay there. And that was my concern
with going forward into these bigger
[33:27] with going forward into these bigger
repairs,
[33:28] is doing all these things then we're going
to sink a bunch of money into a building
[33:32] and we're going to be stuck there,
[33:34] which was never really designed to be a
police department to begin with.
[33:38] So, a lot of things have changed since
we've moved in there with our
[33:41] we've moved in there with our
communication
[33:42] system, with our server requirements, with
our radio requirements,
[33:46] with our body cam, all the data we have to
save for not only body cam but tasers.
[33:50] We have car cams now. It all adds to the
staff.
[33:52] There's a lot more technology the guys are
carrying around.
[33:56] So there's a lot more that needs to go
into a building. It needs to be
[33:59] into a building. It needs to be
modernized.
[34:00] And when that building was redesigned,
probably, I don't know, '97,
[34:03] '98 is somewhere, somewhere around they
started, got things going.
[34:07] The general fund was probably a tenth of
what it is now.
[34:10] This is the money we had there. That's the
best they could do at the time.
[34:14] It was a great building compared to the
old building we were in.
[34:17] If If you've ever seen that one up on
Broadview Road.
[34:20] Yeah.
[34:21] That was different. That was, that was the
old building.
[34:24] We had 4 jail cells with the old iron bars
and the big skeleton key that you would
[34:28] go in and out of. It's not like that
anymore. It's electronic locks.
[34:32] It's all this just different security and
stuff like that.
[34:35] Things grow, things have to modernize, and
we're stuck with a building that, uh,
[34:39] it needs a lot. So I think the time's
right to move forward with this and get it
[34:44] going.
[34:44] Well, I think I would like to come by,
take a look at it sometime.
[34:48] Yeah, I would too.
[34:49] If any other council people would like to
go.
[34:51] If we could, with some thought here,
because I, I don't think any—
[34:55] I hear anybody saying we don't ever need
one in the future, um, start some sort of,
[35:00] you know, money to be put aside for the
future,
[35:03] whether it's a small amount or whatever.
[35:05] We know we're going to need something in
the future.
[35:09] If we could start saving that money now,
it certainly save us, you know,
[35:13] some interest. You know, who knows when we
go out to bond,
[35:17] if we would go out to bond something like
that in the future,
[35:21] what those rates may be.
[35:22] If we have the money to do it, maybe we
should be setting some money aside.
[35:27] Don't look at me, Mayor,
[35:29] because I think what he's going to say is
you're talking a lot of money here.
[35:35] So the thing is, is first of all,
[35:37] we weren't even going to get a study off
the ground 10 minutes ago.
[35:43] Chief, try to bring another expert. That's
all I'm saying.
[35:48] Trying to get this off the ground to get
it done.
[35:51] I think you're going to have some pushback
on your expert from Florida.
[35:57] I'm just saying that. So see if you can
get another one. We'll compare the 2.
[36:03] We'll talk about it next week. When Miss
Monick is back and Mr.
[36:08] Dunlap, we'll have a more in-depth
conversation on it, maybe timing also.
[36:14] I think those are the 2 critical things
you need to get this over.
[36:19] Yeah, let's do that. I agree that we're
here, but I just want a last word.
[36:25] We're not looking to build a new police
station.
[36:28] We're in the middle of a couple other
major projects. That's not the intent.
[36:34] It's future planning. That's all this is.
Thank you.
[36:37] Mr. President, I would also add that to
know what the, the years—
[36:42] are we looking at 10 years out or 15
years?
[36:46] I mean, what, what the span is for 5 years
or whatever it is, 2 years?
[36:51] No, I think, I think the mayor would like
this in 5 years.
[36:57] Well, I'm talking about the study and the
needs, not, not like when we would build,
[37:02] but what would your needs be 10 years down
the road or whatever?
[37:07] Yeah, just so if the planning is there for
future expansion or whatever.
[37:12] I believe any expert will give that to
you.
[37:14] Mr. President, but I believe that changes,
Mr. Wolf. We saw it from 2021 to 2024.
[37:21] We saw a change because we didn't have—
we,
[37:24] we had a 2021 study that went into a 2022
request for a levy.
[37:29] It was short-term and pricing and
everything was all over the place.
[37:34] I, I think there's a better approach to
it. I just don't think it's now.
[37:40] Okay.
[37:44] And the chief is saying he needs a new
building, so now, now you're—
[37:47] and I appreciate you actually saying that.
[37:50] I do.
[37:50] So that, you know, gives us a greater
urgency. I don't know, 5 years is the
[37:54] urgency. I don't know, 5 years is the
number.
[37:56] Exactly.
[37:56] So, okay, anybody else? One more time
around.
[38:02] Anybody? I've been there, I've seen it.
[38:04] I didn't get the grand tour, but what I
saw myself was, yeah, this—
[38:07] and this was years ago— it definitely
needs to be replaced.
[38:11] Mr. Wolf, I've never seen a jail.
[38:12] I didn't see it in that respect.
[38:16] Just, uh, just want to say that publicly.
[38:19] I did bring them donuts when I went, so.
[38:21] Okay, uh, next, Chief.
[38:24] Hi, we're looking to purchase a Stryker—
[38:31] a refurbished Stryker power load cot for
[38:38] the backup squad. Council, any questions?
[38:44] We'll put it on.
[38:47] Thank you.
[38:51] Mr. Neff.
[38:52] Thank you, Mr. President.
[38:54] The finance department notified me that
Ordinance 2026-38 needs to be modified
[39:00] because the total amount didn't include
the alternate amount of approximately
[39:06] $38,000.
[39:10] Council, any discussion on this? Okay,
we'll put it on.
[39:15] Thank you.
[39:19] Uh, discussion on farmers market, that was
Miss Monix,
[39:23] so we'll push this off to the next work
session unless, Mayor,
[39:27] you have any comments on it.
[39:29] Um, just quickly, um, thank you.
[39:31] Sorry, I believe there's an exchange with
Miss Monix.
[39:34] She had mentioned at Home Days about doing
like, uh,
[39:37] bringing the service organizations
together to have like a rally day or
[39:41] together to have like a rally day or
something.
[39:42] It's just her spitballing as we were
sitting in booths next to each other and
[39:46] sitting in booths next to each other and
things
[39:47] like that. And, you know, bringing other
groups in and doing some something,
[39:51] maybe doing a farmer's market that day.
[39:54] And she wanted to know if we could do it
like on September 5th.
[39:57] I'm like, we're in the middle of Home
Days.
[40:00] Yeah.
[40:00] And it was a great conversation.
[40:02] I said, well, Figure out what you want,
what groups you can get.
[40:07] She's talked about the— maybe the
Strongsville Lions as well, and talked
[40:11] Strongsville Lions as well, and talked
about it.
[40:12] And then she emailed me after, and then I
said,
[40:15] because council wants events given to them
before the end of the year, I don't know,
[40:21] I'm not going to dip my toe in that pond
and, you know, say, here,
[40:25] I want to do this event here without You
know, the acquiescence of council.
[40:30] And to be quite honest with you, this is
something that we would do for—
[40:35] like we did India Independence Day a
couple of Sundays ago.
[40:39] It's—
[40:39] we just give them the area where we're—
the city's not going to put this on.
[40:43] It sounded like it was Jennifer's idea for
that,
[40:46] so I wanted council to be aware that one
of the council members asked for this and
[40:50] asked me about what I thought And that's
why I brought it to you.
[40:54] So that's all I could tell you. That was
her request and that was our conversation.
[40:58] The email I received, I thought she wanted
this a city event.
[41:04] Well, I—
[41:05] yeah, and that was my concern is I said
you need to talk to the mayor.
[41:09] I can't follow—
[41:10] We're not prepared to do a city event like
that in the, the time span she asked.
[41:15] Okay.
[41:15] And that's why then she said maybe doing
something up in the corner and Again,
[41:19] maybe we need Miss Monick here,
[41:21] but I just wanted to throw it out there so
you kind of knew what,
[41:24] what the gist of the, yeah, the discussion
would be.
[41:27] She'll be back.
[41:28] Thank you.
[41:28] We'll discuss it then. Council's open to
the residents.
[41:35] Seeing none, Mayor, any discussion?
Council? Mr. Goodwin?
[41:41] Yeah, the Board of Zoning Appeals will be
meeting On September
[41:46] 2nd at 6:30 PM in this room, council
chambers. That's all.
[41:51] Thanks.
[41:52] Mr. Wolf.
[41:53] Um, I was just wondering if we would
consider, um,
[41:56] some recognition for the Broadview Heights
Lions Club being 50 years this year.
[42:01] And also, it may seem kind of weird,
[42:03] but the Brecksville Kiwanis are 80 years
this year,
[42:06] and they do a lot with both cities. They
give out scholarships.
[42:10] So It would be nice to give them some
recognition for their 80 years of being—
[42:15] giving service to the cities.
[42:17] Okay, that's all. Mr. Price.
[42:21] Uh, thank you, Mr. President.
[42:23] I wanted to thank the service department
for their, um,
[42:26] outstanding storm response when the storm
blew through here a couple weeks ago.
[42:31] Um, the, the storm hit fast, and I had a
chance to walk as it, as it passed over,
[42:37] and there was a lot of damage out there.
[42:39] And before I even made it over to
Ledgemont,
[42:42] the service department was down there
clearing trees, clearing sidewalks.
[42:47] And then I had a, you know, back and forth
brief text conversation with Mr.
[42:52] Schroedel. They got out there and cleaned
up a lot of the debris that was on the
[42:57] tree lawns and then made additional passes
through to help the residents out.
[43:02] So thank you, Mr. Schroedel, for your
guys.
[43:05] Let them No, what a, what a, you know,
great job.
[43:08] And it was good to see them out there so
soon.
[43:11] I mean, literally within 20 minutes after
the storm blew through.
[43:15] So my story on it is I was over there
about 10 to 9,
[43:20] and one of the trees went down and it went
in—
[43:24] it was down right in the driveway of the
service department.
[43:28] And as I wheeled around it,
[43:31] because I had to use the service driveway
to get around it,
[43:36] There was a van or a pickup truck ready to
get rid of it.
[43:40] That's how fast it was, like 3 minutes.
[43:44] So they did a fantastic job, to your
point. So, Mr. Pavlica.
[43:48] Thank you, Mr. President.
[43:50] Yes, as they've talked about, Dave, the
service department,
[43:53] your team did a great job during that
severe storm that came through.
[43:57] I know a lot of residents for some reason
want to not For some reason,
[44:01] they did lose trees in our backyards and
some damages,
[44:04] but the service department did move quick,
[44:07] sent out the chipper afterwards to chip up
some of the branches that fell.
[44:11] And that was— it was a great job by your
team.
[44:14] Thank you. With that, we are adjourned.