[0:03] Good evening. Today is August 27th,

[0:06] 2026, and I'd like to call our regular 6

[0:08] PM meeting to order. Please stand for

[0:11] the opening prayer led by Pastor Phil

[0:13] Anderson with Bethl Church of Talmage

[0:15] and remain standing for the pledge of

[0:17] allegiance.

[0:19] Uh correction, we will stand for a

[0:22] moment of silence and then um move into

[0:24] pledge of allegiance.

[0:40] to the flag of the United States of

[0:43] America and to the

[0:46] standy

[0:52] for all.

[0:59] Thank you, madame clerk. Please call the

[1:01] role.

[1:01] >> Jonathan Bolus,

[1:02] >> here.

[1:03] >> Jessica Epstein

[1:04] >> here.

[1:04] >> Lindseay Holm

[1:05] >> here.

[1:06] >> Dave Klein

[1:06] >> here.

[1:07] >> Donald Pavick

[1:08] >> here.

[1:08] >> Tracy Pletcher

[1:09] >> here.

[1:09] >> Ted Roy

[1:10] >> here.

[1:12] >> Thank you. We have seven counselors

[1:14] present this evening. Um, please note

[1:16] that council does anticipate entering

[1:18] into an executive session later on into

[1:21] tonight's meeting to discuss pending

[1:24] litigation.

[1:28] Moving right along, we will um move to

[1:30] correcting and adopting the previous

[1:33] meeting minutes. We are in receipt of

[1:35] regular meeting minutes from the August

[1:38] 13th June uh 2026 meeting. Are there any

[1:41] corrections to the minutes as presented?

[1:43] I'll make a motion to adopt second

[1:45] maintenance as presented.

[1:48] >> We have a first by uh Mr. Pavick.

[1:52] >> Did I hear a second?

[1:53] >> I did second.

[1:54] >> Uh we have a second by Mr. Bolus. Is

[1:56] there any additional discussion?

[1:58] Hearing none. Madam clerk, please call

[2:00] the role.

[2:01] >> Jessica Epstein?

[2:02] >> Yes.

[2:02] >> Lindseay Holm?

[2:03] >> Yes. Dave Klein?

[2:04] >> Yes.

[2:05] >> Donald Pavick?

[2:06] >> Yes.

[2:06] >> Tracy Pletcher?

[2:07] >> Yes.

[2:08] >> Ted Roy?

[2:09] >> Yes.

[2:09] >> Jonathan Bullis?

[2:10] >> Yes.

[2:13] All right, that motion carries with a

[2:15] vote of 7 to zero.

[2:19] We are in receipt of no financial

[2:20] reports this evening and we have no

[2:22] public hearings this evening. So, we

[2:25] will move into community input. This is

[2:28] the point of the meeting where public

[2:29] input is invited to discuss an item not

[2:32] on the agenda. If an item is on the

[2:35] agenda or set for public hearing, input

[2:37] is invited at the appropriate time. Do

[2:40] we have anyone in the audience that

[2:41] would like to come to the microphone and

[2:43] address council?

[2:47] All right, seeing no members coming

[2:49] forward, we will move into agenda

[2:52] additions this evening. We have a

[2:54] certificate of appreciation to Paul

[2:57] Jerkowski and this will be presented by

[2:59] our award for Councilwoman, Miss

[3:01] Pletcher.

[3:08] » Thank you.

[3:09] Tonight I'm very pleased to have the

[3:11] opportunity to recognize Paul Jowski

[3:13] with a certificate of appreciation.

[3:16] Paul's family moved to Townage when he

[3:18] was a young man and his life does for

[3:20] many of us. His path eventually took him

[3:22] away from Townage. But about 20 years

[3:25] ago, Paul and his wife Lisa returned to

[3:27] Townage to raise their two children.

[3:30] Earlier this year, Paul received word of

[3:32] a situation that was taking place that

[3:35] could directly and negatively affect not

[3:37] just his neighborhood, but other

[3:39] neighborhoods around his. He didn't

[3:41] simply sit back and complain. He took

[3:44] action. He put on his walking shoes and

[3:47] went door todo providing information to

[3:50] many residents, many of who were not

[3:52] even aware of what was happening. But

[3:55] tonight isn't specifically about the

[3:57] situation that was taking place. It is

[4:00] about what Paul's actions demonstrated.

[4:03] A genuine commitment to his neighbors

[4:05] and to keeping Townage the wonderful

[4:07] place it is to live. Residents like Paul

[4:10] remind us that a strong community isn't

[4:13] built solely by its officials or city

[4:16] employees. It is also built by the

[4:18] residents who care enough to get

[4:20] involved and make a difference in the

[4:22] lives of their neighbors. His

[4:24] willingness to step up and help his

[4:26] neighbors does not go unnoticed. That is

[4:29] exactly the kind of community spirit we

[4:32] are proud to have here. It is an honor

[4:35] to present Mr. Jacowski with this

[4:37] certificate of appreciation as a small

[4:40] token of our gratitude.

[4:58] if you want to show.

[4:59] >> Oh, absolutely.

[5:07] » All right. Thank you very much.

[5:09] >> I just wanted to give a real quick thank

[5:11] you to everybody here, everybody who's

[5:15] helped. Mayor Kilway Tracy, um you've

[5:18] taken your times out of your lives to go

[5:21] talk to city council. Fight's not over

[5:24] yet. We're continuing to try to get the

[5:27] resolution that we want. Uh but I

[5:30] appreciate all you've done for us and

[5:31] for this award this evening. Thank you

[5:33] very much.

[5:34] >> And thank you, Paul, for all that you've

[5:36] done for us. We really appreciate it.

[5:38] >> Thank you.

[5:47] very much for that

[5:48] recognition, Miss Pletcher. We will move

[5:51] into reports of administrative officers,

[5:53] starting with our mayor and director of

[5:55] public safety, Mayor Co.

[5:57] >> Thank you very much. Um, I'm going to be

[5:59] as brief as I can. We're very busy

[6:01] around city hall. All the departments

[6:03] are working very hard on their operating

[6:04] budgets. It's a fluid process and I just

[6:07] want to commend each department for um

[6:09] really presenting streamlined um

[6:11] budgets. Um thank you you know for all

[6:12] the work that that is being done. Um so

[6:15] there is going to be a ribbon cutting

[6:17] for the new playground at the Howro

[6:19] Park. Um so this um new playground went

[6:22] in and the equipment was supplemented by

[6:24] a donation from the Lions family in

[6:26] memory of their son Matt Lions who

[6:28] passed away suddenly. And the ribbon

[6:30] cutting is scheduled for September 6th

[6:33] which is the Sunday of Labor Day weekend

[6:35] and it will be at one o'clock. So, I

[6:36] would invite all of council um if you

[6:38] could if you could spare some time, it

[6:40] would be great to see you there. Um and

[6:42] I also had the opportunity to attend the

[6:44] convocation for Thomas City Schools.

[6:46] This convocation is held every year. Um

[6:49] and it's a time when the teachers all

[6:50] come together and celebrate each other.

[6:52] They celebrate their anniversaries and

[6:54] new staff is um is introduced. And I

[6:56] want to thank Superintendent Wood for

[6:58] including me in this each and every

[6:59] year. It's a great little event that

[7:01] they do. Um, again, a reminder,

[7:04] September 11th, the 25th anniversary of,

[7:07] um, the attacks on our country, uh, we

[7:10] will have two ceremonies this year. We

[7:12] will have the regular ceremony at 8:00

[7:14] in the morning where our volunteers will

[7:16] gather and, um, place the candles on the

[7:19] sidewalks in the circle, and there will

[7:20] be a small convocation um, and ceremony

[7:23] at 9:00. And then we're going to add an

[7:25] evening ceremony this year in honor of

[7:27] the 25th anniversary. And that ceremony

[7:29] will begin at 8:00. again invite all of

[7:32] council and all of our community to

[7:34] attend that. U quick little update is

[7:36] our electronic recycling um we have

[7:39] twice a year it will be October the

[7:41] 10th. So anyone that has electronics

[7:43] they want to get rid of that are stacked

[7:44] up in their garage um put that date on

[7:47] your calendar. October 10th at the rec

[7:49] center from 10:00 a.m. until 2 p.m. And

[7:51] I want to thank Justin Delaney and his

[7:53] staff Scott and Max for arranging this

[7:56] event twice a year. And then if it's

[7:58] okay with council, I would like to

[8:00] welcome Chief um Doug Bohan um to the

[8:02] podium to give council an update on

[8:04] their traffic concerns um involving the

[8:07] Thomas City School campuses. So if

[8:09] that's okay, we'll go ahead and use this

[8:10] time.

[8:10] >> Sure. You want to do that now or?

[8:12] >> Yeah, let's do that now because he does

[8:14] have some place to go later in the

[8:15] evening.

[8:15] >> Sure.

[8:16] >> All right. Thanks. Chief,

[8:21] » thank you. I'll be brief. I just want to

[8:24] give you an overview of kind of what's

[8:25] been going on. uh this past week. Uh we

[8:28] all know that just for the past two

[8:30] days, it's been K through 12 fully back.

[8:32] Uh since last Wednesday, it was kind of

[8:35] an incremental start in in most areas.

[8:37] Uh what goes on on the campuses is the

[8:40] school's plan and what goes on in the

[8:43] city streets is our concern. Obviously,

[8:45] uh not that those are mutually

[8:46] exclusive. We're working with the

[8:48] schools. We're in constant communication

[8:49] with them as well. any areas that we

[8:51] have that we feel can be improved by

[8:53] something going on on campus that would

[8:55] alleviate traffic on the streets, we're

[8:57] obviously communicating with them.

[8:58] They're very amanable and we appreciate

[9:00] that. But as far as we're concerned from

[9:02] a public safety standpoint, there are

[9:04] really three priorities that we're kind

[9:05] of looking at. One is pedestrian safety.

[9:09] Uh another is the passage of safety

[9:11] forces on these streets during these

[9:13] times to get anywhere in the city to

[9:14] answer calls. And the third, of course,

[9:16] is just maintaining commuter traffic

[9:18] flow. the first week we've seen some

[9:20] challenges and some adjustments already.

[9:23] Uh I will say that there are still a

[9:25] couple areas of concern that we're

[9:26] working with the school on. One in

[9:28] particular is North Monroe uh road at

[9:30] the high school at student pickup time.

[9:32] What we're trying to avoid if at all

[9:34] possible, particularly on North Monroe,

[9:36] but on any street, is the backing up of

[9:38] those vehicles at pickup time onto our

[9:40] roadways. Monroe is particularly

[9:42] challenging because it's a two-lane road

[9:44] with no center turn lane, and that's

[9:46] problematic more than probably any other

[9:48] road. Uh, some things that are good. We

[9:51] know we have traffic that backs up on

[9:53] East Avenue as well, and I'll I'll

[9:54] discuss that in a moment. But as far as

[9:57] pedestrians go, I have had some input

[9:59] and some questions from the community.

[10:01] Perhaps you have as well, uh, about

[10:03] crossing guards at different locations.

[10:05] And right now, there's the crossing

[10:07] guard for the school that is at East at

[10:09] the middle and elementary school campus.

[10:10] and she's out there by East Avenue.

[10:13] She's very enthusiastic, does a great

[10:15] job and we uh we are definitely in

[10:17] communication with her and providing any

[10:19] guidance that we can to make that a

[10:20] little bit more efficient. There's also

[10:22] an auxiliary officer that is inside that

[10:24] campus because there's another crosswalk

[10:26] just south of the superintendent's

[10:28] office. And they're there to direct

[10:30] busing as it's egressing while the

[10:32] parents are coming in. And they're also

[10:33] there to uh help with the students

[10:36] because if you go into that campus,

[10:37] you'll see that there's a sidewalk on

[10:40] the east side of that road and then

[10:41] students have to cross over that road to

[10:43] get to the crossing guard inside the

[10:45] campus. So they they assist with both of

[10:47] those things.

[10:48] at East of Monroe. Uh in the morning,

[10:51] there's very little pedestrian traffic.

[10:52] I've been out there almost every day.

[10:54] The two captains have been out there.

[10:56] Our officers are out there patrolling

[10:57] the school zones every day. We've had

[10:59] the drone up in both morning and

[11:01] afternoon uh monitoring traffic flow

[11:03] from a bird's eye point of view. I don't

[11:05] see too many commuters or pedestrians

[11:08] crossing there at East and Monroe in the

[11:10] morning. It is a little bit heavier in

[11:12] the afternoon. That's not to say that

[11:14] there are a lot, but it is a little bit

[11:15] heavier. We're fortunate there that we

[11:18] have a good traffic light. We have a

[11:19] crosswalk with a a button that can be

[11:22] used for the computer, the pedestrians,

[11:24] and they have the crosswalk sign for

[11:25] pedestrians as well. Haven't noticed any

[11:28] issues there at this time. We we're a

[11:30] week in. Uh I will say that the traffic

[11:33] lights themselves are functioning

[11:34] properly. You'll know that there are

[11:36] pressure plates over there on north uh

[11:38] the north side of the elementary and

[11:40] middle school campus as well as East

[11:42] Avenue.

[11:43] And so when a vehicle is egressing the

[11:45] campus after student pickup, then

[11:47] they're getting them out of there fairly

[11:49] quickly. The problem at both campuses is

[11:52] pretty much more difficult at student

[11:54] pickup because everyone gets out at one

[11:56] time. Parents are coming sometimes very

[11:59] early and there's only so much room on

[12:01] these campuses that we can store

[12:04] vehicles uh and they're getting backed

[12:06] up to East Avenue relatively quickly. To

[12:09] help with that, we have school staff and

[12:11] our SRO's internally. They're walking

[12:13] the line. They're having people, you

[12:15] know, scrunch up a little bit. We're

[12:17] trying to get things moving. We've

[12:18] adjusted, the school has adjusted, I

[12:20] should say, how they're uh doing their

[12:23] internal flow since the original plan at

[12:25] the beginning of the year to help

[12:26] accommodate for that. It's never going

[12:28] to be perfect. It's going to be

[12:30] difficult. And I would just like to

[12:31] remind you and the public as well that

[12:32] we had these issues when we had busing

[12:34] as well at that campus. Um, student

[12:37] pickup has always been kind of a problem

[12:38] at the middle school and elementary

[12:40] school. Um, it's just exacerbated now.

[12:43] Uh, as far as safety, force,

[12:45] accessibility, and commuter traffic on

[12:46] the roadways, you are going to see more

[12:48] congestion. Of course, you probably sat

[12:50] in it yourselves. I know that the people

[12:52] who are watching or listening to this

[12:53] are probably a little bit frustrated,

[12:55] too. But I want to say that those lights

[12:56] at East and Monroe, uh, as well as the

[12:59] light at East and the middle school

[13:00] complex is functioning as it should. and

[13:04] you will end up sitting on East Avenue,

[13:06] particularly if you're coming westbound

[13:09] uh around the rec center and the church

[13:10] there and you're coming up to the Monroe

[13:13] uh intersection

[13:15] in the morning for about I'd say 10 to

[13:17] 20 minutes. We have a lot of congestion

[13:19] there. You may have to sit through that

[13:21] light two to three cycles, maybe four

[13:24] depending, but it is flowing. It is

[13:25] moving. We don't have a gridlock there.

[13:28] The same can be said at that

[13:29] intersection in the afternoon, the

[13:31] opposite way. So when you're coming from

[13:33] the middle school to Monroe, we're

[13:34] seeing a lot of a buildup of traffic

[13:36] there, but it is cycling. It is

[13:38] functioning. And one of the things that

[13:39] we're trying to alleviate for people

[13:41] that are going to be turning north on

[13:42] Monroe at that time is that congestion

[13:44] at the high school on Monroe. We don't

[13:46] want people backing up all the way to

[13:48] the intersection, and that's going to be

[13:49] problematic. We haven't had that yet,

[13:51] but it's getting close.

[13:53] We do have some ideas to bring to the

[13:55] high school uh to hopefully assist with

[13:58] that traffic during student pickup at

[14:00] the high school. And uh we'll be having

[14:02] those discussions very soon.

[14:05] Like I said that they've made some

[14:06] internal adjustments at the schools at

[14:08] the middle school and elementary school

[14:09] which has assisted. It's still not

[14:11] perfect. There is a long center turn

[14:12] lane on East Avenue between the middle

[14:15] school and Monroe as you know. That's

[14:17] actually kind of fortunate for us. We do

[14:20] get a lot of people stacking up there

[14:22] and they're in there. But what that that

[14:23] lane does provide even though the people

[14:25] are stacking up there particularly

[14:27] around pickup time is it it it opens up

[14:30] the westbound lane and it opens up the

[14:32] eastbound lane. So at least our through

[14:34] traffic whether it's commuters or safety

[14:35] forces can still go both ways there.

[14:39] My caution is essentially for people to

[14:41] be of course aware of the increased

[14:43] pedestrian traffic uh to note that we

[14:47] are going to have some congestion. the

[14:48] traffic lights are functioning properly,

[14:50] but things are slower, particularly at

[14:52] those times. And those times generally

[14:54] are 7:15 to 7:40 uh at East of Monroe,

[14:58] predominantly 3:30 to 3:45 also at East

[15:02] Monroe. Uh and then around the middle

[15:04] school and elementary campus, we have

[15:05] some congestion between probably 220 to

[15:08] 225 to 235 and then again at 320 to 325

[15:12] to about 340. things are a lot slower

[15:15] the very latter part of the day due to

[15:17] the fact that your K through four uh

[15:19] pickup is taking place and they're being

[15:21] you have to be very cautious about what

[15:23] car the kids are getting into. So, you

[15:25] know, your fifth through eighth graders,

[15:26] they can run out to their parents car,

[15:27] they know who they are, but the little

[15:28] ones don't. So, it takes a little bit

[15:29] longer to do the drop off or the pickup

[15:32] there.

[15:33] So, those are some of the internal

[15:35] adjustments they have had. Uh our SRO's

[15:38] are on scene. Like I said, they're

[15:39] walking. We're we're in communication

[15:41] with the school. Everything seems to be

[15:44] working as it is supposed to from a

[15:47] traffic light uh standpoint.

[15:50] We've had some people who have asked us,

[15:52] hey, why not have an auxiliary officer

[15:53] or sworn officer direct traffic at like

[15:55] East and Monroe or something? And though

[15:58] I understand that the backup can be very

[16:00] frustrating. I will say that it's been

[16:02] my experience in in all these decades

[16:04] that I've been doing this job that

[16:06] sometimes when you put someone out there

[16:08] with a vest and a light or something,

[16:10] it's more of a distraction to the public

[16:11] than it can be a help sometimes. And

[16:14] since things are flowing, albeit slowly,

[16:17] and we're not having any issues with

[16:18] pedestrian traffic or dangerous things

[16:21] going on right now, I'm reluctant to do

[16:23] that because things are kind of flowing.

[16:25] I don't want to mess that up, and I

[16:26] don't want to distract people from what

[16:28] they should be doing.

[16:30] No plan is perfect. We're still working

[16:33] with the schools. Um we knew that we

[16:36] weren't going to have a perfect plan. We

[16:37] knew we were going to have to kind of

[16:38] observe and see what the change was

[16:40] going to reveal. It's revealed itself to

[16:42] us and we're adjusting as we go along.

[16:46] That's kind of where we are right now

[16:47] after one week. Do you guys have any

[16:49] questions for me?

[16:51] >> Um thank you for coming in and giving us

[16:54] this update. I know um a lot of us have

[16:57] been um like we can't go to cheer

[17:00] practice without somebody saying

[17:02] something to us. So, I appreciate that.

[17:04] Um one note that I had received from a

[17:08] parent um was when you're coming into

[17:11] the middle school and elementary school

[17:14] campus, it now breaks out into the two

[17:16] different lines. And

[17:20] um so in the particular example that

[17:22] this person gave me was they were going

[17:25] straight cuz they have a a fourth grader

[17:28] um but the third and below line where

[17:31] you turn right was full. So the officer

[17:34] was holding the traffic and her and the

[17:38] car behind them were both going

[17:40] straight. So you had like several car

[17:42] lengths of empty space up if you went

[17:45] straight and they weren't letting them

[17:47] go through and it was then it just backs

[17:51] up even further on east. So I just

[17:54] wanted to bring that up because it's an

[17:57] opportunity, you know, two car lengths

[17:58] is two car lengths if it if you can get

[18:01] in two extra cars in there and get them

[18:03] off of east. So I just wanted to bring

[18:05] that up. I don't have an answer for you

[18:07] right now, but I know we observed that

[18:08] on the drone and that was something we

[18:10] were it was almost like a missed

[18:11] opportunity. You know, you have this

[18:12] space. Uh so we're going to be working

[18:14] with the school and trying to figure out

[18:15] how we can do that. You know, um people

[18:17] are still coming out that middle school

[18:19] campus, too, so we can't have two lanes

[18:21] going in. Uh so it's it's challenging.

[18:25] >> Okay. Thank you,

[18:26] >> Chief Bohan. I have a question as well.

[18:28] Um I I'm not dropping any kids off at

[18:31] school right now, but have like for the

[18:33] older kids, have you found like any of

[18:35] them walking to a location off campus um

[18:39] and like having their parents pick them

[18:41] up there?

[18:42] >> Have you?

[18:43] >> Yeah, great question. So the only thing

[18:44] I've observed from that are there are a

[18:46] few that are walking from the high

[18:47] school to the rec center, I think, and

[18:49] we have seen that. It hasn't been an

[18:51] incredible amount at this point in time,

[18:53] but we do see some of it. Yes.

[18:56] >> Yes.

[18:58] Uh we also had some officers that were

[19:00] patrolling back behind Neil in that area

[19:02] behind the elementary and middle school

[19:03] and I think they noted three parent cars

[19:05] back there. That was a problem uh before

[19:08] we had a lot of complaints. So we are

[19:10] watching that. So

[19:12] >> thank you.

[19:13] >> Yes. You're welcome.

[19:15] that area on North Monroe and East was a

[19:19] concern and I because I did have parents

[19:21] ask me about that because their bus did

[19:24] get cut and it is a walkable area for

[19:26] them. I think they just ended up they

[19:29] had the ability where they could take

[19:30] the kids in the morning. It just wasn't

[19:32] ideal. So, they're just they're driving

[19:34] and sitting in the line. They didn't

[19:35] want to risk it. Just made them too

[19:37] nervous sitting in that intersection. So

[19:40] it not surprised that it's not as busy

[19:42] as

[19:44] you know we may have thought.

[19:46] >> It's going to be a challenge.

[19:47] >> Yeah. Thank you for working closely with

[19:51] the school and keeping us updated on it.

[19:53] >> Of course.

[19:53] >> It's not fun for anyone. I know.

[19:55] >> No, it isn't. It's not fun for anyone.

[19:56] That's right. Any other questions?

[19:58] >> Okay. Thank you guys very much, ma'am.

[20:00] Thank you.

[20:00] >> Thank you, Chief.

[20:03] >> And that concludes my report, unless

[20:04] anyone has any questions.

[20:07] >> All right. Thank you very much. And uh

[20:09] thank you again chief for coming in

[20:10] today. We will move into our update with

[20:13] the director of administration Mr.

[20:14] Ignazito.

[20:17] >> Good evening everyone and thank you

[20:18] council president Epstein. Just a brief

[20:20] update tonight. Um today I had an

[20:22] opportunity uh to participate uh in the

[20:26] council's uh daily op visit. daily app

[20:29] visit at the public service center um

[20:32] with uh council uh member uh Pletcher

[20:36] and comp council member Roy. And uh if

[20:39] there's any council members who haven't

[20:41] participated, I would just highly

[20:43] recommend it. I have not uh been down

[20:45] there and gone through a tour of the

[20:47] facility and review their daily ops in

[20:49] quite some time. Uh and it was uh I'm

[20:52] glad I had the opportunity to do it. It

[20:53] was enlightening. And one of the things

[20:55] that I that stood out to me as I was

[20:58] down there, uh, as a retired Army

[21:00] officer, one of the big things you

[21:02] always looked at it when you went and

[21:04] inspected a unit was a motorpool and

[21:06] their garage. When you look and you go

[21:08] into our service center and the way our

[21:11] vehicles are maintained, the way that

[21:13] center is maintained, how clean that is,

[21:16] usually in my experience in the military

[21:20] leads to was the pride in their area,

[21:23] the pride in the team that they're on,

[21:25] uh the cohesive teams, and that usually

[21:27] led to really high quality work. And I

[21:29] think we see that. So, I want to thank

[21:32] uh service director Yuri uh and Miss

[21:34] Ripple for coordinating the event, but

[21:37] uh you know had uh the outstanding job

[21:41] done by all the teams down there,

[21:42] especially uh street superintendent Mike

[21:46] Wagan, uh Rob uh utility superintendent

[21:50] Rob Neheiser and garage lead uh Ben uh

[21:54] Newman. It just it was really eye

[21:56] opening especially during budget budget

[21:58] season as the mayor mentioned and uh

[22:00] just to discuss some of the things that

[22:02] we're talking about current term and in

[22:04] the long term. So if you haven't done

[22:06] that highly recommend it. Thank you.

[22:09] >> All right. Thank you very much. Um next

[22:12] we have economic development. We do have

[22:15] Scott Harrington with Insight Advisory

[22:17] Group here to provide us with your

[22:19] quarterly update. I think. Yes. Thank

[22:21] you, President. Do we have a PowerPoint

[22:24] >> or No.

[22:24] >> No.

[22:25] >> Okay.

[22:25] >> I hope not. I didn't bring one.

[22:28] Am I going to give it up?

[22:29] >> Uh, I did provide a detailed written

[22:31] report earlier this week, so I don't

[22:33] know if you had a chance to go through

[22:34] it yet, but please do that. Um, I won't

[22:37] go through the whole thing here. Um, I

[22:41] did want to start with just a couple

[22:42] anecdotal things that have happened over

[22:44] the last 90 days, conversations we've

[22:47] been having with people. Um, we were

[22:50] speaking with a a very experienced

[22:52] business and property owner with a

[22:55] significant real estate uh portfolio and

[22:58] they told us they are in no hurry to

[23:00] sell their building in Telmage and

[23:03] that's because they see it as a a

[23:05] developing market that's really going to

[23:07] just keep going up in value. So, um,

[23:11] while we would love to see them sell it

[23:12] to somebody tomorrow that would put some

[23:14] jobs in there, um, they are taking a

[23:17] longer, uh, longer approach there. And

[23:20] that's really still in the big picture,

[23:23] um, a very positive sign. This is

[23:25] somebody who knows what they're talking

[23:26] about. So, um, he sees the market moving

[23:30] in a in a good direction here in

[23:31] Talmage. Um, also had a conversation

[23:34] with another business owner that I had

[23:37] worked with previously in a different

[23:39] community. Um, they were trying very

[23:42] hard to find something to stay uh in

[23:44] that community they were in. Um, did an

[23:47] exhaustive search and they've decided to

[23:50] expand that. Um, so they called me to

[23:54] think uh see what I thought and I asked

[23:56] them what they thought of Talmage and

[23:58] their direct quote was Talmage would be

[24:00] perfect for us. So, this is a a great

[24:03] business. Um, so I think that'd be

[24:06] perfect for Talage. Also, the bis the

[24:08] building they're looking for is very

[24:10] unique and does not exist here. But, um,

[24:14] there's one

[24:16] with some work that maybe could do the

[24:19] trick and they also uh theoretically

[24:21] could do a a new build, which they're kind of sour on right now, but

[24:26] they had been considering it before. So,

[24:28] uh, we continue to be diligent with

[24:30] them. Uh, as far as the project

[24:34] pipeline, um, we had a couple wins last

[24:37] time. We're going to declare one win.

[24:39] This time it's three jobs. So, not not a

[24:42] big big number, but, uh, we had nine

[24:48] uh, leads and projects that we were

[24:49] working on last time. And just in the

[24:51] last three months, we're we've added

[24:53] four. So, um I think the report actually

[24:56] says three, but after talking to

[24:58] Samantha this morning, we've got another

[25:00] one that could add another employer with

[25:03] looking for 15 to 20,000 square feet and

[25:06] was it 40 jobs

[25:08] in that neighborhood. So, um the

[25:10] pipeline continues to be strong. All

[25:13] those metrics that we track in far as uh

[25:16] retaining jobs, creating jobs, and the

[25:19] square footage that they're looking for,

[25:21] those are all up from last time.

[25:23] Um I will point out that that uh over

[25:27] 600,000 square ft of industrial space um

[25:30] that is the demand side of the equation.

[25:32] So that's what people are looking for.

[25:35] So theor theoretically if we're able to

[25:38] close all 13 of those projects and get

[25:40] them done, that's the amount of square

[25:41] footage it would take to accommodate

[25:43] those. There's probably 300 350,000 ft

[25:48] of industrial space that's available

[25:50] right now. So just to keep that in

[25:52] perspective. Um

[25:57] so we added uh yeah three new expansion

[26:01] uh opportunities with existing employers

[26:04] in the city. The one that I referenced

[26:06] at the top um which is a a growing

[26:09] business that would be an attraction

[26:11] coming from outside the city. I did have

[26:14] one that I moved from a a project to a

[26:18] lead. So that a lead is just a project

[26:21] that is further out, has a longer

[26:23] timeline or is not as certain to happen.

[26:27] Um, in this case, they still plan on

[26:29] doing it. It just has been listed as a

[26:32] project for a while and has not gotten

[26:33] any closer. So, uh, I I moved it back to call it a lead just to uh to be fair.

[26:41] But in that case, they've actually also

[26:43] identified a plan B in terms of the real

[26:45] estate uh that might solve their problem

[26:48] for them. and the the second one would

[26:50] even be better because I think it would

[26:51] be a win-win uh for the city.

[26:55] Uh with the help of our marketing team

[26:57] at uh Insight, we put together um or we

[27:02] enhanced the marketing brochures for

[27:04] five key properties that are in and

[27:06] around the center of the city. Um their

[27:08] online presence just was not doing them

[27:11] justice. So, we uh did some work

[27:14] including bringing a photographer in to

[27:16] take pictures, put together a a better-l

[27:18] looking brochure ad uh information on

[27:21] the city and the economic development

[27:23] toolbox locally. Um, so we have a more

[27:27] uh enticing

[27:29] digital uh presence for those properties

[27:32] and we're going to be able to be more uh

[27:33] aggressive now trying to find some end

[27:36] users that uh would benefit the city.

[27:40] And

[27:42] one more just one last thing uh kind of

[27:45] I should have probably should have put

[27:46] this with the anecdotes at the top but

[27:48] we had did have discussions with the

[27:49] owner of an industrial property that

[27:52] said they are willing to sell to a

[27:54] developer if there's a project that is

[27:57] identified that would advance the vision

[27:59] of making Talage a more vibrant walkable

[28:02] city. So there's nothing tangible yet

[28:05] there um but it is a strategic piece of

[28:08] property. So, um, that's something that

[28:10] we'll be, uh, certainly drilling down on

[28:14] in the next 90 days before we speak

[28:16] again. So,

[28:18] >> question for you on the West Avenue, the old Rockco skating rink project. I

[28:23] know that was supposed to be in front of

[28:24] planning zoning

[28:26] >> uh next week, but I think it's not on

[28:29] the agenda. Plan zoning was canceled.

[28:31] So, that one I think maybe you'll answer

[28:33] that. Then the A&W, I noticed the sign

[28:36] came down. Uh people were calling me,

[28:38] "Oh, it's sold." No, I don't think it's

[28:41] sold. I

[28:42] >> I don't I don't think it is either. Um I

[28:44] think Well,

[28:46] >> I I can address those in my report.

[28:48] >> Oh, okay.

[28:49] >> Yeah, it's I think it's still available.

[28:53] Yeah.

[28:54] >> Hey, thank you.

[28:55] >> Thanks for the update.

[28:56] >> I have a question. Um the last comment

[28:59] you made about the indust like the

[29:01] business owner who own the industrial

[29:03] space, they'd be interested in adding to

[29:05] it if a if the business was able to help

[29:09] with Telmage's walkability. Can you

[29:11] explain that a little bit more, please?

[29:13] >> Uh well, with the the potential uh the

[29:16] residential development there and um

[29:20] potentially some more uh maybe

[29:22] restaurants and things around the circle

[29:25] that would support that. um there might

[29:28] be an opportunity for something that

[29:29] would complement

[29:31] that. Um this was again this is not the

[29:34] developer, this is the property owner

[29:36] just saying they would love to see more

[29:39] uh projects that would help with that um

[29:42] vision for the city.

[29:46] » Yeah, sure.

[29:49] >> Any other questions from council?

[29:52] All right. Thank you very much for

[29:53] coming in today, Mr. Harrington.

[29:57] And we do have our regular um update

[30:00] with our in-house economic development

[30:03] with Miss P. Good evening. Thank you.

[30:06] Yes, happy to share an update. Um so in

[30:09] addition to the uh state and regional

[30:11] ongoing professional development

[30:13] opportunities covering topics including

[30:15] site development, planning and community

[30:18] funding. um I continue to participate in

[30:20] those and as well as uh the Talmage

[30:23] Chamber monthly events including the

[30:24] August multi-chamber networking event.

[30:28] As far as Talage businesses go, um we've

[30:30] had uh several uh recent new business

[30:33] openings. Um a couple of uh new sole

[30:36] proprietors in the city on August 7th.

[30:39] Three Tree City Gaming, which is a hobby

[30:41] store, opened down on 290 West Avenue.

[30:44] Um, in addition, MLJ Arcade opened um at

[30:49] 29 Midway Plaza. It is a children's um

[30:52] uh or youth entertainment center with uh

[30:55] traditional arcade games, retro arcade

[30:58] games, video games, and that sort of

[31:00] thing. And then on August 12th, uh

[31:02] Milcraft Barnes opened um up at 399 West

[31:07] Avenue, adding Talagement to its

[31:09] portfolio of storefront locations in

[31:12] Northeast Ohio. Um, we conducted four

[31:15] business retention and expansion visits

[31:17] in July with 32 to date, which is up

[31:20] over 6% year-over-year. And that

[31:24] encompasses year-to- date over 1,500

[31:27] local jobs and over 1.48 million square

[31:31] foot of business space. Um, and as Scott

[31:34] alluded to, a lot of these conversations

[31:37] are where projects or leads or potential

[31:40] opportunities are are born. Um, to

[31:43] address um, Councilman Klein's

[31:46] questions, um, at 35 West, I did um, of

[31:50] course, everyone notices the brokerage

[31:52] signs are down. Um, I did reach out to

[31:54] the broker and he advised the property

[31:56] is off the market for the time being. It

[31:59] was not sold. So we will stay tuned for

[32:02] what happens next there. Um and then the

[32:05] Circle West Avenue development um the

[32:09] developer has submitted their general

[32:10] development plan and that came in in

[32:13] time for um that will be heard at the

[32:16] public meeting um the plan planning and

[32:18] zoning commission meeting on October 1st. Thank you. So that will be

[32:23] addressed there and I would encourage

[32:25] everyone to to come if they're

[32:28] interested because that will be reviewed

[32:30] in detail.

[32:34] And then um I might just expand a little

[32:36] bit on what Scott was talking about. So

[32:39] sometimes when uh these properties have

[32:41] been sitting there for some time and we

[32:43] have the opportunity to get into a

[32:45] conversation with a property owner,

[32:47] sometimes they're curious, you know,

[32:49] what would happen if we sell the

[32:50] property? what would h happen if we hold

[32:52] on to the property? Are there you know

[32:54] are there any financial um puts and

[32:57] takes of doing one thing over another

[32:59] and um you know we're able to provide

[33:04] the thought process as to what that

[33:06] might look like if they were to sell or

[33:08] if they were to keep the property and

[33:10] use it for another purpose. And there's

[33:13] a lot of discussion around adaptive

[33:15] reuse, if you will, because we know that

[33:19] more than likely, not to say that it

[33:21] wouldn't happen, but more than likely a

[33:23] root beer stand probably won't go into

[33:25] 35 West. It'll probably be something

[33:27] else. So, um, those are the types of

[33:30] conversations that we're having without

[33:32] getting into too much detail, but

[33:36] hopefully that's helpful. If there's any

[33:38] other questions, I'd be happy to answer

[33:40] them. Otherwise, that concludes my

[33:41] report.

[33:45] » Any questions from council? All right.

[33:48] Thank you very much, Miss P. We'll move

[33:50] into our report with the director of

[33:52] public service, Mr. Yuri.

[33:55] >> Good evening. I just have one item. Um,

[33:58] as I'd mentioned in my report at our

[34:00] last meeting, uh, the last day of the

[34:03] pool and our last event was a doggy dip

[34:05] that was held this last Saturday. It was

[34:07] very well attended. And I do want to

[34:10] recognize some work that uh Nick Corano,

[34:13] our new code and zoning officer, put

[34:15] into that. Um he's also considered our

[34:18] storm water specialist. So he put

[34:20] together the pause for clean water

[34:23] program and he ended up getting 24 uh

[34:26] people there to commit to the uh

[34:29] cleaning up of the dog waste and that

[34:32] will then help us in our MS4

[34:35] uh report. So, uh, Nick did a really

[34:37] good job with that and he's he's, uh,

[34:40] very excited to take projects like that

[34:42] on. So, it's very good to see, very good

[34:44] for the community. It's all I have.

[34:49] » That is super cool. So, thank you for

[34:50] sharing that. Um, all right. Uh, any

[34:54] questions from council?

[34:55] >> I had a question about the repairs to

[34:58] the How Road Park bathroom. Um, were

[35:01] those completed today?

[35:03] >> No. Um,

[35:04] >> I think yeah, I believe they're due to

[35:07] be there tomorrow and hopefully finish

[35:10] up on Saturday. Fingers crossed.

[35:12] >> All right, thank you, Jason.

[35:18] » All right, next up we have our director

[35:20] of finance, Miss Gri.

[35:21] >> Um, thank you. The only thing I have is

[35:23] I would request uh council's

[35:25] consideration of adopting ordinance 66

[35:28] at first reading this evening.

[35:31] >> 66.

[35:41] » public service first one.

[35:44] >> All right. Thank you. Noted and um we

[35:47] will move into our report with director

[35:49] of law Miss Rabber.

[35:53] >> Thank you. Um as mentioned earlier uh I

[35:55] am asking for an executive session this

[35:57] evening. Uh, and then I will ask for

[36:00] action on ordinance 2026-68.

[36:03] I will be asking for first reading

[36:05] adoption of 20 2668 this evening as well

[36:09] as 202669 and 202670.

[36:13] Um, and I will discuss those in greater

[36:15] detail when we get to those on the

[36:16] agenda. uh with regard to 202068

[36:20] that is um actually item B in the under

[36:24] public service and I would ask for a

[36:26] motion to uh amend the agenda to move

[36:30] ordinance 2026-68

[36:33] to the last item under public service so

[36:35] that when we go into executive session

[36:38] it just runs a little bit smoother at

[36:40] that point in the meeting.

[36:42] I'll make a motion to move uh B

[36:46] ordinance 2026-68

[36:49] uh to follow ordinance 2026-70.

[36:53] >> Second.

[36:57] » Um we have a first by Miss Palm and we

[37:00] have a second by Mr. Klein to move

[37:02] ordinance 2026-68

[37:04] on the agenda um to the last of the

[37:07] first readings of public service. Is

[37:09] there any discussion? Hearing none.

[37:12] Madam clerk, please call the role.

[37:14] >> Lindsey Holm,

[37:15] >> yes. Dave Klein,

[37:16] >> yes.

[37:17] >> Donald Pavick,

[37:18] >> yes.

[37:18] >> Tracy Pletcher,

[37:19] >> yes.

[37:20] >> Ted Roy,

[37:20] >> yes.

[37:21] >> Jonathan Bullis,

[37:22] >> yes.

[37:22] >> Jessica Epstein,

[37:24] >> yes. That motion carries with a vote of

[37:27] seven to zero.

[37:28] >> Thank you. Uh, end of my report.

[37:31] >> All right. Thank you very much, Miss

[37:32] Raber.

[37:35] Next, we have our reports of standing

[37:36] committees of council of the whole. And

[37:39] I will recognize our chair, Mr. Roy,

[37:41] with planning and zoning to open your

[37:43] committee.

[37:43] >> Thank you. I'd like to open up planning

[37:45] and zoning. The planning and zoning

[37:47] committee deals with land use, zoning,

[37:50] conditional uses, planning, economic and

[37:52] community development, and public

[37:54] property. Tonight, we don't have

[37:57] anything before us. If anybody else has

[38:00] anything else,

[38:03] if not, I will close committee. Thank

[38:05] you.

[38:06] >> Thank you. I'll recognize council member

[38:08] Mr. Klene with finance.

[38:10] >> Thank you, Madam Chair. I'll call the

[38:12] finance committee to order. Finance

[38:14] committee deals with budget

[38:15] appropriations, reappropriations, bond,

[38:17] franchise, investments, and

[38:19] expenditures. We do have one item at

[38:21] first reading, ordinance 2026-67,

[38:26] appropriating an additional amount for

[38:29] the cemetery management software,

[38:31] reducing the appropriations in the

[38:33] zoning budget to offset the cost of the

[38:36] software, and providing for immediate

[38:38] enactment.

[38:39] Mr. Yuri,

[38:42] thank you. Um, so our cemetery software,

[38:45] we keep track of our records, spaces,

[38:47] and stuff is uh fairly old. It's not

[38:49] being updated or maintained anymore. Um,

[38:52] we're starting to see issues from that

[38:55] not being updated and maintained. I

[38:57] believe it was last week it was down for

[39:00] a day for us. So, um, we are in need of

[39:03] updating that software as soon as

[39:05] possible before we end up losing the

[39:08] data that's in there. So, I would also

[39:10] ask that, uh, council consider adopting

[39:13] this ordinance at first reading as well.

[39:16] Anybody? I know the importance of the

[39:17] software and the for the cemetery and

[39:19] will will this new software program

[39:23] migrate all the old data from the old

[39:26] system that's failing

[39:29] >> some of it. Um what this new program

[39:32] will do is actually fairly broad. They

[39:34] will map the entire cemetery which we

[39:37] currently we have paper maps. So they

[39:41] will map it and then migrate the data

[39:43] that we do have and then go and verify

[39:46] what data is missing from stuff in the

[39:48] cemetery. So this will actually complete

[39:51] our records of the cemetery and have it

[39:53] all in one place.

[39:57] » Make a motion to adopt 2026-67.

[40:00] >> I would second.

[40:01] >> There's a motion on the floor. It's been

[40:03] seconded to approve ordinance 2026-67

[40:07] at first reading. Discussion

[40:11] hearing. None. Clerk, please call the

[40:13] role.

[40:14] >> Dave Klene,

[40:14] >> yes.

[40:15] >> Donald Pab,

[40:16] >> yes.

[40:16] >> Tracy Pletcher,

[40:17] >> yes.

[40:18] >> Ted Roy,

[40:18] >> yes.

[40:19] >> Jonathan Bolas,

[40:20] >> yes.

[40:21] >> Jessica Epstein,

[40:22] >> yes.

[40:22] >> Lindsay Holm,

[40:23] >> yes.

[40:24] >> Ordinance 2026-67

[40:27] is adopted by a vote of 7 to0. Any other

[40:30] items to before the finance committee?

[40:33] >> Hearing none, end committee. Thank you.

[40:40] I'll now recognize Mr. Bolus

[40:42] with personnel.

[40:44] Uh

[40:45] >> good evening. I call the personnel

[40:46] committee to order. Uh the personnel

[40:48] committee deals with personnel, labor

[40:49] relations, insurance claims, rules of

[40:51] council, and state statutes. Uh we have

[40:53] no ordinances or resolutions uh this

[40:55] evening before us. Are there any

[40:57] additional items or matters referred for

[40:59] personnel committee this evening by

[41:01] council or administration?

[41:06] Thank you. I'll close committee.

[41:10] >> Thank you. I'll now recognize uh

[41:12] Councilwoman Fletcher with safety

[41:14] committee.

[41:15] >> Thank you. I'll open safety committee.

[41:16] The safety committee deals with disaster

[41:18] services, communications, fire and

[41:21] paramedics, police and health. There are

[41:23] no items listed on the agenda this

[41:25] evening. Um under additional items, it

[41:28] does show traffic control of the school

[41:31] drop off and pickups for discussion. Uh

[41:34] we did have discussion with Chief Bohan

[41:36] earlier. So is there anything anybody

[41:38] would like to add to that?

[41:40] Okay. Hearing none, I'll close

[41:42] committee.

[41:46] » Thank you. I'll recognize Mr. Pathick

[41:48] with community issues.

[41:49] >> Thank you. I open committee issues

[41:51] committee. The community issues

[41:52] committee deals with parks, recreation,

[41:54] civic affairs, and liaison between

[41:55] council and the recreation board and

[41:57] intergovernmental affairs. Currently,

[41:59] there's no pending legislation before

[42:00] us. Is there anything that needs to be

[42:03] brought before the community issues

[42:06] committee hearing? None. I'll close

[42:08] committee. Thank you.

[42:10] >> Thank you very much. I'll recognize Miss

[42:12] Holm with public service.

[42:13] >> All right. I'd like to call the public

[42:15] service committee to order. The public

[42:17] service committee deals with streets,

[42:18] highways, sidewalks, buildings, and

[42:21] improvements, water, sewer, electricity,

[42:23] gas, energy resources, recycling, waste,

[42:26] and trash. Um, at first reading, we have

[42:29] ordinance 2026-66

[42:32] sponsored by Mayor Kilway, authorizing

[42:34] the city of Talmage to prepare and

[42:36] submit an application to participate in

[42:39] the Ohio Public Works Commission State

[42:41] Capital Improvement and execute

[42:43] contracts as required and providing for

[42:45] immediate enactment. Um, any comments,

[42:47] Mayor Kilway or M? Um this is for uh to

[42:51] allow us to submit the application to

[42:54] OPWC to obtain funding for the East

[42:57] Avenue G Cambrian and Greenbryer

[43:00] waterline project. That is actually on

[43:03] our list of waterline projects to do

[43:05] next year. So we would like to at this

[43:07] time submit that through the application

[43:10] process. If we do not get it, we will go

[43:12] move forward with the project with an

[43:14] OWDA loan. if we can score well enough

[43:17] on this and get some grant money or an

[43:20] OPWC loan, we would would uh like the

[43:23] opportunity to do that. So, we will go

[43:25] through that process and if we are not

[43:27] awarded, we'll still move forward with

[43:30] the project, but we felt that it would

[43:31] be prudent to try to get this money.

[43:34] >> I'll make a motion to adopt 2026-66.

[43:38] >> Second.

[43:39] >> All right. We have a motion from Mr.

[43:40] Pavick and a second from Mrs. Epstein.

[43:43] Any discussion on the motion?

[43:46] Um, all right. Hearing none. Clerk, will

[43:48] you please call roll?

[43:50] >> Donald Pavick,

[43:51] >> yes.

[43:52] >> Tracy Pletcher,

[43:53] >> yes.

[43:54] >> Ted Roy,

[43:54] >> yes.

[43:55] >> Jonathan Bolus,

[43:56] >> yes.

[43:57] >> Jessica Epstein,

[43:58] >> yes.

[43:58] >> Lindseay Holm,

[43:59] >> yes.

[43:59] >> Dave Klein,

[44:00] >> yes.

[44:03] » All right, the ordinance passes with a

[44:05] vote of 7 to Z. Um, next we have

[44:08] ordinance 2026-69

[44:11] sponsored by Director of Public Service Jason Yuri and uh, director of

[44:16] law Megan Rabber declaring the necessity

[44:18] and intention to temporarily appropriate

[44:21] certain property interests adjacent to

[44:23] or abuing East Avenue for purposes of

[44:26] proceeding with the improvement thereof

[44:28] and providing for an immediate

[44:30] enactment. Um, any comments?

[44:32] >> Yes, I'll go ahead and take this one and

[44:34] explain it. Um, so this is for the East

[44:37] Avenue project. Um, we've been talking

[44:39] about for years now. Uh, this is, uh,

[44:42] we're at the step in the process where,

[44:44] um, we're seeking temporary easements

[44:46] from certain property owners that, um,

[44:49] have still, uh, not been not signed off

[44:52] on what that what that easement

[44:54] agreement is. Um, they have been

[44:56] previously contacted and we have reached

[44:58] out with correspondence to them directly

[45:00] from my office as well. Um we have had

[45:04] uh we actually you have an an amended

[45:06] link on there. We've gone from 10

[45:08] property owners to eight just because

[45:10] we're continuing to try to work with

[45:12] them. Um but this allows for the project

[45:14] to proceed. Essentially what happens is

[45:17] um under the Ohio Revised Code, the city

[45:20] is able to initiate the proceedings um

[45:22] following other steps in the code that

[45:24] we will follow. uh we can we can move

[45:27] forward with taking these cases to

[45:29] probate court and we can um deposit the

[45:32] amount of money that we're offering on

[45:34] those um appropriations in court and

[45:37] then the project is able to continue.

[45:39] So, it's an important step for us to be

[45:42] able to move forward um for public

[45:43] purposes to make sure that we can get

[45:45] this roadway done um and it still allows

[45:48] people to negotiate. again can still

[45:50] resolve. Hopefully, we'll resolve with

[45:51] most of these folks, but um it's a

[45:54] matter of timing and we're getting into

[45:56] a colder season and we want to make sure

[45:58] we can still move forward with um

[46:00] whatever is needs to be done in the

[46:02] project um timing wise. So, I'm asking

[46:05] for first reading adoption of this

[46:07] tonight.

[46:08] >> I'd move to adopt ordinance 2026-69

[46:11] at first reading.

[46:12] >> I'll second it.

[46:14] >> All right. We have a motion from Mr.

[46:16] Klene and a second from Mr. Roy. Is

[46:18] there any discussion?

[46:19] >> Just for the record, this is a normal

[46:21] process that we've done on all the ODOT

[46:24] projects or the state projects. It

[46:26] follows the procedure and the property

[46:29] owner still has the opportunity to sign

[46:31] off prior to going to the probates, but

[46:35] uh they will be made whole during the

[46:37] process.

[46:39] >> Question, when were these first these

[46:43] individuals were originally contacted?

[46:45] >> Uh months ago. So we have we so ODOT

[46:48] defined months

[46:49] >> I I don't have the exact date.

[46:50] >> Um I believe

[46:51] >> we've started this process like early in

[46:54] January of this year. It's been

[46:57] >> a long time.

[46:58] >> Okay.

[46:59] >> What was the original is the original

[47:01] deadline um like right around

[47:06] Labor Day

[47:08] for them to

[47:09] >> before we go to we file.

[47:12] >> We we're we're being driven by ODOT.

[47:15] like this is an ODOT project. So my

[47:17] understanding is that they need to be

[47:19] able to proceed with next steps. We need

[47:20] to get this done by October, like

[47:22] October 1. So we need to move this

[47:25] along. So this is going to be moved

[47:28] along. And again, that doesn't mean that

[47:29] we can't resolve with people. We just

[47:31] need to keep moving.

[47:32] >> Do do we know the reasons why these

[47:35] eight are out here? I mean, I know one,

[47:37] but is it monetary? Is it

[47:39] >> It depends. It's case by case. So each

[47:41] one is different. We we've been trying

[47:44] to reach out directly. My office,

[47:46] >> the way that this works through the ODOT

[47:48] projects is that we have a third party

[47:50] that actually does the negotiations and

[47:52] so they have been handling the

[47:54] negotiations up until just recently.

[47:56] Then they hand the files over to my

[47:58] office and my office has been has sent

[48:00] correspondents to all of these parties

[48:02] and then we are initiating conversations

[48:05] with as many as we can prior to filing.

[48:08] But but we are we are just getting these

[48:11] files here from um the contractor who'd

[48:13] been negotiating these easements.

[48:15] >> So do we know

[48:16] >> what the Poland communicates with the

[48:19] service department on a regular basis on

[48:22] each of these parcels if the if

[48:25] somebody's requesting something if we're

[48:27] agreeable to it and those things. So

[48:30] those conversations have been happening

[48:32] all summer and spring long.

[48:36] Um, some of them I know for a fact have

[48:38] just not responded to any of the the

[48:41] communication. So, they all have

[48:43] different reasons. Um,

[48:47] and it I'm sure if you got with the

[48:49] service department with Helaine, she's

[48:51] been the head person on this, she could,

[48:55] you know, provide you with more

[48:57] information

[48:59] on any of them. But we're in constant

[49:01] contact with O colon about what people

[49:04] are requesting, what modifications they

[49:06] want, can we approve it, can we not? Is

[49:08] it within the allowable amount that can

[49:11] be paid? All those are ongoing

[49:14] conversations.

[49:17] >> I just go ahead.

[49:19] >> I was just a follow-up question. Um

[49:22] the process like if they're asking for

[49:25] something like can you walk me through

[49:27] like the the process of decisioning? So

[49:29] like is it it we take that um suggestion

[49:33] from the homeowner and then are we

[49:36] working with ODOT? Are we working with

[49:37] OC?

[49:38] >> We're are working with OC. OC knows the

[49:41] appraisals, the values. We work with the

[49:43] appraiser who appraised the property.

[49:45] The the things that they ask for have

[49:48] monetary values that are placed on them

[49:50] like trees, certain type of trees are

[49:52] worth this, this that and the other. So

[49:54] there's there's an ongoing conversation

[49:56] and then depending on what are they

[49:58] asking for, what would the cost of us

[50:00] taking them to appropriation be, it it's a it's a back and forth that occurs

[50:06] and each property is a unique back and

[50:09] forth.

[50:10] >> And then who's the who's the decision

[50:12] maker?

[50:13] >> So because this is an ODOT project, it's

[50:15] partly them. So we it's kind of a joint

[50:18] effort. So it's a communication

[50:20] >> and a joint effort. But every project

[50:23] I've ever done with the ODOT, we had to

[50:25] do that. And I would always go out and

[50:27] talk to the homeowners. And as Molly

[50:30] said, it's either they want to save this

[50:32] tree, so can you move the sidewalk this

[50:34] way? Or I want my driveway approach to

[50:37] go two foot wider. Would you allow that?

[50:40] U so it was really it's a negotiation

[50:43] back and forth, but it was that was big

[50:46] part of the whole projects.

[50:48] >> So Mayor Kilway, have you talked to

[50:50] these owners?

[50:53] Mayor Kellway hasn't been involved yet.

[50:54] Again, we just got the files. We got the

[50:57] files back from O colon right before

[51:01] they said, "Oh, we need you guys to keep

[51:03] this moving and we need these

[51:04] deadlines." So, she's not had an

[51:06] opportunity to do that.

[51:07] >> I mean, I just to get perspective, we

[51:08] were talking to hundreds of property

[51:11] owners and we're down to eight. So, I

[51:13] mean,

[51:15] it's good.

[51:16] >> Yeah.

[51:19] Sorry. And of those eight, some of them

[51:21] just you have they have not engaged.

[51:24] >> There are some that have just not

[51:25] engaged. They don't respond to the phone

[51:27] call. They don't respond to an email.

[51:28] They don't respond to a letter. Like

[51:30] they just don't there's those people.

[51:33] There's people that what they want can't

[51:36] be done or isn't reasonable. There

[51:39] there's again

[51:41] >> each case is a different scenario here.

[51:43] I can't give you all of them, but that

[51:46] it is all documented

[51:49] as to why there has been no settlement

[51:51] with these property owners

[51:56] >> and then they still so if this were to

[51:59] pass then they still have an opportunity

[52:01] to settle up.

[52:03] >> Yeah. Yeah.

[52:04] >> Correct.

[52:04] >> Yes.

[52:05] >> For a short for a short period of time

[52:07] then it goes through the court process

[52:09] and even then we can still reach

[52:10] settlements with people but it has to

[52:12] continue down that process. so that we

[52:13] continue to be able to move.

[52:15] >> They can negotiate up until the court

[52:17] date.

[52:18] >> I mean, even once the even with the even

[52:20] once the court paperwork is filed, you

[52:23] still have we still have an opportunity

[52:24] to resolve. It just cost us the money of

[52:27] the additional funds of now we have to

[52:29] go through a court process and it costs

[52:31] them, you know, whatever position they

[52:33] want to take on it as well. them.

[52:38] » I would like to know because most of

[52:40] these, if not all, are in my ward.

[52:43] So, I know I've been in contact with

[52:45] one. I called one today and they're not

[52:48] on here anymore. So, you know, it was

[52:51] just because they just didn't get to the

[52:53] paperwork. So, if it's something like

[52:55] that, you know, we clear this up to get

[52:59] from 8 to six or five. Um but I'd le to

[53:03] like to know what the issues are because

[53:06] one's not monetary. One is you know

[53:10] >> well again well everything

[53:13] >> even expanding a driveway etc et is

[53:16] monetary it it translates to it's just

[53:19] whether it's an inind or if it's

[53:21] >> I I understand it's it's a cost

[53:23] adjustment.

[53:23] >> It's a cost adjustment. So all that

[53:25] again all those things have to be taken

[53:27] in consideration but yes I'd be happy to

[53:29] >> what I what I mean by monetary is you'll

[53:32] get a price and then someone you know

[53:34] there'll be an appraised value and

[53:36] they'll have the comps in there of how

[53:38] they can derive that value. when I mean

[53:41] my monetaries people sometimes say no

[53:43] it's worth more than what you know

[53:45] you're stating right so that's the main

[53:48] thing I wanted to make sure if any of

[53:50] those were th those issues

[53:54] >> and even if they are then we still we

[53:56] still need to pro we we still have to

[53:58] proceed through the appropriate process

[53:59] so but I'm be happy to talk with you

[54:01] more afterward if you want to contact my

[54:03] office

[54:06] » all right

[54:07] >> calls over

[54:08] >> okay hearing no further discussion clerk

[54:10] will Will you please call roll?

[54:13] >> Tracy Pletcher,

[54:14] >> yes.

[54:15] >> Ted Roy,

[54:16] >> yes.

[54:16] >> Jonathan Bullis,

[54:17] >> yes.

[54:18] >> Jessica Epstein,

[54:19] >> yes.

[54:20] >> Lindseay Holm,

[54:21] >> yes.

[54:21] >> Dave Klein,

[54:22] >> yes.

[54:22] >> Donald Pavick,

[54:23] >> yes.

[54:25] >> Great.

[54:27] >> Sorry. Ordinance 2026-69

[54:30] passes with a vote of 7 to 0. Um, moving

[54:33] on to ordinance 2026-70,

[54:36] sponsored by Director of Public Service

[54:38] Jason Yuri, authorizing the creation and

[54:41] acceptance of utility easements at

[54:43] various locations on Southwest Avenue

[54:45] and providing for immediate enactment.

[54:48] Um, comments from the sponsor. Um, I'm

[54:50] going to go ahead and take this if you

[54:52] don't mind. So, this is this is on our

[54:54] Southwest Avenue waterline project and

[54:56] this is um where we've already reached

[54:59] agreements with people on the easements

[55:01] that are necessary for that waterline.

[55:03] And so, we're asking for acceptance

[55:05] tonight. Uh we're asking for first

[55:08] reading adoption, but you if you choose

[55:10] not to, you don't have to. But again,

[55:11] these are already signed, the agreements

[55:13] are reached, and um we just want to move

[55:16] forward with getting those filed. We

[55:18] will have that. We will have a similar

[55:20] ordinance that will be coming for East

[55:22] Avenue. So again, we have kind of both

[55:24] of these projects moving.

[55:27] >> H how many on Southwest Havens?

[55:31] >> We're down to two.

[55:32] >> Down to two. Okay. I'll make a motion to

[55:35] adopt ordinance 2026-70.

[55:38] >> A second.

[55:39] >> All right. We have a motion from Mr.

[55:41] Pavick and a second from Mr. Klene. Uh

[55:44] any discussion?

[55:45] >> Mr. Polus.

[55:51] I heard Mr. Klein. Um,

[55:54] >> doesn't matter.

[55:56] >> We'll go with that. Um, any discussion?

[56:02] » All right. Hearing none. Clerk, will you

[56:03] please call a roll?

[56:05] >> Ted Roy,

[56:06] >> yes.

[56:06] >> Jonathan Bullis,

[56:08] >> yes.

[56:08] >> Jessica Epstein,

[56:11] >> yes.

[56:11] >> Lindseay Holm,

[56:12] >> yes.

[56:13] >> Dave Klein,

[56:13] >> yes.

[56:14] >> Donald Pavick,

[56:15] >> yes. Tracy Pletcher.

[56:16] >> Yes.

[56:22] » All right. Megan, do I go with the last

[56:25] one now or do we close committee and go

[56:28] into

[56:28] >> uh No, you would go into the last last

[56:30] one. You can call read that into the

[56:32] record.

[56:32] >> Thank you. Um, now we have ordinance

[56:35] 2026-68

[56:37] sponsored by Mayor Kilway and director

[56:40] of law Megan Rabber authorizing the

[56:42] director of law to settle and resolve

[56:44] all claims and the mayor to execute the

[56:46] required documents for complaints filed

[56:49] with the public utilities commission of

[56:50] Ohio appropriating the necessary funds

[56:53] and providing for immediate enactment.

[56:55] >> Madame Chair,

[56:57] >> uh, Mr. Fine.

[56:58] >> I move I'd make a motion to go into

[57:00] executive session for the discussion of

[57:02] ordinance 2026-68.

[57:05] >> Second

[57:06] >> for the purpose of pending litigation.

[57:10] >> Second.

[57:11] >> All right. We have a motion from Mr.

[57:13] Klein and a second from Mr. Pavick. Any

[57:16] discussion?

[57:17] Hearing none. Clerk, will you please

[57:19] call roll?

[57:20] >> Jonathan Bolus?

[57:21] >> Yes.

[57:22] >> Jessica Epstein?

[57:23] >> Yes.

[57:23] >> Lindseay Holm,

[57:24] >> yes.

[57:24] >> Dave Klene,

[57:25] >> yes. Donald Pavick,

[57:27] >> yes.

[57:27] >> Tracy Pletcher,

[57:28] >> yes.

[57:28] >> Ted Roy,

[57:29] >> yes.

[57:35] » All right, it is 6:58 and we are going

[57:38] into executive session

[57:40] >> and we will be back

[57:45] » asking for action to be taken. Thanks.

[1:09:16] to order. Um,

[1:09:19] do I need to reread the ordinance? Uh,

[1:09:21] >> you do not need to reread it, but I I

[1:09:23] would ask for adoption at first reading

[1:09:25] of uh, ordinance 2026-68.

[1:09:27] >> I'll make a motion to adopt ordinance

[1:09:29] 2026-68.

[1:09:31] >> I'll second it.

[1:09:32] >> All right. We have a motion from Mr.

[1:09:34] Pavick and a second from Mr. Roy. Any

[1:09:37] discussion?

[1:09:39] Hearing none. Clerk, will you please

[1:09:40] call roll? Jessica Epstein?

[1:09:43] >> Yes.

[1:09:44] >> Lindseay Holm,

[1:09:45] >> yes.

[1:09:46] >> Dave Klein,

[1:09:47] >> yes.

[1:09:47] >> Donald Pavick,

[1:09:48] >> yes.

[1:09:49] >> Tracy Pletcher,

[1:09:50] >> yes.

[1:09:50] >> Ted Roy,

[1:09:51] >> yes.

[1:09:51] >> Jonathan Bolas,

[1:09:52] >> yes.

[1:09:57] » All right, the motion I'm sorry, uh,

[1:10:00] 2026-68,

[1:10:02] uh, passes with a vote of seven to zero.

[1:10:04] >> Thank you.

[1:10:08] And that is our last matter. Are there

[1:10:11] any um other matters or items referred?

[1:10:15] Hearing none, I will close committee.

[1:10:20] Thank you very much. Our last item is

[1:10:23] reports of special committee. Do you

[1:10:24] have any updates, Mr. Bolas?

[1:10:26] >> Uh no report this evening.

[1:10:28] >> All right. Thank you. Um I will let

[1:10:31] council know that I did meet with Mr.

[1:10:33] Ignazto and um Rachel to discuss the

[1:10:36] council portion of the 2027

[1:10:39] budget and um so we are working through

[1:10:42] those items but that meeting did happen

[1:10:44] this week. Are there any announcements

[1:10:47] from council?

[1:10:49] All right, hearing uh hearing none. I'll

[1:10:51] entertain a motion to adjurnn.

[1:10:52] >> I'll make a motion to adjurnn.

[1:10:55] >> We have I'll second.

[1:10:56] >> We have a first by Mr. Pavick and a

[1:10:58] second by Miss Holm. Is there any

[1:10:59] further discussion? Hearing none. Madam

[1:11:02] clerk, please call the role.

[1:11:03] >> Lindseay Holm,

[1:11:04] >> yes. Dave Klein,

[1:11:06] >> yes.

[1:11:06] >> Donald Pavick,

[1:11:07] >> yes.

[1:11:07] >> Tracy Pletcher,

[1:11:08] >> yes.

[1:11:09] >> Ted Roy,

[1:11:10] >> yes.

[1:11:10] >> Jonath,

[1:11:11] >> yes.

[1:11:11] >> Jessica Epstein,

[1:11:13] >> yes.

[1:11:17] » All right. Uh, the time is 711 and we

[1:11:21] are draw.

[1:11:21] >> Thank you.

City Council Regular Meeting - August 27, 2026

Transcript