Council - Regular Meeting

for uh letting me interrupt you there. Um can we start at ordinance 85? Um and I can speak to this. This is the ordinance about uh the raising and boarding and breeding of cats. And at a previous meeting, um, uh, councelor Ferraro offered an amendment to change that to a total of six. And I think everyone here has seen all of the feedback and emails we've been getting. And I've actually had some ideas and I want to pitch them to council and maybe we can discuss them. Um, my initial take on this is I think we should hold this and work with the law department. Um, I think there's an opportunity here to potentially completely change this from a capacity based ordinance and maybe look at the concept of identifying and defining what a breeder is and what a cat sanctuary is and because I believe that's the intent. That's the target here is to to solve issues with those specific use cases. And instead of applying an arbitrary number citywide to everybody that has domestic animals, look at focusing on what is challenging in the city with people doing things in excess that [clears throat] are specifically related to breeding or cat sanctuaries. And um I mentioned it to the law director um but it literally was like a day and a half ago. So it wasn't practical for him to come up with any ideas for tonight. And I thought maybe we could discuss that, see if we're open to that and revisit it.

I think [clears throat] I think that's better planned based on the feedback we've had. And I've I've not felt good about this ordinance to begin with. Um, and based on the feedback we've had, I think it's more important to do something to curb uh sanctuary cat sanctuaries, breeders, just like you said. So, I think looking into it in a more nuanced way than just saying like he's going to only have this many animals,

right? you know, we've we've not had any issues with how it stands with the number of dogs. That's been fine. We don't necessarily need to raise or lower uh the number of dogs um [clears throat] adding something for cats. I don't even know if that can, you know, begin to to touch the problem at hand. So, I think it's a good idea to consider looking at the problem from a different angle instead of just regulating the number of cats at home. Yeah, I agree. I had two people discuss, you know, thought six dogs is excessive. Six Rottweil, you know, is different than six Chihuahua. And, you know, so they were not happy with that. And someone else at the rec center was not also in favor of us with the cats, right? So,

and this, I think, would potentially open up opportunities for the city to say, if you're doing this, maybe these are business functions. They're not residential functions. maybe there's, you know, some appropriate [clears throat] expectations placed potentially an annual permit or an inspection or something like that, right? Um, and that and in my mind, just applying an arbitrary number citywide, I think might be some some of the where some of those comments came from and email and if anybody's watching our work session video, I I appreciate the feedback from the community. It's been great. Yeah, it's Yeah, I think it's really helped me understand, you know, where to where we want to go with this. So, the feedback's been great.

And um does anyone else have any comments on that? Because I think we need to give um law director some time to come up with some should we, you know, get rid of this, strike it down because basically what we're looking to do is to not to explore not doing this at all and having a whole new section uh regarding domestic animals or or breed breeding at home or whatever. Um should be get rid of this or just keep it as is and then consider an amendment.

Yeah, I mean most likely if you go in the direction that council president was mentioning at least this section will be amended. There may be some other sections that are pulled in. Um so this is still going to be modified. It really doesn't make a whole lot of difference legally. You could leave it on first reading and we can amend it later. You could call it for a vote and vote it down. You could table it. It's it's really up to council if you know it would be it would be cleaner to start over and start over in 2026. But what what would you like to do? I don't I don't have any preference there. If you're saying you could just reuse this,

we can Yeah, we can have a new version of that. the amendments to the code section you see in front of you will be different obviously and there may be some additional code sections but we could reuse that or you could um like council council grant say start fresh I'm kind of okay with keeping it my concern is if we vote this down on the floor AI is going to say we didn't do this okay right and people are going to think that we kashed it right and at least at least it keeps us on the agenda [clears throat] to keep us talking about it. Right. Right. Because I imagine you will potentially have something by the next council meeting or the following. Yeah.

Yeah. I'll probably do a draft circulate it and then you guys can individually give me your input um if you have any and then it could be on for the next meeting. Yeah. Okay. So, we don't even need to read this. We can just hold it at first tonight. Um if you want any assistance with it and I coming from [snorts] the health department, we I work with many cities that had tried to pass. Yeah. As with any legislation, if any council member has suggestions, input, you know, feel free to call me, email to me, whatever, whatever you'd like. Thank you. [clears throat] All right. 86 is related to short-term rentals. Um, Council Brandt, did you have some ideas on this that you wanted?

Yeah. Um I finally had a chance to you know what the halt is and everything kind of kind of give more uh attention to this and and look up um what can be done and what has be done has been done. So this our proposal right now is to um disallow completely short-term rentals with all you know it had all those definitions on there and what's the penalty?

Uh I think it's M3 misdemeanor. So, it's pretty stark uh uh penalty for it. Um you know, if you if you do some basic searches, you can find a lot of information on what other cities have done with regards to short-term rentals. Um there's some information on what the state of Ohio is looking to do short-term rentals in in um the Ohio House backed by the short-term rental industry body. Um there's some good information there. There's um different ways to go about uh regulating short-term rentals um in your city other than just completely prohibiting them. Um I know that this was kind of written up in response to the incident in Bath Township um where it is against their ordinance already to have short-term rentals. Um, and uh, I would just like everyone to really uh, take some time and and do some searches and some reading on what's going on in other cities. I know it's it's hard to regulate the the the uh, platforms do not like if you you know if if it's not allowed in your city and you live in a city and you go list it on a platform, the platform doesn't tell you. So, it's up to the owner to go and look to see if it is um, available. Um yeah, that there's some there's um different levels that you can can have. Um you could we could uh require that the owner that you could still rent out um rooms, but the owner has to be present. Um which kind of helps for in the situation where it's a third party or a corporation that owns a home and and rents it out or someone that you know is not there to look after their property. So, I think that we should just um be able to take a little

more time with this. We've got no feedback, right? As far as I know, no feedback on this one. [clears throat] The other thing I would just add is check on your phone, like look up Airbnb or whatever any of those and see if there are any. I looked in Macedonia. There's like two. I couldn't find any available. There's two in Macedonia. Um depends on smaller resident. One's one's a bigger property with more acreage. one's [clears throat] a smaller one in a small neighborhood. I couldn't identify where it's at. So, my question would be, are we trying to solve a problem that doesn't Yeah. exist here?

And it crosses into, you know, us regulating what people can do with their homes and their property. That's something that we're not wanting to do, but, you know, we want to be able we want to keep neighborhoods safe. And I and that I think that is the intent in every city that goes and passes ordinance like this. You know, they they're reacting to the possibility. And you know, possible the cities have already had problems with this and then they decide to shut it down. But is a question of, you know, are people able to make money on their property as they so desire. So doing something like if we really think that it's got to be a problem, doing something like requiring the owner to be present. So, um, I'd really like everyone to give this just another look through, do some do some searches and and see what you, uh, think about this instead of us just saying like, you know, no, I don't like the idea of banning them all together or yes, I want them to gone, let's look into the nuance and have a little more discussion on that. One other suggestion could be uh requiring some sort of like a license

license so that the police department can keep an eye on there's you know potential disturbances or whatever but still allowing them to do whatever they they wish with the Yeah. in areas that they've had problems with this. They couldn't reach the owner because the city didn't even know who the owner was or have owner we require ownership uh licenses in rentals in in long-term rentals. So we might have to do something similar. So you can look at uh you know read read up a little bit more on it and see if you have any more nuanced opinion of it or if we're we're happy to say no we don't want anything at all or if we're happy to say we want to completely prohibit them but um go ahead and give it a little more thought. So I'd like to to not even do the second reading.

I'd like to hold it at one. Yeah. If nobody objects. So we don't even need to read that one. Okay. Um, so resolution number four, mayor. So this is the aircoy trail drainage improvement. Uh, we've got a lot of flooding issues over there. This is rectifying that problem. I believe we're using the ND funds for that. Yes, we are. So it's nothing out of the city coffers per se and it'll fix the problem that's been persisting for we've had some I can tell you that I've been over there many times. The service department's been there. The engineers have been there. It's time. And this is just advertising for bids. Anyone object to one, two, three? Second. All right. Number five.

Pretty much speaks for itself. The parking lot has seen its useful life. Uh we have been doing it in phases. If you remember, we did back here by the fire station and now we're going to move and complete the rest of it. It'll be done in phases so that we can kind of keep things moving throughout city hall, but it's breaking up pretty bad and it's kind of at the point of we need to correct it. I like the cones. I I don't don't like leaving barrels and cones all over. Yeah. So, this is also going for bid only. So, yeah. One, two, three. All right. Uh, number six.

Yes. Um, I think everyone has my letter in your packet, so I won't review verbatim everything uh in the letter. I trust everyone has read it. And I guess I would just uh respectfully please ask for an affirmative vote this evening. I don't know if you guys caught in the letter. It says that, you know, the retainer will stay the same as budgeted. So, it's just that the rates are going up. I'm assuming, mayor, that you'd like this to be one, two, three. I believe our contract expires at the end of the month. So, we have to do. It probably be in our best interest to not have that hanging. If you

can we get a discount if we do one, two, three? I'll have to do the math. [laughter] Okay. Um, ordinance number seven. So, this one is in continuation of what we did with the um, uh, the moving of Leah over to the fire department. We had a part-timer that helps out. Um, and we're moving her from the fire from the fire department to the rec senior center assistant. So, it's just identifying her title, making it what it should have been, neat and clean. We're just identifying nothing changes financially. And again, she just helps out with senior meals and things like that on a very limited basis. Okay. Leah went to the wreck. You said Leah went to fire

or Leah went Leah went to the wreck and Judy works under Leah at the rec center. So that's pretty simple. It's nothing extraordinary. Budget neutral. Budget neutral. Anyone object to one, two, three on this? Let's do it.

Okay. All right. Um I know we're coming up on 7:30, so I'm going to mention a couple of things. The mayor has asked for an executive session, so we'll do that right before adjournment. Um, and then I was hoping that we could have a quick discussion about the holiday, I'm sorry, the summer schedule because some of the department heads, um, are interested in knowing when they can schedule vacations this summer. So, um, one of the things, um, I was going to suggest is in June, you guys, we don't have a June calendar up there. [clears throat] Um the meeting the first meeting in June would be the 11th and I'm wondering if we can move that back to the 4th to avoid Summerfest, but then we'll that would allow us to have a meeting early in June and then potentially uh can then we would cancel the 11th but keep the 25th and then in July

No, you were going to Did I do that backwards? Cancel the 25th and have the one that we do on the fourth backwards. Keep the fourth and cancel the 25th. Right. Yeah. I'm sorry. I wrote it down wrong. So the fourth the fourth instead of the 11th. Correct. To avoid um Summerfest, right? Yeah. Um and then in July, I'm going to make sure I don't mess up because the 9th is so close to July 4th and people might be traveling for the 4th. We would cancel that and keep the 23rd. That's fine by me.

And then August is kind of up to discussion. I don't think there's any guidance either way. We will have just had a meeting on the 23rd, so we could potentially go all the way to the 27th or we could keep the 13th. I have no preference on that. Um, I'll make a judgment call unless someone objects. How about we just keep the 27th? That's fine. Cancel the 13th. Cancel the 13th. Keep the 27th. Um, and then I was talking to the mayor and discovered that the March meeting both of us have a commitment which March 12th to the 20th

12th. 12th and um that would take two of us out of that meeting and I would propose that we could potentially move that meeting back to the 5th and if we determined at the meeting immediately preceding the 5th that we didn't need it. We could cancel it. I won't be here the Okay. It's not fair. Um, and we can push that decision off and figure it out in February if we want or we can discuss it tonight. Um, if we were to cancel it and just have one meeting in March, um, and and I want to just mention this. Um, if if anytime throughout the summer comes up in between all these canceled meetings, we can obviously always schedule a special like

we had three last year. Yeah, we had three specials last year. Um, but so cancel the 12th potentially. Yeah, we'd have we have it on the 19th. [clears throat] Well, you're scheduled for the 26th. If you wanted that two in March, you could do the 19th and 26. That's another option. We could do 19th and 26. And if the agenda doesn't warrant needing to come back, we always have the option to cancel later in March. Is this going to impact us voting on bidding and summer and spring projects? I wouldn't let that drive the decision. We'll make it work one way or another.

Good question. Okay. Um, how about I do this? He just doesn't want to be. Yeah, that's right. If you'd like it. Um, anyone have a preference on any of that in March? No, I just want to make sure that, you know, I I want to make sure that we're not having to run into new special meetings. Correct. I agree with that. So yeah, if it's something, you know, we could we could possibly all bookmark the 19th and not have it if you know the directors don't have anything for us or if the agenda is Yeah. If the agenda is have anything new. Yeah.

So we'll just decide. We can decide as late as the 26th of So we're definitely going to cancel the 12th, but we can decide in the 26th of February whether or not we're going to do that 19th. Correct. 12th is definitely cancelled as long as everyone's okay with that. I'm okay with it. My only caveat is my wife's due on the 21st. So, okay. Sooner or later. Okay. I can't control. Yeah, we got you.

So, what I'm going to do then and uh is I will make a motion tonight to move June's meeting to the 4th and cancel the 25th. I will cancel the 9th in July and keep the 23rd. In August, we'll keep the 27th and cancel the 13th. And in March, we'll cancel the 12th. And then between now and I do something wrong. You're looking at something wrong. No, that's you're right. You're right. Okay. Um then and then as we get closer to March, we'll figure out what we're going to do with the 19th. Okay. All right. Um if I didn't mention it, there will be an executive at the end of the meeting.

Very good. Thank you. Good evening and welcome to the January 22nd, 2026 city council meeting. It is 7:35 p.m. Mr. Hoover, will you please call the role?

Miss Bryant here. Miss Cummings here. Mr. Ferraro here. Mr. Finley here. Mr. Graver here.

I ask Mr. O'Brien to lead us in the invocation. If you'd all please stand and remove your hats. Let us pause and reflect with gratitude for the opportunity to serve our community. We are thankful for the trust placed in these leaders, for the voices of the residents they represent, and for the shared hope that brings us together in this chamber. May we be guided by wisdom, patience, and a compassion as we consider the matters before us, remembering that each decision affects neighbors, families, and future generations. As we begin this meeting, may our discussions be marked by respect, open minds, and a sincere desire to do what is right and just. Grant strength to listen to listen carefully, the courage to speak thoughtfully, and the humility to seek understanding when perspectives differ. May the work done here tonight promote peace, fairness, and the well-being of all who call Macedonia their home. Amen. And now, the Honorable Mayor Nick Bolner will lead us in our pledge of allegiance. Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you, Captain O'Brien. Please stay warm. [clears throat] Okay. Next up is a proclamation, Mr. Hoover. Yes, sir. Um, this is a proclamation in recognition and appreciation of the United States Postal Service on its 250th anniversary for its essential role in the functioning of the United States and recognize postal workers dedication and service to the city of Macedonia. Thank you. Approval of the minutes. Mayor, I'd like to make a motion to approve the minutes of the Thursday, January 8th, 2026 regular council meeting. Second. All in favor? I

opposed. Motion carries. Okay. Next is public comments. We ask that you come to the microphone here, give your name and address, and we limit you to 5 minutes or less, and we have one signed up tonight. Uh, Mr. Neville, please join us.

Hi. Uh, I'm here on behalf of uh my wife as a cat rescue, Jenny's Gems. Um, we have rescued and found homes for good homes for over 500 cats that are now in safe, warm homes since uh 2017. Um, as you know, many people may know, the rescues are all very full. Uh, we had three warm warm winters which kept that kitten season going the year round. Um, we we currently have too many cats in our house. Uh, we know that we're already in the process of bringing that number down. Um, but the cats are um the Humane Society came out because somebody said something. Uh, they found the cats to be healthy, happy, and well taken care of. Now, they had some other issues with our house and and how we were doing some litter boxes and and um I complied with everything that [clears throat] they asked us to do. I ripped out all my carpet. I threw away any furniture that had, you know, urine on it. Uh I installed some um ventilation um and various other things, you know, um that that they had requested. Um, recently somebody who has nothing to do with us and or at my house or anything else called the city, called the councilman apparently on a Sunday night. Um, I didn't know we could do that, but um then the city got involved and and I had a room that used to be an attached garage. Had some old carpet in there. I had a flood in my basement this summer

hauling stuff out from the flood, you know, and the the the room was smelled bad. Uh partly because of the cats, partly because all the other stuff that was going on. Uh that carpet's all been ripped out. That room has all been redone. It's there's nothing wrong with it now. Um the director also smelled a little bit in the yard. It's from cleaning the litter boxes in the driveway. Um we didn't have a lot of rain this year, so it collect it up a little bit. Uh I live on four and a quarter acres. Uh my one neighbor is like 500 feet away from me. The other neighbor is 60 foot away and I'm good friends with and and I talk to him all the time and you know he's never um I would think if he had a problem, you know, and he's really the only one that could possibly have a problem with you know what we do. Uh uh we we serve um provide a community service. We're getting cats off off the street. Uh that would be multiplying. Um a lot of people don't know this, but if a cat lives for 15 years, it could be responsible for up to 400,000 cats. Over 400,000 cats. That's from That's from one cat. They they at four months old they go into heat. So you don't get the kittens, get them. You know, we've helped a lot of people in this community. We've long traps out. We've helped with medicine. We've helped them get uh uh vet appointments. Um I've helped several people find their lost cat. I spent 12 weeks helping one lady um over on Navajo finally got her cat back. And uh so the city came down on me hard like I I felt like I was an out of town slumlord the way I was treated. He didn't come to

check things out. He came with a bunch of printouts and and you know I'm I'm trying to cooperate with everything that he's asking me to do. It's taking longer. I have to work around the cats. So, I can't just go in there, you know, with a wrecking ball to, you know, like when I ripped the carpet out, I had to rip, you know, a section at a time, get rid of all the tackboard so none of the cats get hurt, you know, pull all the staples out and then move on to the next part.

And and so it's it's a little it t it takes a little longer and I'm 66 year old, you know, I'm in good shape, but uh I'm not, you know, I'm not 20 I'm not in my 20s, so it takes me a little longer. Plus, I'm trying to maintain the rooms that I've already several rooms I've already redone. Um, several more. The whole house will have all new flooring in it eventually. Um, and um, but it it's going to take some time. And we're also we have some cats that are, you know, not socialized that will need to go back out uh, as it what they call a TNR, you trap, neuter, and replace. But [bell] cats that have been indoors for a period of time, I'm not going to release them in the middle of winter, but in the spring, there's um several that we'll probably take back to where we got them from.

And you you neutered before they're released. You do the TNRed. Yeah. Yeah.

Some of the explosion we had some some people die. two people die in a close proximity where we, you know, got cats back. Um, we had some kittens that we worked with another rescue. They were going to take them on, take on all the responsibility for it. And right before we were going to take them there, they had an outbreak uh a pano virus which kills kittens and they lost several kittens and so they were in a mad scramble to you know so and we ended up you know having to uh take care of them and and get everything done. I've spent a small fortune. I've taken money out of my 401k. Um, [clears throat] the only victim in this is me really cuz I'm I'm working my butt off and and the only person that should even care about how many cats we have is me because I'm the one that has to do all the work. But they are they are healthy. They're happy and well taken care of. I've had people come over that worked at other volunteered at other rescues, you know, that came to like help us and stuff and they looked around and they go, "Oh my god, these cats are so healthy. I can't believe it." Because it's not how it is at some of the other shelters. And we're also a no kill, a true nokill. A lot of people don't don't know this, but a lot of no kill shelters kill lots of cats.

If they're aggressive when they come in the trap, um they're considered feral and and and they're not, you know. So, well, thank you, Mr. N. We appreciate your comments. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for listening. [clears throat] Okay. Next on the agenda is correspondence from the clerk.

Yes, sir. I have two here. Um, as alluded to in the work session, there are a number of feedback we received from residents, but one on the ordinance 85, but one in particular requested that I read this at the council meeting says, "I am against allowing six pets per household. That would allow six dogs, which is outrageous. The original draft was regarding cats and should continue as such. Even six cats is outrageous given this would apply to all housing units, including apartments. The ordinance should also include pets should be required to stay on the owner's property, including cats. First event should be a hefty fine of at least $500. Outdoor cats should be written in the ordinance as quote not allowed unless contained within the owner's property. And that's from Pete Damon 994 Irquy Run. And then I read a letter from Nordonia School Hills School District to the police department says, "Dear Macedonia Police Department, on behalf of the students and staff of Nordonia High School, I would like to express our sincere gratitude for the time, energy, and support you have given in partnership with our school during the first quarter of the 2025 2026 school year. Your commitment to live the mission of Nordonia High School by collaborating with us, acting with intention, and showing care for others continues to make a meaningful difference in the lives of our students and the greater Nordonia community. Through your service, you demonstrate the very values we strive to instill in our students. Leadership, compassion, and purpose. It is for this reason that we'd like to honor you as partner and purpose to be recognized on our Facebook page and website. Your contributions through the donation of Walmart gift cards and holiday co gifts for our needy families strengthen the bridge between school and community as you create real world connections and empower our students to grow as learners and as people. We are so thankful for your generosity. At Nordonia High School, we believe education extends beyond the classroom walls. It thrives through partnerships like yours, built on shared goals and a genuine desire to see all students succeed. Thank you for continuing to collaborate with us, for acting with intention in all that you do, and for showing care that inspires our Knights to do the same. We are stronger together with appreciation and pride. Jessica Archer, principal at Nonia High School.

That's good stuff. Thanks, Chief, to your department for what you do for the schools. I think it goes a long hard way and uh is obviously appreciated by the schools and I think a lot of the people that attend the schools. So, thank you for you and your department what you do there. Thank you, Mayor. Okay. Moving into pending your new legislation starting with or resolution number four. I move to offer resolution number four, 2026 for all three readings by title only. Second. All in favor? I opposed. Resolution authorizing the city engineer to prepare plans, bids, and specifications and [clears throat] authorizing the mayor to advertise for bids for phase two of the trail drainage improvements project for the city of Macedonia. Director Gelati.

Yes. Uh we will be uh replacing some storm sewer pipes and upsizing other storm sewer pipes to uh correct a historical drainage problem on Irakcoy Trail. Thank you. Any further discussion? Is this going to be using any RSD? Yes. [cough] Funded with NSD community cost share money

and that's so for uh folks who aren't aware you know you get a bill every month for I think it's 1139 this year. Um and money goes into the pot for NSD and then that gets divided amongst the NSD uh storm storm water communities of which we are one and then they uh give us money to do projects regarding storm water like this one. So that's going to come out of what we're paying every month towards any OSD is going to come back to us in the form of this project. All correct. Anything further? What is your pleasure? I move to adopt resolution number 4 2026 and post the same according to law. Second. All in favor? I

opposed. Resolution four carries. Resolution number five. I move to offer resolution 5-2026 for its first, second, and third reading by title only. Second. All in favor? I opposed. Resolution authorizing the city engineer to prepare plans, bids, and specifications and further authorizing the mayor to advertise for bids for resurfacing of the city hall parking lot. This one pretty much speaks for itself, but we're phasing out the rest of the uh city city hall parking lot. It's pretty much seen its useful life and we're going to complete it on this round and this should be all of it. Correct. That's correct. Any questions, comments, or concerns? Hearing none, what is your pleasure?

I move to adopt resolution 5-2026 and post same according to law. Second. All in favor? I opposed. Resolution five carries. Ordinance number six. [clears throat] Mayor I offer ordinance number six, 2026 for it first, second, and third readings by title only. Second. All in favor? Opposed? An ordinance amending the agreement between the city of Macedonia and Sugarin Valley Engineering Limited relative to compensation for engineering services provided to the city. Director Gelotti. Uh yes, as discussed in the work session, uh everyone has the information and the summary uh in your council packet and I uh greatly appreciate the support of all of our elected officials.

Thank you. Any discussion? We appreciate your service and are happy to have you on our team. Thank you. Any further discussion? Hearing none. What is your pleasure? I move to pass ordinance 6206 and post the same according to law. Second. All in favor? I opposed. Ordinance six carries. Ordinance number seven. I move to offer ordinance number 7, 2026 for its first, second, and third reading by title only. I second it. All in favor? I opposed. An ordinance providing the current compensation schedule for the non-UN employees of the city of Macedonia, Ohio.

So essentially, we moved uh Leah over to the recreation center from the fire department. When we made the senior center move over to there, there was also a part-timer that helps her out on a very nominal basis. There's not many hours she puts in. I I think it's less than maybe Yeah, it's as needed. As needed. So, I mean, it's it's just a help for her. Uh it's moving her from moving her to the wreck from the fire senior center assess assistance. So, it's giving her the proper title of working in the rec center. That's all that's really doing. And it's budget neutral. Most important. Any discussion hearing? Hearing none. What is your pleasure? I move that we adopt ordinance number 72026 and post same according to law. I second it. All in favor?

I opposed. Ordinance 7 carries. Any other motions or legislative actions? Um yes. [clears throat] Uh before I make this motion, I just want to preface this with um this is something we do every year for um the summer months and we're going to do something for March. Um I I also want to say that if council and the city ever needs us to come in and we've canceled meetings, um we do schedule special meetings to address the city's business as necessary. And I believe we mentioned in work session we did that at least three times last year. So with that said, I would like to make a motion to move our June 11th meeting to June 4th. I'm sorry. Yes.

Yes, that's correct. and then um cancel the June 25th meeting in July. I would like to cancel the July 9th meeting and keep July 23rd. And then in August, cancel the August 13th meeting and keep the 27th. And then in March, we're going to cancel the March 12th [clears throat] meeting. And somewhere between now and March, council will figure out if we're going to add um an additional meeting in March. And that is the motion. Second. All in favor? I opposed. Motion carries. Thank you. Any other motions or legislative actions?

Okay. Hearing none, I'll go into the mayor's report. Uh the service building is forging ahead. Uh we have a lot of progress. If you've driven by Valley View Road where that that location's at, you'll see a lot of earth that's been moved. They're prepping for the utilities to be put in. Uh the ultimate goal is with the weather being what it is in March, we're starting to move upward. So, we're we're making a lot of progress. Uh we had a long meeting today going over the fine details of where electrical outlets are going to be and where things for it are going to be for whatever he may need and the cameras. I mean, we we are down to the the the nitty-gritty details. So, we are at the finish line. uh very soon thereafter we're going to have a page turn of all those fine details again to finalize all that and um I know the service department is going to be very excited when this building's done because it's going to be very useful and helpful. So uh we're moving forward with that. Starting tomorrow I'm going to have a business of the month spotlight. So during co we kind of killed that. It it really stunk because I enjoyed promoting the local businesses and putting them out to the public and talking about what they do. So, I had this hairbrain idea to partner with Community Focus to actually go there and do a video and talk about our local businesses. Now, if you know anything about me, I want to focus on our mom pop shops more than anyone first because I think that they need that that help and support and I know there may be some of those out there that are struggling. So, tomorrow I'm going to start with Holy Free Holies. It's going to be an amazing video. I always talk about this. I know my daughter and a lot of the kids love Chipotle. I like Chipotle myself. But, if you like Chipotle, go to Holy Free Holies. It it's it's all fresh. It's made right then and there. I mean, the food's just absolutely amazing. And again, I want to promote the small guys in our community, too, because they need that recognition. Not to say that we're not going to hit some of the bigger ones as well. We will down the line, but I want to promote our smaller businesses and and put their name out there and and keep them robust. I mean, obviously, we want them to thrive and and do well and uh I'm very excited for tomorrow to start with Holy Free Holies. So, more to come on that. You'll see the videos.

We'll promote the we'll promote that as much as we can. Speaking of community focus, I did the state of the city there. Normally, we do something with them and the uh the chamber. It didn't take place this year. There was just a myriad of problems that it didn't come through. So, I did it with community focus. They did a taping of that. I misspoke in there and I talked about roads we're going to pave this year. It was actually roads we paved last year, which makes total sense, but I was kind of jumbled up with the 9 million things in my brain I was talking about that day. So, if you watch that video and you hear me say roads we're going to pave this year, obviously if you live on those roads, you know they're done. So, I apologize for misspeaking on that. That was a quick turnaround.

Thank you. Um, another very important thing, the weather is rough. I'm sure Director Wilson's going to talk about in his report, there's a salt shortage. Uh, it it's a it's a thing. If you see snow on the road and you live on a side street, it's very likely we're going to have some of that. We have to conserve salt. We don't know how much we're going to have. We're doing our best. Everyone's going through this. If you turn on the news today, like I did before coming here, it was all over every channel. I mean, salt is very hard to come by. There's a shortage of it. We're going to do our best with what we have, but keep in mind, our mains are our first priority. We're going to plow off our side streets as best we can. If the salt's looking good, this is the determination of the service director to say, "Okay, let's salt a little bit more." But as it's coming in, we have to have that fine balance of what we're going to do because the mains are going to be our first priority. So, just know that we're getting hit hard. Uh I don't know if you all have seen the forecast for Sunday. It's looking pretty rough. Uh, I think they're talking up to 12 inches of snow, which is ironic because last time I checked or we talked about it earlier in the week, the lake is pretty much frozen. So, hope that thing doesn't thaw because this would be a real nightmare if they were getting the lake effect snow on top of all that. So, uh, we're doing the best we can. Please be patient. Again, every community is going through this. If you drive through anywhere, you're you're going to see this problem happening. So, it's going to be hills, curves, and intersections. And again, I'll I'll let you talk about more of that on your report. Another problem we experienced this week is if you noticed on Route 82 in front of was it the Catholic Credit Union, uh we had a water main break. Uh for 3 days, Cleveland water did not come out. So I had to um get in touch with some people in the higher levels there to get them out today. So a lot of things were happening. It appears as if it's in the middle of the road, which is going to cause us some more strain. Thankfully, it's it's a little bit easier to maneuver around that because we have the turning lane and we can shift people over. If you're driving through there, be very careful. Again, here's another thing with salt. We're going to keep an eye on that because there's water flowing out of there. I don't know when they're going to be complete and I don't I don't if you've heard anything today, but I know they were out there. They had

equipment out there and they're working on it. It's it's a pretty bad one. We're we're really concerned about it and uh hopefully that gets rectified as soon as possible. But, uh if that water continues to go onto the road and freeze at the temperatures they're predicting, we're going to have to put some salt on there and do our best we can because we cannot have an ice skating rink on route 2, which is our main drag through town. So, we'll do the best we can and uh be cautious in that area, please. Last but not least, don't drive distracted. Please put your phones down. Drive the car. Especially in the winter months, you have to pay attention because things are slippery and other drivers around you need to be paying attention as well. So, put the phones down. Committee reports.

Parks and Rec Commission had our first meeting of the year last night. Um there was a lot to go over in that meeting that we hadn't met since October. Um we're excited for the uh uh parks and recck department to have new software both uh running their internal operations and um running uh the client facing things and the website and have an app. So that'll be great when that comes about. But we'll be patient and make sure it's right before it it goes out. Um we talked about the 2026 schedule of events. A lot of great stuff coming up every month. We got February, March, and April. uh Valentine's uh St. Patrick's Day and Springfest. So, check out the schedule at the rec center for that. Um we talked about uh new bathrooms going in at uh Sugar Bush Park, which is very very exciting. Uh we thank you for doing the work to find a good solution for over there that um people don't have to deal with the uh less less than desirable portaotties at Sugar Bush. That's been a long time coming. um our 2026. Oh, we also had a discussion about uh bicycles and ebikes on the trail with Chief Yakapovich. We're very glad that he was able to come out and uh discuss that with all of us. Um uh the police department is not in favor of allowing ebikes on the trails and actually we'd probably have to modify some city ordinances to allow it because uh motorized vehicles are not allowed on the trails. So, we did make the decision that, you know, we're it it is not up to the parks and rec commission to decide whether, you know, the rules of this trail. The best we can do is make recommendations to council um and to the city and uh we've kind of the consensus that, you know, we agree with the recommendation of the police department to not allow motorized uh scooters or bicycles on that out on that trail. Um and other than that, it's 2026

meeting schedule. We will be meeting again monthly. Um February, March, and April on the third Wednesday of that month. Um it is at 6:00 upstairs at the rec center. In May, we'll be uh coming up with the schedule for the rest of the year. We typically take off one month in the summer. So um I'll be back with that information um when we talk about our after our May meeting. And all of that I am done. Thank you. Any other committee reports? Moving to department reports starting with director Wilson.

Thank you, mayor. Um I will also talk about the social shortage a little bit. Um you know, just be patient. We are doing our best. Um like the mayor said, it's it's uh everyone's dealing with it. I've spoken with colleagues from Westlake, Rocky River, Pepper Pike. Um it doesn't really matter. Everyone is like having these same issues. um getting salt, we can we order it and then you just kind of get what you get as it comes in. And uh luckily, you know, Ray is doing a good job communicating with the the drivers and that kind of thing. So, we have a good relationship with the trucking companies. Uh but we are in pretty good shape. I don't want to get too crazy, but we are in pretty good shape. Just be patient with our guys. Stay back from the trucks. Um, and just be patient if like the mayor said, you know, city or neighborhood roads, they may not be perfect. Um, the water break I I was out there today. Um, they should be done tonight. [clears throat] That's the word on on the street. That's what they're saying. And then we have um a concrete company coming in tomorrow to to uh put a cap on it because

they put LSM in there or um yeah, it it'll just be like regular seed mix concrete or whatever they use. Um but so that we have some obviously we can't get hot mix right now. We don't want cold mixing. So um so yeah, we should be squared away by guess tomorrow afternoon. Um slow down if you're going through that area. It is really, really tight. They had to make the lanes really, really tight. Um, we're trying to warn as trucks come over that hill and come down through there. Uh, it's it's a little dangerous. Just warn [clears throat] everyone, be careful. Get those guys are out there working. So, that's all I have.

Thank you, Director Gelotti. Yes. Uh, thank you, council, for passage of uh resolutions four and five and ordinance number six. And uh one side note, uh Shephard Road at the north end of town at the intersection with Revena is now reopened to two-way traffic as of this afternoon. Great. Permanently or just during the season? Uh permanently. Sweet. So is the route 82 bridge in Rexville? Oh, it's important to people that travel safely exit Macedonia. Direct.

Thank you, mayor. Uh just wanted to provide a little update on the family locker room at the rec center. Uh we are within arms reach of that project being complete. Um we're scheduled to have a walkth through next week. Uh hopefully everything is buttoned up by then and we uh can open it up as quickly as possible after that. So I'm excited to have people walk through there, see it. U council uh is is invited to that. I invited through email. So hopefully uh you saw that. Um, again, it's a great space and will be extremely functional and, um, much better than what we have right now. Um, the the other thing, um, we've got a couple of new senior center activities that we're hosting at the rec center, um, starting next month. Um, the brain challenge, which is a, um, senior centered um, mind game challenge basically that, uh, competes against other neighboring communities. So, they're going to be starting their practice. Um, that competition starts in April, but they do some preseason work. Um, and also, uh, game club is going to be happening as well. Uh, just a group of people who want to get together, play some board games. We already have the games in place, so they'll be joining us in the rec center to, um, for some friendly competition. End of report.

Thank you, director Varys. Thank you, mayor. Just want to add to your report. you like to mention now the left lane is for passing and you you said you were going to mention that I left it out today. I felt it was loquacious enough that I left it out.

But it is it is a state law like you said. So uh please move over u after you're done passing. And I'd like to congratulate uh our council clerk who is a graduate of Indiana University. Um that really was a an amazing [clears throat] run. It shows what a team can really do together. Uh they had no fivestar, no fourstar, no threestar athletes, and they won as a team. So congratulations. End report. Yeah, it's not Ohio State, so we really expect we don't really care. But you know, it shows what a team really [laughter]

uh director Collins. Uh thanks, Mayor. [clears throat] uh 37 help desk tickets since the uh last meeting. Major projects are just uh looking at procuring new hardware for the new service center. Thank you. End of report. Thank you, Assistant Commissioner Allen. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Just uh one thing, we got a new business that came into town at 781 East Aurora toy connection. So, if you like older toys, that's the place to be. And we're all excited, the building department, to introduce, you know, new businesses coming to town. and uh we're always there to help and to report.

Thank you. I had the opportunity to check out the toy connection. Did we talk about that last meeting or am I thinking I probably I say things in so many different venues I [clears throat] forget. But I'll tell you what, it was like a a walk down memory lane because they had the old G.I. Joes and Transformers, which was a staple in my childhood. So, it was really neat to see some of that stuff. And I I I talked about it in our staff meeting. If you remember the GI Joe, they had the the aircraft. And as a kid, if you got that thing, you were like you were it. and it was like hard to get and they were like $300 and nobody had it, but they had one in the box and I was like fanboying this this aircraft carrier for G.I. Joe. So, I didn't buy it. I still can't afford it. So, it was cool to see. Check it out if you're interested. Director Smith,

thank you, Mayor. Um, W2s are now available on the ISOL selfservice portal for all employees. Those of you who have opted out of the selfservice and asked them to be mailed, HR mailed 113 W TWS yesterday. End of report. Did you lick all the stamps? Yep. Every one of them. Awesome. Perfect. [laughter] Assistant Chief Sinsky.

Thank you, Mayor. Um, just on behalf of the fire department, I think that in the weather that's coming in, the fire department, and I'm sure the police department would agree with me. Just take this weekend and stay home, enjoy your family. Um, make it a game weekend, board game weekend. uh stay warm and uh you'll keep uh police and firefighters safe by staying inside and report. Thank you, Chief Yakapovich. Thank you, Mayor. Of course, I agree with Paul, [laughter] honestly. And I I got to say it too, I appreciate the service department because it literally makes our job. I laugh because it's like a joke every meeting. I know. Way to go, Dan. I appreciate it. [laughter]

Every meeting we should just hug. I don't know that. Um, we still have our police tests open. Uh, civil service exams will be accepted. Our civil service applications will be accepted for the exam until January 30th at 3 p.m. Also, the dispatch test is still open and applications will be accepted until February 4th at 3 p.m. End of report. Thank you. He must not have missed his road this time, so he's happy. That's good. Should be keeping that to myself. Director Gdetti. No. Any unfinished business? Any new business?

Have a motion. Um, I would like to move that we enter into executive session pursuant to revised code 12122G to consider the purchase of property for public purposes. Second. Roll call. Miss BR. Yes. Miss Cummings. Yes. Mr. Ferraro. Yes. Mr. Finley. Yes. Mr. Garvis. Yes. We are going to adjourn into an executive session. I don't anticipate anything further after that. So, uh, we'll come out and adjourn thereafter. So, the department heads, I don't think it's necessary for you to wait for us. Thank you.

Motion to adjurnn. Second. All in favor? I thank you.