Council - workshop

This is ordinance 48.

This is one that we've already talked about. I know that we've sent this over to planning. Do we need to keep this at first read?

I don't see a reason to advance it, but you could move it to second if you want.

But there's not...

It hasn't come back yet.

They haven't even met yet. Oh, right.

I think they're 23rd. Yeah. So they haven't even met.

Are they only once a month?

Oh, okay. That's right.

Yeah, it's like Monday. So you don't have to read it. I was going to recommend that. Okay. So we'll hold that and not even read it. 15-9. Would you like to talk about the Ledge Road sewer project?

Yeah, I can do that. So this is to enclose the giant ditch on the north side of Ledge Road just east of Freeway Drive. This is both a safety improvement and a drainage improvement. Does anyone in this area know that it is an extreme situation? We deep ditch, and it's very close to the road. We've had some vehicle issues there in the past, so we want to improve the safety there, as well as the drainage, because Dan's guys often fight the erosion on the side of the road. Which side of the railroad tracks? Because you said freeway. It would be east of the little railroad bridge, immediately east of freeway drive.

You said north of freeway drive.

Oh, okay.

It's east of North's freeway drive. Yep. And also east of... And also east of... But it's also east of the... You see why I'm confused.

I guess, yeah.

So you've got railroad, freeway drive, ditch. Thank you, Jessica.

Anyone have any questions? other than where it is.

Where is it? So, it's all going to keep going in the same... It keeps going in the same direction, eastbound. Having the same flow that they always had, it's just going to be covered. That is correct.

And, I would suggest a one, two, three this evening, so we can award and direct the contractor to move forward.

Okay. Anyone object? No. All right.

Any other questions? All right. Ordinance 16 is purchasing a new chipper.

That would be me. We currently have a 1991 and a 2000, the two old shippers that we have. Neither are worth putting any money into. They're extremely expensive to fix. I don't think it's much needed because we get calls almost daily from shipping and we have a lot of stores. come through and cause a lot of issues. Having a chipper is pretty much vital to the city.

And contemplating, I'm going to be careful with what I say here, doing a little more next year. So we'll leave it at that for right now. So if we have a functional piece of equipment that could be of assistance to our residents, we may do more next year, but I don't want to put any out into the universe yet.

Are we going to be down to one chipper? Are we going to have three? So we're going to ditch the old one?

Oh, we're selling it. I'm about to bring it.

You're going to put it in the chipper first, and then get rid of it.

Yeah. And we've also reached out, the mayor suggested for training, reach out to our insurance broker to get some training. Training on a new chipper? Yeah, it's the only equipment sold. And he already sent some options for us, so thank Eric for that.

Let's do three on that so they can get that.

That was my next question. The trees are still growing. If we do one, two, three on this, you're not going to see it until next fall, right? Oh, the chipper? Yeah.

No, it should be here, they said, by the end of the year, so we'll have it for the spring. Oh, okay, cool. They're building something for you.

Okay. It takes us to 61.

You may remember Commissioner Monaco is here today. It's good to see everybody. Hello.

So this is, it's proposing an amendment to Section 136103, and basically it's going to require a homeowner who wishes to obtain a permit for work on their own property to sign an affidavit that, acknowledging that they will be responsible for the work, They will be responsible for calling for inspection and basically it's all the responsibility of the homeowner. Also, we want them to be aware that if they obtain their own permit, we cannot help them in case there is a problem with the result of the work. In other words, if we have a contractor apply for a permit, we would require them to provide insurance, bond, and a license. So if they mess any part of their work, we would put a lien or a claim on the insurance and bond company. We'd be able to help the residents as far as repairing or remedying whatever was falling. So that's all it is. And I have a copy of what we have, basically, what we're proposing to have the residents sign. What drove the ? Well, you know, there is many, many times when a resident comes to the building department and then they don't call for inspection, they don't call for a final, and we don't have no idea if, you know, the work was even done correctly. So this is going to make them aware that they need to call for inspections. Basically, it's for their own. You pay a fee, and we have to provide a service for the fee that you pay.

So people are getting permits and not taking advantage of making sure their work is correct with the code? I mean, they're getting permits, and they're not following up with it?

Right. They're not following up with, you know, calling for inspections or, you know, final inspection. There's quite a few that have, I mean, we go back a few years, and they were never, the permit was never closed because they never called for inspection.

And the city doesn't follow up on the list of open permits? Because are permits only good for X amount of time, like six months? Yeah.

But before, we had no way to even follow up on those. Now, with the new program that we have, with the new computer system that we have, it's going to pop up automatically and tell us that, yes. So we will be able to follow up without... We will be able to follow up on it, yes.

I was looking at it, I was reading it, and I saw, I was interested, it said you can't be, as a homeowner, say if I was an electrician... that I couldn't do electrical work at my house. Did I read that correct? Say if I was an electrician, you know, for Pulte. So if I do some electrical work at my house, it says I can't do that because I'm a residential contractor somewhere else.

Did I read that correctly? If you're the homeowner and you perform work for any electrical company, You can certainly be able to get your own permit. As a matter of fact, as a homeowner, you have a right to pull your own permit. We can't deny you pulling your own permit. It's just like I said, we give you a permit, especially, we really don't care too much if you want to, doing, you know, concrete work and stuff like that. But you have a guy who's doing electrical work and sometimes he has no idea what he's doing. He doesn't call for inspection. So we're really worried about, you know, the type of work and what can be done. You mess up a plumbing inspection, it gets your basement flooded or something. But you mess up the electrical, you're going to have your house burned down or somebody could get seriously hurt. So we just want to make aware that if you get your own permit, you know, what you're doing.

It's a safety net. We talked about this. If you're a homeowner, let's face it, if you're going to do something, you're going to do it. If you don't get a permit, we'll never know that. But if you're asking for the permit, it's a safety net. Say it's a gas line. He can go in there and be like, you don't want that like that. I mean, that's part of what this is about is to say, hey, we want to expect to make sure it was done right so that you're safe. It's not just giving our residents a hard time. That's not what this is about. It's more or less his expertise saying, you did that right, good, or oh, wait, hold on a minute. That's not safe.

But part B of this does say, that affirming when you sign the app data that you affirm that neither such person, the homeowner, or any other person involved in any work on this site is employed as a matter of a business in residential construction trade. So what is she's, her concern is valid because it's saying that you're.

Is there a sentence at the end that provides that she's building official some discretion as to permitting authority? It does.

I mean, if you have someone who's qualified to do it, there's absolutely no reason to deny it.

And it actually expands the exemption as well beyond, I think you just said homeowner, now it's homeowner or permanent.

Part C says, any work performed by the owner, permanent resident, or others who are not employed as a matter of business in residential construction shall remain subject to the building code, including inspections to the building commissioner. So it doesn't really say that the building commissioner can let you do it. Section C is specifically excluding anyone who is employed. That's for application of the other provisions of the code. Okay. So you are following what we're asking and you're telling us that you know what we're asking and that we're encouraging it. Okay.

Yeah, I mean, Nino would have to, or whoever the chief billing official is at the time, would have to make a determination whether to allow them to qualify for the exemption if they're a tradesman, essentially.

Doesn't that open us up? I mean, I worked in code all the time, but these... these discretion things always come back and bite you at some point because, you know.

There's an exercise of discretion in a lot of code sections and that's perfectly lawful. I mean, whether you guys agree with it here or not, you know, that's up to you. I don't see any... legal issues with it, so to speak, and draft it. But you could tighten it up if you wanted to.

I'm going to just throw out there, let's make it first read, because I'd like to read it a little bit more slowly.

Yeah, and just seeing the affidavit now that helps give us more information. Yeah, let's do that.

And since we have just a couple minutes, I want to just suggest or find out, Mark, you might remember, like, I don't know, a year or two ago, I was thinking of doing a similar document like this so that if a... contractor without a permit on my behalf I'd like that contractor to have to disclose to the resident if they're using contractors and to maybe have a packet of information that it shows how that residence is protected by the items that the Commissioner mentioned in case they have a problem with that contractor I'm wondering it doesn't need to be a part of this ordinance but I'd love to revisit that Yeah.

Now that we have this new software, it sounds like anything is possible. Yeah. It's not just a stack of papers everywhere.

Right. I've been wondering if there's like a notification system or, because I have a contract in my house that says, oh, yeah, yeah, we pulled a permit.

They didn't, yeah. I don't know.

I guess I'd call you guys and, you know, double check, but...

Sometimes they just say they do. And what I meant by that, Mark, was I hire Joe's company to side my house, right? I don't know that Joe secretly went out and hired three different people that don't work for him, right? And those three people aren't registered with the city. Right, right. That's... That actually happened to me, so that's why I would like to try to do something to at least make it so that those subcontractors have to deliver a letter to the owner, and it's kind of like this. It's making them aware of their rights. I don't want to put any burden on the building department, right?

So we had two residents, one on Shepherd Road and another one on Smoke Rice, and You know, originally they wanted to permit, but after we talked to them, they, gratefully, they chose a contractor to do the work. One installed a coal barn on his company, and this contractor, you know, did a terrible job for them. We were able to recruit $30,000 from them. Another one, recently, right now, I'm working with a resident of Smokers, right at the corner of that corner house. They put up a deck. I paid $40,000 for this deck and they did a terrible job. Now we're going to claim . They're getting, you know, the money back so they can hire another contractor to demolish that . And I had the contract . You know, by any means, I'm not trying to discourage that but, you know, there's so much protection if you allow, you know, an expert to do it.

I think we're good. Anyone have anything?

Good evening and welcome to the September 10th, 2026 Macedonia City Council meeting. It is 7.30 p.m., 7.32 p.m. Mr. Hoover, will you please call the roll? Ms. Brant.

Yes.

Ms. Cummings.

Here.

Mr. Ferraro. Here. Mr. Finley. Here. Mr. Garvis.

Here. Now I ask Chaplain O'Brien to lead us in the invocation. Please stand.

I appreciate the opportunity to be here tonight and to be part of our community. Our city is a place where residents, families, and local businesses all have a role in making our community a better place to live. I hope our council will continue to listen to residents, consider the different perspectives, and make decisions that support the needs of the community as a whole. I also want to thank the members of the council, the mayor, the city staff for their time and effort they put into serving our community. While we may not always agree on every issue, I believe the respectful discussion and cooperation can help us move forward. I encourage everyone to stay involved, share their ideas, and work together to keep our city a welcoming, safe, and thriving place for everyone. Amen. And now our Mayor, Nick Molnar, will lead us in our Pledge of 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.

Thank you. Okay, approval of the minutes from August 27, 2026.

Mayor, I'd like to make a motion to approve the minutes.

Second. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Public comments? We have none. Correspondence from the clerk? None, sir. Move right into ordinance number 59.

I move to offer ordinance 59-2026 for its first, second, and third reading by title only.

Second. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? An ordinance authorizing and directing the mayor to enter into a contract with Northeast Ohio Trenching Services, Inc. for the Ledge Road Storm Sewer Project.

Director Gilotti.

Yes, thank you.

So the purpose of this project is both driver safety and drainage improvements. We will enclose the oversized ditch on the north side of Ledge Road. just a little bit east of freeway drive. And it'll be a good thing for everybody who drives up and down that road and save Dan's guys some time with the erosion on the side of the road as well, so.

Thank you. Any further discussion? Hearing none, what is your pleasure?

I move to adopt ordinance 59-2026 and post same according to law.

Second. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Ordinance 59 carries. Ordinance 60.

Mayor, I'd like to offer Ordinance 60-2026 for its first, second, and third readings by title only.

Second. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? An ordinance authorizing the purchase of a new 19XP drum-style chipper from Earthworks Equipment through the Sourcewell Cooperative Purchasing Program for use by the Service Department. Director Wilson.

Thank you, Mayor. It is to purchase a new chipper for the city. Two that we have, one's from 91, one's from 2000. They're really old. They're not worth putting more money into. like mr said they are from the source well contracts so it is the best price that we can get and we appreciate your consideration thank you any further discussion hearing none what is your pleasure i move that we pass ordinance 60 2026 and post the same according to law

Second? All in favor? Aye. Opposed?

Ordinance 60 carries. Ordinance 61. I move to offer ordinance number 61-2026 for its first reading by title only.

An ordinance amending section 1361.13 of the City of Macedonia codified ordinances relative to permitting and the licensing of contractors.

Commissioner Monaco, do you want to touch on this briefly?

Yes, we are proposing an amendment to section 1361.13, the codified ordinance to require any homeowner who wishes to obtain a permit for work on their own property to sign an affidavit and acknowledge their responsibility as the homeowner and permit holder. The affidavit would clearly inform the homeowner that by choosing to obtain a permit themselves rather than using a properly licensed contractor, They are assuming responsibility for ensuring that all work complies with applicable building codes, ordinances, regulations, and permit requirements. The affidavit will further acknowledge that the homeowner understands that by obtaining the permit themselves, they will forego certain protection that the City may otherwise provide when work is performed by a properly licensed and registered contractor. The requirement will ensure the homeowner are fully informed of their responsibility and the potential consequences of electing to obtain their own permit.

So there'll be a much greater conversation surrounding this. This is just the initial talk of it. So more to come definitely in the future. Do we have any other motions or legislative actions? Hearing none, I'll move it to the mayor's report. I'll be very brief tonight. First and foremost, I want to wish Mrs. Brandt a very happy birthday today, correct?

Yes, not me, my mother.

Mrs. People don't know. So your mom, happy birthday to her. If you're watching out there, hope you're having a nice evening and hope your daughter brought you some cake or something. And then for the remainder of my report, tomorrow's 9-11. I'd just like to take a moment of silence for all the lost souls of that terrible day 25 years ago. Thank you. Committee reports?

Parks and Rec Commission will have our next meeting September 23rd at 6 p.m. upstairs at the Rec Center.

Finance Committee just met before this meeting, and the next two meetings we have are immediately preceding the work sessions of the two October council meetings. And then the cemetery committee, we are, if you recall, we are on our break year, off year. But the rest of the committee will be coming here and that will be at the next meeting on September 24th in between the work session and the regular council meeting.

Thank you. Department reports, Director Wilson.

Thank you, Mayor. I just want to thank Council for your support of the Service Department, as always. We are doing some hiring. We have a couple of maintenance tech positions that are open. I want to give a shout-out to the guys who did great work on the rec center shutdown. quarter we'll be hanging christmas lights that's all i got but they're well worth it are we still doing what we talked about with the flowers they're the ones that are salvageable are going to be put at the fall fest okay but a lot of them aren't there well we can't a lot of them just didn't do real great this year i don't know this year was not good i don't know what happened very hot thank you director gelati

Yes, just as a follow-up our previous council meeting we passed legislation Authorizing us to apply to OPWC For grant dollars for two separate projects one is North Bedford Road paving and the other is Empire Parkway reconstruction I just want to let council know both of those applications were submitted to OPWC yesterday, so we're hopeful to gain some outside funding for those projects. Thank you.

Thank you. Director Archendorf.

Thank you, Mayor. Rec Center reopened on Tuesday after our week-long shutdown. Thanks to Director Wilson's guys for their help during that time. It's great to have people back in the building. staying fit. The activity pool we ended up having to keep closed for the remainder of this week. We're expecting it to reopen on Monday the 14th. The Sugarbush restroom was installed last weekend and as nice as a bathroom can be, it is a nice addition to that park. And finally, Fall Fest is quickly approaching. That is happening September 26th from 430 to 930 at Longwood Park. Again, that event is for the Nordonia Hills residents, the MACRAC members, their guests, as well as the employees from the school district. End of report.

Thank you. Director Veras. Thank you, Mayor. Believe it or not, we are still processing Macedonia resident refunds. For those of you that have an extension with Rita, we welcome those refund requests and a report. Thank you. Thank you.

Commissioner Monaco.

Thank you, Mayor. Last week, we issued an occupancy permit to Divinity Landing. The building is 54 units. 34 were already committed as of September 3rd. The moving start in that location will be September 8th. Pulte Valley Reserve, they already sold 18 homes. The spec home has been completed for a while. There's been six permit issues issued already. Four homes are currently under construction and seven permits are approved and are pending payments.

end of my report thank you chief ripper thank you mayor our new administrative assistant started on august 31st working out very well her name is nikki if you need anything she'll be the one that answers the phone i want to remind everyone October 7th is the City Services open house and the fire base. It starts off with a swearing-in ceremony for any police officers, firefighters, or dispatchers that were hired in the last year. It's an opportunity for families to come in. It's very ceremonious. Then everything is on display and there's some food trucks and things for kids to do and it's always a very entertaining evening. And I'd also like to mention that we're having a brief 9-11 memorial ceremony out front at the beam that retired Chief Black obtained from the World Trade Center at 10 a.m. tomorrow morning. End of report.

Thank you. Chief.

Thank you, ma'am. I just want to remind those that might be interested that we are still accepting applications for entry level police officer, as well as dispatcher information can be obtained from the city's website.

Thank you, Dr. Good. Eddie, any unfinished business?

What was the move-in date for the affinity land here?

September 18th. Okay. And you said how many were spoken? There's 54 units. 34 are already committed. Wow. And the only thing left to do there is to the installation of a sign up front.

Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Any new business? We have a motion to adjourn.

So moved.

I second it.

All in favor? Aye. Opposed? We are adjourned.