Council - Regular Meeting

Um, my wife, it was not me, it was all my wife. She made peanut butter squares. I have some in the coolers here for everyone on console and all the department heads. Yeah. So, they're in the coolers because they have to set. Um, if you go out after console, I would leave them in your car so they stay cool. And start with 51. So 51. Uh I'm going to ask council to just vote this down. Um

yes, I'm going to ask you to vote it down. We It's just not where it needs to be and I don't think it's the timing of it. So I'm just going to ask you to vote down unless you guys have a burning desire to move forward with it. Okay. So we'll call that tonight for third read and call the question. Number 73. Third read on this uh one one year rollover of the 2.705 borrowing last year. Uh monies used for Highland and Valley intersection ledge road state route 8 and Highland design work. We're planning to pay down 120,000 in principal. Right. Anyone have any questions on this?

All right. Uh, third read you said. Well, passgen pass or or call it tonight. Okay. Yeah, because we're going to mark it in January. Okay. Number 76. This is Mr. G. Again, third read and passage uh if you would please. This is again culmination of what four months work. Uh, so I appreciate all the all the efforts of council and administration. Anyone have any questions? I know we've discussed this at length. Do the appropriations that uh or the amendments that we make today carry over? No. So, so it'll still be as we left it

last time we good question though. Oh, just before we move on, um, councelor uh Finley mentioned it to me and my wife just texted me. Whoever has a red crossover outside, your trunk or your hood is still open. Maybe it's not one of us. A what? A red crossover. We have a SUV that's red. Okay. Um so we're good on 76.

So this is the service center. Um kind of the last step to get things moving. Missing anything there, Mark? I mean John can speak to it but uh I believe this is for the total funding for the project to be secured through notes and anticipation of bonds and subsequently you'll um proceed to bonds uh within about a year period or so not total funding just so council understands we're paying about 20 to 25% with cash on hand over the life of the projecting cash aside for this obviously Anyone have any questions on these?

Okay, we'll do third reading and passage, please, because it's going to market with the 2.6. Uh 82. Me again. Yeah, you're popular. Uh very few amendments to the last amendment number. Where are they? Three. There you go.

Uh 25,000 more to technology advancement. I think that mainly was because of getting the building department uh up and running with their new software. fuel. Um, in the general fund, we're adding 45,000 for fuel, 25,000 for Rita fees, which is a good thing because Rita fees, if they go up, that means we're collecting more. And we actually just got our notice of our last deposit from Rita is going to hit tomorrow. And we end up being up about 7.4% versus last year. Uh and then 35,000 for state court fee preparations that go to the state. Again, more activity. So more money we have to collect and pass along to the state. That's most of it. Little refund program is up because of my

your announcements. My announcements. That's it. Um, I'm assuming because of this needing to be done before the 31st, you're looking for three reads. Yes, please. Anyone have any questions on 82? All right, we'll give Mr. Bears a break and 83.

So, I have the opening on the planning commission. I had two people throw their name in the hat. Mr. Marola had sent his resume along with another individual. Um doesn't have a whole lot of experience in the planning commission world, but given the meeting I had with him, I feel he could learn very quickly. He's a very intelligent, well spoken gentleman and I think that he'd be a good fit because a lot of times with these boards, we try to get people that are versed, but if I don't get people that are versed, I have to get people that learn how to do it. And I think after speaking to him, I'm very confident that he'll be someone who can catch on pretty quick. So I'm recommending him to to be placed on the planning commission. And this is filling a vacancy. So it takes effect immediately. Immediately. Are you looking for one, two, three?

We need to fill that please. It's just a year. Uh planning commission is it's through the remainder of Mr. Cox's term, which I believe runs through 2027. If I remember correctly, it's in the ordinance. What's the term for that though for the plan commission? Is it four? Uh I think it's five. Five. That's a weird number. Parks and wreck is five, too. It might be all five. Odd number six. It literally is.

It literally is civil service six. So, how does that make any sense? While um Mark's looking that up, anyone have any other questions on 83? Um do you want to just let us know, Mark, and I'll keep going? Yeah, sure. 84.

So 84 is the um we're moving some things around. We're going to have uh Leah Griffith, if you know her, we brought her on to be our senior coordinator. Uh we're moving her over to the parks and recreation department, which I feel made sense the entire time. Currently, it's under the fire department, which doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Uh, and then Sherry will be taking over kind of what she was already doing, except removing the the senior activities from that. So, putting pieces in place where I felt they belonged and just separating them. It's not an increase in pay or anything. It's just making it legal, I guess you would say. Is that open?

Yes, it was. So, just moving that over and she will be doing that on January 2nd. So, it's a it's a pretty big transition, but I'm very confident that uh Mr. Echendorf and his team will take care of everything. It'll be copet. So, she'll get support, you know, cuz over here it was she was a team with Sherry, even though Sherry had other duties, but she'll get more she'll get support from everyone over there. Okay.

That was the thinking as well that there's a whole team of people that are versed in doing that stuff and starting to rethink maybe some of the senior activities to where we can grow it or or do a little bit better with what we're doing. So, you know, like I know they do some things down in the basement like they do something in the chair, they do some kind of yoga or something like that. Wouldn't it make sense to do it in a facility that's built for that? So, just kind of working through all those things and uh Leah came from another community where she did all those things and putting her into that realm, I think is going to be nothing but a benefit to our seniors. So, not a real big change here. It's just saying we're separating and there'll be another one coming for the part-timer that helps out every now and then. I think she gets about eight hours a week. So, we'll do that in the new year, too. So, if she's moving in January, we should do one.

I was just going to suggest that would appreciate. Yep. Okay. Any other questions on 84? All right. We'll go to 85. So, 85 is mirroring what we have currently for dogs. Uh, currently you're allowed to have four dogs in your home. This is saying that you can have four cats in your home. Now a lot of thinking behind this was some incidents that we have experienced but at the same time if you could have four dogs I think four cats makes sense. Um I think it's is it is it three is the max four four dogs it's currently four dogs. There is no max

it's currently four or more. Yeah, the dogs I thought was four or more was prohibited, which would make it allows for four. In excess of four, you cannot. Okay. Now, look, we're not going to go barging into someone's house and say, "Oh, I count the fifth dog." I mean, we're being realistic about this, but we also I don't want to give specific examples, but there's there's other things that make sense to where we want to say I think four cats is reasonable. Mr. Good. Yes, sir. Can this be uh leveled upon somebody that's already got an excessive amount of kittens and cats

after its effective date? Yeah. Traditionally, local police regulations don't have you don't have like a prior legal conform prior legal non-conforming use scenario for police type regulations. So, it would be effective as of the effective date of the ordinance. So, there's no grand Very interesting. Well, Mr. B brings up a good point is that the way that is worded, it does limit you to three. Three dogs. That's what I thought. Yeah. But it also says like you said kittens, they got to be under is it three months old for pups. You can have puppies. If your dog has puppies, you don't have to get them out of the house.

But it is maximum of three dogs, but there's also kennel permit if you're going to have more than that. So there's a lot of if you're in business, right? Right. Yeah. So, do we have to amend this? I don't think so. Like the mayor said. So, now we're But we're But if you're trying to keep it Well, no. So, it already It already says it already actually the wording of the existing already limits you to three dogs. And it's the same wording for cats. So, it will also be three cats.

I would like to propose that we allow more than three cats. I think I think six would be a better number or or four, but I think three is too low of a number for cats. I know I know several people that have six cats and they and they're fine. I mean, I know what you're trying to what the the goal behind this is, but I think, you know, there are people that can very properly care for for six cats. Um, and I understand what you're saying. We're not going to be rushing into people's house there. There is a number, right? It's just is it is that two?

And I was doing some reading today. U veterinarians um recommend no more than six. They don't encourage six. Uh they encourage more like a number like four, but I think three is too low. Um there's other communities too that that I was reading that do uh and this this can get wordy and and you know, hard to to legislate, but you know, two dogs and three cats total, six animals total, you know, because you because as it stands you could have three dogs and three cats. So I would just like to propose to raise that number. Um as you pointed out I think I think three is low for cats. Um there like I said I know I know actually several people that have six cats and you they people are are good enough to take cats into their homes, get them fixed, treat them as pets and you know there's nobody clamoring to take these other uh cats off their hands. So, um I would like to propose uh six which would read in this the way it's written no more no more than seven or more.

Okay. The way I go ahead I was just going to say I would also say your other uh suggestion would be acceptable in my opinion of six dogs or cats any combination. Oh, okay. that I don't know if that answers my my question or not or any combination. So, does that have to be specifically in there so that you don't get 12 animals in a house? Yeah, it has to be specifically written that um that limits the total number. Okay. So it wouldn't be but the way if if we kept it at three dogs right now and allowed six cats that could be nine animals in a home

which I think it would be weird to have it would be inconsistent to have two different Yeah. I think people that have six cats typically are just cat people and just have a lot of cats and people who have multiple dogs are typically that many dogs. What do we think about keeping this at first reading? Yeah, I would not rush. Absolutely. Yeah. and then we could uh come back with an amendment potentially next meeting. Yeah. Um I know we're right at 729, but I want to give Mr. Ventura a chance to talk about 86.

Um I thank you for that, Mr. Gadetti and the mayor and I have talked about this and what we're doing is we're just putting it on out there for the rest of you to continue on in the new year of honing it toning and honing it down to what makes sense and to uh take and make it so we're not put in a position to be sued. Simple as that. Would you like to talk about it more in depth on the floor tonight? I don't think it's really necessary. It's going to be a first read only.

Okay. It's it it's just to prevent as as the chief and I uh Chief Yakapovich and I have talked about on numerous occasions. This city tries to be proactive rather than reactive. And if we have something that we can hone down and make amendments to and get to where we want to be uh in in the near future, you know, before the weather breaks and this stuff becomes more prevalent, then we got something to work with in that manner. So, I I don't think it needs any more explanation than that. All right.

Well, make sure you do give a good description, though. If you do want feedback, so the more people know what you're trying to do, at least where you're starting at, why you decided to propose this and what your goal is, at least try and say that um on the floor, right? So, so we can get some good feedback. And just one last thing, not on the agenda is a motion for a donation. I'm going to have uh councelor Ventur introduce or give that and I'll second it. All right. Okay. Anyone else have any comments or ready to go out? Yeah, we should do.

Okay. If you're a a director or on console, please feel free to grab Good evening and welcome to the December 11th, 2025 council meeting. It is 7:32 p.m. Mr. Hoover, will you please call the role?

Miss Bryant here. Mr. Furrow here. Mr. Finley here. Mr. Garvis, here. Mr. Vur

here. I'll ask Mr. O'Brien to lead us in our invocation. As we gather this evening in service to our community, we pause to recognize the spirit of the holiday season. A time that inspires reflection, generosity, and unity. Let us take a moment to appreciate the diverse traditions and celebrations that enrich our city. May this season remind us of the values we all share. compassion for our neighbors, gratitude for the blessings we enjoy, and hope for the year ahead. As we begin our work tonight, may we be be guided by wisdom, fairness, and a commitment to the common good. May our decisions strengthen the bond between us and support the well-being of all who call Macedonia home. In this season of light and renewal, may peace fill our thoughts, kindness inform our actions, and collaboration lead us forward. Amen. And now, the honorable mayor Nick Pollar 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, Chaplain O'Brien. And if all of you did not already know, uh he is my shining star for the year. So each year, Community Focus asked me to pick someone who I feel is worthy of my shining star that I would like to nominate. Uh this year I chose Chaplan O'Brien. And uh I can't thank you enough for what you do. And if you guys have an opportunity to watch Community Focus, we talked a lot about, you know, your history and and what you do here and how you volunteer your time each meeting to come here and do what you do with very thoughtful things to say. And uh I can't thank you enough for that.

Well, I thank you, your honor, for the privilege of of being the shining star. We appreciate it. You're you're a very interesting man. I I enjoyed the video. So, that should spark everyone to want to watch it. Now, go to community folks and check it out. Interesting. Okay. Approval of the minutes. I'd like to make a motion to approve the minutes from the Thursday, November 13th regular council meeting. Oh, that wasn't mine. Second. That's okay. I apologize. You switched that up. I was feeling ambitious. Jumped right in there. I'm so sorry. It got done. Yeah. Do we have a second? Yeah, I second. All in favor? I opposed. Any public comments from the uh audience today

hearing? None. We'll move right to correspondence. Yes. I have one message that was sent in to the service department is just calling in to give a kudos for the lights throughout town and they're very grateful the speed of picking up leaves and they're very thankful. That's it. Thank you,

mayor. I would like to take a point of personal privilege if I may to read a uh correspondence that was personally sent to me. I to this was sent with with with some class to it and was sent directly to my home. Vinnie, as a Medonian resident, I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for all of your dedicated service to the citizens. I think we all we were all uh surprised by the election results, but I guarantee you that I will work very hard uh for all of the residents. Thank you, Sue Cummings. I think that took a lot of class and I'm going to thank her personally myself. I was hoping she'd be here tonight. Um, so I I just wanted you all to hear that because now you're going to be working with her for four years and it was the uh we want to keep things running as smooth as they have been uh since Jessica and I got on board several years ago in 2018. So, thank you for allowing me to have that personal privilege. Appreciate it. Okay. Moving to pending or new legislation. Ordinance number 51.

I move to offer ordinance 512025 for its third reading by title only. Second. An ordinance amending portions of chapters 1163 and 1171 of the codified ordinances of the city of Macedonia relative to new residential driveways and parking areas. So, this has been on the books for a while now. We've had a lot of conversation surrounding it. Um, council can choose to do whatever they like in this, but I'm asking you because it's not really something I think is necessary at this point to uh not honor this legislation. So, unless there's any further conversation, that's all I have. What is your pleasure? I move to adopt ordinance 512025 and post the same according law.

Second. All in favor? Opposed? Nay. Ordinance number 51 fails. I haven't said that in a long time. I think you said one time. Yeah. Oh, yeah. You're right. I'm sorry. A long time. Thanks for checking me. You stole all my thunder on that. Ordinance number 73. I move to offer ordinance number 73, 2025 for its third reading by title only. Second. An emergency ordinance providing for the issuance and sale of notes in anticipation of the issuance of bonds and a principal amount not to exceed $2,600,000 for the purpose of retiring outstanding bond anticipation notes issued in 2025 for various purposes. Directors,

thank you. Thank you, mayor. Uh this is a one-year rollover of money we borrowed last year for Highland and Valley View intersection ledge road and state route 8 in Highland design work. Uh originally borrowed 2.705. We're looking to pay down 120,000 in principal. Thank you. Any further discussion hearing? None. What is your pleasure? I move to adopt ordinance number 73 2025 oppose the same according law. Second. All in favor? I opposed. Ordinance 73 carries. Ordinance number 76.

I offer ordinance number uh 76 2025. Uh I title only. Second. An ordinance providing for the 2026 annual appropriations for the city of Macedonia, Ohio. Director Varys. Thank you, mayor. This is the culmination of uh numerous meetings over the last several months uh with the finance department discussions with mayor and administration department heads and uh again as you had stated at our staff meeting it's it's a privilege I think to be able to go into the new year with the budget passed. So, um appreciate uh support uh for this third read

and thank you for all the work on that. That is an incredible amount of work. For those of you that do not know, uh every department, myself, Mr. Varys, his team, uh there's a lot that goes into that. Obviously, council has a big hand in that and saying yay or nay talking about where we're going to go and where we're headed for the next year and our entire budget. So, thank you for all your hard work on that. You're welcome. Any further discussion? I move to adopt 76 2025 and post the same according to law. Second. All in favor? I opposed. Nay. Ordinance 76 carries. Ordinance number 81. I move to offer ordinance number 81205 for its third reading by title only.

Second. Emergency ordinance providing for the issuance and sale of notes in anticipation of the issuance of bonds in a principal amount not to exceed $13,400,000 for the purpose of paying the cost of acquiring, constructing, furnishing, and equipping a new service center together with all necessary impertinances and related improvements. Directors, let you want to talk about this. Yeah, I I feel like it's financial. So, since you're such a loquacious person, you wanted to talk a little more.

All right. So this is uh most likely the largest capital project undertaking for the city um in its history. Uh project is estimated at around 17 million. Um happy to say we're going to be contributing 20 to 25% with cash on hand. Uh we're not going to voters for this and uh this will be grouped with the $2.6 $6 million uh that we are borrowing uh with 73 2025 uh will be going to market in early January.

Yeah. And I want to key in on that. We we're not going to the voters for this. We're living within our means. This is something uh from the moment I walked into office has been a high priority for me because I recognized the need, not the want. And I'll be talking a lot about more a lot more about that in my mayor's report unless there's any further questions or discussions now that I can answer. I just want to add something because I heard both of you say we're not going to the voters and I just want to say that that's meant in the positive. We're not asking for more money. It's not that we're ignoring the populace. We're just not asking for additional tax revenue. That's the living within our means. I mean that's we're not we're not going out for additional dollars essentially. Yeah.

I just want to make sure that we made that clear. And another point to make to voters is just something that I heard um on election day. People were disappointed perhaps that their roads didn't get paved. Why are we building this um this this uh service garage when their roads haven't been paved? Um the road program is a program within itself that's funded with very specifically from vote from a vote a levy that that we passed as a community. So the road program um uh pays for a specific number of roads or a specific amount that goes to roads every year. So there's you know a bucket for the roads money and then there was a bucket for the uh service building that has been you know this has been planned for for many many years. This is something that um I spoke about when I first ran eight years ago too need the need for this. So, this service department uh building is not taking away from the road program. The road program will continue and um we will continue to to pave our roads perhaps not as as fast as anyone would like, but I promise you it is much faster and much better and much well paid for than any other community in anywhere near us. So, the just just note that paying for this is not keeping your road from being paved. the the manner that which we pave roads and pay for roads is was decided by a levy some years ago

and the fund that this will be paid out of is specific for this that could not be used for roads. I want to be very clear about that. You made a great point. Um that fund is only for safety and services. So this is specific for those dollars for that use. Those dollars could not be diverted to roads even if we wanted them to be. Um the roads have been a big conversation and I heard some of that on election day as well. Um we live within our means. I mean, we we to your point as well that we we pave a lot of roads. I mean, if you compare us to a lot of communities, and I hate to do that because I'm not trying to demean anyone else, but we do an awfully good job. And I know that our our road rating, which we'll have in January, I believe, uh, will kind of show that. I mean, our our our roads are in pretty good shape, and even our worst road in a lot of communities will be their best road. And again, I'm not demeaning anyone else, but, you know, we're fortunate in in having the ability to do what we do. So, um, we take a look at everything. There was one road in specifically that I I'll bring up right now. Um Valley View up by the uh the post office has been a topic of conversation. Had a lot of calls about that. Um it's not on our list for next year. It potentially could if it deteriorates anymore, but we're going to have more conversations about that because I feel it has deteriorated to a point we may need to give it a little bit more attention. So, uh we hear you and we're living within our means. And if your road's that bad, we'd be happy to talk to you about that. Please call our office and uh we'll talk a little more. Any further discussion hearing? None. What is your pleasure?

I move to adopt ordinance number 812025 and post same according to law. Second. All in favor? Opposed? Nay. Ordinance 81 carries. Ordinance number 82. Yes. I offer ordinance 82 2025 for its first, second, and third reading by title only. Second. All in favor? I opposed. An ordinance amending ordinance number 74 2024 relative to current expenses and other expenditures of the city of Macedonia for the period of January 1st, 2025 to December 31st, 2025. Director Varys.

Thank you, Mayor. Uh this is the uh amendment number three. Thank you, Fire Chief Ripley, for keeping track for me. uh a few small changes but mostly related to unknown factors or more usage. Uh the fuel uh cost um is always a almost I don't want to say crapshoot but it just did. Um so we have to add 45,000 for fuel 25,000 for Rita fees which is a good thing because it's based upon collections. So our collections are up uh 7.42% over last year. Uh, another item that's based upon usage is state court reparation fees that we collect and then pass along to uh the state. We need to add 35,000 for that. Our senior program keeps growing. We need to add 25,000 for that. And um resident refund activity was up probably due to my monthly report or bimonthly report twice a month report. Um the report that Chief Ripley gives you the report that Chief Ripley.

That's about it. Thank you. Any further discussion or questions? Hearing none. What is your pleasure? I move to adopt uh ordinance number uh 82 2025 and post the same according to law. Second. All in favor? I opposed. Nay. Ordinance 82 carries. Resolution number 83. I move to offer or uh resolution 83 2025 for its uh all three readings by title only. Second. All in favor? I opposed. Resolution confirming the appointment of Michael Barhola to the city of Macedonia planning commission. So Tony Cox had uh vacated his position. Uh how many years were left on that director Gdetti? Uh

November 30th. So we had two people throw their name in the hat for that. Mr. Vhola and I had met. Uh I think he's an outstanding gentleman in our community and I think he'll be a great fit that will learn a lot from it and be a contributing member to the team. So I ask for uh council to support that. Any further discussion hearing? None. What is your pleasure? I move to adopt or uh resolution 83 2025 and post the same according law. Second. All in favor? Opposed? Resolution 83 carries. Ordinance number 84. I move to offer ordinance number 84 2025 for its first, second, and third reading by title only. Second. All in favor?

Opposed?

Ordinance providing the current compensation schedule for the non-un employees of the city of Macedonia, Ohio. So, I'm going to touch on this one for a moment because a lot of our seniors will understand this more than anyone, but uh we have two folks that currently work with our senior programs. Uh we have Leah and Sherry. Uh a while back when we brought Leah on, her intention was to take over the senior programs to give Sherry more ability to work within the fire department and deal dealing with the fire things that she does dayto-day. Uh I did offer that to Sherry at that time and she declined, which is why we're going to put Leah into this position. We are going to take Leah and move her over to the parks and recreation department where I feel it belongs and makes more sense as opposed to a fire department. Um, we've done a great job. I don't want to say anything ill of our fire department or the chief because I I think this program has grown and and it's going to be a little bit of a relief to him and his department because there is a lot going on. We we have a lot to hang our hat on and be proud of. One of them are our senior programs and I think our seniors ask any of them that that are active in our senior programs and they'll tell you that we do an amazing job with that and I couldn't be more proud of where we are today and where it's going to go in the future. So having people that are versed in that field in the parks and recreation department is going to do nothing but good and build that even more. So I'm excited to see what happens with that. Uh and I can only ask council to support that. Any further discussion hearing? None. What is your pleasure? I move to adopt ordinance number 84 2025 and post same according to law.

Second. All in favor? I opposed. Ordinance 84 carries. Ordinance number 85. I'm offering ordinance 85 2025 uh for its first reading only by uh title only.

An ordinance amending section 505.16 of the codified ordinances of the city of Macedonia regarding the raising, boarding, breeding, and maximum number of cats. This is going to be an ongoing discussion um of the number of cats and or dogs you can have within your home. Um if you have any desire to reach out to council to give your opinion, they're more than willing to listen to you. I would suggest you reach out to Mr. Hoover so it gets to all of them. Or if you want one specifically, you can do that as well. Just consult our website and all their emails will be on there. So, anything else that

there's presently the way that this version is written, it would uh limit the number of cats you can have in your home to three. I am proposing to raise it to six. I we would all love to hear from I don't think any of us have that many animals, if at all. So, I think we would like to hear from residents and their opinion of what they think uh a maximum number. I I'm I'm pretty sure we're we're all set on on actually doing something to make sure that we don't have uh homes that are overrun with cats, but but it would be nice to hear from residents as to what they think a good number of of cats should be at home. Just to clarify that, uh, Miss Brandt, the number of animals in a house would be a total of six. Correct.

No, that's not what we're proposing. The, as it's written right now, it is, uh, three dogs and limit you to three cats. We floated the idea of of different language to perhaps allow a total of six animals, but but there So, this will be part of the future discussion. Yes. Yes, sir. Okay. Thank you. So, we're just uh would like to hear opinions from residents on what they think would be a good maximum number of cats. And to be clear, currently it's you're allowed to have three dogs, but unlimited number of cats, and that's kind of what spurred this conversation, so that's why we're talking about it. Thank you. Ordinance number 86. Yes. I'd like to uh offer ordinance 86, 2025, waving the 48 hour rule. Second.

All in favor? I opposed. A this ordinance I'm sorry to offer. Okay. I'm sorry. Now I'm offering ordinance 862025 uh by title, an ordinance creating chapter 783 of the codified ordinances of the city of Macedonia relative to short-term rentals.

This is an issue that's been going on uh in Northeast Ohio for quite some time. Um there's been an overabundance of short-time rentals like uh one and two and three-day rentals which have caused uh numerous issues in the cities that there been uh held in. There's been uh property damage, there's been injuries, there's been death. And in talking with our police chief Yakapovich, uh one of his biggest sayings is let's be uh proactive, not reactive. And I think this is going to offer uh uh the council as it sits new in 2026 something to work on and get input from the community as to uh the direction and the movement that it needs to be and I will still be part of that keeping an eye on on that and we don't want anything like that to happen in the city of Macedonia.

Thank you. Any other motions or legislative actions? Yes. I'd like to make a motion to accept the $25 uh subway gift card that was presented by somebody to the uh Maston Police Department. Second. All in favor? I opposed. And the other motions are legislative actions. Yeah. Um I would like to make a motion to offer resolution 87205 for its first, second, and third reading. Second. Uh do we have to add that first? You wave the 48 hour. Oh, you're right. I wave the 48 hour. I would like to make a motion to wave the 48 hour rule for resolution 87205. Second. All in favor? Opposed?

There you are. All right. I would like to now offer resolution number 87205 to be read in its entirety for its first, second, and third reading. Second. All in favor? I opposed.

A resolution of appreciation for Macedonia City Council member Vinnie J. Ventura. Ventura. Sorry. Whereas Councilman Ventura has dedicated his life to public service, first serving the nation through his time in the United States military and then serving the citizens of Northeast Ohio for decades as a law enforcement officer with various local law enforcement agencies. And whereas wanting to further serve the city of Macedonia residents, Councilman Ventura was appointed to and served on the city of Macedonia Civil Service Commission beginning June 9th, 2016 until he was elected to city council in November 2017 and took office as a member of C Macedonia City Council in January 2018. And whereas Councilman Ventura continued to serve the city and its residents after he was reelected in November 2021 for a second term on Macedonia City Council beginning in 2022. And whereas Councilman Vura has served as the vice president of council on the council finance committee as its chairman, served as chairman of the council safety committee, served on the streets and highways committee, and has served on the Northfield Center Township City of Macedonia joint economic development district board since January 25th, 2018 through the present. And whereas during his time on council, Councilman Ventura has listened carefully to countless residents, been a champion of various projects to improve life within the city, all while working with other council members and the city's administration and staff to ensure that the city remains attentive to residents concerns. And whereas in his quote free time, Councilman Ventura spends time with his family, has served as vice president of the North Summit Lions Club, and also dedicates many volunteer hours as the emergency assistance shelter to provide food for local residents in need while also serving on its board of trustees. And whereas the administration, council, employees, and entire Macedonian community wish to recognize Councilman Ventura for his devoted service to the city through his expression of appreciation. Now therefore, be it resolved that the council of the city of Macedonia, County of Summit in the state of Ohio, Councilman Ventura is hereby recognized for his nearly decade of

dedicated service to the city of Macedonia and its residents.

Thank you. Uh I guess I'll kick that off by saying, you know, I I've served with Mr. Ventury here for eight years and I'm proud to call him my friend. It it's been it's been a lot of fun learning about him and his family and and you know becoming a relationship working relationship first and then becoming a friend later. Um Vinnie's not going away. I I can tell you that any of you know Mr. Ventura, he's not done and I know him well enough that he's got a fire in him that's that's never going to stop burning. And I love that about him. That's a passion for this community that I think everyone should have and I appreciate that more than words can say. Thank you. Thank you to all. It's been I'm having trouble with a couple of things. My words, which is unusual, and my eyesight because I'm having work done on my eyes, and they both don't focus at the same way at the same time. I I've enjoyed working with each and every one of you. Uh, and all my council representatives here and the mayor, the administration. There's not one person in here that I wouldn't work with again. and appre that I wouldn't appreciate in everything that gets done in this city for its residents and I'm just so happy that I've been a part of that. So, thank you all very much.

Thank you. I would like to just say, you know, thank you, Vinnie. I probably wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you. Um, you know, you dragged me by the hand and said, "Come on, we got to talk to people." and I said, you know, that was very new to me talking to people when it's a very important part of council. Um, we make a very odd pair, but we are the original.

Yeah, but we do great together. Um, you know, anytime I need to screw up the courage to talk to people or uh or just go the extra mile for residence, I'll think of you. And you know, if you need an angel on your shoulder to tell you to stop, calm down, chill out, you know, and be cool, then I hope you think of me. So, we we won't we won't be far from each other. And at all, and we'll we'll see you sometime soon. You forgot one thing. What did you tell me the other night that your mother said about me? Oh, yeah. She said, "Turn your beard." Very good. So, there you go, Mom. Yeah. Can we make a motion as you get rid of that thing? If you if you need any more uh fashion,

I've cut it down as much as I could having two eyes that don't work the same way. I did it myself. I didn't have time to get to my hair salon. There you go. So, I guess we do I do continue to influence you. You do. You're you're allowed to keep the beard, Vinnie. Oh, it's it's staying. I I worked for, you know, agencies for 50 years where I was not allowed to have facial hair. And I think I mentioned this the other night. There it is. One way, shape, or another, it's gonna be there. I like it. It's a good compromise. Thank you. So, Vinnie, I'm just going to take the opportunity to say that um I tried to come up with a million things to say and I and I'm just going to wing it. Um when I first ran for council, we ran against each other, correct?

And I kicked myself in the butt because I lost you by 82 votes, but that was probably the right thing for the city at the time. And it's it's really sad to see that now we're at a point where you're leaving. I've learned a ton from you. I've created a friend and um I asked Mr. Hoover to read this because I wouldn't have made it through that entire document without tearing up myself. So, I wish you good luck and I hope you don't stop doing what you do for the city.

No, you'll see me around here. There is a little disclaimer to that. I will still be coming to council meetings and all the events except now that I have I no longer have an excuse not to attend my grandson's basketball games. He plays on Tuesdays and Thursday nights. So, no, I got to make them all for January and February. So, I I'll still be around. And again, thank you all so very much for your support and your willingness to listen to me. And you know, tell me yes or tell me no. And I think I uh accepted either answer graciously. When things were done that you were able to do, you did them. When they weren't, you let me know straight up that, you know, it's not going to work out that way. and have developed a very good working relationship with you all. Thank you.

So, yeah, just one really quick thing I'll tag on to the end. Um, in my short time on council, I really appreciate all the uh guidance and help. Um, I know it's only been a year, but um it's been a good one. So, appreciate it. Thank you. Yeah. And most importantly now, what is your pleasure? I would move that we pass and post according to law resolution 87 2025. Second. All in favor? I opposed. Resolution 87 passes.

Okay, moving into the mayor's report. I'm going to start talking about the uh service building right now. Um I had said in the last meeting, we're going to queue up a video here in a moment. Um but I want to read something because we we've invited a bunch of our elected official actually we invited all of our elected officials that are above us from the county to the state to the federal level uh to our groundbreaking next week on the 16th. I had the pleasure of getting this um I guess you would call this like a proclamation, right? Yep.

From uh Representative Demetro, and I'm going to read it for everyone today. On behalf of the people of the 35th House House District of the State of Ohio, we are pleased to congratulate the city of Macedonia. We are thrilled to celebrate the groundbreaking of the new Macedonia Service Center salt dome building. The pivotal milestone marks a significant step forward in the continued growth and infrastructure of your of our community. Your investment in this project demonstrates a strong commitment to enhancing public services and meeting the needs of our residents now and into the future. As we look toward the future, we are confident this project will serve as a key building block for even greater collaboration and progress in Macedonia and the surrounding areas. We look forward to the positive impact it will have on our community and many opportunities it will bring. Congratulations once again. It's an important achievement and the bright future ahead. Steve Demetrio, majority whip, state representative, Ohio's 35th district. And and what he says there is very important and it's it's it's about serving the public and and we're going to enhance what we do to serve the public. I've said this before, I'm going to be a little bit redundant, but this building is going to be centralized. It's not a want, it's a need. The video that we're about to show here will will demonstrate a lot of that because quite frankly what we have is not worth fixing or putting money to anymore. It they're at a point and I said this in the previous council meeting if anyone wants to take a tour of them I'll still offer that out to anyone that disagrees with what we're doing to show you exactly what our employees are are being subjected to. And I'm saying subjected to because we're working with what we have. We've always done the best with what we have. Well, what we have currently is not good enough. It's time to change. This is going to be a good healthy thing that's going to enhance our ability to serve the public. So, with that, I'll ask that we display the video that we have prepared. Um, there's going to be a lot of different things in there that you'll see, but we store things outside like you'll see those those uh sheds over there. They're dilapidated. It's it's rotted out. Uh, this is the service building that we utilize for our mechanics. It's a metal

building. Inside there, steel support structures. If you touch those steel support structures, it's it's literally rust. It's falling apart. I mean, it's not it's not going to last very much longer. You see the walls and everything. That's all from the leaks over the years. Again, we've worked with what we have to do the best we could with what we have. It's not worth putting more money into this. You see the routed out doors. I mean, yeah, we can replace door frames and and all that, but it's all of them. The the garage doors, the doors you walk in, the man doors you're walking in and out. That's the post I referenced earlier. It's completely rotted out. This is the the area for our our employees to have lunch. It's very small. It's very cramped. There's a a strong odor of mold in there. We're not really sure where it's coming from. That's our storage. This is the one in front of city hall. It's it's falling apart. Uh I mean, we could put a lot of money into that to get it back to where it needs to be, but you'll notice on the ceiling there, we've patched it as best we could. It's just at a point where I don't want to put hundreds of thousands of dollars into something like that that's not going to last very much longer anyway because the whole thing is just not conducive for the operation there. Again, we have a lot of leaking in the building. Again, we patch them as best we can. It's just not lasting anymore. It's it's really at a point of dilapidation and there's not much more we can do. This is the service building on Twinsburg Road. The intention with that one at this point is we'll turn it into a cold storage. So, the equipment that we use in the summer will be stored in there and that's it. Uh, that's again the lunch area. It's very cramped. Uh, it's it was never intended for that use. This is an old county building. Um, not much space in there. There's a weird odor coming out of the sewer in there that we can't quite figure out either that we're going to abandon at some point because it's just not repairable and we can never figure out what that was. Here again, the ceiling's leaking. It's rotted out. All the insulation is destroyed.

That's the sewer I was referring to. It's an odor you don't want to smelt. It's quite odiferous. There again, the all the doors are rotted. You'll see the gaps underneath there. I mean, we could spend a lot of time and money trying to figure out what's causing all that, but it's not really worth it. The biggest thing here you'll notice is our stuff is parked outside. We want to get our equipment inside and out of the elements so it can last longer, which saves dollars down the road. These are the parks where we store a lot of our um lawnmowers and such. We will continue to do that. Those will remain, but this is kind of what we're dealing with. They have dirt floors in a lot of those. We're trying to get equipment out of there and into a covered structure where it's going to last. If you know anything about uh vehicles, you don't want any type of vehicle that has metal on the bottom of it on a dirt surface or rock surface because it's going to absorb that moisture into the frame and it's going to rot. This is Ohio. and we'll end up with that's what the new building will look like. Um, I'm very excited for it. There has been a tremendous and I mean a tremendous amount of work on my behalf, on our engineers behalf, on our service director's behalf, our law director, uh, all the individuals that we're we're working with on this to get to that. This has been for me the better part of eight years in the makes. Um, it's a big deal. It's not a want, it's a need. I can't stress that enough. This is going to put the city in a position for the next 50 to 100 years where there's a conducive place for our service department to operate out of. Another thing that will be included in there is there's going to be a meeting place in there. Currently, right now, we really don't have a meeting place for like if there's training with the police department, the fire department, the service department, or anyone else. They within there will be a 100 person training area that we can utilize for anything. What's that do for us and why is that important? So there's a thing called LTAP with the service department where a lot of times we pay to send people to go get training. Well, if you host, your people go for free. If we have a training with the police or fire department, if we host, a lot of times it's free. We could host here. We could

have everyone here within our facility and have it in one place that's conducive for learning and keeping the training and keeping us up to speed with what we're doing. So, um, I think I've said an awful lot about this. I've talked about this a lot, but next week on Wednesday, when that shovel goes into that ground, it's going to be a really, really big deal for me because I've been trying for so long. CO kind of killed this project initially when we tried uh but we're back at it now. We're moving forward and I can't thank council enough for their support on this. Those of you who have supported it, uh thank you for that because it's going to be a really big deal and if you supported it, you know, we'll have all your names on there as well. So, thank you for that. Tuesday. Is it Tuesday? I'm sorry. The 16th. Okay.

Is that Tuesday? I apologize. The 16th. It's Tuesday. I misspoke. The days are jelling together at this point. The holidays are really busy for everyone, including myself. So, Tuesday the 16th. Uh, next on my list, well, it's happy birthday time. Today is Mr. Garvis's birthday. So, I think we all got to see him. He's a jolly good fellow. No, you don't want to hear me sing, but happy birthday. Happy birthday. Happy birthday, President Garvis. We appreciate you. Another couple birthdays I need to add is that uh director Echondorf, director Collins, and director Gelotti's birthdays are all on Saturday, which is kind of strange that three directors have a birthday on the same day. So, happy birthday to the three of you as well. I hope it's a fun day for Taylor and Taylor. Taylor. Oh my god.

Wow. Same year, right? That's for me. That's crazy. Same.

Really? Um, I want to touch on the Santa delivery. Um, I'm sure the chief will be talking about this, but I had the pleasure of assisting with that the other day along with uh, Miss Brandt here. You know, when you when you pull up to a house and Santa gets off the back of the squad and you see a little kid standing in the driveway next to it waiting for Santa to get there and just the the absolute joy in those kids' eyes. I mean, it it is so awesome. It's such a wonderful thing that we do. I shouldn't say we. This is what all the fire department the chief is exhausted. This man has worked his tail off to do this and every year he gets a little grumpy around this time. But you know what? He does it and he does it well. And I and I can't thank you enough. And I really mean that. I mean, it is so awesome to see those kids. I mean, Santa went up to the one house, the parent was not aware of it. Uh we always give a coloring book and went up to the door where the woman was holding a young child and gave the the coloring book. Well, her dog got out. Santa went and chased and picked that dog up and took it back to her. I mean, you want to talk about an amazing community. I mean, that's the kind of stuff that just it warms my heart and I hope that everyone that participated in that appreciates it. And if you're unaware of it, we do it every year and as long as I'm sitting in this seat, that's not going away. Uh it's a lot of work though and I can't thank the volunteers, the police department that helped with it, the service department that helped with it, but most importantly, Chief Ripley, I can't thank you enough for keeping this program running and all the work you put into it. So, thank you for that. You're welcome.

Next, I want to touch on Winterfest because I'm sure you're going to speak about that, too. What an amazing event. Um, all the kids there. I mean, what a fun evening. It was cold. Um, I was fighting a cold for a while there and I was outside for quite some time and I think I brought it back a little bit, but I think she's gone again. But what an amazing night. What an awesome thing for our for our community to have. And I can't thank your team enough and everyone that helped that here again, police, fire service. You talk about a collaboration between departments and the amount of time that goes into what we do. the Winterfest, the Santa thing. I mean, there's a lot of planning that goes behind what we do. Don't just think you come there and there's, you know, there those pets that you're petting and and the little ice skating rink and the fireworks. That's not just a quick wham bam. We put hours and hours and days and weeks into this thing to get to where it is. And I think we're we're setting the tone for a lot of people. That park with those lights and the service team, what you've done there is absolutely amazing. It's Christmas time. It's time to give thanks. I'm not talking about me. I'm talking about you guys and the work you did. So, thank you all for everything you do. We have an amazing community. We really do. And I can't thank everyone enough for all of your hard work. Um, I want to wish everyone a merry Christmas, happy new year, happy holidays if you celebrate anything else. And most importantly, during the holidays, put the phone down, pay attention to the road, and concentrate on what's in front of you. Thank you. Committee reports. uh parks and rec commission does not have a meeting in December even though it is uh or was on the calendar. So uh we will see everyone January 21st uh upstairs in the new offices at the uh rec center.

What time is that? 6 o'clock. The cemetery commission met last night. Um no major Yeah, spooky. no major decisions uh made, but uh just to remind everybody that Macedonia is rolling off uh for next year. So, we will be the the one one out of the four communities that um is rolled off in 2026 and we will be back in 2027. Thank you. Okay, moving into department reports starting with Director Wilson.

Thank you, Mayor. Um, so as far as leaves go, um, we have picked up 3,82 cubic yards. Um, and I I believe there's a few still out there. They are mostly under snow. We are fully into winter shifts now. Um, working uh, typically 7:34 to 4 12:30. Um, and we're doing a lot of 24-hour coverage at this point. Um, so eventually we might get back to leaves next week. Um, I just want to thank the council for as always all the support, but well, I think we've covered the building adnauseium at this point, but the mayor did a fantastic job. But um I do want to thank you for your support as always and um I just echo everything that we really do need the building. It's it's a huge need and and um I think everyone's incredibly excited about it and thank Vinnie for all your support for all the time for uh bringing you know as I came here and all that. It's been a good experience. Um and happy birthday to everyone. He's going to go with the blanket statement.

There's too many of them. Thank you, Director Geli. Yeah. Thank you. Um, storm sewer replacement project in front of Aldi grocery store is complete. Uh, contractor will be back in the spring uh to restore the uh landscape grass area uh there in front of Aldi. And the same would be said for the new trail in Longwood Park. Uh, of course it was too late in the season to plant the grass when that project was finished. So that contractor also will be back in the spring uh to fix the grass just in case somebody asks one of you guys when they're walking down the trail. End of report. Thank you, Director Eondorf.

Thank you, Mayor. Um, as you mentioned, just like to thank everybody for coming out to Winterfest. Um, having been a resident for 11 years now, being on the other end of things and being able to see an event like that from uh, my vantage point was really awesome to see all of us come together and uh, you know, be able to offer that to our residents and their their guests. Um, want a huge uh, huge thanks to our service team. Um, the lights are unbelievable. Um, everything looks great. Uh they all turned on at the same time which was even better. Um huge thanks to our wreck department staff who was there helping out with the event. Um especially our uh wreck manager Taylor uh who put a lot of hard work and time into that event. Um and also again um all the community members that came out to help us uh have fun on a nice cold night. End of report.

Thank you. Can I just mention, I don't know where who your contacts are, but however you got Buddy the Elf to come out. It was really impressive to see him interacting with a child that evening. Um, I was blown away at the way he uh handled that that little kid. So, whatever you're doing to get characters like Buddy the Elf to show up at our events, please keep it up. That was an extra extra special letter. Got it. Director of Aris. Thank you, Mayor. First sitting in between three people that were born on the 13th. I want to know if any of you were born on a Friday. Saturday. It's Thursday. Oh, makes sense. Makes sense.

That makes sense. The center of all evil. Uh I also wanted to mention uh the Jed meeting annual Jed meeting was Monday this week and a conservancy meeting for the Jed as well was held on Monday. Um, so it started kicked off the week with a a meeting that was at six o'clock and it's been a long week so far and um but uh Vinnie also wanted to thank you for uh being the finance chair and uh prior to that you've been here as long as longer than I have. So it's been a pleasure working with you. Thank you. And the report,

Director Collins. Uh thank you, Mayor. I just want to thank Vinnie. It's been a pleasure working with you. I know everyone else already said it. That's what happens when you're at the end, but thanks for your time. I appreciate it. Uh thanks to the rest of council and all the directors for a great year and uh everybody have a happy and safe new year. Thank you, Assistant Commissioner Allen. Just uh thanks, Mr. Mayor. Just two things. Uh we have a new business that opened up um the hand in stone out there in 500 East of Royal Road and we've uh issued an occupancy certificate for for that business and then I'd like to finally say the sidewalk program is completed. Yay.

All right. So, uh that is wrapped up for us and it goes on to John. Thanks. Thanks. Uh but wish everybody a good holiday and be safe. Thank you. And when he says the sidewalk program is complete, that's citywide. Yes. Done. Citywide. Exactly. That uh that's complete now. Thank you. Yep. Director Smith. Thank you. No report for the group, Mayor, but I'd like to thank Vinnie for the last eight plus years. Um it's been a pleasure working with you, Chief Ripley.

Thank you, Mayor. I will not be thanking Councelor Ventura as I do not see his work as completed yet. Um he's going to be here. We all know that he's going to remain involved. Santa program last year we tried to figure out we think if anybody has records that would help us with this I'd appreciate it but I think it was the 36th year was this year.

Um we're we're now multigenerational uh which is kind of cool. Um that program has delivered engagement rings. It also has delivered soldiers back home. Um which is all very impressive stuff. Um but one of the most impressive things is that Mr. Garvis is so well connected with Santa that we can put a GPS tracker on Santa. He allows very few communities to do that. my understanding he also Jeff uses that influence to also do it for Northfield Village. So, um my point is, you know, that might be how Santa knows whether you're good or bad. So, be nice around Jeff. Um other than that, uh merry Christmas to everyone. Happy holidays. Be careful this time of year with space heaters and fireplaces because you don't want us to visit your house. We do a lot of damage.

Um end of report, Mayor. Thank you, Chief Yakapovich.

Thank you, Mayor. I'd really like to thank the community for their support again this year with Shop with the Cop. Um, with their generous donations, we're going to be we have 15 children in the program this year and we're going to actually able to spend a little bit more money. I don't know if it's tariffs or what, but we're gonna have to spend a little more money, but we're happy to do that. Uh, you know, sitting here and Kyle hit it on the head when you're the last person, but I gotta say it. It's been three and a half decades that I've known councelor Ventura. He was an instructor in the police academy when I went when I was 21 years old. And I agree with uh Chief Ripley that he'll be back. You almost, you know, Vinnie the bad penny right now. We've had a lot of good discussions over the years and your perspective with your law enforcement background. Obviously, we hit it off right away. Um, I appreciate those conversations and I hope that those on council understand that. That's open to any of you. Um, but anytime you have insight, thoughts, I welcome them and I look forward to working with you in the future, whatever capacity. Good luck to you.

Thank you. End of report. Mayor Director Gdetti. Yeah, I'll echo similar thoughts as the chiefs uh regarding Mr. Ventura. I don't think anybody, you know, expects not to see you anymore. Um and you know, it's one thing your fellow law enforcement officer to have conversations with the chief. Um but I think it's a a benefit to the community to have somebody that brings a different perspective to council. That's one of the good things about this council. You have a lot of different perspective, a lot of different walks of life on board. So, I appreciate your perspective particularly and thank you for being a part of our community. Thank you, sir. Thank you, Mayor. Can I add one thing? Sure.

I'm looking forward to Mr. Ventura coming. So, there's somebody in the audience. Well, I try to fake it like people are there when I speak. So, any unfinished business? Any new business?

I just have one brief comment. Um, I if I'm going to wear this suit, I've got to plug my house. If anybody's watched our council meeting on YouTube this long, um, we do have a light display. It's been there for seven years. It's at 9821 Firestone Lane. I do have to remind myself to invite you to watch the show, not come over to the house. Um, but it's there uh through the rest of the year, possibly a week into January. It runs 5 to 11 every night. And if you put your car radio on 87.9, everything will be synchronized to the music. Awesome. I I do have a question, Mr. President. Yes. May I have my name, please? I have no reason to I'll make a motion. You can take that with you.

You can take it out of the fire department budget. Mr.

Want to take a moment to say merry Christmas and happy new year and happy holidays to everyone and just really to thank all the directors for being so awesome. I wish I could go around and tell each of you how great a year you've had this year and what an impact you've made, but I'm sure everyone is chomping at the bit to get out of here, so I'm not going to do that. But really, you guys are great and you make council look so good year after year. You know, we have problems with the residents. It takes minutes for us to get things fixed. Uh we get nothing but compliments for all the work that you do. Each and every one of you is so very important to the city and as a lifetime resident of the city, it just warms my heart to see people come in and and just do such a great job to take care of our city and all the residents in it. So, I just want, you know, to let the directors know that I really uh thank you and appreciate working with you and I look forward to looking working with you for another four years and council. You're you're all right.

Thank you. Thank all in favor. I opposed. We are ajourned.