Council - Regular Meeting

So, this is the renewal of our insurance. Um, we had the first read on the last meeting. Few things we wanted to clean up in there. Got that all taken care of, verified. So, we really need to get this done if you guys are watch. All right. Anyone have any questions about 22? If not, yeah, just quick, what was what was the difference between the So, there was some equipment that we needed to verify because we had sold some equipment and just making sure and verifying what we had was absolutely correct. So, that's why we went back. Yeah, we double checked all titles. Yeah, we went back through all the titles to make sure that everything we had is exactly what was on there because we don't want to have any discrepancies.

And I don't know if I said it to council, but we did change the coverage for the police cars. Uh, because over the last two years, we've had two hit on the highways. So, we change it's a replacement cost instead of cash value. That's very helpful. Yeah, that's a big difference. Yeah, because we lost 20 to 25,000 on usually when those get hit, it's a total, right? We did. They were both total. Wow. Jeez. Our fire apparatus already had replacement. Uh, everybody okay with second and third readings? Yes.

All right. Uh, ordinance 24. Yes, this is exciting stuff for council here this evening. We have some highlighted verbiage uh on your information here for our storm water code. In short, this is uh language verbiage that the EPA does require every city to have in their code. Uh it just outlines some of the stuff that's allowed to go down the drain. uh clean water from your swimming pool, clean water from uh cleaning the streets, firefighting activities. If these guys have to fight fire, and the other part is if we do find an illicit discharge, in other words, somebody's sanitary connection tied into the storm system, that's not allowed. Uh we do have to inform the EPA in addition to ourselves in the building department having the property owner correct the problem. That's all. Not too much to it. Unless we expect a lot of community input. I would suggest a one, two, three.

This is required. It's kind of like, you know, it's a little bit of a paper shuffle housekeeping kind of thing. There's community input. They can input us. Yeah. After the fact or Yeah. Take it up with the federal government. Yeah. If nobody objects, we'll do number 24 as one, two, three. Uh number 25.

Uh this is for our lap pool reservicing project. That'll happen uh around the time of our annual closing. Um the pool lap pool will be closed a little earlier just because size of it but a complete resurface of the diving well itself. Anyone have any questions? Did this go out today? I don't remember. came in 30,000. Yeah.

Anyone object to this one? One, two, three. I think we're coming right back to you for 26. Yep. Uh this is um again result of the process to get the nets at the four ball fields at Longwood. Um this is forensator safety while baseball games are going on. Um plant capital and uh will significantly increase our status of nice fields in the area. Are we doing all four at once? All four at once.

Okay. But most importantly, the safety of it because we did have multiple people get hit in the head. This has been talked about parks and recreation commission for a long long time and it was delayed. So I just want to point out that this is not this is something a safety issue. So we don't want people to get hurt obviously with a foul ball when they're not looking in actually fits well within the budget. We have a bunch of way more expensive than than you would have thought cost though. There's a lot that goes into it. Oh yeah. Yeah. I'm not saying that you did a bad job. It's just when we first brought it up, we like just throw some nets up there. How much could that cost? Almost $200,000.

Well, that's why it came in under because we were over estimating overestimate your expenses. Anyone else have any questions on 26? I'm assuming you want to get this going for the second. So, yeah, both of them. One, two, three. Nobody objects. One, two, three. All right. And then we have a motion. Do you want to talk about this?

I can. So, this is the uh basically the maximum price when they go through this the uh the maximum price that came through, but we are complete. That's what they provided to us. We are under what they estimated which was shown to you guys initially. We're just showing this to you guys to acknowledge that we did come under budget. This is the gross Matt and not grossant guaranteed. Yeah, guaranteed maximum price that will happen for the project. So we're coming in under there's also some contingencies in there that hopefully those come under. So we may be well under what we estimated for the project because we were at 172 and I think it came in at 166. What are you talking? I'm sorry. This is the service building. We have no We have no actual motion.

The motion is But you got You got the You got the GMP, didn't you? I didn't see anything. No, we didn't send the GMP up. No. Oh, I guess you guys didn't get the GMP. Essentially, what I'm saying is what's going on. It's it's the the GMP is under what was estimated, which was told you initially, which was 172. So, we're just acknowledging the fact that we have that now. They cannot go over that price, and that's it. That's just acknowledging that number as below what we we put we able to get a copy before the meeting starts. That would have been helpful. I don't know why that didn't get Can we get one? Do you have one? Does anyone have access? I can email right now. Yeah. Could you? Yeah. Yeah.

Um Mark, is the way that it's written on the agenda an acceptable way to read the motions? Yeah, that's fine. Okay. And really this is something it's it's not necessary for council even to do the motion really. It's more for auditing purposes down the road. So we have a record that you know the city accepted this guaranteed maximum amount and it's really one of the benefits of the process that we utilize to accomplish the project is we have this guarantee. It's it's a way to limit bleeding at the end of the project if it runs over. So again really just an more of an audit issue is why it's being presented. Does it protect us if like there's some increase in the cost of materials over the next 12 months?

Yeah, there's some protection built into what if it doesn't that's why it's the guaranteed price. So they can't if we do things like you know we have a change order and we request the modification then that's a different story kind of exception to that guarantee. But there's contingency money in there for that exact there's a little bit of that. That's why I'm saying I anticipate it being even less than what we say. And because it's not legally required that we do this. That's why it's not legislation and it's

Yeah, you guys have already approved the proposal. The ordinance authorizing fever to proceed has the proposal on there with all of the numbers and this is with I think it's within that or close to that. Yeah. Okay. Well, we should at least be informed when we're voting on our motion. So, Dan will get that. All right. Thanks. Believe that's it. Unless anyone else has anything you'd like to talk about. I figured we were

Good evening and welcome to the April 9th, 2026 uh regular council meeting. It is 7:30 p.m. Mr. Hoover, will you please call the role? Miss Brand here. Miss [ __ ] here. Mr. Ferdo, here. Mr. Finley here. Mr. Garvis, here.

Now I ask Chaplain O'Brien to lead us in the invocation. If you would please stand. Let us gather this evening with the opportunity to serve our community. As we address the needs of our neighbors, may we be guided by wisdom, fairness, and a spirit of cooperation. Grant us the clarity of purpose, patience in our deliberations, and the courage to make decisions that protect the common good and foster opportunity for all. Tonight, we give special thanks to the dedicated leadership of our department heads whose professionalism, expertise, and tireless work keep our city operations running smoothly. Their commitment to transparency, innovation, and responsive service strengthen public trust and improve daily life for our residents. May we continue to support and work alongside them as partners in building a safe, healthy, and vibrant community. Amen. And now, our honorable mayor, Nick Bolnar, will lead us in our pledge of allegiance.

I 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.

Because my voice is lowered, I'm ask Mr. Hoover to read this tonight.

Certainly. Whereas under the leadership of coach Ryan Wolf King along with the support of assistant coaches and staff, the Nordonia High School girls basketball team achieved an extraordinary milestone during the winter season by capturing the school's first ever district championship. And whereas this historic accomplishment advanced the team to the OSAA regional tournament, marking the program's first appearance in the Sweet 16 in school history. And whereas the team success reflects the outstanding leadership of seniors Hayden Paul and Taylor Morgan, as well as the combined dedication and hard work of the entire team during this historic season. And whereas Hayden Paul established herself as a premier offensive force, earning first all district honors, setting a new Dornonia's single game scoring record, 40 points against Hudson and surpassing 1,000 career points. And whereas Taylor Morgan played a pivotal role on the defensive end, earning honorable mention all district honors, leading the team in steals and consistently guarding the opposing team's top player. And whereas every player on the team played a crucial role through their skill, perseverance, and commitment, contributing on both offense and defense, supporting one another and helping to make this historic season a success. And now, therefore, Mayor Nick Molnar and the city of Miss Macedonia do hereby recognize and commend Coach Ryan Wolf Gang, assistant coaches, and all members of the Nordonia High School girls basketball team for their historic achievements, and wish them continued success in all their future endeavors. and witness whereof, I here to set my hand and cause the seal of the city of Macedonia to be affixed this 9th day of April, 2026. SO, I think it's no secret to anyone I'm a big fan of the girls basketball at the high school. And I'll give you your proclamation here, but you guys did amazing. I came to a bunch of your games. Uh you're filling number 13's jersey very well. I'm I'm very happy to see that cuz uh big shoes to fill. But what you guys accomplished has never happened before. You took a program that was floundering quite frankly and you you turned it around. You got something we've never done before. So I can't give enough credit to you guys and what

you've done and to your coaching staff and the girls and what they did. You guys were amazing. It was so much fun to watch and and I'm very proud of you. I'm very happy for you. But uh I don't want to do all the talking. So it's it's your turn, coach. Okay. Um yeah, they they pretty much set it all. Um we we came in two years ago with a goal and I think our timeline was sped up a little bit and that is a massive credit to the girls that we had in the program, the girls that we had last year and this group that we have this year with our leaders and all of our young girls. We did it with two seniors, two juniors, and a bunch of freshman and a sophomore. So

this is going to be something that we try not to make a one and done and not have to wait another 50 years. We're going to try to make this a routine appearance, a routine thing for our program, but like you said before, it took everybody from seniors all the way down to freshman all the way through the program. So, this was definitely a program achievement, a team achievement that uh we were very lucky to have. And like I said, it was it was a lot of fun. It was a magical ride. And all the credit goes to goes to these girls that showed up every single day. CONGRATULATIONS.

CONGRATULATIONS. And that is my favorite part of what we do here. It's bringing in the the kids from the high school when they're accomplishing things is amazing. So, thank you all for uh being a part of that. Okay. Next on the uh agenda is approval of minutes. Mayor, I'd like to make a motion to approve the minutes from the Thursday, March 26, 2026 regular council meeting. Second. All in favor? I opposed.

Okay. Next up is public comments. We ask that you come to the podium, state your name and address, and keep your comments to 5 minutes or less. And we have one tonight and it's Rel Noak. Welcome, friend, and neighbor.

Very much so. Thank you very much, Mayor, council, representatives. I'm Reel Noak. I am council ward C for Northfield Village, but I'm here tonight to represent our VFW as I'm very active with that as well. Um, we just did our press release yesterday and I'm basically here because I know that the chief for the fire department's already been approached. I'm in charge of the police department. Just to extend to any and all of you that we would like to have you participate with our um Memorial Day parade that starts at 10:00 in the morning and we're hoping that we can have the representation from Macedonia as well as our mayor there. So, that is what I am here for this evening. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Appreciate it. Okay. Correspondence from the clerk.

Yes, sir. I have two items this evening. The first is a letter that was sent to our fire department. It says, "Dear Chief Ripley, on behalf of Kyhoga Valley National Park, I would like to thank all the emergency responders who assisted with the Vangela search and rescue operation in January. The response to this incident demonstrated the very best of what strong partnerships can accomplish. Your team's willingness to respond quickly, coordinate effectively, and operate seamlessly alongside our teams made a meaningful difference in our ability to carry out this complex operation. The professionalism, dedication, and commitment to public safety displayed by your personnel did not go unnoticed. Search and rescue instance are often challenging, requiring long hours, difficult conditions, and critical decision-making. Your team's efforts, whether in the field, in planning, or in support roles, were instrumental in ensuring a coordinated and effective response. We are fortunate to work alongside partners who consistently demonstrate such a high level of competence and cooperation. It is this shared commitment that allows us to serve and protect our communities to the highest standard. Please extend my sincere appreciation to everyone involved from your department. We look forward to continue to build on this strong partnership in the future. Thanks again for your support, Bruce Canyon from the National Park Service. And then we also have an email that was sent from the Northfield Villages uh police department or fire department, sorry. Um to our uh dispatch supervisor, Tracy. I'm writing to formally commend the dispatcher for the house fire call on 81 Vincent Avenue in Northfield Village for their exceptional performance during a recent fire response. Throughout the incident, the dispatchers demonstrated outstanding situational awareness, clear and efficient radio communication, and a proactive approach to resource management without needing to be prompted. They anticipated the needs of the incident and ensured that that appropriate resources was dispatched in a timely manner. Their ability to stay ahead of the situation significantly contributed to the overall effectiveness of the response. What stood out most was how smoothly the operation ran as a result of their efforts. Their control of radio traffic helped maintain clarity

and order, allowing crews on scene to focus entirely on their assignments. The seamless coordination they provided truly made a difference in the outcome and flow of the incident. Please extend my appreciation to this these dispatchers for their professionalism and dedication. Their performance reflects very positively on your center and highlights the critical role dispatch plays in emergency response. That's from Robert David, Lieutenant Village of Northfield Fire Department. And the dispatchers in question were Adam Hedes and Laney Stacks. Awesome. Thank you. Okay. Pending new legislation starting with ordinance number 22. Mayor, I'd like to offer ordinance 22 2022 26 for its second and third reading by title. Second. All in favor? I opposed.

Emergency the ordinance authorizing the mayor to enter into a one-year contract with Ohio Plan Risk Management, Inc. for a certain insurance coverage for the city of Macedonia beginning April 1st, 2026. It's pretty self-explanatory. This is the renewal of our insurance. Uh we delayed it a little bit to go back through it to make sure we had everything in order. We are now confident that everything is perfect and in order. And anything I'm missing? Director Varys? No. Uh just the addition that uh the coverage for to police vehicles is now replacement cost as opposed to cash value. Correct. Any further discussion hearing? None. What is your pleasure? I move that we pass and post according to law ordinance number 22 2026. Second. All in favor?

Opposed? Ordinance 22 carries. Ordinance number 24. I move to offer ordinance 24 2026 for all three readings by title only. Second. All in favor? I opposed. Nordance amending sections 922.07 and 922.10 of the codified ordinances of the city of Macedonia regarding storm water discharge. Director Gelati. Yes. Uh we are simply uh adding some verbiage to our storm water code to remain in compliance with uh EPA rules. Thank you. Any further discussion? Hearing none. What is your pleasure? I move to adopt ordinance 24 2026 and post the same according to law. Second. All in favor? Opposed? Nay.

Ordinance 24 carries. Ordinance number 25. Mayor, I'd like to offer ordinance 25 2026 for its first, second, and third readings by title only. Second. All in favor? Opposed? Ordinance authorizing and directing the mayor to enter into a contract with OP Aquatics for the 2026 recreation center lap pool resurfacing project. Director. Thank you, mayor. Uh, this is um this is for uh the resurfacing of both the LP pool and uh diving well. Um it'll be happening during our annual shutdown period. Um and uh we did the activity pool last year and now it's the pool's turn this year. Thank you. Any further discussion? Hearing none. What is your pleasure?

I move that we pass ordinance 25 2026 impose the same according to law. Second. All in favor? I opposed. Ordinance 25 carries. Ordinance number 26. I move to offer offer ordinance number 26-2026 for its first, second, and third reading by title only. Second. All in favor? Opposed? An ordinance authorizing directing the mayor to enter into a contract with Veterans Fence for Longwood Park and Ballfield netting project. Dr. Eondorf.

Yep. Uh thank you, mayor. Uh this is uh the project to add netting above the uh fence for all four ball fields at Longwood Park. uh increasing safety for spectators and visitors to games. And I'll add that's been budgeted for talked about in the parks and rec commission for years years. I believe one of the members of the parks and rec commission was unfortunately a victim of getting hit in the head with a ball. So this is very important to that member of the commission too. So any further discussion hearing? None. What is your pleasure? I move to adopt ordinance number 26-2026 and post according to law. Second. All in favor? I opposed.

Ordinance 26 carries. Any other motions or legislative actions? Mayor, I'd like to make a motion to accept the amended GMP as presented to councel. Second.

So, brief explanation of this. The service building that we are working on, we had a budget for that. Um, that number was already approved through council. This is the guaranteed maximum price. this number is significantly less by I think around $600,000 less than that. So this is just acknowledging the fact that we were able to get that price down and again we've talked about this before but many members of this staff have put in many many hours to get us to where we're at today where we're seeing this progress on that building. So couldn't be happier to get to where we're at today and that cannot exceed that number. So this is this is a good thing. We're under budget. So that's essentially the the basis of everything we're talking about. Any further discussion, questions? Do we need to vote on

Yeah, I was going to get to I wanted to give a little explanation first. All in favor? I opposed. Nay.

Motion carries. Next up is the mayor's report. Uh, spring has sprung. I can barely talk, so I'm going to be very brief today. Uh, National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week. I want to give thanks to our I'm sure I'm stealing your thunder chief. I know. But I want to thank our dispatchers because they're the unsung heroes as you always say and and a lot of that goes unnoticed, but I notice and I know that you guys notice and I want everyone to know that you should all notice them as well because that is a chaotic job. I've been in there in the heat of the battle and quite frankly it gives me anxiety so I leave because it's it's so much going on and they are so good at at keeping their composure and and getting people to where they need to be and and keeping things organized. It's amazing what they do. It's a very difficult job. So, I can't thank them enough for what they do. Uh, second on my list is I want to wish our law director a happy birthday on Monday. I never missed that one.

I know you love that we point out your birthday. That's on April 13th. Delightful.

We will always do that because you love it. And last but not least, please don't drive distracted. Put down the phones and drive the car. And the left lane when you're on the highway is the passing lane. Thank you. Committee reports. um parks and recck commission would like to thank council for uh getting uh the budget and the project started for the netting. Um uh that's as the mayor said that's been something that we've had our eye on forever. So we're really happy to bring that safety feature to our fields. Um our next meeting is next week. It's on Wednesday at six o'clock um upstairs in the uh rec center. That's all.

Thank you. Any other committee reports? Hey, you know, we'll go into department reports. Starting with director Gdetti, because it's so close to your birthday, I figured I'd put you first and switch things up for you. Very special. You You should. We appreciate you, Chief Yakapovich.

Thank you, Mayor. As you said, uh, April 12th through the 18th is National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, honoring our 911 dispatchers. Um I I mean you've heard Chief Ripley and I both speak about it. I I can't say enough. I don't know. You know, it is truly organized chaos in that room and they do it so well. They make it look easy. Uh I encourage anybody that would like they can, you know, drop an email to them or a note. Um the PB public records at Macedonia. us. All the dispatchers in there read that. Uh you know, tell them how much we appreciate them. And I talked to Director Wilson. We have a sign we'll be posting outside. Um, and the report.

Thank you, Chief Ripley.

Thank you, Mayor. We can talk about the dispatches all we want, but the letter from Northfield Village is something that occurs on a daily basis. We seldom recognize it, but the ability for them to do their job, firefighters and police officers lives depend on it. If they don't collect the correct information, the guys can die in the field. And the brass being the chiefs and the mayor talking about it doesn't mean anything. But when it comes from the end user, a fire lieutenant who was in charge on a fire, it that it that means the the most. So, um they deserve all the recognition they can get. I'd like to uh also also wish Mark a uh very happy birthday. Uh end of report, Mayor.

Thank you, Director Smith. Thank you, mayor. Um, HR has recently posted uh for the opening that we have in HR and we will start the interview process once we uh leave the job open. Just in the last few hours, we've received about 15 resumes so far. I anticipate getting hundreds. Um but in place of that I wanted to mention that um member of Congress uh Amelia Sykes sent a certificate of special congressional recognition to Patty Curac and I wanted to read it because I think this is very special and I think that it it um is very important that that we recognize the 30 years and it says in honor of your retirement after 30 years of service to the city of Macedonia. For your outstanding devotion and your decades of service, you have earned the respect and esteem of many. And in the wake of your departure, be assured that your numerous contributions will not be forgotten. I am confident that your fine character and dedicated work ethic will will be sorely missed. I wish you many years of happiness and prosperity. And we did take Patty to lunch today and present this to her.

Awesome. That's great. Thank you. End of report, Mayor. Thank you, Assistant Commissioner Allen.

Yes. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I just want to get an update on um everybody remembers the fire that we had at the Avenue 9730 Valley View. Uh the status of that project is they cleaned it all out and it actually looks pretty good inside. I mean, they did a really good job and in cleaning everything up and right now they're working on the fire protection systems. It is currently on fire watch with the fire department and uh we'll be soon be getting permits pulled. We do have a permit pulled for the sprinkler system with the repairs that they're doing so that we can get that activated. Other than that, right now it's still under investigation with the insurance company, so we're kind of at hold right now on that progress, but other than that, it's well underway. End of report.

Thank you, Director Collins. Thanks, Mayor. 42 help desk tickets. Uh this week, we uh uh working with John, we uh finished up the uh auditors uh the Ohio auditors audit and they uh dug into technology more this year. So hopefully it sounds like we passed. Um, and I'd also like to wish my wife a uh happy anniversary on Mark's birthday. Thank you. Thank you, Director Varys.

Thank you, Mayor. As uh Kyle had mentioned, the auditors were in uh this week uh for three days. Um they're about halfway done with the audit. They'll continue working off site and maybe come back for one more short trip. Our goal is again to have the audit done by the end of May. Uh, so we're working diligently to get that accomplished. Resident refunds have begun. The due date is July 15th, unless you have an extension from Rita. And Pete and I will be picking up a new vehicle for Family Rec Center. Long needed. They haven't really had one for the staff to use to run back and forth in the park or over here to uh city hall and a report.

Thank you, Director Aendor.

Thank you, Mayor. Uh I just want to thank council for uh passing both pieces of legislation. Um so two uh projects that um everybody's looking forward to. Uh I know pool resurfacing is not very glamorous, but it's much needed. Um the summer activity guide is out. Um so that is available online as well as in the rec center. So make sure you grab a copy and take a look what we've got going on uh for the upcoming season. Um overall everyone's happy just to be getting back outside. Uh as the mayor said, spring has sprung, so we're just, you know, ready to air things out and get back outside. And finally, um Springfest is happening April 25th. um that is weather dependent. In terms of the location, right now it is set for outside at Longwood Park. Lots of activities involved there. Uh lots of vendors, uh some food trucks and activities for the families. And finally, um I uh I passed along invite from the Longwood Manor Historical Society to all the directors, but uh they are also inviting members of Congress of of Congress of council to um walk through the manor to to um see the progress that they've made. Uh they've got a meeting at the end of the month. Uh if you can't make that, then they would be happy to walk you through at any time that you're available. So, and a report.

Thank you, Dr. Gelatia. Yes. Thanks. Uh as part of the ongoing construction at the intersection of Highland and Valley View, uh the south end of Shepard Road is currently closed where Shepard intersects with Highland Road. Uh that closure went into effect yesterday and is scheduled to last for three weeks. Detour route is posted out there and I'd like to wish a happy birthday to our favorite attorney, Mark Gdetti report. He loves that. Director Wilson.

Thank you, Mayor. Um we are doing some work in the rec center uh making some better use of some space for storage. Um we did do a final run of leaves. We're done with that. So um we are actually done with leaves for the 20 25 26 season. Um if you have leaves, put them in bags. Um everyone is back on day shifts. That's really nice to have everyone back and we get a lot more done that way. um doing some repairs on the dugouts and the ball fields getting ready for the season. Um and uh last week we had a lot of flooding. We handled a lot of that. The guys did a great job. We worked some overtime and stayed over. We did had to clean some some uh drains and things like that. So they did a great job and um they just opened the power bathrooms recently. So all that kind of spring stuff in the report and all happy birthday Thank you. Any unfinished business?

New business. I'd like to wish Mark a happy birthday. That's not new business. That's old business. Really old business. I'd like to second that. Do I have a motion to adjurnn? So moved. Oh, I'm sorry. Second. All in favor? I opposed. We are adjourned. Thank you.