Remarks by Fran Wilson
13 remarks on the record, newest first · Page 1 of 1
“Uh, we had lots of discussion. I appreciate, um, the active engagement by all the neighbors involved. Um, I'm going to vote in support, so I appreciate others doing so as well. Thank you.”
“Thank you, Madam President. Today we had a very lively public safety committee, and I just wanted to follow up with some feedback, and I hope we can have another maybe thorough meeting. We can talk about that. I just wanted to share some quick reflections and also share where people can find more information and learn more. I personally, you know, I look at what's happening in Akron with how our data is and is not being shared. I see a lot of issues. I don't feel comforted by the discussion today and I hope we can continue the discussion. I think, you know, I'd encourage my colleagues and the…”
“Thank you. I appreciate it. I just want to push on the level of urgency, right? And, you know, there are certain things that we can and can't do as a body. You know, I think it's important for us to understand the authority solely rests on the mayor to be able to cut a contract, right? And there's two ways that you could cut the contract if you wanted to. There's one out of convenience, which would only supposedly cost us about 50K plus maybe some fees and maybe some loss of the ARPA dollars that we paid for this program with. And then the other one is if breach happened on one of the sides.…”
“If I may, and I shared a note with the council representative before the meeting, but my understanding is, and I don't know if there could be an answer on this, there seems to be no business at the facility. There seems to be an inspection done, conducted right before the public hearing, and only five vehicles were found on the premise, so it seems like a resolution of the complaint. I don't think there were any orders that were filed for junk vehicles on the property. So I guess I'm also wondering why we didn't add extra conditions like fences and maybe a noise to the conditional use as kind…”
“Yeah, I can repeat myself, no problem. We're talking about number two on planning, which is about 1167 Eastland. I spoke with some zoning staff before this and a couple people around this horseshoe. It seems like they're not operating an active business on the site. It seems like an inspection was done prior to the public hearing, and only five vehicles were found on the property. It seems like some of the reasons for the complaint going forward and the conditional use being submitted were resolved and maybe could be sustained that way. I just kind of had some process questions there.”
“And my understanding is the code, if there were 10 people living in a house, which I don't think there's any laws that prohibit 10 people from living in the house and being able to drive, the code would be against every single person in that house owning and being able to drive a car. So if there are six people purported in the public hearing that might be living in the house and owning a car, that would be in violation. The city code to my understanding that's you know that's kind of what I'm where I'm processing and thinking through this I know there might be some other nuisance related…”
“I just, you know, I respect the chair bringing up the Planning Commission and the department's, you know, decisions about disapproval, but I would also say I don't think it says in the record, and I don't believe from the minutes that the pre-hearing inspection was discussed at the Planning Commission meeting, I would presume, about the just five vehicles on the property and”
“But there were also, you know, it went from complaint to no orders given from the department, it seems, to a conditional use request being submitted, right? So I think there's some, for me, that's an interesting process, but on its face, I think he's presented a valid argument. If you look on Google Maps, just across the street, 300 feet, maybe north, there's maybe a quarter mile driveway with a, huge driveway in the back of their property that could probably fit 8 to 10 cars. They have a big swimming pool. It's about the same size of their property. I'm not about process and information…”
“Thank you, Madam President. I just wanted to bring three quick things up. I know we've been getting a lot of flock-related items, so I just wanted to invite the public and anybody here at this table. We're going to have a flock educational session at the Highland Square Library on the 10th, so Saturday, 1 to 3 p.m. chance to get to know the technology and understand why and how it's being used. The second thing I wanted to mention, I know we were all pretty shocked and I brought it up last week about a Jameson who was hit and killed by a suspected drunk driver. And I just wanted to name, you…”
“If I may, Madam President. You sure can. I appreciate, you know, this legislation is in essence and on paper about a vacation plat and a utility right-of-way, but it is also tied directly with utilities and the expansion of a data center in our city, one that I took a tour of and I was happy to take a tour of. and learn more about a facility that's around 15 megawatts that's growing out to 41 megawatts. I personally have shared and asked for legislation to hopefully appear on the public docket. I know some of us have received some information about utility usage and projections. I would like…”
“Thank you. I think I just want to go very quickly. I won't take too much time, but I am concerned about how quickly this was rushed through council. I talked with many of my colleagues about different questions around data centers, the utilities at the specific facilities. Many of us have also taken a tour of the facilities. I also, you know, personally, I read the legislation and have a problem with our use of the emergency clause standards there. And personally, I have questions about the risk for public safety and health long-term of the facility, and in general, these types of businesses…”
“Thank you, Madam President. Yeah, like I said earlier, this has been a decade plus in the works. We are really excited to get this off the ground and get moving. And I'll keep you guys updated on the progress. This is a gem of our city, and it must be protected and preserved. So looking forward to doing that work ahead. Thank you.”
Not quoted here: it may name a member of the public. Hear it at the meeting.